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Ki'dhir does not quite remember the exact position of the sun. In fact, his best guess, he believes is off by a few degrees. However, Marius does recall that there is an observatory in Tephu called the Eyes of Heaven and the astronomers may be able to provide you with the information needed, as they have recorded the position of the sun daily since the founding of the city. A quick trip over to the observatory and a 10 gp donation to their research fund and you have the position of the sun.

Now to calculate where the shadow of the tower would point involves a Knowledge (Engineering) check. I am open to what other ways you think you may discern the information.

Knowledge (Nature) check to learn the position of the sun at midsummer or Knowledge (Local) check to identify sources in the city who may be able to provide the information to you.

Sorry to speed through it - but it's a lot of K Local and Diplomacy checks so Marius gets to shine, while the rest of the players are twiddling their thumbs.

The waiter gives Marius the necessary directions, as it appears the dwarf lives only six blocks away. The trio wave at Marius and Bhornkild as they leave and invite you to return anytime.

Ramat, the dwarf. reluctantly opens his door at the sounds that the trio of locals sent you. He doesn't have many visitors, so he's happy to speak to you. You come in and find it hard to difficult to work as his home is clutetred with architectural drawings, books, notes, and scribbles. When asked about the tower, he recalls working on the tower and its height. "Yeah, that was definitely 125 feet tall. Ya know, if you promise to bring it back, I think I still have those plans from my youth. Give me a sec." It turns out to be 10 minutes instead of one second, but he hands you the architectural plans of the Tower of Ra's Glory as it was originally constructed.

After some small pleasantries, he kicks you out, saying he is working on his next masterpiece.

You have the plans and the height. Now what?

Salaam smiles at Bhornkid's question, "Torn down? No, never. Unfortunately, the Tower of Ra's Glory collapsed years ago due to age and lack of financial investment to maintain it. It lay as a ruin for decades, until the current governor decided to use the tower's fallen stone and marble blocks to incorporate into the foundations of a new building under construction."

Abdulla chimes in at Marius' question, as he puts his tea down, "The height? That's easy, we asked everyone about that as kids when we played here. I may have forgotten much, but I know the Tower of Ra's Glory was 125 feet high. Right, fellas?" Salaam nods yes and Toothless Mhetek smiles, showing his gums.

As you are about to leave after the conversation, Salaam speaks up, "If you wanted to double check on our information, you could always talk to Ramat Glyphkeeper III, a Pahmet dwarf who was one of the original builders of the tower hundreds of years ago. He would know exactly. Food for thought."

The old men look up and Abdull, the youngest of the three, speaks for them, "What respectful young men, please sit and join us. And if the next tea kettle is on you, even more so." They smile and they start telling stories and reminiscing about how as kids they used to play around in front of the Tower of Ra. Salaam, the eldest of the three, completely bald with a gap in his teeth, sighs. "Please, let us know how we may help you. It is so good to feel useful at our age."

Irizi smiles as she escorts you out. "Thank you all for taking care of my friend, Evie. She's quite stubborn as you can see. Keep her safe please. I'm here if you need anything."

You venture out into the city of Tephu. Marius appears quite familiar with the layout of the city and he serves as your guide. Evelyn wears a hijab in public to conceal her appearance, given that assassins, you know, are trying to kill her.

You reach the site of the prior Tower of Ra's Glory. It now lays as a ruin, but in recent months, the tower's location has become a building site, as the tower's fallen stone and marble blocks are being removed or incorporated into the foundations of a new building under construction.

A couple of blocks from the ruin, you find the hostelry, where the three old locals hang out sipping tea. They go by the names of Adull, Hamask, and Toothless Mhetek.

Whomever approaches them can roll a Diplomacy (Gather Information) check and rp it a little. Remember, you are unknown in the city.

Irizi smiles, "She came to me. She is safe and welcome to stay here, but I doubt that she will take me up on my offer." Evelyn looks at the ranger again, "I'll be fine, next to Zahira. Let's go talk to Marius' friends about the tower." She picks up her satchel and secures her books. "I'm ready when you are."

With Marius' +16 to the roll, he knows of a trio of older gentlemen who hang out at an upholstery shop sipping tea near the ruined tower site who have lived in the city for years who may be able to help you.

When Marius shares the information, Evelyn's face lights up. "I can pay you each 5,000 gp for your services. My family and I had some gold saved up from our prior archaeological excavations. It's only right that I use those funds now to finish the mission. Is that acceptable?"

Are you heading there now? It's about 9:30 AM.

Ki’dhir reviews the conversation… trying to understand where he had given offense, how he had misunderstood the professor’s intent, and how she had failed to understand his. After consideration, he concluded that he parsed the intent of her words differently than she meant them. Then pride – or perhaps guilt – spurred her reaction. Curious.

As the cult matter took precedence, he discarded the personal one. “The Great Library may contain the information about the tower, maps of its location, and possibly the lands surrounding it. It is my belief that stargazers – astronomers – could determine the position and length of the shadow at midsummer with those facts.” He doesn’t add that visiting the Library might draw out the cult, which could be both a risk and an opportunity.

You wrote: You could find shelter among the Yerbira until this matter is resolved. That's what set her off. Basically, you were keeping her on the bench. :)

Evelyn gets miffed by Bhornkild's and Ki'dhir's suggestions and stands up straight, confident. "I will not have lost my family for nothing! I am not stopping until I end the threat of this pharaoh and his cult. You have been invited here to assist me, not send me home. I can take care of myself, I know some divine magic, maybe some that may heal and save your lives. I am seeing this through to the end. My life is not important, only the mission. So I'm not staying here hiding. Ya got that? You all just said you know the dangers and well, if assassins attack me, while I'm with you, it'll be your job to protect me. I will pay handsomely." Despite her 5'6" stature, the professor is not intimidated by the barbarian and the ranger.

After the confrontation passes or diffuses, she looks at Zahira, "Math, hmmm, I was never going to solve it with that. My interests are more into history and archaeology. Well, if it's like you say, then we figure out the numbers to the formula. However, I'm not from here. If the tower no longer stands, how do we figure out its height?"

Marius wracks his brain for anything he can remember about Hakotep I and this Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh the Professor mentioned.

[dice=Knowledge (history)]1d20+14
[dice=Knowledge (local)]1d20+16

"I think we're all in agreement on this, Professor. It just wouldn't do to have some long dead Pharaoh just returning to life. They might just want their stuff back which just wouldn't be good for business at all."

Evelyn smiles, "I'm glad you all do not scare off easily. As for your question, young man, this journey has cost me the lives of those whom I love the most. My life no longer matters, only stopping this cult from achieving its goal." More tears escape her eyes. She wipes them and continues.

"We came to Tephu 2 weeks ago to research the mask, Hakotep, and the Cult at the Great Library. It took us awhile to get access and somehow our activities were discovered and assassin ambushed us one night after leaving the library. I was the sole survivor and fled. That's how I know my life is in danger. Anyway, I managed to access the secret and exclusive collections and found in a collection of scrolls named the Scrolls of Inquiry. Here's what I managed to copy word for word." The Professor hands you a rolled up scroll. See Campaign Tab.

"This confession was extracted in -1560 AR, some 50 years after Pharaoh Hakotep’s death. The Sacrosanct Order refers to the Order of the Blue Feather, a secret sect of the church of Nethys. Finally, according to my sources, the heart is no longer in Sothis, where indicated, so I am assuming that the Cult already has it."

"Finally, I've discovered a collection of architectural plans detailing a series of tomb designs of incredible complexity. Each plan is labeled with a double hieroglyph of an owl inside a house. This hieroglyph is the "signature" of a person named Chisisek. There is also a note mentioning a meeting between Chisisek and the Sky Pharaoh, but I couldn't find anything more in the archive. I have a lead on another archive that may be useful, called the Vault of Hidden Wisdom. Unfortunately, all I have is to find the "the long shadow of the Tower of Ra's Glory in the dawn sun of midsummer", which is said to point toward the door. I am stuck."

"Has any of you ever heard of Chisisek? Any bright ideas how to find the door? The Tower of Ra's Glory collapsed years ago. It lays as a ruin for decades now." Evelyn lays out a sigh of frustration.

The female Professor hesitates, but hearing your encouraging words and condolences, she moves to her satchel, opens it, and pulls our gold funerary mask. She looks at the party with the mask in her hand. "Have you ever heard of Sky Pharaoh Hakotep I? I highly doubt it. He's rather an obscure pharaoh of Ancient Osirion who lived 6,000 years ago. The records state that he was a worshipper of Set. His name survives only in cartouches found in a ancient network of earthworks now known as the Slave Trenches of Hakotep. This is his funerary mask, an ancient artifact capable of animating the dead. It is rumored part of the pharaoh's soul remains in the artifact. My husband, my brother, and I recovered this mask in Wati, while exploring the Necropolis for the city on behalf of the Church of Pharasma. We stopped a necromancer from using its power to animate a legion of undead. Since that day six months ago, our life has been full of death and dangers at every turn. There's a mysterious cult, known appropriately enough as the Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh, who seek the mask to resurrect the Sky Pharaoh. They've sent assassins after me, and though I have survived, my family members were not so lucky." She pauses, as a tear rolls down her face. "C'mon Evelyn, be strong. My life is in danger, so be forewarned that any association with me, may pit you in their sights as well. I would not want to be responsible for your deaths as well."

Evelyn pauses to see if anyone wishes to depart or continue hearing her story.

Since it seems you're done with rp...will move on.

The doors to the study open and 2 male servants summon you and escort you to the library, where Irizi, the halfling merchant, awaits you. Pic in Campaign Tab. She has a concerned look on her face, but it turns into a smile when she sees the four adventurers. She walks up to Zahira, "Sister, thank you for coming, we will need the Dawnflower's grace for what's coming." She looks at the rest of you, "I am grateful to have such loyal friends who will come at the drop of a hat. So enough banter, the reason I have called you. A colleague of mine, a professor by trade, is in trouble and she needs help. She's lost her brother and husband and has no one else left, but she is determined to complete her quest. Her life is in danger, so I ask for you to listen to her story and decide on your own to help or not. please keep an open mind. I'll be right back."

She move to a side door of the library, open it, and speak to someone out of sight. "C'mon Evelyn, it's ok. I know you're scared, but these are decent people, who will not betray my trust." After some coaxing, the figure steps into the room, a little shy, her head down. You see a spectacled woman of Garundi descent. Irizi leads her by the hand to the front of the party, "Lady and gentlemen, this is Professor Evelyn Galen, and she has quite a story for you." The woman smiles, a bit uncomfortably and proceeds to sit down at a chair and takes a gulp of water.

4714 AR
15th day of Rova

The City of Tephu, also known as the City of Reed People, is surrounded by tall, swaying papyrus reeds and towering orchards of date palms. Teeming with movement and commerce, the city is known for two main things: its papyrus trade and the Great Library. The former places Tephu as one of the most wealthy cities in Orision. The latter contains millions of words of recorded history and academic texts all carefully collated and cross indexed and draws visitors from all over Golarion.

This morning you find yourselves at the modest estate of Irizi Evenglow, a well known halfling scholar in Tephu and financially successful rug merchant. She is a well known devotee of Desna, who has a reputation of hiring adventurers to advance her scholarly pursuits. She has hired each of you in the past and always maintained a professional, if not friendly, relationship with each of you, impressed by your martial and intellectual skills.

You received a summons from Irizi to appear at her estate today this morning as a personal favor and you have complied. You have all been escorted to a study in Irizi's home by her servants and requested that you await her presence. The room has a homely feel of having been lived in and visited often and contains several figurines in honor of Desna and the halfling's free spirit.

Feel free to introduce your character to the rest of you. With his Knowledge (local), Marius immediately recognizes the other adventurers present by their reputations. Anyone trained in this skill can make a DC (12) check to know about the other players.