The Wayfarer's Inn

OOC: Although Mark didn't post yet, I'll continue nonetheless because I'll be away again for a few days until sunday and would like to continue before that, so...


IC: Each one of you presses down the cartouche that corresponds to his or her profession. Rumbling and sending clouds of sand and dust into the air, the granite slab slowly raises upward into the rock wall. There is a faint whoosh of air, musty-smelling and dry. Then you see that beyond the portal is a hallway parallel to the cliff face. Brightly painted pictures and hieroglyphs adorn the walls within, as far as you can see without entering.

Three minutes, Mark...

It's good to read that both your characters wanted to press that cartouche anyway.

Once the door opens, Eilkhan holds her hand up and peers inside. With a practiced eye, she looks around and beginning with the floor she goes about her usual work, looking for traps etc. She also inspects the glyphs carefully, aware that any spellcaster will do it magically as well.

Ahi Seshem notes Eilkhan at her work and nods. "We should discover as much as we can previous to entering. Asterion is your spell for detecting magic still operable? Though I have a feeling this whole tomb will have a strong dweomer of magic and evil."

Let's find out as much as we can before we go in. I don't want to kick in the Find Traps or True Seeing until I have to; darn short duration spells! All I know about Rahotep is that he's 'tricksey' in the worst way. Clarence can we read any of the hieroglyphs w/o going through the portal, anything else to hear or see (or smell I guess )? And it all looks like the same rough carved stone, or more 'finished' as the diagram depicts?

I think Asterion's spell should still be running - if it is, Asterion will scan the hallway to see if it shows anything.

Outside, the shadows grow longer and soon night will fall. Having spent several days exploring the Gorge of Osiris, you know that at night undead, demons and other monsters come out of their hiding places and start prowling the gorge in search for the living. It is highly doubtful that this tomb will be safer than the gorge, but then what other choice do you have than to enter?

Carefully you examine the entrance hall from the portal and Asterion immediately notices a magic aura that exists within this place, although he can't make out a source. The whole area stinks of age, dust and carrion. As far as you can see without entering, the floor is made of carefully worked stone with the walls plastered over. All over the walls are murals and writings of bright hue. And while the hieroglyphs are too small to decipher them from that distance, the paintings that are visible from your place depict a large man, probably Rahotep, conversing with all manner of evil entities: Set, devils, monsters, demons, serpents, Sobek the crocodile god and creatures such as ghouls, huge scorpions and human-faced hyenas.

Across from your place to the right (the gray area on the map) is a particularly large painting of Rahotep who appears to be leering out into the passage from a gate to the most malign and gloomy part of the Duat. Ancient hieroglyphs can be seen beneath the painting as well.

Further to the left and right are two circular recesses noticeable in the walls and even further the hall appears to turn to the left and the right, but not much more can be said because these areas are far from the entrance and unlit.

As far as Eilkhan can tell, the immediate entrance area seems to be free of mechanical traps.

OOC: I have decided to send you the maps separately via email from now on. There seem to be size issues on this site - I've twice tried to paste the map in here and both times only one half was shown unless I reduce it severely in size which makes details less noticeable. I hope that this solution is okay with you.

Any way for the maps, I just appreciate getting them!

Guess we gotta go in soon, eh?

Only seconds after Eilkhan's words to you have faded in the dusty air, some writing directly opposite the entrance begins to glow with a phosphorescent light. It is easily readable by all of you, even the ones who never learnt the ancient khemitian hieroglyphs:

The Set Rahotep's Prediction:

Right and left you will turn to seek me.
Turn as you might, there is no escaping my Curse.
Foul is the Death that shall hunt you down; swift its strike,
burning its measure of punishment.

The Set Rahotep's Pledge:

Hunt the way as lowly ones. My iron teeth will devour you.
Delve deep, and the tears you shed will burn and wash
you away.
Turn and twist back and forth, and the end is the same as
afore.
Beat down the portal to no avail, for rock is unyielding.
Fair ghoul or kindly demon you are not; no gate passes you
through.

Thereafter the glow fades and the meaning of the writing is no longer discernible to any of you not learned in the ancient Khemitian's written language.

"The slow and careful way is preferable. The evil one dwelling in this tomb wants us to die, I'd prefer not to." Ahi smiles grimly and steps in as well, looking up and down and all around (as my 6yo is fond of saying!) Without stepping anywhere else, especially not until Eilkhan has done her thing, what else can I see, and is there anything else to be deciphered from the glyphs? (Just assuming I know how to read the ancient khemitian writings?)

OOC: The notification emails are definitely not going out for me. Dang. Is there a way for me to fix it or is a website glitch? Thanks!