Isatemkhebet leapt forward, bashing the gorgon with her shield, which broke the hold of the magic on the creature. Realizing that Kaa was still sorely wounded, Uto opened one of the bronze sentinel's portholes and extended his hair out to cast a healing spell on the tengu. Azzaria sprayed water from her flail and hurtled toward the general, attacking with the flail in one hand and her kopesh in the other. Both weapons ripped through the scales of Isatemkhebet's armor and into her unliving flesh.
Hutt began to fly and moved closer to his iron wall. A bead of fire shot from him to engulf the gorgon. Kaa sent a cone-shaped spray of acid at Isatemkhebet and was gratified to see it bypass her shield and burning through her wrappings and melting her flesh. The gorgon released its breath, washing all but Sula and Nyema with it, but all of them resisted the petrifying effect. Sula called the lightning down on the creature.
Isatemkhebet rushed Azzaria and pushed her backward some five feet. The gorgon turned on Igby. Uto summoned a wall of whirling blades across the width of the chamber between himself and Isatemkhebet. Then he channeled positive energy to harm both undead things. Azzaria flew up behind Isatemkhebet and fiercely plied both her weapons, though by this time many of her images had been destroyed by the generals attacks on her. Then Hutt sent a single actinic bolt of lightning through both the general and the gorgon. Isatemkhebet screamed. A pulse of black energy flowed out from her body, followed by a strobing blue light.
Even those of the Ruby Scarabs who were not in flight at that moment felt themselves lifted off the floor as Isatemkhebet collapsed. An instant later they all felt the tremendous impact as Isatemkhebet's pyramid crashed to earth.
The fall left all of the Scarabs sorely injured. Nyema was barely breathing. Sula rushed to her side to cast a small spell of healing to preserve the lioness's life. Uto crawled out of the bronze sentinel and lifted off the floor in flight, turning to Sula and Nyema who were behind him to grant healing to them, then dismissed his wall of blades. Rubble now littered the chamber and cascades of dust fell from the ceiling. But the gorgon stirred.
Azzaria immediately turned on the gorgon and slew it before it could attack them. Behind the iron wall he had summoned, now bent by the force of the impact, Hutt let out a howl of grief as he discover the shattered remains of his homunculus.
Kaa did not know what to say in response to Hutt's grief. He went out into the hallway to investigate a bright light. Though he was flying, he was caught by a strange force that caused him to float upward. He pulled away from it and returned to Isatemkhebet's burial chamber. The other Scarabs pulled themselves to their feet and Uto gave them more healing. They removed all of the magical equipment and armor that Isatemkhebet had worn, and Kaa then checked the hovering sarcophagus lid, where he found a compartment holding a gem-encrused helmet. There were spaces for more gems that were empty. When Hutt examined the helmet he realized that it was a type of enchanted item known as a 'helm of brilliance'. Each gem could cause a different magical effect, though once used the gem's power was exhausted. The helmet itself could also protect the wearer from flames.
Isatemkhebet's compartment also proved to hold an amulet that could close wounds, which would have been no use to an undead creature that would be harmed by the amulet's energies. A ring of sandstone that would grant the wearer stony skin attracted Uto's interest.
When the general's other items had been looked over, the Scarabs went on to assure themselves of what had happened to the rest of the pyramid and any other denizens it might hold.
The exit from the chamber was jammed shut, but it was not the only exit. The control room proved to be still occupied by the invisible stalkers, though a subdued Hutt reported that they seemed agitated. The markings on the walls no longer glowed. Around the corner they found a room marked with Hakotep's symbol on the wall. An inscription in ancient Osiriani read, "I have arisen. I am no longer dead. I plan to retake my throne." After that message there was another, from Isatemkhebet, and a response from Hakotep telling her to go to Wati and capture the Ruby Scarabs, though the list of names given omitted both Hutt and Igby. Hakotep told Isatemkhebet to recover his funerary mask, and that preparations were underway to raise the tombs of his other fifteen generals and attack the cities of Osirion. The writing was clearly done by two different hands. A stylus designed for inscribing clay tablets lay on the floor.
After a few moments of thought and absorbing the news that there might be fifteen more flying pyramids, Uto picked up the stylus and wrote a message that Hakotep should pass on to the afterlife and be judged by the gods. He signed the names of all the Scarabs but Igby. Igby asked to have his name left off so that his presence could be a surprise. A moment later a response from Hakotep appeared on the wall, making threats and boasting of his power. Kaa then inscribed a rude message, and the Scarabs left the message chamber.
They returned to the serpent head and inserted one of the other fangs in a socket. The grinding noise this time did not sound quite the same as before and it took longer for the tunnel to reposition this time. The tunnel wound down through a broken pasage that was too narrow to accomodate the bronze sentinel or Nyema. Uto left the sentinel and Sula told Nyema to wait there as the rest of the group went through. They emerged into a very large area that appeared to have once been set up as a stable. The floor was littered with broken bits of statues of people. This rubble was worn in a way that indicated it had not been caused by the fall of the pyramid. The Scarabs suspected that the gorgon had been kept here and had turned prisoners to stone.
After departing from the stable the Scarabs found an even larger room with a mural on the floor depicting an overhead view of a lake surrounded by picturesque villages. The ceiling had also been decorated with a mural of a sunny sky. In the center of the room stood an ancient reed boat, now shattered. In the middle of that boat was another boat. Uto realized it was magical, and Hutt determined that its properties made it possible to fold the boat to a small package for easy transportation, and the boat could travel across sand as easily as on water. It could also be enlarged to the size of a small ship. Uto folded up the boat and the Scarabs took it with them.
By this point the Scarabs were ready to leave the pyramid. But they were concerned that if anyone entered the pyramid to explore or loot they might encounter the invisible stalkers. The town guard of Wati were not equipped to fight such creatures. Since Hutt confirmed that the stalkers were damaged by the fall, the Scarabs returned to the control chamber and Kaa burned them to death while Hutt directed his aim.
When the Ruby Scarabs emerged from the fallen pyramid they found that it had fallen near several buildings and damaged hem. A crowd of onlookers and guards had gathered, some staring at the Scarabs with fear and others with admiration. Soon a messenger came to tell the Scarabs that Sebti the Crocodile, high priestess of the temple of Pharasma, wished to speak to them. Hutt parted from them then to go and bury the remains of Little Anubis.
When the Scarabs met with Sebti, she wanted to know how Isatemkhebet had known their names. Uto then told her much of what had happened since the Scarabs left Wati. He confessed that due to some of their experiences the Scarabs were not entirely comfortable dealing with the priests of Nethys, but they needed the magic the priests could offer them.
The temple of Pharasma gave the Scarabs each a strong healing potion, and they then went out to find rooms at the Tooth and Hookah, where they had lodged during their explorations of the Necropolis. Once they had settled in they began to talk about how much they should tell the priests of Nethys. Sebti had remarked that those priests would not be happy to have information withheld from them. Azzaria in particular was afraid that if the priesthood of Nethys knew about the Khetsutamen they would desire its power for themselves. The other members of the group assured her they didn't want that to happen and would do everything in their power to prevent anyone from being able to replicate what Chisisek had done for Hakotep. They would use the temple of Nethys to provide them with magical equipment, but they would not share all of the information about Hakotep's achievements.
RIP, Little Anubis
Characters are now 14th level.
Next: part 44, Allies and Enemies
The rude message I scribed on the wall was a VERY small penis with the words “Hakotep’s penis, life sized”. I understand humans are very sensitive about these things. —Kaa
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