With steps once again made light by the plenitude of their wealth, the seven members of the outfit return to the ten warrior maidens of Madarua, the tales of their adventures spilling forth before they have even seated themselves on the various rugs and carpets in the chamber.

The maidens listen raptly, even contributing the occasional "oh my" and "no way."

Lisa Lisa, tart little harbinger of doom that she is, reminds the raiders that there is worse, far worse, to be found beyond a whisker of shrews within the tombs below.

If Lisa Lisa has stories or tales of what those horrors might be, then staying longer to listen to them is a worthwhile investment of time.

But if it is just the standard doom and gloom warning, then they can return back down to the lower tier as soon as everyone is ready.

The first destination would be to pick up anyone who elected to remain behind, if any did, and if they remained in the same place.
The second destination would be down the western corridor past the shrew room, to continue the clockwise search.

When pressed for something more substantial than baleful prognostications, Lisa Lisa, who has been listening more closely than any of the maidens to your fourth tier tales, politely asks if you've "had the pleasure of meeting the queen and king?"

"If you do meet them," she requests, "do not give them my regards. I would rather they know nothing of those who live and still breathe above them."

Exiting the jester's tomb, you have the option of continuing west (not taken) or heading north  (to return to the shrews). I want to confirm that you want the latter at this point.

It was possible they had, but the murals, wealth of the coffins, and bodies did not seem to match up. So she responded, "No, I don't think we have met them yet. Ladies in waiting, courtiers, a jester, and some unfortunate servants, but not the king and queen. I'll not send your regards if we do. Do you expect they would be displeased with what the Sisterhood is trying to do, or just a general dislike for the living?"

From the tomb, north, and circling around to the shrew room, to then go west.
We can come back to take that initial unknown west later, if it does not connect to our clockwise explorations.

"Not servants," Lisa Lisa corrects Vixl with a shake of her splendid bronze mask. "They would have been household slaves who would not have been permitted to live a day longer than the queen."

Forty feet past the former lair of the shrews, the passageway turns north and continues that way for many many steps. One hundred feet down, in the middle of the floor at this point is a large stone slab with a bronze ring bolted deeply into it, just where the parchment in the noble lady's burial room had pinpointed it.

The passage itself terminates twenty feet further to the north with no visible exits.

Parchment? I don’t remember a parchment with a map and image of a ring...

Eonwe trundles along in the middle of the group and pauses to keep an eye out when they stop at the stone slab.

Orum looks at Fodor and intones, "This is not the parchment you are looking for...."

As he walks away he says, "Well, that's how the elder Obie Windcanopy explained things away."

“Evidently that’s not the parchment we are looking for.” says Fodor.

Loran listens but remains quiet unless directly questioned.

Fodor seems to refocus - after zoning out for a second.  He doesn’t remember Orum saying anything; nor does he realize he said anything about parchment. Did Orum do something to him with the Helm of Telepathy?  What IS a Helm of Telepathy anyway?

He turns to Víxl and the others: “What is this? Any suggestions?”

l'Atreq, looks, listens and smells in stillness and silent while holding Ptah's symbol at the ready.

It's a trapdoor. Of that, there can be no question.

“Ah!  Perhaps the door to Tier 5? I assume we want to finish our sweep of this level before we head deeper?” Fodor asks/suggests to the Party. “I’m just not sure what we haven’t explored yet on this floor. I’m not great with maps.” He explains.

"Finishing any business on this floor would be good," agrees Loran.

Eonwe nods his agreement.

Tarrahn agrees.  "Yeah, before we go and find more undead and coffins,"

"The one Orum found in the bronze tube, remember?" she prompted him.
ooc- msg #777 in 'The Lost City' thread


"And I agree- it is probably the way down. But for now, yes, continue up here. Let's check the dead end down there for secret doors. Orum and I looking straight ahead, Eonwe and l'Atreq on the eastern side at the end, and Loran and Tarrahn on the eastern wall, 10' down from Eonwe's team. Fodor, you have guard. If we don't find anything here, then we backtrack to the entrance and take the western corridor. Does that sound reasonable?"

ooc- and of course, if there is one, the elves might find something just passing by.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:58, Wed 25 Jan 2023.

“Oh, yeah. The bronze tube.  Right.”  Fodor realized he needed to keep a closer eye on the thief. He realized he was only paying attention to undead things attacking him and attractive chicks painted on murals the past few days down here. The lack of sunlight and fresh air was definitely starting to mess with his mind.

“The plan sounds good! I’ll keep guard. Zippety-dippety-boo, let’s find a secret door or two!”

Loran seeks secret doors as bid.

l'Atreq works with Eonwe, looking for secret doors. He moves very slowly and carefully because he isn't sure he'd recognise a secret door if it kissed him.

Orum pitches in.

"Maybe we can ask the sisters if they know how many levels there are to this place, or if they know of an exit, or maybe any other useful information."

Tarrahn will inspect the walls for secret doors as directed by Vixl on the eastern wall.

Eonwe nods and moves up with l'Atreq to inspect their part of the wall.

Once again, Orum finds that his pardners prefer the work of his eyes and hands to that of his mouth. In the space of no time at all, he spots a depression within a stone brick high on the left side of the wall to which he applies the gentle pressure of his finger tips -- it gives to the distance of a half an inch.

With sweat beading on his brow, he awaits the inevitable crushing/slicing/poisoning that usually accompanies such daring exploits as his.

He waits.

He waits.

Still in one piece, he resumes his search and quickly spots an identical depression on a stone brick on the right side of the wall to which he also applies some gentle pressure -- it, too, gives a half an inch.

This time the wall groans and separate into two panels: each sliding into their adjoining walls. The air of past ages envelops the gnome and he chokes, dramatically, on the stale fumes.

Beyond lies the floor of a long, narrow room that has a red and white checkerboard pattern of 2'X 2' squares. Court scenes are painted on the north and south walls. In the east wall, there is a 2' high opening at floor level near the southeast corner.


(The secret door is in the SW corner)

"Sometimes the tiles on the floor are trapped or need to be walked in a specific manner," Orum murmurs. "if only we had a giant shrew to send in ahead of us, but such is the value of hindsight."

As they searched, Víxl responded to Orum. "You can ask. Perhaps you would have better luck than I did. They had almost nothing useful to say about the lower levels, and intimated that they personally never came down further than the tier they were at."

When the door was found, she exclaimed, "Well, it seems you DO have better luck!"

Smirking at the shrew comment, she suggests, "Let's toss something onto a square of each color. If nothing happens, then we can enter. An unlit torch should do, and we can recover it if nothing amiss happens."

In reply to Orum Copsetwinkle (msg # 26):
"I would've preferred not to send an 'acquaintance' of mine to a possible death.  I do get why that would be better to check it with something else besides us but, I have all the faith in your talents Orum!"

“Now THIS is where a 10 foot pole would come in handy.  Alas, unlit torches will have to do.  Who has the best underhanded aim with tossing torches?”

From the safety of the corridor, Fodor first tosses a torch onto the white square of stone (NW corner), and then, after no greater reaction than a billow of dust, he drops one on the red white square of stone (SW corner), itself causing a minor eruption of dust from the floor.

Orum looks at his gnome-sized staff. "Well, I TOLD her it was a ten foot pole," he murmured.

"I am thinking," he said louder as he poked at the closest square with his staff. "That a torch may not have the weight to trigger any traps. I mean, if I were building one anyway."

Rank by rank he will proceed, checking each square along the way.

Do we have some rope and a willing modest and mobile load to attach to the business end, say, a halfling?

V does not mind being cautious. She waits, and if Orum pronounces it safe, enters to explore the room.

With Orum having determined upon a course of action, he embarks upon it, roundly thumping each square in his path across the chamber. Having reached the ninth such square (5th one in the bottom row), a red one it so happens, he once again makes it feel the full weight and force of his staff, giving it a thumping smack that sends a ninth cloud of dust into the air. With no more happening than that, he steps on to the square, intending to repeat the procedure a tenth time -- if not for the precipitous descent of three scything pendulum blades from the ceiling, each dripping with a viscous green goo.

Orum, please roll under your dexterity on a d20 to avoid being scythed.

“Medic!”

16:08, Today: Orum Copsetwinkle rolled 1 using 1d20.  Should have kept the shrew!

"If I wasn't so humble I would produce a witticism about my skill and agility!" Orum said with a chuckle.

I should have asked which square you'd like to jump to?

Orum nimbly jumped directly backwards into the protective arms of his taller companions.

Breathing a sigh of relief at his successful dodge, Víxl enters the room, staying safely on the first two squares well away from the blades. "Is that green slime, or a poison?" she asks aloud, to anyone who could tell, readying an oil flask in case it was slime.

“Whew! I thought you were a goner, Orum. I thought you had fatally slipped into the falling blades, but that was actually an incredible dodge!”

OOC: (Mistakenly read that he needed to roll HIGH - thought 1 was CATASTROPHICALLY BAD, but it was actually THE BEST! I’m sometimes slow that way.)

The passage of a minute is enough to assure the tomb raiders that the green gunk coating the blades has not seen fit to constitute itself as a slime. It neither forms into a pool of a meaningful size and nor does it attempt to move towards Orum.

“I’m guessing it’s poison. I’m glad we didn’t need to Neutralize Poison to save Orum!”

l'Atreq joins in the round of applause for Orum's feat in escaping the blades, but then he asked, "Is it clear which squares are safe?"

"Well, an old-timey hero Dirk the Daring would wait until the blades were aligned and then push forward, if you know what I mean," Orum remarked.

Eonwe looks nervously on at the blades, wondering if his own levels of agility are enough to avoid being sliced up.

"If that is poison, I don't fancy the idea of everyone trying to jump through," she replied to Fodor, before turning to Orum. "Can the trigger for the blades be disarmed?" she asked him. "Or if not, maybe we could take something large and us it to block or stop them from swinging, like one of the empty coffins. Because if we can't stop them at all, then I'd say we backtrack to the start of the tier and start exploring the opposite direction since we have no defense against poison. Maybe we could come back later with a lot of oil flasks and try to set a fire to burn the gunk away. That might make risking a jump feasible.""

"Sounds good to me", agrees l'Atreq.  "Especially the bit where we don't go rushing through those gunk covered blades."

(OOC) Wait. Are the blades in constant (perpetual) swinging motion or did they come to rest in a straight down position? I thought the first set of blades had come to a stop and was now easily bypassed and the only ongoing concern was perhaps ANOTHER similar trap further into the room. No?

Orum perused the blades and the square that released them. Were they slowing, or even stopped? Did the square differ from those up to that point? How had they appeared, a sliding panel or pivoting wall?

The blades continue to scythe away. If they were to stop, Orum would have a 49% chance to disarm the trap.

Each of Orum's find traps attempts consumes a turn, so you've been in this chamber for an hour and a half so far.

At first glance, I don't think trying to block them with a sarcophagus would be feasible.

@Orum
Were they slowing, or even stopped? No, they've been in motion for 3+ minutes.

Did the square differ from those up to that point? No, they all appear to be identical, save for their color (red or white).

How had they appeared, a sliding panel or pivoting wall? A sliding panel in the ceiling.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:31, Sun 29 Jan 2023.

"If we cannot block or disarm them, and have no cure for poison, then we should leave this for another time. There is still the rest of the tier to explore," V shrugged. If someone had an idea how they could all pass safely, wonderful, but otherwise it was best to backtrack and move on.

“That works. Let’s go around if these blades will swing perpetually.”

"You would think that they would've stopped after few minutes.  It seems odd to me that it should have run out of steam by now or shortly.  Maybe we come back and see if it stops, or slows.  I now have access to neutralizing poison spells but, not today."

After retreating from the still-scything scythe, the outfit makes the long walk along the western side and then the southern side of the pyramid before turning north and doing the same. Before long, it has reached the unexplored northwestern area of the tier and another room.

The door to this room is scorched, as is the end of the corridor. The outline of a man-sized humanoid form is etched into the scorched wall section. The door to the room is slightly open, but not enough to see into the room.



That northern passage to the east leads to the burial chamber for the captain of the guard.

"I would recommend you pray for the neutralization spell and always keep that at hand. No other spell could be as vital," she suggested to Tarrahn, "and if it is ever needed, it is usually too late to put it in effect if it is not ready immediately," she added, thinking of their fallen snakebite comrade Alerasune.

Backtracking, to the start, and then to the next room, she looked curiously at the image. In a questioning tone, she said, "Presumably, the door was trapped and an explorer found that out the hard way? Orum, can you check to be sure it hasn't been reset? And everyone else, just be ready in case the scorched image animates."

Eonwe stands at the ready, away from the scorchmark awaiting an inspection from Orum.

l'Atreq muses and says."I believe I have resist fire prepared but would it be enough?"

"I will start doing that tomorrow Vixl," Tarrahn says as he looks upon the wall.  "I think it safe to presume that something bad happened on front of that door!"

Loran checks, "Everyone still alraight? Not needing any healing?"

(OOC) Looks like everyone is still at full HP and spells according to the Status Chart in The Infidels thread - unless I missed an update

Orum studies the scorched outline on the wall and the slightly ajar door and then renders his professional opinion that, yes, the trap, a glyph most like', had already been sprung.

With that assurance, Fodor pushes open the door the rest of the way to reveal another tomb on this tier of tombs:

Along the walls are paintings of a priest performing ceremonies. On a raised dais in the middle of the room lies an open bronze sarcophagus. Here, three hideous, beast-like humanoids are tearing a mummified body apart with their sharp claws.

They cross the room in great loping strides and are upon Fodor and l'Atreq before they can react, striking each with their fecal-flecked claws. Already their pointy tongues probe the freshly dug furrows to find the marrow they so hungrily seek.

Ghouls have AC 6.
Fodor and l'Atreq have entered the room and are blocking the doorway.
Ghoul A attacks Fodor and hits 1x for 1 dmg. Fodor must save vs. paralysis.
Ghoul B attacks l'Atreq and hits 2x for 4 dmg. l'Atreq must save vs. paralysis 2x.
Ghoul C misses l'Atreq 3x.

16:56, Today: Divine Words rolled 15,3,13,3,14,4 using d20,d3,d20,d3,d20,d6.  Ghoul v. L.
16:55, Today: Divine Words rolled 2 using 1d2.  1-F 2-L.
16:55, Today: Divine Words rolled 18,3,18,1,8,5 using d20,d3,d20,d3,d20,d6.  Ghoul v. l.
16:55, Today: Divine Words rolled 1,2,16,1,10,4 using d20,d3,d20,d3,d20,d6.  ghoul v. F.
16:52, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 2,3 using d6,d6.  init party v. Lost City.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:14, Tue 31 Jan 2023.

Orum steps back and prepares himself to pull anyone paralyzed from the room.

Fodor pulls out his long sword and raises his shield, but one of the ghouls gets several nasty attacks in. Before he can bring his sword arm around to attack, his arms and hands go numb, his body goes limp, and then all his muscles, other than those necessary to breathe and pump blood, freeze up. He doesn’t know if his sword or shield are still in his hands or if they have dropped. He can’t feel anything other than the creature tearing at his flesh. As he breathes, he can smell the fetid rot of the undead scavenger. He feels dizzy as he realizes he has no control of his body to balance himself against the weight of the creature.

As his eyes lose focus, he hears the entreaties of the Party’s clerics calling for divine aid. He also begins to hear a strange buzzing sound, almost like forest insects…but that makes no sense. It must be the paralysis affecting his hearing…
This message was last edited by the player at 02:26, Wed 01 Feb 2023.

Once he sees that Fodor is helpless, Tarrahn will cast Summon Swarm on the creature that attacked him.

Summon Insects
Druidic Conjuration/ Summoning
Level: Druid 3
Range: 30 ft
Duration: 1 round/ caster level
Area of Effect: See below
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 round
Saving Throw: None

70% chance that the swarm will be composed of flying
insects, 30% chance that the insects will be ants or other
non-airborne biting vermin. A flying swarm can move tremendously fast,
but a crawling swarm is limited to movement of 12 ft/ round. In either case,
the insects automatically inflict 2 hp damage per round against their target,
and the unfortunate victim will be so thickly covered as to
be incapable of any action, including movement. The druid
may redirect the swarm to attack another opponent, but
the command will cause 1 round of confusion within the
swarm as it reorients itself toward the new target
This message was last edited by the player at 14:13, Wed 01 Feb 2023.

Eonwe grasps his holy symbol of Nephthys and calls for divine aid.

Turn Undead on the ghouls.

13:14, Today: Eonwe rolled 13 using 1d20.  Turn Undead check.

Loran likewise calls upon divinity to repell the undead, "Begone, unclean bone-pickers!"

======
OOC: Fails
This message was last edited by the player at 00:29, Thu 02 Feb 2023.

21:03, Today: l'Atreq rolled 6 using 1d20.  Save v death, paralysis or Poison 1.
21:04, Today: l'Atreq rolled 2 using 1d20.  Save v death, paralysis or Poison 2.
[Target = 10]

[If that doesn't mean he's paralysed...]
In the unlikely event that the ghouls are still fighting, l'Atreq too draws his symbol and declares, "Begone foul ghouls in the name of Ptath."

21:09, Today: l'Atreq rolled 12 using 1d20.  Turn undead (target = 10+ for ghouls).
21:11, Today: l'Atreq rolled 3 using 1d3.  Number of ghouls turned.

Orum tugs at whichever of Fodor's extremities in furthest from the ghoul and the swarm.

Ghouls- one of the largest concerns she had had. And their most experienced cleric had been paralyzed. Now would be an exceptionally useful time to have that neutralize poison spell, she thought ruefully.

But if wishes were fishes... As it was, the best thing to do was strike hard, and hope her elven immunity was enough to hold them off until one of the other clerics mustered the faith to drive them back. She moved ahead, and swung hard. Fortunately, her concerns about such a foe meant she was well ready for their tactics, and her blade cut well.


(ooc)
23 to hit, 7 damage for the first attack.
23 to hit, 6 damage for the first attack.

And I am as astonished as everyone else.

(OOC) Must be the new keyboard!

And just like that, Vixl has killed her first ghoul.

Then, from hitherto unseen seams within the stonework, emerges a swarm of scarab beetles that carpets the ghoul that had been slavering over the fallen form of Fodor (2 dmg to Ghoul A) before Orum had yanked it out of reach. This ghoul now finds its attention to be otherwise occupied by the snapping and biting insects.

The third ghoul takes the space of the fallen one and attacks the ghoul-slayer, slashing her once (3 dmg).

Ghoul A
Ghoul B (2 dmg) -- Swarmed.
Ghoul C hits V. once for 3 dmg.

17:03, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 14,3,1,1,1,6 using d20,d3,d20,d3,d20,d6.  Ghoul C vs. V.

Loran tries to drive of the ghouls with divine inluence but fails again.

Tarrahn is obviously impressed with the first casting of the swarm spell.  He then turns his attention to the Ghoul attacking Vixl and then cast Faerie Fire on 'C'

The light itself is harmless, but a creature lined with faerie fire is easier to hit; any attacks against it are made with a bonus of +2.

Víxl was likewise impressed with the spell- both of them. Because as she switched to the other ghoul, she might have missed without the fey glow to guide her blade.


(ooc)
14 to hit, 6 points of damage.

Eonwe focuses on the one ghoul currently fighting the party and shoots off a bolt of magic.

Casting Magic Missile at the active Ghoul, hitting for 5hp damage.

22:26, Today: Eonwe rolled 5 using 1d4+1.  Magic Missile on active ghoul.

Sword and spell combine to down the last mobile ghoul after which the mobile members of the outfit fall upon the immobilized one and finish it off.

Once again, the last tombs of the lost city return to silence, save for the panting of the fighters and the faraway whistle of the desert winds.

l'Atreq and Fodor remain paralyzed, catatonic after their intimate encounter with the ghouls.

"This seems a rather dangerous place," comments Loran as she looks around for more threats. "Who requires healing?"

======
OOC: The "Infidels" character table doesn't have the latest sets of damage on it I think..
This message was last edited by the player at 14:39, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

Updated

Loran judges the the three wounded are only slightly so and that her modest healing capabilities would be better employed later.

Tarrahn nods in approval, "Very dangerous and deadly as our party has found since we found our way into this place from the desert outside."

Tarrahn helps to move his companions into or out of the room while they recover from their wounds.  He will also move the unmoving bodies of their enemies into a cluster away from them.

Fodor listens to the conversations around him. He doesn’t hear the buzzing insect noise anymore, which brings him comfort. He also doesn’t sense any ghouls on him. He tries to nod in agreement to what is said and he tries to say “Thank you,” but all he manages is a slight drool. Hopefully this paralysis isn’t his fate for the rest of his life. He dozes back off.

Orum takes the lull as an opportunity to check the room for traps, with a wary eye for glyphs, runes, markings, writing, and ESPECIALLY any ghouls that laid back while their brethen took the brunt of the Infidel's attacks.

In reply to Fodor (msg # 81):
Tarrahn will kneel down next to Fodor, use his sleeve to wipe away any excess drool, and smile at him.

l'Atreq just lies there, wishing he could blink.

Closing the door, the outfit decides to hide out in the priest's burial chamber with Tarrahn tenderly ministering to Fodor's personal hygiene and l'Atreq lying neglected next to him.

Meanwhile, Orum busies himself with a bit of a walkabout and finding no more ghouls, settles for liberating three items of jewellery from the sarcophagus, which the ghouls had stripped from the body they had been so intent on devouring. One is gold necklace inlaid with blue sapphires in the shape of lightning bolts which the priest must have proudly displayed across their chest when it had been full of life. There are also two bracelets, one with tiny black pearls in the pattern of a five-pointed star and the other is also a bracelet -- but with a sickle-shaped patter inlaid with golden yellow topaz. These must have adorned the holy man's wrists when he would have attended to the ecumenical needs of his flock.

Orum takes the loot back to the others, performing the mental gymnastics of appraisal in his head.

With everyone safely in the room for now, Víxl responds to Loran, "It may look less severe, but I could use a healing spell. And with two of us frozen, it is better to have as many people at full strength as possible in case we have unwanted visitors while we wait for mobility to return to everyone."

The items- it was more evidence that whatever their divisions are now, the three faiths did at one time did work together, and closely.

While Orum checked for traps, she looked for secret doors to pass the time until they were ready to move on.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

Eonwe nods and murmurs a prayer to Nephthys before laying a hand on Vixl's shoulder.

Casting Cure Light Wounds on Vixl, restoring him to full.

10:41, Today: Eonwe rolled 4 using 1d8.  CLW on Vixl.

Tarrahn will take notice of the sickle-shaped piece of jewelery before tending to wipe the snot or spittle from l'Atreq's face, if any.  "You both did well!  We won," he says to both offering inspirational reinforcement.

With Eonwe fulfilling the healing role Loran lapses back into silence.

Silence, in this case, would be the right choice. There is always the chance that ghouls or worse might smell the living and force themselves upon them. But the time passes silently enough, an hour and a half of it, until the two stricken members can abandon their sessile poses.

l'Atreq sat up and blinked sixty seven times until his eyes felt better and then said, "That could have been worse.  I think I should stop travelling at the very front lest something like that happens again.  Humans are not immune to the bites of ghouls it seems and if I am at the front and taken out before I can react, it becomes more difficult to reppel the undead."

Loran nods sympathetically to l'Atreq, "Glad you're all right."

Tarrahn will give a muffled clap as both of his party members regain the use of their bodies.  "Good as new and well done!"

Fodor stands and stretches. His muscles are still tight.

As he limbers up, he agrees with l’Atreq, “Yes. We do need to move you back to the second rank so you don’t get taken out too quickly. Go ahead and heal up, too! Those bites and gashes look like they might fester.”

“Who will do the honors of being in the front lines with me? Once that’s decided, I think we are ready to move on, Víxl.”

“Dilly, Dilly, Doh, I think we are almost ready to go.” Fodor pipes up, feeling more like himself.

"I've got this," Loran offers quietly as she tries to heal l'Atreq.

As you walk down the corridor, the shimmering, ghostlike figures of a man and a woman appear before you. They are dressed in costly clothing, and both wear golden crowns. The man raises his hand and gestures for you to stop.

"Go no further," he warns, "lest the curse of King Alexander overtake you!"

"I am Queen Zenobia," the woman says. "Turn back; only death awaits you!"

Infidels must save vs. spells or flee
Loran, if you want the status table to be updated, maybe don't hide your heals?


This message was last edited by the GM at 00:02, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

Eonwe considers the requests of the two well-dressed apparitions to be very reasonable and turns around running in the opposite direction.

11:14, Today: Eonwe rolled 5 using 1d20.  Save -v- spells.

Loran does her best to overtake Eonwe

"Tallies," Orum spat, watching his comrades flee.

He scrutinized the figures trying to discern what manner of illusion this be.


20:11, Today: Orum Copsetwinkle rolled 20 using 1d20+3.  Save vs spells need a 12.

Tarrahn lets out a less than manly Halfling scream and flees down the hallway.

20:53, Today: Tarrahn rolled 7 using 1d20.  Save vs. Spells (12).

Fodor tries not to run over Orum as he too turns and chases after Eonwe, Loran, and Tarrahn back up the hall in the direction from which we had come.

l'Atreq flees, being careful to avoid Orum whose bravery could make him an obstacle.

(OOC) surely Víxl will save successfully.

"Seriously?" Orum shouts. Maybe he can use the helm to im[plant a suggestion in one of the tallies that they are acting like his beret wearing cousin Pierre and should come be a part of Orum's resistance.

With nearly everyone else running, V does the only sane thing and stays with the majority of the party. "Dál, don't fanil tel'quiet Quor'She / Kyed (L)!" she shouted as she ran. "Let's go, Orum!"

If rational thought weas possible, then running back to the Sisters' was the most prudent course of action. They could rest after the sprint, recover spells, and determine a new marching order.



(ooc)

Fodor:

surely Víxl will save successfully.

Do not count on it. ^_^;
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Fri 10 Feb 2023.

All but Orum hightail it away from the spectral doomsayers for the nearest haven: the high priest's burial chamber with the partially eaten remains of the hierophant.

Once at a safe haven, we can wait a few moments to see if Orum came along. If so, wonderful- back upstairs to rest and rememorize- perhaps remove fear would be a good spell for the clerics to pray for.

If not, then go back for Orum.

Orum looked back at the cowardly tallies and Tarrahn. He took a couple of steps back. Then he reached out to the apparitions with the helm.....

PM to Orum

Orum kicked at a probably non-existent stone and then sauntered off after the Tall Comrades of Less Fortitude. And Tarrahn.

The outfit returns, after the one had collected the five others, to the safe haven of the Madarua maidens, whom they find to be preoccupied with burning incense in preparation for funereal rites for those who are certain to meet their doom within the final tombs of the lost city.

"And to think that even we had begun to tingle in anticipation of the change of seasons," laments Lisa Lisa as she casts a sweeping gaze over the infidels, the preference of her fancy impossible to determine owing to her gleaming bronze mask.

Loran asks, "What would you be able to tell us about 'Queen Zenobia', please?"

"And King Alexander," Orum adds.

“Other than how scary they are.” the brave fighter chimes in.

The maidens are too busy with their funereal preparations for the soon-to-be-departed to discuss ancient history.

Tarrahn finally seems to have been able to relax some after their last experience with the King & Queen.  "What do we do now guys?"

“I assume we go back and try to pass the King and Queen again, unless Víxl has a different suggestion. I’m not sure where we haven’t gone yet - other than through the swinging blades.”

"Maybe we can draw up a composite map of where we've explored?" suggests Loran. "Without that I have no sense of of the place."

"I agree with Loran", says l'Atreq.  "I feel lost but for the guidance of Ptah."

It is as Fodor says. You have two choices, not including the trapdoor to the next tier.

(OOC) Then back to the King and Queen encounter to see if we can pass. If anyone can cast Remove Fear - it’s worth having memorized if one or two of us need it. Worst case, we get feared again, run, and then decide a new path.

Leaving the maidens to their preparatory weeping and lamentations, the infidels walk the stone corridors back to where all but one had shrieked before the king and queen. There they are again:

The shimmering, ghostlike figures of a man and a woman appear before you. They are dressed in costly clothing, and both wear golden crowns. The man raises his hand and gestures for you to stop.

"Go no further," he warns, "lest the curse of King Alexander
overtake you!"

"I am Queen Zenobia," the woman says. "Turn back; only death awaits you!"

Without necessarily discounting either of their warnings, you walk right through them to the end of the serpentine hallway.

Loran keeps her sesnes peeled for any sign of secret doors.. failing which tries the hands-on approach too.

While death is indeed inevitable, Orum wishes for no acceleration to his. He uses his staff to probe the floor before him and his gnomish abilities to detect sloping floors, unsafe walls, floors, and ceilings and his well documented lack of fear to assure no scything blades will drop and bisect his companions.

@Loran, please specify where you intend to search for secret doors, presumably with Orum.

(OOC) Víxl hasn’t posted, but with her Elven ability and historic actions, she would be looking for secret and concealed doors too. Suggest we start at the dead end (?) exit from Room 28 and work our way back around the winding hall. Orum will lead the way looking for trap. Fodor will be up front with Orum in case anything attacks from ahead of us.  l’Atreq and Fodor would likely stand guard and allow the better Demi-Humans searchers to look for secret doors will guard the rear. The rest of the party will search along the left wall around the black area unless they indicate otherwise in their own post.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Sat 18 Feb 2023.

The dead end? But where would such a door lead? Remember each ten foot panel takes a turn to search.

I think V.'s without internet as she sets up shop in a new city.

After the floor of a square is declared safe by Orum Loran will step onto it and start searching at the southern wall of the apparent dead end then work back along the west wall to the corner (total 40 minutes) then will continue west, searching the outh wall (so +20 minutes for a total of 60mins).

In reply to The Lord of Divine Words (msg # 128):

(OOC) I’m not sure how to read the map. Is the far right/East side hallway not end at a dead end (black area)?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:34, Sat 18 Feb 2023.

l'Atreq will indeed stand guard, while considering why there would be a fear spell protecting what seems to be nothing at all.

@Fodor--See #97. It leads back to known areas with the closest being the former ghoul habitat. Since you know that it's not a dead end, do you want to revise your search parameters? The entire west border can be dismissed as the border of the tier.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:30, Sat 18 Feb 2023.

Tarrahn will stand watch with l'Atreq.  "I'm glad those images didn't try to scare us away again.  I thought I was going to soil my little pants."

"And why only once?" wondered l'Atreq.

Having no answer for the frequency Loran still ponders what the images, the spell was intended to protect. She announces, "We should be looking for a trap door. Floor or ceiling, not sure. That's assuming the illusion wasn't merely some rich ruler's folly."

Aftr it's been trap-swept Loran she searches the floor* for secret doors from the dead end working backwards.

======
OOC: *Unless the tier beneath them is already searched/known in which case she tries the ceiling.

l'Atreq stands back, watching Loran now, in case she finds something horribly undead for him to put down before it can get her.

So are we talking 19 squares (from the dead end to the one marked 25a on the map)? That would be 190 minutes and 9 checks for wandering residents.

(OOC) I count 16 squares and we are only checking the wall on our left as we walk around.

Following Orum's program the eight eastern-facing wall sections are searched but nothing is found (starting with 25A and going north). Do you wish to search another set?

The floor of this long, narrow room has a red and white checkerboard pattern of 2'X 2' squares. Court scenes are painted on the north and south walls. In the east wall, there is a 2' high opening at floor level near the southeast corner.

Near the middle of the room some viscous goo has formed an innocuous puddle.

The drippy scythes that had driven you from the chamber before are nowhere to be seen, presumably having been retracted into their hidey holes.



Red dots indicate the red squares. Blotchy square is where the scythes had swung (but not in perpetuity).

Sticking to the white squares, and with a cautious eye towards where the blades had descended before, Orum proceeds. Checking for traps, probing with his staff.

V welcomed back Orum to the Maiden's refuge. No doubt he had been right behind them, but his stubby legs prevented him from keeping pace. She makes a mental note to ensure he was not left behind next time.

The time spent healing and preparing was a fruitful one, as some of the magics she was working on bore fruit, and the spell she had been working on finally jelled.

Eventually, it was time to return. She went along with the others, but was still giddy about the increasing ability, so did not add much to the conversation. It was a pleasant surprise that the ghosts let them pass, and that finally prompted her to speak up. "l'Atreq, it is possible that they issued their warning, and feel that since we have chosen to disregard us, the consequences are now ours to bear. Or perhaps we were just better prepared this time, knowing they were here. Maybe we can have more of a discussion of them later."

With nothing of interest found at the dead end, it seemed the only logical place left was the pendulums. She had already suggested trying to use a coffin to block the blades, but for one reason or another, that had not happened. So, it was time to observe the situation anew.

"We know it's not traditional green slime, so likely a poison. But there are all sorts of poisons, sleeping, injury, death, and more. Plus this has been here for quite some time, and most poisons lose efficacy the longer they are exposed, correct. Tarrahn, do you have a neutralize poison spell in memory? If so, we can test to see what kind and how deadly the poison is. If it is fatal, then I would suggest we move on and leave this until we are better prepared, since there were so many pendulums that even if Orum disables some, some will have to strike. But if it is not fatal, then we can press on, and heal once we get past the blades. If you need to pray for the spell, we should be able to wait here and guard you for the next few hours."

Skipping from one white stone to the next diagonally-placed one, Orum nearly reaches the narrowing of the chamber at which point he realizes he can't avoid stepping on a red stone (the fourth one on the first row) and pauses his progress.  That stone acknowledges the tapping of his staff with a puff of dust.

I think a sarcophagus would be too cumbersome and heavy to be brandished as protection.

In reply to Vixl (msg # 142):
Tarrahan shrugs apologetically to Vixl.  "I would have chosen more wisely if I knew that we were coming this way.  The insect spell worked so well, I took it again!  We could come back or wait for me to change it?"

(OOC) How much area do the swinging blades take up when they are triggered? Do they just swing over the red block or endanger the white blocks around it? I just don’t remember how much area they covered last time Orum triggered one set.

Is there no way just to step from corner to corner without stepping on the red block? Or, if we intentionally trigger the blades, from previous experience, would it be possible to jump past and get to the white block?

Am I correct in interpreting that the opening is only two feet high, so we will have to crawl through? Or is it a ledge that is two feet high and we have to go over?

(OOC) How much area do the swinging blades take up when they are triggered? Do they just swing over the red block or endanger the white blocks around it? I just don’t remember how much area they covered last time Orum triggered one set.

They do not endanger the white blocks.

Is there no way just to step from corner to corner without stepping on the red block?

Correct. Short of something like Spider Climb or Levitation, I suppose.

Or, if we intentionally trigger the blades, from previous experience, would it be possible to jump past and get to the white block?

Yes, I think it was a d20 dex check.

Am I correct in interpreting that the opening is only two feet high, so we will have to crawl through? Or is it a ledge that is two feet high and we have to go over?

It's in the very SE part of the chamber. Once you reach it, you will have to CRAWL through it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Fri 24 Feb 2023.

"The insects no doubt saved some lives, so you shouldn't regret having it prepared. But I would feel a lot more secure if we had a way to neutralize poison before trying to leap through possibly tainted blades. So if we cannot block the blades, and if Orum cannot disable them from coming, then I would suggest we wait, pray once more, and continue after we test the potency. Whatever is past the traps is not going anywhere, after all."

She looked at the others, "But that's just one opinion."

Tarrahn nods his head to Vixl's statement.  "I respect your input Vixl and I'm not opposed for insight.  I only can cast a very limited number of spells of that strength daily.  If we're going to do something specific and that is something that I can do to help, just let me know and I will make sure it is in my repertoire.  Combat is not my thing but, I will do anything to support you guys with whatever we may need!"

“Hey Diddily Dee, I must agree. Before Orum jumps - and even though he will obviously make it no problemo - let’s camp and memorize new spells. Just in case.”

The infidels camp with no incident save the passage of time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:22, Sun 26 Feb 2023.

In reply to Fodor (msg # 149):

"Before camping, is any one still injured?" asks Loran. "I have a couple more healing spells!"

After Loran's healing and the resting, assuming Tarrahn does now have the neutralize poison memorized, V is fine moving forward with her plan from before- testing the poison to see how deadly it is. "Please have the healing and neutralize spells ready if I fall," she grinned.

She would go to the square the trap was triggered at before, and step on it, then try to stay back and only be nicked by the blade, rather than severed. If the poison was weak, then they could try to dodge past the traps and continue forward. If it was deadly, then this area was better left to another time when they had more cures available.


(ooc)
The alternative was just trying to dodge through, and use the cure if anyone failed the roll, but given the bad rolls for the fear, I don't want to chance two people failing and us not being able to help one or more of them, or having the party otherwise split up. Better to know if we should chance it or not.

With a residual glop of goo still glistening green upon the red stone tile, Vixl forgoes summoning the blades from the ceiling above and instead coats the upper extremity of some handy appendage or other, before proceeding to test the substance for toxic properties in the usual ways: eye contact, skin contact, inhalation, and ingestion. With lachrymose eyes, blotchy skin, and offended nose, she embarks upon the final method, slathering one of her travel biscuits with the dungeon topping and taking a hearty biscuit-crunching bite. Several tense minutes pass with Vixl evincing no greater evidence of discomfort other than digestive rumbling, the slime not having previously crossed her palate. More minutes pass and not even her stomach takes further notice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:01, Sun 26 Feb 2023.

After enough time had passed that she was certain the poison was not delayed, she relaxed considerably. "If it was a poison, it has long since become inefficacious. All it is good for now is making sub-par dungeon slime pastries. So, it seems 'safe' enough to proceed. We can try to avoid the blades as best as possible, healing those struck as we need, and completely curing when the far side is reached."

"We should follow Orum's path as closely as possible, to avoid as much as we can," she added, readying her gear to proceed onward.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:27, Tue 28 Feb 2023.

Orum scrutinized the small passageway out. Not a good day to be a tallie, he thought. He looked for whether or not it was carved, natrually made, worn in anyway, charred, bloodstained and such. Not much fun if the real trap was in a tight space.

With his genetic and professional inclination for engineering, Orum formulates a hypothesis to explain the 2' high opening in the east wall: 10' square ceiling blocks had been designed to fall and block access to the chambers beyond, sealing them from raiders, infidels, and other desert riffraff. However one block failed to complete its descent, leaving a 2' crawlspace between the floor and the bottom of the rock. It looks that block's not about to budge from its resting place. It's probably still on a siesta. Probably.

(OOC) So, we still have red floor trap plates that trigger blades (presumably) on each side of the partially dropped block? DEX roll can avoid blades but we still have to crawl 1-2 at a time under the block and onto another red plate once we clear the block?

Orum didn't find a trigger plate on the stone at the western entrance to the crawlspace. There is a 2nd level cleric spell that is sometimes used in such situations.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:33, Wed 01 Mar 2023.

l'Atreq, divinely inspired, tried a cleric spell that is often used in these situations.  Some clerics use it right off the bat but l'Atreq believes in letting people with better skills try to use them.

Casts, Find Traps and moves to see if he can find the trigger.
EDIT:  Made the previous line to this one Orange
This message was last edited by the player at 12:54, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

At l'Atreq's invitation, an ultramarine bull takes shape next to him before clomping across the room, its hooves striking the red and white stones with divine force. Those hooves, however, do not strike every stone; they skip ever so gracefully across three of the red ones, three that form a V-shaped pattern in the middle of the corridor-like room.

l'Atreq follows in the bull's footsteps,urging the others to follow him.  Reaching the end he looks in despair at the jammed trap, hoping the bull will show him the way it works.

It's not a jammed trap but a jammed block, one that failed to complete its fall, thus preventing the chamber beyond from being sealed off. Certainly, l'Atreq knows of the trickery and techniques deployed to conceal the tombs of the most exalted.

A 2' high crawlspace remains between the floor and the bottom of the block for any who wish to chance it.

If no trap on the other side has been identified, Fodor will go first. He will plan to stand guard on the other side while the rest of the party follows. Hopefully, Orum may be able to find a way to remove or disarm traps on the other side of the block to prevent the block from dropping the rest of the way.

“Here. Keep my sword for the moment. You can toss it through when I get to the other side. No sense having it lost or crushed if the block releases while I’m under it.” Fodor hands his sword to Orum. If the space is too tight, he’ll leave his backpack or any other gear as necessary to slide under the block.

No sooner have the infidels, with Fodor in the vanguard, traversed the crawlspace, paying its creaks and groans no mind, they discover another obstacle to their progress: two stone blocks have cracked into rubble blocking further progress east across the chamber. It looks like the slumber of the most exalted ones is safe from the desert rats after all.

“Well Hey Diddly Diddle, now we’ve got ourselves a Riddle!“

“Alright, Víxl! You seem to know your way around here. Perhaps there is another way in. Secret door on this floor or one above or below?”

"Possibly the room with the ghouls or the shadows have a secret door that connects, or, depending on how far east this goes, the long corridor could as well. But we are already here. Can that rubble be safely moved to open up enough to continue forward without further collapse? If so, we can pass it back down the line and throw it into the trapped room to allow maneuverability. We've crawled this far, a bit more won't hurt," she suggests.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:51, Sat 04 Mar 2023.

Orum considers the rubble pile, hand on chin. Does it look safe to move/mess with? As in, will it roll down on the movers, or possibly allow the block they crawled under to drop?

If only we had a Dwarf, Fodor thinks to himself…

“I can start moving a few rocks at a time from the top of the pile to see if it’s possible to make headway and see if things aRE stable enough to continue.”
This message was last edited by the player at 16:15, Sat 04 Mar 2023.

Tentative at first, the fear of breaking fingernails foremost on the minds of the laborers, the work soon commences in earnest and the rubble is cleared within fifteen minutes, long enough for the observers to daydream about the change of seasons (which must be more nigh ever it has been before) but not long enough for the fantasies to reach a satisfying conclusion.

After establishing a valley of sorts between the walls of crumbled stone, you advance through narrow, twisting passageway. With no reason not to delay, you proceed through the door at its end:

This room contains two large sarcophagi. Both gleam with golden highlights. One sarcophagus is marked "Alexander," the other is marked "Zenobia." Surrounding the sarcophagi are a number of large wooden chests. The room is littered with broken objects: two smashed thrones, a broken chariot, smashed pottery, broken weapons, and torn clothing. Piles of bones cover the floor. On the walls is a mosaic showing famous events from the reign of King Alexander and Queen Zenobia.

“Why do I get the sinking feeling that the King and Queen in the sarcophagi are responsible for the damage and the bones in here…”

"Keep in mind that retreat from this place will be most difficult," Orum cautioned.

He reached out with the Helm of Telepathy for any notions or dreams coming from the sarcophagi.

Silence pervades the tomb, telepathic and otherwise.

"I don't think so, Fodor. It's more likely that they were destroyed and buried so the royal couple could use them in the afterlife. And it seems like far too many bones to all be tomb robbers. Some perhaps, but not most. Besides, didn't we see their spirits elsewhere?" Víxl inquired.

"What I think is more likely is that traps are still all around us. l'Atreq, is your spell still in effect, or did it cease while we cleared rubble?"

If the spell was still active, perfect. If not, they would have to rely on Orum's considerable expertise in this area.

"I'd suggest we have the clerics keep a very close eye on the sarcophagi, but for now, we should not touch them. The rest of us check the chests and see if anything is left of value in the debris after Orum or l'Atreq has given us their assent."

As the traps were being detected, she would take a quick walk around the walls to see if any secret passages popped up to her elven vision, just in case a tomb guardian was prepared to defend the interred royals.

"And definitely, check the chests for false bottoms, or for hidden spaces in the thrones."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:17, Sun 05 Mar 2023.

The chests appear to have been emptied long ago if they had ever contained anything.

After Vixl perambulates in that racial way of hers, she shakes her head. She didn't detect any hidden doors this time around.

Find Traps has a 3 turn duration. The sacred bull of Ptah makes no appearance.

“I was hoping the rubble and the block trap were triggered by the last tomb raiders, who got stuck in here and were not able to make off with any loot - and perhaps died from whatever came out of the coffins. But no loot in here, so far, isn’t encouraging.”

No other doors or adjoining rooms out of here?

“Let’s finish searching before we brave opening one of the coffins.”

Taking a step back, Orum said, "You have to open the sarcophagi."

“Me?” Have we finished searching everything else?

V nodded in agreement with Fodor. It definitely looked like some enterprising tomb raider had gotten here first. With nothing found, it seemed that the Orum was right- the sarcophagi were all that was left to explore.

“Not just you- all of us. This looks to be the last of things. So the same as before, I think. Clerics stand back ready to turn, the rest of us right there ready with weapons and fire in case anything moves.” Privately, she didn’t expect there to be undead within, thinking that if there were, they probably would have stopped their treasures from being looted, assuming the chests has held some in the first place. But it was better to keep the thought to herself, so as not to give a reason for anyone’s guard to be down. “Let’s start with the King. The Sisterhood didn’t want to talk about the Queen. Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
This message was last edited by the player at 06:58, Sun 05 Mar 2023.

l'Atreq says, "I see no traps in here but there can't be long before the spell runs out, so we need to be careful."

“Heave Ho, The King’s Cover Must GO!” Fodor will try to slide the top of the sarcophagus off, with assistance from any others, except l’Atreq, our most experienced cleric who needs to be prepared to turn per Víxl’s recommendation..

The sarcophagus is made of wood, painted to look like gold, something even Fodor can deduce when the lid flies off with far less muscle than he had needed to apply. Still, his eyes light up when he beholds the treasures within, gleaming iridescently before him: the fortune of Cynidicea, his for the taking. He takes less notice of the mummy buried beneath the booty, its face desiccated beyond recognition.

"Stir it all about and if someone has Detect Magic to glean if any is of true value, we can ignore the rest. Fakes and counterfeits," Orum adds.

Eonwe waits as the others check through the treasure in the coffin, ready to call on his deity's aid if the residents should stir.

Tarrahn stands amazes at the find.  "All of this treasure we've found and we can't spend a copper of it in a good trading post store.  Just seems ironic!"

He helps to sort out with the others.

It's all dross, per Orum.

Does Room 33 have walls or any doors out?

OOC: Or secret ones that elves might descover?

@Fodor -- Just the one by which you entered.

@Loran -- Her walkabout didn't turn any up.

"This doesn't make sense," V said. "Wood painted with gold, and Orum says this is worthless? A noble we found earlier had a slew of jewels adorning the coffin, and you would think the king and queen would have merited at least that. Even assuming earlier raiders took valuables from the chests, the sarcophagi don't look marked up, like gems have been pried away. I don't think this is their real tomb. Either a fake to prevent discovery, or a fake created so when the afterlife comes for them, it goes after the wrong beings." She hesitated, then added, "Although it is also possible that they were not revered, and burying them like this was a final insult. The Sisterhood were not interested in discussing the queen, after all, and that could be another reason that all the items they might want in the afterlife have been destroyed."

A shrug, and then, "Still, if there is another tomb, there's a few places it could be, or it could be deeper in the pyramid. Other than hidden areas, it seems we have searched this entire tier. So, lets do a search for secret doors and passages, here and those other areas. For here- myself and Fodor to the north, Loran and l'Atreq to the east, and Eonwe and Orum to the south. If nothing is found, we can try those other areas."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:48, Mon 06 Mar 2023.

“We only opened the King’s sarcophagus. Same procedure with the Queen sarcophagus, then search for doors as suggested by Víxl?”

(OOC) unless the description of finding nothing applied to both sarcophagi.

In full command of the situation, Vixl easily locates the secret door on the northern wall, pushing in the anomalous stone and watching the door slide away with a satisfying scraping of stone on stone. Loran and l'Atreq do not duplicate her success. An ell-shaped corridor, untrodden for centuries until the intrusion of the infidels, leads from the false tomb to the true one. Perhaps, the king and queen had become estranged in their final days; this does not look to be a conjugal crypt, only having the one resting place.



The walls of this room are plain stone. An oblong box made from stone slabs lies in the center of the room. Written in several languages on the side of the box are the words: "May the curse of darkness destroy all who dare desecrate my resting place." The box is 3' high, 7' long, and 5' wide.

Do you dare?
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:02, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

Orum splits the difference between the walls and the slabs as he circles counterclockwise. Poking, glaring, sniffing, all in the quest to detect possible threats.

(ooc)

Fodor:

We only opened the King’s sarcophagus. Same procedure with the Queen sarcophagus, then search for doors as suggested by Víxl?”

My reading was that it applied to both coffins, not just the king's, but you are right. So, definitely yes, we should check the queen's before opening anything in the next room.



(ic)
Seeing the solitary tomb, she says, "Only one crypt? Then there should still be one more to find." She walks by the walls in here, once more just to see if something pops out at her. She also checks the walls as she does so to see if they have any scenes on them, or anything that might identify if this is the resting place of the King, the Queen, or someone else entirely.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:35, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

"Think there might be anything underneath the sarcofagi?" speculates Loran.

“All good ideas! We should check under the one or more sarcophagi we’ve already opened. And we should check under any newly discovered ones after we’ve searched their interiors.”

The walls are without murals.

The contents of the other sarcophagus in 33 duplicated the first one. Nothing is beneath either of them.

Vixl's walkabout in 32 turns up no new secret doors.

“If there is a potential curse of darkness, we need to be ready with light. Spells or torches? Who has what?”

Once the party is ready to counter darkness, we’ll proceed again unless Víxl or someone else thinks that’s a bad idea.  Fodor will wait for everyone to pipe in or prepare.  He practices his coffin lids removing ritual, but doesn’t do so yet…

“Heave Ho, Once Mo, The Cover to this Coffin, Must GO!” Fodor rehearses his lines.

"I have light" says l'Atreq, "but still don't recommend we risk it since it could be an actual curse, which will need to be removed."

“Ah. Good point! Is that what you were talking about before? That it would be a long time before you could deal with curses? When can you remove curses?”

It's a 3rd-level cleric spell.

"Months", says l'Atreq, "A year if I'm unlucky".

OOC 1273XP

More like 8523 to reach 5th level.

“Ah. So no time soon. Shame.  Ok.  Let’s come back later. For now, let’s search for the one last room and real sarcophagus before we head down further.”

Loran shrugs and nods her agreement.

======
OOC: I wish! Something like +1420xp for a full L2 here!

In reply to Fodor (msg # 203):

Okay. Where do you want to search for it? Are the last posted maps sufficient?

l'Atreq too agrees but then he won't be doing the searching.

V considered. "That is a good point. I considered it more of a warning than a curse-curse, but it could well be more. That said, I personally still think we should risk it. But that does not seem to be the consensus. So how about this- we go looking for any other secret doors, then go rest. Someone memorizes a detect magic spell and we come back here. If the box is cursed, it should radiate magic. And if it is, then we leave it alone and go down to the next tier. If it doesn't, then we open it. Is that acceptable?"

If so, then they could go recheck for secret doors. First in the false tomb since we did not find both true resting places, just the one, so check once more on the east and south walls.

If nothing is found, depart and go to room 35. Check the north wall for secret doors.
If nothing is found, take the secret door to the east and walk that corridor, and the corridor that turns north to 39. I would like to check those for secret doors, but it is probably too great an area to spend the time on, So just have the elves and gnome walk it twice, and see if anything jumps out, while the humans stay alert for wanderers.


(ooc)
Map is in msg #971 of the last ooc thread if anyone wants to look and suggest anywhere else.

The false tomb room is somewhere between 38 and 35, and the true crypt is somewhere between 28 and 38.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:18, Fri 10 Mar 2023.

“That works.”

Having already spotted the anomalous stone in the northern wall, the second, on the southern wall, could hardly escape detection. Depressing it, again, causes a section of the stone wall to slide away with a scraping sound no less satisfying than the first one that had been heard with the disappearance of its northern counterpart.

Following the exposed passageway soon reveals a symmetry of design within these the final tombs of the lost city, confirmed upon the opening of the door at the end of the ell-shaped corridor. No time, however, is allowed for the appreciation of the architectural panache. Neither was it ever intended to be appreciated, for you are infidels who, with each one of your dirty little steps and repellant exhalations, befoul the most sacred tombs of the Cynidiceans:

The walls of this room are bare. In the center of the room is an oblong box made from stone slabs. Suddenly, rising out of the stone box is a translucent, ghost-like figure. The pale figure has glowing red eyes and a large, dark mouth.

It wails, its otherworldly notes promising to suck you out of one world and into the only other one.

The infidels may act first.
The spirit has an AC of 3, is beyond the power of your clerics to turn, and is like nothing you have ever encountered before.
14:20, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 3 using 1d6.  Init: party 1-3 lost city 4-6.

Between the ghost and the darkness, they stumbled into an area beyond their present capabilities.

With it being outside the clerics ability to affect it, and precious few magic weapons available, V suggests a hasty retreat from here. (and that includes non-tallies.)

Loran withdraws as Vixl syuggests.

Orum backs away, nonetheless maintaining an eye on the apparition. Within his limited expertise, does it appear that it may indeed have the delicate bouquet of illusion?

Having a magic sword, Fodor covers everyone else’s retreat and does so as well - if feasible.

There will be NO argument from Tarrahn about leaving the area.  He backs out at the best speed that he can.  "At least I didn't almost soil my britches this time!"

l'Atreq runs away.

The outfit decides to relocate to the false tomb, with the last member closing the door the to royal tomb on the way out. While the skirling spirit's shrieking continues without cessation, the distance afforded by the interceding corridor seems to be a sufficient buffer; the notes prick but do not pierce.

"Can one of you create a zone of silence, perhaps?" Orum asked

"Not I," answers Loran.

"A brilliant idea, Orum. For now though, Let's get back to looking for the secret doors. Then when we go and rest to pray for a detect magic spell, that would be an ideal time to memorize the silence spell as well."

(ooc)
We found the other real tomb, so the previous location to look for secret doors is no longer applicable. The only likely places left is the area between rooms 25, 28, and 31, and also to the sides of the very long corridor that 39 and 40 connect to. Since those are considerably large search areas, I would recommend we just go walk them both twice and see if anything comes up.
If something does, wonderful.
If no, then we go back to the Sisters, rest and pray, and then come back to the tombs. Perhaps the silence will be enough to neutralize it, but if not, whatever spells would be best to defeat a spirit of some sort would be best if available, or that would help support someone who can engage it in combat if unavailable.
(This would be an ideal time for the mages to have magic missile memorized, but I understand Eonwe preferring to keep the spell to himself.)

"Silence is so far beyond me as to be on the moon," comments Loran as she wishes she was better at all this.

"Ptah grants me Silence," says l'Atreq, "Unless, of course, he's angry with me."

Refreshed and respelled, the outfit returns to the false tomb on the fourth tier of the pyramid, with the sisters having studiously avoided noticing them, save for Lisa Lisa who objects, "If they be ghosts, would they still eat our food and make waste in our pots?" If anything, this objection seems to trouble the maidens even further.

Alright, what's your plan? Let me know all the prep you want to do before opening the southern door again.

l'Atreq will:
a)  Bless the party just before entering the chamber;
b)  Cast Silence 15' radius on the sarcophagus before Orum tries to open it;
c)  Still before Orum opens it, move out of range of the silence, ready to cast light in response to the darkness;
d)  Once light is cast or if there is no darkness, he will begin a Chant which he will maintain as long as he can.

The spirit came up before anyone tried to open anything, so if I can offer a change to that l'Atreq, and add a few more suggestions?

1)
l'Atreq casts bless.
V lights a torch.

2)
l'Atreq casts silence 15' rd on a separate torch held by Orum who stands 20' away from us.
V casts protection from evil on Fodor.
Tarrahn casts Barkskin on Fodor.

3)
Fodor, Orum, and V go into the room. Assuming the spirit rises again, combat.
l'Atreq casts chant.
Tarrahn casts faerie fire on ghost.
Eonwyn casts magic missile.
Fodor attacks with magic weapon.
Orum stays behind Fodor, keeping the spirit within the silence.
V sees if fire from the lit torch can injure the ghost.

4)
Tarrahn casts shillelegh then joins the melee.
If fire doesn't hurt it, then V moves out of the room, and casts protection from evil on Tarrahn.
If the fire hurts it, then Loran and Eonwe can likewise join in with it, or wait outside the room to heal Fodor if the spirit has attacks other than the wailing.

We see how things go, since we have no idea what attacks or effects the creature has. Obviously, if it paralyzes or energy drains, we will need to make quick changes based on that.

We may also want to just spend a round or two and see how it goes, then flee, since it did not follow us before. If the fire hurts it, mundane weapons might as well and that allows a lot more of us to assist. If not, and only magic works, then we might need more spiritual weapons and shillelaghs. But if the wail is the only attack it makes, then no need for spiritual weapons or chanting- just memorize many silence spells to give Fodor enough rounds to bring it down.

And obviously, you all know your characters better than I do, so if you have a better plan for what they should do, of course that trumps what I've suggested.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:00, Mon 13 Mar 2023.

"Chant doesn't work in Silence," says l'Atreq, "but apart from that, I agree 100%.  I'll only use chant if the creature leaves the area around the torch."

"Orun would have moved into the room with the silence spell, so you would not be in a silenced area and could use chant, no? It has double the radius? But if you mean that they must hear the chant themselves, instead of just your god hearing your prayer, then yes, you are right. The chant would be of no use. But your spiritual weapon would definitely be of use if you are not chanting."

"Orum enters the room and tosses the torch with silence up to the sarcophagus and in no way risks his hide by getting anywhere near the spook who has us all nervous. also assuming we have no holy water, silver weapons, or such?"

Loran lurks ner the back prepared to mend the wounds of those that need it.

"The problem with just throwing the torch in is that the radius of the silence will not cover the entire room, and we also don't know for certain that it won't try to leave the room. So someone needs to carry it and ensure it keeps the spirit in area of effect. Staying behind Fodor seems to be sufficient to protect one's hide," V pointed out. "If you are not willing to do so, someone else will have to, but most of the others are already engaged in spells, or melee, so we would lose that. If you won't change your mind, Loran perhaps?"

"As for silver and holy items, I have none, so was going to try the fire."

"Sure. Tell me what you want me to do, V!" she agrees.

"Perfect- then you carry the silence torch. If you want to try attacking the spirit with the torch, wonderful, but if you're concerned, stay behind Fodor for protection, but near enough to the spirit to keep its wail muted. If fire does not work against it, then after I cast a protection spell on Tarrahn, I can switch places with you, so you can exit and be ready to heal anyone if the spirit has other attacks."

"Agreed! I will do that."

"Agreed, Vixl", says l'Atreq.  "I will use my spiritual weapon.  Now you know why I was carrying a warhammer I never used."

Tarrahn nods reluctantly, "We'll give a shot then V.  We can always run away, again."

Sure in the efficacy of their preparations, the raiders of the lost city once again open the door to the royal tomb, this time adding to the silence of the tombs rather than disturbing it.

The spirit remains where you last saw it, its mouth still gaping in mid-scream.

14:10, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 1 using 1d6.  Init: party 1-3 lost city 4-6.
Party has won init and my act first.
Spirit has an AC of 3.
Party is blessed: +1 to hit for 4 rounds
Fodor is protected from evil for 7 rounds (-2 to attacks from evil things)
Fodor has barky skin for 7 rounds (+1 AC and non-spell saves)

As planned, Fodor moves forward to attack the silenced howling undead spirit. With his weapon specialization, he gets two swings in and one appears to strike true.

Friday: Fodor rolled 6,6,21,7 using d20+5,d8+4,d20+5,d8+4.  Longsword +1, Double Attack (1/2 & 2/2) - blessed (+1 to hit included). One attack appears to hit for 7 hp of damage.

Víxl casts protection from evil on Tarrahn.


(ooc)
Next round she will be trading places with Loran.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:40, Sat 18 Mar 2023.

Loran waits ready but patiently.

Per Vixl's plan, Tarrahn will cast Faerie Fire on the spirit/ghost.

@Tarrahn: can you update your post to reflect spell effect & duration of the Faerie Fire (+2 to hit; how many rounds?). Thx! And did it have effect this round or starting with next?

l'Atreq casts Spiritual Weapon and joins in the fun, albeith from a distance.

Orum looks at his weapons and instead makes ready to pull anyone who falls from the fray.

<Posted by LODW>

Remembering her instructions, Eonwe casts her lone offensive spell, magic missile, at the spirit (2 dmg).
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:48, Sun 19 Mar 2023.

Through all that transpires, the spirit remains fixed in place, unwavering, its mouth frozen in the middle of a scream that needs not be heard to be felt.

Executing their plan, the members of the outfit do their utmost to both destroy the spirit and protect themselves from its maleficence.  They make some progress with the former (7 dmg to spirit from Fodor), but their efforts prove less than they might have hoped for the latter, for the spirit's assault on them is not entirely auditory in nature.

Tarrahn casts FF on spirit (+2 to attacks made against spirit)
Fodor hits spirit for 7 dmg.
V casts Protection from Evil on Tarrahn.
Loran passes.
l'Atreq casts Spiritual Weapon.
Eonwe casts MM and does 2 dmg to spirit.

Spirit continues silently scream:
1 dmg to E.
6 dmg to F.
6 dmg to l'Atreq
1 dmg to Loran
5 dmg to Orum
6 dmg to T.
3 dmg to V.

Spirit has an AC of 3.
Party is blessed: +1 to hit for 3 rounds
Fodor and Tarrahn are protected from evil for 6/5 rnds (-2 to attacks from evil things)
Fodor has barky skin for 6 rounds (+1 AC and non-spell saves)
10:36, Today: The Lord of Divine Words, on behalf of Eonwe, rolled 2 using 1d4+1.  MM.
10:38, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 1,6,6,1,5,6,3 using d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6.  Silent Scream Damage.

Loran swishes the torch around in an arc and manages to avoid setting fire to the party but isn't a risk to the spirit even for a second.

l'Atreq brings his spiritual hammer to bear on the spirit.  He can feel a palpable hit but he can feel the silent scream trying to tear him apart, so much for silence.  He grits his teeth and prepares to carry on.

16:21, Today: l'Atreq rolled 22 using 1d20+3.  To hit spirit (faerie fired plus blessed) target 14.
16:22, Today: l'Atreq rolled 7 using 1d6+3.  Damage Hammer (1d6+1) spiritual +1 Blessed +1.

I trust critical is impossible?

Víxl waves to Orum, Loran, and Eonwe to pull back and get away. Whatever this creature's wail is, it is considerably powerful, since it affects not only those in the room, but those in the adjacent pone as well. We cannot risk half the team falling and needing aid, while trying to fight the thing itself, so it is best if they retreat.

If V could get the silence torch from Loran to use, she would do so, otherwise, she attacked with the one she had, and just motioned for Loran to drop the silenced one here and depart as quickly as possible.


(ooc)
That was a considerable amount of damage, and this thing might be too much for us at this time. Orum, Loran, and Eonwe can all be felled with one bad roll, so it is best if they exit safely away. Perhaps go back to at least the thin tunnel area, and hope that is out of sound range.

Tarrahn, Fodor, l'Atreq all have more hit points and magic-affecting weaponry, so can stay another round or two.
Likewise, Víxl can stick around and see if she can hit with fire to see if that will work, but she can probably only handle another round or so.


V rolled an 11 to hit. Even with bless and faerie fire, that will miss.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:14, Sun 19 Mar 2023.

She does as requested..

Orum grabs Loran and Eonwe, maybe to pull them out, maybe to be pulled along by them. Who knows?

"Dafuq," he mutters.

Eonwe withdraws quickly to their point of safety with Loran and Orum.

Fodor continues his attack on the wailer.

Today: Fodor rolled 23,7 using d20+7,d8+4.  Longsword 1, Single Attack (bless & FF +3 to hit).Appears to hit for 7 more hp of damage.

Loran, Orum, and Eonwe hustle back to the false tomb, putting walls and corridors between themselves and the frozen face of existential agony.

l'Atreq and Fodor, one with a spiritual hammer, and the other with an enchanted blade, smash and slice the spirit, dispelling much of what remains of its face but not all. Enough of its mouth remains such that the corner of its rictus scream is still visible, and that is enough.

Fodor takes 1 dmg.
l'Atreq takes 4 dmg.
Tarrahn takes 3 dmg.
Vixl takes 6 dmg.

l'Atreq prays to Ptah saying, "Bless o' Mighty Ptah this next blow because it's likely to be my last chance."  With that he moved his spiritual weapon against the spirit.

23:34, Today: l'Atreq rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  To hit spirit (faerie fired plus blessed) target 14.
23:35, Today: l'Atreq rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  Damage.

Tarrahn takes a deep breath and wades into the melee with his enhanced staff.

19:41, Today: Tarrahn rolled 4 using 2d4.  Shillelagh Damage.

19:40, Today: Tarrahn rolled 15 using 1d20+2.  Shillelagh Attack.  * Attack roll is actually a '17' because I forgot to add the Faerie Fire bonus*

The last wail nearly split her skull, and Víxl can feel the blood in her ears.

A similar one would do her in, and she does not want to be a casualty that would distract the others. So she drops the silence torch here, and flees back to join the others, silently mouthing the other's success. Maybe she can get healed and return.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:12, Wed 22 Mar 2023.

Fodor gets another two slashes in with his enchanted longsword. One hits while the second appears to miss. Not as deep a wound as he would have liked, but a wound nonetheless!

Tuesday: Fodor rolled 27,5,13,10 using d20+7,d8+4,d20+7,d8+4.  Longsword +1, 2x Attack (Bless+Faerie Fire=+3 to hit). 5hp damage.

(OOC): appears we did another 14hp of damage. Terrahn and Fodor can handle at least one more round, but l’Atreq needs a healing boost (next round), as does Víxl (now!). If Fodor goes down, Víxl, as a fighter, has the best chance of using the magical longsword - with the lowest non-prof penalties.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:25, Wed 22 Mar 2023.

When Vixl comes around the corner to relative safety, Eonwe notices she is injured and calls on Nephthys' aid.

Casting Cure Light Wounds on Vixl (restoring 7hp)

14:47, Today: Eonwe rolled 7 using 1d8.  Cure Light Wounds on Vixl.

Seeing how desperately hurt Vixl is, Loran call upon divine aid to help undo the damage.

======
OOC: 08:34, Today: Loran Stone rolled 2 using 1d8.  CLW

***
I'm travelling over the next couple of days and neot sure on connectivity, so here's another CLW for the next person needing one:
08:34, Today: Loran Stone rolled 8 using 1d8.  CLW

The blow from the shillelagh just about dislodges the last vestiges of the spirit's vestigial scream. Fodor's sword finishes the job, and a silence beyond silence engulfs King Alexander's Tomb.

Nothings stands between you and the oblong stone box.

A couple technical notes: (1) l'Atreq needed a total of 17 to his attack roll to hit -- not 14. (2) Cure Light Wounds requires the personal touch and could not be cast from afar. However, since the spirit was destroyed, presumably the stone of silence could have taken out of range.

“Well! That was interesting. Teamwork triumphs. Dilly dilly ho!”

“Probably a good idea to heal up before we start searching this room. Just in case.”

l'Atreq casts Cure Light Wounds on himself.
13:54, Today: l'Atreq rolled 4 using 1d8.  CLW on himself.
EDIT:  added later cause I forgot to roll
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Thu 23 Mar 2023.

When the group rejoins without the silence, Eonwe calls again on his deity, this time to provide aid to Orum.

Casting Cure Light Wounds on Orum, restoring 8hp

22:58, Today: Eonwe rolled 8 using 1d8.  Cure Light Wounds on Orum.

The silence would expire as they completed their healing, so it would be time to see what the restless spirit had guarded. Perhaps just its remains, perhaps more. "Very well done!" Víxl said, exceedingly happy the preparations had worked and they did not have to make a second attempt at this.

The only thing that had been apparent in the room had been the stone box, which could be opened after Orum declared it safe to do so. Until then, V would walk the walls of the chamber to see if anything hidden popped up, or to see if there was anything else within that they had not noticed before, due to the spirit having been the focus of attention.

Tarrahn stands amazed at what they just accomplished.  "I can't believe that worked!  Is everyone OK?"

"Lightly battered, but still swimming," answers Loran, exhibiting peculiar humor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:57, Fri 24 Mar 2023.

"We're all alive", quoth l'Atreq, "And in the circumstances, that is marvellous."

"Well executed, and planned before that," Orum says as he circles the box. "Let us hope that the threatened curses lead to bulging purses."

The usual skills from training and pokes with his staff coupled with gnomish abilities.

"Anyone have an idea what that was?"

Víxl shrugged. "The only wailing spirit I know of is the bean-síghe, but this does not seem to be the typical place for them, and they tend to be recognizable as women, rather than what that shapeless spirit was. This looked more like a ghostly shadow. So your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps it's a desert spirit?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:56, Fri 24 Mar 2023.

"No idea; new to this," answers Loran truthfully.

Orum discovers a simple coffin of deal within the stone box. With the surety of his art, he slips off its cover. The dust of ages issues forth, redolent of the glory of ages, processions of silk-clad slaves bearing the jewels of the desert for their gods upon this earth. Three such treasures remain within the coffin of King Alexander, last of his eternal line. Circling his mummified head is a crown set with brown diamonds, as if perpetually honied by a forever setting sun. A suit of gleaming plate armor still protects the delicate mummy itself within, the right hand of which still clasps a gleaming long sword, one that gleams more brightly than any infidel has ever seen. As for King Alexander himself, he no longer has anything to say.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:12, Fri 24 Mar 2023.

"If anything, that should help one of us who can use the armor and the sword," Tarrahn says as he looks in on the contents of the tomb.

"Do you ever note that they never seem to be buried with short swords? That's something they should explain more clearly when you begin martial training," she sighed. "I pity whomever decided to specialize in the guisarme-voulge."

"I think we should, as reverently as possible, take this. If used to help destroy Zargon, I am sure he won't mind. Let's go back with it to the sisters, rest, heal, celebrate remaining alive, and if any of this is magic, we can determine how best to distribute it."

She remained on guard as this was being done. "Careful though, in case his remains aren't as thrilled with the suggestion as hoped."

l'Atreq adds, "Or the sword and Armour themselves. Careful in case they're cursed."

In reply to Vixl (msg # 272):
Tarrahn giggles, "Yeah, no sling or sturdy wooden staves either!"

"As someone said long ago and far away, What good is a reward if you ain't around to use it?" Orum mused out loud.

In reply to Orum Copsetwinkle (msg # 275):
"Good point Orum!  With some of the treasure we've amassed and that crown, we should be able to buy some decent equipment or happiness at some point."

When the outfit, its trophies held high overhead in triumph, returns to the sisters of Madaura, they find the maidens abuzz with activity, anointing themselves with precious oils, adding extra blankets and pillows to the floor haphazardly, and in one corner of the chamber, barely behind a privacy screen, two of them even appear to be changing out of their robes ... and into something more comfortable.

As such, they take no notice of you and your preparations for your date with Queen Zenobia.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:10, Sat 25 Mar 2023.

"So, just one more tomb to open. One of us should memorize detect magic. If it does register as magic, then we avoid it until l'Atreq's patron grants him the ability to remove curses, and instead go down to the next tier. If it does not register as magic, then we open the tomb. And one of us should have at least one light spell in memory just in case. Is that all reasonable?" Víxl asked.

When they returned to the Warrior Maidens. V smirked and said, "Well, Tarrahn, it seems you don't need to worry about paying for happiness. Just give it a bit more time," and then had a thought. So while they rested, she had a brief, private, consultation with the other Sisters.


Since Tarrahn has a neutralize poison in memory, we can test the mystery potion at this time before rememorization and praying.


(ooc)
V will memorize one sleep and one protection from evil.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Mon 27 Mar 2023.

When the mystery potion is sampled with the daintiest of dips of the tongue, those watching on gasp when the questing tongue disappears from view.

"Interesting- I believe an invisibility potion can be separated into eight lesser doses? That being the case, I would suggest we do so, and everyone carry one. That way if we all run into real trouble, we each have a means of fleeing unseen. That seems more useful than a single, londer0-loasting dose." Reaffirming the count, she added, "Also, splitting it would leave one extra dose. Orum should carry that extra one for scouting purposes."

If there is no objection from anyone, and we can get small containers to split it up, we can do this now.

"You haven't led us wrong so far as I can tell 'V' so, I'll go along with that," Tarrahn adds.

l'Atreq simply nods.

(OOC) Fixed post below, since this was IC thread. Also, I’ll try to update everyone’s status chart ASAP.  Anyone else level up? Fodor did, but I haven’t rolled HP yet.

Looking at the Party, Fodor remarks to no one in particular: “Do we have more levels/tiers to explore? Do we know why the Sisters are ‘preparing?’”

Then he turns to Víxl: “You want to see if there is any chance we could barter one of our magical longswords for something another one of our party members could use?”
This message was last edited by the player at 23:17, Tue 28 Mar 2023.

PM to Vixl

Replying to Fodor, "Yes, there's at least one more tier below, since we found that trap door, but I'd guess there would be even more than one. We haven't seen any Zargonites, or people that conduct trade with those here."

"As for the Sisters, no, not exactly. They've been really closemouthed about it, even to me. From what I gather, it's a wild sex party, celebrating life and the change of seasons. I don't think we have to worry about a Wicker Man situation, and those who don't want to participate don't have to. Many of the sisters have concerns about the time we spent in the tombs among the dead, so demurring, or being away from here during it should not be an issue from them. I'd say, if we aren't down below exploring when it starts, anyone who doesn't want to be involved can go upstairs and harvest some honey, while those that do can stay."

"And unfortunately, they don't have much to barter for the magic weapon. Maybe those further down do."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Thu 30 Mar 2023.

“Well. Let’s head back down to see if we can find the Queen’s chamber and then on to Tier 5. I’m still worn out from our last couple of visits here in the Sisters’ Chambers. I’m not sure I could handle another long weekend here with just one or two of the Sisters, much less when the entire group is in a Ritual-induced heat.” Fodor remarks, only half jokingly.

l'Atreq decides that he will, when the time comes, memorise Detect Magic in place of Bless and Augury in place of Spiritual Weapon (the latter being pointless in the absence of a warhammer)

Lisa Lisa detaches herself from Vixl to pursue her ritualistic duties.

Orum's face burns crimson when he's nearly overwhelmed by the one thing and the one thing only on the sisters' minds.

All decided on your preparations?

The outfit returns to Queen Zenobia's burial chamber, for that is what it must be with her king consort's tomb already having been discovered and plundered. The queen's sarcophagus remains as it was last left, its threat, "May the curse of darkness destroy all who dare desecrate my resting place," still giving various members of the outfit pause.

The weight of the slab is such that three members of the outfit will need to coordinate their efforts to lift it.

As discussed, we use a detect magic on the sarcophagus.
If it registers as magic, then we do not open it, and instead go down to the lower tier, and come back after we have some means of removing a curse.

If it does not register as magic, then we can cast any needed preparatory spells before opening the slab.

l'Atreq casts detect magic. He looks first at the sarcophagus and up to the ceiling, repeating the process as he walks slowly around the sarcophagus, checking from all angles (or as many as possible) looking for magic in the coffin and in the room. He keeps going until the spell runs out

The blue bull, sacred to l'Atreq and his god, appears and sniffs all round the coffin. It stops and taps its hooves in the affirmative, a blue glow emanating from within in response.

Even though there is no way to sure, the cleric is confident that it is not an enchanted short sword that is responsible for the tapping of the hooves. Such a thing would be incredibly unlikely.

l'Atreq frowns. At last he says, "There is magic but it's on the inside. . What do you think, Orum? Trap, curse or magical short sword?"?

"Perhaps your Augury might help decide."

Orum checks the coffin for traps. "Could be a strong magical item. I suppose it could be some sort of magically animated guardian. Could merely be a Magic Mouth. Worst case is a triggered darkness spell coupled with some creature that uses sound or scent to detect its prey."

Orum can detect no flimflammmery about the queen's box.

l'Atreq brings out his sticks and sits cross legged on the floor as he casts Augury asking the oracle, "Would it bring good fortune if we open the casket at this point?"

Once again the cerulean bull appears, but this time, it is not cerulean, or even blue for that matter. Further, it's not even a bull if we're being completely honest about this (and we should be): it's a zebra. Then, it disappears.

"Black and white", said l'Atreq.  "Nope, it wasn't very conclusive.  I interpret that too mean, 'quite possibly not, but the survivors will do very well.'  It's not trapped, the curse may well be real but there could be treasures there beyond the dreams of avarice.  I wonder whether we could carry the sarcophagus itself back to the Sisters?"

"No- they would react very very badly to that. It's almost anathema to the beliefs of their immortal patron, and they already have issues with us even going to the tombs. Bringing one up there would be like declaring war."

She sighed. "I don't know. Personally, I think on a mixed signal, we should exercise caution, leave it and go to the next tier. But I'm not the one who gets visions from their patron. l'Atreq- it was your divination and detection, so you're really the best one to make the decision if we open it or carry on. What say you?"

“I’m obviously willing to be one of the three to push open the sarcophagus- if we decide to do so. Subject to l’Atreq’s input, two others would need to volunteer.”

"I'll help if you want," Loran offers. She's clearly not muscly.

l'Atreq sighed, 'It really is just TOO ambiguous. My vote is to go on to the next tier and come back to this later."

"You folks are the experts," reflects Loran. "I'm fine with whatever you think best."

Then, let’s move on to the trap door down to Tier 5.

In reply to Fodor (msg # 301):
"If you think I can help you, I will," Tarrahn says to Fodor.

The trapdoor, when opened, grants access to an iron ladder, which, when descended, grants access to the fifth tier of the pyramid. Without having any way of knowing, the outfit knows that it has reached the step of the pyramid that is, itself, beneath the sands upon which it rests.

After you find the secret exit to the antechamber, you find a room that contains a bed, a table, a chair, a lantern, and a wooden holy symbol of two intertwined snakes. The furniture is made of wood. A hooded white robe is draped over the chair. Except for the furniture and the robe, the room appears to be empty.


This message was last edited by the GM at 19:47, Fri 07 Apr 2023.

Loran sniffs and listens for any sign of recent habitation.

(OOC) Is the white hooded robe similar to any of the robes of the 3 religious groups we encountered on Tiers 1-4 above? I assume, no, since you would have indicated so.

Eonwe waits patiently in line, and once the group have entered the room moves to the lantern to see if there is any fuel left in it.

"Good enough for me. Maybe the signs will be clearer next time as well," V agreed, as they moved on to the trap door.


Downstairs, she considered the holy symbol. "We might be back in Usamigarius territory," she suggested. "If you remember, the bronze statue of a winged child had two snakes twined around its body. The robes they wore were rainbow ones though, not white, so that's just a guess."

She took a walk about the walls of the room, to see if anything secret jumped out, but did not make a concentrated search anywhere in particular.


(ooc)
The statue was in message #440 of the previous thread (page 18), and we met them soon after, if anyone wants to go back and refresh themselves about the encounter.

l'Atreq disagrees, "I suspect these might be the opposite of theirs. I read the winged child as part of the rainbow ones' holy symbol. Also note the robes. White is the fulfillment of the rainbow. The rainbow is the destroyer of white.'

Orum moves to the exit door and waves to hush the others as he puts his ear to it to listen.

All that can be definitively deduced is that the robe once belonged to someone, most likely a cleric of Usamigaras, and that someone has not been living in this room if they live at all.

"If the robe is Usamigarian, then the symbol would likely be as well," she responded to l'Atreq. "But that is your field, not mine," she acknowledged as she continued to walk the walls for secret things, then quieted down while Orum listened.

When Orum was finished, she said, "The robe and symbol should be taken along, it might be a good way to re-establish contact with the Usamigarians, if they are returned. And that goes if it belongs to them or their opposite- the former they can treasure their return, the latter, they can revel in their destruction." There was also a chance that one or both had an enchantment, but it was a but early to cast detect magic. Better to wait until there were a few more items to scan.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Sat 08 Apr 2023.

l'Atreq is too brown to blush but if he could, he would because he'd never even heard of Usamigarius before coming to this pyramid.

Does the symbol of two intertwined snakes mean anything much to Loran?

Orum moves on to checking the exit door for traps.

Orum doesn't think the exit's trapped.

If there is something you alone would know, I would let you know.

Then we will proceed through the door.

Since nothing secret found, yes, but if nobody else more appropriate has already done so, V will take the symbol and robe along.

Loran is content to follow.

l'Atreq travels behind the martial types in case he needs to drive back the undead.

Having heard nothing (and found nothing), the outfit opens the only other visible exit to the room, leading to another room that appears to be an abandoned kitchen and dining room combination. The cupboards, table, and chairs are covered with a thin layer of dust. Near the table, two large snakes with brown and yellow scales are coiled around the body of a woman wearing a rabbit mask.

Before the words can even form in your minds, your hearts have started to beat faster and your hairs to stand on end. These are boa constrictors, one of the most feared of the jungle predators, lairing in the lost pyramid -- two of them to be exact. After you open the door, they immediately feel the sound vibrations, swivel their heads, and hiss with unmistakable intent.

14:23, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 2 using 1d6.  Init: party 1-3 lost city 4-6.
The party won init and may act first.
2 boa constrictors, AC 5

Fodor moves forward and targets one of the boas with the Party’s new magical sword. He hopes they are not too late to save the mask-wearing dweller of the Lost City…at least one hit connects for substantial damage…

Tuesday: Fodor rolled 12,7,19,12 using d20+5,d8+5,d20+5,d8+5.  Longsword+2, Double Attacks (1/2 & 2/2).(Need 13 to hit AC 5).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:13, Tue 11 Apr 2023.

Loran tries castin a Sleep spell so that it will only affect the snakes.

Eonwe casts a spell and prepares to wade in to help those in need.

Casting Sanctuary on self (Duration: 4 rounds)

Eager to try his new spell Orum casts Colour Spray on the Snakes.

Tarrahn will attempt to cast Speak with Animals on the Boa's if the others don't kill or stun the snakes.

This would have been a good time to have remembered Snake Charm so l'Atreq starts backing away through the door.

“How about one of them Faerie Fire or Blessing spells?” Fodor suggests aloud.

"Sorry" says l'Atreq, "How about this one.  Don't answer by the way, you wouldn't want me distracted. So keep them things away from me."

With that, he raises his Holy Symbol in a gesture that takes in the whole party and begins chanting in sonorous tones.

OOC casts Chant which gives each member of the party +1 to attack rolls and each opponent -1 to attack rolls until l'Atreq stops or takes damage.

V was initially very pleased to see the snakes, since she knew there was a druid in the party, and his speak with animals spell should have been enough to keep them docile.

That relief went to mild horror when an assault on the snakes began, as she was fairly certain that the snakes would not remain so calm while they were being assaulted. With so many spells about to be cast, she did not think she could stop them, but she gave it the ol' elf try.

"Stop! Stop! Let's see if Tarrahn can calm them before we start to step on snek!"

Phobias are deeply rooted in the midbrain of sentient species. Among those phobias sometimes dwells herpetophobia, the presence of which can sometimes ensure the survival of members of both species (and outfits).

Those infidels without this defense mechanism encroach upon the boa constrictors most aggressively with sword and spell, with one of them even inflicting a nasty rent along the splendid scales of one of them them. The spells, though, have no effect.

Eager to add to their food supply, the boas wrap themselves around two of their guests and set about with their customary squeezing and biting. It has always been that way.

Loran casts sleep. No effect on boas.
Orum casts color spray on boas. No effect on boas.
l'Atreq starts to chant (+1 to all attacks/-1 to attacks for boas).
Tarrahn gains the ability to speak with boas.
Eonwe casts sanctuary.
Fodor hits Boa A for 12 dmg.
Vixl exhorts the party to change its tactics.

Boa A bites and constricts Fodor for 6 dmg. Fodor is trapped within the coils of Boa A.
Boa B slithers over to Loran and squeezes for 4 dmg. Loran is trapped within the coals of Boa B.

08:48, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 15,2,16,4 using d20,d4,d20,2d4.  Boa A attacks Fodor.
08:53, Today: The Lord of Divine Words rolled 10,6,17,4 using d20,d6,d20,2d4.  Boa B attacks Loran.

This message was last edited by the GM at 02:20, Fri 14 Apr 2023.