Session 14
The Ruby Scarabs
began preparations to re-enter the Necropolis through the secret passage
created by the Silver Chain gang. There they would seek out the remaining
Elegiac Compasses that Sebti the Crocodile had told them about.
Uto decided to sell
Akhan-tepe's armor, sword, and shield that he had acquired after the auction.
Kaa gave him the mist armor that the armorer had presented to the group after
they rescued Ptemenib from the Silver Chain gang. Kaa also purchased a 9-ring
sword from the same armorer, and Sula bought a better suit of leather lamellar
armor than she previously had, as well as a specially reinforced wicker shield.
Every member of the group received a distribution of 1,250 gold pieces from
items sold.
Sebti had explained
to the Scarabs that the Elegiac Compasses were large mechanical devices with
rotating parts. There had been thirty of them when the Necropolis was newly
created, and they were capable of detecting the largest source of necromantic
energy within a range of approximately three miles. But now to the knowledge of the
church of Pharasma, only five Elegiac Compasses remained within the walls of the city of
the dead, though this information was not recent.
Nakht Shepses of the
Voices of the Spire also told the Scarabs that there were three lamias residing
within the Necropolis at the Cenotaph of the Cynic, which was a memorial for
burials of those who followed no gods.
It was recommended
that the Scarabs visit a group of darkfolk who were living in the Necropolis in
the estate of Asatiti. The priests thought that the darkfolk might have more
information about what was happening inside the Necropolis since they lived
there. The darkfolk were friendly to Ptemenib, and since the Scarabs had aided
one of their people they might get a warmer reception.
When the Ruby Scarabs
were ready, they returned to the Silver Chain headquarters at the waterfront.
There they found a recovered Bal-themm in charge of the guards watching the
location. She was unhappy to be there, but when Uto explained to her that she
was not only watching the warehouse but making sure that no undead emerged from
the tunnel, her discontent was relieved.
The group emerged
from the end of the tunnel inside the walls of the Necropolis to find that part
of the ceiling had collapsed, crushing the Elegiac Compass that had stood there
for generations. A mass of snakes had found this spot conducive to sunbathing.
Sula advised that there was no reason to bother the snakes since they weren't
attacking, and the band continued on their way.
When they arrived in
the area that had come to be known as the Ghoul Market, they glimpsed 4 ghouls
that seemed to be focused on the door of a former shop. Curious as to what
could have attracted the ghouls, they paused a moment for Uto to bless them and
then attacked. Kaa hurled a rock to distract the ghouls, and Uto took to the
air. Azzaria invoked her rage. Within a short time all 4 ghouls had been slain,
and no one had suffered any ill effects from their touch, although Azzaria had
received a scratch which Uto healed.
The door of the shop
appeard to have been opened recently. Uto called out to anyone inside, and in
response a voice shouted back, "Is this a trick?" The door opened,
revealing a human woman. The Scarabs recognized her as Date Palm, one of the
members of the adventuring group called the Sunrise Fellows, who had gone
missing during the first week of exploration. Everyone had assumed they were
dead. Her companions Worm and Oshwit were with her in the front room of the
shop. The Scarabs observed that all three of them appeared uneasy with their
visitors. They seemed unconcerned by the ghouls that had been trying to get in
to slay them. They told the Scarabs that they had been busy researching, and
that they had plenty of food and water. Azzaria asked them if they had see an
Elegiac Compass, as there was supposed to be one very near to the shop. Oshwit
drew something in the sand on the floor. Date Palm appeared increasingly
anxious, and Oshwit and Worm exchanged glances as though they were signalling
each other.
Kaa moved to look at
what Oshwit had drawn, but realized he had started to move into the zone of a
trap and quickly stepped back. Igby then cast bane. Oshwit pulled a lever and
flames flared up near a table. Date Palm drew a knife and threw it at Kaa. At
Sula's direction, Nyema leaped up on the table to claw at Date Palm. Oshwit
also threw a knife at Kaa but missed, and Kaa responded with a scorching ray.
Uto also turned on Oshwit. Azzaria followed Nyema's example by jumping on the
table and flew into a rage, dropping Oshwit with a blow. Igby meanwhile faced
off with Worm, while Date Palm drew a mace and tried to strike Sula. Worm moved
toward a curtained doorway at the rear of the shop, striking Nyema as he
passed. But Uto was using his magic to take part of the wound himself while
healing his companions and most of her injury was cured.
Azzaria's attack
caused Date Palm to collapse. Worm slipped through the curtain into the back.
Kaa ran after him, checking for further traps. In a room beyond the curtain he
found an alchemy lab, remains of mummies, and a cloaked figure. The figure
demanded, "Why are you bothering us? Did the temple send you?" Kaa
burned the mummy on the table with a scorching ray. Uto moved in to the
alchemist's lab after Kaa, detecting a foul chemical odor in the area. Sula and
Nyema followed him in, and Sula realized that the cloaked individual was a
ghast and warned her friends. Azzaria and Igby joined them to combat the ghast.
Igby has summoned a
flaming sword to fight the creature. Worm was still fighting the Scarabs, and
managed to injure Nyema. The ghast sent a cone of flame at Igby, Kaa, and Uto,
which Uto blocked with a stone shield. Oshwit had regained his feet and came to
the aid of his companions, suffering a bite from Nyema. Sule shoved the table
aside to gain better access to the ghast. Oshwit missed a blow at Nyema and
collapsed again when she attacked him as he tried to get past her to obey the
directions of the ghast. Kaa tried to strike the ghast with flurry of sword
slashes. Uto's hair suddenly grew tremendously long and stretched out to use a healing
wand on Azzaria. Sula jumped up on the table to gain higher ground and stabbed
downward at the ghast, while Nyema bit him at the same time. Igby flanked with
Sula's position, and it was his attack that finally carried the ghast into
death.
Inside the
alchemist's shop the Scarabs found the remains of the disassembled Elegiac
Compass. Some of the parts were missing. They determined that the Sunrise
Fellows had been using the lab to make the illegal drug mummia from mummies.
They were actually members of a local drug-distribution gang known as the
Fading, and had used the treasure-hunting event to gain access to more
materials for their drugs. Among the items found on their bodies were three capes, half a dozen potions, vials of
alchemist's fire, bottles of holy water, three fine quality heavy maces, three sets
of studded leather armor, three sets of thieves' tools, three onyx rings, and a total
of nine gold pieces. The ghast proved to have six vials of greenblood oil, a magic robe, an alchemist's kit, a formula book, and a pair of magical bracers
which the Scarabs were unable to learn anything about. They also found three potions that could hide the user from the sight of undead creatures.
Date Palm and Oshwit
were still alive, and the Ruby Scarabs decided to take them back to Wati and
turn them over to the temple of Pharasma for judgement. They blindfolded their
captives to prevent them from seeing the tunnel, and on their way back avoided a group of twenty or more zombies that were roaming
the Necropolis. At the warehouse they handed the prisoners over to Bal-themm.
They also sent a message to the priests of Pharasma that two of the Elegiac
Compasses that were thought to remain in the Necropolis had been destroyed.
Once everyone's hurts
had been healed by wands or potions, they returned to the Necropolis and headed
for the Marid's Carress, a bathhouse where the next compass was supposed to
sit. The bathhouse's plumbing had leaked, turning it into a swamp. The compass
there had been crushed by a collapsed wall. They found a few pieces among the
rubble, including a large round lens of glass that radiated magic, although no
one could determine what it was for beyond some type of divination.
After finding the
third compass destroyed, the Scarabs decided to visit the darkfolk. They made
their way to Asatiti's estate unmolested by undead. The darkfolk who met them
outside were unfriendly until they mentioned Ptemenib. One of the darkfolk
guards went to fetch their leader, Unwrapped Harmony. She asked the Scarabs to
complete a task for her in exchange for information: her apprentice, Gaunt
Cadaver, had left to form his own clan and had been experimenting with
transforming his clan members into undead. The darkfolk were fascinated by
mummies and mummification because when they died they simply vanished, leaving
no remains. But Unwrapped Harmony felt that Gaunt Cadaver had gone too far in
his exploration of undeath. She wanted the Ruby Scarabs to kill him and bring
back a magic stone that he had ingested as proof of his death. She requested that they avoid
killing any of the other darkfolk if possible, and return them to her. The
Scarabs agreed to this request. When they had finished eating a midday meal
with the darkfolk, they set off for Kawab Villa to find Gaunt Cadaver.
Loot:
3 catching capes
3 potions - cure moderate wounds
3 potions -
unknown
6 vials -
alchemist's fire
6 bottles -
holy water
3 masterwork
heavy maces
3 sets of
studded leather armor
3 sets of
thieves' tools
3 onyx rings
9 gold pieces
6 vials of
greenblood oil
robe of needles
alchemist's
kit
alchemist's
formula book
pair of
magical bracers - unknown
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