The Ruby Scarabs withdrew from the Sightless Sphinx after they had defeated the defenders of the first three chambers they entered, and set up a hidden camp beyond the broken wall that surrounded the ancient temple to the demon lord. They were able to rest that night undisturbed. The next morning Hutt prepared a spell to transport them to the capitol city of Sothis, where they could sell all of the items they had accumulated and acquire new enchanted objects to aid them in their quest to recover the remains of Chisisek.
Hutt's spell took all of the group, including Tetisurah and the bronze sentinel, to the outskirts of the great city, which only Hutt had previously visited. The rest of the party were impressed by the size and bustle of Sothis, and awed by the large structure in the shape of a scarab beetle that house the House of Law. They decided to visit the temple of Pharasma first, then the temple of Nethys, because the felt those places would be most likely to purchase the things they wanted to sell and help them find the items they wanted to buy.
Kaa was put in touch with a person named Rezillo who he was told could help them. Once Uto had negotiated the sale of all of the things they had claimed from the cultists, the Scarabs found themselves well supplied with coin and beginning to draw a bit of unwanted attention. That evening they met the cultured and knowledgeable Rezillo at an expensive eatery to talk about the enchanted objects they hoped to purchase. Rezillo was able to help them find everything they desired, for a fee.
Sula purchased new armor made of ironwood and was connected with someone who could reshape it to her taste, as its original form had been rather nautical in theme. Her new armor would remain with her when she assumed the shape of an animal, unlike the ankheg chitin armor she had previously worn, and she also acquired a garment that would let her become a beast more often than before. She also claimed two of the strengthening belts they had taken from the cultists, one for herself and one for Nyema. Uto purchased an enchanted shield and a scroll to resurrect the dead. Kaa acquired a magic ring that would protect him like armor and a pair of goggles that gave him keener sight, in addition to an adamantine sword. Azzaria bought an adamantine weapon too.
At the end of their second day in Sothis, Hutt transported the Scarabs back to meet Tetisurah. The sphinx seemed a little disappointed that they had returned so soon, as she was enjoying the experience of dunes she had never seen before. Then the whole party went back to the Sightless Sphinx. Kaa preceded the others in approaching the entrance, finding that the trap between the Sphinx's forelegs had been reset. After he disabled it and unlocked the doors a second time, he heard voices of new defenders preparing for the Scarabs' entry. He warned the others and everyone moved toward the doors, ready for a fight. Sula used the ring and collar she'd gained from the supply sledge to armor both herself and Nyema with skin as hard as tree bark.
Kaa opened the doors before his companions joined him. Two cultists were immediately visible inside the statue chamber. Kaa attempted to dissuade them from fighting by pointing out that he and his friends had slain the other cultists and girtablilu mercenaries whose remains they must have removed from the entry hall, but they fired flaming arrows at him in response. Two more cultists appeared from behind the reed curtains. Hutt approached the doorway and send tiny missiles flying unerringly at one of the cultists. The bronze sentinel took flight and Uto steered it toward the doorway. Kaa burned one cultist with lightning, and more of Hutt's missiles caused a cultist to explode. Nyema had run ahead of Sula, and was struck twice by one cultist's spear. Sula rushed in and used her own spear against the attacker. One of the remaining cultists was shouting information to someone else, though there was no one in sight. Kaa attacked him and he too exploded. Nyema and Azzaria eliminated the last man and Uto quickly gathered up all the equipment left behind when the cultists self-immolated. He distributed the healing potions the cultists had carried and Sula used one to treat Nyema's wounds.
The next room was empty, though the eye trap had been reset and Kaa had to disable it again. Azzaria jumped up on the sentinel's shoulder and checked over the low walls to make sure no one waited in ambush as they had on the Scarabs' first visit to that room. The next set of doors were both unlocked and free of traps, and they found no one waiting for them in the chamber where they had previously fought with two girtablilu. In one of the side passages they found chips in the stone where it had been struck by arrows, and stains on the floor of blood and other substances. The stains were not new, but they were relatively recent.
In the chamber where they'd fought the last two girtablilu mercenaries, there were several sets of double doors leading out on all sides. Rather than open any of those, the Ruby Scarabs approached a set of doors that led out of the side passage where they found the stains. Kaa carefully opened the unlocked doors using an extendable tool from his pack, so that he could avoid standing directly in front of them. As he did so, he heard the sound of wings flapping from beyond the doorway, and several of the other party members heard a voice speak the words of a spell.
Kaa peeked cautiously around the corner to see a long, wide chamber with a high ceiling, its walls lined with alcoves containing standing sarcophagi in human forms. A smoky vapor exuded from the eye holes of these sarcophagi. At the far end he spotted two maftets hovering above the floor, their leonine legs dyed blue and their feathered wings colored red. Kaa shouted to them that they should leave and their lives might be spared, but they both refused. Hutt then cast a spell on everyone to give them greater speed and better defenses. Sula began to summon the lightning. Azzaria flew into the room, drawing a wand as she went. The maftets, a male and a female, rose up toward the ceiling and began casting spells on the scimitars they wielded.
Kaa detected no traps in the engraved floor of the chamber, so he moved into the room on foot. Uto steered the sentinel inside. As they entered, two of the sarcophagi burst open and creatures that clearly were not human emerged from them. Sula recognized them as bodak, a type of undead creature, but she could recall little else about them other than their immunity to electricity and resistance to fire and acid. As she tried to remember more, Hutt put his arm around Azzaria and magically transported both of them to the other end of the room to meet the maftets. Sula sent a bolt of lightning at the male maftet, but he nimbly it. Azzaria attacked the female, while the male suddenly vanished.
Bodak
The bronze sentinel had arrived near one of the two bodaks, and it now turned a baleful glare on the automaton, which Uto could see through the transparent porthole. He felt himself weaken under the creature's gaze and called out to his companions to avoid looking at the things. Then he activated one of the powers of Hakotep's mask to protect himself. One bodak charged Nyema, who had followed Sula when she moved into the chamber. Sula averted her gaze and moved away from the undead creature, but Nyema was affected by its gaze and ran out into the hall to seek solace from Tetisurah. The sphinx summoned a mist to hide the hallway from the bodak's gaze.
The female maftet fell to attacks from Azzaria and Kaa. Wings were heard closer to the center of the chamber as the male reappeared. One of the bodaks began to move toward the group at the far end of the hall. Uto flew the sentinel closer to the ceiling, concerned that if he got too close to one of the still closed sarcophagi it would open and release more bodaks. Kaa flew toward the sentinel, but as he passed by a sarcophagus it burst open and disgorged another bodak.
Sula tried again to strike the male maftet with lightning but he evaded the bolt. She realized she had no spell or weapon to fight the bodaks and retreated into the passageway to begin casting a spell to summon another creature that might harm them. Hutt attempted to transform the maftet into a duck but his spell failed to affect it. Kaa blasted two of the bodak's with fire from above. Azzaria took down the male maftet, and Kaa blasted the third bodak with cold while Uto stretched his prehensile hair out through the sentinel's porthole to touch it with harmful positive energy. Then Uto channeled more positive energy against the undead creatures. Hutt flew up near the ceiling and aimed missiles of force at the two bodaks nearest the bronze sentinel. Azzaria eliminated the third bodak. Uto attempted to drop the sentinel on one of the creatures while avoiding looking at it. The sentinel hit it a glancing blow and toppled over. Kaa's flames destroyed the second bodak and then the third, after the ice elemental Sula had summoned failed to hit it.
Taking great care not to get too close to the remaining unopened sarcophagi, the Scarabs removed two amulets from the bodies of the maftets, who had not exploded at death like the cultists. Then they considered what sort of other dangers they might meet and whether they should retreat from the Sightless Sphinx again to seek out more magic to defend against creatures like the bodaks.
Next: The Sightless Sphinx, part 4
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