Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Light =&gt; Light: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Chulanowa on 03-08-2018, 10:13:59</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chulanowa</strong> on <strong>03-08-2018, 10:13:59</strong>
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				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The town of Wati has probably never been busier than it has in the past few days; throngs of explorers, historians, would-be fortune-makers, and scholars of all sorts have come to this formerly wayside town in the riverside deserts of Osirion in pursuit of one hing; the opening of the Necropolis of Wati. For days now, merchants have been hawking wares at you, anything you might need and a whole lot you never will; talismans against curses! Torchbearers for hire! hello sir, you look like you could always use more rope and a ten-foot pole! In the swirl and bustle, the (often sunburned and haggard) outsiders and newcomers can only seem to discuss the lottery to be held at the town's grand Pharasmin church in a day's time, to assign sites to the eager throngs to explore.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Each of you though, through misfortune, poor planning, or just not knowing, have found a hitch in your plans to do the same; the Pharasmins are not allowing "solo" or even "duo' explorations; supposedly this is due to legitimate safety concerns, though you've heard some wags claiming it's so the church can keep some grip on how much wealth leaves the necropolis. The other problem, also stemming form the church, is the tithe; or as your fellows like to call it, "the cover charge.' Mindful of the fact that you will basically be elbowing into the resting place of an entire city, the Pharasmins ask that the prospective explorers at least chip in for the church, its upkeep and offerings to the Lady of Graves. This expense has been quite outside your reach.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fortunately though, after asking around, following some rumors, and just blindly hoping for the best, you may have found a benefactor; one <strong>Canica Russala</strong>, who apparently is looking to provide such a sponsorship. Each of you have come to the Veins district of Wati, where you now await this benefactor's arrival, in the richly-appointed cabin of their river barque. You were invited in by servants, of which there seem to be six in total, dressed in slender silver chains and silks so fine that you could swear they would be transparent in better light. Incense burns to keep out the funk of the late-evening river, and these servants - three men and three women, all human - have provided you with mint-and-honey water, and an assortment of fruit, dates, and other small snacks to keep peckishness away.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The sun has slipped low on the horizon, surely this Canica person wouldn't miss their own appointment?
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chanticleer</strong> on <strong>03-08-2018, 22:26:37</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://static1.e621.net/data/5f/6e/5f6ecf22aef9993bbc362959226192d0.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Zimora</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">NG Gnoll Investigator(Lamplighter)</span><br>Location: sitting on the carpet<br>Tagged: Everyone but no one in particular<br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Statblock</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>[SIZE=+1]Zimora[/SIZE] (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887)</strong>[/URL]<br>Female Neutral Good Gnoll Investigator (Lamplighter), <strong>Level</strong> 1, <strong>Init</strong> 2, <strong>HP</strong> 9/9, <strong>Speed</strong> 30<br><strong>AC</strong> 17, <strong>Touch</strong> 12, <strong>Flat-footed</strong> 15, <strong>CMD</strong> 14, <strong>Fort</strong> 1, <strong>Ref</strong> 4, <strong>Will</strong> 2, <strong>CMB</strong> +2, <strong>Base Attack Bonus</strong> 0&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><strong>Brace, Double (10g) Weighted Spear (2h) (-) </strong> +2 (1d8+2/1d6+2, x3/x2)<br><strong>Trip Sickle (-) </strong> +2 (1d6+2, x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Dagger (3) (3) </strong> +2 (1d4+2, 19-20/x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Hide Shirt</strong> (+3 Armor, +2 Dex, +2 Deflect)<br><strong>Abilities</strong> Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9<br><strong>Condition</strong> None<br>Ability Score Racial Traits: Flexible (+2 Str, +2 Con) (2 RP)<br>Type: Humanoid (gnoll) (0 RP)<br>Size: Medium (0 RP)<br>Base Speed: Normal (0 RP)<br>Natural Armor: Gnoll hides are remarkably tough, granting them a +2 natural armor bonus. (2 RP)<br>Darkvision: Gnolls have darkvision and so can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet. (2 RP)<br>Desert Runner: Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue and exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot or cold environments. (2RP)</div></div><br><br><br>Between the nimble, clawed fingers of the tall, gangly gnoll, a juicy peach seems to come apart in slices almost of its own accord. Half of it, anyway; it would seem that the claws of Zimora’s right hand have been carefully rounded and blunted.<br><br>Judging from the sudden disassembly of the peach, the claws tipping her left fingers have been treated in quite the opposite manner.<br><br>Sitting cross-legged on the carpet and draped in cheap, but clean linen, the twiggy gnoll watches the sunset; her eyes gleam with amusement, perhaps at the uncertainty of the servants when confronted by a gnoll who is also a seer, or perhaps due only to the flickering lamp-light which is slowly overcoming the primacy of the sun’s red last rays within the cabin.<br><br>It has been a bemusing day for Zimora. <br><br>The night before, the soft whispers which occasionally beset her dark-edged ears had turned her aside from an evening walk along the outer walls marking the necropolis’ perimeter, and directed her without explanation to a rather shabby room on the second floor of a flophouse edging the Veins. She was mildlysurprised to find her old bronze-edged wooden sickle (https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/sickle-with-ceremonial-inscriptions-wood-egyptian-civilization-new-picture-id185735718?s=612x612) there, leaning in a corner near the foot of a pallet whose renter snored loudly despite the noise she’d made passing the wood-bead curtain in the doorway.<br><br>Zimora had scratched a delicate bit of poetry in the wall just above his head, just a few couplets on the foolishness of stealing from seers, blended with an equally sardonic warning about not sleeping with his coin-purse beneath him in cheap hostels.<br><br>She left the coin-purse, though. There would’ve been some symmetry to taking it, but a man of the city who’d steal a ratty farming sickle, not even a khopesh, probably wouldn’t have the good judgement to see it that way. <br><br>She’d left the sickle at home again for this visit; it wasn’t as easy to explain as the slender weighted staff that leaned against her shoulder (or the iron leaf spearhead which fit the staff’s unweighted end and which was sheathed at the small of her back beneath the loose linens she wore).<br><br>All week she’d been wandering about near the necropolis, noting this group or that haranguing the Pharasmin priests for privilege to enter. Too many of them had a look she would’ve disliked even had the spirits not steered her away. Too much like those outsiders from beyond Osirion’s borders who’d tried to purchase entry in a lost tomb using the lives of slaves to appease its traps. Unprincipled. Untrustworthy. They were not walking the path she needed to follow. Today, pacing down the docks of the Veins, first one ship and then another had caught her eye. Finally, she’d wandered back to a rather fine barque, large enough and rich enough to have an actual cabin rather than the awning or tenting amidships of more common vessels. Her cinnamon ears pricked up to hear a sailor speak of the queries the boat’s owner was making. Adventurers. The tombs. <br><br>That was the one.<br><br>The gnoll seer wandered about a bit more. She had no pressing business that she could feel, elsewhere, but eventually she walked upriver, beyond the city a little ways, beyond where the linen-washers did their work but not so far as to encroach on some farmer’s irrigation-dikes. It was a place many who lived in Bargetown who were too poor to afford the public baths, nevertheless bathed, and after a habitual check for crocodiles she slid in near some of the others to get the dust out of her fur, claws hacking and digging carefully through her long, henna-stained braids to get them sorted out.<br><br>She’d returned to the barque a few hours later, fur fluffed and combed through with natron-water to discourage fleas, and the poor-folk’s kohl of char and papyrus oil carefully outlining her eyes with a flatter black than the tones used by the wealthy. The musky hyena scent common to all gnolls was tinged with a faint scent of almond, cheap in this city of perfumes and spices, but she’d made some effort be more presentable for a client of such obvious station rather than turning up with her usual ‘slightly mad gnoll oracle’ appearance.<br><br>Time well spent, she decided, as she looked about the fancily appointed cabin from her demure position on the carpet. After all, the servants weren’t looking at her with particularly more skepticism than she was used to getting.<br><br>…And one could never complain about fresh peaches.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Autocad</strong> on <strong>04-08-2018, 09:46:20</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/Autocad-E/__original_drawn_by_dongho_kang__5f13cb71b6a4c32f38b39dd283544967_zpsdfyvxdk8.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Rala Kloth</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1651081) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Human Ranger</span><br>Location: sitting at a table, then the carpet<br>Tagged: Zimora<br><br>For yet another uncountable time the foreigner from the north shore of the Inner Sea, her pale skin tanned by the Osirian sun, thumbed through the well-worn leather-backed journal left behind to her from her father. Strewn across the table in front of her were more notes and maps, a half-finished goblet of water forgotten on one side. She pored over the materials but no further wisdom or clues to the fate of the elder Kloth were to be gleaned from their pages.<br><br>Rala had been eager, too eager to set out once she had obtained the journal and pinpointed her father's last known destination to Wati. She had acquired plenty of book knowledge about Osirion but was nil in the department of practical experience, having spent all her childhood in the temperate fields and forests of Andoran. As such, fresh off the boat in Osirion she had stood out like a sore and then sunburned thumb, and almost fainted from the heat. That was but the first of many obstacles she had to overcome, from the language - who knew that most Osirians did not in fact speak the <em>Ancient</em> Osiriani she had studied so hard to learn - to all the rules enacted by the Church of Pharasma that frustratingly prevented her from entering the necropolis, so close yet so far from her goal.<br><br>The Kloth family didn't have much in the way of liquid funds, but they did have the family business and a few meagre assets to secure a loan. With it Rala hoped to be able to pay the tithe and hire a few workers to meet the minimum head count required to get in. Fortunately, before Rala could carry on the time-honored Kloth tradition of putting the family name under even more debt, her queries drew the attention of one Canica Russala, who through messenger proposed a sponsorship. She could have been more suspicious of this too-good-to-be-true opportunity, but after generations of cursed luck, Rala wasn't about to let go of this lucky break.<br><br>And that was how Rala ended up on the barge, with the rest of who she expected to be fellow adventurers of the expedition hired by the same sponsor. She figured that now was as good a time as any to get to know some of them. She joined the gnoll at the carpet, and it would have been a lie to say that she was completely comfortable, after all back home those kinds of monstrous races were seen as raiders and outlaws. Still she tried to keep an open mind and not be ruled by her prejudices.<br><br>"I'm Rala Kloth. Nice to meet you," she offered a handshake.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Thorne</strong> on <strong>05-08-2018, 21:20:12</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://www.infinitelibraries.com/images/Elli/Barikclip.png)&nbsp; </div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Barik</span> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=291542.msg14315555#msg14315555)<br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">CN Tiefling Barbarian (Wild Rager)</span><br><strong>Location</strong>: Hip deep in trouble, little tourist... (parked on a cushion in a corner)<br><strong>Tagging</strong>: Open<br><br><br><hr><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The first days in Wati had been spent learning the lay of the land; so to speak. Patience had not come easily; but surviving the bloody sands had taught him well how to wait. How to listen. In the hot streets, the people gave Barik a wide berth, no surprise to him. A small coin or two bought drink, and a little more bought him information; a tale of the treasures waiting to be lifted to light. And a warning about the Pharasmins. Barik knew about Pharasmins; there was almost always at least one around the sands, to insure the dead stayed dead. He knew about Pharasmins. They were the least annoying of the vultures that preyed on his kind, the least aggravating of the scavengers earning coin from his exploits. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A day or two more; reserving what coin he had carefully - not enough to buy his way in, frustratingly, never enough, and he was no thief, capable of lifting heavy purses. Barik gave it some careful thought; he would need a group anyway. He could fight, he could see in the dark and his nose was keen; all things that would benefit treasure-hunters. Perhaps it was luck that led his first foray to a ready ear, or the whispers he had been listening to for three days had led him right, but they led him to the notice of Canica Russala, who could, in fact, use a fighter like him. The invitation followed soon after, which led Barik ... here. Remembering that - while their noses might not be as keen as his, humans tend to have <em>notions</em> about people who look like he does, Barik visits a bath house, in the hopes of becoming.. if not respectable, then at least clean enough to be mistaken for it at a distance. In the dark. At least it will cut down on the musk that tends to hang about his person.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If the gnoll does not fit in, Barik clashes far more, settled into a corner from which he can observe most of the doorways. A cushion is squashed to nothing under his bulk and he sits with a glass dwarfed in one broad paw and a plate of rabbit food mostly ignored at his side. He's not quite hungry enough to trust the food his food eats, although it does smell fine. When a servant offers him little meatballs, those he accepts, with a low grunt. Gnolls, he's seen. This one is.... well, she's interesting. Examine, without leering, he reminds himself, as his gaze slides to Rala. Humans are fragile, in his experience; she doesn't look like much of an exception. A memory of a long ago battle - fragile... but tough, and resourceful; the sands lost an experienced warrior that day, because he did not think a human was a threat - keeps Barik from commenting, past a basso rumble of greeting.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>06-08-2018, 01:13:12</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/fd/62/cffd623b43d0bdc31ea6046d81a3d56b.png)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Nedra</span> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=290942.msg14292491#msg14292491)<br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Samsaran Cleric (Angelfire Apostle)</span><br><strong>Location</strong>: Just Arriving<br><strong>Tagging</strong>: Open<br><br>As was often the case, Nedra was late in arriving at the meeting.&nbsp; &nbsp; While she'd planned to have extra travel time, she'd ended up sidetracked by business at the temple.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Not surprisingly, they'd wanted to pick her brain one more time before she was scheduled to disappear into the catacombs.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;If there had been any sort of secret agenda, she either hadn't been clued in or was acting as if she simply didn't know.<br><br>The flowing gold colored garment that she usually wore was more a long sash or a toga than a proper outfit.&nbsp; &nbsp; But it was comfortable, covered the right parts, and gave off an aura of both mystery and nobility.&nbsp; &nbsp; It only seemed proper for a living reincarnation of an ancient Pharaoh, after all.&nbsp; &nbsp;It also showed the spiral of Pharasma on her bare left shoulder, a birthmark and another sign of her choice of occupation.&nbsp; &nbsp;In addition, the plain yet understated necklace was one given only to those in service of the temple.&nbsp; &nbsp; In her case, it marked her as a member of the priesthood.<br><br>She pushed open the door, her sandaled feet making little noise in the evening air.&nbsp; &nbsp;She nodded pleasantly to the others when she arrived, and she selected an assortment of fruits along with water to drink, finally curling herself into a seat to await the arrival of their would be patron.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bibliophilia</strong> on <strong>07-08-2018, 04:25:28</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/c9/AndroidWiz4.png)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Yeun Lush</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1651589) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Android Wizard</span><br>Location: Standing<br>Tagged: Open<br><hr><hr><br>Yeun had spent the first few weeks after his arrival in Osirian exploring the bookshops, libraries, curio shops and many temples where vast stores of knowledge waited.&nbsp; He'd been thrown out of more than a few of these establishments, especially when certain shop owners discovered the fact that he had little coin to barter with and no respect for the concept of 'You break it, you bought it.'&nbsp; Of course, he <em>tried</em> to tell them that he hadn't actually broken anything, simply taken some things apart to see what secrets they held, and he'd be more than happy to put them back together.&nbsp; They weren't terribly inclined to listen.&nbsp; In particular once he started explaining how they had been clearly swindled as many of their 'ancient Osirian artifacts' were fake.<br><br>As usual, his difficulty with mortals drove him from one neighborhood to the next, but he wasn't particularly upset about it.&nbsp; The real mysteries he longed to uncover lay in the ruins that were tantalizingly close at hand, but frustratingly denied him by a bunch of superstitious fanatics who somehow believed that they were respecting the dead by denying the living potentially invaluable knowledge.&nbsp; Needless to say, he wasn't any great supporter of the followers of Pharasma.<br><br>He longed to join an expedition into the ruins, if only so that he could finally explore what was being denied to him, but he had two big problems.&nbsp; For one, he was well aware that there was little chance he could actually talk his way into a group with his limited and abysmal people skills.&nbsp; For another, he had nowhere near enough gold to even pay his share of the so-called tithe being demanded by the Pharasmins.&nbsp; He wracked his considerable mind for any possible means of sneaking into the ruins alone, but knew that doing so would be foolish.&nbsp; Knowledge was of little worth if you ended up with your head crushed beneath the foot of a Sphinx or some undead archer's arrow through your heart.<br><br>So it was that he was lifted from a fit of petulant despondence by overhearing a few other patrons discussing Canica Russala and her desire to sponsor a team of explorers.&nbsp; Perhaps she would prove so desperate that his knack for making enemies would not immediately disqualify him...especially if he tried <em>very</em> hard to act like people did.&nbsp; He was willing to pull forth as much charm as he could muster if it meant getting to see first-hand the wonders of that ancient civilization.&nbsp; He would even smile, if he had to.<br><br>So...there he came through the door, the last to arrive and a wide smile on his face.&nbsp; He looked around at the others, smile growing even wider and revealing more perfectly white, straight teeth in that oddly feminine mouth.&nbsp; He stood against a wall and waited, deciding that speaking as little as possible might be best.&nbsp; He always seemed to say just the wrong thing, though he could never pre-judge what was likely to set someone off.<br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chanticleer</strong> on <strong>08-08-2018, 10:27:15</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://static1.e621.net/data/5f/6e/5f6ecf22aef9993bbc362959226192d0.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Zimora</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">NG Gnoll Investigator(Lamplighter)</span><br>Location: sitting on the carpet<br>Tagged: Rala and everyone else<br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Statblock</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>[SIZE=+1]Zimora[/SIZE] (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887)</strong>[/URL]<br>Female Neutral Good Gnoll Investigator (Lamplighter), <strong>Level</strong> 1, <strong>Init</strong> 2, <strong>HP</strong> 9/9, <strong>Speed</strong> 30<br><strong>AC</strong> 17, <strong>Touch</strong> 12, <strong>Flat-footed</strong> 15, <strong>CMD</strong> 14, <strong>Fort</strong> 1, <strong>Ref</strong> 4, <strong>Will</strong> 2, <strong>CMB</strong> +2, <strong>Base Attack Bonus</strong> 0&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><strong>Brace, Double (10g) Weighted Spear (2h) (-) </strong> +2 (1d8+2/1d6+2, x3/x2)<br><strong>Trip Sickle (-) </strong> +2 (1d6+2, x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Dagger (3) (3) </strong> +2 (1d4+2, 19-20/x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Hide Shirt</strong> (+3 Armor, +2 Dex, +2 Deflect)<br><strong>Abilities</strong> Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9<br><strong>Condition</strong> None<br>Ability Score Racial Traits: Flexible (+2 Str, +2 Con) (2 RP)<br>Type: Humanoid (gnoll) (0 RP)<br>Size: Medium (0 RP)<br>Base Speed: Normal (0 RP)<br>Natural Armor: Gnoll hides are remarkably tough, granting them a +2 natural armor bonus. (2 RP)<br>Darkvision: Gnolls have darkvision and so can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet. (2 RP)<br>Desert Runner: Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue and exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot or cold environments. (2RP)</div></div><br><br>Zimora manages to bow from the waist slightly while remaining seated cross-legged. She eyes the foreign woman’s hand a moment, then takes it lightly in both her own, warming it for a moment as she makes eye contact before releasing it. “…And I am called Zimora. I hope fortune smiles on us all who meet here, this night,” she murmurs, albeit loud enough to be easily overheard though without the air of making it a general announcement.<br><br>…and now Rala’s hand is sticky with peach juice.<br><br>The gnoll seems to be in a good mood, and even a humorous one. She glances around to the others, meeting Barik’s gaze just a moment before dipping her own respectfully, half-bowing again to the obvious high noble (and temple representative? What kind of a meeting is this?) who has turned up, perhaps to judge this otherwise motley crew. Her own smile widens slightly at the latecomer’s, albeit her is rather more pointy than perfect. 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chulanowa</strong> on <strong>12-08-2018, 21:26:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Once it became apparent that these five were going to - for the most part at least - keep their own council, one of the <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">female servants</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/98/79/56/987956ad20d80c7734fdee9ea4b9c142.jpg)</div></div> produced an oud, another - her twin brother from the look of him - produced a set of zills, and together the two of them began filling the empty air with pleasant, gentle music that actually seemed to use the river lapping at the barque's hull as rhythm. For at least a little while, there was an air of rest inside the cabin, as the windows began to show the setting sun on the river...<br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Perception DC 15</div><div class="spoiler_body"> ...There were only small port windows on the outside, not these full-length windows you see now. And that fig you just ate... it tasted sort of like an apple... and you're pretty sure the two musicians ARE identical, uncannily so, their genders notwithstanding...</div></div><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After a while of this, though, a woman simply steps out of the walls. She's very small; <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">clearly a halfling or a gnome</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/aa/2e/09/aa2e09c1dc99202c97abee1c587f48aa.jpg)</div></div>, though you can't readily tell which. More striking is that she seems to be an albino; not the dull greys of a bleachling gnome, but pale white skin, snowy hair, and pink-hued eyes. Her garb is richly appointed, with rich crimsons, thick down-feather trims, and small flowers of pearls and amethysts adorning here and there. <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Knowledge (local) DC 12</div><div class="spoiler_body">She dresses like lesser Chelish nobility; far from the ostentation of the higher ranks, but still surprising to see on the River Sphinx</div></div> <strong>"One, two, three..."</strong> she counts each of you in turn, points to two empty spaces and frowns, shrugging. <strong>"Oh well, it'll do. Thank you for coming.&nbsp; I apologize for my tardiness, there were some arrangements to be made, interests to be seen to! What can I do for - <em>ah!</em> the Pharasmin's lottery, yes, yes."</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The small woman stepped over, and kissed both the musicians on the cheek, before waving for the five of you to join her at a low table nearby. <strong>"Mahoud, Iseema, would you please...?"</strong> Her voice made it clear that the "please" was entirely for appearances, as two of the servants hurried to clear the trays of snacks from the table, leaving the honeyed water. The small woman had a crystal glass of that poured for herself. <strong>"As I'm sure you can tell, I am Canica Russala. Since I have sadly made us all late, I'll cut to the chase."</strong> Here she produces a number of scrolls as a servant - Iseema - hurries over with an inkpot and peacock-feather quill. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>"Like you, I have an interest in the contents of the necropolis of Wati. <em>Unlike</em> you, I have enough sense to not go in there myself, and enough gold to persuade others to do so for me."</strong> She offered a smile with her pale lips. <strong>"Also there's... well. I've met High priestess Sebti, and let's say we're unlikely to tangle legs together anytime soon."</strong> She smirked. <strong>"Here's the deal; I will pay your entry into the dead city. In exchange, I demand first option on whatever you drag out of there; I will pay you fairly for that which interests me; Absalom prices, not Wati. There is also an item of particular interest to me that I need retrieved; I'm not at liberty to tell you the specifics <em>just</em> yet," she said with a glance at the scrolls set before each of them, "But I assure you it should be noting too dire to an entourage of"</strong> she glanced at Zamora with more than a little lascivious curiosity in her pink eyes, <strong>"lovely, tough adventure-seekers."</strong><br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>"If the offer interests you, please, feel free to read and sign. If not, well, then you spent an afternoon with beautiful men and women, listening to music and eating pistachios."</strong> She chuckles and folds her hands together. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>16-08-2018, 05:09:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cf/fd/62/cffd623b43d0bdc31ea6046d81a3d56b.png)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Nedra</span> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=290942.msg14292491#msg14292491)<br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Samsaran Cleric (Angelfire Apostle)</span><br><strong>Location</strong>: Seated at the Table<br><strong>Tagging</strong>: Open<br><br>Nedra snags one last fruit from the dishes before they are cleared away, moving with relative grace and beauty.&nbsp; &nbsp; The Samsaran barely glanced at the documentation before putting her mark on it, giving the impression that she either knew more than she was letting on or just didn't care.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;It could be hard to tell which, sometimes.&nbsp; &nbsp;She took another sip from her glass before leaning back in her chair, the ritual formality of the agreement completed.<br><br>"It's more a case of going back, really."&nbsp; &nbsp; Nedra's voice was that of both a trained orator and a prodigy in vocal use.&nbsp; &nbsp; "I'm curious as to how much has changed over the years."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Thorne</strong> on <strong>16-08-2018, 05:25:48</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://www.infinitelibraries.com/images/Elli/Barikclip.png)&nbsp; </div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Barik</span> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=291542.msg14315555#msg14315555)<br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">CN Tiefling Barbarian (Wild Rager)</span><br><strong>Location</strong>: Hip deep in trouble, little tourist...<br><strong>Tagging</strong>: Open<br><br><br><hr><br>Barik rumbles - his eyes follow long, shapely limbs for perhaps a fraction or so longer than is entirely proper - as he sits, cautiously. He listens, not quite laughing - or maybe he is laughing, the tone of the rumble shifts slightly - at their benefactor's description of a high priestess. He could have told her that... but he says nothing, taking a moment to examine the scroll. <br><br>To him, it is sadly largely unintelligible. His few words and recognized letters tell him mostly that the thing is past his abilities. He lifts his head, considering Canica with the ear-flattened suspicion of someone who can't actually read. It won't really matter, will it, if she betrays them.. they are not likely to survive it, if she does, are they. He still looks grumpy about it, but he - very carefully - scrawls the letters that make up his given name on the line. Neatly, even, although no one's ever going to give him prizes for penmanship. Nedra's comment gets her a look, and a bit of a rumbled snort. If she remembers anything useful, maybe. ..
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Autocad</strong> on <strong>16-08-2018, 19:03:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/Autocad-E/__original_drawn_by_dongho_kang__5f13cb71b6a4c32f38b39dd283544967_zpsdfyvxdk8.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Rala Kloth</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1651081) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Human Ranger</span><br>Location:Back at the table<br>Tagged: Open<br><br><hr><br>Rala shook Zimora's hand and afterwards found herself facing the daunting task of cleaning sticky peach juice off her hand without appearing like she was a bigot who needed to wash her hands after touching a non-human...<br><br>Their tiny, flamboyant benefactor caught Rala's curiosity, but it was the contract that held her attention. Having moved back to the table to study it properly, it seemed the usual commercial legalese to which Rala was no stranger, having dealt with such things while in charge of the Kloth family business. Satisfied that the written document matched the spoken terms, she started signing the contact, pausing only when she arrived at the one point they hadn't all agreed on yet.<br><br>"Name of Party?" Rala raised her head and looked around at the diverse group that at first glance had so little in common. "Anyone got any ideas? I don't want to put down anything to do with Misfits," she tried to joke.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bibliophilia</strong> on <strong>17-08-2018, 05:30:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/c9/AndroidWiz4.png)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Yeun Lush</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1651589) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Android Wizard</span><br>Location: Standing<br>Tagged: Everyone<br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Perception: 18</div><div class="spoiler_body">At 2018-08-16 22:10:11, Yeun (uid: 24594) rolls: 1d20a2 Result: 18 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=124148)</div></div>&nbsp; <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Arcana: 19</div><div class="spoiler_body">At 2018-08-16 22:15:10, Yeun (uid: 24594) rolls: 1d20a8 Result: 19 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=124149)</div></div><hr><hr><br>He studied the room as he waited for their host to arrive, and after she'd appeared, looking her over and canting his head a touch.&nbsp; Her servants were odd, but what really struck him was the impossibility of the room's architecture.&nbsp; The inside didn't match the outside, and he was well-versed in the arcane arts, well enough to guess that the three of them were smack in the midst of some form of illusion spell.&nbsp; The purpose of it eluded him, and he didn't care enough to bother trying to parse out the small humanoid's reasoning.&nbsp; In his experience, the fey races were ten times harder to understand than their non-fey counterparts.<br><br>Once he'd settled his mind as to the uncomfortably disorienting state of the windows, he moved forward and waited to take the quill from Rala.&nbsp; His voice had a measured, pleasant cadence and tone, but his words lacked the inflection that one might expect from a feeling being.&nbsp; That and the faint shimmer of silvery-holographic circuitry in his dusky skin where the light struck it at oblique angles made his synthetic heritage (if you could call it that) clear.&nbsp; He scanned the contract silently with little real care for what it said, only playing a bit of monkey see-monkey do to try and blend in a bit more and ease the potential qualms of his employer and colleagues.<br><br>With that smile once more settling awkwardly on his, albeit handsome, face, he printed his name beneath the others.&nbsp; His handwriting was meticulously neat and formal; a small, precise script that would serve perfectly for transcribing text but lacked anything resembling personal flair or identifying qualities.&nbsp; He looked up after completing his signature and offered the quill to the gnoll, speaking without dropping the unflinching smile.<br><br>"I look forward to the adventure we are about to embark upon."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chanticleer</strong> on <strong>17-08-2018, 05:31:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://static1.e621.net/data/5f/6e/5f6ecf22aef9993bbc362959226192d0.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Zimora</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">NG Gnoll Investigator(Lamplighter)</span><br>Location: sitting on the carpet<br>Tagged: Everyone but no one in particular<br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Statblock</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>[SIZE=+1]Zimora[/SIZE] (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1649887)</strong>[/URL]<br>Female Neutral Good Gnoll Investigator (Lamplighter), <strong>Level</strong> 1, <strong>Init</strong> 2, <strong>HP</strong> 9/9, <strong>Speed</strong> 30<br><strong>AC</strong> 17, <strong>Touch</strong> 12, <strong>Flat-footed</strong> 15, <strong>CMD</strong> 14, <strong>Fort</strong> 1, <strong>Ref</strong> 4, <strong>Will</strong> 2, <strong>CMB</strong> +2, <strong>Base Attack Bonus</strong> 0&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><strong>Brace, Double (10g) Weighted Spear (2h) (-) </strong> +2 (1d8+2/1d6+2, x3/x2)<br><strong>Trip Sickle (-) </strong> +2 (1d6+2, x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Dagger (3) (3) </strong> +2 (1d4+2, 19-20/x2)<br><strong>&nbsp; Hide Shirt</strong> (+3 Armor, +2 Dex, +2 Deflect)<br><strong>Abilities</strong> Str 14, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 9<br><strong>Condition</strong> None<br>Ability Score Racial Traits: Flexible (+2 Str, +2 Con) (2 RP)<br>Type: Humanoid (gnoll) (0 RP)<br>Size: Medium (0 RP)<br>Base Speed: Normal (0 RP)<br>Natural Armor: Gnoll hides are remarkably tough, granting them a +2 natural armor bonus. (2 RP)<br>Darkvision: Gnolls have darkvision and so can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet. (2 RP)<br>Desert Runner: Prerequisites: None; Benefit: Members of this race receive a +4 racial bonus on Constitution checks and Fortitude saves to avoid fatigue and exhaustion, as well as any other ill effects from running, forced marches, starvation, thirst, and hot or cold environments. (2RP)</div></div><br><br>Zimora is distracted by the luxuries of music, peaches, and (for some reason) the view out the tall windows (16) (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=123971), which would be so much more suitable to, say, a palace than a rivergoing barque. Her short, tufted tail thumps against the cushion she’s seated on once or twice as she thinks. The lanky gnoll's expression shifts a few times, but never becomes <em>dramatic</em>. Puzzled, intrigued, amused alternately…But not dramatically so.<br><br>The arrival of the…gnome? Halfling? Vertically and chromatically challenged foreign noblewoman (14) (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=123972) therefore seems to take her somewhat by surprise. <br><br>Her ears color very slightly at the remark about the Pharasmin High Priestess…Not that the gnoll has particular affinity for that Personage, but simply the casualness of speech about someone so significant. She feels rather insignificant, suddenly. Particularly when compared to the almost ethereally graceful Samsaran noble and…Priestess? And then her ears pink up considerably more when she catches Canica’s lingering glance. She studies the document with the careful dismay of someone who can read the language, but is not entirely sure she’s grasping all of it. She accepts the quill from Yeun with distracted grace, stares at the dotted line, almost touches the tip of the nib to it, then frowns slightly and looks back up at the text, re-reading it.<br><br>Her dismay is magnified when Nedra and the enormous tiefling sign so promptly on the line.<br><br>“I, ah,” she clears her throat quietly, painfully aware after Nedra’s declamation of the faint growling tone that uroughens her own voice even when she’s trying hard.&nbsp; She pauses a moment, then goes ahead, the part of her which speaks so calmly to clients of the past and future knowing that with that hesitation she’s already lost. “…I have some clients among the Ruby Prince’s navy,” Oh gods of past and future they’re going to think she’s a whore. “…And as best I understand it, even the lowliest sailor has some contracted benefit regarding loss of limb or life.” Her voice trails off as she watchs Barik finish laboriously signing his name. Despite her height and Canica’s jest about their toughness (and in truth she feels about as tough as she does lovely, despite her efforts at the latter), she smiles uncertainly. ‘Misfit’ is quite an accurate description of how she feels in these surrounds and this situation, despite the foreign human’s uneasy joke.<br><br><em>It’s not that I’m afraid to go,</em> she thinks, <em>…but this makes us sound so, so disposable.</em><br><br>She looks back to Canica, trying not to chew her lower lip as she awaits the obviously foreign noblewoman’s response. <br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">Diplomacy</div><div class="spoiler_body">Zimora is no wheeler-dealer, and should be quite happy she even rolled a 10 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=124147) on Diplomacy (but she probably wouldn’t see it that way).</div></div>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Autocad</strong> on <strong>22-08-2018, 16:35:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag94/Autocad-E/__original_drawn_by_dongho_kang__5f13cb71b6a4c32f38b39dd283544967_zpsdfyvxdk8.jpg)</div><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">Rala Kloth</span> (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1651081) <br><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size">N Human Ranger</span><br>Location:Back at the table<br>Tagged: Zimora<br><br><hr><br>"Nobody's going to provide death and dismemberment coverage to an adventuring party," Rala piped in, her tone more at ease now that she was talking about something she knew. "Back in the family business, sailing was about the most dangerous occupation still eligible for benefits. Sure the sea's a dangerous place, but everyone's trying to make it through the voyage safely. Now, adventurers who actively seek out danger? Strictly uninsurable." She patted Zimora on the shoulder. "Should have asked for something feasible like more gold instead."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City (RP thread)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Chulanowa</strong> on <strong>25-08-2018, 21:31:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/aa/2e/09/aa2e09c1dc99202c97abee1c587f48aa.jpg)</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Zimora's question drew a small smile from Canica's pale lips. <strong>"A cunning one, too, I see."</strong> She folded her hands together and seemed to be gathering her thoughts, when Rala piped up. One white eyebrow arched upward. <strong>"She's not wrong, sadly; you <em>are</em> volunteering to go into a city-sized tomb no one has opened in, Gods, three thousand years?"</strong> She sniffs, then leans back into some cushions. <strong>"I am not <em>completely</em> mercenary though."</strong> She snaps her fingers and gestures, calling out, <strong>"Quill, ink, paper."</strong> And... all three items saunter over, seemingly of their own accord, settling gently on the table. Canica pushes her sleeves up her arms and begins to write, reading it out for those who have... difficulty.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>"Should any of the undersigned, while <em>actively</em> under my employ suffer an injury too grievous for their pay to provide for at one of the places of healing in Wati, I will offer from my coffers up to five hundred Absalom measures to provide towards the difference."</strong> She looked to them each in turn, <strong>"<em>Actively</em> meaning I will not be covering if you get your brains smashed in in a bar fight. Unless that bar fight serves my interests. My discretion."</strong> She smirks a little and continues her script. "<strong>On the event that one of the undersigned should perish and funds are unavailable to secure their return, a monthly stipend of ten Absalom measures will be awarded to their nearest of kin for a period of..."</strong> she considers for a moment, <strong>"Five years? Not covering intentional suicide, of course."</strong> She puts all this forward with the air of someone for whom gold is more like a pretty decoration than a necessity for life, it seems. Perhaps Rala is right, they should have just asked for more gold. At any rate, she scatters some dust on the ink, lets it soak off the excess, then carefully blots&nbsp; the sheet and puts it on the table for them to sign, if they wish.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She seems to take it on assumption that Zimora will sign on to the group, and so she continues. <strong>"The particular item I want is an... opal, of sorts. Roughly the size and shape of, oh, one of your lovely breasts,"</strong> she nodded towards Rala with a little smirk. <strong>"So you can imagine, it's quite valuable... and would be... very hard to pawn to another buyer without word of it getting around."</strong> She laces her fingers together and leans towards the group a little, her pink eyes having an intensity to them. <strong>"I am unconcerned with <em>how</em> you retrieve it. Pull it from where it's hidden, deal for it from another group, hell, rob them if that's how you do things. I'm not a squeamish woman."</strong> She chuckled softly, <strong>"Sadly, I can't tell you where it is; I don't know, and it has defied my attempts to scry for it, else this would be easier and cheaper for me, you see."</strong> She smiles slowly, <strong>"So, we have an accord? I will need a name for the temple to put on your token for the drawing."</strong><br><br><div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">In the interests of moving ahead, I'm going to say that unless you guys have more questions for Canica, we can call this bit of business concluded.</div></div>
			</dd>
		</dl>
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