After the Ruby Scarabs had cleared the oasis fort of efreet and other intruders and recovered from their many wounds, they thoroughly searched the fort for any useful or salable items. The woman who had occupied the shrine to Sekhmet, who Uto was finally able to identify as a type of creature from the Plane of Earth called a shaitan, had very little on her person. But the shrine held a locked lead-lined chest, which Kaa opened to reveal three potions, a gold necklace set with glowing red stones, six silver cups engraved with river scenes, a gold and lapis lazuli ring, and a triangular iron bar adorned with a silver eye that closely resembled the talisman the naga Zaid had given the Scarabs in exchange for recovering his crown; Uto surmised that it was a control rod for some type of construct or automaton. The necklace radiated magic, but Sula was unable to determine what manner of enchantment it held. The potions were all easily recognizable as strong curatives.
The shrine itself held a statue of Sekhmet that appeared very lifelike in the glow of the torches that lit the chamber, but the Scarabs let that be. They went out into the room above and examined the crates it held. Within those they found one crate that contained three magic arrows. The rest of the crates held ordinary goods such as dishware that held no interest for the Scarabs.
After leaving the storeroom the Scarabs went to the tower. There they found a wax-sealed tin container which was very lightweight and rattled slightly when shaken, but was not magical. They decided warily to refrain from opening the seal. The body of the efreet woman wore finer jewelry than the shaitan woman had. They also found a brass strongbox in her chamber, engraved with flame designs and set with a false ruby on the lid, which wasn't locked or trapped. Inside the strongbox were an assortment of old coins of various mintings, some gemstone chips, a few gold pieces, and a key which Kaa identified as belonging to the chest he had unlocked in the shrine. The group also found six very finely drawn maps of the Parched Dunes, and a set of map-making tools that indicated the efreet woman had been a skilled cartographer.
One item marked on one of the maps drew Uto's attention when he examined them: a depiction of stacked stone walls that formed a clear pattern. He realized that the skill with which the maps had drawn and the quality of the parchment they were on made them quite valuable.
The Scarabs went out into the courtyard to search the bodies of the two male efreet they had fought at the gate. Both of them had fine quality falchions, but nothing else. Next the group moved to the area where the drake had been lounging before it attacked. There Kaa noticed a disturbed area of sand that looked as if someone or something had tried to cover it. Kaa took out his rod that could detect metals and passed it over the area, finding evidence of gold. When he took out his shovel and dug there, he found a chest that had been heavily scarred by claws. Inside the chest were a magical kopesh, a fist-size blue gem that seemed almost like liquid, a string of very fine amber beads, a silver circlet set with a pearl, and thousands of gold coins. The blue gem was magical, but while Sula was able to recognize the enchantment on the kopesh, the gem's power eluded her. When she asked if she could take the amber beads as her part of the treasure, her companions agreed.
Kaa used his rod to search for any more precious metals in the fort, but found only six pieces of silver for his effort. Once they had satisfied themselves that there was nothing left to be found inside the fort, the Scarabs hauled the bodies of the three efreet and the shaitan out into the desert and buried them in the sand. They decided to remain at the fort overnight. After dark Sula assumed the form of a lion and accompanied Nyema outside the fort to hunt.
The next morning Azzaria advocated for staying another day at the fort to relax and enjoy the palm trees and the pond. After discussing her suggestion, the others agreed that taking the opportunity to relax for a day wouldn't harm their mission to stop the cultists. Sula was able to determine that the necklace they had found would allow the wearer to hurl balls of fire of varying potency, and Uto suggested that Azzaria take it. The blue gem again refused to yield its secrets.
During the afternoon, Sula took the shape of a falcon and flew out over the desert to the north to see what was there. She spotted a cloud of sand raised by movement and was able to make out a group of camels and wagons passing across the desert. The travelers looked like desert natives, and were not heading toward the fort. Sula flew back to the oasis to tell her friends about the travelers. The Scarabs decided that when they left the fort the next day they would go to meet the travelers.
When they reached the traveling band, they found them camped around their fires, two dozen people with camels, horses, and dun-colored tents. As soon as some of the people in the camp saw the approaching Ruby Scarabs with Tetisurah following them, they began to shout excitedly, "Naheeba! Naheeba!" A woman emerged from a tent and came out to greet the newcomers in the common language, introducing herself as Naheeba. She appeared unfazed by the presence of the sphinx or the different, inhuman members of the Ruby Scarabs.
As the Scarabs exchanged information with Naheeba, she told them that her nephew had seen people wearing golden masks a few days earlier and her tribe had expected to meet them. Uto told her that although his mask resembled those of the cultists, the Scarabs meant them no harm but the cultists were dangerous and should be avoided. That evening the Scarabs stayed with Naheeba and her people, sharing stories and entertaining the desert people with displays of their skills and special abilities. Azzaria performed acrobatics, Uto told stories, and Kaa leaped into the air and shot forth blasts of fire. Sula told them about the animals of her homeland and brought out Nyema, who had been kept as a figurine in her pouch during the journey to meet the tribe.
Naheeba's people also carried trade goods with them and offered to trade with the Scarabs. Sula purchased a bolt of colorful cloth for a few silver pieces. Kaa acquired a dusty rose-colored stone that would orbit his head and provide him magical armor, while Uto bargained for a magical iron spike that could create illusory images. In exchange Naheeba and her people were given four magic cloaks the Scarabs had taken from some cultists, as well as the magic kopesh they had found in the desert drake's hoard.
That night the tribespeople offered tents to the Scarabs. Sula chose to rest beside Nyema by the campfire. She was aroused by screams from within the camp and scrambled to her feet to see two very large, heavily armored creatures burst up through the sand, snapping their teeth at the people who tried to flee them. Sula recognized that the beasts were bulettes. They were surprisingly swift for their bulk. One person was immediately mauled to death by one of the creatures. Sula told Nyema to stay out of the way and began to shout and stamp to attract the attention of the bulettes and draw them away from the fleeing tribesmen. Then she transformed into an ankylosaurus, pounding one of the bulettes with her mace-like tail. Meanwhile Azzaria had burst out to attack the second bulette, and Kaa blasted Sula's foe with lightning. Kaa revealed his wings and flew over the pool Naheeba's tribe had camped beside, blasting the bulette again. Uto assumed his living monolith form and began to stomp on the earth to attract the creatures.
The bulette facing Sula bit and clawed her viciously until she collapsed. Tetisurah, who had flown up overhead when the bulettes attacked, landed beside her and cast a healing spell that allowed Sula to recover. She was about to abandon her dinosaur form when she realized that the bulette was badly injured and about to flee. She called out to her comrades to stay their attacks. The bulette burrowed into the sand and disappeared. The second creature had been affected by a spell from Uto that had caused it to lose interest in attacking the tribesmen. When it tried to follow its comrade, Azzaria dealt it a wound that left it surrounded by bloodstained sand. Kaa then finished it off.
Out of gratitude for what the Ruby Scarabs had done, Naheeba presented them with an amulet in the form of an eye of the god Horus. She also gave them directions to the ravine where her nephew had seen the cultists of the Forgotten Pharaoh. They considered whether they should go to the ravine or return to the maftets at the ruins of Kher-Ma to tell them that the shrine of Sekhmet was now available to them. In the end they decided to visit the ravine first to see what the cultists were up to.
When they made their approach to the ravine where Naheeba's nephew had seen the cultists, the Ruby Scarabs were met by a startling sight: a huge bronze figure of a humanoid male stood in a narrow point in the ravine, frozen in mid-stride. On its bald head sat a circlet in the form of two intertwined snakes. Sula spied three golden-masked cultists nearby, one on a ledge about halfway up the wall of the ravine and the other two on the floor at the statue's feet. Kaa observed that all of them were armed with bows. As the Scarabs were observing the cultists they were also being observed and one of the cultists called out, "This place is ours! Leave or we will kill you!"
The Scarabs began to prepare for a fight, casting spells on themselves and each other. Tetisurah cast a spell on Kaa as well to grant him strength. Uto took out the iron spike and used it to create an illusory sand dune to block them from view. They heard the confusion of the cultists when the dune suddenly appeared, though it wasn't quite large enough to completely hide the sphinx. Then Azzaria and Kaa moved forward to engage with the cultists, while Tetisurah surrounded the illusory dune with a cloud of mist, and Sula transformed into a falcon to fly overhead. The cultists had flaming arrows for their bows, but weren't able to successfully wound anyone. Kaa blasted the men with lightning, and Sula did the same to the man on the ledge. Azzaria used a scroll she carried to attack one man with tiny unerring missiles of force. Tetisurah summoned a wind to deflect the fiery arrows. A fourth cultist appeared, but though he was face to face with Kaa, he was unable to touch the tengu with his scimitar.
One by one the cultists burst into flames and exploded rather than die at the hands of the Scarabs. When they were gone, the Scarabs gathered up the possessions that had been left behind by their self-immolation. Each man had a good quality bow, several flame arrows along with mundane arrows, a curative potion, scale armor, a scimitar, and a gilded wooden mask. Once those items had been collected, the Scarabs turned their attention to the bronze figure. They found a panel in its back, which when opened revealed a seat and a series of levers that could be used to control the construct. Openings received the power talisman and the triangular control rod. Uto took the control seat and activated the construct, and the Scarabs decided to take it to Kher-Ma. Being made of heavy bronze it didn't move quickly.
When they reached the maftets' encampment, Erayu didn't appear to be surprised by the arrival of the huge bronze man or the sight of Uto emerging from within it. When the Scarabs told him that the efreet were gone and the maftets could go to the fort to worship at the shrine, he expressed his gratitude to the Scarabs by telling them the tale of the Sightless Sphinx, which his people had once lived in the shadow of. According to Erayu, a member of their tribe named Userib had awakened a terrible evil inside the Sphinx that had taken over some of the tribe members and turned them against their own people. Erayu continued to say that his kin still lived inside the Sphinx. He told the Scarabs that he would show them the way to the Sightless Sphinx, but his people couldn't go there themselves. It would be too difficult for them to choose to kill their own.
As the Ruby Scarabs approached the Sightless Sphinx, they were met by a sight even more awe-inspiring than the bronze construct. Before them they saw a vast structure in the form of a sphinx, lying on its belly with its paws outstretched before it. Large double doors were set into its chest. One of the forelimbs had been crushed, but the other was a substantial structure. A broad lane flanked by statues of more sphinxes led to the doors. They could also see that there were scorpion-folk apparently standing guard, as well as golden-masked cultists moving about outside. One side of the structure was in shadow, a shadow that didn't appear to be caused by the sun beating down upon it. Exploring the interior of such a structure and defeating its guardians would be an undertaking worthy of an epic tale.
Next: part 28, The Sightless Sphinx part 1
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