Next the group began to talk about what they should do next. Should they take on the Sekrephenet first, or go to the Akumemnet and battle the djinni? They already knew that the Tribe-Eater was a undead creature that would revive after being "killed". They decided to return to the ankh room and replace the statues. The statue that would affect the Tribe-Eater they chose to set on the plinth. The statue would grant the undead spinosaurus greater speed and the ability to recover rapidly from injuries. Uto warned his companions that the creature would be able to grab victims in its teeth and swallow them. In preparation, they decided that Sula would arm Azzaria with a spell that would prevent Tribe-Eater from grabbing her, and Sula took the form of an ankylosaurus. Uto also gave Hutt and Sula potions that would prevent undead creatures from perceiving them.
As they reached the deep trench, the Scarabs paused a moment to use heal magics. Sula cast her spell on Azzaria, and a spell on everyone that would give them greater stamina. Then they approached an area where bones were strewn everywhere. Within the heap of bones they could see some cloth and some bones that were larger than the rest. At that moment the Tribe-Eater emerged. Azzaria increased her size to take on the very large dinosaur, while Kaa blasted Tribe-Eater with acid and Hutt hurled a ball of fire. Hutt's flames vanished before touching the dinosaur, which led him to suspect it was protected by a globe that absorbed spells of lesser power. While Sula consumed a potion to increase her agility, the creature charged Kaa but failed to connect.
An enraged and enlarged Azzaria moved in to meet the creature, her form appearing to be slightly displaced from its actual location to make it more difficult to strike her. Kaa burned it with acid. Hutt was able to dispel the protective globe, but it reappeared. He realized a cartouche on its chest flashed whenever an attack connected with it. Tribe-Eater charged at as she began to call on the power of the ancestors to send her a comrade to join the fray. It bit her and grabbed hold of her. Then Kaa began to pummel it with his fists and feet, and Tribe-Eater suddenly crumbled. The statue the Scarabs had placed in the ankh room had given it speed, but had also made it vulnerable to permanent destruction.
With Tribe-Eater gone, Uto healed the injuries it had inflicted on Sula. The remains of the creature yielded no magic but the cartouche Hutt had noticed. Kaa also searched through the bone heap but found nothing. The group decided to withdraw and rest before they pitted themselves against the djinni. They returned to the Tekremenet chamber to find that the dinosaur statue disintegrated when touched. Uto then had another visitation with Tef-Naju, who explained that when Hakotep still lived his armies had ridden into battle astride creatures like Tribe-Eater.
The Ruby Scarabs rested in Hutt's magically summoned expansive mansion. When they had completed their rest, they emerged and made their way to the doorway that would lead them to the Akumemnet. After Kaa assured them there were no traps, they approached an area where a statue of a noble-looking man holding an ankh-topped staff stood before them. A mist surrounded this figure, which proved to be a fog of acid. The Scarabs used magic to protect themselves from the effects of the acid and strode up to the statue. Hutt sensed a magical aura emanating from the statue's staff, and Kaa realized that the top of the staff was removable. When removed it revealed a compartment containing a spell wand that when used would grant the target's skin a stony hardness. After they acquired the wand Uto decided to use its magic on everyone. Sula also armored Nyema with barklike skin, more powerful jaws, and sharper claws in preparation for their next assault.
Kaa disabled the trap that was releasing the acid fog, and the Scarabs proceeded down a twisting tunnel. Kaa disabled another trap that would have removed some of their magical protections, then a litle further on another trap of the same kind, and yet another, until they finally came to a diamond-shaped room. The room was filled with fog again, triggered by heiroglyphic symbols all over the walls. Kaa disabled these as he'd done before. Hutt cast a spell to allow everyone to communicate telepathically while Kaa disabled the fog trap.
Besides the symbols that triggered the fog, the walls were also adorned with bas reliefs of people with the heads of animals carrying offerings. The floor sloped downward. One of the relief figures, a man with the head of a jackal, spoke unexpectedly saying, "You are not worthy to look on the works of the Sky Pharaoh." Hutt discerned that this came from a magical mouth set on the wall. Azzaria wondered if this message should be taken literally and something would happen to them if they went forward without protecting their eyes. She suggested they don blindfolds and go forward pretending that they were bringing offerings to the Sky Pharaoh. Kaa didn't care for this idea. Uto meanwhile looked through a side doorway and spied a group of figures that appeared to be pointing toward the hall the party were in.
Azzaria decided to continue with her idea. She put on a blindfold and went forward, carrying a sunrod. At the end of the passage stood six statues in an intersection off which several flights of steps led away in various directions. As Azzaria approached the statues she felt a presence nearby, which she identified as feminine. She announced, "I bring offerings for Hakotep" in the ancient Osiriani language. The presence she sensed seemed to be attempting to influence her somehow but she resisted. There was no response to her announcement.
Kaa moved forward a short distance and spotted a particularly gruesome trap designed to tear out the eyes of its victims, which explained the warning the magic mouth had issued. He disabled it, but found no other traps in the area. The rest of the group then joined him in the area occupied by the six statues. All of the statues bore the forms of different people. One was a youthful woman in fine garments. This figure also emanated a presence like Azzaria had felt, which tried to affect Kaa but failed. The other five statues were respectively a small bald woman wearing the icons of the god Set, a short squat man with unattractive features wearing bulky armor, an armored woman whose armor resembled that worn by Isatemkhebet and who Azzaria felt had been the source of the presence that had touched her, a tall thin man bearing a bow, and an older man with a cruel expression dressed in fine rayment. Kaa examined the statue he'd felt a presence from but found no trap of any kind associated with that figure. Hutt checked the statues for magical auras and determined that all of them were magical in nature. They weren't made of ordinary stone and also had a faint aura of necromancy.
Azzaria and Kaa decided that the statues should be destroyed due to the unnatural presences that were associated with them. They prepared to ply their weapons against the statues. When the statues were threatened ghostly wailing images appeared. Hutt warned that these ghosts could drain away the vitality of those they touched and were only vulnerable to natural sunlight - Azzaria's sunrod wouldn't harm them. She dropped the weapons she had used against the statues and drew others that were enchanted to harm undead creatures and be more effective against ghostly creatures. Uto summoned a spirit to fight them. One by one Azzaria eliminated the ghosts, then followed by destroying a statue before stepping back to let Kaa take on the next one. One of the ghosts had inflicted some harm on Azzaria and when the statues were rubble Uto healed her. Hutt reported that the necromantic energies he'd sensed were gone.
Kaa checked one of the doors to the south of the intersection, opposite the hall the Scarabs had entered from. That way led to the Akumemnet, which they suspected might be the tombs of the Akumen, Hakotep's personal guard. When Kaa opened the door they saw more doors just like the one he had just opened lining a hallway. A low thrumming filled that space. At the far side stood a massive iron door without visible handles or hinges. Its surface was covered in scurrying scarab beetles. Uto had earlier cast a spell on himself to allow him to see through illusions and perceive invisible creatures, and this magic was still in effect. It told him that only one of the scarabs was genuine - the rest were illusory.
When the door opened into this chamber, four undead creatures that in life had been shaitan like Tef-Naju reacted to the intruders. Sula responded by transforming herself into her favorite form, an elemental of earth. All four of the undead shaitan became invisible, though Uto could still see them and could use Hutt's telepathic magic to give directions to his companions. Azzaria splashed them with glittering dust and they became visible again. Hutt sent out a bolt of lightning that leapt from one shaitan to the next. Sule sank into the floor and thrust her large stony fist up from underneath to punch a shaitan near Azzaria. Kaa sprayed one wih acid. Azzaria slew her nearest foe, and Kaa showered another with more acid, while Hutt sent unerring missiles of force at them and Sula smashed another with her fist. They were able to withstand more harm than ordinary creatures, but Kaa soon slew another and moved toward the nearest shaitan to Sula. Azzaria joined him and that undead thing quickly fell to them. In little time all four shaitan were truly dead.
The only real beetle had been slain by Kaa's acid spray, but it reincarnated immediately as another scarab. Uto grasped it and pressed it into an indentation in the iron door that seemed designed to accept its shape. When this was done the scarab transformed into a metal handle.
Next: part 46, In Search of the Sekrephrenet
No comments:
Post a Comment