Mummy's Mask - Shifting Sands [IC]

[JWallyR]

"I think the most efficient option is to use a summoned creature. Stand back, everyone - and Lehasti, please disregard the abyssal nature of the summoned demon. I need a creature that will understand and follow directions, and though I would prefer to summon an angelic creature the magic I know is only capable of summoning archons who lack, well, hands..."

The unusually taciturn Lehasti assesses the arcanist through narrowed eyes. "I like not such*invocations of the abyss, even if well-meant, for with such intentions are roads to such dark places paved." After a moment of thought, emotions warring on the paladin's face, she reluctantly assents. "If not for the urgency of our mission, and the criticality of leaving no stone unturned in this place of hidden knowledge, I would object... but for now, I simply ask that you inflict upon us the presence of whatever dark creature you summon as briefly as is necessary."

Spoiler: Abyssal

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Demon! Open this door and shield us from the effects of the trap. If there are hostiles on the other side, defend us from them. Go!

Lehasti shudders at the guttural words, and eyes Vershab with something akin to suspicion... but setting aside her worries for the state of the wiry man's soul, she readies her blade once more and eyes the creature as it begins to approach the door.

[Gwynfrid]

As Vershab's call, a creature appears - a shortish humanoid, misshapen and bloated, with a deformed, hateful face. From its body emanates a disgusting stench, so pervasive Lehasti wonders how long it will linger on her clothing.

"Yes, maaasster. I will do what you sssay. Then I would like to kill sssomething, this one maaaybe?" It doesn't have a voice, but all hear the words in their minds. Only Vershab understands the dark language of the Abyss, but Azkin instinctively steps back, seeing all too well that the demon is pointing at him.

Nevertheless, the creature is obedient. While the companions step back, it moves towards the end of the eastern corridor, and at Vershab's prompt, it pushes the pivoting face. Instantly, a great pillar of fire comes down from the ceiling, slamming into the demon, who shrieks in pain.

Spoiler

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This is a dretch, if I read the summoning tables correctly.
Refl (1d20)[19] fire damage (15d6)[46]

When the acrid smoke clears, all that's left of the demon is a blotchy, dark stain on the floor, and a smell that's made even more horrible by the burn. Examining the pivoting face, Turi finds that it leads to nowhere - the other side is solid stone.

Spoiler

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The secret door is to the left of the face, not the face itself. Turi already figured the opening mechanism is too complex for him (even more so for any demon).

[JWallyR]

Lehasti instinctively takes one swift step toward Azkin as the foul creature's words intrude upon her mind, and it gestures towards her charge. When it becomes clear that such is the limit of its aggressive actions before moving to address the door, she relaxes somewhat, her held breath hissing out through clenched teeth.

Along with the other party members, the paladin flinches at the pillar of fire that obliterates the corporeal representation of the filthy creature. As the echos of the sudden conflagration die in the dusty chamber, she eyes the spot where the dretch stood moments before with an oddly satisfied expression, and a nonchalant "Hmmph."

Moving forward alongside Turi to examine the chamber's false end, she turns to Vershab with a shrug. "Just a trap, after all. Have you spells to open the way to the left?"

[DarkOne-Rob]

Vershab doesn't react to the demon until the column of fire makes the arcanist jump with a high-pitched yelp of surprise. Appearing not to hear Lehasti he turns to Turi and says, "That could have been you..." and then turning to Lehasti he continues, "...and had the fiends of Hell been easier to summon it might have even survived - devils tend to be immune to fire, as opposed to the mere resistance of the abyssal demons. Of course, the dretch is back in its home plane with only the memory of being summoned to show for it..." Then, as he realizes what the paladin asked he opens his spellbook and searches through it for a moment.

"The appropriately named incantation - Knock - could allow me to open it, but only with about the same amount of apparent skill as Turi has already demonstrated. However, unlike Turi, I could not continue to attempt it over and over again until successful. No, I am afraid unless we find some clue as to how to open it we are at an impasse..."

With a shrug the robed man turns away from the door and begins climbing back towards the entrance to the cryptic library. "Shall we return to the surface now? I think we have done all we can here...unless we want to try and return things to how we found them? No, there is likely no point to that, what with the guardians we have defeated and traps we have sprung. Anyone who follows us will know someone has been here. Do you think they will suspect us? Perhaps we should leave town before anyone comes around asking questions..."

[Farmerbink]

Turi stands stock still as the fiery pillar engulfs their brief and unlikely ally. As the brilliance of the blaze dies down and his eyes refocus to the dimmer light of their incarnations, he blinks twice.

Appearing not to hear Lehasti he turns to Turi and says, "That could have been you..."

The youngster blinks a third time, before glancing upward. He spends several seconds staring at the ceiling, trying to find where the flame would have come from.

"I suppose we better. I'm happy enough just to go back up to the sun again." He glances at Lehasti and shrugs. "Shall we?"

He glances back at the unopened door with a mournful expression once more and begins pacing towards the well and the ladder upwards.

[Gwynfrid]

As he ascends the well, Turi's mind is preoccupied. He gets a definite feeling that he missed something down there. He promptly sets the thought aside when another problem presents itself: It is now bright daylight above, and their exit in the middle of the street is unlikely to be a discreet one.

[Farmerbink]

Most of the way up the ladder, the implications of the party's daytime emergence occurs to the youngster. "Uh, Miss Lehasti? Vershab? We can't really just climb out of a supposedly-locked well in broad daylight, can we? I imagine that would be... somewhat more than just unusual. Probably draw the kind of attention we really don't want. Let's go back down, at least for a few hours..."

As eager as anyone to be back on the surface, Turi grumbles quietly to himself as he lowers his lean frame back to the depository floor. He glances in to the cross-shaped hallway curiously and purses his lips. "Might as well go back over some of this stuff, since we'll be here a few more hours..." He finds himself wandering through the various racks of books and scrolls, glancing at titles and words displayed with prominence, not sure at all what he's looking for.

Some time later, he looks up from yet another page of indecipherable script. "Other than the more urgent stuff, did you find anything interesting in all of this, Vershab?"

[DarkOne-Rob]

Vershab follows Turi's lead silently back into the library, keeping his thoughts to himself. At the youth's question he seems to think for a moment before responding.

Spoiler: OoC

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Gwynfrid - did we find anything else interesting? Or does this sort of question require an additional, unfocused research check?

Knowledge check (modifier varies): (1d20)[5] (unmodified)
Intelligence Check (1d20+5)[16]
Research "Damage" (1d8+5)[7]

[Farmerbink]

As the hours slowly wile away, Turi takes to walking the walls. Still more bored than driven, his eyes wander the cracks and crevices for signs of another hidden passageway. The builders of this place seemed fascinated with them, but it's never a sure thing...

Spoiler: OOC

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Still using the same +12 modifier. Plenty of places to look: east and west walls of "angry" room, south wall of west leg of + hallway, northwest corner of "sad/disgusted" room, east wall of the same...

(1d20+12)[27]
(1d20+12)[13]

[Gwynfrid]

Out of caution, the group gets back down the ladder, and out of idleness, Turi decides to give the walls a closer look, while Vershab goes perusing some more books. They have, after all, plenty of time on their hands.

... And both make a discovery.

In the middle of papyrus stacks listing the names of high priests of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension era, the young scholar finds something odd: A scrap of much more recent papyrus make, torn and crumpled. It's written in the modern Osiriani tongue: "(unreadable) ... As I left the city over the river, I decided I couldn't possibly keep the two boys with me. I took an empty barrel, put them in there, they were asleep. Then I entrusted them to the Asp. Best I could do, but even if they didn't come across a crocodile, chances were they would end in Bargetown. Tough luck at the start of a life. I tossed in what money I had left, two pharaohs, five silver and six copper. Hopefully, whoever found them would take pity and use the money to feed them for a while. May the gods have mercy on me! Please say a few prayers to the Dawnflower for me: I dare not enter her temple to ask her myself.
- I remain your faithful, grateful friend in all circumstances
Tentamun Masakhet"

Meanwhile, Turi scrutinizes the walls. He's intrigued by the sliding mechanism of the angry stone face. They had pushed it to the right, revealing an opening behind it on the left side. What if... On a sudden inspiration, the street boy pushes it all the way to the left instead. Lo and behold, there is a symmetrical opening on the right side. Cautiously, he extends and arm, with a lit torch, on the inside. He sees a cramped chamber, its walls riddled with shelves, cabinets, and cupboards wreathed in cobwebs. More than a dozen sarcophagi stand against the walls, all with disturbingly blank carved faces.

Spoiler

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[DarkOne-Rob]

"Well, this is odd...Why would a note like this be here in a forbidden library? Lehasti, what do you think of this? Why would someone abandon their children in this way? The letter mentions the Dawnflower - could this person be a member of your congregation?" Vershab asks, his confusion evident with the multiple layers of wrongness with the letter.

When Turi announces his discovery Vershab leaves the note with Lehasti before approaching and immediately casting Detect Magic to scan the room. "How interesting! What a better way to spend the afternoon!"

[Farmerbink]

"Woah. Yeah," Turi agrees, stepping into the space with a curious air. He eyes the sarcophagi warily- entirely too many dead things have been coming to life recently to assume they'll go unmolested here.

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+12)[19] perception, first for any signs that the sarcophagi pose a threat. Then, after a time, for loots!

[Gwynfrid]

In a corner of the room are stacked a dozen slabs of ancient stone, each perfectly square, two or three inches in thickness, and covered in hieroglyphs. Three of them register as magical. But it is the collection of sarcophagi that attract Turi and Vershab's attention. They are covered in Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs, even though some of them appear to be insufficiently old for that: At least a couple of them must be less than a century old. On top of each sarcophagus, the same sentence is written:

"This is [here follows a name] a Lost Curator, interred here in punishment for crimes against the sanctity of the All-Seeing Eye's gifts."

Further text describes said punishment in coldly descriptive detail: It consists of the mummification of the body while still alive, at least at the start of the process. Then, further text details the crimes that warrants such a terrible fate. In most cases, this has to do with corruption and transgression of Nethys' teachings: Selling of ancient artifacts to unsanctioned researchers, taking bribes to allow library access to shady adventurers, disseminating forbidden knowledge, or destroying rare scrolls or spellbooks. After about an hour of reading, Vershab finds one of the most ancient sarcophagi and painstakingly deciphers the writings: This Lost Curator is named Khnenti, and he was sentenced in -1324 AR, for the crime of having researched into the life of the Sky Pharaoh.

[DarkOne-Rob]

"...That is disturbing in a rather personal way..." mutters Vershab as he steps back from the last sarcophagus. Looking around the room he shivers uncomfortably before sharing his finding with the others. "We should be careful to keep our actions discrete in the future - I would prefer to avoid mummification while still alive and I am sure all of you would too. We would most likely qualify as both 'shady adventureres' and 'researchers into the life of the Sky Pharoah.' However...if we had access to this poor man's corpse we could attempt to cast speak with dead and learn about the Sky Pharoah from an earlier source..."

The arcanist then inspects the sarcophagus closely, looking for a manner by which it could be opened, if the party decides to do so.

---

While the party discusses the value of such an action, Vershab picks up the three magical stone slabs to attempt to identify them...

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Detect Magic + Spellcraft (1d20)[20], (1d20)[1], (1d20)[7] (I forget my modifier, please apply it!)

[Gwynfrid]

Vershab notices a number of scratches on the side of Khnenti's sarcophagus. It must have been tampered with at some point, but after that it was closed again, and sealed shut in some way, probably magical or alchemical, that makes it stronger than the others.

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Someone has opened this sarcophagus and later closed and re-sealed it. I wonder if they were looking for the same kind of information we are...Unfortunately, I am not able to use the divine magic needed to speak with the dead directly, and I doubt that Lehasti and Azkin's divine patron will support such a use of her might..." Vershab says. "We will have to rely on our mundane research I suppose...Too bad..."

Turning to the stone tablets he removes the three magic ones and puzzles through their hieroglyphs. "Ah! These contain magical writings, much like a scroll. I will put them in my pack and review them at length later..."

[Farmerbink]

As they look over the sarcophagus, Turi looks increasingly concerned. The extra effort taken to seal this particular interment leaves him decidedly convinced that it is neither worth their own effort, nor likely to be painless to pursue a more direct magical interrogation. He pouts for a moment. "I don't suppose there's any way to tell whether or not we've got competition that did speak with this... guy directly? I'd be nice to know this was all re-sealed several hundred years ago, and not last week."

Turi snorts quietly as Vershab makes to stow the tablets. "You're gonna haul those bricks up the ladder? Can't you just read them here?"

[Gwynfrid]

It takes a significant effort to lay the slabs of stone down from their neat stack and examine them. Vershab finds that they record spells of immense power! However, they aren't at all convenient for transportation.

Spoiler

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The stone tablets serve as scrolls, with the spells clone, energy drain, and wail of the banshee. But each weighs about 50 pounds.

[DarkOne-Rob]

It takes a significant effort to lay the slabs of stone down from their neat stack and examine them. Vershab finds that they record spells of immense power! However, they aren't at all convenient for transportation.

Spoiler

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The stone tablets serve as scrolls, with the spells clone, energy drain, and wail of the banshee. But each weighs about 50 pounds.

Spoiler: OoC

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Is there any reason they won't fit in my Handy Haversack?

[JWallyR]

"Uh, Miss Lehasti? Vershab? We can't really just climb out of a supposedly-locked well in broad daylight, can we? I imagine that would be... somewhat more than just unusual. Probably draw the kind of attention we really don't want. Let's go back down, at least for a few hours..."

Lehasti grimaces at the young man's suggestion. "I hate to waste the time... but they do say that discretion is the better part of valor." With a disheartened sigh, the paladin makes her way back to the floor of the hidden library...

"Well, this is odd...Why would a note like this be here in a forbidden library? Lehasti, what do you think of this? Why would someone abandon their children in this way? The letter mentions the Dawnflower - could this person be a member of your congregation?"

The paladin reads the note, curiosity on her face giving way to shock, and then a deep, weary sadness. "I cannot imagine how such a scrap would arrive in a dark library like this, but... it grieves my heart that someone in such dire straits might invoke the title of the Dawnflower but fail to seek out her aid directly, Her mercy being so readily given to any who ask." She lapses into silence before her eyes suddenly widen, and opening her mouth to speak, she is suddenly interrupted by Turi's discovery!

"We should be careful to keep our actions discrete in the future - I would prefer to avoid mummification while still alive and I am sure all of you would too. We would most likely qualify as both 'shady adventureres' and 'researchers into the life of the Sky Pharoah.'"

"Someone has opened this sarcophagus and later closed and re-sealed it. I wonder if they were looking for the same kind of information we are...Unfortunately, I am not able to use the divine magic needed to speak with the dead directly, and I doubt that Lehasti and Azkin's divine patron will support such a use of her might..." Vershab says. "We will have to rely on our mundane research I suppose...Too bad..."

Lehasti grimaces at the "crimes" committed, which begin to hit a bit close to home. "While my inclination is to leave the dead at rest... this one has already been disturbed, and likely by whatever dark forces oppose our quest to lay the Sky Pharoah's power to a more permanent rest. I don't doubt that our patroness would permit Azkin to ask a few respectful questions... and of course we would hope to return the pour soul to its rest."

Lehasti eyes the unwieldy "scroll" stones appraisingly. "I will have to leave it to your judgment as to whether these are worth the effort. I am confident that with some rope and some sweat that they may be brought to the surface..."

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Oh? We can make use of Speak with Dead and it will not be an affront to Sarenrae? That is quite excellent, though not what I would have expected. Even with my studies of religions I still admit to sometimes misjudging what is or is not moral in the eyes of a given Faith...Shall we?" asks Vershab as he moves to help lower the sarcophagus to the ground for the party to try to pry it open.

"As for the tablets, I can assure you that the magic they hold is quite powerful - well beyond my ability to use right now, but worth securing for when my skill improves enough to fully master them..."

[Starbin]

The pale-skinned woman stands against a wall, her cloak pulled tight around her slender form. There are no lights on this street yet, and dusk blanketed everything in shadows. However, even for the dying light, she sees the well with ease. Everything was as the other woman said - an empty alley, an old well, a metal grate. Everything but one thing...

The lock is missing.

Glancing left and right, her eyes narrow as she peers about for signs of a trap. It didn’t make sense, but she can’t simply ignore the possibility, right? Surely there are easier ways to betray her, any number of places in the city where she could be ambushed. And if this is a trap, why warn her with something as obvious as removing the lock? No, it is less likely this is a machination by her confidant, and more likely the work of someone else ... someone who knows about the well and where it leads.

Someone who knows about the Dark Depository.

Taking a cleansing breath, she concentrates for a moment, then casts about for signs of magic but finds nothing but old auras. Then she moves cautiously towards the well, her spear poised as she approaches. With a whisper and a rush of moaning air, she is surrounded by whirling spirits, faces of ancient desert tribesmen, small shields and spears at the ready. They flow around her like water, intent on their charge to protect the woman. Reaching the edge of the well, she peers down, listening carefully, but she detects no sound, saw no movement.

Nodding to herself, she pulls the grate up and slips inside, returning the grate. Would there be another traveler this night, staring at the unlocked grate with similar trepidation? Hopefully not ... the fact that at least three entities know of the dangers hidden below is worrisome enough. The gods are anxious, moody and uneasy; they will be downright agitated if more people are on the trail of ancient secrets this night.

She makes her way down the ladder, pausing nervously as she nears the bottom. The rungs change from rusted to pitted, and an acrid smell fills the air. Hesitantly, she lowers herself carefully, eyes scanning for signs of the source. When she reaches the bottom, she finds a small path leading forward, a steep path that makes any approach more problematic than normal. As she reaches the middle of two crossing corridors, she pauses as she hears sounds from up ahead.

What to do? Should she continue on, or wait? At least two groups know of this place ... one could be an ally; the other, unknown. Either way, the knowledge held here is dangerous at best and potentially apocalyptic at worst. Those fools of the All-Seeing Eye have obviously failed in their efforts ... if the information cannot be hidden and safely secured, better to bury the entire place, or burn it to the ground.

Whispers buzz through her ears, but she shakes her head and pushes them away. She needs no further urgent warnings to drive her adrenaline. She is past the edge and already prepared for battle. As the calm washes over her and her eyes began to shine with anticipation, she slips forward, spell and spear ready. The sounds of hushed discussion and grinding stone cover her approach as she hovers near the doorway, listening for a moment. She catches a few words. Something about the competition ... invoking the ‘Dawnflower’ ... Sky Pharaoh’s power ... speaking with the dead. Certainly no simple students of lost history, but people who seek knowledge of dark tidings.

She steps around the corner with her spear held close, to see who she faces. She blinks in surprise at the scholar, Knight and two young boys. She frowns for a moment, then remembers something, her shoulders relaxing a hair at sight of the winged ankh. Even as she gazes in the four figures, one of the boys suddenly stiffens and spun to look at her.

”Greetings, seekers of knowledge. It is late for excavation of the library, yes?”

The red-haired woman stands wreathed in swirling images that upon closer inspection appear to be spirts. Beneath the spirits, she wears fanciful clothes, not quite what one would expect for such activities as this. A small silver necklace holds a trinket - a small shield with two crossed arrows. She holds a well-crafted spear firmly in one hand, in a familiar manner. She wears a veil, but piercing green eyes look upon the group guardedly, glancing to each of them. Her soft voice is quiet but full of confidence as she waits for the group’s reaction.

[Farmerbink]

"Good gods!" the dark-skinned youngster cries, spinning almost in midair to face the unexpected speaker. He crouches, almost catlike, as a pair of hooked short-blades appear in his hands. His eyes narrow as he inspects the woman with naked suspicion, and only just-contained hostility.

"I hate to seem impolite, but you're going to have to give us a really good reason to let you leave here alive." The boy's words somehow mingle sorrow into his tone, but leave little room for argument. For the moment, he waits, perhaps hopefully?

[Starbin]

At those threatening words, the woman’s eyes narrow and her body tenses. While he stance did not shift, there is a discernible change in the air. The spear never moves but the placid look is gone - it is obvious the boy has crossed a line.

”You seem to be suggesting that you have both the right and the capability to make that a truth. Had I wished it, you would be speaking through a gurgling hole in your throat, boy, before you could finish playing with those rocks. I might suggest you pause and consider my approach - respect for my own restraint and politeness may be in order.

But know this - I promise you, by all the old ones, if you seek violence against me, you will find it. ”

She pauses to wait for the others response, wondering if this was to be a battle after all. If it was, she would show them she was no sacrificial goat to be slaughtered on a whim.

[DarkOne-Rob]

"I don't like being threatened," states Vershab in his typical, unemotional tone, as he turns to look at the newcomer. "Friends don't speak to each other like that - let's be friends..." he says as he begins making arcane gestures...

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Vershab is casting Charm Person (Will save DC 16, if Starbin wants to resist it)

[Starbin]

The magic washes over the woman with no affect, except to anger her. It appears these are not the heroes she presumed. One threatened to kill her and the other tried to enchant her! With a growing growl in her throat, she lowers her spear to point at the mage.

”You speak of friendship but deal in subterfuge. The boy threatens to murder me for the ‘crime’ of being in the same place you have obviously broken into. You try to cloud my mind and enslave my will. I have not threatened you, except to warn you that if you fight I will respond. I thought you the Relic Knights and possible allies - surely you have taken their forms and seek to bring darkness to the land. I will not let your evil stand! ”

She touches the token on her necklace and begins to intone ...

Spoiler: OOC

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Save was successful in OOC. She is preparing to cast a spell, but I’m waiting for any other responses (especially from the evil detecting Paladin) before I actually cast it.

[JWallyR]

Lehasti spins upon her heels, blinking in momentary confusion as she takes in the sudden arrival and her allies' wary responses. Glancing from Turi's instant defensive posture to the arcanist's gestures and then the mystery figure's aggressive posture, the paladin opens her mouth to speak as she reaches for the hilt of her weapon...

”...I thought you the Relic Knights and possible allies - surely you have taken their forms and seek to bring darkness to the land. I will not let your evil stand!”

...and a sudden realization dawns in Lehasti's eyes. "Hold!" she bellows into the dusty hall. With slow, deliberate movements, the paladin withdraws her hand from the hilt protruding above her left shoulder, presenting open hands to the new arrival. "If the Relic Knights you seek, friend, then your search is finished; you must also know that a tongue of the Dawnflower's flame can speak no lie. Believe when I say that if you mean us no harm, then we will repay that courtesy in kind." The paladin closes her eyes prayerfully, and when they open, the whites of her eyes seem to reflect a golden sheen in the low light.

Spoiler: OOC

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Detect Evil, 'cause, y'know.

After several seconds spent scrutinizing the mystery woman, Lehasti seems to relax somewhat, and blinking away the golden hue in her eyes, the paladin speaks. "I see that you are not a woman of ill will; please forgive the hasty responses of my friends. Vershab..." the paladin gestures to the arcanist with an apologetic tilt of the head and a wry smile, "...is a skilled manipulator of the arcane, but his skill in wordplay is somewhat less developed. Turi here, likewise has many skills, but diplomacy is not chief among them; and were I not so convinced that you mean well, his concerns might be better placed. Azkin, at least, has not yet threatened your life; but perhaps only because the gifts of Sarenrae that manifest most strongly in him are of the healing and cleansing sort." The paladin turns her head to wink congenially at her young apprentice, who blushes confusedly while continuing to clutch his spear apprehensively.

"So, friend," says the paladin, her expectant emphasis unmistakeable, "you seek an alliance with the Relic Knights; here we are. You know our names, and it appears we are at a disadvantage, but surely only a desperate soul would resort to such a meeting in this unlikely place."

The paladin's unspoken question hovers weightily in the dusty silence of the disused passage.

[Farmerbink]

Turi snorts, his nervousness only moderately allayed by Lehasti's tone; he immediately illustrates Lehasti's criticism of his diplomatic skills. "You'll be the first person we've met doing this who wasn't an enemy, if your words are true." He continues to eye the newcomer distrustfully, though his posture lessens somewhat. His blades remain in hand, but his hands lower.

Still, with the distinct air of a cornered cat, he waits for some clear explanation of the newcomer's presence and intent, unwilling to rely on her good graces for the group's protection.

[Starbin]

The woman pauses in her magical preparations as the knight spoke calmly and displayed her peaceful intent. Her eyes search the knight’s face for signs of subterfuge and finds none, but is this another trick? The mage has shown ability with enchantments - perhaps he is skilled in illusion as well? With calming breaths, the woman nods her head and places the butt of her spear on the ground. As she gazes upon the four people, she considers their position, their perspective. Now she sees signs she had missed before - small cuts and bruises ...shadows under their eyes ... the haunted look. The boy’s response confirms her suspicions - they are paranoid ... and afraid.

With a bow, she speaks again, the steel softened this time. ”Greetings, Lady ... Knight. I am Natala al Akmet, Dune Walker, Scion of the Children of the Fiery Star, Daughter of the Sand Stalkers, Bond-gift of the Two Tribes, Seeress of the Ancient Gods, Speaker of the Old Ways. I offer apologies for both my sharp tongue and quick temper. I thought my approach unthreatening, but did not look at this through your eyes.

I have been set in a path that is threatened by dark tidings. That path led me to this Depository, where I learned two others knew of this place. Your exploits are well known, and I hoped to find you here, rather than someone else. I feel our paths likely converge.

I seek the records of the Sky Pharaoh. “

[Farmerbink]

As the newcomer relaxes her stance, so too does Turi. He finally, slowly, returns his blades beneath the fold of his flowing pants. He blinks slowly, scrutinizing her every move and word. When she gets around to speaking her business, he frowns in thought. "That's all it took to kill this fellow we were about to talk with," he mutters- realizing neither the potential threat nor awkward implication in his words- "and about the only reason to come down here, I figure," he finishes without a pause. As Lehasti (no doubt) steps forward to respond to Natala in kind, he steps back and turns to his younger brother.

"Think she's got enough names?" he whispers, conspiratorially. The pair snicker quietly.