4. The First Expedition

Zach shudders at Thrudmarr's words. The last thing he wants is to lose even more of his precious remaining years.

You all join Jackie at the entrance to the supposedly "haunted" area, where the east-heading corridor opens into a chamber that’s so large that the light from Thrud’s lantern doesn’t reach the walls to the north and east. From what you can see, the room is richly painted, with a sky blue ceiling on which is depicted a constellation of gold stars.

A series of cherry-wood stalls line the walls; each stall is 5’ tall and 4’ wide, with a 3’-deep seat. The stalls are intricately carved with floral, geometric, and animal patterns.

The floor in the centre of the chamber contains an oval mosaic, some 15’ tall by 8’ wide. It depicts a scene that you quickly recognise as being the room with the large statue of Thoth at the bottom of the pyramid’s stairs.

Ella - what would you like Ovinius to do? He flatly refuses to head towards the area he claims to be haunted. He could wait (within reason) for you by the trapped door. Or he could return to his comrades in the barracks.

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4:30 pm, Basilsday 2nd Lucreon (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 1: 9/9, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 4/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 1: 5/5, 60’ (Lantern)
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 1: 10/10, 60’

Link to Jacky’s maps …

"Of course, Ovin! It is understandable that you must return to your company. I would not be an impediment to the camaraderie and to your band’s cohesion. And if I can, I will not miss the opportunity to come by and chat again, if you can spare a few moments for an old friend. We will then talk again of that time, so many winters ago, where our most unlikely friendship began!" the elf exclaimed, patting her good friend on the back. "Are you always posted in that guardroom, or do you follow a rotation? I am afraid your friends might not enjoy me showing up when you are not around. Would you happen to have any passwords or hand gestures I might use to convince your Tagmata companions that I am not to be feared?"

Jacky scans the wide chamber, taking in the elaborate decoration. "Look at those seats. This might've been a throne room for the old Archonteans. There's so many, though..."

He glances upward at the starry ceiling. Does he recognize the constellation depicted? Either way, the halfling asks for some parchment (likely from Ella) to jot it down.

Zach plodded along morosely. A full day's adventure and all I have to show for it is ten years ripped out of my life.

"Bye sheep man!" Thrudmarr waves enthusiastically at Ovinius as Ella helps the sheep-man back to his post, having snapped out of his contemplative mood as quickly as he fell into it.
Thrud turns his attention to the seats pointed out by Jacky. "Pretty pictures..." He moves to the nearest stall and walks slowly along the wall, occasionally pausing to trace a finger across any patterns that catch his eye. Having remembered the secret compartment he found in one of the previous rooms, he'll occasionally poke and prod at the wood, looking for any compartments.

Nice fella, Grim quips, as Olvin acquiesces to charming dismissal.
Waddling opposite direction of Thrud, Grim checks along the wall for secret doors or interesting stonework features.

You assist Ovinius in navigating the tripwire and returning to his barracks. He confirms that he can usually be found in that room - he’s not as mobile as he used to be. He also explains that there are no passwords or gestures - for obvious reasons, it’s always clear whether someone is a Child of Deino, or not.

With Ovinius safely re-homed, you all enter the room with the wooden seats around the walls. Once inside, you’re able to better gauge the full extent of the room (40’ x 60’) and confirm that the seats extend around the full periphery of the chamber. Overall, it gives the impression of being some sort of meeting room or audience chamber. The seat immediately opposite the entrance you arrived by is much larger - 8’ deep, 6’ wide and 5’ deep, with a wooden canopy.
It quickly becomes clear to Thrud that all of the seats, including the larger one, are hinged, and each covers a cavity in which personal goods can be stored.
Unless you can convince me there is something in Jacky’s background that means he has a particular expertise in astronomy, you’ll need to roll under your Wisdom on 5d6 to identify the constellation.

The only other additional information that you glean from entering the room and having a look around is that the mosaic has a 3-foot square and a 6-inch indentation in the middle of it, and that there is one further visible exit - a 5’ wide corridor heading east.

Mapping information: rectangular chamber, 40’ x 60’. You enter through a 10’ wide corridor that is 20’ north of the southern wall. The only other visible exit is a 5’ wide corridor in the eastern wall that is 15’ south of the northern wall.

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4:40 pm, Basilsday 2nd Lucreon (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 1: 9/9, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 4/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 1: 5/5, 60’ (Lantern)
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 1: 10/10, 60’

Link to Jacky’s maps …

The most time Jacky's spent staring at the stars was aboard the Big Ship that brought him here, at night when there weren't other interesting things happening abovedecks to pay attention to. If they looked different from the ones back home, he couldn't have told you why, yet they still did.

He taps his chin, making a note to himself to compare his drawing to the night sky outside later.

Once Ovinius has been led back to his quarters and after fond farewells, Ella examined the room quietly. She seemed particularly interested in the indentation: tracing its perimeter, she tried to determine its shape, and from that, attempt to extrapolate its function. Though she believed they ought to examine the magnificent chairs, she was confident Thrudmarr the Finder would probably unearth any useful tidbits about…

Thrudmarr, once realizing all the seats have hinged compartments, will proceed around the hall opening all of them and looking for anything of interest.

Grim starts a.ong thevside opposite Thrud, also opening compartments along the chairs.

Zach, realizing what Grimidek and Thrudmarr are doing, starts somewhere between Thrud and Grim, and moves towards Thrud, checking the compartments.

Chapter House
Yes, that’s fine. Jacky makes a copy of the constellation of gold stars depicted on the ceiling of the chamber.

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Meanwhile, Thrud, Grim and Zach plunder the compartments beneath the hinged seats. They find that six of the stalls contain items. This is what they collectively uncover:

- Two potions - one is bone white in colour, although faintly luminescent. The other is viscous and pitch black. Each weighs 0.5 lbs.

- A leather pouch containing 250 silver coins. However, these are not ordinary silver pieces. They are ancient silver pennies. They are about the size of a dime (1/2" diameter), although they are thicker (1/6") and heavier. On the obverse, they feature a bust of an emperor wearing a military helmet, surrounded by the letters of his name; the reverse contains a gladius with the words "Conquerendum est". 125 silver pennies weigh 1 lb. They are equivalent in value to a modern gold piece.

- A quarto volume of erotica entitled The Seventy-Four Ways of Opening the Lotus. It weighs 2 lbs.

- An orange, cylindrical ceremonial headdress made of silk and studded with colored glass. It weighs 1 lb

- A pair of glass squares, one yellow and one green. Each is 8" x 8" x ½". Each weighs 3 lbs.

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Ella studies the mosaic in the centre of the floor. Other than disrupting the otherwise flat surface of the pattern, there is nothing unusual she can see about the indentation. It is 3’ x 3’ x ½" in dimensions. However …

… as Ella continues to examine the mosaic, which depicts the chamber at the foot of the pyramid steps with the large statue of Thoth, something very strange happens. The colours of some of the mosaic's tiles shift, and when Ella’s eyes adjust to the movement, she realises that the mosaic is now showing five animated figures walking past the statue and towards the stairs to the surface. They are intercepted by six smaller figures before they can reach the stairs, and both groups stop as if in discussion.

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4:50 pm, Basilsday 2nd Lucreon (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 1: 9/9, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 4/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 1: 5/5, 60’ (Lantern)
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 1: 10/10, 60’

Link to Jacky’s maps …