Turn 153

    Early evening: Front of temple
    Standing just behind Pham alongside Emmett Lynden has been waiting patiently not wanting to raise the Hextorian's suspicions. Now with the gate unbarred and Pham leading the way in he steals a look around him checking for signs of other residents or any of their hideous creations.
    Emmett is taking a similar tack, scanning the area with his new vision for any sign of immediate threat. Once the gate is closed again Emmett asks "Well, I admit the privacy has it's uses, but Brother, why even bother with the barred gate? Surely no one would threaten such a powerful god within one of his sanctums?"
    "Threaten?" The young man affects a nonchalant laugh. "Hardly. The city teems with idle riffraff, foolish seekers of curiosities, and the like. They can be a nuisance."
    The front garden appears innocuous enough, if rather severe in design, and the youth and whatever other staff remain are losing the battle against encroaching weeds. The stone path leads them to a high iron-bound door, currently ajar, from which torchlight spills unevenly.
    Their guide thrusts it open and bows them through with a hopeful expression. "The Hall of Awe, gentlemen."
    Dark stone, dark iron, mirror-polished steel, and blood-red banners meet their eyes, a long gallery of warriors and tyrants from this part of space. The air is colder than the desert evening can explain, and there is the sense that even daylight here must have the taste of iron. Stepping through the doors, even Emmett feels a frisson of uneasiness, of what it means to near the presence of this particular god. Near the middle of the room a couple of rag-clad goblins are diligently polishing the base of a statue of a man on a nightmare.
    * * *

    Early evening: Back of temple
    There are five of the small chests.
    Ibn Hassan inspects the room very carefully before setting foot in it, even using a trace of light from the lantern he's brought but left closed until now. It looks like a treasure room, and treasure rooms sometimes contain (or are) traps ... Nothing appears to pose a threat. "Forward," he whispers to Valarin, and passes by the row of chests with his gaze fixed on the passage ahead, straining his ears and warily inspecting the doorway as they approach it. The sounds are still there, still *very* faint. The passage is only about ten feet long, and ends in an apparently blank wall. It takes several minutes of searching to locate the hidden catch that will open the door. It appears safe to touch. He estimates that they are very close to being underneath the temple itself, if they aren't there already.
    A bit worried that he hasn't spotted any traps at all yet, considering how thoroughly hidden this place is, ibn Hassan asks Valarin to back up a few steps, before opening the door. From the other side, the door he has just opened is not concealed.
    There is a passage on the other side leading off to his left and his right. The way to the left is blocked by another door, not hidden this time. The way to the right leads down, fairly steeply. All of this looks as if it hasn't been used in several months. Maybe since the higher-ups left town?
    He steps cautiously forward and just in time feels the floor shift under his foot. [GM: Failed search, made reflex save.] For a few moments the world is full of noise and dust. When it clears, they can see the now-collapsed pit stretching away to unseen depths.
    [GM: It will still be possible for you to get around the pit to either of the doors if you're careful, especially with ibn Hassan's ring.]

    * * *
    Meanwhile, Yestin waits patiently while Tama makes up her mind. Emmett's recent revelation and the news the _Distraction_ has brought about the Hextorian activities is clearly influencing her to think well of the group, but...
    "You know we don't make a habit of letting this stuff go wandering about," she says in a worried tone. "In the wrong hands...."
    "Like those we took the thing from?"
    "Yes, exactly. And others might take it from you. I'm just saying that one has to be careful." She names a thoroughly outrageous price for the quantity of powder he has in mind.
    

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