TOPIC: Mummy's Mask discussion

(Savaged) Mummy’s Mask – Session Two (18/10/2018)

As water flooded the tomb, the great golden doors behind the party began to close. Dropping his bow, Guud braced himself against the weight of the portal, slowing its inexorable descent just long enough for Billu to scramble to safety. The rest of the party were now sealed on the other side of the stone door, the sun-warmed water of the River Asp swiftly rising above their knees! Vardis splashed towards the far wall, hoping to find some mechanism to obstruct the flow. As he approached, Vardis saw two long, brown shapes drop into the water, like scaly turds being flushed down a giant toilet. Not recognising the danger, Vardis continued fighting against the current. Suddenly, the water ahead erupted with teeth as a large, disorientated crocodile attacked, dragging the surprised shaman below the surface.

On the raised stone dais, Chenkov sheathed his sword and raised the lid of the golden sarcophagus. Nestled within lay a skeletal body in ragged leather armour. Chenkov was surprised by the lack of treasure. He was surprised further when the skeleton popped upright and began jabbering in ancient Osirian, which was incomprehensible to his untutored ear. Fortunately, Bes understood the skeleton’s tongue.

“Wait!” Bes cried, “He says that he means us no harm!”

The skeleton rummaged around inside the sarcophagus and produced a rusty shortsword. Suddenly, the skeleton lunged at Bes! With a single strike, he skewered the second crocodile, which had been drifting towards the masked man with gluttonous purpose. Chenkov used the heavy lid of the sarcophagus to club the first crocodile to death, releasing Vardis from its vice-like jaws.

With Bes acting as translator, the party were able to communicate with the skeletal warrior. They make the assumption that he is General Ahkentepi and the skeleton does not disabuse them of this notion. They express regret for robbing his tomb and the ‘General’ magnanimously accepts their apology. In fact, he can lead them to even greater riches! The skeleton shows the heroes how to deactivate the trap by lighting the four braziers around the room. The water begins to drain via a network of secret plumbing and both Billu and Guud rejoin the group. Billu heals Vardis’ grievous injuries, which had bought the gnoll shaman to the brink of death.

The skeleton explains how a false tomb would often be built to deter tomb robbers, then shows the heroes how to open a secret door to the real tomb and treasure vault. Guud is suspicious.

“If you’re General Ahkentepi, why were you buried in the false tomb?” the bowman growls.

The skeleton brushed the question off with bony fingers and heads through the secret door. Beyond lies a second, even grander sarcophagus, surrounded by clay pots full of funerary goods. Suspecting treachery, the rest of the party hang back while Bes and the skeleton removed the lid. Inside lay a second skeletal body in ragged leather armour. The first skeleton immediately punched the second skeleton in its bony face, caving in the grinning skull.

“YOU BASTARD!!!” the skeleton screamed.

“What the hell?” Bes cried.

“Wow! That felt great! You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that!” the skeleton said, nursing his bony knuckles, “I have a confession to make to you guys, I’m not really General Ahkentepi, but I did have a grudge to settle with the guy. Y’see, it was this bastard here who had me buried alive, cursed to rot but never truly die. My name is Issa, by the by.”

“What did you do to deserve such a cruel fate?” asked Bes.

“I might have accidentally killed a few of his favourite concubines.” Issa admitted.

Entombed with the body of the dead general were two spectacular weapons that had defied the march of time that had reduced the rest of the ancient world to ruin. The first was a slender spear decorated with stylized eyes, the second a small black shield designed to resemble a scarab beetle. Vardis claimed the spear (all the better for prodding Boros towards danger) and Issa grabbed the scarab shield.

“What do we do with this thing now?” Guud said, raising his bow toward the skeleton, “He can’t come with us, the temple of Pharasma won’t allow the undead to leave the necropolis.”

“I could be useful!” Issa replied quickly, “Without me, you might not have found the real tomb. I am also an excellent cook!”

“Hmmm,” mused Billu, remembering Farhaan’s overcooked camel testicles, “We should take him along! How much trouble can one skeleton cause?”

Guud skinned one of the dead crocodiles and crafted the hide into a stylish hat to hide Issa’s frightful visage, plus scally mittens to cover his bony fingers. Gathering as much of Ahkentepi’s treasure as they could carry, the heroes exited the tomb and headed back towards the living city.

TBC

(Savaged) Mummy’s Mask – Session Two (18/10/2018)

It seemed the heroes had lost track of time, for the sun was setting as they emerged from the tomb. At the border of the living city, a group of masked Pharasman clerics guarded Wati against incursions by the dead. Beneath his crocodile-skin disguise, Issa began to sweat – then wondered how that was possible without skin. The party halted as one of the clerics raised a hand.

“Please surrender any treasure that you uncovered in the necropolis,” the cleric said, “The temple will perform checks to ensure that you have not bought any dangerous, cursed items into the living city. Any cursed items will be confiscated and destroyed. Everything else will be returned to you.”

Grudgingly, the Desert Storm hand over their loot to the watchful clerics, although they do hold onto the weapons they recovered from Ahkentepi’s sarcophagus.

“Anything else to declare?” asked the cleric.

“No officer, absolutely not officer, have a lovely night officer.” Billu said hurriedly, as the rest of the party hustled Issa across the checkpoint.

Billu and Guud returned to the Tooth and Hookah, while the rest of the party took Issa shopping at the night bazaar. Waiting outside the inn was a messenger bearing a note for Billu. The note bore the noble seal of Lord Okhenti and invited the handsome young shepherd to supper at the nobleman’s estate. Mistrustful as ever, Guud decided that he would be going too and shadowed his friend across the city. His concerns were unfounded however, as all Lord Okhenti desired was good company and entertainment.

Meanwhile, back at the Tooth and Hookah, a group of golden masked thugs were stirring up trouble with the Dog Soldiers. The two groups were on the brink of combat when the other members of the Desert Storm returned to the inn.

“What is going on here?” Bes cried in alarm.

“These masked buggers want to know what we found today,” growled ‘Mad Dog’ Marn, leader of the Dog Soldiers, “And I’ll tell you what I told them, none of your bloody business what we found!”

“You!” said the leader of the masked men, pointing to Bes, “You were at the lottery this morning! What did you find in the necropolis? Did you recover anything unusual? Tell me!”

“We found nothing that would interest you.” Chenkov rumbled, “You should go now. You are not welcome here.”

Denied the information they sought, the masked men left. Jeering followed them down the street.

“You’re alright for a big fellow!” Marn said to Chenkov, “Fancy joining me and the lads for a drink?”

Chenkov joined the Dog Soldiers at their table, towering over the halfling cavaliers. Marn challenged him to an arm wrestling contest, which the towering paladin won. In fact, Chenkov slammed Marn’s hand down with such force that he broke the halfling’s wrist! The rest of the night passed uneventfully and the heroes got an early(ish) night in anticipation of the second day of the lottery.

Again, Sebti the Crocodile summoned Billu of the Desert Storm onto the stage in the centre of the Sunburst Market. This time, the group were assigned to explore the House of Pentheru, a wealthy merchant whose family had been massacred during the Plague of Madness.

TBC

(Savaged) Mummy’s Mask - Session Two (18/10/2018)

The house of Pentheru was a two storey sandstone building enclosed by a tall perimeter wall. Tarnished bronze gate stand ajar, leading into a sandy courtyard. The Desert Storm crossed the threshold warily and advanced into the main house.Bestial snarling could be heard from an inner courtyard, where a pack of large, black dogs had made their lair. Each animal had two heads and the grey flesh beneath their fur crawled with tiny worms.

“Death dogs.” Guud cursed, whipping his bow into the ready position, “Do not let them bite you! Their saliva carries disease!”

Chenkov charged into the fray, slaying three of the wretched hounds in a single swing of his blade. Suddenly, a hail of arrows rained down on the paladin from the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Three skeletal marksman looked down into the killing ground. Chenkov hunkered down behind his shield, but one of the arrows found his flesh and he cried out in pain as the shaft sank into his leg.

Guud clambered the remains of a collapsed staircase to reach the second floor. Three more skeletons, armed with spears and shields, were waiting for him. Before Guud could loose a single arrow, the skeletons fell upon him, driving their spears into his pallid flesh. This might have been the end of Guud’s story, had Billu not been there to heal his wounds. Vardis destroyed the skeletons with his shamanic powers, then intimidated Boros into attacking the final death dog.

After the skeletons and their worm-ridden hounds were vanquished, the heroes were free to explore the house of Pentheru in peace. In a dusty study, Chenkov found a golden amulet inscribed with the likeness of the Abadar, the god of merchants and commerce. The same likeness graced the face of a large vault door in the chapel. A pair of golden scales waited on the altar, beside them lay a small golden dish containing eight silver coins.

‘ONE OF THE COINS IS FAKE’ read the hieroglyphics around the vault door, ‘FIND THE FALSE COIN, BUT ONLY USE THE SCALES TWICE.’

Bes solved the riddle and the vault door swung open, revealing the sealed treasury. Gold and silver bars were stacked as high as a man’s waist, but the centre of the vault was dominated by a large, golden statue of a naked, muscular slave.

“I bet Lord Okhenti would love this,” Billu said, but the statue proved way too cumbersome to move, “By the gods, that's heavy! Let’s just take the gold and silver then.”

The moment Billu touched the precious metal, the golden statue took a step forward, raising its fist in silent warning. Issa picked up a silver bar and tossed it out through the vault door. Interpreting this act as theft (removing the treasure from the vault), the statue attacked, swinging its golden fist in a devastating haymaker than sent Issa flying through the wall!

TBC

(Savaged) Mummy's Mask - Session Three (25/10/2018)

A skeletal arm rose from the pile of rubble where moments earlier a wall had stood. Half buried and still reeling from the golem’s jaw-rattling haymaker, Issa extended his unquiet spirit towards the scarab shield he had claimed from Ahkentepi’s tomb. Black legs sprouted from the edges of the shield as it transformed into a giant beetle. Finding purchase on its smooth, golden body, the beetle scaled the golem’s back and latched onto its head, blinding the silent brute. Ducking below the golem’s flailing fists, Chenkov wrapped his muscular arms around its waist and body-slammed the golden construct through a table! As the golem struggled to rise, Bes moved forward and drove his sword into the back of its neck, popping the golden head clean off its golden shoulders. Having overcome the final guardian of Pentheru’s riches, the heroes bagged up their hoard and headed back to the living city.

Unfortunately, the streets of the necropolis were treacherous and the Desert Storm soon realised they had become hopelessly lost. They reached an intersection between two main thoroughfares and found themselves looking down into a mass grave. Tens, if not hundreds of bodies had been dumped into the shallow pit. Gouges around the edge of the hole suggested not all of the occupants had remained buried. Covering his face with a fine silk handkerchief, Inspector Cluedo studied the scene and observed that several corpses were notably fresher than the majority. In fact, he recognised their ashen faces from the first morning of the lottery.

“These men are known to me,” Cluedo said sadly, “They called themselves ze Tomb Raiders. I wonder how they came to such an inauspicious end.”

“I smell something…” Vardis growled, his scarred muzzle twitching.

“I smell it also, my friend,” Cluedo replied, “In my line of work, ze smell of death is all too familiar. No matter ze means by which ze life was snubbed out, all bodies soon develop ze same corpse stink, non? Would you like to borrow a handkerchief?”

“No,” Vardis said, “Different smell. Sweet smell. Perfume.”

Reluctantly, Cluedo removed his own handkerchief and sniffed the air.

“Oui, I smell it also. There is someone coming. Hide!”

The Desert Storm concealed themselves in the abandoned homes facing the intersection. Moments later, a curious procession turned the corner and approached the pit. Leading the group was a beautiful, flame-haired woman of Ulfen descent. Behind her came four more, equally beautiful, women. Between them, each pair of ladies dragged the body of a naked, lifeless man. At the edge of the hole, the women unceremoniously rolled the bodies into the grave.

“These harpies are known to me also,” Cluedo whispered, “They call themselves ze Daughters of the Desert and are staying at ze very same inn as ourselves. Who would have imagined that these fair creatures would be capable of such skullduggery?”

“Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for this,” Billu replied, although the young shepherd doubted his own words, “We should talk to them. Maybe they know the way back to the gate. It’s getting dark and we really don’t want to spend the night among the dead.”

“I will speak with them.” Guud said, stepping out into the street, “But I will let my bow do all the talking.”

TBC

(Savaged) Mummy's Mask - Session Three (25/10/2018)

Guud emerged onto the dusky street, the windblown sand gusting around him like a hellish aura in the light of the setting sun. The Daughters of the Desert turned from their grim task to face the pale bowman, slowly reaching for their weapons.

“Sisters, hold.” commanded the flame-haired Ulfen lass, then she turned to Guud, “Greetings and well met! My name is Sigrun Firehair and these are the Daughters of the Desert. We are registered participants in the grand lottery. I know neither your name nor your face, stranger, but know that we mean you no harm.”

“He’s just one man!” another of the Daughters hissed, none too quietly, “Why are we wasting time talking?”

Sigrun shot her a venomous look.

“I apologise for my companion's attitude! A group of men recently attacked us without provocation, although as you can see, it did not end so well for them. The necropolis is not safe to wander alone, stranger, you should come with us.”

With one fluid motion, Guud drew his bow and shot one of the Daughters dead!

“My bow speaks,” Guud said, “You have my answer.”

“Kill him!” Sigrun cried, cursing as the rest of the Desert Storm appeared, “Kill all of them!”

Sigrun and another Daughter advanced on Vardis, the first lashing out with her sword to put the gnoll off-balance, the second attempting to shoulder barge him into the grave. Bes stepped up and clubbed Sigrun with the hilt of his own blade, knocking her out cold. Issa engaged the other, lopping off her arm and the shoulder. With a scream, she stumbled into the pit. Issa glanced at the severed arm lying at his feet and kicked it in after her.

The other two Daughters took cover in the abandoned buildings to either side of the street, drawing their bows and waiting for a target to appear from the blinding sand. Suddenly, the sandstone wall exploded as Chenkov bulled through the partition, showering both ladies in rubble. Choking on dust kicked up by the collapsing wall, one of the Daughters staggered into the street and immediately fell as Guud put an arrow through her neck. The final Daughter dropped her weapons and surrendered.

“No surrender, only death.” Guud snarled, raising his bow to shoot the woman in cold blood.

Billu launched himself across the street, knocking the pale bowman’s arm and causing the shot to miss. Startled, the unarmed woman panicked and fled. The Desert Storm let her go.

While the rest of the party picked over the bodies, Issa stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at the woman he had killed. An ingenious notion was rattling around inside his hollow skull. In order to infiltrate and integrate himself into this new age, he must be able to move among the living unseen and unsuspected. How better to get into the skin of these strange, warm-blooded creatures than to literally get into the skin of one of these strange, warm-blooded creatures? Bes joined the skeleton at the edge of the grave.

“I know what you are thinking,” the masked warrior said somberly, “What a tragic waste of life.”

“Actually, I was wandering if someone would help me carve the skin off one of the bodies, so that I can wear it like a suit.”

Bes took a moment to really absorb that statement, removed him mask and vomited into the pit.

“What is ze matter here?” Cluedo asked, coming over to investigate. Bes explained.

Cluedo took a moment to really absorb the explanation, raised his handkerchief and vomited into the pit.

“Wow, you guys are really over-reacting about this,” Issa said defensively, “All I want to do is skin a woman and wear her flesh like a Halloween costume. There’s nothing weird about that!”

“In my tribe, we would often use the skins of dead slaves to accessorize our outfits,” Vardis volunteered, “You’ll notice that my money pouch is crafted from the face of a dead human. Practical and fashionable!”

“I want no part of this,” Bes said, turning a funny shade of green.

The rest of the Desert Storm retreated while Issa and Vardis set about their gruesome task. The unconscious form of Sigrun Firehair began to stir, prompting Cluedo to voice a few pressing concerns.

“Legally, we are in a very grey area here,” he said, twirling his moustache thoughtfully, “Although it iz likely that these women murdered and robbed ze Tomb Raiders, we have no proof of that and it will be their word against ours. Also, Guud fired first, so technically the Desert Storm instigated ze fight in which several Daughters of the Desert were killed. Further condemning us in ze eyes of the law, two of our number are presently in ze process of mutilating one or more of ze bodies so that an illegal skeleton can play dress-up in the skin. It might be better all round if there are no witnesses to this circus….”

“Are you suggesting that we kill an unarmed woman, after she surrendered?” Billu asked, mortified by what he was hearing.

“Wait!” Sigrun said, struggling to rise, “We can all walk away from this. You know that we killed and robbed those other guys and we know that you are harbouring an undead. We’ll keep your secret if you keep ours. We’ll all walk out of here together and you’ll never see us again.”

“We can’t trust her,” Guud growled through gritted teeth, “We should end this now.”

“No!” Billu cried, “There’s been enough death for one day! We accept your terms. Let’s just get out of here while we still can.”

TBC

(Savaged) Mummy's Mask - Session Three (25/10/2018)

The Desert Storm and sole surviving Daughter of the Desert left the necropolis. Sigrun Firehair kept her word and her silence as the party were waved across the threshold of the living city, determinedly ignoring the abomination that travelled with them.

“The eyeballs are still a problem.” Issa grumbled, “There’s no optical nerves to hold them in place, so they keep rolling out. Whose idea was it to make them spherical? Such a bad design!”

As soon as they cleared the checkpoint, Sigrun took her leave, promising to leave Wati that night and never return. Only Guud glimpsed the flash of fury across her features as she turned away. Despite her promises, the pale bowman had no doubt in his mind that their paths would cross again. It was inevitable. No prey survived once he had set his sights on it. Yes, he would look forward to their next meeting.

The heroes hit the night bazaar before returning to the Tooth and Hookah. Anticipating a huge haul of treasure on the final day of the lottery, Vardis bought a small handcart from a hunchbacked gnoll crone. Chenkov returned to the shop where he had pawned his father’s sword, only to discover the weapon had been sold. Intimidating the slimy merchant, Chenkov learned the buyer was none other then Damej Mahfre, Lord Okhenti’s rival on the noble council. Chenkov gave his shortsword to Issa and bought a greatsword with his share of the loot. Meanwhile, Billu got into an argument with a merchant over the price of a magical flute.

As the sun rose, the Desert Storm joined the crowd for the third and final day of the lottery. Noticeably absent were the Daughters of the Desert, but the golden masked gang were also missing. Billu drew the group’s token and their final site was marked on their map; the Sanctum of the Erudite Eye.

The route to the sanctum lead the party through a labyrinth of narrow, gloomy alleyways. Occasionally, the way ahead would be blocked by a wall of dessicated husks, forcing the heroes to find another way around. One of these detours terminated in an enclosed courtyard, in the centre of which stood an old, dry well. Suddenly, a group of robbers popped up on the roofs overlooking the square. More masked brigands rushed out of the neighbouring alleys, brandishing long knives!

With one powerful thrust of his new greatsword, Chenkov skewered two adjacent bandits like a human kebab! A third man attacked from behind and Chenkov expressed his displeasure by throwing him into the well. Issa grappled one robber and used the struggling human as a shield. Two crossbow-wielding thugs opened fire on the skeleton. One shot hit the meat-shield, the second missed altogether and hit Vardis instead. Leaking blood, the gnoll shaman staggered back to where Boros waited with the handcart. The human slave looked at his injured master and wondered how much it would take to finish him off….

“Don’t even think about it.” Vardis growled, summoning pure fury into his bloody paw. Another ruffian peeked over the edge of the roof and Vardis released the shamanic bolt, obliterating the target and part of the building. Rubble rained down on the melee.

The Desert Storm finished off the last of the robbers and started searching the bodies. All of the bodies were wearing the same kind of silver chain. Inspector Cluedo suggested the dead men were all part of the same criminal gang and the silver chains were their gimmick. With a growing sense of trepidation, the Desert Storm left the bodies for the vultures and continued their journey to the sanctum.

TBC