The destruction of Rahotep

1                    Ballard now has the Serpent Ankh, but he and Q are caught at the west end of the great hall with the 12 foot statue of Rahotep and the 50 foot long Scorpion Snake (head of a crocodile, pincers, legs and tail of a scorpion and body of a snake).

2                    Happily you are all hasted, allowing you to have your full range of physical attacks two phases faster than normal and again at the end of the round.  Palmerin and Q get caught in the pincers and the tail arcs over to sting Palmerin, but he’s a tough lad though so the poison has no effect.

3                    After only 4 rounds you dispatch both statue and scorpion-snake.  The statue falls to the ground with a crash and breaks into great chunks of stone.

4                    After the statue breaks apart, a chill falls over the party.  The walls to the west shimmer and a set of black wood double doors appear in the south side and set of bright red mahogany double doors appear in the north side of the west wall.  The red door has blue pictures of a wizard holding aloft a crook to subdue demons, while the black doors have green pictures a priest using a flail  to drive off creatures made of fire.  Both sets of double doors are sealed with a large lead cartouche , which you recognise as “The Set Rahotep”.

5                    A search reveals a shrivelled mummy inside the stone statue.  The mummy wears a ring and the same hand clutches a scroll in it’s bony fingers.  In its other hand are a bronze crook and flail.  Someone detects magic and you find that the ring, the scroll, and both the crook and flail are all magical.

6                    Hellyeah edges away a bit so Medinet is left to read the scroll.  He says that it’s a mage scroll, but he’s never seen these symbols before.  Hellyeah has a look and confirms that they are symbols associated with wild magic, and with one of his special abilities, tells you that the scroll contains a “Vortex” spell.  He cackles a little as he relates how the wild magical energies can destroy monsters, but may surge wildly if he were to try and control them.  Q mutters something under his breath about Hellyeah’s record of wild surges.

7                    Cadra suggests using the crook and flail to touch the seals on the doors, but there is some dissention so Palmerin suggests an Augury.  He asks his god:

Q: Will breaking the seals lead us on our way to getting the 9th evil object?

A: yes my son, and take my blessings with you.

8                    With this good news, Palmerin takes up the crook and with some trepidation touches it to the lead seal on the black door.  The lead seal crumbles to dust and you hear a hissing noise, then you hear a faint agonised screaming sound from the floor deep below you and the black doors open.

9                    The room appears empty, so fearing a trick, Q tries to detect magic and then throws a rope in to see if it disappears, but nothing happens.  It’s an empty triangular room.

10                You don’t trust Medinet with anything these days (he has a habit of turning on you) so Hellyeah is called upon to touch the flail to the lead seal on the red door.  He starts to sweat a bit as he approaches the door and advises you that he’s not touching that (pointing at the blue heirlaglyphs).  He masters his fear though and touches the flail to the seal and as before, the lead seal crumbles to dust and you hear a hissing noise, then you hear a faint agonised screaming sound from the floor deep below you and the red doors open.

11                This room also appears empty, so exercising deserved caution, Q tries to detect magic in here too.  It’s an empty triangular room.

12                [You later surmise that by correctly opening the doors with the objects instead of breaking them down, instead of releasing them you entrap 2 parts of Rahotep’s splintered psyche in the nine pillars and thus prevent them from conjoining with his withered corpse].

13                Once the second set of doors opens the temperature plummets to near freezing and you can see your breath in front of you.  On the wall where the secret door is are glowing heirlaglyphs.  Palmerin detects the heirlaglyphs for traps but in the process feels a compulsion to read them aloud.  The words were:

Seven of the curses of The Set Rahotep have come upon you. Twice more are ye cursed, fated mortal who dare my tomb!  Nine is the number to conjoin, and I will have your lives all.  Then I will have mine.  The Time of Greatness for Evil is at hand.  Leave my Mortuary Palace, home of the dead.

14                As Palmerin reads the heirlaglphs, they begin to fade and soon leave only traces on the sandstone.  He looks around and sees Q speaking his own curse and yelling “oh yes, just curse me again you sick bastard.  Its not enough to have 4 of your curses, you just had to give me one more, well fuck you Rahotep!”, as he feels a twisting of the guts, an urge to vomit and a feeling as if someone has just walked over his grave.  Looking around, Palmerin sees Hellyeah bent double over the floor shaking and vomiting for all he is worth.  Looks like Hellyeah just got cursed too.  Palmerin recalls the unpleasant experience and is happy to let Hellyeah have it.

15                A quick search of the wall now reveals a stone near the bottom that is slightly protruding from the wall, you didn’t see that before!  Everyone moves back and a discussion ensues as to who should be the one to press the stone.  Palmerin says its not trapped, but it gives him a tingle, so beware.

16                Thinking that it would be good to rest up and relearn spells, Palmerin casts an Augury:

Q: Will opening the secret door commit us straight away to action?

A: No

17                Palmerin notes that he only just heard the reply as if it was from a long way away, unlike normal communications with his god.

18                Seeing everyone hesitate, Ballard offers to push the stone in, and in a magnanimous gesture Q says that he will stand next to him for moral support.  Ballard presses the stone and immediately the floor in a 10 foot area before the secret door drops to a 60 degree angle.  Ballard activates his wind walk feature of the Boots of Happy, so only drops 10 feet or so.  Q makes a wild grab for the immovable rod but it slips from his grasp, so as he falls past Ballard he grabs his cloak, but this rips and Q falls over 90 feet to a hard stone floor.

19                Luckily Q is a dwarf and is used to falling over from drink, so the smack as his body hits the floor is not fatal, although you can hear a significant groan from the pit.  Ballard walks up to the top and then piggybacks Medinet down to Q.  In such a restrictive space, he has to walk in small steps in a tight circle, which takes about 5 minutes to descend the whole 100 feet.

20                When they get there, they see Q lying on his arse looking kind of sick.  The temperature is freezing and you can see your breath in front of you.  Medinet casts a Heal spell on Q which cheers him up a bit.  Looking around you see a small room which has white-washed plaster walls which are covered with hieroglyphs.  All along one wall is a big crypt or sarcophagus which is also covered with hieroglyphs.  Capping the crypt to keep it closed is a slab of stone 6 inches thick, sealed in place with a silvery solder.  Sitting in it’s own darkness on top of the lid is the Cursed Star, last of the 9 evil objects.  There is a palpable aura of malign hatred in this room, coming from both the Cursed Star and the crypt.

21                Before anyone looks at any hieroglyphs, Ballard ferries Palmerin up top and Medinet down and Q drinks a Potion of Levitation.  Palmerin looks for traps and find s a crack in the lid of the crypt.  He warns people not to put any weight on the lid as it may break and let out whatever has been sealed in the crypt with silver solder.

22                Ballard and Q quietly go back up the shaft as Medinet inspects the hieroglyphs and offers to read the writings.  Ballard and Q go up the shaft that Q fell down about 20 feet and listen intently as Medinet recounts what the walls say.

23                The walls speak of how Rahotep was entombed by the Keri-Heb.  It says that to keep him imprisoned in the tomb they sundered his psyche into 9 parts, the same nine parts of the soul that Khemetians talk about.  They then linked the 9 parts to the 9 Evil Objects (not evil at that stage), and spread them across the land so they would never be in the tomb and therefore within Rahotep’s reach.  You look at each other edgily...oops.

24                Medinet says the hieroglyphs on the crypt are warnings:

(a)                Woe to any who dare break my slumber

(b)               Tread lightly, lest my rest be broken

(c)                Death’s bony wings whisper near

(d)               Go up to the top and find your treasures elsewhere

(e)                Evil must remain to protect this place

(f)                 Herein lies the eternal Sethu Neterankh

25                Q and Ballard come back down when all is safe, and Q then uses his telekinesis to lift the Cursed Star off the lid and into his hand.  Medinet mutters something about gifts from Set.

26                Palmerin casts a Locate Object thinking to find any hidden tunnels, but when he says the words and incants the spell, nothing happens.  It seems that he can not access his divine powers from this place!  Everyone goes back up the shaft to the top to think this through.

27                Crayon casts an Augury and notes that communication to Essencia is as strong as normal:

Q:        To get to the 9 pillar room do we have to go down this shaft?

A:         Yes my prophet, let my hand help you along the way.

28                Crayon meditates for 20 minutes and then uses the Hand of Essencia  to ask a further 2 questions:

Q:        How do we destroy the 9 evil objects?

A:         You must let Anubis (and Crayon sees Medinet in his head) guide you.

Q:        Do we have enough time to gather our strength?

A:         My vision in this area is clouded and I am limited in what I may say.  Let your knowledge and instincts guide you, let my hand help you along the way, I have faith in you my prophet.

29                As the picture of Essencia fades from his mind, Crayon blurts out another question “Can I train?” and as she fades he sees Essencia smile and nod.

30                The party decide to go back to the “safe room” to sleep, rest and relearn spells, but before you leave you consider opening the crypt lid that is sealed with silver solder, Palmerin decides to cast an Augury and ask Heironeous:

Q:        Do we have to open the sarcophagus to get to the nine pillar room?

A:         My vision in this area is clouded.

31                Sleep and rest abound as the party recharge for the final push.

10 Reaping 4:05pm [note that the characters did not know the date or time]

32                Arriving back in the Mortuary Palace, Ballard carries Cadra down the shaft, and then Crayon.  Cardra then touches the Hand of Essencia while he casts a Wall of Iron and it works, so the crypt is shut off from the rest of the room so you can not accidentally damage the lid of the crypt.  You smile as you realise that is what Essencia meant, you can use the Hand of Essencia to amplify or allow access to divine powers in this lowest level of Rahotep’s tomb.

33                Q arrives at the bottom of the shaft and proceeds to take a sledge-hammer to the wall, totally destroying the heirlaglyphs, but also knocking off the plaster so you can find any secret doors.  Unfortunately there are none found.

34                Ballard carries Palmerin down and he also touches the Hand of Essencia and casts a True Seeing but again, there are no secret doors.  You ask yourself how the hell are you supposed to work in these conditions, and then some brainiac suggests getting rid of the Wall of Iron.  Crayon puts his hand on the Hand of Essencia and tries to dispel the magic twice but fails, so Ballard goes and gets Medinet from up top and he touches the Hand of Essencia and tries - success. 

35                The Wall of Iron is now gone so Crayon casts a True Seeing and can see a secret door on the wall above the crypt using his True Seeing, along with some hieroglyphs.  He casts a quick Genius and remembers that nine curses have already been activated, so he reads the hieroglyphs, but they just speak of the greatness of Rahotep.  After a lengthy discussion about how not to break the crypt lid while opening the door Ballard decides to lean across and starts pushing on it and it opens on a pivot point in the middle.  Beyond is a 3 foot high by 10 feet wide hallway about 25 feet long made from the solid sandstone bedrock.  At the end Ballard can see a solid block of Granite sealing the tunnel with some heirlaglyphs and the now familiar cartouche of Rahotep at the bottom.

36                There is some more discussion about how you are going to get across the lid of the crypt without breaking it, Cadra downs a Potion of Levitation, and then touches the Hand of Essencia and casts a Stone Shape to make the door mould itself out of the way against each side wall, thus opening the hallway for passage, but leaving a metal bar in the middle.  Ballard quickly grabs the bar and yanks it out of it’s holes and throws it disdainfully on the floor (gotta love that Strength spell someone cast on him earlier).

37                Hellyeah advises that he can cause a sheet of ice to come into being just above the lid of the crypt which would key itself into the walls and thus not fall down on the crypt, and that you could then crawl across it and into the tunnel hallway without breaking the crypt lid.

38                The party agree with Hellyeah and for some reason everyone moves up the vertical shaft 30 feet (Ballard airwalks using his boots carrying Crayon, Cadra levitates and Hellyeah flies).  Hellyeah notes that statistically there is a very low chance of a Fireball being produced instead of the Wall of Ice due to the surges in the wild magic being employed.  There is some muttering from the others about this when indeed a wild surge does occur as Hellyeah leashes the primal forces of wild magic, but only the duration is extended and an 8 inch thick Wall of Ice can now been seen just above the crypt lid.

39                Those who are floating in the shaft float down to just above the ice and examine the good work - yep, it will hold.  Ballard gets Medinet who reads the Heriglyphs, which say:

Strike the Name of Rahotep nine times.  The stone will then be sundered and your progress unimpeded.

40                After a quick conference, Cadra casts a Spiritual Hammer and uses it to hit the cartouche of Rahotep on the face of the granite 9 times.  When the last strike hits, the stone crumbles to dust and a black incorporeal shape flits out of the tunnel and down through the ice into the crypt below it, and there is a brief and quite “aaahhh” noise from inside the crypt. You look at each other with a worried frown.

41                At the end of the hallway you can see it opens up into a corridoor left and right, so Cadra uses his spell to check for traps and then sticks his head in and looks left and right checking for traps.  His attention is distracted though as one shadowy shape stands before a black bassalt stone archway at the right hand side end of the short corridoor and a semi-transparent man shape figure that looks to be made of electrified smoky quartz stands before a blood red stone archway at the left hand end.  The one before the black stone archways says:

“You are most puissant, mortals, to have come so far.  I invite you to proceed onwards unmolested, for this way is the only route to your reward”.

42                But immediately after the one before the blood red stone archways says:

“You must avoid that route brave mortal, trust not that creature.  Pass through this way, for it alone allows you to go onward safely to victory”.

43                While Cadra looks on the two figures exchange curses and gestures and then vanish before he can say anything.  The chamber itself is unadorned, looking to be carved from the sandstone bedrock.  Cadra stands still for a minute looking at the archways and checking them for traps (that spell is cool).  He thinks they are traps, but in the same way as the arched portals in the Vamp Chicks quarters were, noting that they have an aura of evil about them and that each has 2 heiralglyphs above it.  Ballard and Cadra ferry everyone down the shaft and across the ice sheet to this room (40 foot long 10 feet wide).

44                There is some discussion about the gateways and Medinet reads the heriglyphs, which he says are the symbols for Freedom and Evil conjoined.  You postulate that the arches are indeed transporters and while you talk Ballard puts a piece of plaster half way through (that bit disappears) and pulls it back, but the bit that disappeared did not come back.

45                Palmerin sticks his hand on the Hand of Essencia and casts an Augury and asks:

Q:        To achieve our goals, do we need to go through the blood red door?

A:         My vision in this area is clouded, let your experience guide you.

Q2:      Is the Pillar Room on the Prime Material Plane?

A2:       Yes

46                The party (except Hellyeah) search the room several times, but find nothing.  Exasperated, Palmerin casts a True Seeing and looks around.  The only change is that the wall opposite the entry hall appears to be made of sandstone blocks, not just hewn from the sandstone bedrock.  Looking closes he sees that the blocks are so well cut that you could not fit a knife blade between them, and there has been a small amount of sandstone coloured mortar put over the cracks to make the wall appear solid stone.  It’s an exceptionally good disguise job, no wonder you could not find it.

47                Palmerin alerts the rest of the party to the wall, and Byron the Redeemer shoulder-charges the wall intending to knock it over.  Rubbing his shoulder, Byron notes that the wall is pretty solid, he didn’t make a dent.  Ballard steps up and holds out his sledge-hammer, and Byron and Ballard begin to smash at the wall in the 5 foot section 10 feet from the North end of the wall.  2 hours later and Ballard and Byron are soaked in sweat and have managed to smash out one block.  Hellyeah casts an Alternate Reality, and warps time so that it actually only took 70 minutes to smash the block.

48                Hellyeah casts a Reduce and one of the blocks is dragged out of the way to reveal that there is a second row of blocks behind the first.  Ballard and Byron spend 20 minutes more to smash away the block above the 2 that have been removed to open a 3 foot high hole which allows them enough space to swing the sledgie at the second wall.  Q suggests putting the last Immovable Rod under the top stones to prevent them falling in on the workers, but someone mutters the words “smash the immovable rod” and it is put away.

49                Cadra grumbles about needing some sleep and complains about all the noise, so he casts a Circle of Privacy on Ballard and Byron to eliminate the noise and then he, Crayon and Hellyeah have a sleep on the stone floor.

50                After what seems like several hours [it was actually 7 hours] Ballard and Byron have smashed 2 more blocks asunder and then Ballard, Q and Cadra push the third block of the second wall through into a room on the other side.  Everyone gathers for a conference, but Byron pushes himself through to the other side to “guard” it.

11 Reaping, 2:32am [note that the characters did not know the date or time]

51                Byron sees 3 flaming spheres about 1 foot wide on the other side of the room and behind them a red stone slab set into the middle of the wall.  Byron hears a voice whisper the following to him:

No power you possess can overcome this barrier.  Ask mercy of the Might of Rahotep, else be consumed by his fiery wrath!

52                As the voice fades the flaming spheres start to slowly move towards Byron.  The best form of defence is attack, so Byron half moves into the room and hits one with his sword.  The sphere bursts and deals him some fire damage.  He does a withdrawal, but the orbs float along following him, so he hits another and the same thing happens.  Byron retreats to the hole in the wall and makes a stand, but the last orb floats in close so he swats it with his sword too.

53                As soon as the last orb bursts, Byron can see that the red slab is covered in hieroglyphs that he says he can read even from here (no translation required – strange).  They say:

Nine curses, nine steps; six parts have been passed.  If you have dare the seventh, you show a spirit beyond imprisoning.

54                Most of you move into the room and look at the block, Cadra is still praying to Fortubio for spells.  There does not seem to be any traps or ways around the block, so after waiting a couple of hours for Cadra to finish praying, Ballard, Q and Cadra push the slab in with brute strength.  On the other side are 9 steps leading down to a dead-end wall.  The slab falls in and smashes into a couple of large chunks and the pieces slide down to various points on the stairs, while the largest piece slides all the way to the bottom of the stairs and comes to rest against at the foot of the opposite wall.  The steps are each a different colour; white, then violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and black.  The landing at the bottom is white as is the wall at the bottom.

55                You have your Find Traps spell working on high alert and upon checking out the steps note that the seventh one is trapped!  Being careful not to tread on the seventh step you all descend further into Rahotep’s tomb and assemble before the white-washed wall.

11 Reaping, 5:07am [note that the characters did not know the date or time]

56                Byron hits the wall with Ballard’s sledge-hammer, expecting more stone, but the hammer makes a hole in a thin plaster wall.  He peers through and says that it’s a big room with pillars.  In no time Byron has smashed a big enough hole for everyone to get through and with some trepidation, you move into the hall of columns – the place Medinet said was in the prophesy [see para 31 of the game summary for 12 January 2005].

57                As you walk into the hall you have the distinct impression that you have found the final chamber of this subterranean palace of death.  Immediately before the entrance is a life-sized statue of Rahotep in his garb of old (Medinet recognises it).  Behind him are 9 massive columns each 5 feet in diameter, spaced evenly along the middle of the 230 foot long room (the ends are in darkness, but you scope the place out before touching anything).  On the far side of the pillars is an enormous amount of treasure of all kinds; gems, jewellery, many different ornaments and mountains of coins of every kind.  The wealth is staggering – your just reward for the suffering this module has put you through.

58                You also note that some of the pillars are emitting a maroon light.  If the 9 pillars were numbered starting at 1 for the first pillar on the left as you face into the chamber from the stairs, the pillars glowing maroon are numbers 1, 2, 4, 7, and 9.

59                All of you can feel extreme evil and a malign foreboding emitting from the statue and the 9 pillars.

60                As you stand still gazing around the chamber at the mass of hieroglyphics and wealth, you all hear the following discordant whispers:

“Success!”

“All this wondrous treasure here is yours for the taking!”

“Caution, only if all the pillars glow can you obtain your wealth.”

“Help! Help me!!! Read the writings on the walls!”

61                You all feel a pulling at your minds, but this party are hardened heroes, conquerors of demons and other things from the pits of hell, and the pressure on your minds has no sway on any of you!

62                In a vain attempt to bolster his waning spirits, Ballard voices his opposition to Rahotep, and says:

In the name of Ahlonna, I say that the balance must be maintained.  You will never succeed Rahotep!

Round 1

63                You all talk of being cautious and staying where you are while Cadra uses his Detect Traps to check out this room!  He demands quiet and stares off into the room for some time searching, searching…  Pretty well everyone who can begins casting spells (Crayon, Hellyeah, Palmerin casts protection from Evil on Medinet, Byron to get ready for the final showdown, while Q uses a rogue ability to Detect Magic, Ballard guards the rear and Medinet gazes at the walls seeing the writings of his time there.

64                Medinet starts reading the words, saying “here – it speaks of the final imprisonment of the evil Rahotep”, and “here – it tells of the use of the 9 objects to hold him here, his soul split into 9 parts that we Khemitians recognise: He says here – “to destroy Rahotep destroy the items before the correct pillar, no- I misread that it says to put them on the correct pillar.

Ab – the heart

Sekem – the power

Khu – the spirit

Khaibet – the shadow

Ka – the double

Ba – the soul

Sahu – the being

Ren – the name

Khat – the body”

Round 2

65                Ballard pulls out the Zhi Bow.  Cadra announces the walls and right hand end safe to read and move through and continues scanning the rest of the room.  Q moves towards the middle pillar to detect on it and Hellyeah uses a magic item.  Crayon, Palmerin and Byron cast spells.

66                Walking a little along the wall, Medinet say “but here – look here it says

Rahotep was a fine and upstanding man who did many kind things.  Yet an evil spirit, a demonic entity whose force was so powerful as to slay him, possessed the good archpriest-sorcerer.  In all the land none was strong enough to release the wonderful man from his awful doom that then cursed him.  However the evil entity was forced to allow Rahotep one slim chance. If any mortal could penetrate the horrors the great demon had [placed within his tomb, finding and bringing warmth to all that was which Rahotep, the beneficent victim of wicked possession by that demon would be liberated to dwell happily in the afterworld.

Further, those accomplishing this feat shall be rewarded, permitted to take anything desired from amongst the vast store of wealth accumulated by Rahotep.

67                This causes some quick discussion.  How do you destroy the 9 Evil Objects and thus Rahotep? There is one for each pillar – you ask Medinet and he says to put the Evil Object on the correct pillar.

Round 3

68                This is where things start sliding downhill…  Cadra continues his Detect Traps when without any warning Q reaches out and touches the pillar in front of him (pillar 5) and says “Rahotep Lives” and the pillar he’s touched also begins to emit a maroon light.  Holy F@#k – he’s gone to the dark side again!!!!

69                Ballard starts moving on a Q intercept course, Crayon and Palmerin each cast a spell, Hellyeah moves one way (out) while Byron the Redeemer also moves in on an intercept course.    Cadra casts a Silence 15 foot radius on the pillar Medinet was going for.

Round 4

70                The statue of Rahotep starts to move, Ballard makes a hit on Q, who ignores it and moves off the right, presumably heading to the last pillar down there that is not lit.  Crayon casts a Silence spell on the column that Q is going to, and Hellyeah casts a Haste on himself, Palmerin and the now moving statue of Rahotep.  Ah crap – Hellyeah has gone to the dark side too!  Meanwhile Q continues to move to the unlit pillar, and Palmerin also starts moving while Medinet casts a spell and Byron inspects one of the pillars.  Medinet casts Dispel magic on Caryon’s silence.

Round 5

71                Ballard tries to hit Q again with the Zhi Bow, and Cadra casts a spell.  Crayon starts casting a Hold Person spell on Hellyeah from one of the scrolls he’s carrying while Q continues to move to the unlit pillar.  Hellyeah casts a Levitate spell, and Palmerin tries to cast a spell on the party – oh f*#king bullshit, Palmerin has turned evil and is attacking the party too!!!!. Medinet moves towards one of the unlit pillars up the other end and Byron moves to intercept him.  At the end of the round Hellyeah fails his saving throw v’s spells and is held, and Q arrives at the unlit pillar.

72                The party begin to wonder if they will make it out alive, Rahotep now controls Q, Hellyeah, Palmerin and Medinet –that’s half the party!

Round 6

73                This round starts play with the players taunting the DM that they know what he should have done last round but will not tell him until the end.  It turns out that Hellyeah had a spare Character Point, so he could have rerolled the saving throw and really screwed the party over.

74                Ballard tries to hit Q with the Zhi Bow, Cadra hits Palmerin.  Crayon casts another spell (Command on Medinet), while Q lays his hands on the column speaks something into the silence and then turns in a rage and moves back to the party, pulling his daggers out on the way. Hellyeah is now Held by Crayon’s scroll.  Medinet is striding towards the unlit column saying Rahotep Lives, and Byron bravely charges at him, grappling him to the floor. Palmerin hits Cadra while at the same time the Statue of Rahotep comes to life and also hits Cadra at the end of the round.

Round 7

75                Ballard uses the Zhi Bow, Cadra hits the statue, Crayon casts a spell, Q moves closer to the party, Hellyeah is Held, Palmerin tries to use the Implosion scroll.  Medinet grapples with Byron, but Byron hits him with a critical hit and Medinet is knocked unconscious for the rest of the combat.  The Statue of Rahotep hits Cadra – ouch!

Round 8

76                Ballard overbears Palmerin, Cadra hits, Crayon casts a spell, Q moves into contact with Cadra and tries to hit him, but misses due to the Cloak of Minor Displacement, Hellyeah is Held, Palmerin makes a one square adjustment and pulls out the Blackened Sun.  Medinet is unconscious,  The Statue of Rahotep hits Cadra again – ouch!

Round 9

77                Ballard makes a grab for the Blackened Sun from Palmerin’s hands, Cadra pins Palmerin, Crayon grabs Hellyeah’s backpack, Q hits Cadra with his daggers, Palmerin tries unsuccessfully to break the pin.  Byron charges at the Statue.  The Statue of Rahotep hits Ballard - ouch! Medinet is unconscious and Hellyeah is held.

Round 10

78                Ballard hits the statue, Cadra grabs the Blackened Sun from Palmerin, Crayon moves, Q hits Cadra with his daggers again (Cadra now has only 3 hp left), Palmerin successfully breaks Cadra’s pin.  Byron hits the statue  and the Statue of Rahotep hits Ballard - ouch! Medinet is unconscious and Hellyeah is held.

Round 11

79                Ballard hits Q, Cadra does a fighting withdrawal, Crayon does a half move outside the Silence to a pillar and spills the contents of Hellyeah’s backpack out on the floor and grabs the Book of Eternity.  Q hits Cadra with his daggers again and kills him, Palmerin gets up,  Byron hits Palmerin and the Statue of Rahotep hits Ballard again (Ballard is now on 5 hp) - ouch! Medinet is unconscious and Hellyeah is held.

Round 12 (Party: Ballard, Crayon, Byron.  Rahotep: Statue, Q, Palmerin)

80                Ballard parries and gets out the Zhi Bow, Q hits Byron with his daggers, Palmerin also hits Byron, Byron hits Palmerin and the Statue of Rahotep hits Byron - ouch! Medinet is unconscious, Hellyeah is held and Cadra is dead.

81                Crayon remembers that the evil objects can be destroyed in this room, sees that the pillar he is next to has a small marking of a book on it.  He quickly puts the Book of Eternity on the ground in front of the pillar and then destroys it with a lightning bolt from the Lightening Mummy Wand.  The Book crumbles to dust and blows away on a mystic wind when the lightning hits it in this special place.  At the same time an anguished howl reverberates throughout the room- Rahotep in pain!

Round 13

82                The party is nearly done for with only Crayon, Ballard and Byron remaining and all except Crayon on very low hit points. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It seems that Rahotep will win free of his eternal tomb if something does not change real soon, and that would be real bad for the Prime Material Plane!

83                Seeing the dire situation, Ballard screams out his intention to break the Zhi Bow.  By dumb luck (Ivan’s words not mine), Crayon is outside the blast zone and quickly opens a Fold in the Dimensions.  Thinking of his ability to cast high level spells, his magic items and his close proximity, Crayon drags Medinet  through to the secret room near the tomb entrance that you have used to recover in before and steps back into the room.  Also by dumb luck, Hellyeah’s spell books are hidden in a secret compartment of his backpack and are also going to be out of range of the retributive strike from breaking the Bow!

84                Ballard stares at the Statue of Rahotep, his face set in a death grin.  As soon as Crayon’s portal closes, Ballard roars his defiance Rahotep’s statue and then screams out Ahlonna’s name while breaking the Zhi Bow over his knee.  All the energies stored in the Zhi Bow explode outwards at once, causing a Retributive Strike.  Everyone in the blast radius (30 feet radius) is instantly dead and at ground zero Ballard’s body and the Statue of Rahotep are totally disintegrated.

85                Take that Rahotep you asshole!!!

86                DM’s Note:  Breaking the Zhi Bow was Sean’s idea, which ultimately saved the party and prevented Rahotep from returning fully to the Prime Material Plane.  Sean and Ivan spent 10 minutes going through everyone’s sheets for something inspirational.  They considered all the available options after Sean suggested breaking the Zhi Bow.  The unanimous decision (including the DM) was that in the same situation, Scott would have come to the same decision and had Ballard do the same heroic act.

87                At the far end of the pillar room, Crayon considers all that he knows of the struggle between the gods concerning Rahotep and their reluctance to interfere directly, and then considers Ballard’s previous selfless act in rescuing the Spirit Queen in the EarthBridge Root adventure.  At that moment Crayon’s eyes lose focus and in a strange voice he prophesises “Ballard will return: twice god touched and mightier than he has ever been before”.

88                Back in Rahotep’s resurrection chamber, the explosion of the staff has rocked the foundations and vaporised a great deal in its path.  Rahotep’s statue is destroyed and the evil possessed Q and Palmerin are dead.  Byron the Paladin also perished in the blast, fighting evil with his last breath.

89                Unfortunately the enormous explosion caused by the breaking of the staff combined with crap rolls from Sean and Ivan also destroyed many of the party’s magic items (as listed in the following tables).  All of Ballard’s possessions were automatically destroyed in the blast and all the items in the Portable Hole were lost somewhere on the Ethereal Plane when the Hole itself was destroyed in the blast.

Item Saving Throws

Aftermath

90                By the grace of Essencia Crayon was out of the blast range.  The smoke clears and the only thing left alive in the room is Crayon.  Crayon quickly collects all the evil objects on the floor thinking that something else is going to come into this room and get him [DM’s Note: little did he know he was right and Rahotep’s physical form was coming for him].

90A     Crayon quickly begins the destruction of the rest of the 9 Evil Objects using the Wand of Lightning.  Crayon is scared shitless as he quickly puts each object on the floor in front of the pillar with a similar marking and then as the lightning from the wand hits them they turn to dust and blow away on a mystic wind.  As this happens the lights start to extinguish on the pillars and there are increasingly loud anguished howls reverberating throughout the room - Rahotep being destroyed!

91                When the last of the 9 Evil Objects is destroyed, the light on the last pillar goes out there is a final painful howl and Crayon gets a strong feeling of triumph and completion.  What Crayons assumes to be the incorporeal spirit of Rahotep zooms into the room and swirls around screaming its anger and anguish to the four winds and finally dissipates (similar to the end of the first Highlander movie)

92                Crayon begins to use the Hand of Essencia but suddenly finds himself in her presence walking through a lovely garden.  Essencia grants Crayon his level of experience immediately.  He feels rested and rejuvenated and realises that he once again has a full complement of spells learnt.  Crayon and Essencia then go on to have an expansive conversation on all manner of things.  A fraction of a second in real time later and Crayon is once again at the scene of destruction.  He picks up the Hammer of the Iron Hills in such a way as to ensure that his flesh never actually touches the hammer (he knows that is what Cadra would have wanted to be done – and it will help keep the relationship with the Iron Hill Dwarves good too).  He quickly gathers everything else that is left of the party into a sack.

93                Crayon then casts a Dimension Fold to the secret room where there is an unconscious Medinet on the floor.  Crayon cast Detect Evil on Medinet and he’s clean.  Crayon slaps Medinet into consciousness and Medinet asks what happened?  Crayon feels like kicking the shit out of him, but calmly advises that he turned to the dark side yet again and proceeds to tell him the rest of the sorry tale emphasising the part that Crayon the saviour played, culminating in Ballard’s sacrifice to save the party and all of Oearth.

94                Crayon then casts another Dimension Fold back to Rahotep’s Pillar Room and the scene of destruction.  He stares sadly at the scorched outline on the floor where Ballard last stood.

95                The treasures on the other side of the room were all illusions – bastard Rahotep!  The Barge and Chariot are still there though and when Crayon casts a Detect Magic they both radiate a very strong magical aura.  Crayon and Medinet investigate and find that both vehicles contain magical inscriptions on the floors, which you cast a spell and decipher:

(a)                a golden Chariot of the Wind.  This chariot can hold up to 4 man-sized people and 400 pounds of equipment at once.  Attached to the reins are 2 enchanted owl-sphinx statues (see picture)..  It moves at 60 mile per hour.  The owl-sphinx statues can fly for a maximum of 12 hours at a time.  The chariot can be transformed via command phrase into a miniature model of 1 foot length.

(b)               a gold and wood Barge of the Spheres that will hold 12 man sized people and 12 horse-sized steeds at once. A magical trapdoor in the floor has a ladder to an interdimensional space that can store the equivalent of 12 man-sized people and 12 horse-sized steeds weighing up to 7 tons (1,400 cubic feet)!  It can travel to any plane or sphere the same as the Astral Projection spell by command phrase.  The barge floats on water and can be moved command phrase through water.  It cannot fly, but when going through the spheres it automatically lands itself on water or a solid surface (not chance to fall or be buried).

96                While examining the vehicles, the ground begins to shake and the earth rumble.  The pillars are holding for now, but begin to show signs of crumbling!  You decide to use your new Chariot and Barge to escape the tomb of Rahotep before it too crumbles to dust.

97                You use the Chariot’s function to shrink it down to 1 foot, and carry it onto the Barge.  You then try to use the Barge to go to the Temple of Osiris but it does not work.  You then try the upper Jama Plane to the cave where Nefercare and Mencare were held up.  The barge appears on the ledge outside the cave – man its hot here!  You then use the barge to go to the Temple of Osiris – success again!

98                You step out of the barge into one of the gardens in the Temple.  Even though you are mentally shagged from defeating Rahotep, you immediately post a guard on the Barge and then order that all troops assemble within 10 minutes.  You then walk to the great hall and are greeted warmly by the priests of Osiris there.

99                After a quick synopsis on what has happened and the success of the party in saving the world from the return of Rahotep, the three senior priests in the Temple agree to cast Resurrection spells.  First Cadra is called back from the dead using the skin still stuck to the handle of the Hammer of the Iron Hills.  Medinet then calls Hellyeah back from the dead using some skin that was left in his Amulet of Health.  Crayon then uses the Hand of Essencia to cast a Resurrection spell to call Palmerin back from the dead using some residual flesh still charred to the back of the gold pendant he had been wearing.  Then Byron is brought back from the dead using the charred feet left in his boots. Truly death is no barrier when you serve the Barons!  While this happens Major General Unas Atet arrives too.

100            Crayon, Cadra, Palmerin and Hellyeah then go up to the top of the perimeter wall and address the assembled troops of Pogrom Island and Khemit.  Crayon begins with a “blessing” of the troops, during which he casts a Detect Charm and finds that none of the troops are charmed.  You give a great victory speech and there is a palpable relief amongst the men to see their leaders again. A deafening cheer goes up when you advise that Rahotep has been defeated!  There is also genuine regret that Ballard has died (you do not tell the troops that several others of you died too, but are now back from the dead).  Crayon repeats his prophesy that “Ballard will return: twice god touched and mightier than he has ever been before”.

11 Reaping, 5:00pm Temple of Osiris

101            You get the senior priest and Major General Unas Atet in for a full briefing and ask them if anything has happened since you were last here.  You end up having a long chat about what you have achieved and the situations you faced over several glasses of wine etc.

102            The priest tells you the date and says that a runner came from Aartuat on Sunday (2 days ago) with news that a human headed vulture thing was seen in Aartuat and then a dreadful plague hit the village.  When the runner left Aartuat 5 days ago most of the village were dead.  After they cured the disease the runner was carrying the senior priest investigated and found that the plague seems to be particularly virulent in nature. He has also found that it has spread very fast and is already rampant in Farnoc.

103            You get an uneasy feeling as the human headed vulture thing was in the tomb of Rahotep, and by preventing the door to the Tomb from closing it appears that you may have inadvertently let it free.

12 Reaping, 9:10am Temple of Osiris

104            You decide to name the Barge the “Spirit of Ballard” in hour of the sacrifice that Ballard made for the good of the party and the world.

105            Without any body parts, Ballard cannot be called back from the dead.

12 Reaping, 11am Pogrom Island

106            Crayon Dimension Folds you (Crayon, Palmerin, Cadra and Hellyeah) to Pogrom Island.  Upon arriving you grab the nearest serf and arrange for Stephen Bookbind and Sir Walter to meet you in the library in 5 minutes.

107            In another extended briefing Stephen Bookbind advises you of many things needing your attention, including that [work to extend the docks have begun and that shipwrights have arrived?].  He also says that the incidence of crime and unsolved murders where heads and hands have been removed have increased in Safeport, so he has increased the guard.  You tell him to post another 50 town guards in Safeport and he makes a note, mentioning another recruitment drive is needed for guards.

108            Stephen also mentions that Count Basil of Mulsa and his 3 daughters arrived 4 days ago to visit the Barons.  He stalled the Count as much as possible, but Basil left in a huff 2 days ago after you had not appeared.

109            Stephen lets you know that Menkarae has had many banners of Neferkare’s crest made, and has been busy writing up her family tree to show her legitimate claim for the throne.  He pretty much lives in the library now, but is currently away in the castle seeing someone about another banner.

110            In a somewhat hesitant manner Stephen also advises you that there is another matter you need to be aware of.  Someone has gotten into the treasury and taken everything: all the money to the last copper, the gems, [athorite if any], and everything else that was stored there.

111            You go down and have a look yourself and there is worse to come; the Glyphs you put on the treasury door are still active.  You pass the illusionary wall in the treasury itself and see that the stone in the floor appears to have been melted and the evil objects that you had put there for safe keeping are gone! Hellyeah casts a Seeming spell so that you can discuss this with Mick (who speaks common) and he says that Baron Ballard was the only person other than Stephen Bookbind to come down here, and that only Ballard went through the wall.  The words “fucking fuck” ring off the heavy stone walls as you can’t believe your eyes and ears!

112            The following items were stolen:

(a)                Blades of Eternal Darkness +4 (were +2 Blades of the Sun daggers before Set changed them when Q visited)

(b)               Amulet of Set

(c)                Hand crossbow of Set +2 (changed by Set when Q visited) and 20 bolts +2

(d)               Helmet – Chaotic Evil (from Ul-Drakken - area T1-30)

(e)                Staff of Dread Power (from Ul-Drakken – Appendix III)

113            Going back to the library, the unlucky Sir Walter arrives to report.  You give him and Stephen a severe tongue lashing and kick their arses.  Sir Walter has nothing to add, so you tell him to double the guards and kick some arses too damnit!  You tell him to make Island security his focus – you rail that the Baron’s own treasure is not safe in their own frigging castle!!

114            Crayon storms into the Cathedral and demands the bit of ear of Q, held by Crayon’s priests against such a need, so that he can also be raised from the dead.

115            Crayon then opens another Dimension Fold back to the Temple of Osiris and you all go through.

12 Reaping, 3pm Temple of Osiris

116            [Essencia trained the following people up a level:  can anyone remember when this was done – in a dream about Ballard while everyone slept?]

Website note: paras 116 and 117  were updated on 24 August 2024 based on Andrew's hand written notes on the printed game summary.

(a)                Ballard (even though he is dead – all things are touched by the river) - trained to 10th (has enough XP to go to 11th after being trained)

(b)               Palmerin  - trained to 10th

(c)                Crayon  - trained to 11th

(d)               Q (even though he is dead – all things are touched by the river) - trained to F10th/T11th

(e)                Hellyeah - trained to 10th

(f)                 Cadra - trained to 10th/10th

(g)                Medinet

(h)                Byron - trained to 11th

117            After the absolute wealth of experience gained in this adventure everyone begins training (and all characters get a free language “Khemetian” after 7 hours).  The training times were:

(a)                7 weeks for Hellyeah to 11th level

(b)               2 weeks for Crayon to 12th level

(c)                1 week for Palmerin to 11th level.

20 Reaping, Temple of Osiris

117A   Medinet casts a Resurrection to bring Q back to life from using the piece of his ear.

6 Harvester

118            You take the barge to the Jama Plane again and back to the river Nile.

119            Crayon casts a Thought Broadcast to Nefecare – meet me in 3 days time outside Thebes (it will be midday 9 Harvester) in the agreed spot.

120            The party take the barge, the Spirit of Ballard (SOB) up the river to Thebes.

9 Harvester, Thebes

121            Before arriving in Thebes, Hellyeah casts a Seeming to make you all look and sound Khemetian.

122            Arriving at the docks in Thebes it is clear that there is rampant plague abroad.  There are people who try to force their way onto the boat to escape the plague city, even to jumping off the dock and trying to swim for you.  You tell Byron to drop you up river a bit and then to stay with the boat and sail it down river for 1 day and come back when called.

123            Midday comes and goes and no sign of Nefecare.

124            When travelling around the city you are overwhelmed with grief at the human devastation that the plague has caused and feel some small amount of guilt for apparently causing it by propping Rahotep’s tomb open.

125            You go to the house where Nefercare was staying incognito and find it burned to the ground.  You ask a sick looking urchin boy sitting across the road from the burnt building what happened and he croaks out a reply.  Crayon casts Cure Disease on him and you see wonder in his eyes.  He throws himself on the ground at your feet and starts weeping and calling you gods and asking you to spare his family from the evil plague that is killing them.  Crayon casts Cure Disease on his mum, sister and another boy that he hangs out with that does not have a family, and Cadra casts curative spells on them all to make the feel better.

126            The urchin has wonder in his eyes and says that 3 or 4 weeks ago the people over the road were taken by the city guards and that a scribe read out a list of misdemeanours and then the house was burnt to the ground.

127            Crayon casts a Rapport spell on the willing urchin to gain a deeper understanding of the events that transpired.  The misdemeanours mostly related to conspiring against the Pharaoh, but also covered being part of a dark and secret sect working to the downfall of Khemit.  Crayon then casts a Reflective Pool to try to see where Nefercare is but all he sees is her in a very small dark damp place with walls of stone – a cell?

128            It’s all gone to crap, bloody Nefecare and her bloody early bid to resume the throne – the world is full of idiots!

129            Crayon casts a Thought Broadcast to Byron to bring the boat back and you travel up river to Luxor to see the Archpriest of Khemit, Shemsi Neteru-f (the priest of Toth who sent you after Rahotep) to see what you can salvage there.

10 Harvester

130            Plague is also rampant in Luxor, and after a short wait you are ushered in to see a very weary looking Shemsi.  You have a 3-4 hour conversation with Shemsi during which you realise he feels defeated by the plague and his inability to cure everyone. He rails at having to watch the population grow sick and die.  But there is worse to come.

131            During your time with Shemsi you learn that while he was performing his duties, Nefecare was dragged before a full royal court of the Pharaoh at which both the Pharaoh and other government officials publicly accused her and her supporters of being in league with dark forces and trying to subvert the rule of Pharaoh.  They further accused her supporters of entering the Gorge of Osiris to raid the tombs of the dead to fund her attempt at the throne.

132            The Pharaoh said that she had links to the dark forces of the world and that she was an unclean shape changer and that she had brought the plague when she had returned to Khemit.  Having already been severely beaten, several guards beat her again in front of the court which made her change shape into some kind of half raven, half human form.  Finally Senior government officials accused her and her supporters of plotting to overthrow Pharaoh so that she herself could rule Khemit and throw the country into a dark period of evil.  As part of this claim they dragged Crayons followers Billy-Billy, Billy-Rae and Tee-Morrow before the court and accused Nefecare of brining in others to help in her scheming.

133            After this she was taken away.  Pharaoh proclaimed that her supporters be put to death, but that for Nefecare death was too light a sentence, and that instead she would be entombed for life in the darkness that she loved so much.  Crayons followers (Billy-Billy, Billy-Rae and Tee-Morrow) had obviously been stripped and then beaten every day since capture and were executed in public while refuting the claims of the Pharaoh and recognising Nefecare’s as a decendant of the benevolent pharaohs of old.

134            Shemsi rails against the machinations of evil, and confirms that while he had his doubts about supporting Nefecare’s claim to the throne, she truly is of the line of the old dynasty of Pharaohs, who led Khemit in a period of unparalleled prosperity and were said to have the ability to transform themselves into ravens.

135            Shemsi says that he is helpless to do anything for Nefecare directly, but that by his actions the Pharoh has semi-legitimised Nefecare’s claim to the throne, and at the very least acknowledged her link to the Pharohs of old.  In time the evil that currently has a grip on Khemit will turn on itself and she will become a rallying point for the people.  Until then, he vows to work in secret to help Nefecare’s cause, a struggle which will be helped by the display at the court.

136A   Crayon asks Shemsi is he can resurrect his followers, and Shemsi and his visiting senior colleagues are happy to oblige.  Crayons followers (Billy-Billy, Billy-Rae and Tee-Morrow) are happy to be in the world of the living, but can remember nothing of the afterlife other than a conversation with Essencia.  Crayon’s 3 followers gain 1,000XP each for their devotion to the cause.

136            Cadra asks if Shemsi thinks that Nefecare can last that long in the cell.  Before he can answer, Crayons voice changes and he speaks a prophesy “Nefecare must endure this time of solitude.  She will not be broken by her time in the cell, indeed it will make her stronger.  In 7 years Nefecare will emerge from the darkness to claim her throne and the Khemetian people will rejoice”.

137            Palmerin makes subtle enquiries and finds that the magistrate in Farnoc, like the majority of the population, is dead of the plague.  After some inner turmoil he decides that there is no point in presenting himself on 27 Harvester to start his 6 month sentence of hard labour in one of the Pharaoh’s salt mines.  Seeing how everything has gone, Palmerin will be happy to see the back of Khemit, a sentiment echoed by the rest of you.

138            You leave the Archpriest of Khemit and use the SOB to travel via the Jama Plane back to the Temple of Osiris.

139            You ask Anubis to join you, but he declines.  He says that he has an obligation to resolve the problems with the Council of Anubis.  He intends to nominate himself to lead the council and try to bring the order back to its focus.  He vows that when you need him, he and the Jackle’s Claw (the warrior sect and warrior priests of Anubis) will be ready.

140            Major General Unas says that he will start a secret order within the Khemetian Army called the Eye of the Raven, dedicated to the restoration of Nefecare to the throne.  He also vows that when you need him, he and the true Army of Khemet (the Eye of the Raven) will be ready.

141            You accept these pledges but they seem a hollow victory after the catastrophe of Nefecare’s attempted ascension to the throne.

142A   Crayon repeats his earlier prophesy to Anubis and the Major General: “Nefecare must endure this time of solitude.  She will not be broken by her time in the cell, indeed it will make her stronger.  In 7 years Nefecare will emerge from the darkness to claim her throne and the Khemetian people will rejoice”

11 Harvester

142            You bid farewell to everyone at the Temple and tell the troops to line up and get ready to go through a Dimension Fold.  You then take the SOB to the Jama Plane and then back to Arvin.  Crayon then opens a Dimension Fold to the Temple of Osiris and all the troops (57 pikemen and 11 longbowmen) that you had at the Temple come through to Arvin.  As luck would have it a delegation of dwarves from the mountains, including Helm Orcshatter, are meeting with Baron Valnastrian.

143            After much courtly business, you speak with the dwarves and the Baron about the need to close the Mountains against the peoples on the other side.  After regaling them with your story they agree to stop anyone from passing into or out of the Dry Steppes.  You decide to accept the Baron’s hospitality and spend the night in the Baron’s keep (Q stays on the Barge).

144            Cadra and Crayon go off to check on their churches in Arvin and all is good.

12 Harvester, 11am, Arvin Keep

145            After a hearty breakfast, you bid farewell to the Baron and the dwarven contingent.  Crayon casts yet another Dimension Folding back to Pogrom Island, and you all go through with your troops that you had at the Temple of Osiris.

12 Harvester, 11:05am, Pogrom Island