Still catching up on posting our session write-ups…here is our second session with Entombed with the Pharaohs. There are, of course, significant spoilers for the module starting right below the break. As always, my GM comments in [italics].
[When we last left the party, they had rushed off to the home of the Crook Bearer in the hopes of either catching Xaven in the process of stealing the Funeral Mask needed to summon the Pyramid of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension or to beat him to it. Nuala had just gone off to scout the perimeter of the Crook Bearer’s walled compound while Scott’s air elemental familiar had flown over the compound for a look. As that was going on, Paracount Julistar and some Cheliaxian Legionnaires had come up to the other PCs and told them to stand aside so he could speak with the Crook Bearer…]
In response to the Paracount’s request, Ezren said that the Paracount would never find the Pyramid without knowing the proper incantation. [The players had discussed some of their options online during the week and hoped to bluff the Paracount into thinking that more was needed than the mask and thus make them important to him.] The same smug smile that Ezren had learned to hate the day before spread across the Paracount’s face and he simply indicated that he knew that Ezren was lying. Shocked by that confident revelation, Ezren asked how he could know. Julistar simply smiled more smugly and said that he knew everything that they knew before continuing on his way towards the gate of the compound.
Shocked, the party simply stood for a moment as the meaning of the Paracount’s words took hold. A few seconds later they understood that someone had been passing information to the Paracount…it had to be Neferit! With that realization, Nasir raced to the gate. Beating the Paracount to it, he banged on it until a guard opened it from within and asked what he wanted. Nasir quickly demanded to see the Crook Bearer as they had news of someone trying to steal a funeral mask from the Black Reliquery!
At the mention of the Black Reliquary, the guard looked shocked and started to ask how he could know about that but Nasir cut him off and told him to hurry and fetch the Crook Bearer! The guard closed the gate and returned a few minutes later…with more guards. As the Paracount approached, Nasir pointed at him and told the guards that he was the one trying to rob the Crook Bearer!
Still smiling smugly, the Paracount stepped up to introduce himself and stated that he has an appointment with the Crook Bearer to discuss official business on behalf of the Cheliax Empire AND to share some information that he had discovered regarding a theft from the Crook Bearer’s holdings. The Paracount walked through the gate and whispered something to the guard as he passed.
The guard flashed Nasir an angry look and told him that he and his companions needed to come with him. When Nasir said no, the guard looked behind him and told one of his companions to go get more men. The party turned to leave and then realized that the Paracount’s Legionnaires had remained outside, standing between them and escape. They had no weapons, however, and were simply standing there…waiting. Not far down the road, the party could see a group of Sothan guards coming their way.
[The Legionnaires had been ordered to take no actions against the characters unless the characters attacked first. The Paracount had hoped that the party would attack. If his framing them for robbing the Black Reliquary did not work, it would still get them arrested. And that, of course, would meet his need…he just wanted the party out of the way for awhile. Could he have had his guards simply attack and possibly kill them? Sure but wouldn’t really be his way.]
The party simply walked past the Chelish and they took no action in response. As they left, Scott cast invisibility upon himself and Nuala still had not returned from her scouting. The Sothan guards approached the remaining trio of Nasir, Ezren, and Kyra and told them that they were under arrest for robbery and to drop their weapons. After briefly contemplating running…and even more briefly fighting…the party surrendered. The guards gathered their weapons and placed bags over their heads before leading them off.
Nuala returned just in time to see the guards taking her companions away. Both she and Scott headed back to the Lodge, independently, to speak with Captain Krenshar. The Captain informed them that if they can arrive before the Crook Bearer’s representatives, they might be able to bribe the jailor or pay a fine and get them out. But, of course, to do this quickly, she’d need to know which jail they were taken to. Alas, neither Scott nor Nuala had any idea.
[Fortunately, everyone…including the PCs…had forgotten about Nahmen, their guide. When the trio were taken away, he followed. Once he saw which jail they were taken to, he ran off for the Lodge to find help.]
As the Captain, Nuala, and Scott were preparing to leave the Lodge to start with the closest jail, Nahmen came running in saying he knew where they had been taken. With all due haste, the group made their way to this jail and had an audience with the jailor, a rather unattractive man. He agreed to release the trio in exchange for a fairly large sum of gold and a kiss. [Yeah, yeah…I know, how cliché. I just had this image in my head of the prison from The Mummy and the kiss kind of came out of that thought.] Krenshar, apparently, had dealt with this man before because she immediately pointed at Nuala and said the kiss would come from her!
Although the jailor looked quite pleased, Nuala was not. She said one kiss on the cheek but that wasn’t good enough for the jailor…he wanted a full, passionate kiss. The first kiss wasn’t up to par and so he demanded a second. Nuala put a full effort in with the second kiss and left him somewhat breathless. After he recovered, the jailor told them to follow him.
In the meantime, the captured trio had been stripped of their gear and thrown into a cell. The Sothan guards did not treat them gently and made it quite clear that they had a rather low opinion of thieving dogs, including looking forward to watching thieving hands being cut off. The only other occupied cell was across the way from them. An older man within kept shushing the trio every time they spoke loudly before going back to gnawing on his hands…and eyeing Ezren’s hands rather hungrily.
About an hour later a guard came and opened the cell, telling the trio to come with him. He led the group through the prison’s courtyard, a courtyard full of thieves waiting to have their hands chopped off by the large man with a large scimitar. The guard commented on how that was where the trio should be…in line for their punishment. Instead, he led them to the prison’s main gate.
Waiting at the gate were Captain Krenshar, Scott, Nuala, and an ugly fat man [the warden]. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Ezren immediately asked about their gear that had been taken as he was quite concerned about getting his spellbook back. The Captain and the warden haggled a bit in Osiriani and the warden pointed at Nuala. Without being prompted, Nuala pounced on the warden, knocking him to the ground, and planted a kiss he will probably never forget. The warden tried to extend the embrace but Nuala nimbly disengaged and stepped away. The trio’s gear is returned sans, of course, any monies they were carrying.
Before turning to head back to the Lodge, Krenshar made it quite clear that she wasn’t in the business of charity. The party would now turn over 40% of the monetary value of the items they recover from their expedition…assuming, of course, they actually succeed in getting to the Pyramid. No one argued with her. Nuala had a look on her face that indicated the trio were deeply indebted to her as well.
Back at the Lodge, the party obtained a map from the Captain and discussed their options for reaching the Pyramid site. They quickly decided that they best get out of town as soon as possible…just in case the Crook Bearer decides to take matters into his own hands. They also assumed that the Paracount and his cronies would depart for the Pyramid soon too and it was important that the party get their no later than them. [The players were assuming that the Paracount or one of his allies had already obtained the Funeral Mask…which, as they find out later, is an accurate assumption.]
Two options for traveling to the Pyramid site were discussed. One would involve taking a boat up the River Sphinx and then striking overland for the Pyramid. The other was a completely overland journey. Although the former would likely be quicker, assuming a boat could be immediately chartered, the party elected for the latter. They were concerned that a boat could too easily be subjected to sabotage or other delays and mishaps.
Gear deemed necessary for the expedition (e.g., extra food, torches, spikes, sacks, oil, etc.) were gathered and loaded on camels before the party headed out of town under the cover of darkness. They elected to travel at night and rest during the day. Judicious use of Ezren’s rope trick and Kyra’s endure elements spells helped to keep the party relatively comfortable on their journey over the cold, night sands and during the burning, daily rests.
On their third night of travel, they reached the Underdunes. Nasir is familiar with the Underdunes and explains that travel within them will be much quicker than traveling over the sands. Scott’s elemental familiar had started to act strangely, almost hyperactive…probably the agitation of the elementals that Kahsin had mentioned previously. Traveling in the deep, dark trenches of the Underdunes, unnerved many in the party and Nasir picked his way carefully, looking to avoid any areas that looked unstable or about to collapse.
A few hours into their Underdune travels, Nuala stopped and dismounted from her camel. She had spotted something on the ground, a strap of leather. It looked like it may have come off of a boot and it did not look like it had been sitting there for a long time (i.e., it didn’t look overly weathered). As she began to tell the others about her find, Nasir pulled up his camel. Six Chelish Legionnaires came swarming out from a side trench and this time they weren’t waiting for the party to attack first.
Although the party dispatched them with relative ease, it wasn’t without injury. Ezren, in particular, suffered a number of injuries but Kyra was able to comfort him with Saranrae’s healing magics. As she was doing this, part of the trench upper wall collapsed under the weight of a charging Sphinx! One that pounces right upon Ezren!
The battle was fairly difficult and almost cost the party two of its members…though not directly at the paws or jaws of the Sphinx. Instead, when Ezren cast a lightning bolt at the Sphinx, the bolt also slammed into the trench wall behind the beast and brought it down. It brought it down not just on the Sphinx but also on Nasir and Scott, already unconscious from the Sphinx’s attacks, and completely buried them!
Fortunately for the party, the bolt and collapsing sand did badly injure the Sphinx as well. Just before it was about to fly off to lick its wounds (and possibly wait for another ambush of the party), Kyra and Nuala finished it off. With that immediate threat dealt with, those not being suffocated under crushing sands immediately set about digging out those that were in such a dire circumstance. Scott was at death’s door when he was excavated. Kyra set about healing as much of the damage as she could.
During the fight, the camels had fled so the party set about rounding them up. Successful, they continued on their journey. In a few hours, they reached their destination just as morning was breaking. In the distance, they can see four pyramids, the northern one still half buried in the sands, and all are made of the greenstone that they know is associated with the Pyramid that they are seeking. The keen-eyed amongst the party can just make out some figures standing at the base of one of the small pyramids and quickly assume it is probably the Paracount and his companions.
In confirmation of that assumption, a massive fifth pyamid shifts into existence which seamlessly fits, right down to the veins in the stone, with the other four…the Pyramid of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension!!!
[That, of course, is right where we ended.
Another fun session that did not track directly as written in the module. Pretty much everything up to the ambush by the Legionnaires and the Sphinx did not go as directly written but certainly fit within the theme of the module. Again, that’s what I have really enjoyed with Entombed with the Pharaohs…it is open, suggestive, and flexible rather than being overly linear.
The players were curious how the Paracount beat them to the Pyramid. The answer: he took the boat…it was quicker after all. Now nothing in the module addresses anyone taking a boat but the river is right there and, when you’ve got scenes from The Mummy stuck in your head, a fight on a boat just keeps coming to mind. I wonder how things might have played out if both rival expeditions had ended up on the same boat (like in The Mummy). I’m guessing, regardless of it got bloody or not, it would have been quite entertaining and completely “off the rails.” I almost wish the party had taken the boat for just such an opportunity.
I can see it now…the captain takes on both sets of travelers without telling the other (why not get paid twice for the same trip after all) and forbids any fighting or he’ll turn the ship around and go back to Sothis. Would one group elect to go overland or find another ship or boat? Would they travel together? If so, could Nuala keep her knives to herself? What about Xaven? How long could Ezren put up with the Paracount’s smugness or would he just lock himself in a cabin? What would happen when the ship reached the site to disembark? Would the sands run red or would a truce be maintained? So many answers we’ll never know. 😉
This last session was actually on December 17th and we haven’t gamed since due to the holidays and an evil tooth fairy visiting yours truly and leading to some minor dental surgery. We pick up again this weekend so, based on my normal track record, expect to see the next session write-up in, maybe, mid-February. 😯 ]
