Session 41 - "The Mummy's Curse" Report

Venen 11, 1247

The Fate-Steppers step into the next room from the southwestern hallway: a fountain depicting a Cactsian soldier washing their feet with a trickling bit of water from a stone rock overflows onto the floor of the room.

Ambrose Praxidice identifies the water as having some kind of magical properties, which leads Thais Argyri to dip her fingers into the water (against the cleric's advice). When nothing happens, she drips a few droplets onto her tongue. The water is cool and clear, but still does nothing. That's when Foenix Stolnent steps in. He dips an empty vial into the fountain and takes a large drink from it. The effect is immediately clear, as his strength begins to fail, draining away as his perceptive and cognitive abilities are bolstered.

Intrigued by the water's properties, he draws another two vials' worth of water to examine later.

On one wall of the room is a stone door, which Foenix determines is locked. He notices that the floral motifs on the door are the same as the chest they found in the gallery, but cannot find an immediate obvious connection between them besides the artistic similarities. He pulls out his lockpicking kit and begins to try and unlock the door.

As he does so, he notices a glow coming from the lock itself: a trap. Not to worry; Foenix knows a few things about disarming traps, and he carefully inserts his tools into the lock. Unfortunately, this triggers the trap rather than allowing him to disable it. The lightning from the magic trap arcs out through Foenix's body, striking Ambrose, H011-3 , and Thais as well. Foenix avoids all of the damage, and Thais and Ambrose take minimal damage, dodging out of the way quickly.

Unfortunately Holly's metallic form absorbs the lightning, shorting her circuits and taking a hefty amount of damage to her mechanics. Ambrose uses some of his magic to repair her somewhat, while Foenix reorients himself and once again inspects the lock (Holly leaning in to assist him). The actual mechanism of the trap eludes him, but suddenly it occurs to him that there was a key inside of the chest retrieved from the gallery besides the coinage, and he takes it out.

The party steps back out of the way, and Foenix uses mage hand to finagle the key into the lock and turn it, disabling the trap and opening the door.

The next room is unfinished: a large rectangular room with half-chiseled reliefs, a dragon statue in the corner with a real dragon skull under its right foot and a pile of silver coins under its left.

Across the room from the stone door is a long columned hallway that has been completed, leading down towards an octangular room.

The party hesitates. This looks like a trap. They explore the room carefully, looking for any traps or tricks, but eventually come to the conclusion that this is truly just an unfinished room with nothing else in it.

Before they head into the final room - the one that holds Narmer's sarcophagus, they retreat back to the grotto to take a short rest. Thais casts heart to heart on Ambrose, and Holly casts mage armor on herself before they venture into the crypt.

Inside, a hallway with four mummies lie against pillars leads up to a dais where a sarcophagus sits. The party hangs back, sending its two strongest forward in front of them and waiting in trepidation. As Thais and Olena approach the sarcophagus, Ambrose casts aura of life. The coffin lid is shoved off, clattering to the ground, and they look down on the mummified body of Narmer the Architect.

At first, the body does not move. Then it lurches to life, confused and disoriented, clambering out of the coffin. It does not know where it is, what is happening, but the air begins to thicken with hostile energy as Narmer lashes out against the trespassers in his final resting place.

Olena works herself into a rage, swinging with her lance in a reckless, wide attack arc and relying on her great weapon mastery to lead her lance. She pierces Narmer's body once, but the other attack goes wide.

Thais, on Olena's left, follows it up with two strikes with the sun-blade, both attacks ripping through Narmer's bandages and burning into his body. Her attempts to reason with the mummy lord do not pierce through the undead's confusion and defensiveness, and he utters such a blasphemous word so to chill the blood in Olena and Thais's veins (the only ones close enough to hear). Thankfully, both of the veterans are able to steel themselves against the terror that threatens to stop them in their tracks, and so she reluctantly resolves to put this man to rest permanently.

Holly, in the back, steps forward and uses her sorcerous manipulations to throw her spell further than it could normally grasp. A dark pit appears underneath Narmer, and he falls into the pit, disappearing out of sight (pitfall). The air, already crackling with energy, snaps back and courses through her body, frying her circuits again.

With no target, Foenix, Thais, and Olena gather about the spot where Holly indicates that Narmer will reappear, with Ambrose holding his censer and ready to channel Laravelle's divinity to quicken Narmer's felling.

Noting the hostility to magic inherit in Narmer's lair, Jacob Sterling casts globe of invulnerability over him and Holly, protecting the sorcerers from the ambient magic in this place. Holly, for her part, casts blur to keep herself safer from physical damage.

The hole opens up, dumping Narmer back onto his sarcophagus. The dais cracks under his weight, and weapons descend upon his prone form as Ambrose releases the magic that weakens Narmer's natural defenses, and Olena's lance stabs right through the mummy's head, turning him to dust.

Everyone takes a moment to breath before they approach the sarcophagus, taking in the treasures within: a small pouch of purple dust, a pendant of gold and jade, a ruby belly chain, a lapis lazuli brooch, and a pile of coins. From Narmer's body, they also retrieve a sapphire bracelet, a glimmering breastplate, and a rune-etched battleaxe.

One final thing they find is an orb, glowing gold and white. Holly recognizes it: her battery. Her original battery. In reverence she picks it up.

Through examination, the Fate-Steppers are able to determine that it works similarly to the Ethereal Orb, and she will be able to access the energy from different planes depending on which she chooses to power herself with: the Celestial Plane with the Celestial Orb, and the Ethereal Plane with the Ethereal Orb.

While Holly decides to try out her old battery when the party finally rests, they cannot stop until the entire tomb is cleansed, and there is still one more room that has not been explored: the false crypt.

They trek back to the false crypt, and after some deliberation as to how to dispel the wall of force trap (with Thais being unable to use Syria's blessings to do so), they decide to wing it.

Thais picks up a huge piece of stone and chucks it at the sarcophagus, which dislodges the lid enough for a wraith to come screaming out of the coffin. The trap, however, triggered by the lid being moved, suddenly traps the wraith inside a dome of force energy.

It rages against the arcane cage, and Ambrose steps forward. He holds out his censer solemnly, and time after time he flashes the brilliance of the goddess Laravelle at the wraith, searing the undead creature. Eventually with a last cry it vanishes in a puff of smoke.

The false crypt has no more loot in it, and so the party descends back to Narmer's tomb and Ambrose prepares himself to cleanse this place (hallow). It is a straight 24 hour spell, which means that he will be straining himself, even with Thais's help. But it needs to be done, and so he begins his work as Holly stares at the Celestial Orb, calibrating its energy to run in her metal body.