The Forgotten City XXIX
General Summary
The Yafwadi woman stared daggers at Elissa and ran her tongue across her sharpened teeth menacingly for a moment too long before she spoke "I will not ask again, what are you doing here?" Elissa gambled "You fools with your blind scrabbling risk further dividing the sundered god. We have stopped two of your unworthy priests. We seek The Name and know that one is near."
The Yafwadi was taken aback "You know of The Name That Was Sundered?" "Of course, what else would bring us to this pit. The Name must be united. Your pitiful rituals risk thwarting our goal." Elissa spat. She left out the part where Tapiyam had told them that the only way to expel Reshpu from this plane was to find the name read it backward. "Do you have a piece of it here or are you wasting our time?" she finished with more authority than she felt.
"It is not here part is in the valley, but those below will know more. If you seek knowledge there are many paths down there."
"And the codex with the rituals necessary?" Elissa asked.
The Yafwadi responded "also in the valley, but ask below" and kicked a heavy, pitted key across the floor.
Riven tugged a loop in the rope wrapped around their Yafwadi prisoner and the ropes that had bound him so tightly slipped loose. She wrapped and slipped it in her bag as Elissa pulled the door shut. Khufu held up a wedge-shaped stone with a grin, set it gently under the door and gave it a vicious kick. "Might slow them down." he said noncommittally as he turned and walked back down the hall.
The key opened a door heading down a large spiral staircase. At the bottom guards are surprised to see them. Riven held up the key "We were sent. We seek knowledge." The guards look uncomfortable, but offer no assistance or hindrance. From the base of the stairs the group chose to head down an eastern hallway rather than heading south and passed a partially obscured natural cave that intersected with the hallway. The Jiam and Khufu were immensely interested in the hallway, but Antonious forged ahead to a hallway. He saw a door with a black skull painted on it to the south and a lit, open room to the north. Elissa and Riven followed him into a wide chamber with a beautiful Rexan mosaic of a Saint, labeled Yamena'a. Elissa was struck by the image of the saint, with his bulging eyes and slightly fishy features, guiding a boat safely through a storm, and turned slowly to Riven who also had seen the frescoes in the Shrine of Naeia Aeriscae, which showed similar looking creatures carrying off the male children of Shagora in order to serve Vargus. Riven nodded. She wondered how a sea-bound saint who might be a kin of Vargus had come to be venerated in a Rexan outpost in the middle of the desert. She opened her mouth to ask Antonious, but he was fervently chanting. She would ask Brother Theo later.
As they gawped at the beautifully well executed mosaic two Yafwadi climbed the stairs with a giant ferret, which was deeply and inexplicably offended by the sight of Antnoious. It leapt at Antonious clawing mightily. Riven loosed an arrow at one of the Yafwadi. Antonious struck the ferret. Khufu missed the second Yafwadi but Elissa struck him down before turning to run down the ferret, killing it. Riven loosed an arrow while Antonious and the last Yafwadi exchanged blows before the arrow hit, ending him. The Jiam, who had been distracted by the cave wandered in having explored it a little and saw the dead Yafwadi, the ferret and a bleeding and shaken Antonious. He said a small blessing for the poor ferret, a creature of nature trained to corrupt purposes, and rested his hand gently on Antonious's shoulder while reading from a scroll. His wounds knit and when The Jiam was satisfied that Antonious would survive he told them that he expected the cave would intersect the hallway heading to the south and expected it was quite large. Khufu was crushed that he had not followed The Jiam into the cave.
Before heading down the stairs the party swept the room and found another door. This one with a white painted skull on it. The Jiam listened at it, but heard nothing. They opened the door and it was a remarkably clean Rexan tomb with an ornate sarcophagus and a mosaic on the ceiling depicting Edius, Ator, and Eiona. The room was palpably filled with holiness. "It's a SIGN" Antonious exulted.
The Jiam sighed a little too loudly.
After some hesitation over whether it would be appropriate to disturb the remains, Elissa reminded him that his Grandmaster Andronicus Prodromus at the monastery at Adza Oasis had sent Theo to take relics from the tomb of Saint of Gregorious so that they might be taken someplace where the people could benefit from his holy presence. She did not add that at Alex's wry prodding. the Grandmaster had admitted he intended to turn the oasis into a pilgrimage destination to help fund the monastery.
With little convincing he lifted the holy figure and stuffed Yamena'a's body into a sack. While Elissa and The Jiam wandered further south to look at another passage leaving the room. The heard keening from the room where they had left the bodies of the ferret and two Yafwadi and soon several warriors led by a bone-sword wielding matriarch entered. The first swung at Antonious but blessedly missed him. Riven shot and killed one, and Antonious killed the next. Khufu ducked behind the sarcophagus to get out of the way. Elissa charged up the hall to stab a Yafwadi and then sliced with the other end of the spear, killing him. Now at the front of the fight, she was caught in the midst of a volley of arrows as the Yafwadi and Riven fired at each other. Riven hit one and one hit Elissa in the shoulder. "I can see why Kegho always complains about this." she grunted. From behind the sarcophagus Khufu chanted and used his heart's blood to call upon Xam to fill the matriarch with fear, but she resisted. The matriarch struck at Elissa but missed. Riven downed another and they finally began to flee. The Jiam grazed her with a stone and Riven hit her with an arrow on her way out, killing her.
The party searched the bodies and finds the matriarch's bone sword and 48 electrum coins, which are an odd metal for a currency. The Jiam notes they are used much more to the east and Antonious mentions that some Eknon cities had used them in the distant past. Elissa now had questions for Alex and Theo where they returned.
Khufu appeared by the door beaming with another perfectly shaped stone for making the door harder to open.
