[Pathfinder] Wrath of the Righteous, part 47: A Journey to the Spirit Realm

The destructive ritual had been interrupted and the cultists who were participating in it had been slain, but Chorussina had escaped. Zosta voiced her frustration that the tiefling woman had managed to teleport away despite being held firmly in Zosta's grasp. Though we wished to prevent her from fleeing to report to her masters or gather reinforcements, we were all too hurt and Jiro was too depleted of his healing magics to pursue Chorussina at that moment. Hiro called on the power of the spirits to heal some of our wounds. I used the magic I still bore to enable me to see invisible creatures and scanned the area, hoping to spy Chorussina, who I knew could not have got far using the limited range of the spell she had cast upon herself.

When I looked down one of the side passages leading out of the room where the evil pool stood, I spied her, peeking around a corner at the far end of the next chamber. I relayed this information to my companions through our rings and moved up the steps onto the dais by the entrance so that she would not be able to see me.

An instant later a cloud of greenish gas filled the space below the dais. Runa began to cough and retch before she moved outside the area the gas filled. I could not see him clearly, but I also heard Bohgong, who was still in the form of a large ape, cough very loudly and harshly from the opposite side of the ritual chamber. I spoke to the hound archon who had come at my call and still remained with us, asking him to pursue Chorussina into the next room. I descended the steps from the dais and began to work my way along the wall parallel to the main entrance, attempting to remain out of Chorussina's line of sight and also to avoid stepping into the gas cloud. My past experience of such a foul-smelling gas was not pleasant.

Zosta warned us that Chorussina was casting a spell, though of course she could not recognize what it was. She and Jiro had stepped out of the gas cloud, protected by Jiro's purifying aura. As soon as she saw the tiefling casting, Zosta charged into the room where Chorussina waited. I could no longer see or hear what happened there, but through the ring I heard Zosta say that Chorussina was surrounded by duplicates of herself.

As I moved closer toward the corner of the room that Bohgong had earlier been staring at, the white ape moved closer, wearing an expression of fury. He began to speak, his words directed toward the seemingly empty corner. He spoke in the language of our people in Jinin, but in a very ancient dialect that I could not quite make out. I could only recognize words that sounded like "chosen one" and "guardian."

My attention was drawn away from Bohgong when large hailstones began to plummet from above, pounding me and Kirara like heavy stones being poured on our heads. Only Zosta and the archon escaped the bludgeoning hail, for they were in the next room with Chorussina. The floor became covered with ice and hailstones. Runa entered the next room, escaping the difficult walking surface, leaving only me to negotiate it. Bohgong suddenly lunged toward me, looking enraged. His gaze seemed to me to be directed at my person. Disturbed by this, I cautiously navigated my way across the slippery floor to the opposite corner. The white ape began to pummel something with his fists. I could see nothing, but sparks issued from his blows and he was not striking the wall. Some invisible object stood between him and the structure of the chamber.

My companions later told me that they saw a tattoo on Chorussina's leg flare into flames and leave a scar behind, and she called another storm of icy bullets to rain down upon the same space that had previously been afflicted with them. I was sorely wounded and Kirara was now so badly injured that I feared she wouldn't survive. I managed to pour a curative potion into her mouth and get her to swallow it as I cradled her in my arms, cursing myself for not advising her to assume her mist form before we entered the ritual area.

I only peripherally noticed when my companions called out that Chorussina had been knocked down and the assault by Zosta, Shim, Jiro's spirit weapons, and the hound archon had been successful in destroying all of her illusory duplicates. From the corner of my eye I saw Bohgong collapse and transform back into his monkey form, lying inert on the floor of the chamber. Jiro came running out of the room where the others still attacked Chorussina, racing to Bohgong's side. He cast a spell upon the small monkey, but though his magic healed any physical injury, the monkey did not revive. Zosta ran into the room as well and asked Jiro, "Is he dead?" to which Jiro replied, "No." He rose to his feet, spreading his arms and beginning to turn - and then he too collapsed and fell forward onto the floor.

Zosta ran to Jiro's side, kneeling to lift him up. Runa also ran into the room. While Runa examined Jiro, Zosta rose and came to give me a healing potion, for I had given my only potion to Kirara. Shim affirmed that Chorussina had again used a short-range teleportation spell to escape, but with both Jiro and Bohgong unconscious and myself and Kirara very badly hurt, we had no heart to continue pursuing her. Runa expressed her concern that if we left her behind she would resume the ritual to destroy Drezen, but despite my anxiety over Kirara and Jiro I was able to calm her fears a little by telling her that Chorussina likely still had several days left to complete the ritual and wouldn't be capable of doing so alone. Runa's efforts to disrupt the pool by pouring holy water in it would also delay getting the ritual restarted.

Zosta lifted up Jiro and bore him out of the chamber, followed by Runa carrying Bohgong, and Shim dragging the corpse of Hosilla. I stumbled along behind them with Kirara in my arms. When we ascended from the subterranean area we found many of the paladins settled into the rooms of the Citadel. We were immediately surrounded by an escort. I suggested that perhaps we could take Jiro and Bohgong to the chamber Arushalae had escaped from, which held the peaceful aura of Desna, but Zosta then offered that perhaps the grove Jiro had created outside might benefit him more and I realized that she must be correct. My own thoughts were too muddled by worry.

Irabeth walked with us as we made our way to the grove, and we told her as much as we could of what had happened, reassuring her that the ritual had been interrupted. At some point Shim left us, going off with Horgus Gwerm. We heard that there had been a third murder in the camp committed by the mysterious assassin, but I didn't pay much attention to the details.

Zosta sat down next to a tree, cradling Jiro in her lap. I settled down next to her holding Kirara in much the same manner. Runa began to sing to Jiro, songs of rest from battle and restoration from wounds, which were quite beautiful despite not being of elven composition. After a little while Bohgong inhaled a deep breath and woke, murmuring something in the Tien tongue but too low for me to make out his words. He stumbled, then demanded to know what had happened, first in Tien and then in the western tongue when Zosta complained that she couldn't understand him. He took hold of Jiro and began to slap his face, attempting to wake him. Zosta tried to push the monkey away but Bohgong dodged her hand. He took another deep breath and with effort assumed his enlarged form, then shouted loudly, "Wake up!" Spittle from his mouth flew onto Jiro's face.

Jiro suddenly awoke, looking up at Bohgong. "I was looking for you," he told the angry ape. Bohgong returned to his monkey form, clearly still disoriented by his period of insensibility. Runa asked Jiro if he wanted any food or water, and Jiro asked for tea. Runa got up and hurried off to obtain some hot water. When she returned, apologizing that she doesn't know how to make the tea in the way that Jiro makes it, Bohgong took over preparing it. When Jiro began to speak about what had happened, Bohgong told him that they should speak privately. I remarked that perhaps it would be wise if the rest of us better understood how their relationship functions, as I know very little about the spirit world and the others know far less. To this Bohgong responded that if Jiro chose to tell us more later he would not object. With that Shim arrived, and he and Runa went off to learn more about the latest murder. Zosta also rose and departed, and I picked up Kirara and bore her off to my tent to rest.

Shim was able to determine that the murdered man, Rogan by name, had been slain in his sleep by a blade that resembled the spears borne by the babau. We had suspected that babau might be responsible, and the fact that the bodies had all been mutilated after death seemed to confirm this, for this is a custom of such foul demons. Shim had also asked that some of Horgus Gwerm's staff identify the magic items carried by Hosilla and the cultists, and a number of items had been added to Gwerm's stock. We took the vials of healing oils that the cultists had carried. I am now better prepared to care for my own health without relying so much on Jiro's hexes.

After his strange fainting spell Jiro seemed a bit disoriented and distant, as if he had been away from his body far longer than a few hours. His unconsciousness seemed to me similar to when a wizard attempts to identify the properties of an overwhelmingly powerful artifact, and Runa remarked that to her it resembled the effects of direct contact with a deity. We will have to wait for Jiro to tell us more when he is willing.

Shim has suggested that perhaps we should all learn an uncommon language that our enemies are unlikely to know so that we may communicate without fear of being overheard. We will have to consider what language that may be. Perhaps I can learn it first and teach it to the others.

Now I must turn to inscribing new spells in my spellbook. I have acquired a scroll that will allow me to become invisible and remain so even if I direct harmful magic against an enemy, which I hope will be useful when we descend again to face the shadow demon. I have also exchanged my enchanted belt for another that will help me to better withstand injuries. And I am able to inscribe a second spell in my book, one of those that I learned during the time that Eldrazi invaded my mind. His presence was unwelcome but not entirely without useful result. If I am to complete both spells this day, I must begin now. I will write again when I have more to tell.

Next - Part 48: Deadly Shadows

[Pathfinder] Mummy's Mask, part 46: In Search of the Sekrephrenet

The scarab door was covered in carved images of ancient Osirion, including a city on a strange hill with smoke rising from it. The Scarabs prepared themselves against lightning, then opened the door. A harsh desert wind blew out through the open doorway.

Beyond the door lay a circular room, its walls covered in white plaster. A statue of a proud pharaoh occupied the room, holding a model of a city in its hands. In front of this statue sat a large woman whose lower limbs were replaced by a whirlwind of sand. She appeared to be meditating when the door opened, but as soon as the Ruby Scarabs saw her she charged at Azzaria.

Kaa sprayed the djinni with a line of acid. She leaped at him and then sprang back. He punched her, connecting despite the cloud of sand and dust that partly obscured her. Sula sank into the floor and glided into the room, peeking out to see what was happening. Azzaria moved in to slash the djinni. Kaa stunned her and she dropped the falchion she wielded. Kaa shouted, "Someone grab her sword!" and Sula responded by reaching out with an earthen hand to grasp the falchion and pull it into the floor with her. Kaa continued to hammer the djinni, and Uto used the pharaoh's mask to cast a spell on her. She turned to ash, and an instant later her whirlwind ceased and a heap of black sand fell to the floor, along with a ring and the jeweled pectoral she had worn.

While Hutt detected that the ring was magical, Uto gathered up some of the djinni's sand. Sula emerged from the floor and handed over the falchion, which was enchanted to conduct lightning. Then the party turned their attention to the miniature city in the statue's hands. Kaa realized that it was actually a puzzle chest. When he opened it he found in the interior compartment an ornate scroll tube and a device similar to an orrery. Hutt revealed that the orrery was a very potent magical artifact. There were also two potion vials in the compartment that contained oils capable of restoring life to the dead.

Kaa heard heavy steps outside, and Nyema growled. Three clay statues with heads in the form of a hawk head, a cat head, and a scarab beetle appeared. Hutt cast a spell on his companions to grant them alacrity again. Kaa ran foward and was met by the scarab. Sula recognized that the "statues" were actually golems and warned her friends. Azzaria used her enchanted kopesh to rush at one of the golems, striking it with both the kopesh and her mace. The hawk golem charged her, while Kaa smashed the scarab. The cat moved in just before Azzaria destroyed the hawk, its head unexpectedly transforming from cat to scarab beetle. Uto's hair reached out to touch it and it began to show signs of decay. Azzaria smashed it with her mace.

When the golems were gone the Ruby Scarabs decided to check the area they had come from. An angled hallway led them to a door, which Kaa determined was not trapped. Beyond it was an oddly shaped room with colorful reliefs and and hieroglyphs inscribed on the walls. Hutt recognized it as a kind of ritual magic with a continuous effect. Some of the reliefs showed people with animal heads like the golems.

Uto moved into the room to get a closer look. As he did so three more golems appeared, this time with heads of a vulture, the god Set, and another scarab beetle. Sula entered the room and struck at one golem. The vulture charged her, and then the Set golem also attacked her. Once more Hutt used his wand to give everyone in the party hasty movement. Sula slammed her earthen fist into the Set golem repeatedly. Kaa destroyed the scarab and Azzaria smashed the vulture. Azzaria then noticed three glowing nodules on the wall, between humanoid forms that seemed to be made of sand. She realized that this indicated there would be more golems. Kaa reacted by destroying the nodules, assuring that no more golems would appear.

After the Scarabs left the golem chamber, they went on to explore the other halls surrounding it. Kaa unlocked another door, disabling a magical trap. When the door was opened it revealed a very small space and another door. After Kaa opened the next door it revealed yet another tiny space and a third door, identical to the first two. At that point Sula suggested that she could pass through the walls to find out if there were more such doors ahead and what lay beyond them.

Beyond the next door Sula found that there were a total of ten doors ahead, each separated by another tiny room . After she passed the last door she saw a hallway with several doors leading off it. Each of these doors was carved with relief forms of people who resembled the ghost statues the Scarabs had encountered earlier. She also saw two figures that seemed to be made of living sand standing guard.

After observing the sand men, Sula returned to the others to report what she had seen. When Kaa heard of the 'sand men' he said they were living sandstorms, and Uto added that they could cause harm with their swirling clouds of sand.

When Sula had shared what she'd seen, she decided to return and look inside one of the rooms with the reliefs on the doors to see if there was anything inside that would be of use to the Scarabs so they could decide whether it was worthwhile for them to pass through the ten tiny rooms to get to them. She found that the rooms with the carved doors were empty of anything save sarcophagi carved with likenesses of their occupants. The walls were covered in images that seemed to feature the occupants of the sarcophagi demonstrating their prowess at various activities, though in one room she noticed that the person was almost hidden in other imagery, as if that person had wanted to be remembered as a spy.

The Scarabs decided based on Sula's observations that making their way through the ten doors was not worth the time it would require. They passed by the passageway of doors and tiny rooms and proceeded on to another area. There they encountered a very unusual door. It was made of cold iron that had been not just locked but sealed. On the door was inscribed some ancient Osiriani text that referred to a traitor. Because the door was sealed, the Scarabs left it alone.

Next they came to another sealed door, less elaborate than the cold iron door and sealed only with magic. When Kaa had unlocked it, it opened into a small, barren room where the undecorated walls shimmered with a green energy. Hutt declared that this energy represented a trap meant to confine anyone attempting to teleport in or out. A badly decayed skeleton lay on the floor. Though most of the skeleton's clothing and other equipment had disintegrated, it wore a cape still in good condition, an indication that the cloak was enchanted. When examined the cape proved to be what had trapped the long-ago explorer, for it was capable of teleporting the wearer over a short distance. The Ruby Scarabs speculated that the person had teleported into the room and become trapped there, unable to overcome the magical lock on the door to escape. Though the cape couldn't be used inside the area they were currently exploring, the Scarabs though it might be useful later, or valuable enough to sell, so they took it with them when they left the skeleton's prison.

After they left the skeleton behind, the Scarabs chose to return to the sun disk to seek out Tef-Naju and ask him about the sealed room with cold iron doors. Aiveria met them there. While they waited for her to return with Tef-Naju, Uto created a banquet for them to dine on.

When Tef-Naju arrived, Uto asked him about the "traitor" who had apparently been confined in the sealed chamber. Tef-Naju then told the Scarabs the story of a Shory woman named Jeshura, nicknamed the "Plague Queen of Kho", who had sought asylum with Hakotep after betraying her own people. She had devised a plan that had eventually led to the capture of her sister, who was one of the Shory engineers. But after the arrival of her sister Hakotep had lost interest in the Plague Queen and favored her sister. Jeshura had attempted to assassinate Hakotep with a disease of her own devising, but instead the disease had consumed her, transforming her into an unliving creature. She had been imprisoned to prevent her from spreading her curse.

Relieved that they hadn't chosen to break the seal on Jeshura's prison, the Scarabs turned their attention back to activating the Sekrepheres and summoning Hakotep's flying pyramid. Tef-Naju told them that they could charge the Sekrepheres this day and use the key on the following day. They decided they would bypass the sand-counting earth elemental by having Kaa open a passageway through the earth for them.

Kaa made an opening near the sandfall, outside the elemental's area. After he'd opened the way, Sula descended to scout for the chamber they sought. Some sixty feet directly below the sandfall, the Scarabs found a dark corridor. At the start of this corridor alcoves carved into its walls depicted winged scarabs within a circular border, a symbol of magic and creation. This corridor bent to their right and descended gradually. Eventually they came to an opening in the floor. It dropped away into darkness, leaving them unable to determine how deep the shaft was. Hutt sensed magic in this space and determined that it was an enchantment to reverse the natural flow of gravity here, so someone who tried to jump across the pit or throw a rope over it would suddenly be slammed into the ceiling. Then after a time the gravity would reverse again and they would be dropped into the bottomless pit.

Hutt took the chance to fly across the pit and see what would happen, but he suffered no ill effect because he expected the gravity reversal and was able to accommodate for it. Sula could use her enlarged size as an earth elemental to pass the rest of the group across the gap, aided by Uto inside the bronze sentinel. By the time all of the Scarabs had crossed the gravity had altered just as Hutt had predicted.

A little farther down the spiraling passage the party came to a huge slab of stone blocking their way. Uto utilized a wand that allowed him to make a small tunnel through the stone so he could see what lay beyond it. He saw that the passage continued onward and turned to their right. He then used his wand to make the tunnel bigger so the other Scarabs could crawl through, except for Sula who could glide through the rock using her elemental power. Uto's wand couldn't make a large enough opening for the bronze sentinel to walk through, so he reluctantly left the construct behind. Sula also decided to transform Nyema into a figurine since persuading the lioness to crawl through a tunnel of solid stone would be a diffciult task even for her. Azzaria marveled at how many traps the designers of this place had installed, since anyone else who came here would likely be one of Hakotep's followers.

On the opposite side of the stone slab the Scarabs found a door, and saw that the tunnel continued after a slight bump in its otherwise straight trajectory. The door wasn't locked. It led into a circular room filled with statues of people with the heads of animals, that at first seemed to be depictions of the ancient Osirian gods. A circular dais hummed with magical power. The room appeared to be a sculptor's workshop. It showed no sign of recent occupation. But Kaa noticed something odd about the dais. There was a piece of parchment lying in the center, and Kaa stopped Hutt just before he was about to step onto the dais to pick it up. Hutt looked closer at the dais and realized that had he stepped on it he would have become paralyzed.

The Scarabs left the workshop and entered another area, where they were promptly attacked by a golem that didn't stand against them long before it was destroyed. There were more statues in this space, but nothing else of interest. They went back to the workshop and Hutt was able to remove the scrolls from the dais without setting foot on it. After that they exited again into a long corridor with several doors leading off it. Inside one oblong chamber they saw numerous shelves of jars, which exuded auras of divination and necromancy. One of the other rooms off this hallway held a bewildering portrait of people in scholarly apparel consuming a feast of insects.

The party moved on to check the other rooms leading off the hallway. The next room held alchemical supplies, some of them spoiled when the seals on the jars had failed during the millennia they had been stored there. Uto noticed on examining one of the jars that it seemed to hold something like a spirit within. He theorized that the people in the strange portrait were eating the kind of creature held in this jar.

As they continued their exploration, Kaa discovered a hidden panel. The compartment inside held several ibis feathers, a bone wand, and a leather sack full of sand that had a mild magical aura.  The feathers were also magical, but the wand proved to carry a curse: it would summon a creature, but that creature would immediately attack the wielder of the wand instead of attacking the summoner's chosen enemy.

The next room they looked into was shaped like a bottle, wider at the far end with the 'neck' close to the door. It too was full of jars, which Uto said had a necromantic aura. Something in the room made the Ruby Scarabs all feel frightened, though none of them fled. They left that room, but after they had shut the door they heard a crash from within, followed by the sound of wailing voices. Uto immediately wanted to go back and find out what was going on in the room.

Next: part 47, Return of the Sky Pharaoh

[Pathfinder] Mummy's Mask, part 45: The Akumemnet

Tef-Naju agreed that he wouldn't move the statues in the ankh chamber again, but expressed a desire that the Ruby Scarabs put them back in the same room where they had found the ankh. After they finished their discussion with the shaitan, the Scarabs wondered if the roc they had met had departed because like Tef-Naju it was no longer loyal to Hakotep, or if it had only left temporarily and would later return.

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