Saqqara and the Restless Dead [IC]

[Tibbius]

And Dawn Came

Osiris’ barge arises just over the red lands beyond the river, its rays burning along through the cloudless sky across the shadowed valley and onto the brick walls of the tidy apartments that line the edge of the bluff, in through the windows of the apartments to light the rooms and wake the occupants. Among the apartments, chickens scratch and cackle and roosters crow. Most of the people in the living town of Saqqara yawn and stretch and rise to their days. Among the more ornate brick and stone edifices of the dreaming city of Saqqara, the night watch turn eagerly toward their homes.

It is the first hour of rations, and the bakers and brewers – already up for two hours - are opening their doors. Some people line up outside those doors with their bread baskets and their beer jars, waiting to present the script-marked ceramic tokens that the dispensaries will turn in to the nomarch later that afternoon in order to receive their supplies of grain and honey. Others begin to gather in gardens outside their apartments, waiting for their family to bring them breakfast. A few have started cooking onions and lettuce with a few drops of sesame oil in copper pans held over smokeless fires of very dried dung.

Widow Hasfa was an elderly woman who supplemented her pension by offering hospitality. She and her ten year old grandson were handling three pans of vegetables over two fires, under the brown brick front wall of their apartment.

Tehuti, Eshe, Semmopet, and Tarkasan all had spent the night under woolen blankets among the flowers of the widows garden. Upon waking, they rolled their borrowed blankets and left them at the doorstep, sleepily murmured "happy morning" to the widow, then walked along the desert side of the apartments to the nearest bakery.

The previous afternoon they had presented their passports to the nomarch’s scribe and had received their weekly ration tokens – Semmopet and Tehuti a few more than the others, as befit their educated status. Now they each handed over a token to the baker and got a hot round loaf of millet bread, three fingers thick and heavy and as wide as the span from thumbtip to tip of the little finger.

Next they went over to the brewer with their pottery beer jars, presented another token, and dipped their jars in the communal vat. Dribbling drips of barleyjuice and juggling hot fragrant bread, they sauntered back to the garden and squatted down in a circle amid the flowers, joined by three others whose names they had not yet learned.

“Happy morning,” said the broad-shouldered man with fresh reed marks across his back. He smiled at them. “Spare a bit of bread?”

One of the other two, who had an old scar that split her nose from side to side, broke off a decent size piece from her loaf and handed it over. “That’s all from me for you,” she said. “Happy morning. Going to look for honest work today?”

“First I need a new passport,” said the man with the stripes. He looked over at Tehuti. “Could you pour me a sip of the beer?” He held out a fancy copper jar. “My name’s Sesochris,” he said. He nodded toward the other two. “Atut and Nethet know me.”

The last of the three, an unremarkable man who wore a narrow silver ring around his wrist, swallowed a big chunk of his bread and brushed crumbs from his lips. “Too well” he said with a narrow smile. “It’s the fourth time we served you last night.” Glancing toward Tarkasan, he added, “happy morning. Who are you, and where you from?”


Recruiting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?589598-Saqqara-and-the-Restless-Dead-(Barbarians-of-Lemuria)) - please close out conversatinn there and shift over to:

OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?589903-Saqqara-and-the-Restless-Dead-OOC) - for character sheets and such, but stories and physical descriptions and coordination of actions should all be done in this IC thread

[purepolarpanzer]

"Happy morning, everyone." Tehuti is a bit uncomfortable in the bright dawn light, wearing a wrap of cloth to keep the worst of the bright light and any sweat out of his eyes. Without a word of protest, he immediately fills the man's cup with beer. "I am happy to share, my friend. I only ask that you pass the blessing on to someone else in need when the time comes. Bes will reward you for your generosity. In regards to your passport, I may be able to help you. My name is Tehuti, and I am a priest of Bes. I will look into your situation if you are interested in honest work." The priest is shorter than most, with bronzed skin and kohl around his eyes. He is impeccably clean, having woken up as early as the bakers to bathe in the cool dark of the night. He wore some finery, but only of the most common metals and stones across several rings and a necklace. Many would call him handsome or beautiful, and his words carried a charismatic charm that seemed to draw the listener in to focus on those shapely features.

[dojango]

"Name's Tarkasan. Blessings of the gods upon you, friend. Came upriver from Memphis, the other day." He regarded the malcontent (for that is what he clearly was) carefully. Not his problem, but not someone to trust, either, before turning back towards the other man. "Heading back to Thebes. Thought I'd come and pay my respects to some old friends." He nodded in the direction of the necropolis.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe wipes her hands on her linen kilt, keeping an eye on the crew around her. None looked the type to be hiring a mercenary right now, but you never knew.

"Eshe. Just finished a run with a hunting party last evening. Like this one, looking for more work. Is there anyone looking to hire a spear in these parts?"

She shrugs her shoulders, allowing a necklace of crocodile teeth and a hippo tusk to clatter on her chest. Good advertising.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet, like Tehuti, had risen early to bathe, then sat in the pre-dawn light over a small fire of herbs he pulled from a pouch on his belt. He had taken note of the other priest, but not made much of an advance just yet. There would be time later. And... was that one of Tadukhipa's retainers here as well? Interesting. Definitely somebody to speak with before he left.

He kept those thoughts to himself, for now, and instead smiled over his beer at the strangers. "My name is Semmopet. Just an old man visiting the city of the dead--not anything unusual, I'd say?" He gives a wry smile which is broken by a small coughing fit. "I suppose I am here to pay some respects, same as you." He nods towards Tarkasan. "You are returning to Thebes, you said? Have you any news from the capital?" he asks evenly. "It has been some time since I last left the city."

Semmopet is by far the oldest of the little group gathered at the table, and though his face is wrinkled and his bones stiff his eyes are still sharp. His head is bald--perhaps by choice, perhaps not--and he wears a simple linen tunic and belt, and carries a long staff. A careful eye might notice a small knife tucked carefully into the belt.

[dojango]

Tarkasan is wearing a long tunic in the style of his homeland. It is not terribly clean. He takes a long drink of his beer and spits out some of the bitter dregs before answering. "The moon has waxed and waned again since I was in Thebes. But last I heard..." he begins passing on some out-of-date gossip. Mostly about the men of Tarkasan's clique and standing; mid-ranking officers in the army. He does note that a few high-ranking officials have lost their jobs and been replaced by followers of Aten; Neferiti's influence at work he says, sagely. "Spear work, eh? Not much call for that around here. Masonry, carvers, goldsmiths... and embalmers."

[Tibbius]

In the usual course, Tarkasan would have been the nomarch's guest and Tehuti would have slept in his chamber at the Osiris Temple.

But Tarkasan had found the nomarch's only guest suite occupied by Pharaoh's own messenger, who had been quite close lipped with him. And as a priest of Bes, Tehuti naturally had lent his chamber and servant to an older priest who had come to visit sleeping family and to examine the construction of his own modest mastaba.

"This one's short on respect," said Nethet with a small gesture toward Sesochris. She grimaced. "Fourth time caught in the tombs."

Sesochris chuckled. "This time, I'll go straight," he said.

"You haven't even given the widow a hostess gift," said Atut sternly.

"I know what," the tomb robber replied. "The soil of the garden is dry. I'll haul up mud from the river bank. A dozen buckets. No... Thirty. I used to be a gardener, you know." He looked around. "What did each of you give?"

Atut frowned. "We're the servants of Maat." (A fancy way of saying, the nomarch's justiciars.) "Our gift is the daily order."

what had each of the characters given to the widow Hasfa as a little present? Brief description would be nice.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe pauses in her chewing. "I've been on the hunt for the past several days. I brought in some fresh waterfowl eggs. Something simple. The ducks themselves, you know, they take so much work to prepare that I'm not sure they're a gift."

[dojango]

"Little toy for the kid" Tarkasan said. He'd picked up a few carved wooden animals from a craftsman in Memphis. There were a few kids running around the servant's quarters back in Thebes. One of them even looked a lot like him, so Tarkasan was saving the best for him, a carved and painted lion. He had given the widow's grandson small carved horse, and he was still carrying it around with him.

[purepolarpanzer]

"Along with a blessing from Bes, I gave her several stone bowls that I across in the market. A small luxury, but one I hope she will treasure all the same." Tehuti finished his bread quickly, eating like a man who is afraid someone will take his food away from him. He makes sure to brush off any and all crumbs from his clothing when he is done. "So she may better serve the humble travelers who she aids so often."

[Tibbius]

Indeed, the duck eggs made their appearance, scrambled together with lettuce and onions in the polished new red stone bowls.

As the group finished breakfast, Atut stood and stretched, and said, "I'll bring the bowls back to Mother Hasfa. Servant of Bes," he added to Tehuti, "could you help me carry them?"

This was an unusual request, for a policeman to make of a priest.

Meanwhile, Sesochris talked animatedly to Semmopet about his past life as a gardener for a noble of Pharaoh's court. That life had ended when his master had been caught in an affair with the wife of a deputy to the Vizier, leading to the master's exile to a minor diplomatic post in Libya. All the household servants had been left adrift, and although a few had found positions with other houses, Sesochris had not been so lucky and had fallen into a dissolute and reckless life. He had been a tomb robber for several years now, and had been caught only a few times. But now, he insisted, he was ready to start a fresh life of honesty.

Nethet rubbed the last of her bread around the inside of her bowl and grinned at Eshe. "It's nice to meet another woman of action," she said. "The chief would be glad to have a new face in the ranks of justiciars. It's not an easy job to fill. You're from ... Nubia? Somewhere further upriver? Nubians have a good reputation."

Tarkasan found himself conversationally adrift.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe stifles a belch. “From as far upriver as it is possible to go. From the forests of the lake country. My people get included with Nubia when the Egyptians are talking, but the Nubians do not always agree.”

She smiles, a slash of white across a dark brown face, “My people are hunters, mainly. Come mealtime, we don’t distinguish between man and woman, just who can hold a spear and who can’t. But since I’ve come to Egypt, I’ve done most anything you can do with a spear or a javelin. I just finished a tour as a hunting guide, I’ve taught spearwork, even did a run as a gladiator once. Worked as a guard for a time, with the Mittani delegation -” she nods towards Tarkasan.

She dusts the crumbs from her hands, “But now, what sort of order does a Justicar gift, down in these parts? It seems a quiet enough place, all tombs and monuments.”

[purepolarpanzer]

"Certainly, Atut. Let us gather and return these gifts, and show appreciation for the fine cooking." His heart beat a little faster as he gathered the bowls together and made to follow the justicar. It'd been a long time since he'd had a negative interaction with one of his creed, but old scars still remained, and it was always prudent to be cautious around those who so strictly adhered to law and order, even if you were blameless. Which is something Tehuti could not claim in honesty, but would profess eloquently if questioned.

[dojango]

As a bodyguard and foreigner, Tarkasan was used to watching conversations. But after a few minutes, he said, "Probably going into the necropolis later to pay my respects to an old comrade. Then I'll try to catch a ship heading back upriver to Thebes. Maybe see you on the river?" With that, he found a clear spot, girded up his loins, and began going through the motions of the spear. Never hurt to stay in practice.

[Tibbius]

As Tarkasan began his spear drills, Nethet watched with interest and a crooked smile. "A Mittani?" she asked after a minute or so. "I recognize that slicing counter parry ..." and she thoughtfully touched the scar across her nose. "It's been a few years since I used a spear in battle." She rose and stretched, nodding to Eshe. Her movements matched her appearance - a woman in her mid 30s, a mother of children, once wiry and still athletic.

Nethet added, "there's a counter to the counter parry. Saved my life." Glancing at Eshe, she asked "May I borrow your spear for a few moments?"

Meanwhile, drawing Tethuti aside from the widow and her grandson, Atut said urgently, "There's a special guest at the nomarch's house. Pharaoh's own messenger. I spoke with his charioteer last evening.

"I'm telling you this only because my family remembers the favor you did my wife's cousin. You may not recall it, I know you've treated many patients. But she couldn't conceive - until after the entreaty that you made to Bes. She has beautiful twins now, five years old, a boy and a girl. So I'll do you this favor, please don't tell anyone that it's me who gave you the warning.

"Stay away from the Temple today. They'll be some trouble there, and I don't know how it will come out. But Pharaoh's sending troops soon to see that we've done our task.

"That's all."

More loudly, Atut added "Happy morning to the company! I have to get off to my duties now. ... Nethet, see you soon at the nomarch's mansion."

Sesochris looked around, smiled at Semmopet, stood and stretched. "I'll have to get the widow's permission and borrow a basket for hauling the mud," he said casually. "Happy morning to you, father of gods."

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe passes her spear over to Nethet. "Careful. This spear is made from the bones of my late husband. *snort* Just kidding. It's the standard issue from Memphis. I've got a chit for two more if you need one."

[purepolarpanzer]

"Thank you for the warning, Atut. I cannot thank you enough. If there is to be trouble I wish to be as far away from it as possible, though I will of course keep my ear to the earth. And you have my congratulations that the blessings of Bes have gifted your family with two healthy babies!" He pats the man on the back, wondering how he will spend the day if he is to avoid the temple all day. His curiosity almost makes him want to go anyway, but his instinctual caution denies that urge. He returns to the group of boarders with much on his mind- what could Pharaoh's soldiers be coming to enforce?

[dojango]

As Tarkasan began his spear drills, Nethet watched with interest and a crooked smile. "A Mittani?" she asked after a minute or so. "I recognize that slicing counter parry ..." and she thoughtfully touched the scar across her nose. "It's been a few years since I used a spear in battle." She rose and stretched, nodding to Eshe. Her movements matched her appearance - a woman in her mid 30s, a mother of children, once wiry and still athletic.

Nethet added, "there's a counter to the counter parry. Saved my life." Glancing at Eshe, she asked "May I borrow your spear for a few moments?"


"Aye," Tarkasan said. "Not much call for excitement lately in the land of plenty. Not faced battle since I came here. Sometimes wish I were back at home, fighting against our enemies. It's a lot different when you're fighting from the chariot. You can let the shield-bearer protect your side. But if you're fighting afoot, alone... I will remember your advice."

[Tibbius]

The morning sun warmed the dirt and the people in the garden, and glowed from the walls of the apartments. Out in the desert the sun gleamed from white marble on the flanks of pyramids and tombs that outnumbered the mud brick buildings of the living city. Those buildings stood in several long and tidy rows parallel the ragged edge of the bluffs above the river valley, the rows being separated by flower and vegetable gardens with foot paths along the edges of the gardens. Roughly at the middle of the row closest to the desert, there was a broad flat area of packed dirt with tables covered by awnings. Among the tables, pilgrims were gathering with guides who would lead them out through the tombs to the sleeping places of their ancestors. A few hundred yards from the market square, out into the desert but not quite in the city of tombs, stood the marble edifice that was the Osiris Temple. In the porch of the temple, clean shaven priests had finished their public morning baths and were donning their sheer white linen robes. Soon they would go out among the tombs to perform the rituals of their god.

Breakfast had ended.

Nethet returned Eshe's spear with a friendly smile, clasped Tarkasan's forearm firmly and briefly, and strolled off with Atut toward the nomarch's house - a sprawling one story structure of mud bricks built atop a low promontory of red sandstone. Atut gave Tehuti a final nod and admonition: "Take care, father of Bes."

Bidding Semmopet a happy morning, Sesochris obtained a basket from the widow Hasfa and headed toward the broad path that broke the bluff edge down toward the distant river. He would be all day hauling mud.

At this point, maybe you each could post your character's plans for the morning?

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe, belly full, is in no mood for a long journey just now. Perhaps someone around here might be hiring some muscle? Failing that she could always do a little hunting. She gathers her meager belongings and heads to the nomarch's building. That would be the most likely spot to find someone with resources willing to trade for the services of a spearwoman.

[dojango]

Tarkasan had saved a little bit of his bread and beer. He was going to head into the necropolis, to visit the tomb of his friend Kannets. He'd been an officer under Amenhotep III, and had been something of a mentor to Tarkasan when he first arrived in the pharaoh's court. Helped him learn the new language, introduced him around the court. They had been good friends, although unfortunately the older man had taken sick shortly after Amenhotep III had died, and had been cashiered by Amenhotep IV to make room for his own loyalists. Kannets had died last year and been buried in his family's tomb in Saqqara. Tarkasan had promised the widow that he'd drop off some offerings at the tomb for Kannets. A small cake, a jug of beer, and a few arrows, for him to use in the afterlife. Once that was done, Tarkasan would probably head over to the barracks to see if any soldiers there would be up for a game of three and some beer.

[purepolarpanzer]

Noticing everyone heading out and not having anywhere in particular to go, Tehuti gets up and follows Eshe, watching the woman walk for a while before shouting "Hey there! Eshe, was it?" He made his way to stand by her side, smiling wide. "I was wondering if you would be interested in some employment. Not for long, just a day or two, while everything settles down from a recent upset. Bes has warned me that there may be trouble for me, and I am a cautious man. What would it cost for two days of your service?"

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet offers the widow a few herbs which can be chewed to relieve aches and pains--"I can vouch for their usefulness myself"--and an open offer to take a look at any injuries, illnesses, or other health problems she or her family might have while he is there.

Semmopet listens to Sesochris' stories, quietly making notes of the names and filing them away for potential future use. An affair with the vizier's wife? I wondered why he'd been reposted so suddenly. Someone went to a lot of effort to keep it quiet in the court. At the man's insistence that he's going to stay on the straight and narrow, Semmopet smiles and nods. "Of course. It is never too late to return to the good graces of the gods, or the dead. A happy morning to you as well, and may your works be profitable."

He watches the others train from the sidelines. That is a young man's--or woman's--game. Instead he helped clean up from breakfast. Once the others begin heading into town, he follows Tarkasan towards the tombs of the dead. "If you will indulge an old man, I will walk with you," he says, leaning on his staff. "I have plenty of old friends and acquaintances resting here, as well."

[Tibbius]

The morning sun glinted from white marble walls along the many streets in the sprawling city of tombs. Pilgrims walked reverently among the tombs, guided by priests from the Osiris Temple. The city was vast and even those who had been there before often found it difficult to track down their particular loved one's resting place amid the many similar low rectangular buildings. Only the pyramids and their accompanying shrines loomed vast and distinctive above the gleaming sprawl.

Oddly, only visitors and their priestly guides moved down the streets of sleeping Saqqara. The usual patrolling justiciars were absent this morning.

Semmopet had visited the city of tombs a few times before; Tarkasan, never. Both of them, looking out at the dreaming metropolis, realized it would be helpful to have a guide from the Temple. Turning aside, they mounted the low steps to the temple porch, where a cluster of several dozen priests stood talking amid the tall square stone columns that supported the reed bundles that shaded the porch. Three priests sat at a low broad table with a pile of scrolls, which they consulted as pilgrims approached the table one by one. Based on their reviews of the scrolls, the priests at the table called forth guide priests from the gaggle of conversationalists, and sent the pilgrims and their guides into the tombs.

The main doorway of the temple was open with the white doorcloth drawn aside by soft ropes. A novice priest went in and out the doorway to fetch scrolls from inside the temple. Two of the numerous temple cats followed him in each direction.

Given the crowd of several dozen pilgrims, it took about half an hour to sort out who would be guiding Semmopet. Fortunately, Semmopet waited to see Tarkasan on his way - and it turned out that Kannets' house was near that of Semmopet's old friend and fellow priest of Amun, Taharka.

As they followed their guide down the steps toward the tombs, he introduced himself: "I am Pen-ba-kak-amen. Call me Pen-ba. I have been a priest for two years and have only recently passed the examination as a tomb guide. I am assigned to sector Raven Four, where your friends' tombs are. It will be about an hour to walk out to there. I carry water." He patted a leather flask slung under his left arm. It looked like it held about ten or twelve hins.

Osiris' barge had risen about halfway up the sky.

As Semmopet, Tarkasan, and Pen-ba turned away from the temple toward the tombs, they saw a large group of people walking rapidly northward from the nomarch's mansion toward the temple. There were about thirty people in the group, mostly men, all carrying clubs. The group was about twelve hundred cubits away. Their feet raised puffs of red dust from the ground.

Someone up in the porch of the temple raised their voice above the surging chatter in a question "Why are all the justiciars coming here?" and the conversation fell silent.

Where are Tehuti and Eshe?

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe turned to look at Tehuti with a raised eyebrow.

"You're expecting trouble? In this place of the dead? What could cause ..."

They both watch as the club-wielding group heads toward the temple.

"Fair enough. Looks like there's trouble in these parts after all. I'm at loose ends right now. How about we see what's about to happen, then settle up after two days? I charge based on the amount of trouble, not the time it takes to deal with it."

[purepolarpanzer]

Not really sure what to do with Tehuti. Can't go to work, not sure where to go. I did proposition Eshe for protection, but I don't think ArchivesRat noticed.

[dojango]

Tarkasan eyed the soldiers, running his practiced eyes over them. The justicars, servants of the nomarch. Were they conscripts or trained veterans? And were they coming towards the crowd of mourners and tourists, or were they heading to the temple? He nudged his strange companion. "You know anything about this, priest? What's the nomarch plotting at?"

[Tibbius]

Pen-ba frowned. He seemed anxious. He spoke slowly. "Excuse me," he said. "It doesn't seem good that all of the justiciars are marching at the temple. I'm not sure that I want to wait around and find out what they want. I've been assigned to guide you to the tombs of Kannets and Taharka. I would like to do that now, I think. But it's no point to go ahead without you, if you want to insert yourself into this situation." He looked at the older priest. "What do you counsel, father of gods?"

The marching group had approached to about ten hundred cubits away. They walked casually without bumping into each other, spaced just far enough apart to easily swing their clubs. Veterans. They seemed to be headed straight for the temple porch, where about fifteen visitants and about the same number of priests stood silently and anxiously waiting their arrival. Tarkasan could not yet make out the expressions on their faces. He could hear a low murmur of talk from the group, but could not interpret the words.

Semmopet studied the approaching warriors carefully...
rs2, this is your chance to insert whatever rumors Semmopet may have heard. They may be accurate.

[purepolarpanzer]

Unable to catch up with Eshe, Tehuti decides to head to the safest place he knows other than the temple, which is apparently dangerous today. Turning around, he heads into the poorest section of the city, intent on providing blessings and hearing from the people. If he is unable to do work at the temple, he will do Bes' work among those who need his help most.

[dojango]

Tarkasan shrugged. "Not my business. My business is with my friend, to pay my respects. Lead on," he said, turning away.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet's eyes narrow. This could be problematic... or it could be an opportunity. Regardless, best to observe for now.

"I do not know what the nomarch has in mind. I know the Pharaoh does not care for gods other than his chosen Aten... though surely he would not be bold enough to move against the priests of Osiris, who watch over the dead?" He purses his lips, then shakes his head. "As my companion says, it is no business of ours. If the nomarch wills it, it shall be done. Let us go." Semmopet follows Tarkasan and Pen-ba, though he tries to pass just close enough to the soldiers to try and overhear what is being said.

Going to hold off rolling just now until I get confirmation that it's possible to do that without looking suspicious (and what if anything I need to roll)

[Tibbius]

Semmopet, Tarkasan, and Pen-ba The three pilgrims moved away from the Osiris Temple into the tombs as the justiciars approached the temple. By the time the justiciars reached the porch of the temple, our heroes had been walking for a bit more than five minutes and had gotten about ten hundred cubits into the sleeping city - three long bowshots distant from the temple. They could faintly hear loud voices from behind them, but looking back, the porch of the temple was on the far side of the sprawling marble edifice and they could not see what was happening. Continuing along a broad avenue between tombs small and large, after about twenty more minutes they passed the left side of Sneferu's pyramid, all sheathed in white marble with a gleaming electrum peak. The hot lanterns of Osiris' barge singed their shoulders as they continued trudging across the hard red sands between the tombs. Nearly an hour after leaving the temple, they arrived at the large tomb of Kannets' family. The red sandstone exterior of the tomb was adorned with a few heiroglyphics indicating its address - Raven Four, Twenty Five - along with a list of names that included Kannets. The doorway of the tomb was low and dark. Cool air lingered in it. A few torches were stacked next to the doorway. Pen-ba added two more to the stack. "Here is the entrance," he said. He gestured to a pair of rocks near the torches. "There is your spark," he added. "Would you like some water?" He held out the heavy flask. After Tarkasan had squirted a few generous mouthfuls, Pen-ba reclaimed the flask and nodded to Semmopet: "Your friend's tomb is three this way." Leaving Tarkasan at the entrance to Kannets' tomb, Pen-ba led Semmopet along two more buildings to Taharka's sleeping place. This tomb was faced with greyish marble, appropriate to Taharka's priestly status. The open doorway was decorated with a scene of temple devotions. Again, there were torches stacked near the door, and Pen-ba added a couple to the stack. After offering Semmopet water, "I will return to the Osiris Temple, now," said Pen-ba. "It is hot under the sun and I would like some rest."

Eshe As she approached the Osiris Temple, Eshe watched the justiciars stomp up the six low steps onto the porch of the temple. They immediately began shouting at the crowd of pilgrims and priests, holding their clubs crosswise with both hands to shove people off the porch. Six or seven of them went into the temple doorway, shouting. It was difficult for Eshe to make out what was being said by thirty people not quite at the same time, but after a few moments she heard the repeated phrase: "In Aten's name!" Confused and frightened people began running toward her from the temple steps.

Tehuti Tehuti made his way to the marketplace a few streets to the right of the temple. Here was where the people of Saqqara convened to trade trinkets for trinkets, goods for goods, to ask and give alms, and to seek the services of scribes and other professionals. He did not often come here - usually he sat in his room at the temple, and petitioners came to him. But he knew it was good to be out among the people. He squatted in an open space near the date vendors' tables, holding his priestly staff upright, and waited. Soon enough a young woman, not more than fifteen years old, came over to him. She had a slender body, a gleaming smooth shaven head, skin brown as dirt of Widow Hasfa's garden, bright blue eyes, and a pretty smile that flashed straight white teeth. "Father of gods," she said hesitantly, "are you a priest of Bes? I would ask a favor of the god."

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe scratches her chin. So this is civilization, huh? Fighting each other over what names you give to the gods. Eh, you can keep it.

Eshe knows how to deal with a raging current, be it water or people. She drives her spear into the ground, stabbing the point deep into the earth. Gripping the spear in both hands she allows the fleeing people to jostle her, but not move her. When the first wave of fleeing people is past she'll approach the melee.

[purepolarpanzer]

"Yes, child. I am Bes' servant. What can I do to aid you?" He smiles at her genuinely, pleased to be aiding those he can in the same market he once called home.

[dojango]

Tarkasan sat down in front of the tomb, reflecting on how far he'd come, to this land with its strange customs, rituals, and gods. He set down the offerings of beer and bread in front of the tomb. No doubt there were some prayers or something he was forgetting, so he muttered a quick prayer in Mittani before standing up. Looking around, he decided to make a quick visit to the temple of the dead here, perhaps to hire a priest to make the proper prayers over Kannets.

[Tibbius]

Eshe knows how to deal with a raging current. When the first wave of fleeing people is past she'll approach the melee.
A couple dozen people - some priests, some pilgrims - scattered past Eshe, giving the foreigner plenty of personal space. On the porch of the temple, most of the justiciars stood around uncomfortably while a man dressed in an embroidered green kilt argued with another man wearing an embroidered white robe. They both seemed to have some prestige; the justiciars and priests were waiting for the argument to resolve before acting. Then Eshe noticed that the justiciars were slowly moving between the priests and the temple doorway. A few moments later, several priests stumbled out that doorway, looking back into the temple and shouting. Then a few justiciars came out, holding their clubs crosswise, and stood firmly at the doorway with their feet braced. The priests who had been expelled came slowly down the temple steps, shoulders slumped. They walked past Eshe with their heads down, silent. On the porch, the argument continued.



"Yes, child. I am Bes' servant. What can I do to aid you?"
The young woman made a face that pulled back one corner of her mouth and dimpled her cheek. She shyly rubbed the crown of her shaved head. "There is an young man," she said hesitantly. "A servant of Osiris." She paused. "I want a husband. I want him. But he has no eyes for me. Can you make a spell to awaken him to me, to make him want me? His name is Pen-ba-ka-amen."


Looking around, Tarkasan decided to make a quick visit to the temple of the dead here, perhaps to hire a priest to make the proper prayers over Kannets.
Pausing, Tarkasan reflected. It would be an hour walk back to the temple in the heat. Maybe he should find the old man, Semmopet?, and give him company on the walk. He was only three tombs over ... that way. Tarkasan pondered what to do.


Semmopet lingered at the entrance of Taharka's tomb. The cool air that hung in the shadowed doorway was dry and pleasant. Soon enough, the old man knew, he might find his way into a house like this. And through such a house, the Field of Reeds, where he would be young again. Or maybe old, but healthier. He smiled to himself; those who claimed to have spoken with ghosts, so far as he knew, had asked only about matters of this world. He had never heard a solid answer as to what happened on the other side.

He wondered, as he absent-mindedly rubbed the heiroglyphs that named those under the marble roof, whether he should go into the house and find Taharka's specific chamber among the several that were there. Would his old friend welcome a more personal visit?

[dojango]

Finished with his rites, Tarkasan looked around. His guide had wandered off, and he had no desired to wander alone in the abode of the dead. He decided to find that old priest and offer to accompany him back to the living part of town. Not that he was concerned... just that the old man had seemed sickly, and it would pollute the tombs to have him croak in the middle of them.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet was disappointed that he could not hear the source of the commotion at the temple, though he thought he knew what was going on. If the Pharaoh dares to uproot even the watchers of the dead... it could only mean ill for him.

After lingering at the entryway, burning a small pile of fragrant herbs and offering prayers to Amun and Osiris that Taharka's journey to the afterlife had been an easy one, he decides to go in a little further. Walking past the chambers of the dead, he kept his head bowed, only the sound of his steps breaking the respectful silence. He noted names, some mere acquaintances, some names he had heard but never seen a face for, many more complete strangers--before finding that of his mentor upon attaining the priesthood, and eventual friend. He'd always admired the man--astute in court politics but also carrying a sincerity of faith and devotion that Semmopet hadn't quite been able to match. Some others kept distant from Semmopet--while he kept his past at arm's distance, it didn't take much to know he had been born to the lower classes when he had first taken to the priesthood--but not Taharka. He'd always seen potential in Semmopet, and if he knew of his conniving ways he'd kept that hidden quite well.

"My old friend," he said quietly, gently placing a hand on the name and brief epitaph of the priest. "These are strange times indeed. I will not lie, I do wish for your guidance at times even now--though I think it best you did not live to see such days. Priests of Amun, the most high, turned out of the temples like simple beggars... it is best you did not see this."

He spends several minutes in quiet contemplation, speaking occasionally to no one in particular--he does not expect Taharka's spirit to actually hear his words, but it is comforting to get them out nonetheless. Eventually, he heads back towards the entrance to see if he can find Tarkasan and head back to the temple.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti squeezes her hand and smiles wider. "I will give you a blessing. I will give you magical make up that will make you lovely to his eye. And I will talk to him for you. Do you know where he can be found? I find myself with an abundance of time and I will only ask in return a small, simple meal and that I be able to help with the child birth." He reached into his bag and began dabbing at her cheeks and eyes with luxurious make up that he paid dearly for, spending some time talking with her and telling a joke or two to keep her comfortable, and asking more about this Pen-Ba.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe watches as the expelled priests slouch by. "Heads up, lads. Surely this will blow over soon enough. What's got the justicar's kilts in a knot, anyway?"

[Tibbius]

The muscular charioteer strolled along the tombs in the heat of mid-day. He reached the third one along just in time to see old Semmopet walking down into the entrance muttering to himself. Tarkasan lingered outside, questioning whether to follow.

As Semmopet turned away from Taharka's chamber, he thought he heard something. A faint raspy voice. "Semm ... opet. Thank. You. For coming. ... My friend."

The young woman smiled teary eyed - had he gotten some of the expensive kohl in her eyes? "I am Shep-set," she said. "I apologize for not introducing myself, father of Bes. What is your name? I thank you for your help and I would very much be grateful if you could speak for me to Pen-ba."

The nearest priest turned to the barbarian woman warrior with a frown. "The accursed new false god," he said. "Pharaoh has ordered the true priests turned out to make room for his charlatans. The idols are to be removed as well, and the altars re-carved. It's madness, I tell you! No good will come from it!" He shook his head bitterly and turned away abruptly, continuing toward the market after the other priests.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe frowned. Her people did not truck with idols. Why, when the Gods live deep at the bottom of the lake? Best not to tempt a God's wrath with images of a bad likeness, they might send storms that wrecked ships and flooded huts. Gods took artistic criticism very seriously.

So it follows that altering a God's accepted idol was a very foolish thing to do. And when the Gods might be angered, wise warriors went elsewhere.

Eshe freed her spear and made haste towards the tombs. There would be little business there, probably, but the danger she faced would be the things she might have a chance of fighting.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti smiles. "I am Tehuti, a priest of Bes, but one day long ago I traded in this same market as one of you. Through Bes' blessings all things are possible, though, and I rose to this position through hard work. Is Pen-Ba at the temple?" He considered his options and finally gave in to curiosity and helping this woman, deciding to at least visit the temple. Surely the worst of whatever was to come has passed already.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet stops in his tracks. That was certainly unexpected. A priest, perhaps, seeking to simulate an experience with the dead for a visitor, in hopes of convincing them to make a generous donation? But then, that did sound rather like old Taharka's voice...

Slowly, Semmopet turns around, facing the tomb once more. Looking about, he decides to play the priest's game. "Of course, my old friend. It wouldn't do to come so close and not pay my respects. I would have brought you some figs, but alas, they are not in season." Taharka hated figs... but then, a priest simply imitating his voice wouldn't know that.

[dojango]

Tarkasan sees the old priest in front of him. "Oy, Semmopet! Wait up!" he says, quickening his pace to join him.

[Tibbius]

As Tarkasan ducked under the lintel of the tomb, the frail old priest already had gotten ahead by sixty or eighty cubits, down near the end of the main passage. His torch held a steady red flame, by which his silhouette could be indistinctly seen. He appeared to have paused facing a doorway on the left side of the passage, and continued to mutter to himself - his low voice half-filled the passage with a disconcerting murmur that seemed almost to be two voices.

Semmopet heard a momentary silence. Then a gasping, rasping chuckle came from Taharka's chamber. "Ah ... Semm-opet," the old priest heard. "Still. Same. Sharp. Wit!" There was a rustling, sliding noise like river reeds blown in a wind from downriver. Semmopet heard a soft thump from the chamber, followed momentarily by another. His torch flickered and guttered, shadows flaring and faltering on the red stone walls of the low roofed passage.

Tarkasan cautiously proceeded down the shallow steps that led from the doorway to the passage. Bright sunlight cast his shadow into nothingness below him. The old priest's torch glowed like a beacon as Tarkasan advanced a dozen steps toward him. Then the torch flame swayed and rippled in a sudden gust of wind. Tarkasan heard faint slithering and scraping noises. Were there desert vipers hiding in the cool of the tomb? Then he heard Semmopet's name spoken quietly and haltingly, the word echoing in whispers along the passage walls. Was the old man talking to himself?


As the barbarian warrior woman passed the temple, she noticed the last of the priests and pilgrims had left and the justiciars were standing awkwardly in the porch, shuffling around and talking quietly to each other. The building seemed somehow smaller than it had been only a few minutes earlier - certainly less bustling and lively. Past its white marble walls, the orange-red sands stretched out into the endless Sunset Desert. The three main pyramids loomed brilliant in the bright white heat of the late morning sunlight. Eshe's shadow swayed and stumbled short in front of her feet as she continued beyond the temple, aimlessly out among the myriad tombs. The hot sun gleamed on her finely-muscled mahogany back and shoulders as she walked.

"Yes," said Shep-set eagerly. "He is a junior servant of Osiris, one of those trusted to lead the pilgrims out to their loved ones' tombs. In the mornings he travels out into the city, and after noon he returns. It now is almost noon - he should be returning soon. But what are all the priests doing here?"

Looking past Shep-set, Tehuti saw that almost every one of his fellow priests had entered the market plaza and were moving about in small groups of two or three, pausing at every table to talk animatedly with the vendors. Na-hupsha, a middle aged Osiris priest who had never progressed above "servant," came over to Tehuti. "Have you heard?" asked Na-hupsha. He pouted his fat lips. His belly protruded sweatily over the waist of his kilt. "The nomarch's justiciars just evicted us all from the temple. Not even a chance to get our stuff out. They say we're not allowed to return! What shall we do? What shall we do?"

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe flexed her shoulders, letting the heat of the day work into her muscles. It was hard getting used to this dry, crushing heat. But it was worth it to move a bit, get the kinks out. She'd been cooped up in the river ship with the hunting party for weeks. Now was the time to stretch.

For a minute she broke into a run, before deciding that it might be considered disrespectful here in these tombs. Tombs ... hmmm. She'd never understood the Egyptian desire to bury valuables with the dead. The dead had already passed into the currents under the world, they were beyond caring. She was not a thief, but ... well, maybe something had been left lying around?

Of course, it wouldn't be lying around out here in the pathways, now would it? Eshe peeked around, looking for open tombs where someone might have left a bit of gold or gems. She's always had a weakness for turquoise, the blue reminded her of deep waters.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti takes the fat priest's hands in his own. "We live. We continue. Surely someone will see through this madness eventually. Until that happens, we will be common folk, just like everyone else." He smiled through this, as it wasn't much of a concern for him. He'd lived this way before. Still, he did have some anxiety. He'd left some possessions inside the temple and needed to get them back. "Servant, if you can address the other priests and get me a list of what was left inside, I may be able to arrange a way to get our things out. I'd hate to see my fellow priests without their robes and personal possessions."

[dojango]

Tarkasan scowled. What was the priest playing at? He pushed forward. "Oy! Semmopet! What're you on about?"

[Tibbius]

Peering ahead, squinting against the glare and heat waves rising from the red-orange sand among the tombs, the spear carrying woman could see three figures receding from her at a walking pace. They were a few bowshots distant, too far to hail them or to run after them in this heat. Noticing that the tombs near the Osiris Temple all were sealed - probably the first dug and first filled - Eshe decided to follow after the three walkers and see where they led.

* * *

After about an hour walking under the hot sun on the hot sand, Eshe was thirsty. Ahead of her, the three walkers stopped in front of a low tomb and shared water from a skin. She swallowed the dryness in her mouth, but it came back on her tongue and now in her throat. One of the three entered the tomb; the other two turned away and walked further ahead.
What does Eshe do so that she doesn't interact with Tarkasan or Semmopet until after the beginning of their scene in Taharka's tomb?

Na-hupsha wrinkled his face unbecomingly. Shep-set looked bewildered and frightened at the fat priest's words. She said nothing.

Na-hupsha spoke: "I think that tomorrow the Aten-priests will come and take up our rooms in the temple. But I do not think that the justiciars will spend all day there. Maybe we can ... sneak ... back and gather our belongings, later today."

Now Shep-set: "What about Pen-ba? He is out among the tombs and if he cannot come back to the temple how can I greet him and show him the beautiful thing you have done to my face? I am eager for him and I would follow him out into the tombs to greet him. I have heard that he guides in the Raven district. I cannot read the names of the tombs but I know the raven symbol, and it is carved on stones with arrows toward the district." Tehuti knows she speaks truth - the routes to the various districts in the sleeping city are well marked, although only the priests can read the hieroglyphs that are the addresses of the sleeping citizens.

Now from Taharka's chamber Semmopet heard shuffling steps with the rasping whisper of pitched linen against stone. His torch blew out, and the only light was the very faint reflection of daylight from the blindingly bright tomb entrance along the straight and low ceilinged passage. He could barely see his fingers and he could not see into the doorway of Taharka's chamber.

A figure lurched out from the black hole of doorway to Tarkasan's right side, into the very dim light of the passageway, only a few paces ahead, between him and Semmopet. It stumbled as it turned toward Tarkasan. It raised its arms as if to embrace him, and moved its jaw awkwardly. "Huh?" it asked him. Its eyes glowed faintly white.

Behind him Tarkasan heard shuffling and clumsy footfalls. Glancing back he saw several figures indistinctly silhouetted in the white-orange light that gleamed from the tunnel entrance. Some of them were shuffling toward him. Others seemed to be headed out of the tomb. His bronze khopesh hung heavily at his side.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet narrows his eyes. This was certainly odd. It sounded like something Taharka would say... coincidence? Surely the priests here hadn't known him well enough to imitate him that well. Or perhaps it was actually a spirit speaking?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he heard Tarkasan call out, and the torch blew out. He blinks, adjusting to the darkness. "I'm down here, Tarkasan," he replies. "My torch has gone out. And..." he pauses. "Have you heard anyone else down here?" Cautiously, he takes a step closer to the entrance to the chamber. He raises a hand to his torch and whispers a prayer to Amun to create a spark.

Going to try my hand at casting a spell!

I think this should be a cantrip--creating a spark is one of the examples. So that means it should cost 1 power point (out of 12 total) and not require a skill roll since it's not against a sentient target, correct?

Let me know if I do need to make a roll for anything here.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe swallowed again. There was a goat-hide waterskin waiting for her back in Saqqara, but she knew the difference between thirst in the mind and thirst in the gut. She still had time before the thirst started to slow her down. Time enough to investigate.

Eshe watched the two enter the tomb. Here might be an opportunity. But a hunter never rushed in without investigating the lay of the land first. Slowly, keeping to what little shadow was available at this time of day, she paced around the tomb. Who's tomb is it? How large is it? Are there multiple exits? Once she knew the outline, she'd have a better idea of what to expect inside.

[dojango]

"What in Mitra's name? Semmopet, what are you doing?" Tarkasan shouted. "Out of my way, peasant." He drew his kopesh and made to strike the the figure with the flat of the blade.

[Tibbius]

"What in Mitra's name? Semmopet, what are you doing?" Tarkasan shouted. "Out of my way, peasant." He drew his kopesh and made to strike the the figure with the flat of the blade.
messed up the roll: (2d6+3)[14]
The shadowy figure crumpled backward against the frame of the doorway and collapsed to the floor of the passage with a wheezing sound. Glancing behind him by the reflex of a practiced fighter, Tarkasan saw that two of the lurching figures between him and the light were shuffling clumsily toward him. Several more were stumbling toward the steps that led out to the clean hot sands.

Semmopet heard a commotion from the direction of the tomb entrance: "Semmopet! What are you doing?". Glancing to his left, he saw several figures silhouetted in the daylight. One of the figures, closest to him, had just struck another of the figures with a heavy curved blade - a khopesh. The struck figure collapsed to the floor, getting lost in the shadows.

His cantrip worked and his torch sputtered back to light. Its red glow illuminated a figure standing hunched in the doorway before him - a scrawny figure swathed in linen bandages coated with aromatic resins - a mummy!

The mummy spoke. "Semm-opet. Thanks. For. Coming." Its eyes glowed orange in the torchlight. Then: "Why. Am I. Awake?"

As two entered a tomb, one after the other, the third turned back toward the town. Eshe lurked around the corner of "her" tomb as the third man passed not ever noticing her presence. As he receded toward town, she noticed for the first time that all the tombs in this area were open. Still being filled, she guessed. Even the one she was hiding next to had a tempting open doorway just a few paces from her. Cool air hung in that doorway, promising a respite from the mid-day heat.

Faintly, she heard movement within the tomb.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet begins to call back up to Tarkasan, but what the light of his torch reveals causes him to stop short. He had rarely been at a loss for words, and it was not a feeling he particularly liked. He takes an involuntary half-step back from the mummy before regaining part of his composure. "Taharka? By all the divines..." he whispers. "My old friend, I do not know what has disturbed your rest."

[ArchivesRat]

Calmly, Eshe removes her sandals and slips them under her belt. Relying on her toughened feet to move silently across the stone floors, she quietly enters the tomb.

Empty tombs should not be getting visitors, should they? Let's just check. Sometimes it's easier - and more morally acceptable- to steal from tomb robbers than from tombs.

[Tibbius]

Semmopet begins to call back up to Tarkasan, but what the light of his torch reveals causes him to stop short. He had rarely been at a loss for words, and it was not a feeling he particularly liked. He takes an involuntary half-step back from the mummy before regaining part of his composure. "Taharka? By all the divines..." he whispers. "My old friend, I do not know what has disturbed your rest."

The mummy stiffly moves its hands apart at waist level - a shrug? "I come. From. The battle," it - he - replies. "Demons. From Duat. Besiege. Holy city. Must return. To fight. But how? I wake."

To his left, Semmopet sees a clump of three stiffly-shambling figures surrounding Tarkasan.

Tarkasan, for his part, turns away from Semmopet to confront the shadowy shamblers who are closing on him, trying to force him into the burial chamber whose former occupant lies crumpled in its doorway, felled by Tarkasan's own hand.


Calmly, Eshe removes her sandals and slips them under her belt. Relying on her toughened feet to move silently across the stone floors, she quietly enters the tomb.

Empty tombs should not be getting visitors, should they? Let's just check. Sometimes it's easier - and more morally acceptable- to steal from tomb robbers than from tombs.

The bright light of the open sands left Eshe momentarily blind on the steps descending into the shadowed passage of the tomb. As she paused at the bottom of the steps to let her eyes adjust, someone barely seen as a shadowy figure stumbled against her bare chest and upper arm, and pushed by her up the steps. They were wrapped in rough linen that smelled like the embalmers' shops. From just ahead, within the passage, she heard footsteps. Another robber? She noticed vaguely that the passing figure had been cool to the touch, and breathless as he climbed the steps.

[Tibbius]

Shep-set waited, anxiously clasping and unclasping her hands, as Na-hupsha moved among the dozens of priests who had crowded into the market. It became clear over the next many minutes that the list of beloved possessions would be long. Detachment was not considered a virtue in the Two Lands.

Eventually, Shep-set flung herself upward to a standing position. "I will not wait longer!" she said fiercely to Tehuti. "I will go to the temple and wait there for Pen-ba. The justiciars must understand my plight. So many of them were lovers when they were younger." Without waiting for a response, she turned away and hurried toward the temple, her kilt swinging against her athletic thighs.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti pats her on the arm. "I will go find him and try talking to him. I have little to do until nightfall. I will try to convince Pen-Ba for you and also bring him to see your beauty. I cannot promise anything, though, child. It is his decision to make."

He turns back to the fat priest. "I will work on recovering our things this evening. I need to purchase some supplies to do so. I will return when the sun starts to go down and see what I can do. For now, I must purchase some things to aid with that, and I must fulfill my promise to this girl."

With that, he checks the market for some writing utensils and papyrus before heading for the tomb the woman described.

[ArchivesRat]

A chill raises the hair on Eshe's arm. Linen wraps ... the sound of shuffling steps with no breathing ...

Like most people in the ancient world, Eshe is aware that the dead do not always rest easy. Still, she's never encountered a restless spirit in her travels. It seems more likely to be a fleeing tomb raider than something from the other side.

Still, stealing from the tomb seems like a very bad idea just now. So ... maybe the best idea is to follow the staggering figure and find out where it's going. If it's a robber, she'll be in a good position to relieve it of its ill-gotten gains. If it's something else ... well, she'd rather be behind it with spear in hand than waiting around.

As quietly as possible, Eshe shadows the figure that passed her.

[dojango]

"Out of my way!" Tarkasan said. He lashed out again with his khopesh at the incoming figures. "Semmopet! Get out of there!"

attack: [roll0], dmg: [roll1]

[Tibbius]

Tehuti As the priest of Bes headed out of the marketplace into the city of tombs, he found it not so hard to pick out the discreetly placed markers that pointed the way to the various sectors. There was the Crocodile, there the Jackal, there the Lion, and there ... the Raven, that way. He continued outward from the town, going a little to the right from the path of Osiris' barge. The late morning sun gleamed hot on his shaven scalp.

After about half an hour walking past the sealed entrances of older mausoleums, Tehuti began to pass open tombs that had not yet been filled. The shadowed entrances invited him to experience cool air, and reminded him of the pleasant weather to be found in the Field of Reeds at the end of it all.

A few minutes later, he was perturbed by motion ahead of him. A surprisingly large number of pilgrims were filling the streets of the sleeping city, emerging from the tomb entrances somewhat drunkenly. He knew that sometimes the visitors to tombs would quaff a jar with their departed friends, but some of those stumbling around ahead of him seemed to have had a lot of beer indeed.

Eshe Turning and swiftly, quietly proceeding up the steps with a hunter's silent stalking pace, Eshe emerged blinking and half-blind into the bright light of the hot sun. Carrying her spear at the ready she found, when her eyes cleared, that the figure who had bumped past her now was crouched with its hands in the sand, head bowed. It was entirely wrapped in linen bandages, head to toe, brown with resins. Its limbs were slender, almost withered. It was motionless, not breathing.

Tarkasan and Semmopet Semmopet heard Tarkasan's bellowed directive, but hesitated, still wondering how to respond to Taharka. [roll0] One of the three shadowy figures surrounding Tarkasan collapsed, felled by a sweep of his mighty khopesh against its thigh. The other two lurched forward, clawing high and low with their forelimbs. He tried to dodge them both, but one caught him roughly around the throat with a terrible grasp that Tarkasan momentarily broke from. -2 life blood for Tarkasan

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet's mind spins. Is this a result of the Pharaoh's meddling? Has his meddling upset the balance of the gods this much this soon? He opens his mouth to explain, and pauses at Tarkasan's warning. There were more of them further up... and those seemed hostile. "I do not know, my friend, and I fear I do not have time to figure it out," he says. "I believe the Pharaoh has upset the natural order of things--he seeks to place his chosen god Aten before all others, ignoring the other gods and disbanding their priesthoods. Perhaps he has pushed too far, and Osiris is no longer watching the borders between the living and the dead quite so closely." Hesitantly, he draws a bronze dagger from his belt--it was mostly for ceremonial purposes, but usable in a fight in dire circumstances.

So, Semmopet might pass his action, he might take one, but I want to see what he might know about this topic first.

Is destroying a mummy likely to send a spirit back? Or would it trap the soul here? Is there a ritual for returning a soul to the afterlife? Does he know?

In the interim he's going to prepare to go help Tarkasan out against the other mummies. He's hesitant to start stabbing Taharka, unless that's going to be the only way to return his spirit.

Let me know if I need to roll, or if my previous one counts, or if this is something he would just know.

[ArchivesRat]

So ... not a tomb robber then.

Eshe quietly circles the silent figure. Damn the Egyptians and their customs of desiccating the dead. They never had this kind of problem in the lake countries, where the bodies are buried in the wet earth and allowed to rejoin the currents.

The questions now: what is causing this figure to move, and what is it going to do next?

And the easiest way to answer a question is ... to ask. Eshe gripped her spear and approached the figure, staying ten good paces away.

"So, old one, why do you stir? What bothers you?"

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti smiles at the over imbibed mourners. As a priest he should chastise them, but as a fellow man he understands how easy it can be to drink too much while seeing a friend to the afterlife. He makes to move around them and continue looking for his target for a romantic talking to, not assuming they will be any threat.

[dojango]

"Damn your eyes!" roared Tarkasan as he lashed out with his khopesh again, this time to kill.

[roll0]

[Tibbius]

Semmopet
The aged priest reflected as he gripped his dagger. To destroy a mummy is a grave sin against Ma'at, he remembered - pausing his thought to appreciate the pun - but why? Then he recalled: destroying a mummy destroys the soul of the sleeper who is bound to the mummy even in the afterlife, and thereby steals a worker from the Field of Reeds and a warrior from Osiris' barge. It is a minor but significant setback in the eternal war between the orderly gods and the ravening dragon Apep.

Taharka pivoted stiff-hipped toward Tarkasan and the entrance to the tomb, jerkily lifting and lowering its leg nearer to Semmopet as it turns. "Stop. Him," it said. Then it hummed a strange two-toned note and shook its hand languidly toward Tarkasan.

Tarkasan
The weathered charioteer grunted as his khopesh thumped against and through the chest of one of the two remaining mummies. A noxious puff of dust hung in the air as that one tumbled backward into an awkward shadowy heap. Tarkasan noted the potential stumbling block and shuffled counterclockwise around it, trying to put it between himself and the remaining mummy.

The last mummy lunged toward Tarkasan, but stumbled on the crumpled remnants of its comrade, falling against the mortal warrior and knocking him backward into the wall. They both regained their feet at about the same time, Tarkasan fumbling for a better grip on the hilt of his khopesh.

Tehuti
As he approached the celebrants, Tehuti noted that they were bandaged all over and moved not just foolishly, but stiffly. Then he came close to one and saw its eyes, glowing like faint stars in a face like a skull wrapped in leather... Indeed, he realized, it was a skull wrapped in the leather of its own withered skin!

The mummy, as the priest instantly realized it was, stiffly raised its arms toward him and clacked its jaw a few times, the bandages stretching awkwardly. Was it trying to speak?

Eshe
The old one looked up at the warrior woman. Its eyes glowed like distant stars. It began to rise, spreading its arms. It made no move toward her.

Scanning the scene as a habit of many combat experiences, Eshe noted a dozen or more than a dozen similar creatures lurching among the nearby tombs.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti reels back from the mummified figure, keeping his distance from the poor creature. He reached for his hip, but realized that his sword was located in the temple under his mattress, where he kept it most of the time. Besides, he knew he must refrain from destroying the mummy if at all possible, and he certainly wasn't going to do that with his fists. He kept his distance, moving far around the mummy. Anyone else in the area would have to be warned. "Honored dead, what would cause you to rise from your tomb? Is it the Pharaoh's new religion that is taking over the land?"

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet turns toward Tarkasan, realizing what was happening further up the corridor with sudden horror. "Tarkasan! Do not destroy the mummies!" Moving quickly closer by a few strides, he calls up his power, attempting to call up a barrier between Tarkasan and the mummy--for both of their protection.

This seems like a first magnitude spell, yes?--a normal person would be able to put up a barrier, given wood and tools.

Spending 4 power points. I have line of sight, so that can be the restriction?

I add mind and sorcerer ranks to the roll, yes?
[roll0]

Power: 8/12
Semmopet did bathe in the morning, and generally does that every morning (based on what I've read about the importance of cleanliness in Egyptian religious practice--if that counts as "ritual cleansing" for a second requirement, great, I'd still have 10 power points. If not that's fine--he didn't carry that out for the particular spell, after all.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe nodded to herself. Yup, should have stayed on the damned boat. No matter how irritating the young nobles were, at least they were breathing.

Eshe looks around for a good defensive spot to set her spear. Hard to say if any of these tombs are really empty. Perhaps there are living souls nearby who could watch her back as she watched theirs? She listens carefully; there should the shouting and screams if someone else had encountered these walking corpses.

[Tibbius]

Semmopet and Tarkasan

Arcane power rippled in the air of the passage. The roof and floor shuddered and a curtain of rocks rattled down between Tarkasan and the mummy, forming a waist high heap on the floor. The mummy halted its efforts to reach the charioteer, and turned stiffly toward the passage entrance.

Eshe

Indeed, in a moment of careful listening the southerner discerned shouts of alarm and confusion echoing among the tombs. A few houses away, she saw a living young man scramble on hands and knees out the entrance of a white marble tomb, then rise and begin to run barefoot toward her. He wore a priest's white linen robes, and carried a waterskin.

From the tomb that the two men had entered ahead of her, there was a rumbling and clatter of falling rock.

Tehuti

The mummy did not respond with speech. It shrugged awkwardly, spreading its hands apart at waist level, and clattered its teeth together as if trying to form words without a tongue. Then it shuffled aside, and stepped past Tehuti toward the living town.

Looking ahead, the priest of Bes believed he recognized a dark-skinned woman carrying a sturdy spear. She also was confronting a mummy. Beyond her was a young man running from the entrance of a tomb. Two tombs beyond that, a puff of dust gusted up from the entrance. The ground trembled under his feet.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe shouts to the young man, "Ho, young one! No point in running, they're everywhere in this town of the dead."

She gestures to the staggering corpses coming out of every tomb. "Stand here by me and stay ready. We the living must stick together here. We'll hold fast if they come at us."

[dojango]

Tarkasan lashed out at the retreating mummy, but couldn't quite get to it due to the barrier. "What did you do, old man?" he turned on Semmopet, khopesh still clutched in his hand. "Is this your doing?"

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti rushes around the mummy towards Eshe, waving his arms. "Don't strike down the mummies unless they attack you directly! Don't commit their souls to oblivion!" He runs towards her, dodging around any mummies, and tries to make it to her side. "They don't SEEM like they wish to harm us."

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe shakes her head. "I don't know how aware they are. This one doesn't talk, but it does seem to know I'm here. Who knows what thoughts are running through that mind ... except that the mind is probably sitting in a canopic jar, isn't it? Egyptians. Complicating everything."

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet makes his way back up the tunnel, wheezing at the exertion of the spell. "To destroy a mummy is to destroy the soul of the one it was, and to deny that soul's efforts to the struggle which keeps the great serpent Apep at bay. It is an upset of the fundamental order of all things. Defend yourself if you must, but do not destroy them unless absolutely necessary. We must figure out why they have awoken, and how we can return them to rest."

[Tibbius]

Semmopet and Tarkasan

Taharka followed Semmopet, shuffling and stumbling, arms outstretched for balance. "Well said. Old. Friend," he croaked. "We. Must. Resolve. This."

The remaining mummies had clambered up the steps out to the bright morning sun. The two men, and Taharka, worked their way around the pile of rock in the midst of the passage.

Tehuti and Eshe

The young man halts abruptly beside Eshe, turning to face the swaying mummy before her. The mummy waves its arms, clatters its jaw, and side steps to go around them toward the town.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe blinks. "I think we've been dismissed."

She shrugs at the young man. "Shall we follow them? I suspect it will be more interesting than sitting here and baking in the sun."

[dojango]

Tarkasan snarled back, "So it we should let them kill us? This is unnatural, old man, and must be stopped. This isn't your old friend, this is a deva come here to cause trouble." But he stayed his blade, for now.

[Tibbius]

Eshe

"I should get back to the temple, anyway," the young man replied. "My name is Pen-ba-ka-amen." He paused, waiting for the southerner to give her own name. Pointing toward the tomb from which the puff of dust had come, he added, "I do not see the two men I brought out here. Maybe we should look for them, before we head back to town." He shuddered suddenly. "It is strange to see the dead rise and walk about. The days of this Pharaoh are ... odd."

[ArchivesRat]

"Do they teach understatement at the temple? Nevermind, we should head there quickly. My guess - and this is only a guess - is that the mummies are headed there. I take no side in the current argument, but I do not wish to see the town wrecked. At least, not until I've had a mid-day meal."

Eshe falls in beside Pen-ba-ka-amen. "Now, do you remember where you last saw the two men you came with? Let's find them now."

[purepolarpanzer]

"I agree. We should find the two men you came with and make sure they are not interfering with these poor wretches. I'd hate for them to be destroying the mummies. I also came seeking you, Pen-Ba. My name is Tehuti, and I am a priest of Bes. I agreed to speak to you on behalf of the lovely Shep-set, who would seek to start a family with you. Something I'd wholeheartedly endorse, as a representative of the Dwarf who Protects." Tehuti fell in next to Pen-Ba to converse with him.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet makes his way up the passage cautiously. Taharka's mummy seemed to have retained its sense of self, the others not quite so much--as he told Tarkasan, they should avoid destroying the mummies, but they might not have the same caution about the living. He kept an eye on the mummies, to make sure they aren't looking aggressive. He blinks against the bright desert sun after the darkness of the burial chambers. "Well. The temple seems to be the best place to start. Shall we?"

[dojango]

Tarkasan followed, weapon out. Eyes wide and angry, he glared at the shambling mummies, waiting for them to make any aggressive moves. "They won't sleep," he muttered. "They'll get us then."

[Tibbius]

The Heroes Four (or Six)

As Semmopet, Tarkasan, and Taharka emerged from the tomb they confronted Eshe, Tehuti, and Pen-ba.

"Why. So many? Priests." said Taharka. "Out. Of temple. Why?"

Around about, multiple mummies staggered stiffly toward town.

"I might have seen Shep-set," Pen-ba replied shyly to Tehuti. "In the market, maybe. ... She likes me?" He formed a small, dubious smile. It was not clear how he felt about that information.

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe raises an eyebrow at Pen-ba, but refrains from comment.

Instead, she addresses the forming group: "I find it impossible to believe that this doesn't have something to do with the conflict at the temple. I'm planning to head there ahead of this staggering horde and delivering a warning. Anyone else?"

[purepolarpanzer]

"We should indeed make our way ahead and warn people of the incoming wave of undead. They should not be interrupted if we can help it- they can't talk, but if we follow them after warning everyone we can learn their purpose." Tehuti gives a small almost musical laugh. "She is crazy about you, Pen-Ba. She wishes to make you hers. A woman with that kind of fire will bring you joy and a family before long. If you are ready, I would give you the Dwarf God's blessing."

[Tibbius]

Pen-ba widened his eyes and raised his brow. He opened his mouth slightly but said nothing for a moment. Then he swallowed with effort. "Should we go ... back to the temple?" he asked, voice breaking between words. It seemed he would like to change the subject.

The mummies continued to emerge from tombs and shamble toward the town. A few had made it dozens of cubits beyond our heroes, but they moved slowly and stiffly with evident effort.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet nods agreement. "My thoughts exactly. And quickly." He glances around at the shambling corpses, disturbed from their rest. He turns to Taharka's mummy. "Old friend, I have a task I must ask of you, if you are able. You seem to have retained more of yourself than many of the others... if you could perhaps try and draw them away from the town? Anything you could do to give us time. We will return you to your rest as quickly as we can... I promise."

[Tibbius]

Taharka - or his lich - stood awkwardly. "I am not. A leader," it or he replied. "But. I am. A hektat. Who. Can. Cast a spell. To. Compel. Return to tombs." He paused and swayed wearily in the bright light of noon. "It. Will need. Special. Conditions. That. Must. Research." Another pause. "Temple. Library. I agree. We go."

[dojango]

Tarkasan eyed the mummy warily, before saying "Aye, the temple. At the very least, the priests will get eaten and we can make our escape."

[ArchivesRat]

Eshe straps her spear to her back. "To the temple. The more warning we give them, the better their defenses."

She looks at the slowly moving corpses and shakes her head. "... assuming they believe us. Let's move."

Eshe sets off at a trot.

[purepolarpanzer]

Tehuti hurries after the group, walking by the undead carefully as they make their way by. It was strange to see the mummies up and walking, and stranger still to see one talking!

[Tibbius]

In the half hour it took to return to the temple, the heroes far outpaced the staggering and shambling undead - although they had to pause a few times for Taharka to catch up, he seemed to move faster than the rest.

The early afternoon sunlight left the dawn-facing temple porch in shadow. Two of the nomarch's police sat there spinning their cudgels on the red stone slabs of the porch floor. They looked up when the group approached.

"Three priests and a ... what?!" said the older looking one. Both men leapt to their feet, clutching their cudgels.

[purepolarpanzer]

"Three priests and a messenger from beyond the grave! Stay your hands, guards. Our hallowed dead are marching this way, but they have not harmed anyone! Please don't strike them down!" Tehuti implored the guards, standing between the armed men and the party they'd come from the tombs with.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet shuffles forward after the more impetuous young priest. "The dead have been stirred, and Maat is in jeopardy. We seek a way to return them to their rest. This is a critical moment, gentlemen--panic will spread soon, unless something is done quickly. We need entry into the temple, lest the very order of the universe become unbalanced..." He's hoping that by focusing their attention on their role in resolving the problem and not directly accusing them of causing it, they'll be more disposed to let them through peacefully.

So I don't know that any of my careers (Slave, Scribe, Physician, Sorcerer) really apply here, and this would be... Appeal? So +0, but Silver Tongue should apply here.
[roll0]

[Tibbius]

The guards posed, indecisive, poised for action. Then the priests' words sank in and they relaxed.

"Is my auntie coming?" asked the younger one, somewhere between wistful and eager. He was about fifteen years old.

The older one looked grim. "I hope my wife still rests." He looked sternly at Semmopet. "Orders are, no entry for anyone. You can raise the issue to Himself, would you like?" He poked the end of his cudgel toward the nomarch's abode. "Orders are to rid the town of your type." He frowned. "I don't like these orders, but ... Ma'at requires. We trust the wisdom of our betters."

[dojango]

"And I've got orders to start thumpin' some sense into people," said Tarkasan, raising his fists. "The priests are the one's to deal with the dead, the nomarch'll deal with the living. Step aside, kid."

[roll0]. 2 from soldier (giving orders and thumping people who don't listen to them, and 1 from strength. Trying to order/intimidate them into stepping aside.

[Tibbius]

"Petumet! Tamu-hotep!" croaked Taharka's mummy. "Heed. Your. Betters. Step. Aside."

It was not obvious to what the guards responded more - Tarkasan's threatening posture, or the mummy's unexpected knowledge of their names - but either case, they lowered their cudgels and moved one step down the stairs from the porch.

"Petumet," said the older one, "go rapidly to the market and get Sab's contingent."

"But ..." said Petumet.

"Go! This foreigner seems to be a better man than us, but maybe not better than a dozen more like us."

The younger guard quickly descended the stairs and sprinted toward the market.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet eyes the two guards as they leave, and nods to Taharka. "That will buy us a few minutes. We need to move quickly." He steps forward quickly into the temple, looking about for a priest or similar--hopefully there are some still in the temple.

We are looking for the priests of Osiris, yes? They seem like the most qualified to deal with this sort of thing.

[dojango]

Tarkasan pushes past the remaining guard. "Have your men keep out of the way out of the honored dead... they may want you to join them." He heads inside. "Osiris or Set, I don't care. Someone has to know what's going on. Especially if they're behind it."

[Tibbius]

The older guard - Tamu-hotep, Taharka had named him - stood aside while the heroes pushed forward to search the temple for priests.

The temple floor plan was not particularly complex, and after about ten minutes Eshe, Tehuti, Tarkasan and Semmopet had confirmed that the only four priests there were Pen-ba, Taharka, Tehuti, and Semmopet.

"We need. Library. And. Time," croaked Taharka. "To research. A hex. For. Urging. The sleepers. Back. To. Their. Beds."

"Do you know the Litany of Slumber?" asked Pen-ba of Tehuti and Semmopet. "It is a higher mystery of Osiris, one I have not learned. The fathers know it. They chant it at all hours, but with them gone the chant has ceased. I am guessing that is why the sleepers have risen."

Semmopet knew that there was a library beneath the temple, but he did not know how to get in there - a librarian, a servant of Seshat, had always brought him papyrus scrolls and books upon request. She had been quite strict on the return policy, too ... He was surprised that Taharka did not know how to access the library, either.

[purepolarpanzer]

"That is not a rite I am familiar with... perhaps we should find one of these priests who do." Tehuti has found his sword and buckled it to his waist, as well as gathered his personal affects from the temple.

[rs2excelsior]

Semmopet scowls. "Perhaps we find the priests instead of the library, then. I do not think we could learn such a ritual before the soldiers return. I cannot believe they are clinging to this path of action even with the dead rising."

Is it possible Semmopet might be able to use a spell to help locate the entrance to the library? Looks like a first magnitude spell to me--"activities that anyone with the right training and equipment could accomplish."

Side note regarding magic, how much are players supposed to be able to come up with spells on the fly, and how much is supposed to be at GM discretion?

[Tibbius]

Spell selection is entirely player fiat. Adjudicating casting requirements is cooperative between player and gm - player picks the first one, DM picks the next, etc. DM sets the TN for casting the spell.

Finding the library entrance certainly would be a first-magnitude spell and not so difficult. I would give it a TN of 9 with one casting requirement. To shortcut a little bit, finding the path to the scroll that has the appropriate scroll also would be a first-magnitude spell, maybe with TN 10. However, your characters may be correct that having the rite performed by a priest who already knows it would be quicker than learning it themselves.

This leaves unresolved the question of how to get the honored ones back to their biers.

As the living priests debated what to do, Taharka's mummy shuffled around looking at statuary and making crotchety comments about the upkeep of the temple not being what it was in his time.

The older guard stepped into the main room where our heroes stood. "We're here," he said simply. "Time to go, folks." He paused. "Maybe you could take the ... honored one ... back to its ... his? place."

[Tibbius]

From the temple porch, the heroes heard the sounds of shuffling steps and alarmed shouts. The older guard turned abruptly and went out of the room into the porch, gripping his cudgel firmly and ready to swing. From where they stood, the heroes could not see what was happening ...

[dojango]

"The honored dead is his own man, he don't listen to me. I already tried to tell him to go home once already. You want to tell him yourself, may Osiris give you strength. " Tarkasan says. "Now step aside and let the priests work. This is their responsibility, not ours."

[Tibbius]

Momentarily our heroes stood alone within the temple, surrounded by twelve-cubit-tall columns of alternating red and white marble blocks, the walls similarly layered with stripes of red and white. Statuary of many deities crouched and stood and lurked and loomed in nooks and crannies all around. The hot light of mid-afternoon streamed in through the western windows, behind the altar of Osiris. Through the windows the heroes could glimpse the city of tombs, and among the tombs many distant human-like shapes lurching and shuffling toward the living town.

On the porch outside the temple there now were sounds of impact and struggle. "Hold them back!" cried one man. "Drive them off!" yelled a woman. There were thumps and crackles of cudgels striking.

[Tibbius]

Regretfully, - ironically -, I'm calling this dead due to loss of interest.