The Forgotten City XXXX
General Summary
The rumbling stopped with a clang and it became clear that a portcullis or grate had been opened by mechanical means. The party moved to rally at the strange throne overseeing the amphitheater guessing wherever the grate was it was not in the chambers directly behind the throne. As Alex approached his eyes were drawn to a circle of 8 polished jet stones forming a black halo where a mătăhălos head might sit. He broadened his focus to the whole of the throne and felt his stomach do a flip as his mind tried to make sense of the asymmetries and organic but alien lines of the thing. He realized with a sinking sensation that it reminded him of the foul statue of Akhen-At-Im in The Tomb of the Djeti, but he did not have long to ruminate on the similarity for as they neared beastman charged out of the tunnels, drew his longbow and loosed an arrow which grazed Khufu.
Two more beastmen stepped out of the tunnel as the first loosed another arrow ripped through his leg nearly killing the priest of Kham. He was dazed by the blow and bleeding freely. With a scaly rustling and a slight lisp caused by his forked tongue ad Djeti-human hybrid came last from the tunnels wielding an Epsilon axe the same color as Kegho's wraithcleaver. "It is good that you have returned, our gods hunger" The axe-wielding beastmen continue moving in on the party clustered around the throne. Theo deftly stepped out of the way of a swing, but the other managed to badly wound The Jiam. The serpentine man began swaying as he approached Antonious his tone lilting as he whispered and sang in a snakelike tongue, but Antonious felt himself beginning to sway along with the snakeman when a lead sling bullet from Alex's staff struck him on the side of the head distracting him and breaking the spell. As the beastmen and snakeman had moved toward the throne, Elissa who had been caught on the far side of the attack bound up the stairs in the shadows of the far side and moved behind one of the great ruined pillars.
Kegho loosed an enchanted arrow at the snakeman and it burst into flame as it pierced his flesh. One of the beastmen missed with his axe and Riven snapped a bowstring. Herk responded to the off-balance beastman with a confident blow, and Antonious too landed a blow. Teleptyon drew forth a burst of energy from the elemental plane of fire and scorched the snakeman. The beastman missed with his longbow and shot more flaming arrows at the snakeman. Riven fired again at a beastman and hit him. The Serpentman moved in to attack Kegho directly. Elissa slipped from behind a pillar and charged the beastman with the longbow, impaling him and ululating felling him. Herk struck again with his axe. Antonious missed. One of the fighters fled the way he had come faster than Elissa could chase him.
The serpentman called out to his goddess Tihamat as he struck at Herk. The Jiam slipped behind and attempted to assassinate the snakeman but though weakened he was too robust. The knife though severed a tendon in his back and Mitra pulled him to the ground killing him. Alex briefly checked on Khufu who was sheltering in place behind the throne but the power of Kham had stabilized his wounds though he was still quite badly injured.
He then pulled out his tools and liberated the jet into a sack. As he finished and Khufu was trying to figure out how precious the wood and precious inlays of gold and ivory were, the pair they had battled previously, the warrior and the snake woman who had turned Asbjørn into a snake come out through the doors behind the throne. He denounced them for being inferior and always feasting upon the carcass of the Djeti civilization, taking what others had built. Alex retorted "I thought this was a city of the Rusati you now make your ruined home" and battle again began again. Herk missed the warrior though his strike technique was immaculate and the snakemistress began intoning words that danced across Alex's ears in the same way her spell had when she turned Asbørn into a snake. He followed her gaze and her eyes were locked on Theo, the color had drained from his face. Alex loosed the last flask of Eknoi fire at her but missed. It hit the worn stone floor of the theater stands and burst into flames, splattering her with the firey mixture. He cursed wasting such a precious item, but as she screeched she saw the color return to Theo's face. Teleptyon followed up with a bolt of flame at the snake sorceress. Antonious and the great snakeman warrior missed each other before Khufu shouted HALT, his voice resonating in an otherworldly way. The fighter and sorceress stopped their assault and Khufu ordered everyone through the doors past the throne into an antechamber. They made their way in but Mitra was running the other way and would not heed The Jiam's call. Teleptyon bound the door with chains of pure Ar. Theo warned that the pair seemed to have started moving toward the portcullis area as the doors had shut, and he quickly ministered to the most wounded of the party. He urged them to try the door in the opposite direction. The Jiam opened the door and it was a beastman barracks. Their attempts to bluff their way through the room were met with suspicion and when they were told to leave they politely closed the door behind them.
Next they opened the double doors to the south of the room and found a large chamber with a great constrictor snake slithering toward a Neshite man tied to a post. Antonious's spirits were buoyed by the idea that they would be able to rescue the chief's son after he had already believed his son had died. The Jiam held him back a moment while he tried to reach out and connect with the natural energies of the creature but was unable to.
Rewards Granted
Longbow and quiver [17 arrows]
Hand axe
Epsilon Axe [Great Axe of an unusual metal]
8 jet cabochon
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