The party returned to the two large spaces on either side of a hallway that they had passed by earlier. As they looked more closely at the room full of slowly swirling mud, Hutt checked it for magic and found nothing. But they all suspected there might be something living underneath the mud since there was no reason for it have currents inside the Sphinx. Sula also spied three small niches in the far wall that were the same size as the three tiles they had found. Each niche had a hieroglyphic symbol above it, which Sula couldn't read. Unwilling to touch the mud, Azzaria and Kaa flew across it to examine the niches up close. Both of them were able to read the ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs. They discovered that the niche on the left had the symbol for 4 above it, while the right-hand niche had the symbol for 2. The center niche had no symbol. It was Kaa who realized how the tiles related to the numbers: one tile was of a four-legged sphinx, one of a legless snake, and one depicted a two-legged human.
When each of the three tiles was inserted into the niche with the matching number of legs indicated, a hidden door opened in the floor of the chamber on the opposite side of the hallway, revealing a descending staircase. Once Kaa had assured that there were no traps on the stairs the Ruby Scarabs climbed down into a dark chamber that smelled musty and disused. The floor was covered with slightly damp sand except for a small pool in the corner to the right of the stairs. Their lights fell on a double door opposite the stairs. Then a gargantuan creature lunged out of the darkness and snatched Kaa up in its massive, toothy jaws. It was a vast, mummified crocodile.
Mummified Dire Crocodile
Kaa struggled unsuccessfully to free himself from the gigantic crocodile's grip. Sula, who was still in her earth form, glided over to the crocodile and slammed a stony fist into it. Hutt granted magical speed to everyone, allowing them to attack almost twice as often. Azzaria flew to the other side of the creature from Sula so they could take advantage of their opposing positions. The crocodile began to roll just as an ordinary crocodile in water would have done, repeatedly smashing Kaa against the floor. Kaa responded by pummeling the crocodile. Its head was damaged by his attacks, which enabled him to pull free of its jaws. Azzaria realized that the creature had very tough hide and began to pound it with her adamantine flail. Within moments the enormous mummified crocodile slumped over and ceased moving.
Sula looked around the rest of the chamber and realized that there were no tracks anywhere. She speculated that at some point the chamber had been flooded, which would have erased any signs of activity. After Uto extended some healing to him, Kaa examined the double doors and determined they were magically warded by a symbol that might be intended to influence the mind. This was more difficult than other traps he had dealt with previously, but he was able to disable it and open the doors.
Beyond the doors lay a chamber that clearly held the wealth of the temple of Areshkagal. Three squat figures of demons sat at one end, next to several chests full of coins and gems. But it was what stood in the center of the room that the Ruby Scarabs' eyes were drawn to: a large sphinx with six legs colored blue and wings tinted red. This sphinx's face was entirely unlike Tetisurah's humanoid features. Instead it had two glowing red eyes and a gash of mouth on an otherwise featureless visage. The sphinx stretched languorously and spoke, remarking on the nuisance of the Forgotten Pharaoh cultists upstairs. When Kaa and Hutt responded that the cultists had been eliminated by the Ruby Scarabs, the sphinx snarled, "Then I, Areshkhesbed, have no more use for you!" and lunged forward.
Areshkhesbed
Sula descended in to the earth beneath the floor and glided toward Areshkhesbed. The sphinx cast a spell, which Hutt identified as a spell of blasphemy, and once more granted haste to his companions, omitting only Sula because his magic couldn't penetrate the earth. Kaa aimed a blast of flames at the demonic sphinx, but as the fire reached her he saw it transform back into the ki energy that had fueled it. Azzaria, raging, began to fly toward the sphinx, her images swirling around her. Sula surged up through the floor and swung her fist at the sphinx but her punch went wide. In response Areshkhesbed took flight. Azzaria struck her repeatedly. Areshkhesbed retaliated by smiting Azzaria with unholy energy. Hutt attempted to transform the sphinx into a duck, but his magic failed to affect her. Kaa drew his immovable rod and positioned it above his head, then leaped up to balance on it, pounding the infernal sphinx with his fists. Azzaria's flail swung rapidly, raining blows on Areshkhesbed, but only once did it make contact. Sula raised herself a little farther out of the ground to strike, charging her fist with her innate lightning, which appeared to have no effect on the sphinx. Her punch also did less damage that it ordinarily would have done. Kaa's fists and feet found better purchase, and Areshkhesbed suddenly slumped to the ground. Uto announced that she wasn't dead yet; he could still sense her life force and her wounds were healing. Azzaria charged her and made sure that she wouldn't recover.
The chamber where Areshkhesbed had dwelled proved to contain fewer riches than had first seemed when the Scarabs entered. The sphinx wore a magic headband and bracers, and they also found a magic cape of golden sphinx feathers and an enchanted sickle in the chest. But the three demonic statues were not magical, only made of valuable materials, and there was a relatively small quantity of coins and precious jewels. The chamber showed no sign that anyone other than Areshkhesbed had entered it in a very long time. Uto surmised that she was a divine guardian, tasked with looking after the Sightless Sphinx and unable to leave it, though she could scry on any point within the structure at will as well as teleport to any space within it.
When the Ruby Scarabs had gathered up the valuable and magical items from Areshkhesbed's chamber, they returned to the chamber upstairs. The oppressive atmosphere of the interior of the Sphinx had gone with Areshkhesbed's demise. They continued along the hallway that led past the mud room. After turning a corner, they came to a room where a glowing stone disk hovered in the center. Beyond it was a door covered in figures of twisting demons and a snarling sphinx. Kaa was unable to determine how to open this door. The activating mechanism eluded him. except that it seemed to be somehow connected to the floating disk. Sula detected that the disk was kept floating by transmutation magic, but she didn't know what specifically it was. Hutt then jumped up to stand on the disk, tilting it on its axis. Immediately the door swung open.
The room beyond the door was a curious one, with a curved wall opposite the door and the lower portions of its walls covered in glittering crystals that Hutt thought might be diamonds. A statue of a cat-headed figure stood inside. There was also a slightly cracked image of a faceless female figure wearing a pharaoh's crown. In the center of the room stood a circular dais, its edge covered in silvery magical symbols. Kaa stepped into the room in an effort to read the symbols. Azzaria climbed up onto the dais. Suddenly the cat-headed figure began to move forward. Kaa backed out of the room and Azzaria followed him. The figure pursued her. Sula dealt it a heavy blow. Azzaria swung her flail at it. Hutt announced that it was a kind of golem called a panthereon that could inflict victims of its bites with a curse, and could also fire a beam from its eyes and grant itself increased speed. He then jumped off the disk, intending to shut the door. Instead the golem blocked it open. Hutt quickly used his wand to speed everyone. Azzaria remembered that she had a clasp in her possession that was enchanted to help fight golems, and reminded her friends that they would need adamantine weapons that were not edged weapons to defeat the golem.
Panthereon
Sula had no adamantine weapons, but her large earthen fists were not edged weapons so the swung them a the panthereon. The golem began to move faster, too. Azzara flew into a battle fury and her flail smashed it to pieces. The door to the odd room slammed shut without the golem to hold it open, but Hutt jumped on the disk again and it opened once more. Kaa searched the room, finding no items and no secret compartments. The dais however showed signs of recent traffic. Hutt detected conjuration magic throughout the room. He realized that it was a protection against anti-teleportation magic. The rest of the Sightless Sphinx was permeated with wards to prevent teleportation. Only in this room could one teleport into the interior of the Sphinx. But the door had to be closed for the teleportation dais to function. Once this trick was uncovered, Hutt suggested blocking the door open so no one could teleport in. The Scarabs placed the broken fragments of the destroyed pantherion on the disk to keep the door open.
Beyond the teleportation room they came to a long hallway flanked by several rooms. The first room they looked into held the remains of several cots, and some fragile wall scrolls that might have some value if they could be removed without falling to dust. The Scarabs decided to leave them for later and continued on to the next room. It held wooden scroll racks that were in fair condition, but most of the scrolls they had held had crumbled. Only a few scrolls and scroll cases were still intact. Hutt sensed four sources of magic within the room, emanating from the intact scrolls and cases. One of the scroll cases was carved from ivory and inset with lapis lazuli, though its contents had turned to dust. They gathered up the ivory case and another case of bone, as well as several scrolls containing spells.
Across the hall from the scroll room was a chamber that had probably been the quarters of the senior scribe. Four more rooms after that were all barracks for the scribes. Azzaria wondered if the Scarabs should use their magic to restore the decayed scrolls in the scriptorium, but Uto told her they had probably all been religious texts devoted to Areshkagal that would be of little value. The sleeping quarters for the scribes yielded no items of interest and contained no hidden compartments. The group then returned to the room with the hanging scrolls and Hutt cast a spell on them to restore them to transportable condition. Afterward the party discussed how to remove the golden emperor scorpion from the sculpture gallery.
When at last they returned to the outside, Uto healed some of the madness afflicting the maftet prisoners. While he was able to improve their mental condition, he couldn't entirely restore them to the state they had been in before being corrupted by the malign influence of the Sightless Sphinx.
Within a day the other maftets led by Erayu arrived at the Sphinx. They were saddened to learn of their people who had been slain, but they were so glad and grateful that some had been spared that they held a feast in honor of the Ruby Scarabs. Erayu also presented the Scarabs with a very fine enchanted scimitar as a token of gratitude. He asked the Scarabs if they could seal up the Sphinx to prevent any future generations of his people from being tempted to enter it. As part of this Kaa reset the riddle trap on the main entrance, working with Uto to devise an even more difficult riddle. Uto also placed a wall of stone across the secret etrance in the damaged left foreleg, leaving that entry as a place that the Scarabs could use in future if they chose.
As the Ruby Scarabs spent their last day at the Sightless Sphinx, Kaa suddenly heard the voice of Ptemenib, the priest of Pharasma in Wati, speaking in his mind. Ptemenib frantically relayed that Wati was under attack by a flying pyramid, and that those within the pyramid demanded that the Ruby Scarabs be handed over to them for sacrifice. He begged the Scarabs to return to Wati to lend their aid.
Next: part 39: To the Slave Trenches
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