After they had eliminated the Forgotten Pharaoh cultists and girtablilu mercenaries who guarded the exterior of the Sightless Sphinx, the Ruby Scarabs took a few moments to search the bodies for anything of value before proceeding to the double doors that would take them inside the temple of Areshkagal. Some of the cultists they had faced were equipped differently than other cultists they had encountered previously, carrying well-made javelins and wearing breastplates. But as they had found in the past, the members of the cult carried little coin, though they did have curative potions. Each of them took a potion.
They had only just finished gathering up the spoils when three more girtablilu warriors confronted them. The warrior who took the lead warned them, "We are the guardians and we must defend this place from all." Uto then emerged from within the bronze sentinel, flying, and transformed into his living monolith form before addressing them. He attempted to persuade them that there was no need for them to keep defending those withing the demon lord's temple. When they wouldn't listen he tried to intimidate them into abandoning their post, but they refused to be swayed. Impatient with the conversation, Azzaria pulled a bead from her necklace and hurled it among the girtablilu, engulfing all three of then in flames.
Hutt followed Azzaria's attack by granting all of the his new comrades the ability to move much more quickly than normal. Azzaria became hard to perceive and surrounded herself with images of herself. Sula took the shape of a huge macetail dinosaur and moved up to attack one of the girtablilu. One of the girtablilu warriors grabbed Uto in its pincer and was attacked by Azzaria. Its defensive attacks caused several of her images to disappear. Uto was also hard to see, his outlined blurred, which protected him when the girtablilu tried to sting him with its tail. The first warrior fell to the combined attacks of Azzaria and Sula.
Hutt cast a spell that left another girtablilu blind, but the scorpion-man refused to yield and crept toward Kaa. Nyema joined Sula in attacking one warrior and was stung for her efforts. Uto sent two of his ancestral spirits to attack the same foe. Uto was as usual absorbing some harm from his companions and thus suffering many wounds. Tetisurah moved closer to him to heal him. Kaa pummeled the blinded warrior with his fists. Azzara pounded the warrior that had stung Nyema and he collapsed. She then charged toward three more girtablilu who were approaching. Hutt sent a ball of flames into their midst, which stopped two of them from casting spells. But one of them managed to successfully summon a giant scorpion to aid them.
Another girtablilu grabbed Nyema but then released her. Weakened by the poison from the scorpion-man's sting, the lioness retreated, running to Tetisurah for aid. The sphinx healed her wound, but could do nothing to remove the poison, though she cast a spell on the lioness to aid her in withstanding the effect of the poison. Only one of the first trio of girtablilu warriors remained on his feet. The giant scorpion appeared near Azzaria and attacked her. Uto cast a spell on one of the approaching scorpion-men, setting him ablaze and also burning him with acid. Kaa stepped forward and sent a bolt of electricity at two of the warriors who hadn't reached the Scarabs yet.
Azzaria now faced both the giant scorpion and a girtablilu warrior. The warrior was already badly hurt. Hutt moved to attack the blinded warrior with his staff, while it stabbed at Kaa. Another warrior attacked the rougarou wizard. Uto flew the bronze sentinel over to the blind warrior and slammed both of the automaton's fists down on him. Hutt then engulfed the warrior in flames, and after his homonculous stabbed the warrior with its tiny spear, the girtablilu slumped to the ground. Sula's opponent also collapsed from his wounds after exerting one last unsuccessful effort to sting her, and Uto's spirit guardians finished him off.
Sula moved her huge form to attack another warrior. Uto blocked an attack on him by summoning a shield of stone, but was struck by a tail sting. Hutt was clawed and grabbed. His enemy pulled him close and squeezed him. Azzaria's opponents had eliminated all of her images and were becoming more successful at actually striking her. While Uto moved out of reach to cast a healing spell on himself, Tetisurah flew toward Azzaria and clawed one of her foes. Kaa sent more electricity at one of them, and then Azzaria dropped the girtablilu that Uto had set on fire and coated in acid. Still burning and sizzling, the warrior fell. Sula moved up to smash the giant scorpion with her club-like tail, which was also wreathed in flames. Azzaria hit the scorpion herself and it stopped moving. Then Uto called on the spirits to heal all of his comrades at once. In the space of a few minutes they had defeated six girtablilu warriors and a giant scorpion.
The leader of the girtablilu proved to have a few valuables which the Scarabs claimed, especially an ointment that could neutralize poison, remove diseases, or cure wounds. Uto used a wand he possessed to remove the effects of the poison from Nyema. The Scarabs then checked the tents that stood inside the broken wall around the Sphinx, finding that they had been the camp of the girtablilu mercenaries and contained nothing of value. While they investigated the tents, Tetisurah avoided getting too close to the grove of stone palm trees, which proved to have fronds made of sphinx bones.
The doors in the chest of the Sightless Sphinx proved to be constructed of the same sandstone as the rest of the structure. They were inlaid with ivory and lapis that reflected a little of the sunlight that could penetrate past the huge forelimbs of the Sphinx. Kaa immediately recognized that the doors were trapped and told the others to stay back while he examined it. He bypassed the deadly spell that would have triggered had they opened the doors, and unlocked the lock, but he found that the doors were also magically secured. Tetisurah used her magic to dispel the magical lock.
Beyond the doors lay a shadowed hall lined with pillars decorated with carved eyes. In the center of the chamber was a white stone statue of a six-legged faceless sphinx with dragon wings and a scorpion tail, a representation of Areshkagal. The chamber looked surprisingly clean for having stood in the desert for centuries. The walls were draped with reed curtains. Kaa noticed something beyond the curtains. As soon as he called this to the attention of the rest of the group, the curtains were swept aside to reveal two girtablilu and two cultists lying in waiting. One of the girtablilu warriors roared a battle cry.
Hutt sent a missile of force at one girtablilu, while Kaa stunned the other with his blows. One of the cultists exploded in flames after Azzaria mortally wounded him. The second cultist stunned Hutt and kicked his homonculus aside. Uto healed the wizard by casting the spell through one of the bronze sentinel's portholes. Sula directed Nyema to attack the cultist, while she herself slew the second girtablilu. Tetisurah picked up Hutt and moved him out of reach of the cultist who had stunned him. Uto emerged from the sentinel just in time to see the cultist wound and stun Nyema. The half-orc shaman sent his invisible servant to remove the spear that had been dropped by the remaining girtablilu when Kaa stunned him, and the servant pulled the sword toward its master. Sula meanwhile moved to strike the cultist with her tail. Then Azzaria eliminated the stunned girtablilu warrior, following up by hitting the cultist, who exploded.
Uto healed Nyema's injuires and gave Azzaria a potion, and the group waited while Hutt cast a spell to repair the damage the cultist had done to his homonculus. Then they gathered up the items left behind by the dead, finding that the two cultists inside the first chamber had both worn enchanted amulets and belts in addition to having the cloaks and masks the Scarabs had come to expect. The amulets and belts both granted greater strength to the wearer. Uto claimed one of the amulets and put it on the sentinel, while the other was offered to Hutt. Then the Scarabs discussed whether they should continue to explore the Sphinx or withdraw to recover and replenish their spells. They decided they would see what was beyond the next set of doors before making up their minds.
The next doors were not locked or trapped when Kaa examined them. They opened into a smaller chamber, the walls on each side not extending to the ceiling and decorated with carved eyes. The doors on the opposite side of this room bore an image of Areshkagal. Kaa realized that they eyes on the walls were a trap that would be set off if something interrupted their gaze, summoning something. With caution the tengu monk disabled this trap. But as he finished, two cultists wielding crossbows suddenly appeared at the tops of the short walls and fired on the Scarabs. Kaa was hit by a bolt.
Uto maneuvered the hulking bronze sentinel into the room, while Kaa vaulted over the wall to face his attacker. The other crossbowman fired on the sentinel but the bolt bounced off its bronze skin. Uto's hair extended out of the sentinel to grab the cultist. Sula pushed her way into the room past the sentinel and swept her tail over the low wall at the cultist Kaa faced but missed him. She then moved to the opposite side of the room to attack the other cultist. Azzaria moved into the room and fired her bow at the cultist as Sula hit him.
Kaa discovered that behind the wall was a narrow hall and a flight of descending stairs. After the cultist he faced exploded, Kaa went down the stairs and looked into the next room, a large chamber lined with pillars and occupied by two girtablilu, who immediately spotted the tengu and moved to attack him. The second cultist exploded as well, and Uto pulled open the doors to the next room. Sula and Nyema moved inside to attack the girtablilu. Kaa was stung by one of them but managed to withstand the poison. Sula was stabbed by a longspear. Hutt tried to blind one of the scorpion-centaurs but the spell failed to affect the target. Uto smashed the sentinel's hands on one warrior, while Sula also slammed him with her tail. Kaa punched the girtablilu with a flurry of flying fists, which made the warrior's attacks on him all miss their mark. Azzaria shot the same target, and Nyema clawed him which caused him to turn on her and claw her back. Kaa then struck him a tremendous blow and he toppled over. The other girtablilu had already fallen to a crushing blow from Sula's tail.
Uto's healing magic was now depleted, as were Hutt's spells, so the Scarabs decided it would be wise to withdraw and recuperate before exploring any more of the vast structure. The two cultists who had attacked from behind the walls both had the same kind of amulets and belts and the two they had met in the first room. Hutt told them he could teleport himself and four other people to the nearest city to sell their loot and purchase other items, so they decided to set up camp outside the Sphinx for the night and pursue that option the following day.
Before they made camp, Hutt examined the Sphinx and realized that it was warded against teleportation or divination spells. He might be able to get past the failing wards, but he would have to find a weakness to be able to teleport in or out of the temple. Hutt and Sula then combined their spells to create a hidden shelter, after which Uto used an enchanted spike they had previously acquired to further protect the camp. They would decide in the morning if they wanted to risk going away for a day to sell equipment.
Next: part 30, The Sightless Sphinx, part 3
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