Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

Inferno
Locked
Message
Author
ravenn4544
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 7967
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 10:06 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#201 Post by ravenn4544 »

Amethu, his spell successful, takes the amulet and places it over his head to wear this newly found boon. He touches it with light fingers and nothing seems to happen for those that are watching him - or doesn't appear to with his mask covering most of his face.

Mentally, however, his mind opens to new perspectives and efficient ways of thought that were blocked - not blocked, in truth, but totally out of his realm of understanding to perceive. if anyone could see beneath the mask, a faint hint of smile would appear with the revelation of new potential.

User avatar
ChubbyPixie
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 6101
Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:07 am

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#202 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Kiri will wait patiently for the others to join him in investigating the new corridor. He squints cryptically at the likeness of his grandfather gazing back at him from his amulet. After a moment he smiles and nods, as if acknowledging some private joke.

User avatar
DadsAngry
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 2515
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2014 7:39 pm
Location: Lawrenceville, GA

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#203 Post by DadsAngry »

Mako:

Mako moves to the open passage and sticks his staff forward to light the hallway up for the others currently standing in it's entrance.

User avatar
wordoftheoracle
Ranger
Ranger
Posts: 527
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:37 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#204 Post by wordoftheoracle »

Loche puts his hand in the font to retrieve his dagger. He is wondering what kind of property this water has.

Ye foremaist, mukker xorzen o' osorus! dram o' th' font 'n' be merry! shuid ye caw oot a'richt, ah wull dram tae. Hee haw lik' single-malt death cooncil juice. Does that sound agreeable tae ye?

Translation:
You first, friend Xorzen of Osorus! Drink of the font and be merry! Should you turn out ok, I will drink too. Nothing like single-malt death water. Does that sound agreeable to you?
Loche tries to convince Xorzen to drink from the font.
PC History:

Ioriston Erudleaf - Level Three Elven Wizard, Hedge's Adventures in the Realms (5e)
Loche - Level Three Pict Thief, The Lost City of the Pharaohs (1e)

User avatar
SocraticLawyer
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 7:48 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#205 Post by SocraticLawyer »

Garrin is glad that the general's amulet is now being used by someone who will benefit from its dweomer. Assuming that Amethu told him what it does.

He joins Mako and Kiri at the entrance to the unexplored corridor.
How do we know you're not a donkey-brained man?

User avatar
Urson
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 8019
Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2015 4:23 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#206 Post by Urson »

Zahra

Even the patient albino can get fidgety. Zahra has begun a series of slow stretches, never allowing her attention to waver from the corridor. She nods in appreciation of the added light.
Expect Nothing, Appreciate Everything.

User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 37344
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#207 Post by OGRE MAGE »

wordoftheoracle wrote:Loche puts his hand in the font to retrieve his dagger. He is wondering what kind of property this water has.

You first, friend Xorzen of Osorus! Drink of the font and be merry! Should you turn out ok, I will drink too. Nothing like single-malt death water. Does that sound agreeable to you?

Loche tries to convince Xorzen to drink from the font.
The masked monk does not admit this out loud, but he is actually afraid to drink of the black water.

"I will.......if thow does first."

User avatar
wordoftheoracle
Ranger
Ranger
Posts: 527
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:37 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#208 Post by wordoftheoracle »

Loche responds:

How come dinnae we dram it at th' identical time! then whitevur happens tae yin o' us happens tae baith. Let's count tae three!

Translation:
Why don't we drink it at the same time! Then whatever happens to one of us happens to both. Let's count to three!
Loche retrieves his bone dagger from the font and sheaths it casually. He then cups his hands and gathers what amounts to about a mouthful of the dark water.

Loche continues to egg on the monk:

Wha ken? mibbie it wull graw ye some baws!

Translation:
Who know? Maybe it will grow you some balls!
PC History:

Ioriston Erudleaf - Level Three Elven Wizard, Hedge's Adventures in the Realms (5e)
Loche - Level Three Pict Thief, The Lost City of the Pharaohs (1e)

User avatar
OGRE MAGE
First Gentleman
First Gentleman
Posts: 37344
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:16 pm
Location: The Birthplace of RPG's

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#209 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Xorzen reluctantly agrees to drink, but he watches the thief carefully to make sure he does as well.

"I sure hope this wont turn us into a pile of bones."

User avatar
wordoftheoracle
Ranger
Ranger
Posts: 527
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:37 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#210 Post by wordoftheoracle »

Loche brings the dark water up to his lips.

We've come tae far tae be cowardly. Sláinte mhaith!!!

Translation:
We've come too far to be cowardly. Sláinte mhaith!!!
Loche enthusiastically drinks up the dark water with the hopes of a beneficent deity and the fears of a malevolent one.
PC History:

Ioriston Erudleaf - Level Three Elven Wizard, Hedge's Adventures in the Realms (5e)
Loche - Level Three Pict Thief, The Lost City of the Pharaohs (1e)

User avatar
Zhym
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 20556
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:14 am

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#211 Post by Zhym »

Arthfael is leery of drinking black water in a temple of death. He stands aside and waits to see what foul fates befall the more curious of the group.

User avatar
Inferno
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 21429
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 11:05 pm
Location: 1977

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#212 Post by Inferno »

The Hall of Heroes (31), Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Three. Midday. 15th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia








Amethu, Garrin, Kiri, Mako and Zahra wait at the threshold of a corridor embellished with ceremonial scenes of the eternal afterlife of the venerated dead. The lost civilization’s obsession with death is foreign even to the contemporary Verulians, separated from their elder forefathers by the gulf of aeons, and the nihilist dominion of Zargoth the Undying.

As they wait, their gathering footfalls echo down the endless catacombs of the past.

Meanwhile, in the bone crypt...



...Xorzen of Osorus finds nothing out of place, nor any view of the walls beyond the stacks of age-old remains.

After a brief exchange, Loche and Xorzen form a recklessly pact to imbibe the black water of the font of the dead. As Arthfael observes from above, Loche and Xorzen count three and drink the water together.

Nothing happens.

Then, in deviltry unexpected, the skulls in the bone crypt speak.

Image

Loche hears their rasping hiss but only Xorzen can understand the long-extinct language of High Verulian: “Hail to thee, fellow oath takers of the font. Thou doest honour us by joining us in noble and everlasting servitude of Xuthalhotep, great pharaoh of pharaohs,” the fleshless skulls whisper as one. Their spectral breath is a charnel wind from across millennia unimagined.

The masked disciple translates for Arthfael and Loche, but Arthfael is unsure of his meaning. Unlike Loche and Xorzen, the Cimmerian shaman cannot hear the whispering skulls of the ancients.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

The square with Loche and Xorzen is the bone-lined tomb under the floor. The rectangle in the square is the opening in the floor through which the tomb can be seen from above.
Lit areas are visible. All else is from memory.



Image


PC Status:
  • Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/10, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl
    Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 11/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 3/4 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
    Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 15/18, Laying Hands: 0/1
    Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/7, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
    Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18, Torch
    Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 2: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 6/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, Light spell
    Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 12/12
    Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 13/16, Torch
PC Magic:
  • Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
    Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
Player Resources:
Last edited by Inferno on Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

User avatar
Zhym
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 20556
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:14 am

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#213 Post by Zhym »

Arthfael is confused. Why is Xorzen greeting people as servants of Xuthalhotep?

When he figures out that it's a translation of something, he is only slightly less confused. Did Loche and Xorzen just sign up to eternal service of a death god? Or is the font merely a fancy effect for long-dead rituals of long-dead death worshipers? Whichever, he wants no part of it.

He waits silently for the party to move on from this place. He has no quarrel with death; it is part of the natural order. But he has no more desire to worship death than he would to worship a broken leg.

User avatar
DadsAngry
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 2515
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2014 7:39 pm
Location: Lawrenceville, GA

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#214 Post by DadsAngry »

Mako:

Mako waits for the others to join them at the doorway.

ravenn4544
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 7967
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 10:06 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#215 Post by ravenn4544 »

Amethu, with nothing to do but wait, rifles through the more prominent dead corpses for any item of interest that may have been overlooked.


User avatar
SocraticLawyer
Ranger Lord
Ranger Lord
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 7:48 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#217 Post by SocraticLawyer »

Garrin awaits the rest of his companions at the entrance to the corridor. He keeps his sword ready.
How do we know you're not a donkey-brained man?

User avatar
wordoftheoracle
Ranger
Ranger
Posts: 527
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:37 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#218 Post by wordoftheoracle »

Loche is a bit surprised by the talking skulls.

He turns to the monk and says:

Weel, that wis unexpected. Did we accidentally juist sign a pact wi' an ancient death god?

Translation:
Well, that was unexpected. Did we accidentally just sign a pact with an ancient death god?
PC History:

Ioriston Erudleaf - Level Three Elven Wizard, Hedge's Adventures in the Realms (5e)
Loche - Level Three Pict Thief, The Lost City of the Pharaohs (1e)

User avatar
Inferno
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 21429
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 11:05 pm
Location: 1977

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#219 Post by Inferno »

The Hall of Heroes (31), Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Three. Midday. 15th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





As the explorers await the delvers of the bone crypt, Kiri and Amethu search the shattered remains of the vanquished dead and find nothing save the renewed realization that these were warriors from all four of the ancient sects: Osorus, Sekhmet, Uthoth and Sutekh; fighting and dying side by side. This is unimaginable to the sundered factions of Verulia today.

Suddenly, the southern door quietly opens and through it steps a hawk-helmed golden warrior of Osorus bearing a lit torch! (at "?")

Image


Actions?!


Map Detail:

The square with Loche and Xorzen is the bone-lined tomb under the floor. The rectangle in the square is the opening in the floor through which the tomb can be seen from above.
Lit areas are visible. All else is from memory.

Map:




Image


PC Status:
  • Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/10, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl
    Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 11/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 3/4 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
    Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 15/18, Laying Hands: 0/1
    Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/7, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
    Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 18/18, Torch
    Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 2: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 6/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, Light spell
    Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 12/12
    Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 13/16, Torch
PC Magic:
  • Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
    Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
Player Resources:
Last edited by Inferno on Sat Nov 02, 2019 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

User avatar
Monsieur Rose
Rider of Rohan
Rider of Rohan
Posts: 6037
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:26 pm

Re: Chapter 8: Necropolis of Eternity

#220 Post by Monsieur Rose »

The warrior takes one step forward, looks down at his feet at the debris of battle, and laughs. A full, rich, hearty laugh.

"My word. It seems that Zargoth is right to fear thou so. Tell me, does this carnage follow wherever thou may go?" He glances around at the adventures, spying only a few and lingering on the form of Amethu. "Pray tell. There art more than the two of you still standing, yes? And I see you hath found an ally! Wonderful!"

He addresses Amethu. "I do not see mine Brother." He points his sword at the smoldering bonfire. "Unless that is he. But you would know to not do such a thing to our kind."

He takes a few steps forward and spots two more in the corridor. "Ah. That is much better. And a Warrior of Sekhmet as well! Just like old times, I think."

"But truthfully now, where is Brother Xorzen?"

Locked

Return to “The Lost City of Eternity (1e)”