The Forgotten City XXXXII
General Summary
The battle with serpent cultists continued though three of the great snakes lay dead, the cursed asps brought forth by serpentine sorceries from Khufu's staff were dead and many of the beastmen lay dead or dying. Elissa stood shoulder to shoulder with Theo and the Chief's son, Ka-Ar against three beastmen. Herk, Riven, Khufu and Alex faced off against the injured but still deadly last great serpent, and the beastman captain stood on the stairs growing increasingly enraged as his warriors fell to the Company.
Alex stepped nimbly up the heavy coils of the snake's body to sink a dagger under its jaw, it and dragged it effortlessly through the snake's submental flesh. He tittered at what a joy to use this new dagger was as he rolled out of the way of the serpent's jaws now partly loose from injury. Herk took the snake's distraction as an opportunity to land a might blow at its neck with his axe while Riven moved back out of the reach of the beastman who had attacked her and the snake and loosed an arrow into its skull, granting another creature of Bira a final peace.
To the south of the chamber a beastman brought a hand axe down upon the head of poor Theophilus, but the doughty priest turned his head slightly and the axe bit into the helmet and destroyed it preserving his skull. Shaken by the nearness of death he moved back toward The Jiam who closed on him and bound his wounds while whispering poetic incantations that left Theo picturing a lightning struck tree turning green again in the spring before the moment passed and he realized his worst wounds had knit themselves closed.
Elissa began her assault on the knot of beastmen in earnest now that Theo was safely behind her and she did sink her spear deeply into the side of the one who had landed the last blow on Theo. He howled in pain exposing his neck as he tilted his head back and Antonious did sink an arrow into his exposed neck. One of them sliced out at Ka-Ar and opened a great wound across his chest.
Having seen the last of the ophidian trinity fall to these interlopers the beastman captain strode into the fray and sank his axe into the shoulder of Herk. Kegho joined the battle with the captain still a joyous mess of whirling blades. Khufu found Riven and treated her injuries, stopping the bleeding and easing her pain, while Teleptyon kept his distance and read arcane words from a scroll as he spoke the words slid sideways through the minds of the hearers and spark and flame concentrated around the tip of his staff, as he finished speaking a point of light and heat flew toward the captain and engulfed him briefly in searing flame.
Now free of the snake, Alex moved to stab from behind the beastman Elissa was fighting, but he missed. The beastman turned and struck the Oameni with his axe and Alex was much aggrieved by this. The Jiam and Riven both loosed missiles from across the cistern pelting the beastman but doing little damage. Elissa continued attacking the beastmen around her, taunting with each strike. Antonious loosed another arrow, but also missed the Beastman now facing Alex. The beastman attacking Ka-Ar missed, as did the Captain attmpting to hit Herk. Khufu attempted to take one of the beastmen down to the floor with his quarterstaff. Kegho sliced at the captain again with Wraithcleaver. Theo retreated to the eastern door of the room encouraging others to follow. A beastman again struck at Ka-Ar. Riven sank an arrow into the back of the neck of the beastman fighting with Alex, killing him.
The Jiam loosed another stone into the fray but missed. Alex slipped behind the beastman fighting with Elissa and dragged his dagger along the back of his thigh and dug in at the base of his spine. As his legs went limp and he dropped to the floor, Alex ended him, grinning a little manically at Elissa before slipping back into the battle. Khufu appeared behind the last beastman in the cluster with Ka-Ar and Elissa and deftly swiped his legs out from under him. He studied the prone beastman delighted at having found the correct leverage for the job as an arrow whistled past from across the cistern and landed directly in the beastman's buttock as he attempted to get up.
Herk and Kegho stared at the battered beastman captain ready to engage him again when he howled in pain and collapsed grabbing at his nethers. When he fell Alex was behind him admiring the dagger and grinning. Kegho, deprived of his kill ran down to behead the poor beastman on the ground with an arrow in his ass.
The battle now over Ka-Ar noticed his nakedness and became abashed. He was handed a tattered beastman cape and fashioned it into a rough covering of his nethers. He approached Theo and told him that there were more slaves in pens to the left of the room, out the way the Djeti-halfbreeds had traveled and expected an Ouranic cleric to leap to action.
Before they left the ceremonial chambers Alex, Teleptyon, Khufu and Theo raided bookshelves lining the chamber just past the one they were in. Beyond that was a third room, also with a cistern and very well lit with oil lamps. In the far wall was a pair of moldering curtains shot through with twisting serpentine motifs. Elissa and Alex searched the room for nooks or hidden doors, tugged on the lanterns to see if they would budge, but could find no exit from the room. As they turned to leave they heard the grinding of a gate or portcullis being opened somewhere deep beneath them. Khufu checking from room to room for aberrations in the ancient Keb stonework of the repurposed Rusati city noticed that the cisterns might be connected as the openings were progressively lower but the water levels seemed the same height.
Rewards Granted
52 s and 47e shayrid coins
Created Content
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