Chapter 01 - The Company of the New Dawn and the Tomb of Akhentepi

[pringerbeam]

     It is the middle of the day and the hot desert sun beats down upon your heads in the Sunburst Market.  The market is packed today by the throngs of adventurers waiting for the ceremony with you and by onlooking residents of the city.  It is the day of the lottery, the event you came to the city for and after days of preparation it is finally time to gain access to the untold treasures of Wati's famous necropolis.  merchants ply their wares, offering cool drinks to slake the thirst brought on by the oppressive heat.  At the end of the market, the grand mausoleum (the city's largest temple of Pharasma) behind it, stands a platform upon which mill several priests preparing for the ceremony.  There is a palpable energy in the air, as excitement courses through the crowded market.  Even those hiding in the shadows of the market's massive columns to escape the glare of the sun chatter among themselves and others speculating the results of the lottery and exchanging information. 
     As you continue to wait, a keleshite man and two companions approaches you.  They appear to be adventurers judging from their assorted armor.  Each of them wears a white cloak with their hoods drawn and a metal pauldron sporting a bronze eagle.  "Hail there friend, I think I've seen your lot around the Tooth and Hookah.  I should have guessed we'd run into you here.  The name's Rogan Thal and we're the Bronze Eagles from Thuvia.  Mind if I ask who you are?  Surely some good conversation will pass the time awaiting the lottery ceremony all the swifter."

[Oath]

Lydia looked at the man who had introduced himself as Rogan. With all of the adventurers she had seen in recent days, trying to remember who was who seemed to be an impossible task. Compared to this group, her own seemed to be quite the motley crew. People that happened to be together through circumstance. She did not know too much about her own group, they had recently gotten together but each member seemed reliable enough. She was unsure if she was the best representative of the group but she felt it would be rude to ignore this fellow, and it did seem to be taking a while for the lottery ceremony to get underway as he had stated.

"Nice to meet you, Rogan. I'm Lydia Eisenburg, a member of the Company of the New Dawn. We're eager to test ourselves and see what we can find. It is a lot different than what we've done in the past. Have you been in town for long?"

She was unsure on how to approach the Bronze Eagles, but they seem to be friendly enough.

[info]Gonna do a sense motive.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 15 + 2, total 17[/blockquote]
[/info]

[pringerbeam]

     Rogan puts his hands on his belt, one hand resting on the pommel of the sheathed scimitar hanging from his belt.  "Not that long, just a few days.  It was a long trip across the desert but we made it in one piece."  One of the other members of the Bronze Eagles, another keleshite by the looks of it, raises her hand in a questioning gesture.  "Hi Sharasha Mashi."  The new speaker places her other hand on her chest as she introduces herself.  "This is actually our first expedition.  I don't suppose you have tried your hand at any expeditions before coming here?  We could use any advice you might have."

[info]Sense Motive
They seem trustworthy enough.[/info]

[jammermoore]

Noland notices Lydia talking to a couple of people, unsure of the reason behind the start up of the conversation and with Lydia being friendly towards them. Noland decides to introduce himself to them.

"Hi, nice is meet you Rogan and Sharasha. I am Noland Shin, another member of the Company of the New Dawn. This task sounds like it'll be fun. This too is my first expedition. So any advice I would have would be work together with your team."

[info]Sense Motive on Sharasha
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+5 : 18 + 5, total 23[/blockquote]
[/info]

[pringerbeam]

     "Thank you for the advice.  I hope our teamwork is up to the task."  Replies Sharasha.  "All we have experience fighting are some of the scorpions and other beasts of the desert."  The third of the group, a tall and brawny man standing a head over his compatriots chimes in with the nest question.  "I've heard that the necropolis is infested with undead.  Is that true?  I find it hard to believe that there could be an entire city overrun with the damned just on the other side of those walls. The name's Suffrei Ashbi by the way."

[info]Knowledge Local or Religion check for those that wish to make it

Sense Motive
Sharasha appears to be genuine in their curiosity and lack of knowledge[/info]

[jammermoore]

[info]rolling Knowledge Local is yes or no the undead question.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+8 : 1 + 8, total 9[/blockquote]
[/info]

[InhumanRonin]

After taking in the sites in and around the crowded market Omar decided to meet up with his company mates at the Tooth and Hookah.  Opening the door to the inn Omar scans the room to find his mates and notices Noland and Lydia  talking to a couple of unfamiliar faces. Omar walks acrossed the room and waits for a chance to introduce himself to these strangers.

Greetings the names Omar Maloof I see you have already met the a few of my friends here. Judging by the looks of it I assume you guys are here for the opening of the Necropolis as well?

[SleepingSkeleton]

Alaya returns from refilling her waterskin from a nearby well.  "Ah, new friends!  How do you do.  I am Alaya of the Company of the New Dawn.  It sounds as though you have met my companions here.  It is a pleasure to meet you all." She extends her hand for a hand shake, smiling warmly at each of the members of the Bronze Eagles. "I would be happy to hear your stories of adventure some time, and I'm sure we could tell you some of our own.  It was quite the,..." she pauses, and considers for a moment, "harrowing experience for me coming here.  I almost succumbed to the heat of the desert, and likely would have without the help of my companion here," she says, gesturing at Lydia.  "I would certainly make sure to carry more water than you'd think you'll need in the future.  I'm still a bit unused to the heat in this part of the world, I come from farther to the north."

[info]Knowledge Religion check for both knowledge of the necropolis and to see if there is anything indicating any of the Bronze Eagles are followers of any particular religion.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+6 : 8 + 6, total 14[/blockquote][/info]

[pringerbeam]

     "Yes, we heard that the Necropolis was being opened so we came to try our luck.  I guess we don't get to choose where we want to explore though."  Replied Rogan.  "I think we will be fine on water though.  We're used to the desert heat.  In fact, we traveled here by crossing the desert to the west.  If you think the heat of Osirion is bad, you should try crossing the sands of Thuvia.  In our country there are no great rivers to cool you off."

[info]Knowledge Results

Alaya
You are not familiar with the area but you have had a chance to see the walls of the necropolis and recognized many of the prayers inscribed into the stone to be those aiming to quell the restless dead.  You're pretty sure that these inscriptions are there for good reason.

Nolan
You may have HEARD that the necropolis has undead in it but you know that the real menace is the Chelaxian conspiracy to turn the dead city into a giant summoning circle from which to call forth one of the greater devils from beyond the mortal realm.  Everyone may think that's bullshit but you know the real bullshit is the misinformation spread by the Pharasmans that act as puppets for foreign powers.[/info]

[KAKnyght]

[info]Prepared Spells:
Level 0 (3) - Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Stabilize
Level 1 (2) - Cure Light Wounds, Entangle

May spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally I as a replacement for a Level 1 Spell slot[/info]

From a short distance from the rest of the party I have been speaking to someone else, close enough to hear some of the conversation, but enough away to not be a bother. I give my companion, a girl slightly younger than I, a hug and I wave goodbye and then walk over with Burağan in tow to join the group discussion properly. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was checking in with a friend of my from tribe, been awhile since I've been back home." I turn towards the strangers and say with a smile "Hello, I am Sehra Teraneva, a pleasure to make your acquaintance" and gesturing to them with a welcoming, locally approved salute. "In my nearly 20 years I've not spent a great deal of time here in the city proper, but I know quite a bit about the desert that surrounds us. Have heard many fascinating rumors about the Necropolis over the years, it is exciting to finally get the chance to see if there are any truth to them, though, I imagine, we may find the desert more hospitable.

[info]Perception check[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 8 + 2, total 10[/blockquote], observing their demeanor.[/info]

[pringerbeam]

     "Oh? What tribe are you from?  We might have met with some of your kin in our travels across the desert."  Inquires Sharasha

[info]Perception Check
They stand at ease before you.  None of them appear to be concealing any weapons.  Rogan wears a scimitar at his hip while Suffrei has an oversized khopesh slung on his back.  Sharasha wears a bandolier of daggers.[/info]

[InhumanRonin]

"I can only imagine how bad the heat gets out in that area. This heat makes it uncomfortable to wear metal armor but better to be safe then sorry out there. Sounds about like how our Company operates in sending people out at their discretion but I get why. And was for the water I agree would rather have too much in this heat then not enough." 

[pringerbeam]

     "Maybe you should invest in some lighter wear then?"  Replies Rogan, flipping the end of his white cloak.  "It may seem odd but a good linen cloak like this is a life saver out there in the desert.  Helps to keep the sun and sand off.  Then you need only worry about the jackals and lions.  That is unless you are looking to go deeper into the desert, far from the caravan routes.  Out there even greater dangers lurk.  I have heard tell of scorpions the size of houses and evil geniekin.  Then you might need more than a cloak." Rogan laughs at this last line while his compatriots roll their eyes.

[KAKnyght]

     "Oh? What tribe are you from?  We might have met with some of your kin in our travels across the desert."  Inquires Sharasha

"We are called the Fışqırdıran Külək, or the Whispering Wind tribe; most people just call the Kuleks." I say to them, hoping my people don't have a bad reputation out in the world that I am unaware of. "We are primarily traders, but in times of need we've served the people as militia. Less for the mercenary reason of the money the task itself earns, more for the trade interest and protecting the people we trade with." I catch myself and sigh "Apologies, I do tend to run on about my old ways at times, I hope neither of our groups run in to too much trouble."

[info]Out of character, the naming conventions I'm using for my character and tribe names are a Google Translate into Azerbaijani, sounded interesting and not the obvious like ancient Egyptian would be[/info]

Turning to Omar "Spend enough time in the desert my friend and you will learn to eschew metal as much as possible, but sometimes the most effective tools can be made of a solid hunk of iron. There are ways around this, but costly ones."

[jammermoore]

"I hope this leather will be strong enough for those scorpions." Noland laughs at Rogan's comment about scorpions, while listening to Sehra talk about her tribe. "Hopefully this expedition will be fruitful for everyone."