Nomen Infernale XVIII: A Breath that Comes Not Again

As Zahur begins to relate his local knowledge of the spear tip Nudjat, he cannot keep his focus with the stench of the grave that clings to La Compagnia and recommends a smoke bath of aromatic woods. He and Elissa bas Sisa go into the thickets nearby searching for something appropriate to burn. While they wait, Alexandru begins assessing the items from the hall of the solifuges and finds four copper, five silver and 13 gold minted in the Shayrid style. With Nuru’s help he identifies a carnelian gem worth approximately 50 gold, the prayer beads were carved of fine chrysoprase that he believes he can get 35-40 gold, a peridot star worth approximately 75 gold. Nuru seems surprised that the Oameni would even need help with identification, and then heads to help Asbjørn set up defenses for the camp. Theo and Teleptyon immediately pass out in the center of what will be the camp and Kegho gently tucks them into bedrolls before building the camp around them, humming an Ashkuzi lullaby while Riven helps with setup.

Zahur and Elissa return and he builds a big fire and dampens it slightly before throwing the aromatic woods on. He points to an area downwind and instructs the group to sit there. Alex props open the tent so the sleeping priest and mage could also benefit from the smoke and they listen as Zahur tells the tale of Nudjat:

The spear point was crafted by Nuru’s ancestors, the Keb, for use in a war against a more ancient aspect of the god the party knows as Reshpu. This god had been summoned to Tel by the Cynocephalus using unspeakable rituals. The Keb, Khemians and Rusati had allied themselves to stamp out its evil. In the final battle with this god, whose infernal name was now lost to the world of men, Nudjat, The Fang, was driven through its heart which split its essence into three fragments. The spear was then used to seal the three parts of its true name. The Keb, Khemians and Rusati were each given a fragment of the name and were tasked with hiding and protecting them to prevent the pieces from being reassembled. Rexans, seeking to control such power had long sought Nudjat and the three pieces of the infernal name, but the Khemians always led them astray to prevent them from reassembling them and unsealing them with the spear.

The night passes uneventfully and the morning is clear and mild. Alex and Zahur cook, and Theo doles out the ministrations of Lamos now that he is well rested. They break camp and return cautiously to the northern hallway. Alex has flashbacks to the throat-like hallway in the Djeti tomb and Theo offers to use a fragment of the sight granted to the gods to search for traps. He finds none and leads them through a ceremonial hall filled with crushed mosaics to another thick stone door. Kegho and Asbjørn attempt to show each other up, but neither succeeds. Alex and Riven hunt for hidden latches, switches or pressure plates, but were unable to find any. Teleptyon uses his magic sight to see the outlines of something on the otherside of the door. Eventually Nuru suggests pickaxing the door down and the party nervously agrees as they have a history of attracting dangerous attention while clearing rubble.

As Nuru begins picking away at the door with his carefully crafted, inscribed pick-axe, Kegho and Asbjørn join in and Alex helps clearing rubble. After making some progress, the Riven hears the approach of something. Theo sees a group of unrestful dead, or arevenante, approaching with curiosity. He attempts to turn them, but is once again stymied by the conflicting energies of this tomb.

Alex sends a bullet sailing toward one of the wights and is disappointed when a good strike does no damage. Asbjørn flies into a rage as Teleptyon screams “No, don’t let them touch you! They’re evil!” Asbjørn splits the first in half with Lullaby. Elissa moves to get in between the undead and Teleptyon, but Teleptyon side steps her to loose a bolt of Ar at one. She again moves to a position to impale anything that might attack the wizard. Theo calls forth the Hammer of Ator.

A wight strikes at Nuru but he is narrowly able to deflect the attack.

Alex tests a theory and sends one of the silver Shayrid coins they had found into the head of one of the wights; it let out a satisfying howl of pain and Alex grinned as he prepared the next coin. It was a shame to waste good silver on these things, but it’d be a bigger shame to not be able to spend any of it.

Teleptyon touches Riven’s quiver mumbling words in a language she did not recognize and six of her arrows began glowing.

A wight grabs Nuru and draws his life from him. Kegho cleaves the wight in twain with Skullcleaver but the damage has been done and they see the orb of Nuru’s essence dissipate.

Asbjørn and a wight attack each other and Asbjorn feels some of his strength drawn away. Alex sends a second coin flying and is gratified to see a small circle melted into one of their faces. Riven fires an arrow but misses in the chaos. The Hammer of Ator continues battering the undead. Tele releases another bolt of energy into another, but is grabbed by a wight and drained of some of his energy. Riven and Alex both successfully fire projectiles into their enemies. The hammer of Ator explodes one from behind. Asbjorn, still enraged, stabs Lullaby into Kegho’s thew before Theo has a chance to calm him. The steplander replied “Uncalled for, bro.”

Teleptyon a little manically whispers to Asbjørn “You know we have to dismember him.”