I3 Pharoah

The Company for Skara after stepping through the gateway in the cave to escape the storm and the trolls, found themselves on the fabled Celestial Staircase. Shortly they wind up at the landing called the Censer of Dreams. A Noble Djinn rules this place, and he became absolutely enamored with Braya.   After some time she told him of her quest. He said he would look into it and find ways she could reclaim her father's soul. But first there were wishes to tend to. He believes there was a problem the Company for Skara could solve.  

“Condemned for his actions in life, the ghost of a long-dead pharaoh wanders the desert, day and night. Eons of torturous solitude have shown him the error of his ways, and he asks for brave mortals to free his soul and end an ancient curse upon the land. Seek him out and heed his call.”

Nafas Teleported them to the door after a day of enjoying the Censer.   2 Hammer, 1378 The door leads them to the Ruined City of Bakar. There they meet Aman Al-Raqib, the Archmage and a member of the Tears of Athis who wish to see the curse broken. They offer the Company provisions to journey to the temple and lift this curse. They are each given a Camel, and provisions. Each Camel can carry 1000 pounds. Travel 5 miles per hour. 40 miles per day. It will take 2 days to reach their destination.   3-4 Hammer, 1378 DR Journey Begins: Food for 14 Days for people and camels. 1500 pounds of water. Good for 2 weeks. Temperature gets over 100 F for 5 hours. The Second day it is only that hot for 4 hours. By the end of the 2nd day they can see the Pyramid in sight. As they camp for the night, a ghostly presence approaches them, in fact it is a ghost! Both Karazor and padraig ready themselves.        

A solitary man dressed in tattered clothing appears over the crest of a nearby dune. At first, he seems to shimmer in the heat and desert haze, but as he walks closer, it becomes apparent that he’s a ghost. “I am Amun Sa, son of the house of Mo-Pelar. My spirit has walked these sands for time uncounted in search of mighty heroes, to plead for their aid. “In my time, I was pharaoh of this realm. It was green and beautiful, blessed by the gods with magical waters that gave life to our land and nurtured our crops. But I was a foolish and cruel ruler. I should have protected my subjects; instead, I taxed them into poverty to create a wondrous tomb for my own self-preservation. When they rebelled, I cursed them and this land.   “With my dying breath, the curse was fulfilled, but my soul was cursed as well. I am doomed to walk these sands until a mortal soul retrieves the implements of my power from my tomb: my magic staff and the star-gem of Mo-Pelar. Only then will the curse be lifted, freeing my soul and healing this broken land.   “Many have tried, and none have succeeded. If you undo my terrible mistake by removing these two precious objects from my tomb, you may keep all the treasure you find within. Follow my path to wealth or woe, to destiny or doom.”

They leave the camels behind and follow the Ghost. The ghost makes no further communication.  

Amid the vast desert, a great pyramid rises from the sands, barely touched by time. Stairs ascend from the sand to an opening in the pyramid. Near the base of the stairs rests an empty basin one hundred feet in diameter. South of the basin, a deep stone channel cuts a path into the desert ground.

Once they find the entrance to the temple they go back to camp to rest.   5 Hammer, 1378 DR by 6 am they are at the Pyramid.  

P1: Two people stand on a platform at the top of the stairs, flanking the pyramid’s arched entrance, which is capped by a stone awning. The figures carry curved swords and are dressed in light, airy attire suited to the desert heat. Each also holds a torch.

Both of these are guards for the Tears of Athis. Karazor explains their purpose and they let them through.  

P2:The air is cool and still in this vast limestone chamber. Three pillars line each side of the room, and corridors lead to the east and west. A twenty-foot-tall statue of Amun Sa stands before the north wall. The room is brightly lit by sconces on the pillars. An intricate fresco once adorned the walls with artwork and hieroglyphs. Now, much of its plaster lies shattered on the floor. A human woman in priestly robes paces about the room, overseeing five scholars who work to reattach the pieces to the walls

The robed woman is Iaseda (lawful good, human acolyte), leader of the Tears of Athis. She is fifty years old and has a calm, determined manner. Around her, five more members of the Tears of Athis (neutral good scouts) use a sticky paste to carefully repair the room’s plaster walls, which they hope hold clues to restoring the River Athis. They introduce themselves as the ones that were sent from Bralizzar. She recounts the history of the Temple and the Curse on the land which dried the River Athis. She does not beleive that the party saw Amon-ra's Ghost. The party does not push it as it doesn't really matter if she believes them. She had 2 experts from Bakar with her who could translate the Hieroglyphs but they were eaten by the mighty Purple Worm that lives in these parts. Braya offers to translate them.   6:30 AM Braya Translates all 4 walls of Heiroglyphs:  

"I, Amun Sa, set forth a record of myself and of my dealings with this world. Our land is rich with green and fertile fields. The River Athis is the mother of our land, giving life with its waters. Athis nourishes all she touches and gives strength and health to her children. In my youth, my father, the pharaoh, would sit with me beside the spring and tell me stories of the river’s wonderful power and the blessings it gives unto this land.”   The south wall’s hieroglyphs read:   “In the years that followed, I learned of the passing of the pharaohs and how our tombs could guarantee a path into our chosen afterlife. I watched as my father built a tomb for himself, to guard against bandits who might plunder his tomb, robbing him of his refuge in the beyond. Yet, only a few years after my father’s death, his great burial place was desecrated by thieves. I was tortured by the thought of his spirit wandering the planes alone forever.”   The west wall’s hieroglyphs read:   “Cloaked in the darkness of night, I went to my father’s tomb to witness the truth with my own eyes. My father’s riches were plundered, and the hull of his ship, once jewel-encrusted, was bare and scarred with gouges. I knew with certainty he could not have approached his afterlife in such a boat. As my torch went out, so did the light within my soul. Clutching my staff, I swore by the gods that I would not be cheated of my place in the great beyond. I would build a tomb to end all tombs—one that none could ever despoil.”

  Annelline Finds a Secret Door while Braya Translates.   While Braya Reads Wenlock and Rosamund go to room P3:  

A twenty-foot-tall statue of Amun Sa stands before the north wall of this square room, which rises to a domed ceiling. A few tidy cots lie along the floor.

  Wenlock and Rosamund both find the statue is a secret door. They go to search the right room P4:  

A domed ceiling caps this well-lit room. Burning wall sconces illuminate ancient script along the walls. To the north, a twenty-foot-tall statue of Amun Sa, arms outstretched, holds an enormous altar bowl of blazing fire. A stone staircase ascends to the bowl, with hieroglyphs carved into the face of the lowest step.

  They go back and report their findings. After investigating P3 Braya comes to translate the Hieroglyphs and it is merely a message about bringing food offereings: “Lay your offerings of food and drink for the gods in the blazing fire before Amun Sa. That which the gods accept will vanish within the flame.” 6:40 am   Wenlock, Rosamund, and Braya go through P3 Secret door, and Anneline, Padraig, and Karazor go through the first one.   P5 & P6:

The corridor opens into a cylindrical shaft thirty feet in diameter whose slick walls drop into the darkness below. A domed ceiling peaks thirty feet above the floor of the hallway leading to this humid chamber.

P7: Another Statue: Anneline Finds a Secret Door again. Nothing else in the hallway or Silos are of interest. They go through the Secret Door:   P8: 60' Corridor to P9  

The walls of this room are lined with seven statues of Amun Sa: three to the north, two to the east, and two to the west. In the center of the room stands an altar. Side-by-side impressions of a left and right hand are carved into the front of the altar. On the ceiling and along the rest of the walls, the name “Amun Sa” has been carved repeatedly in multiple languages.

  The Party investigates: Braya Puts her hands in the imprints on the altar and says Amun Sa. A statue on the east wall shifts. Rosamund finds a secret door and sees its just a dead end. She was startled at first because she could tell it was a gas trap. They leave through the East Door.   P10:

This hallway slopes down at a slight angle. The plaster from the great frescoes that once covered these walls has fallen to rubble. Blade marks cover the walls. The remnants of a broken door lie at the corridor’s northern opening. Dust blankets everything, and the air is very dry.

  They search and enter the North Door.   P11:  

Beyond the broken door is a huge room scattered with broken pots and chests that have been largely hewn into pieces. Everything is covered with a thick layer of dust, apart from a still-intact chest and two vases.

They search the room and 3 mimics attack! 3 rounds, Defeated!   P12:

In the center of this cool, dark room rests an ornate stone sarcophagus. Its lid is ajar and broken, and it contains nothing but dust. Hieroglyphs appear to have been hastily chiseled into the north wall.

Braya Translates the Hieroglyphs:   “Here lies the tomb of Amun Sa. Know that ye have arrived too late To plunder his ransom for heaven’s gate.”   The Party knows there must be more because of the Ghost. Anneline Suggests going down the water silos, but Braya wants to go back to the room with the Continual Light spells back to P4.   Braya places a candle into the offering bowl, and it disappears...she's puzzled but Karazor knows this was Teleportation Magic! Karazor Casts DETECT MAGIC to confirm. And it is Teleportation Magic. The Party teleports through the Bowl! 7:30 am:   P13:

This octagonal room has a domed ceiling and smells faintly of sulfur. The scent comes from four doorways spaced evenly around the room. Each doorway is filled with rusty-orange mist. Between the doorways are four levers set into the walls. A skeleton lies in the center of the room, loosely gripping a sword that points at one of the doorways.

  Everyone is disoriented but Anneline gets her bearings and informs the party the Skeleton is pointing west. Rosamund pulls a lever and Padraig, Wenlock, and All metal go straight to the ceiling! Braya Casts Dispel Magic and the weapons fall as well as the companions! Wenlock tries to avoid a bad landing but fails miserably, where Padraig landed well and suffered no damage.   P14 Halls:

As you enter the rust-orange mist, the scent of sulfur floods your nostrils. You feel slightly lightheaded. This mist confuses your faculties and sense of direction.

They move through the halls but are disoriented: They find random things in the Hallway.   P15:  

Humanoid bones litter the floor of this room, along with the tattered remnants of adventurers’ clothing. Five elves dressed in similar attire kneel over the bones, speaking solemn prayers in mourning.

The Elves offer to Aid the Party, they claim to know the way through the maze. Everybody but Anneline and Rosamund suspects these are untrustworthy elves. They refuse any aid, but Padraig asks if there are rites he can perform that would help the elves. Padraig through this conversation sees through their deception and the Dopplegangers Attack.   They realize they must rest for an hour.   8:32 am   They travel through the hall and sense a breeze coming from the east. They follow that path and come to a door, Rosamund hears water flowing. So they decide to investigate room P18:  

A sphinx lounges on a wide platform at the far end of this chamber, her wings folded neatly at her side. Her tail flicks back and forth as she stares at you intently. Water surges from a well in the middle of the room, flowing into a trough on the floor, across the room, and into to an opening below the sphinx’s platform.

  Braya is THRILLED! The Sphinx is indifferent. The Sphinx makes them an offer, she will answer any question if they answer a riddle. Braya excitedly enthusiastically agrees.   “Too much, and you wither; too little, and you shiver. I’m slow in the summer, and hasty in winter. What am I?”   Braya INSTANTLY Answers the Sun! The Sphinx TElls them Where Amun Sa’s staff and star-gem are kept (areas P67 and areaP68, respectively)   Travel to P17:  

An oversized chest sits atop a beautiful rug in this dome-ceilinged room. The rug beneath the chest is a rug of smothering. If the chest or the rug is disturbed, the rug slips from beneath the chest and attacks. At the same time, the chest opens to reveal three more rugs of smothering that unfurl themselves and join the fight. Apart from these rugs, the chest is empty.

P16: A sign on the door reads Knock First. Padraig Does.

A few cots lie scattered around this room, as well as a few packs of supplies. Several humans dressed in dirty adventuring gear and green bandannas rest here.

After Several minutes of discussion, the party was going to agree to escort them out, but Rosamund convinced them it was a bad idea because of their provisions and supplies. They get angry and attack! They are killed in 12 seconds. P19:

Little holes honeycomb the right wall of this square room, whose domed ceiling is encircled by a narrow ledge. Steel spears pin four humanoid skeletons to the left wall, and a chest sits on the far end of the room.

They trigger the spear trap but nobody is impaled to the wall. They recover the chest and explore the observation dome. P20:

Clearly the room is one giant trap. There is another secret door leading to an observation dome.

P21:

A rope hangs from the ceiling of this room; its lower end is tied to the wall facing the doorway. At the other end is a gigantic, bladed pendulum. A narrow ledge encircles the base of the room’s domed ceiling.

Braya and Anneline spot an invisible stalker and the party kills it   9:04 am another short rest. 10:04 Resume:   Walk Down to P22:

The walls of this room are splattered with dried blood. There is a ten-foot-diameter hole in the ceiling. Piled beneath it is a large mound of straw. Three hulking creatures with humanoid bodies, bulls’ heads, and piercing red eyes pace around this room, snorting aggressively with axes in hand.

The Minotaurs Attack! Dealt with Easily! They find a shaft that goes high up at least 30 feet because Karazor's Magehand couldn't travel further.  They decide to investigate the two other rooms before trying this exit.     P23:  

DARK!

Decide to come back after Braya has rested to dispel the Darkness.     P24:  They are about to enter the room and Rosamund knows there's a trap.  They still want to go get the knapsack in the room.  When they do the door slams shut and locks and the walls move in to crush.  Rosamund was able to pick the lock quick enough, and she and Braya Jumped out.  Padraig, Anneline, and Wenlock all held the walls open.  Karazor, left, then Anneline tumbled out, Then Wenlock Left, and finally the walls moved back and Padraig left the room.     P25: They investigate the room and find nothing.  They decide to spend the rest of the day here until they can long rest.     6 Hammer, 1378 DR 12am: Awaken from their rest to begin.   Go back to Room of Darkness! Braya Dispels Darkness and finds the chest.  Rosamund Checks for traps. Destroyed Black Pudding and Opened CHest for potions   Return back to P22:   Padraig climbs to the top and opens the door.  He then secures Rosamund's Grappling hook.   They Reach P52:

Faded and moth-eaten prayer rugs are neatly placed about this room. In the center of the south wall is a thirty-foot-tall statue of Amun Sa with a giant gemstone glimmering from his forehead. A compass rose is carved into the floor before the statue.

1:30 am: Anneline Finds West Secret Door, Karazor finds East Secret Door.   P50:  3 Wraiths are hovering over a mace!   The Party attacks. Braya is severely drained and they can't go on until she recovers.    1:40 am, tend to Braya.   5: 40 PM continue on   P43:  

Piles of plaster—the remnants of long-shattered frescoes—line the walls of this room. No readable pieces are left. Empty flour sacks litter the floor. The room’s domed ceiling bears several wide cracks.

Notce a tiny tunnel dug into the ceiling! They make note but continue on.     P32: Garden Hall

A rapid stream runs through this brilliantly lit indoor garden. The room’s domed ceiling glows with warm light, giving life to the lush plants along the stream. Nestled among the ferns, flowers, and palm trees in the garden are two enormous bronze bowls filled with leafy pomegranates, pears, figs, and dates.

  P33:  

The walls of this octagonal room rise high to a domed ceiling that glows with warm light. A waterfall tumbles into the room from the mouth of a stone-carved lion’s head, emptying into a stream that flows through the north entrance. A door sits high on the south wall above the lion’s head, opening onto a narrow ledge that encircles the base of the domed ceiling. Four palm trees stand in the room, and clusters of pineapples grow from their leafy tops. Two identical granite altars sit on the east and west sides of a pool. Each altar is carved with the impression of a right hand, a left hand, and gold-lined hieroglyphs. Thick foliage shrouds doors to the east and west.

Anneline Recognizes the Palm with Pineapples as Grenade Palms.  Braya Reads the Heiroglyphs and understands it is a magical lift system.  They hear a slight tapping noise. ???   They continue exploring this area of the Pyramid, and then they here the din of Battle.   P47:

The din of battle rises from this room. A heavily armored woman armed with a gleaming sword valiantly battles a horde of gaunt, gray creatures with sharp claws and long, ghastly tongues.

There they see a Knight fighting Ghasts!  They come to her aid.  Uma Joins them.     P44:  

Hieroglyphs cover the ceiling and floor of this corridor.    “Above our thoughts the pharaoh sleeps, In dreamy realms and sky so deep. The high priest worked a wonder great, And sealed him up into his fate. Great Nafik, the priest most high, Studies tomes that he might ply The watery path where all the great Leave death behind and loose their fate.”   “Nafik was high priest of Amun Sa and leader of his rites. He was keeper of the tomes of Terbakar, the greatest library in all lands of the golden age. “Nafik searched, too, for life eternal, and some say he sought to rob the pharaohs of their right to that life. But I believe he sought only to serve.   “Nafik’s search was rewarded, for the books showed him the way of life eternal here. Now great and terrible in his power, he hopes to share this gift with us.   “He cannot die, for he has sequestered his life elsewhere. Nafik is now second only to the gods themselves. He alone has claim on the rule of Bakar.”

They travel to where Uma's companions are and Padraig and Karazor both perform burial rites.  it takes an hour. 7:12 PM Resume   They move pack to the garden and ascend with the magic.   P54:   There is a secret door on the ledge and the party decides to travel through it

When the dust clears, a surprised gnome stands in a rough-hewn tunnel before you, holding a dingy spoon.

This squirrelly gnome commoner is named Prit. He snuck into the tomb five years ago to admire its architecture and has been happily tunneling through these ruins ever since. Prit is obsessed with spoons and doesn’t know much about anything else. He does know that down the rough-hewn corridor behind him there’s “a weird little treasure”   Karazor and Rosamund check on him and make sure he is Ok then leave to the weird little treasure.   P64:

The walls of this cavern are rough and irregular. Jumbled blocks of stone are strewn about the floor. Two large creatures made of solid earth stand imposingly before an alcove in the cavern’s northeast corner.

Padraig Smashes the Canopic Jar with a heart inside, presumably for a mummy.   P57:

A ten-foot-diameter column of water thunders down from the ceiling of this semicircular room, pouring into an opening in the floor.

This room is filled with grime but in the past it must have been beautiful. A deep voice emanates from the water column and utters the following message in Common: “A terrible evil befouls this place. A wicked priest haunts these halls, his heart preserved in glass by foul magic. Those who end his undeath may return and face the Trial of Truth.”   P58:

The walls, ceiling, and floor of this room are made of marble. They might once have been beautiful, but now they’re covered in cobwebs, dirt, and grime. An old, scorched book lies on a marble slab in the center of the room.

  Braya immediately goes for the book!  The book is ruined and useless but she figures it is rituals for becoming a mummy lord.   P 56:

The well-lit hall before you is vast and majestic, rising at a slight angle toward the south. Wall torches light four flights of stairs that connect wide landings. Water thunders in torrents past both sides of the stairs and underneath these landings. At the top of the stairs is a platform, on which rests a giant bronze forearm with an upraised fist. An imposing figure stands beside this bronze arm. He is wrapped almost entirely in tattered priestly attire that trails at his feet, but a few gaps between the wrappings reveal his rotting, desiccated skin.   The figure casts his gaze at you and says in a raspy voice, “Foolish beings of living flesh, your journey ends here. Once, I was the pharaoh’s high priest—but now, I enjoy immortality that even he could never hope to attain. Revel in this moment: the rushing water of Athis, the smell of burning torches. It is the last scene you will ever witness.”

He says all of this to the Illusion that Braya cast ahead of him as the party surprises him from behind!  They destroyed him and the grime goes away.  They then fight the other creatures on the gauntlet   When they returm to P57 they take on the Trial of Truth because the grime disappeared.   Braya answers the questions and hears: “Put your hand in mine,” says the column. A glowing impression of a hand appears on the floor before it.  When she does so, the water reverses course. The party travels to the next level via this aqueduct.   P65:

The water lifts you up the shaft into the south end of this corridor and splashes around exuberantly. This corridor ends in a set of elegant bronze double doors.

P66:

A reed boat spans the length of the western wall of this stone treasury. Several jars rest inside the boat, whose bow features an empty, fist-sized indent. A mural on the east wall depicts the boat sailing on the clouds with a glittering gemstone in its bow.

Karazor examines the Mural and confirms its magical, probably teleportation of some sort.     P67:

You peer from a hazy portal high above the desert. Thousands of feet in the sky, the air is thin and cold. Just beneath the portal floats a layer of sparse clouds, and the pyramid is but a tiny speck directly below you. An exact copy of the boat from the treasury floats thirty feet from you, perfectly still. The large gemstone from the painting is set in its bow, and ten ornate vases rest within it.

  This portal and floating boat are located 10,000 feet in the air, directly above the pyramid. The floating boat is 30 feet from the portal. The boat is fixed to its position; no amount of force can move it.   Kara Uses the Fly Scroll to get to the boat.  There she fills her sacks with the platinum AFTER she gets teh Gem!     P68:  

A grand sarcophagus lies in the center of this room, with a golden staff set across it. In the center of the north wall stands a statue of Amun Sa with a stone replica of a gem held its outstretched right hand and a stone replica of the staff held across its body with its left hand. Hieroglyphs adorn the walls.

Braya Goes to read the Heiroglyphs:

“A passage is always provided between the tomb of the king and his likeness, whereby his spirit may pass into his ordained statue and live within the stone we worship in the outer world.”

Once they take the Staff of Rulership, they are teleported outside the Pyramid to P2   At 9 PM they teleport out.  

Silence hangs heavy in the still, dry air. Time seems to have stopped, holding all the world in the balance. The pharaoh’s ghostly figure hovers on the horizon. Distant thunder rolls gently across the far-flung sands. The horizon blurs as a whirlwind begins to spin around the massive pyramid. Swirling wind and sand sing past you, a chorus of a thousand voices: the hopes and cries of a land long dead, and the name of its long-accursed pharaoh—Amun Sa. You hear his earnest voice echo in your mind amid the jarring crescendo, saying:   “You have done what others could not; you have put my soul and the souls of my people to rest. The curse upon this land is ended. Keep my staff, my star-gem, and all the treasure you have found within my tomb—and know that you will forever have my gratitude.”   The sandstorm settles, and all is still once more. The pharaoh’s ghost is gone. From below, you hear the cool sound of running water. As the dusty air clears, it reveals a large basin now overflowing with spring-clear water that surges along a channel toward the horizon. It will take time to heal this land, but there will be blossoms in the spring, for the river has returned from its exile—and with it comes life!