Northwards Ho!
Recounts our travels in the the fifth month of the nineteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh Ptolomy, son of Ptolomy.
Recounts our travels in the the fifth month of the nineteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh Ptolomy, son of Ptolomy.
From Sammus’s Boast:
Late in the day on 3rd May, Mago and a guide went ahead to warn Boujje about the curse. Boujje told us to camp outside in the canton, in the same place as we had left our animals before, and he would come and hear our story. Mago returned to let us know and we entered the canton, and Hannibal and the other guides greeted us. When Boujje arrived in the evening, Si'aspiqo told him that we had managed to find a way in, between the paws of the sphinx, and had explored and found it to be a burial place of an Egyptian Priestess of Amun. He then told Boujje of the mummy that we defeated and explained that we had investigated the sarcophagus and took the possessions we found therein. It had soon become apparent that we were cursed, he continued. He explained that we were being followed by some sort of spirit, maybe the personification of the curse or a shadow of the priestess and that he and I had coughs. We showed him the loot, and his eyes gleamed.
These are ancient things he told us. Si'aspiqo told him that the inscription on the stone entrance mentioned the name of a pharaoh which matched that on the great sphinx in the north kingdom. Boujje said this was the strongest proof he had seen that the Egyptians had come this far west. Any debt to me was discharged, he told us, and he promised to advise us as best he could regarding the curse. He let us know that he had bottled the liquid from our amphorae successfully; he had 69 bottles of healing potions and 82 bottles of sleeping draft, giving 46 bottles of healing and 55 bottles of sleeping drafts as our share.
He outlined some options to deal with the curse: we could summon the spirit of the priestess and attempt to make peace; we could summon the haunting shadow and trap it in a small, symbolic maze — if trapped moving endlessly round the maze, he was not sure how long it would hold; Boujje could try to counter the curse with charms of health and tattoos to bind them. He told us he would only charge for his services if he were successful. He left us to rest and consider the options, and to divide the loot into two piles.
The priestess’s dagger seemed sharp and well-balanced to me and as a weapon was broadly similar in value to my shortsword. Si'aspiqo and Agripinus set up wards against evil and we set watches for the night. I was on first watch and felt very tired. It was very quiet, and I realized I was no longer anywhere I recognized, and the stars were unfamiliar. I must have wandered off into the desert. I heard a voice and realizing it was probably the spirit, I put rags in my ears and stood still. I tried to get back to myself and suddenly found myself in a heap at the edge of the stone wall of the canton. I returned to the camp. No-one else was disturbed.
Si'aspiqo spent some time trying to understand the three arcane items. The dagger was quite interesting, he told us. It was very old and something that old, made of iron, would be in itself magical, as it dated from weapons were made of bronze. There was something cold about it, and as well as being sharp, the magician thought he might be able to wield it in his dream. He guessed it was a ritual weapon. The necklace was a thing of beauty, he added, and he suspected it augmented the wearer’s beauty.
Soon after sunset Boujje returned to our camp. Si'aspiqo told him that he was still unsure of one item. He added that concerning the haunting, we were inclined to ask his assistance to trap the spirit, while we reached somewhere where we could make further arrangements. Boujje explained that to do such a thing, we must first build the small tomb ourselves; he had supplies in the desert for this close by. He would then prepare the shaptis to be laid in the tomb. We should each spend a drop of blood to be put on the shaptis in the maze. He would then summon the spirit to the tomb. If this were successful, we would owe him one artifact of arcane power. It would take at least a day to prepare the tomb, if we worked on it together. We agreed that this should come from party loot.
Si'aspiqo and Agripinus set up wards against evil and although Amphius nearly stepped out of the circle, he realized just in time, and no-one was haunted that night. Agripinus had to recover his mana at dawn, but when he carried out his ceremony, he was able to heal Si'aspiqo and I. My cough felt much better. After an early breakfast, we set out to prepare a maze. It was a hot day, and we needed to drink more than normal, but under Mago’s guidance we managed to construct a serviceable maze. Late in the afternoon, Boujje arrived and inspected it. He was pleased with our work and got out a pot. We all squeezed a drop of blood into it, and he added powder from various phials and placed some of the mixture onto each of the shaptis. He then placed the shaptis in the maze. He ordered us to complete the roof apart from one final piece, leaving a hole through which the spirit could be lured. Mago again supervised and the roof was completed safely apart from the final piece. Boujje carried out a ceremony, which Si'aspiqo understood enough of to know it was to summon the spirit of the dead.
Night fell and it felt very cold. With a wave of his hand Boujje dropped the final piece into place. “It is done”, he told us. Toxoanassa told us that she had seen the spirit come from the desert, just as night fell, and disappear into the hole. We walked back a few hundred yards to the encampment.
Boujje asked if we had decided how to make the piles, and when we told him that we hadn’t he told us we could do so tomorrow. We had a warm and peaceful night; no-one was haunted. By morning Si'aspiqo still had found no more about the scarab and we agreed to divide the loot into two piles anyway. One pile had the dagger, two gold bangles, and the gold bracelet with anthropomorphic designs, while the other had the other two arcane items, two more bangles and the damaged blue bracelet from the mummy. Once Boujje had inspected the piles, he decided to take the one with the scarab and necklace. We offered him the khopesh we had found under the red dune. He agreed that it was ancient and had power and was a fair price.
I paid Boujje one of the bottles of potion for a tattoo of health and vigour, as did Mago. These would be activated by a prayer to Baal each dawn. I was told to prick my thumb and rub my blood over the tattoo at dawn and then speak words I had been given. Amphius paid twelve bottles for the necklace of beauty. In the morning, I triggered my tattoo; I was not coughing. Whether this was due to Boujje’s ceremony, the lingering effects of Agripinus’s healing or the tattoo I was unsure. But I will give thanks to Baal, nonetheless.
Party & company:
Met:
Places
Party Loot
Party Loss
From Sammus’s Boast:
We prepared to leave. Our Ajjer guides, including Axil and Bardis, were ready with the two ponies we had left here. They had six porters, probably of African descent to accompany us across the desert. Agripinus asked Boujje if he wished to buy his pearl necklace, but Boujje suggested trading it in Mergooza to Kasila, the King, for his beautiful wife Madaya. I showed him my two ivory carvings. He told me that they were of African Gods from far to the south, either House Gods or spirits. He wasn’t sure what he might do with them, mischief maybe? He offered me another tattoo in exchange, but I declined and kept them to trade later. Baal-Shaq and Boujje left on very friendly and respectful terms.
We set out at dusk on 6th May. One pony had some of the baggage and Si'aspiqo and the other was just packed with our baggage. The night march was uneventful, and we rested for the day under sunny skies. It looked set fair for the next while and it was dead calm for the night of 7th into 8th May. The ponies were skittish when we stopped for a break, so Amphius and Mago walked a circuit around us, while Si'aspiqo cast some cantrips, looking for ghouls, jabba worms and darklings, but noticed nothing. The two men returned after shooting a desiccated undead with an ivory plaque around its neck. Si'aspiqo said the plaque had a spark of magic about it. It wasn’t as powerful as a potion, but he thought it was a tribal Numidian amulet or token. Amphius wore the amulet. The rest of the march was quiet. Si'aspiqo’s lungs felt dry, but so far, he was not coughing as much as he had been; my tattoo was keeping off any signs of a cough.
We set out again on the evening of 8th May. There were light winds, and the night passed without incident. Si'aspiqo was now coughing slightly and just before dawn Agripinus successfully called on Tanit to cure disease and then produce some water for the ponies. The guides told us half a night’s march should get us to Adra. Just before midnight the wind started to rise but we reached the oasis soon after and before the sandstorm arrived.
By dusk it was still blowing sand from the west, but it had eased considerably so we decided to press on. During our pause around midnight, the two ponies were restless, so Amphius and Mago again circled the camp to investigate. After 20 minutes Mago returned alone and told us that he had been looking closely at the old bones of a goat and when he looked up Amphius had disappeared. We followed the tracks and eventually saw Amphius returning confused. He told us that something had been calling to him in Greek from the desert. We wondered whether this was related to the dead priestess. The guides asked what had happened and Amphius relayed to them via Baal-Shaq what he had heard. Bardis said this sounded like the Asuf. He said that sometimes they could be talked to and mentioned the Asuf or Adebni. We continued our march. Soon after we heard Bardis pray and when he had finished, he told us that he thought there were restless spirits around. We stopped just before dawn to camp for the day and Agripinus brought forth some more water for the ponies.
The night of 11th into 12th May passed uneventfully, but just after midnight on the next night Amphius told Mago that he had seen something off in the darkness. He disappeared from view and Mago waited 5 minutes. Amphius did not reappear, so Mago reported back to the main body. Agripinus shouted a priestly command calling on Amphius, to stop and get back to the party in Greek. Amphius returned and asked what was up. He reported having seen a large deer. Baal-Shaq asked him to describe it and Amphius told us that it had been a large, majestic, grey gazelle with long curving horns. Baal-Shaq and Bardis babbled in Numidian and then we went to look for tracks. We found the tracks of Amphius but no others. Bardis told us that it must have been a Kamelton and made a sign to Baal. He told us that this was a shape-changing ghoul. We carried on and just before dawn, Toxoanassa and I thought we caught sight of something. The nearest pony was restless, so we looked into the desert I all directions but saw nothing. We stopped to make camp, and again Agripinus produced water for the ponies. Mago was exhausted by the end of the night’s march and Si'aspiqo was coughing so Agripinus also cured Si'aspiqo’s cough and healed Mago with the help of Tanit.
As we prepared to leave at dusk on 13th May, the guides told us that we should arrive at the large oasis of Tamoudi by the morning. During the last part of the march around 3 in the morning, Mago stumbled onto a small pit of slippery sand. Amphius threw a rope to him. Mago tried to grab it as something bit him on the arm and took hold of him. Amphius and Baal-Shaq tried to pull him out, and Baal-Shaq called a warning in Numidian which sounded like ‘Jabba’. Mago’s left arm went numb and he tried to cling onto the rope with his right, but Baal-Shaq pulled too hard, and the rope slipped from Mago’s grasp. Amphius bravely jumped into the pit after him.
Agripinus sang a holy hymn to encourage us all and held up his symbol of Tanit, from which bright light spread around. Mago could feel something dragging him into the soft sand, as Amphius grabbed Mago and tried to pull him back. A rope landed bedside the Greek, who was unable to grab hold, as he was concentrating on holding onto Mago, who muttered a prayer to Baal for luck. Si'aspiqo cast a spell and called on the jabba worm to leave the area. Baal-Shaq threw the rope again and this time Amphius did get a hold, whilst still keeping hold of Mago. Mago with the help of Amphius and Baal-Shaq managed to hold firm and there was a whirl in the sand and Mago felt the creature release its grip. Amphius tied the rope around Mago and Baal-Shaq and the guides pulled Mago and Amphius out of the pit.
Agripinus cleaned out the wound and performed some healing ceremonies and another for cure disease. Mago was helped onto a pony in place of Si'aspiqo and we continued on our way. A little after dawn we reached the outskirts of Tamoudi oasis. The guides and the local tribesmen discussed the attack of the jabba worm, and we learned that the locals were a little concerned by an attack of a jabba worm so close to the oasis but thought we had been unlucky to be attacked there. They thought it highly unusual that it had let go of its intended victim once it had a grip, and had left.
Party & company:
Met:
Places
Party Loot