The Eye of Anubis: Book Ten

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Yes, something peculiar is happening. Or did happen. Well, we are here to look at the temple, let us look at the temple! Er...we haven't attracted a crowd, have we?"

[DocBeard]

Tomas relaxes into a fighting stance, keeping his sword leaning against his shoulder and his shield forward to intercept any hot, flaming death that might be coming his way.

[lostboy]

Er...we haven't attracted a crowd, have we?"

"It seems not, thanks the fates." Sascha says giving the square a final glance before crossing the threshold and drawing his blade with a harsh scraping sound, the wicked black sword glinting in the meagre light.

He pauses a moment survyeing the entrance hall before pointing the sword onwards into the darkness."Well whatever answers await, are likely to be found this way are they not?"

[OOC: spot 17 to survey the square, and probabley uinlikely to notice anything]

[The Whistler]

This time, Otto *does* draw his pistol--with a polite nod of "not trying to threaten you with this" to the Falkovnians. For the time being, however, he holds off on using any of his more...idiosyncratic abilities; even the most duty-bound of soldiers probably aren't amenable to spontaneous werewolfage. (Or...whatever it is you're supposed to call it. Sheesh, somebody needs to come up with a technical term for the thing...and me without any background in Draconic. Just have to leave it to the biologists, I guess.)

"The past six months have rather discouraged me from expecting answers at any given point...but, we hope. Stay upon your guard, all." Making barely any noise on the tiles, the gunsmith crosses the threshold to the temple directly after Sascha.

[yalenusveler]

"I'm trying to think of a way magic could be used for that, but I'm likely not going over all the options properly" Andre said, the words for Detect Magic rolling off his tongue rather quickly as he began to scan his surroundings. If it was an application of some sort of telekinetic effect, the magical energies were likely long gone. But then again, one never knew.

"Once the place has been cleared for residual magical energies, I suggest we look about for secret passages. It's unlikely..but stranger things have happened."

OOC:Detect Magic is up, scanning the area slowly, including the area by the door. Maintaining for the full 8 minutes duration off my archivist levels.

[NeoTiamat]

The Temple of Osiris, Muhar, Har'Akir
August 27th, 761, 10:55 AM; Day 163 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Someone ought to stay at the door." Dieter suggested. "Never know when you might want to make a quick run for it."

"Good idea." Luther said. "Cover possible angles of retreat. Perhaps... you, Niklas, and... Edmund, it is?"

"That's right." Harris agreed.

"You three guard the door. Rest of us, we see what there is to see here."

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There was little to be seen. The Temple of Osiris greeted you with a frosty silence, even as the statue-columns seemed to follow you with their unliving eyes. The only indication that you hadn't fallen into some dream realm of black shadows and green-skinned statues was the sound of your footsteps, echoing throughout the Temple.

At the far end, the house of the dead king terminated in a stepped platform, with a flat stone altar upon the platform, a flat slab of rock of unimaginable antiquity. Four jars were placed before the altar, old, earthenware vessels, once brightly painted, now faded with age.

On the walls here, once could see a story painted onto the walls, the tale of Osiris's death and resurrection in four panels. It showed the god's death, his dismemberment and mutilation at the hands of red-headed Set, the dark deity taking an unholy glee in the gruesome act. It showed the saddened Isis searching the rivers for Osiris, and collecting the body-parts of the dismembered god. It showed resurrection of Osiris, the King of the Dead taking his place at the head of his subjects. And in the last panel, Horus and Set battling, the victor of that struggle unknown, the fierce hawk-god battling red-headed Set.

[yalenusveler]

"Nothing magical as of yet" Andre said, looking around as he made his way to the mural. "However, that doesn't rule out conventional traps unfortunately. I wouldn't put it past Cavendish to get creative with those...yet another reason I hope this isn't his doing.."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia has been looking left and right in silence during the walk down the temple, her strange eyes scanning the darkness beyond the circle of light cast by Charles's torch. Upon seeing the altar and the jars, she stops. "Does anyone know what's in the big vases?" she asks quietly. "Remember the smilodon that turned to sand. It could fit. So could any number of ethereal pests."

[lostboy]

As there appears no immediate danger Sascha drops the point of his sword, but remians alert, pavcing sloly around surveying the room.

[OOC: 31 on a survival roll looking for traces of recent passage into or out of the area, (He can look for but not follow any tracks without the feat, right?)]

"Does anyone know what's in the big vases?"

"Is there not a tradition of the Akiri storing the organs of the dead in jars?" Sascha says looking up with a frown, trying to recollect anything further on the subject. Then with a shrug he looks across at Andre, "Am I mistaken professor?"

[OOC: Knowledge religion 9 so unlikely anything further will be forthcoming from Mr Dziemianovitch]

[DocBeard]

Tomas's patience with this all is getting dangerously low. He doesn't even notice...

(OOC: 14 on my Stoneworking roll. Sorry fellas.)

"Does anyone know anything about that Snferu woman?" Tomas tries, keeping his eyes open. "Only I was speaking to the locals and she seemed a little...harsh, in her interpretations of this Osiris fella's philosophy."

[lostboy]

Sascha looks at Tomas and shrugs "I know little about Akiri Theology, beyond what the Abbot and the brothers of the monastery discussed, in what way was she harsh?"

Before waiting for an answer he returns to his circuit of the room, finally ending up back at the entrance."bah this place tells me nothing definite, I can see many people have used this place but not for several days. Since then whoever has been here has been concentrating their attentions to the altar. Although what that tells us, is not exactly helpful, as those jars" he gestures with the sword "could still hold evil incarnate."

"Perhaps we should just open them and be done with it?"

[yalenusveler]

"The organs of the mummified dead, yes. In canopic jars." Andre said, still examining the mural before him. "Do we want to continue onwards, or give this place a fine toothed comb onceover?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Decisions, decisions," Lia muses. "On the one hand, I should like to have done with those who would desecrate places of worship. On the other, leaving a potential trap at our backs seems ... unwise, to put it mildly."

[DocBeard]

"She set people she didn't like on fire." Tomas mentions, but he knows that's a little unfair. The sand witch really could have been a diabolist. It was just...a weird, gut feeling.

He was also losing patience with this temple. Scowling a little, Tomas resists the urge to just start shouting until something horrible attacks them.

[Kaitou Kage]

"Well, maybe someone should look around?" Kuzan stated the obvious idea.

Spot, Listen 35