This secret door took the Scarabs to a long darkened hall containing a broad pillar. Torches came to light as they entered, revealing paintings on the walls of charioteers. Suddenly they heard a shout and a chariot appeared swooping down on them, drawn by a pair of manticores and bearing a masked figure with a bow. Hutt immediately erected an iron wall across a portion of the room. As the chariot flew overhead, the Scarabs realized that the manticores appeared insubstantial. The archer fired on Kaa, striking him with multiple arrows.
Azzaria transformed into a dragon and leaped to the top of Hutt's iron wall. Kaa breathed a gout of acid at the charioteer. Uto sent two spirits to attack the manticores but one of the spirits suddenly vanished. Hutt took a moment to examine the charioteer, and Shendakut explained that this was General Tawaret, a might warrior. In response, Hutt created a small structure of force over the entrance to the chamber.
Kaa breathed flames at the charioteer and found that more effective than acid. Hutt tried plying his wand against the manticores but his missiles had no effect on them, leading him to suspect they were illusory. The chariot swooped into Hutt's structure and the woman riding it sent a burst of cold at Sula before exiting, after which Sula took the shape of a dinosaur again. Azzaria leaped into the chariot and grappled the general while the chariot flew over Sula and blasted her with a chill energy again. Hutt erected a second iron wall in front of the chariot. Kaa jumped on top of this wall and sent more fire at the woman who was struggled to get free of Azzaria. Sula snapped at the chariot but missed. Azzaria was unable to hold the woman and then attempted to order the chariot to land but it didn't obey her command. It flew upward but wasn't able to clear the iron wall safely. Uto then enlarged himself to attack the general. Kaa and Sula joined him as the collision with the wall dislodged the woman from the vehicle and she fell, nearly cut in two by Kaa.
Hutt found an assortment of magical objects on the general's body while the Scarabs treated the wounds dealt them by Taweret. Kaa complained that he needed rest, but first he wanted to have a go at flying the chariot. Despite Kaa's complaint, the Scarabs decided not to leave as they feared that Hakotep would be able to prepare more defenses against them if they departed to recuperate.
At the far end of the chariot room they found a pool of water framed by statues of peasant women bearing water jars. The place felt like an oasis. They noticed that the water pouring from the water jars didn't actually touch the pool. Hutt discerned that the water in the pool was magical and would cause a spellcaster to forget some of their spells. The statue was also magical, enchanted to cause the water to teleport out of the jug and back into it again. As Kaa passed the statue he suddenly felt extremely thirsty. Despite this he disabled a trap, then looked around a corner using a mirror to see more water and a large chamber containing more statues.
The floor of this room was covered in glyphs praising Hakotep, intermingled with curse magic that had been forgotten after the pharaohs ceased to rule Osirion. A stone block door was engraved with falcons holding lotus blossoms in their claws, which Uto recognized as a symbol associated with Hakotep. Kaa was still extremely thirsty, and Uto realized that he had been afflicted by a curse, which Uto cast a spell to break. Fortunately the curses inscribed on the floor did not affect the Scarabs. Kaa then discovered a secret door.
This secret door when opened led into a chamber with its floor covered in yellow metal. The chamber was occupied by four statues bearing vulture heads and holding spears. Kaa warned that the spears were part of a trap. The room also held a sarcophagus, which was neither locked nor trapped nor occupied. Kaa attempted to disable the spear trap he failed and everyone was struck by lightning but it did little harm. The party then went back to the stone block door, and in a short while the passphrase had been discovered and the block lowered.
On the floor of the next large chamber a painted figure held a platter of offerings. An archway with a very low opening appeared to be intended for the use of servants as it would force them to bow while passing through it. An inscription on the floor commanded visitors to bring gifts or abase themselves before the Sky Pharaoh. The Scarabs paused for a few moments to prepare themselves. Azzaria hung a feather token on Sula, and Sula cast spells on Nyema to enlarge her and add acid damage to her bite, as well as to guard both of them against death magic. Kaa disabled a trap that would have caused wracking pain, then headed into the room.
A horn sounded as they entered, followed by a voice commanding them to approach. They found themselves surrounded by eight huge statues with the heads of vultures. More statues with heads of baboons stood around a dais. Painted falcons of increasing size covered the floor. On the tall dais a figure sat on a regal throne. They all knew it must be Hakotep himself.
As Kaa spoke an insult to the pharaoh, Hakotep cast a spell, sending four miniature meteors to explode around the tengu. The baboon statues moved forward. A blue ray of frigid cold shot from the pharaoh toward Uto. Sula told Nyema to attack one of the baboon-headed statues, which Azzaria had identified as golems. Hutt sent a swarm of screeching monkeys to scramble all over Hakotep. Sula moved up to join Nyema in attacking one of the golems. Hutt took cover behind a pillar, and his summoned monkeys snatched the royal flail away from the pharaoh.
Hakotept sent out a series of multicolored rays at his enemies. Sula was struck by lightning, Nyema was very nearly turned to stone, and the monkeys disappeared but left the flail behind. Azzaria destroyed one of the golems. Kaa used a gem against the pharaoh that caused the same effect as the spell the pharaoh had just cast, but it had no effect on the undead ruler. Hakotep ordered one of the golems to use magic against Kaa, and a scarab crawled out of the golem's chest and created a glowing symbol that tried to shatter Kaa's bones. Hutt used his wand to hasten the Scarabs then dropped the wand on the floor. Shendakut charged forward and pounced on one of the golems. Uto cast a spell of healing on everyone, which healed Sula entirely of the wounds she had received.
Hakotep raised his crook and flail across his chest, which caused Uto's spell to rebound from him, but it still healed the Scarabs. Then bolts of lightning shot out of his body in all directions. Nyema was stunned by the lightning but Sula's dinosaur form resisted the magic. Azzaria was surrounded by images of herself and used her water kopesh to flow up to the throne. Kaa directed a flying kick at a golem. The golem he faced opened its chest cavity and Kaa suddenly felt unnatually weary. Hutt flew up and cast a spell of disintegration on a golem, which didn't turn to dust but did begin to slow its movements.
Shendakut attempted unsuccessfully to grab Kaa, then turned on the pharaoh and grabbed a golem. The golem Sula faced deserted her to protect Hakotep. Both Azzaria and Kaa attacked it as it passed by them. Hakotep cast another spell. Sula and a recovered Nyema took on the golem that Hutt had slowed. Hutt shielded himself and backed away toward the cover of the pillar, while Uto attempted to dispel some of Hakotep's magical protections. The spell the pharaoh had just cast caused Uto's magic to rebound on him, and Uto lost his ability to fly.
Hakotep cast yet another spell and Sula was paralyzed. Nyema stood guard over her. Azzaria attacked him and his magic deflected her attack back at her, but because she was also under the effect of displacement magic the attack didn't harm her. Kaa destroyed the last remaining golem and then turned his attention toward Hakotep. Hutt fired off several missiles at him but they were deflected back at him, though they bounced off his magical shield. Uto cast another healing spell on the Scarabs. Hakotep got to his feet, apparently preparing to retreat, and cast another spell. Azzaria and Kaa both attacked him. Nyema snapped at him as he moved near her but his magic forced her to bite herself. Azzaria grabbed his crook from him and tossed it aside. Sula, freed of her paralysis, called Nyema to attack but it was once again deflected back at her. Uto then tried to dispel the magic. Hakotep took flight and attempted to recover the crook, then directed his bone shattering spell at Hutt. Azzaria used her kopesh to pull herself to Hakotep's side and attacked him repeatedly, suffering wounds as her own blows bounced back on her.
Shendakut flew upward. Hutt used a telekinesis spell to grab the crook and pull it out of Hakotep's reach. Sula and Nyema had also moved up to attack Hakotep, and now Hutt cast a spell on him that would restore life to the dying but would harm an undead thing like the Sky Pharaoh. This was too much for Hakotep, and his unliving existence came to an abrupt end.
Concerned that Hakotep would somehow regenerate, the Ruby Scarabs wondered how they could prevent that from occurring. They removed everything from his body, then carried it to the secret room they had opened earlier and placed it in the sarcophagus. Uto removed the funerary mask he had worn for so many months and placed it on ver the pharaoh's head. As they watched a ghostly figure rose from the sarcophagus and dissipated, accompanied by faint protests.
After Hakotep was dealt with, the Scarabs shut down all of the generators within the pyramid and set the bound Sehala free. Shendakut left to continue his eternal unlife in service to the god Set.
When the Scarabs returned to Wati to report their success to the priests there, they were sent off to an audience with the Ruby Prince, who asked them to deal with the remaining pyramids of Hakotep's generals. The other pyramids had all been grounded by the destruction of the crystal control pyramids, and the Scarabs were able to eliminate the undead warriors within them with the help of the Osiriani army.
Afterward they were showered with recognition and rewards by the Prince. Uto was given responsibility for looking after the earthworks as he had desired, to prevent anyone from discovering the magic that had been used to create the flying pyramids. Kaa kept the flying chariot of Tawaret for himself. Uto gifted Azzaria with the sand boat they had found so she could use it to return to her people. Kaa returned to his monastery to teach them about all the unusual traps he had encountered, and Sula said farewell to her friends and returned to her homeland to tell her family and friends about her adventures in Osirion.
Thus we come to the end of the Pathfinder Adventure Path: Mummy's Mask.
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