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I just got my copy of Shifting Sands today, and after a brief read I have a question.
The crux of the conflict in the first part of Shifting Sands is that Deka An-Keret seeks to keep information of her order's misdeeds secret because it'd open up a whole can of worms. What would happen if particularly spiteful PCs decide that once they've got information of the Sacrosanct Order's desecration without getting into to much trouble with Deka, they decide to go public with it, and site the Order's attempts to assassinate them and the governor's obstructive behavior as evidence, not really for blackmail, but as a parting shot or a sense of righteous indignation at the cover-up?
What's the political fallout of this event, assuming the PCs just don't roam Tephys shouting "THE CHURCH OF NETHYS DESECRATED A PHARAOH'S BODY AND ARE TRYING TO SILENCE US?" Who would the PCs go to to give this information to besides Muminofrah, who's leaving town anyway and likely will just keep it to herself as a blackmail tool? Who stands to gain from this information becoming public, and what exactly would be the consequences Nethys' church and Deka in particular would face for the Order's actions? What would Deka do if the PCs pursue this course of action, short of just arresting them on trumped-up charges of inciting a riot or spreading sedition against the government and church or something?
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That's a hard question, considering that Nethys' church is probably the most pervasive one in the region, being that he was supposedly an Osirioni pharoah himself. Though, at present, I would wager Abadar's faith was more powerful due to Khemet III's cleric status..
Politically, at worse, I can see the Ruby Prince ousting the Nethysian leadership of Tephu and putting in proper Abadarans do run a city the way the gods intended. Or perhaps the locally influential cults of Thoth (magic, CLR 17 high priest in Tephu) or Maat (Justice, CLR 14 high priest in Tephu) would seek to restore a place of high honor to their church's and continue the quasi theocratic rule of the city. Netukheret, the priest of Thoth, would probably even be able to gently replace the Nethysian influence with that of Thoth, since portions of their influence overlap.
Probably, though, the Osirioni government would issue a strong reprimand against the All Seeing Eye for transgressions millennia past, and bring Tephu under tighter federal control. After all, they're covering up a Pharonic ordered desecration from eons past. What really could a Pharoah who has all but sanctioned desecration do to them without losing political clout and giving his detractors (notably the Pharasmin goons at Wati and Sothis) ammunition to sow discord amongst the aristocracy and perhaps even give them leverage in the future to replace him.
I think that the PC would look to the general public and the state like the people on the street trying to convince that the Moonlanding was fake or that the state is using satellites to influence the public.
You have to find someone to belive it and who would belive it?