Sunday, September 17, 2017

[Pathfinder] Mummy's Mask, part 17: The Vault of Hidden Wisdom

Once the Ruby Scarabs had completed their investigation of the dangerous Dark Depository, they decided to spend a day away from subterranean archives and go into the marketplace of Tephu to sell some of the items they had removed from the Depository. They had acquired a number of valuable scrolls containing powerful spells, spells which none of them could cast. This netted them each a not inconsiderable quantity of gold. Sula was also able to determine that the headband they had found in the Depository was actually a cursed item, which would be illegal to sell in Tephu. But the Scarabs learned that the Temple of Thoth would pay a bounty to acquire such items and keep them out of the hands of unsuspecting citizens, so they gave the headband to the temple.

Kaa requested that he be allowed to take the silver crocodile collar they had found among the bone golem's remains as part of his portion of the treasure, as well as the golden chalice that had been given to him and Sula for coming in second place in the chariot race. He and Azzaria each took one of the vials of magical protective kohl. After acquiring so much more gold, Sula decided to purchase a headband for herself to increase her insight, and an amulet that would grant greater fighting prowess to Nyema. Uto bought himself a belt and a set of magical arm wraps that would enable him to carry a heavier load, and a wand containing a protective spell. The Scarabs also treated Abdallah and his siblings to a good meal at the Caravan's End.

When they had completed their shopping the Scarabs asked various people if they knew anything about the Tower of Ra's Glory. They had examined the scale model of Tephu in the Great Library, but found it insufficient to help them determine where the tower's shadow would fall on Midsummer's Day. Eventually they were led to an elderly dwarf named Rahmet Glyphkeeper, who had actually worked on the construction of the tower. The tower had been built some 200 years earlier, rather than during the reign of one of the ancient pharaohs. After listening to a few of the aged dwarf's stories, the Scarabs were able to elicit from him that the tower had stood 125 feet tall. The dwarf even gave them some architectural plans for the construction of the tower. This information, combined with Sula's knowledge of the sun's position at different times of the year, told them how to find the Vault of Hidden Wisdom.

The next day Abdallah showed them to the neighborhood where they believed the Vault could be found. The location of the secret library was now a bathhouse, but Kaa quickly identified a hidden door in an alley behind the bathhouse. While Abdallah stood watch for unwelcome attention, Kaa determined that there were no traps and opened the door, stepping into a passageway in which he saw a battered bronze chest. The chest stood next to a pit trap, which he suspected was a spiked pit. His companions waited in the alley while he disabled the trap. After everyone but Abdallah had slipped inside, Kaa opened the chest to find it empty, merely serving as bait to lure the unwary into triggering the pit trap.

Kaa and Azzaria could see into the next chamber, which appeared to be a reading room with a statue standing in the center. Suddenly an alarm began to sound. The walls of the Vault were thick so the Scarabs were not much concerned that it would be heard outside. But the alarm seemed to have attracted some attention from within the Vault, as they heard metallic footsteps on the stone floor. Kaa could distinguish two separate sets of footsteps. The alarm stopped sounding, and something passed by the doorway at the opposite side of the reading room. Kaa moved into the reading room as the sounds grew louder.

Two clockwork constructs rounded the corner of the passageway that ran around the perimeter of the reading room. One of them immediately approached Kaa and fired a net over him. The second clockwork creature stepped up and slammed its metal fist into the entangled tengu. Both constructs also wielded halberds. Sula realized that Azzaria's adamantine flail would harm then and told her so. Then she moved toward the construct that had ensnared Kaa, raising her spear and charging it with electricity. The spear itself didn't appear to do much harm to the construct, but the electricity damaged it. While Azzaria tried to swing her flail around the corner t hit the construct, Uto reached out with his hair and prepared to pull Kaa free of the net.

The construct that had thrown the net over Kaa pushed him, then turned and walked away. The second construct punched Kaa again twice, hitting him hard. Realizing that he couldn't take another such forceful blow, Kaa drew his nine-ring broadsword and sliced open the net to free himself. Uto then channeled healing magic through his hair to Kaa. The construct that had abandoned Kaa now walked up behind Azzaria and began to fight with her. Azzaria became enraged and cast a spell on herself that made her difficult to see. Uto summoned a spirit ally to help fight the constructs.

Sula had been damaging the first construct with her spear, but when that construct moved to attack Azzaria, she stepped back and summoned two spheres of lightning, send one at each of the constructs. As soon as the lightning struck them both constructs exploded, showering the reading room with gears and pistons and other mechanical parts. One of the pieces that fell on a table was a key, which Azzaria picked up. She observed that the 'statue' in the center of the room was probably a construct also, and it had an emblem on its chest that resembled the key.

With the two constructs destroyed, the Scarabs were able to look around the reading room and see that it showed no sign of having been disturbed for many years. They also noticed an odd light coming from the room beyond. Azzaria looked into that room and saw two bizarre creatures. Their bodies appeared to be crystalline, with four limbs, each limb splitting to terminate in two hand-like appendages. When these creatures saw her they both moved toward her in a hostile manner, and she had a disturbing vision of every possible future she might someday experience. She called out to her friends that the creatures were hostile. Kaa raised his sword and moved into the room to attack one of the creatures. He, too, experienced a vision of his potential futures. The creatures struck at him not with their limbs but with crystal tentacles.

Sula clothed herself in barklike protective armor and moved her lightning globes closer to the strange creatures, though she couldn't attack with the lightning because Azzaria was in the way. Azzaria cast a spell and suddenly there were two of her. Uto summoned to ancestral spirits to help his comrades fight the weird-looking creatures. One of the creatures emitted a cone of light that caused everyone, even Nyema who was still waiting by the entrance, to feel the same vision of possible futures that Azzaria and Kaa had already received. Uto suddenly melded into the stone wall. The creature nearest to Azzaria backed away from her. Sula moved her lightning spheres up to it, and both spheres vanished. While Kaa began punching and kicking the creature he faced, Sula shifted from her spear to her club and cast a spell to make it deal more damage. Before she could move up to swing her club at one of the creatures, Uto emerged from the stone and healed Azzaria, Kaa pummeled his foe until it dropped, and Azzaria destroyed the second creature.

With the enemies defeated, Kaa expressed how disturbing the visions of the future had been. He was so distraught that he had to sit down in the reading room for a short time to regain his composure. While he was recovering, Uto realized that the clockwork constructs' gears had been made of gold and gems, and he gathered these up. Azzaria found a sheet of magic vellum, but Sula was unable to determine the properties of it even with Uto's aid.

After he recovered, Kaa checked the hallway leading off of the room for traps and found none. At the end of the passageway he found a small dais that appeared to have been where one of the clockwork constructs had originally stood. The passage led to a rotunda with a domed ceiling, the circular pillared room lined with shelves of scrolls held behind unlocked metal mesh doors. Kaa began to examine the rotunda for secret doors, while Azzaria went back into the reading room and used the key to wind up the construct there. When she had wound as much as she could, it activated and greeted her, explaining that it was a research assistant and asking what it could do to help.

With the research assistant's help, the Scarabs found Khnenti's journal. The journal told them that reuniting Hakotep's fragmented soul might bring him back to life. It spoke of the Forgotten Pharaoh's tomb as a flying pyramid, and implied that the pyramid might also be invisible. Furthermore, the journal explained that Chisisek, the architect of the tomb, had been slain so he couldn't pass on his knowledge to anyone else. Chisisek's own tomb was hidden, but the rotunda supposedly held a fresco describing his burial. But when the Scarab's looked at the rotunda dome they saw no such fresco.

Uto levitated up to the ceiling to examine it. He realized that the dome they saw was a false one, hiding the real ceiling. By this point the Scarabs had been in the Vault of Hidden Wisdom from early morning until early evening. They were all tired, so they decided to have Abdallah show them to a nearby inn rather than making the long journey back to Caravan's End, so they could resume examining the Vault the next morning.

Early the next morning the Scarabs returned to the Vault of Hidden Wisdom. Uto again levitated up to the ceiling. He and Sula had both prepared spells to allow them to reshape the stones of the false ceiling. But when Uto pushed aside some of the stone, the entire ceiling collapsed, showering him with stone fragments and releasing two mummified big cats. One of the cats immediately rushed the rest of the group who were waiting by the rotunda entrance. Sula send Nyema to fight the cat. The second cat let out a piercing howl that caused Azzaria to flee in terror. Sula joined Nyema in fighting the two cats. A moment later a now enraged Azzaria returned to join them. Uto used his healing magic to harm the two mummies, while Kaa bit one with his crocodile mask. In a few moments both mummified cats were immobile on the floor.

With the fresco exposed, the Ruby Scarabs were able to read heiroglyphs that told them Chisisek's tomb must lie somewhere in the Parched Dunes, though the fresco didn't give its precise location. There were also strange geometric shapes in the fresco that appeared to refer to the ancient Shory weapons that Hakotep had sought. But it seemed that to find out more about the Sky Pharaoh and understand what the cultists might be after, the Scarabs would need to seek out Chisisek's hidden tomb.

As they made their way back to Caravan's End, the Scarabs saw Muminofrah's royal barge on its way down the canal. A big dark-skinned man could be seen feeding the Fan-Bearer dates. Evidently Muminofrah had lost interest in Uto. Uto did not express much disappointment at this turn of events. Even though he had never been out of the confines of a town, he was looking forward to the Scarabs' planned trip into the desert.

Loot:
Gold and gems worth 2,000 gold pieces
2 +1 halberds
3,784 gold each from sale of scrolls and other items

Next: part 18, Voyage of the Golden Ibis




Friday, September 15, 2017

[Pathfinder] Mummy's Mask, part 16: Into the Dark Depository

The Ruby Scarabs found themselves unwilling participants in a chariot race decreed by Muminofrah, Right Hand of the Ruby Prince, a powerful but self-indulgent woman. They, along with approximately twenty other participants, were to guide camel-drawn chariots through the city of Tephu for Muminofrah's amusement. A few of their opponents were clearly experienced chariot racers, but many of the others were like the Scarabs, randomly chosen for this "honor" to entertain the nobility.

The chariots were meant to carry two people, or possibly three if all of the occupants were small. Muminofrah had declared that the race had no rules beyond a designated route the charioteers must follow. After considering their own limited driving skills and experience with camels, their personal strengths and talents, and the number of their group, the Scarabs decided that Sula and Kaa should claim a chariot together, Azzaria and Uto would be paired in a second vehicle, and Abdallah the guide agreed to ride with Igby because it would be exciting to ride in a chariot race. Magical enhancements were not prohibited so Uto cast a spell on Azzaria to aid her. Azzaria then decided to cast a spell of her own on one of their competitors, enlarging him so that he would be a heavier load for his camel to pull.

The route for the race traveled through the city streets, which had not been cleared of residents during the race. This created more obstacles for the racers to overcome. One of the first obstacles was a bridge over a canal that was currently undergoing repairs. When Sula and Kaa's chariot reached the bridge, Sula was able to persuade the camel to leap over some construction debris blocking its path. Azzaria and Uto had managed to get ahead of Sula and Kaa, and they were obliged to avoid having a chamber pot dumped on their heads from the upper story of a house. One of the other competitors tried to rush Sula's chariot and collide with it, but his own chariot hit the side of a well and he was toppled out of the car and fell down the well shaft. Sula next managed to steer the camel down a steep flight of steps, and despite the jouncing ride she and Kaa caught up with the chariot bearing Azzaria and Uto. But they were not yet free of obstacles, as a group of golden-masked members of the Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh appeared on a rooftop and fired crossbow bolts at them. Kaa deflected the bolts raining down on Sula and himself. After passing by the cultists they entered a camel market and had to avoid running down a merchant in the street. More cultists appeared as Azzaria and Uto passed through a sandy area not far from the finish line. Flying sand nearly blinded them, and when they were free of sand they had to avoid being dazzled by glaring sunlight. But Azzaria and Uto succeeded in avoiding all of these traps to emerge victorious, the first chariot to cross the finish line.

As the winners were congratulated by Muminofrah, she kissed each of them, reserving a more passionate kiss for Uto. She also presented them with a jeweled statue of a camel, and at Uto's request gave the Scarabs a writ to permit them to visit the Dark Depository. The Scarabs informed the local authorities of the cultists who had tried to attack them, and city guardsmen were dispatched to search for the cultists. After departing from the palace, the Scarabs gave the camel statue to Abdallah so his family could sell it, although they advised him to wait a little while before doing so lest word of its sale get back to Muminofrah. Uto was invited to return to the palace that evening for dinner and a private visit with Muminofrah.

The morning after the chariot race, the Ruby Scarabs set out to visit the Dark Depository in search of the Scrolls of Inquiry from the reign of Pharaoh Djederet II. The Dark Depository lay beneath the Grand Library like the Spiral Archive, but it was a much less appealing location. A deep shaft descended 450 feet below the surface, accessed by iron ladders. Sula did not want to leave Nyema at the top of the shaft, so she used a spell to transform the lioness into a tiny stone figurine that she could carry in her belt pouch. After that long climb the Scarabs faced a set of bronze doors at the bottom of the shaft. Kaa found no traps when he examined the doors, but as soon as they were touched an explosion of frigid cold burst from a magical glyph, sorely injuring several members of the group. Kaa was shaken by his failure to detect the glyph. Everyone was so wounded by the cold that Uto was obliged to use healing magic so they could all recover enough to continue.

Beyond the entrance the Scarabs faced a cruciform hall. Each of the arms facing them terminated in a circular doorway, which Kaa observed could swivel on a central pivot point. Each of the doors bore a mask wearing a different expression: fear, sorrow, or disgust. The hall itself was crammed with crates, statues, scrolls, tablets, and other items. At the center stood a stack of skulls and other bones. Sula detected no sign of recent visitors in the thick later of dust covering every surface. While visually examining the heap of bones, Uto suddenly realized it was some sort of constructed being and warned his companions to steer clear of it.

Uto cast a spell on Kaa to aid him and Kaa cautiously approached one of the round doors, checking for traps and triggers every few paces and skirting around the bone construct. The rest of the Scarabs waited near the entrance. On the door with the expression of sorrow he identified what he suspected was another glyph, which would fill the entire antechamber with flames if triggered. He was unable to disable the diabolical trap as it was an enchantment rather than a pin or wire that would set it off.  Kaa moved to the door bearing the mask of disgust and found that it had a mechanical trap, a scything blade that would swing down to strike the unwary. This led Sula to comment that perhaps the masks were associated with the type of trap; it would be sad if the flames burned all of the scrolls and texts in the antechamber, and if the scythe sliced someone in two it would be disgusting.

Kaa attempted to disable the scythe trap, but because the cold trap on the entrance had evaded him his confidence was shaken and he bungled his effort. Fortunately the blade did not activate. Uto then summoned an invisible servitor and sent it to try to open the pivoting circular door. The moment the servitor pushed on the door, the bone construct in the center of the antechamber rose up from the floor, revealing a giant vaguely man-like form made of various different types of skeletal remains. But the construct, which Uto had now identified as a bone golem, did not attack the Scarabs. It appeared to take up a sentry position facing the door that had just opened. Sula remarked that perhaps it was not there to prevent someone from entering, but to prevent departing visitors from stealing anything from the Depository.

Kaa peered through the open doorway, seeing an arrangement of shelves that created a maze-like series of passages. He spied something moving among the stacks, a shadowy dog-like shape. Then the creature bayed, and a panicked Kaa fled from the doorway, racing around the antechamber and actually running up the walls in his desperate attempt to flee. When he ran away from the door the bone golem moved toward him, apparently assuming that he was taking something from the chamber beyond. Three of the shadowy dogs emerged from the room into the antechamber. Uto summoned two guardians made of magical force to stand before the dogs, but one dog avoided them and knocked Uto to the ground.

Sula, who was standing near the entrance to the Dark Depository, cast a spell on herself to give her skin the toughness of tree bark. She then took the little figurine of Nyema out of her pouch and set it on the floor, speaking the word that would transform it back into the living lion. But Nyema was too big to get through the crowded clutter in the antechamber. The shadow dogs and Sula's comrades filled up the space in front of her and neither she nor Sula could move forward.

The golem snapped its teeth on Kaa. At the same time Uto got back on his feet. One of the dogs moved toward Sula and knocked her down. She summoned fire to her hands and slapped her flaming palms on the dog's hide. Uto's guardians continued to hold off the dogs, and Sula called out to her friends that healing magic would harm the golem. Uto then cast a healing spell on it which caused its movements to slow. A burst of flame from Sula seriously burned one of the dogs. Kaa overcame his panic and began to punch and kick the golem. Then Azzaria smashed her adamantine flail against it and it collapsed into a heap of disconnected bones.

With the golem out of the way Nyema was able to move forward and snap at one of the dogs. The dog used its tail to trip her, but she bit it while she lay on the floor. Sula then stabbed the last remaining dog with her spear and slew it.

Kaa found a silver collar among the crocodile bones that composed part of the golem's remains. He looked through the door he had opened again, seeing the maze of passages crammed with objects. He also noticed on the wall another mask, this one wearing an expression of anger. It too was connected to a trap, which he disabled. As the Ruby Scarabs considered how well-protected the Dark Depository was, it occurred to them that the Sacrosanct Order of the Blue Feather must have been very determined to prevent anyone from learning about the Sky Pharaoh.

While Kaa looked into the archive room, he announced that he thought he saw another exit but it was blocked by stacks of things. He moved into the room among the shelves that stood 20 feet high filled with items, and found an opening only three feet tall. A secret door led into a short tunnel. He discovered a scroll that mentioned the Blue Feather in its title but was clearly trapped to harm anyone who read its contents.

The Scarabs left Nyema in the antechamber and squeezed through the tunnel, which was too small to accommodate the lioness. It emerged into a small room occupied by more shelves full of objects. Beyond that they found a room containing a dozen or more sarcophagi, all of them with faces eerily lacking any features. The heiroglyphics inscribed on the sarcophagi explained that the occupants had been punished for crimes against the library. One such crime was researching too deeply into the Sky Pharaoh. This sarcophagus had clearly been tampered with long ago. Kaa took out a pry bar and he and Uto pried it open. To their surprise it held two mummies, with mouths open as if they had been buried mid-scream. In fact, one of them began to actually scream as the lid was removed. Its eyes glowed red. It seemed to be another construct like the bone golem. Kaa attacked it with his fists and feet but his blows did not seem to harm it. Sula charged her spear with her flames and tried to strike it but missed her aim. Kaa then called his own fire and set it ablaze. Azzaria's flail harmed it, as did the fire sheathing Uto's hands. But the wrappings covering it seemed able to reach out independently of the creature and grappled Azzaria. Kaa chopped through the bandages to free her.

Azzaria flew into a rage and swung her flail at it again, while Uto burned it and Kaa pummeled it. This onslaught finally destroyed the thing. With the construct out of the way, the Scarabs were able to determine that the sarcophagus it came from had belonged to a scribe named Khnenti, whose name they had seen in one of the other scrolls during their research. Uto then suggested casting a spell to interrogate the mummy's spirit.

When the Scarabs were done with the sarcophagus chamber, they crawled through another tunnel into yet another tiny room, where they found a magic headband amid the rubbish. They were not able to determine what magic the headband held. By this time Kaa was certain that their exploration had identified all of the boundaries of the Dark Depository and there were no other rooms or secret doors to be found. He did uncover one more trap, which contained a deadly spell, but this he was able to disarm.

The Scarabs returned to the antechamber to examine what they had found. The information they had recovered told them that the Sacrosanct Order of the Blue Feather had desired to uncover the secrets of the Shory Empire, and that Khnenti had become too fascinated with the Sky Pharaoh and had been punished by being buried alive. They also discovered that the other item stolen from the Sky Pharaoh's tomb, his heart, had been taken to the city of Sothis and buried beneath something called Azhaard's Spire. Their discoveries included architectural plans by the architect Chisisek, which described a secret entrance to another library, the Vault of Hidden Wisdom, that could only be found by observing the shadow of the Tower of Ra's Glory on Midsummer's Day. Unfortunately the Tower of Ra's Glory, which had stood in Tephu, had long ago been disassembled for building materials. The Ruby Scarabs speculated that perhaps they could find out how tall the tower had been and from that estimate where the secret entrance could be found. Then they remembered that they had seen a scale model of Tephu in the Great Library - and it had included the Tower of Ra's Glory.



Loot:

Scroll of animate dead
Scroll of contagion
Scroll of ray of exhaustion
Scroll of symbol of pain
Scroll of blight
Scroll of finger of death
Scroll of soul bind
Iron tablet of clone
Iron tablet of energy drain
Iron tablet of wail of the banshee
2 canisters of kohl - oil of shield of faith

Next: part 17, The Vault of Hidden Wisdom

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

[Pathfinder] Mummy's Mask, part 15: Visit to the Grand Library

In the aftermath of recovering the funerary mask of the Forgotten Pharaoh from the necromancer Nebtah-Khufre, the Ruby Scarabs found themselves in possession of the mask after the priests of both Nethys and Pharasma declined to take responsibility for it. The priests advised the Scarabs to travel to Tephu, Wati's sister city across the River Sphinx, where the famed Grand Library might contain more information about the mysterious Forgotten Pharaoh.

The mask was a powerful magical artifact in addition to being sought after by the Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh, which caused the Scarabs some concern. They considered destroying it, but all indications were that it would be nearly impossible for them to destroy the mask. The only safe place they could think to leave it was with one of the temples, but as the high priests of both temples had refused it, they were obliged to take it with them. Uto reluctantly decided to wear it, since among its powers were the ability to monitor the health of his companions and to recognize undead creatures.

The Scarabs departed from Wati and took a ferry up the Sphinx to Tephu. The ferryman was a little displeased with providing transport for a full-grown lioness when Sula and Nyema boarded, and charged them extra for transportation.

On arriving at the docks in Tephu, the Ruby Scarabs were faced with the largest city any of them had ever visited before. One of the other ferry passengers had pointed out the vast blue-tiled dome of the Grand Library rising above the rooftops as they approached. The streets were thronged with merchants, peddlers, and hawkers of all kinds, selling every imaginable ware from camels to dates to boys and girls. The cacophony was overwhelming. Never had any of the Scarabs seen so many people in one place. It became apparent that hiring a guide to show them around the city would be wise. Now that they were on shore they could no longer see the Library through all of the other structures that surrounded it. There were plenty of street urchins offering to show them the way to various locations of interest to visitors, but they chose a boy named Abdallah who seemed clever and successfully played on their sympathy.

Before they left Wati, Ptemenib had told them to seek out the Caravan's End, which was run by his cousin. But they decided to seek the Library first. Abdallah showed them the way into the Old City where the Library stood. No peddlers were permitted there, but the streets were still busy with people going about their business. The Scarabs all noted that the guards at the Sun Gate seemed to be admitting only well-to-do pilgrims or beggars. Abdallah showed them the way to the Plaza of Bright Horizon, which separated the Grand Library from the Sanctuary of Nethys. They also saw the Houses of Order and Wisdom, the temples to the old gods Maat and Thoth, which pleased Azzaria as her people still followed the old gods. She had chosen Abdallah as guide in part because he wore the emblem of Ra.

The Library was an enormous building, towering the height of six ordinary houses above them. As the Scarabs approached the entrance Kaa observed that there were traps set there. The entry was flanked by two large statues of sphinxes, and they saw a lantern that appeared to be somehow made of water. On approaching one of the Library curators they learned that the Library commanded a fee of 50 gold pieces per visitor per day. This was far more than they had expected to pay, though it was not beyond their means. Uto showed the curator the letter of introduction sent by Sebti the Crocodile, but that made no difference to the fee. The Scarabs discussed the cost among themselves, and decided to return on the following day to begin their research after Uto had re-attuned the mask's powers to make it more useful for that purpose.

Abdallah showed them to the Caravan's End, which lay on the northern edge of the city not far from the reed beds that had given Tephu its nickname of 'City of Papyrus.' The inn was quite large and boasted a spacious stable and paddock area, where the group saw giant birds and huge reptiles in addition to horses and camels. Ptemenib's cousin, Ptolemny, greeted them pleasantly and when he learned that Ptemenib had sent them he offered them three days lodging and meals free of charge - though that offer did not extend to Nyema. Ptolemny also requested that Nyema sleep in the stable to avoid frightening the other guests.

While showing the Scarabs around the city, Abdallah had mentioned other libraries in addition to the Grand Library. That evening in the common room of Caravan's End, Kaa asked if any of the other guests knew of such libraries. He was told of a library called the Spiral Archive that was reputed to lie beneath the Grand Library, as well as a place called either the Shrouded Path or the Shrouded Walk, and the library of the Temple of Thoth. Later, Uto went with Abdallah to his family home to recruit his brothers and sisters to watch out for anyone following or asking about the Ruby Scarabs. While he was there he offered healing to any who were ill, used his magic to provide water for them, and arranged with Abdallah's father for Abdallah to serve the Scarabs for an entire week.

The next day Uto attuned the Forgotten Pharaoh's mask to help him research in the Library. They found that the outer area of the Grand Library's innumerable shelves could be accessed without paying the fee. The Scarabs gleaned all the information they could from these outer stacks that day, and returned to them on the following day to go to the upper levels. Uto fell from a ladder, but was able to cast a spell to prevent himself from coming to harm. Among the scrolls discovered in the upper levels was a six thousand year old scroll that referenced, Hakotep, the Forgotten Pharaoh. This scroll led them to yet more documents that could only be found in the Spiral Archive. They soon found that the Spiral Archive did indeed lie beneath the Library as they had been told. The bronze Door of the Eye, where the heiroglyph of an eye formed the keyhole, led into the Spiral Archive. Kaa detected a trap on the door. A curator explained that access to the Spiral Archive could only be granted by the high priestess of Nethys, Deka An-Keret, hat-ya of Tephu. To gain an audience with the hat-ya, the Ruby Scarabs would need to see Deaconess Hekhek.

That evening while her comrades slept in Caravan's End, Sula transformed into a young lioness and went hunting outside the city with Nyema. When they returned, the two slept together in the stable. The next morning the Scarabs went to the temple of Nethys to find out if they could see the hat-ya, but there had been no response to their request. They went out into the city to seek a way to earn some coin. Uto couldn't refrain from offering healing to the sick and was nearly mobbed by beggars. The party went back to the Temple of Nethys later, and were pleased to be told that they could see the hat-ya. But their elation was quickly lost when they saw Deka An-Keret themselves, and despite their letter of introduction from Sebti the Crocodile and the Temple of Nethys in Wati, the hat-ya refused to allow them entry into the Spiral Archive. Before the Scarabs could leave the hat-ya's office, she was interrupted by the arrival of an oiled slave boy, who told her that Muminofrah, the Fan-Bearer at the Right Hand of the Ruby Prince, commanded her immediate attendance. It was apparent to the Scarabs that the hat-ya was not pleased by this summons.

After the hat-ya left, Uto and Kaa asked the slave who Muminofrah was. The boy explained that she was the representative of the Ruby Prince, currently staying at the royal Palace of Gentle Reeds. When the slave had departed, Kaa suggested that perhaps the Scarabs should seek an audience with Muminofrah to ask her for permission to visit the Spiral Archive. Uto went outside and took flight in search of the slave. He found the boy near the Gate of the Moon and landed in front of him to ask him how to gain an audience with the Right Hand.

Once he had acquired the information he sought, Uto returned to the others and they had Abdallah lead them to the palace. There they found that Muminofrah was on her pleasure barge on the river. When the guards stopped the party, Uto told them that the Ruby Scarabs were the Heroes of Wati, and they were allowed to board the huge and ornate barge. They didn't see the hat-ya. After waiting for some time among a group of other people seeking an audience with the Right Hand, the Scarabs were called into her presence. After they were announced, Muminofrah appeared to be quite taken with Uto and summoned him to her side. Her behavior toward the tall half-orc was very flirtatious.

Muminofrah asked if the Ruby Scarabs had entertaining skills. To please her, Azzaria tumbled acrobatically, Sula transformed into a lioness, Kaa performed some martial katas and concluded his display with a burst of fire, and Uto demonstrated his magical hair. While this was going on the hat-ya arrived. Muminofrah then asked Uto to return later, after she had bathed. At Uto's request, she commanded a scribe to prepare a writ giving the Ruby Scarabs admission to the Spiral Archive for three days. The writ was to be given to the hat-ya, so as he passed the hat-ya on the way out, Uto used his hair to hand her the writ.

That evening Uto returned to the palace as Muminofrah had suggested, but he never saw her. The next morning the Scarabs went to the Library to visit the Spiral Archive.

A curator admitted them through the Door of the Eye. The heavy bronze door moved surprisingly easily. The curator told the Scarabs they must return before sunset, and advised them to avoid the antechamber which held a demon guardian that had once slain some previous visitors to the Archive. They set up an hourglass to tell them when to leave, for the Archive was underground and lacked any windows to show them the time of day. When they passed by the antechamber the curator had warned them against, they spied a demon that resembled a minotaur. Igby realized that the creature was actually a daemon, not a demon. They all heard a voice in their minds demanding, "Tell me your names so I can scrawl them on the wall of the dead."

Ignoring this menacing welcome, the party passed on to a reading room that stood to one side of the passageway. They were surprised to find a woman wearing a voluminous red hood sitting there, as they hadn't expected anyone else to have been given access to the Archive. They wondered if she might be another guardian creature. When the Ruby Scarabs entered the reading room, the woman introduced herself as Udjebet and told them she sought the Uraeus Ring. None of them had ever heard of it. Udjebet didn't elaborate on why she sought it, but Kaa observed that she wore a ring on every finger. When Udjebet asked the Scarabs to bring her any information they found about the Uraeus Ring, they agreed, and Kaa offered her a ring he had found in Wati, which she accepted.

In return for their agreement and the ring Kaa presented to her, Udjebet then escorted them down a winding passage to where a silver statue that resembled a human form made of cloud or mist stood. Udjebet then showed the Scarabs the actual Archive - a circular chamber descending deep beneath the earth, designed to resemble a rolled-up scroll. A spiral stone staircase gave access to each level, but the levels were also joined by narrow bridges made of magically-strengthened papyrus. After guiding the Scarabs to the Archive, Udjebet returned to the reading room.

The floors of the Archive and the bridges were so narrow that it was awkward to stand on them. Uto nearly had a fatal accident when he fell, and was only saved by his own magic. As the hours passed, Kaa and Uto found that the copies of scrolls from Hakotep's tomb that they sought had been moved from their appointed location, but further research revealed where they rested. These texts, written in ancient Osiriani, told of the Sky Pharaoh and displayed the symbol of a winged pyramid. The scrolls also mentioned a war in a city in the clouds, and a powerful weapon, but additional information was missing. It appeared that the Forgotten Pharaoh had been seeking stolen magic left by the Shory Empire, which had once been involved in a war with the Osirians that had ultimately led to the Keleshite takeover of Osirion. Other texts mentioned a sky burial and a winged tomb, and an organization called the Sacrosanct Order of the Blue Feather. The texts revealed that the Sky Pharaoh's heart and mask had been stolen from his tomb, and that his successor Djederet II had made efforts to round up all of the Order of the Blue Feather members and question them. The results of that questioning could be found in the Scrolls of Inquiry. The Scarabs searched for the Scrolls of Inquiry but they could not be found in the Spiral Archive. They had been moved to another library known as the Dark Depository. This was a disappointment to the Scarabs. But they did learn in their research that the Sacrosanct Order of the Blue Feather were a group of priests of Nethys dedicated to preserving knowledge. In this case, it seemed that the Order might have been dedicated to preserving - but not sharing - their knowledge of the Sky Pharaoh.

As their time limit was approaching its end, the Ruby Scarabs headed back toward the Door of the Eye. As they passed the antechamber, Kaa paused to converse with the daemon, trying to to engage it and provide it with a distraction from its endless servitude, but he found no success.

The following morning, a slave arrived at Caravan's End to deliver to the Ruby Scarabs a summons from Muminofrah the Fan-Bearer at the Right Hand of the Ruby Prince. When they arrived at the Palace of Gentle Reeds, they were told that Muminofrah had declared this day a public holiday and decreed that there should be a chariot race in celebration. Chariots drawn by prized racing camels would race through the city for her entertainment, driven by those whom she had summoned to the palace - which included the Ruby Scarabs.


Next: Part 16: Into the Dark Depository