NT's Mummy's Mask: The Half Dead City

[SwordChucks]

Vic moves slugishly into position to fire at the scorpion and lets a blast fly.

Spoiler: combat

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Move action: get past the doorway.
Standard action: D. Blast

D. Blast (1d20-5)[15], (1d6+1)[5]

[MesiDoomstalker]

Anai sighs in exasperation, before bringing her falchion to bare on the over-sized arthropod and making quick work of it. There. That's done. Lets return to the market, report to the Church of Pharasma and then find the Ministry representative. She spoke wearily, but a hint of her previous enthusiasm still laid just beneath the surface.

[NikolaTesla]

Heavily burdened with grave goods you step back out into the temporarily blinding sun. The temperature has risen by at least 10 degrees since you entered Ahkentepi's tomb, and the the treasure, crates, and corpse you carry with you make what was a 20 minute walk seem to drag on forever. Finally, you round the last corner and the great obelisk, Pharasma's Needle, comes into view. An older Pharasmin priest stands nearby.

"Hmmhmmhmmhmm back from the Necropolis in one piece?" he mumbles half to himself. "How unfortunate..." The man seems to be a little hard of hearing, as though he thinks he's being quiet and talking to himself but in reality is quite audible. He seems friendly enough when he greets you though.

"Hrrmhrmm welcome back, explorers. It appears that your hrrmmhrmh efforts were fruitful. Now, if you'll just show me your identification.

[Someone] produces the paper imprinted with the sphinx.

"Ahh hmmm yes, the Saphire sphinxes. Very well, just had to make sure you weren't common grave robbers. There is a hand cart outside the gate for you to unburden yourselves and take what you've found to the Grand Mausoleum. And... He suddenly becomes angry, and dark energy swirls into his palm. You were clearly instructed not to disturb the buried dead! How dare you take this poor... erhm, creature from his resting place! Explain yourselves!

[SwordChucks]

"Yeah, that was my suggestion. This body was a grave robber that didn't make it very far. He was never inhumed and never meant to be in the tomb."

"I thought it would be more dishonorable to leave him where he didn't belong. If that was wrong you might chalk it up to me being an outlander."
Vic says as she shows her freckled face to the priest.

[MesiDoomstalker]

He was only down there a few decades, based on the state of his corpse. There is little chance he was supposed to be entombed there with a military general who died thousands of years prior.

Spoiler: Diplo

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(1d20)[8]

[digiman619]

"Akhentepti wasn't the type who liked uninvited guests. By removing this from his tomb, we are giving him the rest he deserves."

[NikolaTesla]

Military general? Ahkentepi?" His brow furrows as he pulls out a piece of parchment with scribbled notes. "Hrrmmm so he was a military general huh?" He briefly examines the body, oddly giving it a few sniffs as part of his inspection.

"Pharasma's power will reveal whether you people are lying." He forms his hands together in an odd symbol, then pulls them apart as a as the corpse on your back suddenly makes a sound, drawing raspy breath.

"What was your name?"

"Raaaaaajiiiiiiiinnnnnn." responds the corpse.

"Did you attempt to rob the tomb of General Ahkentepi?"

"Iiiiiiiii don't knoooowww whooo the *@#$!&% tooooomb waaaaas. Iiiiiii neeeeeeeeeded goooooooooooooooooooollllll....." It's voice trails off as it exhales, and does not breathe in again.

The old priest harumphs and with surprising strength hoists the body down to the ground, makes another symbol, and touches the corpse's head. In an instant, all that's left is a skeleton. "I suppose I should thank you for providing me with an object lesson for the rest of the grave robbers coming back today. Your cart is outside the gates." and he turns away from you, returning to his post in front of Pharasma's needle.

[digiman619]

Boru turned to the rest of the party. "Well, he was less than pleasant. At least we're out of there. Ready to deliver these artifacts?"

[SwordChucks]

"I'd love to take a look at all of these documents we found. It'd be nice to have a translation of Akhentepi's works and speeches."
"Otherwise yes, I'm ready to relax after that ordeal."

[NikolaTesla]

You make your way to the Grand Mausoleum. The imposing building towers over the surrounding structures, and as you pull up you note several other handcarts, including one where some halflings and some very exhausted looking dogs appear to have just finished a lengthy struggle to unload. You also catch sight of another group led by a gaudily yet strangely functionally dressed woman just exiting.

(If anyone wants to interact with these people before entering, go for it)

A female priest, one of the ones who gave you your identification and map yesterday, greets you. "Ah, the ministry people have returned. I've been looking forward to it, some people just have no sense when it comes to preservation and this will be refreshing." She says this half cheerfully, half glumly, and following her eyes you notice a bit of smashed pottery on the ground near the halfling's cart. "I take it you made copious notes of what you found in the tomb, yes? Excellent. Now, most people looking to purchase the truly wonderful items will not be arriving in town until the exploration of the necropolis is complete, so let me explain how this works. We've partnered with the bank of Abadar to keep the treasures safe. We have some storage here for things like documents, and then the rest will be taken to their vault for safekeeping until you get the chance to sell it. The vault space is free... under the assumption that if you don't come back out of the necropolis to claim it then the Bank of Abadar will sell it..." She shifts her feet uncomfortably.

"Oh, you can of course keep for yourselves whatever you want, though I doubt you'll have much need of old documents and such. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you drew any maps?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Oh! Wonderful! We have plenty of records you can store in the Mausoleum! And items for the Bank of Abdar to store in the mean time. Anai turned to Vic, giving a knowing smile. And Victoria here made a detailed map of the tomb. Unfortunately, we did have to damage a false sarcophagus in the process of not dying... And soaked a few mummies of the tomb's builders. But the room was designed that way. Anai's cheeks colored as she realized she started rambling. Sorry. I lost what I was saying. Vic made a map. Why do you ask?

[NikolaTesla]

She extends a hand and Vic hands her the map. "Oh, Oh! This is fantastic! Now, I understand this is a personal creation and not a historical document; you probably can't sell it with the documents; but many of us here at the Grand Mausoleum have devoted a lot of time and effort to completely mapping the necropolis. Are any of you injured? I can cast some cure spells to fix you up! Or if you're not, I can just owe you a couple of cure spells for tomorrow.

[SwordChucks]

Victoria lets Anai ramble for a bit while smiling. "I can make a more presentable copy of the map if I'm given some time."

[NikolaTesla]

Victoria responds that the healing spells are at present unnecessary since she has a little bit of healing ability left over, but thanks her for the offer to heal people the next day. Once everything is unloaded, with several squeals of delight from the priestess over the large scrolls, she asks for your identification paper. She places it on a small pillar, and there's a shimmer of light as the silver sphinx seal on it turns to gold. She hands it back, along with carefully hand-drawn map marking a spot on the other edge of the necropolis, rather close to the northern part of Asp district (map of Wati in discord).

"Congratulations, you've got your second exploration spot! The map will lead you to a walled two story mansion with some grounds around it. Most likely it was some minor nobility that lived here in Wati before the great plague. It'll be a little different since it's not an actual tomb, but please remember that everything in the necropolis is the final resting place for someone and so it should be treated with the same respect. Good luck! And she scurries off to help a newly arrived group with a handcart of some treasure and two bloodied humans.

***

You now have the afternoon to buy and sell as you please; the people looking to buy art objects aren't really around yet but there's always a market for magic and masterwork items, and likewise you have a decent chance of finding items of that sort that you want. No encounters happen during shopping.

***

You arrive at the Tooth and Hookah to find a scene of celebration and partying as only murder-hoboing adventurers can; a motley assortment of people from all over the inner sea region sharing stories, booze, and smokes, some of them notably wearing jewelry that is fairly obviously recently acquired. You'll be in the room for a bit getting a bite to eat, but while you're there it's a good opportunity to get to know the competition. Who knows? Maybe someone will be in the mood for exchanging some treasure, or maybe you'll learn something about Wati or the Necropolis.

Survey of People you see:

-Blonde Chelish woman in armor.
-Bald Nexian man with dark tattoos.
-A turban bound man with a holy symbol on his neck
-Dark (but well groomed) haired man with a pair of daggers on his hips.
-A redheaded woman with a banjo entertaining a few people in the corner
-A tall, blonde, and very well endowed woman with a rugged look about her.
-A grumpy looking woman wearing heavy armor.
-A rather hairy woman who appears rather drunk.
-2 Veiled women, each with a crow on her shoulder
-One of the halflings from earlier with an entirely oversized for him khopesh on his lap; he looks a little red eyed.
-A Black robed half-elf woman keeping to herself while munching on some food.
-A pair of rather bandaged men; you recognize them as being the bloodied men from earlier.
-A short man with a sword at his hip but what looks like a spell book in his lap, which he is attempting to focus on writing in.
-The gaudy woman you saw leaving the grand mausoleum; she seems to be flitting around from person to person holding brief but intense discussions.
-A dark skinned man with a glaive-guisarme leaning against the wall and a symbol that looks like half white, half black mask on his chest.
-An extremely well armed (both in weapons and arm strength) black half-elf who is chatting with
-An olive skinned young man that looks barely old enough to be an adult, but a small scorpion on his shoulder gives him away as probably some sort of caster.

You're not expected to talk to all of these people, maybe just 1 or 2 each, but you have your choice of all of interacting with any of them you choose as you get your meals and boast of your victories.

[digiman619]

After ordering his food, Boru makes his way to the glaive-weilding man. "Huh. And I thought I was the only one who used one of these" he said, jostling his own.

[SwordChucks]

Vic gets herself a carafe of wine and a mug of the Tooth and Hookah's strongest stuff. She plops down across from the halfling and pushes the mug over. "Looks like you've had a bad day. If you don't want to talk I get it, but if you do, well here I am."

[MesiDoomstalker]

Anai ordered a strong ale, making rounds around the room, sampling conversations. Eventually, she sat down next to the dark-haired, well groomed man. She had already downed one glass and was mostly through the next by then. Hey therre. You look... brooody.

[Kagari1605]

Ilepy smiled slightly as she walked over to the bar and ordered a strong drink. While waiting for the bartender, she surveyed the room and decided on having to pick between the man writing in the spell book or the half-elf. Ultimately by the time that Ilepy had her drink she had decided on trying to strike up a conversation with the half-elf. She ordered an ale before walking over to the half-elf and sat down, smiling slightly handing her a drink. What brings you to eh necropolis? she asks in a somewhat friendly

[NikolaTesla]

Spoiler: Boru

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The man looks up from his plate of food with a surprised look on his face. "Well it's not as unwieldy as a halberd but it's still good for keeping unspeakable things away from you long enough to melt them with the almighty power of magic. I'm actually surprised more people don't use them. How about you, stranger? You don't look like a wizard, so are you cleric? My name is Khelru, by the way." He proffers a cushion next to him.

Spoiler: Victoria

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"Thanks friend. Lost a couple of the best dogs I ever had to that damned cube, any drink is welcome." He takes a swig that would be respectable for a human, but for a halfling seems outright prodigious. "Here I thought the necropolis would just have a few undead to avoid, but that monster was truly something else. Still, the rewards were accordingly high." he gives a gentle pat to the khopesh in lap. Pulled this out of the ooze; amazing that it hadn't corroded when my dogs were dissolved almost instantly... It's too big for me though, I'll need to find a buyer for it.

Spoiler: Anai

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"What's this, another admirer? Well then come close my dear, you'll never believe the adventures I've had this day. My team, the Cryptfinders, fought our way through the ghastly traps...

tl;d(w)r(ite) In a very long and self-exalting story, he and his group were assigned the tomb of an important government official, dealt with awful traps and other dangers, and finally confronted a mummy that he cut the head off of and destroyed. He doesn't specify any specific treasures, but heavily implies that it was a lot.

Spoiler: Ilepy

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Two half elves, need to know which one.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Anai's focus had waned as the man's story rambled and her attention soon returned to her drink. She ordered a third, not paying attention (or caring) if she interrupted the man's tale in any capacity. As the conversation lulled, she realized she was probably supposed to react to the overblown and exaggerated tale. Wow... That was a lot. Good on ya! Without much of a goodbye, she wondered off. She lilted around the room some before stumbling towards the gaudy woman. Heyyyy! I saw you earlier, at the mawselum. What did ya find? Anything good?

[digiman619]

Spoiler: Boru

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"Boru" he says offering his hand. He then continues "While I personally pledge myself to the Grey Lady, she has not seen fit to lend me her power." He took the proffered seat, leaning his glaive next to him against the wall. "I'm not much for magic personally; I'm more of a guardian keeping my charges safe." He stops for a moment. "So I guess, in a way, I do use it for the same reason, just in concert with the rest of my party."

[NikolaTesla]

Spoiler: Mesi

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"Oh wonderful, a drunken brute. This is exactly why the randomization by those hapless Pharasmins is a bad idea. Unless you know who's been assigned the Sanctum of the Erudite eye, get lost girl. And she stalks off.

Spoiler: Boru

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Khelru shakes Boru's hand, but frowns at Boru's admission of not being able to perform magic."Well isn't that a pity. Still, I suppose the world has a place for those to whom the mysteries of magic remain hidden. Take Idorii over there." he indicates the black half-elf speaking to the young man with the scorpion. "Can't perform a lick of magic, but she's been paid well enough to take a few blows for the rest of us."

Spoiler: Ilepy

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"Same thing that brings you here I expect. What do you want from me and the Sand Scorpions, Ilepy?" This was odd, as you can't remember ever speaking to this person before, let alone telling her your name.

[digiman619]

Spoiler: Boru (and later Anai)

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Boru stiffened slightly. He was hoping to get someone to talk to about the finer points of polearms to, but he'd run smack dab into a magocracist. Looking back. the holy symbol of Nethys should have been a clue. Sure, magic was useful, no one could deny that. But when push comes to shove, it's too unreliable; all it takes is someone to get too close and jostle their arm and the entire spell is wasted. He was about to give the fool a piece of his mind when he saw the way-too-drunk Anai harassing the other guests and decided to take the out that presented himself. He stiffly made his goodbye and went up to Anai, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey Anai. Let's not bother the other guests. Come on." he says trying to lead her back to her room.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Anai was winding up a angry, slurred and meandering retort to the foul woman when Boru interrupted her. I ain't bodder nunun! This bicsh is being a bisch! She whirled trying to face the woman as Boru guided her away, but her feet were too clumsy and instead she just leaned into Boru, going half-limp.

[SwordChucks]

Victoria tries her best to console the halfling. "That is upsetting. I've got an uncle that raises dogs for guard duty. He cries like a child after he makes a sale and most of those dogs never even see combat."

Vic eyes the khopesh and says "If it's any consolation, I have a friend that uses a khopesh that might be in the market for a new one, or in this case an antique."

Spoiler: Appraise

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If the halfling lets her take a look, Vic will appraise it to see if it's better than the khopesh Illepy took off the wall.
Appraise: (1d20+10)[21]

Depending on the result, Vic'll bring Illepy over to see about a deal.

[Kagari1605]

Ilepisys immediately becomes uneasy, as this complete stranger not only knew her name, but knew her nickname despite never meeting her before. She doesn't remove her hand from the second drink she was offering to the woman, and instead looks her in the eyes before asking How do you know my name?. As Ilepisys asked the question she tries to read the woman's expression and body posture to try and discern if this woman was any threat to her or not. Ilepy was not sure if she needed to grab her friend and new companions or if she could handle this herself.

Spoiler: Sense Motive

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(1d20+0)[7]

[digiman619]

Boru struggled to keep Anai on her feet and get her up the stairs. She really needed a place to plop down and sleep through the drink, but Anai's orcish heritage added more than a few pounds of muscle to her frame and fighting to pull it upwards was a losing battle. All in all, it was a minor miracle that he got her to the top of the stairs at all. But it was there that his legs finally gave way and Anai toppled the two of them over in a crumpled mess, Anai flatting the poor nomad.

[NikolaTesla]

While Anai was busy flattening Boru...

Spoiler: Ilepy

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She takes another bite of her food before answering."Mhmmm, bit to forward for you? I make a point of knowing the names and skill sets of the more dangerous people around me. I don't care much for combat, I'd rather take care of things ahead of time.

It seemed a reasonable enough response, but something in the way she said "take care of things" makes it sound a little bit sinister.

Spoiler: Victoria

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Appraise: It's definitely masterwork quality, you can't tell just be looking at it if it's enchanted but if you had to hazard a guess you'd probably go in the affirmative there.

They're damned good an' loyal animals they are. Once I sell this sword I just might have to look up your uncle, I'll be needing to purchase some new dogs and it sounds like he treats 'em alright. Where is this friend of yours?" He suddenly clears his throat. "Excuse me, where have my manners got off to this evening? Name's Marrn. Mad Dog Marrn they call me.

Spoiler: Anai

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""Ahh just put'er on a hookah!" calls out the hairy/drunken woman as Boru helps Anai stumble off.

Note to Kagari: If you'd like to spend a gold piece in the afternoon, you can have someone repair your khopesh and have it ready for you in the morning.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Anai rolled off of Boru, slumping face down in the doorframe of her room. I shharry Borrrrroooo. I don usshuallee drink thish mucsch. I... She takes in a shuddering breath. I just scarrrred. The tommme? I was scarred. While Boru couldn't see her face on account of it being smooshed into the floor, he could hear a slight sob to her shuddery, rasping breaths.

[digiman619]

Anai had landed on him in an almost comical fashion, with her bosom squishing him to the floor. Any humor that the situation may have had was lost by her words, however. He scooted himself next to her and brought her head onto his chest. "Shh shh shh. It's okay." he said, rocking her softly. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here to protect you guys. These baddies won't get you while I'm around and I'm tougher than I look. We'll be fine." He continues rocking her until she calms down.