egypt ♔ is this called living or something else

[lissatrinall]

♬ amsterdam - daughter

WHO || Lis'sa, Riddick, Phineas, Ella, Dimitri, Raegos, the Mithril Scarab, and more [Closed]
WHAT || The Knights head to Egypt to try and ascertain the location of a lost pyramid
WHERE || Cairo, Egypt
WHEN || Jan 21st, mid-day[forwarddated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

The party arrives in the bustling city of Cairo around mid-day, where it's a beautiful 70 degrees outside compared to the cold London January they came from. Along with whatever gear they brought individually for tomb raiding*, Wynn has also sent them with a chest of 2,000 gold pieces - because the woman who has promised to take them to meet Raegos (the only living man who can claim to have seen the lost tomb) plans to meet them at an antiquities auction.

Wynn has pre-arranged with the woman, who goes by the name of the Mithral Scarab, to recognize the party by the fact that they will cast several bids at the auction - and all of their opening bids will always be exactly ten gold more than the starting price. Once she has recognized them, she will find a way to show them a symbol of the Knights of the Silver Dragon discreetly to identify herself, and they are to follow her away from the crowd. Raegos' rumored paranoia concerning anyone else learning his location seems well demonstrated by the levels of security embedded in Scarab's directions.

The auction itself is a direct result of the recent elemental-driven storm that has unearthed a number of structures long buried in the desert. Some industrious tomb raiders have already taken to looting the lesser pyramids, and this underground sale promises to deliver some of the discovered goods into the hands of eager collectors. Wynn's generous supply of furnished gold was delivered to them with explicit instructions to purchase anything that they thought might be an item of actual valuable historical or magical significance, to become the property of the Knighthood.

* Don't forget to make a list of all items your character is carrying in an entry in their journal before tagging into this post! Please try to stick close to your character's maximum carrying capacity.

Comments

[thesleeper]

[Phineas confers with them quietly.]

Bad idea, coins. I've read some Pharaohs slathered their wealth with poison, to kill any tomb raiders who dared touch it.

[Apparently that was in one of those books about curses... Phineas takes his betting fan. Also Spot check of 10, so he sees nothing, really.]

Wonder if there'll be anything exceptionally... interesting for auction.

[likeagod]

I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

[He understands the arrangement, though. It's pretty straight-forward.]

[lissatrinall]

[ The auctioneer announces the coins sold for 75gp to the aristocratic man, and brings forth the next offering. these are charcoal rubbings from the facade of a lesser pyramid, detailing numerous references to the four pharaohs of ascension. the bidding will open at 20gp for these pieces. ]

[thesleeper]

Forty! [Phineas blurts out, waving his fan as a second thought. He's clearly excited about any information that might be on these, because his attitude is 100% changed about this whole situation.]

[lissatrinall]

[ the slow turn of her head lis'sa grants phineas might as well come straight out of the exorcist, what with the baleful look in her eye. under her breath she hisses: ] Did you forget how to count?

[ phineas' 40 is accepted, but topped a few moments later at 60gp by a consortium of sages across the way. ]

[thesleeper]

[Phineas blinks... and doesn't seem to even register the complaint, overly-intrigued by the rubbings, then he says, absently;]

Oh... Right... Of course. [Never taking his eyes off the distant sheaf of papers.]

My mistake. [His little voting fan dances from hand to hand, as he fights not to blurt out another bid.]

[lissatrinall]

[ she rolls her eyes, but holds up her fan instantly ]


80.

[ she glances back at him, and murmurs: ] You might have mucked up the opening bid, but I think you're right. Those might be useful.

[ the sages move the bid up to 110 after a moment of conferring among themselves ]

[likeagod]

[He hears that there is interest in this piece despite Lis'sa's murmurs (listen nat 20 lol), so he follows up that bid with one of his own.]

120.

[If the group had to confer, perhaps that's their limit, and they won't have to go too much higher for success.]

[lissatrinall]

[ they scowl a bit and talk again as the auctioneer says going, going...

and then one of them holds up a fan abruptly, still frowning.

135. ]

[sorceresslite]

Oi, fuck off. [ she has to lift her fan over her head to be seen and even then it might be iffy. ] 150.

[paracount]

[ fancy attractive dude over there watches with amusement as the sages discuss the bid once more and then finally relent, the auctioneer announcing that the lot goes to ella for 150gp!

they start pulling out the next item for bid: a weathered stone figurine depicting a slumbering noblewoman with an intricate staff underneath her crossed arms. knights can make a spot check on the item, and bidding opens at 60gp. ]

[sorceresslite]

[ aw yeah, she does some serious excite dancing, before lifting her fan to get this plus ten thing started. (spot 20 total) ] 70!

[ she's gonna buy all the things. ]

[paracount]

[ fancy guy waves his fan casually to counter. ]

90.

[sorceresslite]

[ no. ] 100. [ sorry, she's claimed this little lady. ]

[paracount]

[ he lets it go at that for a moment, before chiming in again at the last second. ] 125.

[sorceresslite]

126.

[ just... sayin'. someone take the fan from her, she's being facetious now. ]

[paracount]

[ he seems to consider whether to bid again... but finally pointedly places his fan on his lap, making eye contact with ella. a middle aged egyptian man with a retinue of seven guards carrying a large lockbox full of gold puts up a bet for 150 gp ]

[sorceresslite]

[ ella smiles because that feels just like winning and dips her head in a small nod, as if to say, "well played, sir", but then the other guy raises and she automatically makes a face. because while she wants it is a good enough reason to start betting, its not so much a good enough reason to spend all wynn's gold on a wee statue. apparently ella's limit is 150 because she doesn't bet again, but she turns back to whisper to lis'sa, using her betting fan as a proper fan: ] Who's that bloke then, the cute one?

[ look, she just expects lis'sa to know everything because snake lady is dragon's hoard and isn't that their thing -- knowing it all? ]

[lissatrinall]

[ she frowns a bit, glancing over at him. ]

I heard someone name him the Paracount Julistar Thrain. [ the lot is going... going... gone to the man the announcer names the "Crook Bearer" who looks quite pleased. ] The one who just took the lot is a prominent collector. Somewhat notorious for his rivalry with the Arch Docent, the curator of Cairo's Exhibitory. [ she nods subtly towards another man to indicate he's the museum director.

the next lot is a collection of carved veinstones: 11 green-speckled stones for whom bidding will open at 150gp. ]

[sorceresslite]

Can I go meet him? I'm going to go meet him. [ she does not mean the director and she moves off without waiting for lis'sa to answer, aodhagán at her heels. CLEARLY THIS IS RESEARCH. she's tiny but she moves quickly, stopping near one of the scary tattooed guards. she clears her throat and flashes a bright smile. ] Hello, love.

[paracount]

[ his fan had flashed up as she walked his way, and he puts in a bid for 175gp, before noticing her approach. he flashes her a quick once-over and a charming smile (cha 16), although he's definitely keeping one wary eye on the auction. ]

Hello, yourself. [ his eyes flash to aodhagan momentarily ] What a lovely cat.

[ the arch docent immediately puts in a counter bid for 250gp, and the crook bearer tops it at 300, darkening the paracount's face with a frown. ]

[sorceresslite]

[ the stupid cat puffs up, pleased as can be that he clearly has an admirer. he never wants to leave egypt, they have the perfect amount of respect for obviously incredible felines.

ella rolls her eyes slightly, but returns the man's smile with a sweet one of her own. (cha 23) ] I can see why someone would want a statue, but for the life of me, I cannae figure out the appeal of a pile of stones. [ the innocently hopeful expression that crosses her features turns the question leading. she's clearly asking for him to tell her why they're so special. (diplomacy...? 15) ]

[paracount]

[ her smile makes something glisten in his eyes, and his gaze lingers on her a second, but he looks away again to raise his fan. ]

400!

[ he tilts his head to the side a bit, considering ] Diamonds are nothing but a pile of stones, are they not?

[sorceresslite]

With specific value placed on them by society, I still don't know what value your stones have. [ a beat. ] Aside from monetary value.

[paracount]

Maybe they're a gamble. Historical significance isn't always something easy to discern at first sight. [ the arch docent brings the price up to 450 and the crook bearer takes it up to 525 ]

600!