A River In Egypt, Part Four

<HollyhockGod> So, we were just about to begin the duel?

<HollyhockGod> Remind me who is participating?

<Edith> People of vague use, so, not me.

<TheAntiPiro> Alan is a given I think. Wasn't sure about Viktor.

<ViktorWalters> Ultimate Power!

<ViktorWalters> Someting something dark side…

<HollyhockGod> Okay, so you two plus E'jah and Savan?

<ViktorWalters> something something something EVIL…

<Laurelynne> "Well Edith, while the boys are having their fun in the sand, what would you like to do?"

<HollyhockGod> Okay, the girls can work out what they're going to do while the rest of you get started.

<HollyhockGod> I think Laurelynne was planning to do some investigation on her own.

<Laurelynne> Yes, but I could use an assistant.

<ViktorWalters> Somewhere, Viktor Walters lives among the mortals, invisible and immortal.

<ViktorWalters> the Workers to be precise.

<HollyhockGod> Anyway, you work out the details with E'jah, and the four of you go out to present yourselves before Katriana's giant crystal-thing.

<ViktorWalters> I was going all subtle-like

<HollyhockGod> Hm?

<ViktorWalters> you know, so no one knows

<ViktorWalters> Or so I thought.

<ViktorWalters> With my Unblemished Guise

<HollyhockGod> All right, I don't mind.

<HollyhockGod> Are you going to mention it to E'jah?

<ViktorWalters> I'd be a ace up our sleeves, I guess

* TheAntiPiro is now known as AlanAmis

<ViktorWalters> Um, I suppose. I want our people to know that I'm out there

<ViktorWalters> But I'm not to act unless we really need me.

<ViktorWalters> or rather, act overtly

<HollyhockGod> Hm, let me think about how he'd react.

<HollyhockGod> "Well, cheating is almost a rule in itself."

<HollyhockGod> "And while I don't mind losing, I do mind losing to Katriana."

<HollyhockGod> "But I must ask that you remember the Eleventh Commandment, yes?"

<AlanAmis> (Charleston Heston is gonna hit him with a stick for that)

<Razzen> (Or Mel Brooks)

<ViktorWalters> "Refresh my memory."

<HollyhockGod> "Thou shalt not get caught."

<Edith> "I thought it was a book by Geffery Archer."

<ViktorWalters> "I do believe I live by that one. Wonderful."

<HollyhockGod> "With that understood, shall we begin?"

<HollyhockGod> E'jah ignores Edith.

<HollyhockGod> You proceed out to stand before the ice pillar.

<ViktorWalters> Viktor guises himself and joins the workers, of course.

<HollyhockGod> Dr. Savan raps a knuckle on it, and Katriana's visage reappears in each of the icy facets.

<HollyhockGod> Okay, Viktor takes on the guise of one of a beefy blond digger from whatever Chancel E'jah lives in, and vanishes into the crowd.

<HollyhockGod> Katriana asks "Are you prepared?"

<HollyhockGod> E'jah answers, "May I present my colleagues, the Dukes of Chaos and Fortune?"

<Razzen> (Guising doesn't quite work that way, you know.)

<HollyhockGod> (He took the form of someone from the local environment.)

<HollyhockGod> (Namely, a Locus Word native.)

<Razzen> (Good enough.)

<ViktorWalters> (And looks very mortal. I suppose he's still under his cloak of boredom.)

<HollyhockGod> (If you like. You can always pop it again for free as a Regal.)

<HollyhockGod> Dr. Savan makes a bow and says, "Charmed, your majesty, to encounter you once again. I trust this will be stimulating for all concerned."

<HollyhockGod> Alan, you?

<AlanAmis> Alan nods his head and says, "I don't suppose you would change your mind about this violent approach?"

<HollyhockGod> "The convention of the duel is as old as the Valde Bellum, fledgling. You have never seen me truly angry."

<HollyhockGod> "If I were, you would be standing under a carpet of ice seven miles wide and seven high."

<HollyhockGod> "Compared to that, a short wager is a rather… simple… thing."

<HollyhockGod> "And on that subject, may I introduce my own seconds?"

<AlanAmis> Alan just offers a wry smile in response.

<HollyhockGod> Some of the images of Katriana wink out, and are replaced by two other faces.

<HollyhockGod> One is a stark outline of black with a faint gold limning that forms a rather friendly shape of a face.

<HollyhockGod> "Rahru, the Duke of the Void…"

<HollyhockGod> And the other is a female figure clad in a thousand veils that reveal only a faint smile:

<HollyhockGod> "and the Duchess of Mystery."

<Razzen> (Hmm, surprise pick there.)

<HollyhockGod> "Hail," says Rahru in a polite whisper.

<HollyhockGod> "Greetings," says the Duchess, who seems to be a giggler.

* foxatee (n=moc.rr.ser.notsuoh.942-471-302-86-epc|lliztahc#moc.rr.ser.notsuoh.942-471-302-86-epc|lliztahc) has joined #forum-nobilis

<OShuva> (Why do our opponents seem so much nicer than us?)

<HollyhockGod> (They're more talkative and have a habit of being polite.)

<AlanAmis> (Because it reflects how much full of shit you truly are.)

<Razzen> (I wouldn't call Katriana nice though.)

<HollyhockGod> (Actually, all Nobilis do.)

<AlanAmis> (The nicer they are, the easier it is to tell how angry they are)

<AlanAmis> (Wearing your wrath on your sleeve destroys initiative.)

<HollyhockGod> (Will you respond, Alan?)

<AlanAmis> "A pleasure to meet you both."

<AlanAmis> Of course it wasn't.

<HollyhockGod> "I see no reason why we should not begin now," observes Katriana.

<HollyhockGod> "Let the dig begin, if you dare. We shall observe, then act."

<HollyhockGod> "You have five days, from this moment, to find what you seek."

<HollyhockGod> Timer…. on!

<HollyhockGod> They don't say anything else, but their faces remain in the ice.

<Edith> If I'm not going to contribute anything, shall I away?

<HollyhockGod> Weren't you planning with Laurel?

<Laurelynne> Edith gets to be my porter as we go into the city.

<HollyhockGod> I was intending for you two to keep talking and just play the two plots simultaneously.

<HollyhockGod> I can type twice as fast as you guys, so it should be simple.

<Laurelynne> (Didn't want to interrupt you.)

<HollyhockGod> Just let me know what the two of you are looking for.

<AlanAmis> (Ho ho, a claim I'll test some year)

<HollyhockGod> Alan, how will the three of you carry out the dig?

<HollyhockGod> You have five days to excavate all of Egypt.

<Laurelynne> "Edith, I think it's time you and I did some digging of our own, metaphorically speaking."

<HollyhockGod> The general plan was to use E'jah's equipment, (made with Extrapolative Technology) and his superhuman diggers, together with Dr. Savan's power over wind and storms to locate and dig tombs.

<Edith> "I suppose. What were you intending on digging?"

<HollyhockGod> Incidentally, both of them are Dukes, and Dr. Savan has Aspect 4.

<Laurelynne> "Information, out of books and people here. There is a nameless sorrow that exists in this area and it's tied to the pharaoh. These people, all they have is their ancient past, so someone must know something."

<AlanAmis> Hmm.

<Laurelynne> (This conversation of course is taking place away from the duel area.)

<HollyhockGod> (I have no plans made for Laurel's search, so sandbox it. Tell me what you're going to look for, and then you can see about finding it. :) )

<AlanAmis> All I could probably do is follow my nose on divining where things generally are, and do my best to increase the odds in our favor when it comes to digging things up.

<HollyhockGod> I guess you do have the power to locate semi-valuable objects.

<HollyhockGod> So that could work, although it won't find Kes-en-ephet.

<ViktorWalters> I suppose it wouldn't be too overt an action for me to make slacking boring for all the workers?

<Laurelynne> What did you say Kes-en-ephet meant?

<HollyhockGod> (Burning-brightly-one)

<HollyhockGod> You can do that, although you should remember that certain Rites can detect past miracles used.

<HollyhockGod> The best ways to hide what you do is A) Use an Anchor and B) Use a flower.

<ViktorWalters> Can they detect who used them or what type they were?

<HollyhockGod> Sort of, and yes

<HollyhockGod> They can detect the "general nature" of a power user.

<Edith> Talking of Anchors, I wonder if I should get mine and start spamming minor destructions of flammability at Shatterthread.

<HollyhockGod> It gets easier to trace if you spend MPs, and it's also easier to trace Domain or Realm than it is Aspect.

<ViktorWalters> Bleh. I doubt they'd do it, but to be safe I'll only do it if the workers begin to slack off.

<HollyhockGod> Edith: There's nothing to stop you except that Laurel will have to carry you.

<HollyhockGod> Luckily she brought her muscles with her.

<Laurelynne> Hehe.

<HollyhockGod> It's also harder to trace you if you have high Spirit.

<Edith> Can't I tell Judy to go to Shatterthread and then use Realm miracles through her?

<Laurelynne> Yes, you can use Realm miracles through an Anchor that's in a Chancel.

<HollyhockGod> You can block the tracing by using a flower, so that they detect "the flower of Compassion" instead of "some really dull Power"

<HollyhockGod> Yes, but you have to step out of your own body to do it.

<HollyhockGod> Hence, being carried.

<ViktorWalters> Are there flowers around to be used?

<Razzen> Are you sure about that?

<Razzen> Oh wait, yeah that's how it works.

<Edith> I can't directly control Anchors anyway, I can tell her to go, but I can't "jump in" her.

<HollyhockGod> I'm not completely sure how it works for Laurel.

<Razzen> She doesn't have a body to leave behind.

<HollyhockGod> You still have to transfer your attention to her senses and away from your own.

<HollyhockGod> But does your ghost-form remain behind, or vanish?

<HollyhockGod> I guess vanish is simpler.

<Razzen> No, she moves entirely into the body.

<HollyhockGod> But she doesn't have to walk to where the Anchor is.

<Edith> Magic Jar! Only without the jar.

<Razzen> Nope.

<Edith> And with infinite range.

<HollyhockGod> Okay, so Alan pops some Lesser Divinations.

<Razzen> One of the very, very few advantages to being dead.

<HollyhockGod> You get some "shiny" pings, and lots of "dim" ones.

<Laurelynne> (I'm still thinking of where to start looking for information on lost dynasties. Royal library maybe?)

<HollyhockGod> What's your plan going to be here?

<HollyhockGod> (Sure, there's an branch of the British Library you could try.)

<AlanAmis> All the pings are in the general area of the dig site right?

<HollyhockGod> How do you look today?

<HollyhockGod> You scanned for 300 miles around.

<HollyhockGod> E'jah's machinery can do 150 mph, and do that in the air.

<Laurelynne> (although leaving Egypt makes more sense for her to do, go knock on Vesper's door.)

<HollyhockGod> And he has the Warp-burner's Gift for making portals if necessary.

<HollyhockGod> So you have plenty of ability to cover ground.

<HollyhockGod> What sort of sites are you looking for?

<HollyhockGod> Also, most of the shiny pings are littered with dull ones in tight circles around them.

<HollyhockGod> Naturally, there's plenty of random ancient junk littered around where tombs were dug.

<HollyhockGod> (If your powers and Alan's were both blocked, Vesper might have trouble as well.)

<AlanAmis> Hmm. What's the largest looking one?

<Laurelynne> (True, though if anyone has any surviving writing from that era it would be him.)

<HollyhockGod> Hm, it's about five hundred miles to the south, around fifty west of the Nile.

<HollyhockGod> More details will need a Major Divination. Or you could just go look.

<HollyhockGod> (The British library is one of the few nice-looking buildings in Deir el Bahri.)

<HollyhockGod> (What do you look like today?)

<Laurelynne> (Me?)

<AlanAmis> Just going to look would be better.

<AlanAmis> It'd drag the opposition over even if it was a fruitless effort.

<HollyhockGod> (Yes, and Edith.)

<Laurelynne> (I, or rather my Anchor, looks like Sean Bean.)

* HollyhockGod wikis Sean Bean.

<OShuva> (Ugh.)

<Laurelynne> (Yes, he's an ugly chap.)

<OShuva> (My mother's a Mr. Bean fangirl.)

<Laurelynne> Not Mr. Bean!

<OShuva> (*Sean Bean, not the funny)

<OShuva> (Sharpe's Noun Bean),

<HollyhockGod> (Apparently he's the second-sexiest man in England.)

<HollyhockGod> (I'm sorry, Shuva.)

<HollyhockGod> (Edith, what do you look like today?)

<HollyhockGod> Okay, E'jah is perfectly happy to follow your guidance to find the right spot to dig.

<HollyhockGod> You take the hover-diggers south, while E'jah passes you a pair of goggles.

<HollyhockGod> (You're eventually passed into one of the deep offices, and are greeted by the only on-site librarian.)

<OShuva> (Um, the usual, I suspect, probably involving pink, but without the scarf, I think).

<AlanAmis> "What are these for?"

<HollyhockGod> (A middle-aged British woman with a hearty attitude and a careful, educated accent.)

<Laurelynne> (So a middle-aged Irishman and a lolita. How nice.)

<Laurelynne> (I should have said Jeremy Irons instead. :P )

<HollyhockGod> "Savan and the machines will be moving quite a bit of sand today, old chap! Keep it out of your eyes- they'll prevent sun-blindness as well."

<OShuva> (I would have thought Edith younger upon commencement.)

<HollyhockGod> "Or snow-blindness, which might be more likely."

<AlanAmis> "I see." He dons the goggles, feeling particularly tacky.

<HollyhockGod> ("Good morning!" says the librarian. "How may I assist you?")

<HollyhockGod> It only takes a few hours to arrive at the site your divination indicated, which is rocky but otherwise empty.

<HollyhockGod> Viktor, what are you doing?

<Edith> ("Yes, we'd like some help metaphorically digging ourselves into a hole.")

<Edith> ("Wait.")

* Laurelynne smacks Edith metaphorically.

<Laurelynne> ("I apologize for my daughter. She's gotten it into her head to fancy Egyptology. It's a phase, no doubt, but she's at that age so it's normal.")

<HollyhockGod> (The librarian pulls a sturdy grey parasol out from behind the desk and leans on it as a metaphorical source of support.)

<HollyhockGod> ("I can't really blame her. Not a thing else to do out here.")

<HollyhockGod> ("Shall I pull out the usual texts for ladies of quality?")

<Laurelynne> ("I'm afraid that won't do. She's quite precocious and has alrady exhausted the usual sources.")

<ViktorWalters> Viktor follows compliantly and boringly with the workers for the moment.

<Edith> ("Yes. There's the previous pharaoh, then the next pharaoh, but inbetween there is nothing but a title.")

<HollyhockGod> ("I beg your pardon?")

<HollyhockGod> Dr. Savan straps on his goggles, and hops off of the hover-digger, making a perfect circle of sand leap up as he hits the ground.

* learntofly has quit ()

<Edith> (Did we name the two boring pharaohs on either side of Kes-en-ephet?)

<Laurelynne> (I think we did.)

<HollyhockGod> (Let's assume you did.)

<HollyhockGod> (The librarian nods and says, "Ah, the burning-brightly-one. An intriguing minor mystery of Egyptology!"

<AlanAmis> "I can't guarantee this is what we're looking for, but it's the largest site I can detect."

<AlanAmis> "If you happen to know anything else, that might help."

* Edith smiles wryly.

* Laurelynne pretends to look bored.

<Edith> ("I had hoped you would recognise the name.")

<HollyhockGod> "Ah, my boy, I'm out for whatever I can get today! Savan, let the winds howl!"

<HollyhockGod> Dr. Savan steps out to the front of the procession, and holds out one hand.

<Edith> ("It's when digging for him I find myself, well, in that hole I mentioned.")

<HollyhockGod> There is an enormous howling noise as a tremendous wind rips forth from his palm.

<HollyhockGod> The winds begin to carve the sands out of the ground, revealing a ravine under the dust.

<HollyhockGod> Eventually, a pile of rocks and rubble is uncovered, prime for digging.

<HollyhockGod> You feel a hot flash of triumph… then a sudden cold flash as an icy wind blows onto your neck.

<HollyhockGod> ("Let me introduce myself," says the librarian, leading you into a back room lined with books and desks. "I am Mrs. Emerson."

<HollyhockGod> ("I believe I left the correct book in this room-" but then you are interrupted.

<HollyhockGod> (An enormous man with bulging arms and a ripped, dirty shirt bursts open the other down, shouting "PEABODY!"

<HollyhockGod> ("Peabody, what have you done with Budge? He is not in his place on the shelves! I put him there for a specific reason- so that nobody would have to suffer through reading him.")

<HollyhockGod> ("It was my intention that he should never have been removed!")

<HollyhockGod> ("Emerson," says the woman, evidently his wife, "I believe he is currently propping open the back door. Look for him there if you must, but please, do not disturb our legitimate visitors.")

<AlanAmis> I imagine Alan will try to look around for the souce of that cold wind.

<HollyhockGod> Alan, it only takes a minute from the first cold wind before it begins to snow.

<HollyhockGod> The clouds form above you out of nothing, and flakes are falling down almost instantly.

<AlanAmis> Hmm.

<AlanAmis> Any way to effect where they fall, like how I did with Ancagallon's fiery breath?

<HollyhockGod> (Mr. Emerson is not the least bit abashed to notice your presence: "Tell them to go away."

<HollyhockGod> Over such a wide area, you'd need a Major Creation.

<ViktorWalters> Perhaps you could make it so a freak wind blows the snow away

<ViktorWalters> like, before it hits the ground.

<AlanAmis> Not my area of expertise.

<AlanAmis> Although our good friend Chaos might be able to?

<ViktorWalters> I dunno, you could make lucky wind, right?

<Edith> Wind from hapstance?

<ViktorWalters> Or lucky weather patterns in general

<ViktorWalters> I mean, it does seem like weather predictions are really all guesswork anyway

<Laurelynne> ("Oi. I don't know who you think you are, but we're not going anywhere.")

<Razzen> (I'd say you're shameless, BFP, but I do the same thing. :P )

<OShuva> (If it was the real Sean Bean, this would have decended into a vicious, snarling knife-fight around ten seconds ago).

<Razzen> (Also I need to go real soon, so let's wrap up this side of it so the others can do their thing uninterrupted.)

<Laurelynne> (I am far cooler than Sean Bean.)

<Edith> (That /is/ true.)

<HollyhockGod> (Shameless for lifting two characters from someone else? Never!)

<ViktorWalters> are prayers detectable?

<HollyhockGod> (These two have come to research Kes-en-ephet," says Ms. Emerson. "You should be grateful that someone besides you is interested in him!")

<HollyhockGod> Yes, they're a mundane action, but there's no standard way of doing it.

<HollyhockGod> I doubt anyone is listening to yours.

<HollyhockGod> (I'll make a long story short for Laurel.)

<ViktorWalters> I suppose then, the prayer from Viktor to Alan would be "Wouldn't it be fortunate for some kind of freak weather pattern to melt all the snow after it lands?"

<Edith> ("Somebody else interested in this nameless ruler? What good happenstance!")

<HollyhockGod> Emerson is pleased that someone cares about this subject, and shows you some of the copied and translated records naming the pharaohs.

<Laurelynne> (How fortunate for him.)

<HollyhockGod> In 792 BC, the pharoah Sennet VI died. He is recorded by the scribe as being a weak, ineffectual ruler, widely mocked for his ugliness and impotence.

<AlanAmis> (So I'm guessing anything major I try to do will have to be a high rank miracle?)

<HollyhockGod> (If you try to directly counter it, you have to beat Katriana's miracle level.)

<HollyhockGod> (Or you can try to *indirectly* counter it.)

<HollyhockGod> (Or you can buy a winter coat.)

<HollyhockGod> Just afterwards, the throne was taken by the pharaoh Sennet VII, who is recorded by the scribe as being a weak, ineffectual ruler,

* unlike the mighty god-king who preceded him*.

<HollyhockGod> Dozens of sources remark that Sennet VI was weak, but they all agree that Sennet VII, his successor, replaced a highly effective and successful ruler.

<HollyhockGod> In fact, there are hundreds of discrepancies regarding this period.

<HollyhockGod> The Emersons aren't really sure of what was going on in that period at all.

<HollyhockGod> Ideas?

<Laurelynne> To me it sounds like someone of serious power was mucking around with things at the time.

<Edith> Seconded, certainly. They've taken a big chunk out of history, basically.

<Edith> And the two ends are improperly joined.

<Laurelynne> Honestly, to me it sounds like what happens when something is ridden out of Creation.

<Laurelynne> You know what I mean, and Burning-Brightly-One very easily could describe that.

<Edith> Hmm.

<AlanAmis> Alan recieves Viktor's prayer, but isn't quite sure what to do about things. Is there any specific looking spot in the dig site that could appear as an entryway?

<Laurelynne> I am seriously thinking we need to talk with Vesper now.

<HollyhockGod> E'jah could call him- they're Siblings.

<HollyhockGod> Did I mention that?

<Laurelynne> That's helpful.

<HollyhockGod> They both serve the Serpent Wordswyrm. I think Gateways is his other Power.

<HollyhockGod> It's all under rubble. You don't have the power to locate doors, but you know there's treasure down there somewhre.

<Laurelynne> All right, we can do that next session.

<Edith> (Gateways, that's Alan's buddy, right?)

<HollyhockGod> (Yes, Emma Rhyde.)

<HollyhockGod> Okay, we can close up Laurel and Edith's segment for now.

<HollyhockGod> I hope you learned something useful.

<Laurelynne> ("All right Edie dear, have you heard enough? We have to go meet up with the family.")

<Edith> ("Only if you say so.")

<Laurelynne> ("That I do. Thank you, Ms. Emerson, you have been most helpful.")

<Edith> ("Yes, thank you indeed!")

<HollyhockGod> ("It is always a pleasure to advance the cause of science," says Mr. Emerson, in a tone you don't entirely believe.

<HollyhockGod> Alan, what about you?

<Laurelynne> (And I don't entirely acknowledge him.)

<AlanAmis> (For some reason I'm really drawing a blank.)

<Razzen> (All right, I'm off. See you all later in the weekend, most likely Sunday night.)

<AlanAmis> (Have a good one.)

* Laurelynne has quit ()

<Edith> (Okay, bye).

<Razzen> (You too, and good luck.)

* Razzen has quit ()

<HollyhockGod> Well, you can always just start digging. The machinery is super-advanced and a little snow won't kill it.

<AlanAmis> And I can't effect the storm directly either, right?

<HollyhockGod> You can affect it, you just need to match whatever miracle level Katriana used to dispel it.

<HollyhockGod> You can /change/ or affect it more easily.

<AlanAmis> I think I'll just leave it alone for now. The ground's still fairly warm I would assume.

<HollyhockGod> Yes, and E'jah brought in winter gear from his portal to Locus Word back at base camp.

<HollyhockGod> He's fought Katriana before.

<HollyhockGod> Okay, so the machines start digging as the snow begins to fall.

<ViktorWalters> well, the thing is… hm, if the snow melts, it'll erode stuff. Even the valuable parts of the ruins.

<ViktorWalters> It might, at least.

<ViktorWalters> anyway

<ViktorWalters> go on

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<HollyhockGod> Evidently, this is just an ordinary startup stom as an opening of hostilities, because E'jah's men are able to dig down and find a tomb entrance before the ice starts t stick.

<HollyhockGod> The entryway is an eroded stone slab with markings painted on in barely legible Egyptian.

<HollyhockGod> YE WHO ENTER THIS TOMB, KNOW NOT THE OVERHANGINGS OF HEAVEN, YET THE MAN SHALL CLAIM HIS OWN. FIFTEEN BIRDS SING IN FIFTEEN TREES, YET THESE CREATURES ARE WITHOUT WINGS.

<HollyhockGod> It's a good thing you speak all languages, otherwise that might have been incomprehensible!

<HollyhockGod> Any thoughts?

<AlanAmis> Sounds like a promise of death, and most likely a curse involving emus.

<HollyhockGod> So, what will you do?

<AlanAmis> Probably ask the opinion of my peers.

<AlanAmis> They may be more knowledgable of this than I.

<HollyhockGod> E'jah admits, "In spite of my studies of Egyptian culture, I have no idea what this refers to."

<HollyhockGod> Dr. Savan says, "To me, it seems like nonsense. Even if I enhance my mental powers, I can't think of anything that the phrase ties to."

<ViktorWalters> Perhaps something has been lost in translation?

<ViktorWalters> Viktor stays silent, regardless.

<HollyhockGod> No, you speak all languages perfectly

<HollyhockGod> Even dead ones.

<AlanAmis> Can I lesser divination to see if there's anything particularly lucky or unlucky about it?

<ViktorWalters> I'm unsure if it even fits the strictures of grammar.

<HollyhockGod> No luck or unluck

<HollyhockGod> It's equally poor grammar both in English and in ancient Egyptian.

<AlanAmis> I guess I'll inform my partners that there seems to be nothing particularly threatening about the nature of the tomb, and suggest we open it up.

<HollyhockGod> This is done!

<HollyhockGod> You carefully open the granite door, and find… a tomb!

<HollyhockGod> As you shine your lights inside, you see some rather standard, if fancy, burial equipment, and quite a few relics.

<HollyhockGod> It's quite the treasure trove, but somewhat mundane.

<HollyhockGod> According to the hieroglyphics on the walls, it's the tomb of Sennet VI.

<HollyhockGod> "god-king of Egypt, succeeded by…."

<HollyhockGod> Hm. That cartouche where the name should be is empty.

<HollyhockGod> I wonder why?

<AlanAmis> Would Edith and Lau have communicated with us by now?

<HollyhockGod> Oh, and as you step inside, the floor is suddenly covered with ice.

<HollyhockGod> No, not yet.

<AlanAmis> "How inconvenient."

<HollyhockGod> Luckily, you have enough Aspect not to slip.

<HollyhockGod> Just a small lack-of-courtesy detail for you.

<ViktorWalters> That's just silly.

<AlanAmis> So, this apparently isn't what we're looking for.

<HollyhockGod> No, but E'jah's team happily takes out everything of value.

<Edith> With that, I think I'm out for the night.

<Edith> Goodnight.

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<HollyhockGod> I feel like I didn't have enough for Edith to do this week.

<HollyhockGod> So, what do you plan to do now?

<HollyhockGod> I'm not sure that a tomb at a time is going to cut it, especially since you know that none of the pings, bright or dim, are what you want yourself.

<AlanAmis> Alan was trying to consider certain things.

<AlanAmis> One last time, Kas-en-phet was "Brightly burning one" ?

<HollyhockGod> Correct.

<ViktorWalters> Can Viktor do a Major Divination of Boredom to have a mental list of the level of boredom in each site, from least to greatest?

<ViktorWalters> Perhaps if he find the least boring one…

<ViktorWalters> finds*

<ViktorWalters> or rather, each area

<HollyhockGod> No, not really. Too subjective, since nobody alive knows about it.

<AlanAmis> Perhaps I should change my parameters. Can I do a divination for really unlucky sites?

<HollyhockGod> You don't really pick anything up, although some of the old tombs have bad reputations, mostly unearned.

<HollyhockGod> Direct divinations just don't seem to pick up the tomb you want.

<AlanAmis> Hmm. Are there any areas where there just seems to be no luck at all within the general vicinity of the others?

<AlanAmis> Like say surrounded by other tombs.

<AlanAmis> Or near a landmark.

<AlanAmis> My only guess is that the name is symbolic for something. Otherwise I'll have to just help E'jah loot like a madman until we get word from the others.

<HollyhockGod> Brute-forcing it is certainly an option.

<HollyhockGod> And trying to search for blank spots isn't going to work either.

<HollyhockGod> It's almost a winter wonderland in Egypt at this point.

<AlanAmis> What do you mean by brute forcing? I can't think well right now.

<ViktorWalters> I think he means just trying to work as fast and as well as we can through every relevant spot we can find

<ViktorWalters> rather than spending the time to look around and find the right place

<HollyhockGod> Yes.

<ViktorWalters> we do have superhumans, state-of-the-art equipment, and divine power on our side.

<AlanAmis> Alright look for the nearest large tomb then.

<AlanAmis> Actually…

<ViktorWalters> perhaps we could go mythic and ask the stones?

<ViktorWalters> I mean, that works too sometimes.

<HollyhockGod> You can certainly try!

<ViktorWalters> I have had semi-luck with that.

<HollyhockGod> Better let Alan do it, since you're still Guised.

<AlanAmis> It'd take a Major Divination to find the tomb of what should be Sennet the VII right?

<HollyhockGod> Yes.

<AlanAmis> I'll go with Viktor's idea first though. It'd be poor luck if the text just happened to crumble and I can't afford to constantly look up the line.

<AlanAmis> Are there actually any spirits left from workers, or even this Sennet the VI?

<HollyhockGod> Good question!

<ViktorWalters> I can't remember if Viktor knows anything about either guy, so I'll try not to metagame and pretend he forgot anything he knew. Otherwise I'd say something about checking for two major or evenly boring tombs

<AlanAmis> Yeah, avoiding metagaming is what's taking my time.

<AlanAmis> That and being tired and on a sleep schedule fit for an insomniac.

<HollyhockGod> Sure, we can have the ghost of Sennet VI here, hovering over his sarcophagus in eternal sleep, held away from reincarnation by the funerary apparatus.

* Seawaffle (n=moc.rr.ser.notsuoh.942-471-302-86-epc|lffawaes#moc.rr.ser.notsuoh.942-471-302-86-epc|lffawaes) has joined #forum-nobilis

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<Seawaffle> so hay there

<ViktorWalters> (quiet in the peanut gallery!)

<HollyhockGod> Waffles, not nuts.

<HollyhockGod> Oh, but I saw butter pecan waffles today!

<HollyhockGod> Care to wake the dead?

<AlanAmis> Care to indeed.

<Seawaffle> but yeah, i'm thinking i couldn't swing exalted

<AlanAmis> Although getting out of there with ice on the floor would be annoying.

<AlanAmis> I'll make sure E'jah's people are done though.

<HollyhockGod> Sure. You give him a poke.

<HollyhockGod> He wakens and says "Is my sleep ended? Are you Osiris, come to carry me to the Underworld?"

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<AlanAmis> "Osiris does not come yet. I apologize for awakening you, but a matter of importance is at hand."

<HollyhockGod> "What can be more important than my eternal life?"

<AlanAmis> "Nothing more important than your own, but near as important. Do you know who came to be pharoah after yourself?"

<HollyhockGod> "That horrible creature! He came from the sky like a burning flame, and seduced each of my ministers to his service! If I had not died then, he would surely have-"

<HollyhockGod> The ghost fuzzes out for a second, then returns saying, "I have no heir except my miserable nephew, may he be eternally damned."

<HollyhockGod> It's almost like he's saying two lines at once.

<ViktorWalters> (This is really annoying, since something interesting seems to be happening, but I have to leave for the moment. However, since my character is kinda playing passively right now, you probably will be able to continue. Sorry guys.)

<ViktorWalters> (G'night.)

<AlanAmis> (We can probably call it a night here then?)

* ViktorWalters has quit ()

<HollyhockGod> I guess that will do for now.

<HollyhockGod> We got quite a bit done.

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