More Riddles
Earlier parts of the story can be found here
Having rested a while Archi checks the stairs going up to the next level, there is a faint red light coming from above. Not more spirits we hope. Archi finds no traps and sneaks up to take a peak. The room above cast a faint red light on the stairs. Inside you see three bronze statues standing 5’ in front of a railing. The statues stand about seven feet tall. One has the head of a jackal, the second a hawk, and the third a vulture. “On the other side of the railing are 2 steps leading up to a platform, with a mummified giant snake around it, on the platform is a pillar supporting a glowing red gem. He then came back and told us what he could see. We all go up the steeps with Zeno holding the last golden snake. Nothing attacks us the statues stay silent. The walls around this part of the room have pictures of the three god, there are also lots of Egyptian hieroglyphics around each god statue.
For the next hour or so Zeno tries to understand what it all says, in the end he thinks that the pictures and hieroglyphics mean. It seems the gods are receiving offerings. Anubis receives all the dead; Horus receives things of the sky, birds, rain, clouds etc. While Nekhbet receives things of Egypt, water, sand, reeds etc. the rest seems to be the recipes he was looking for to change the fabric of the natural world. So it seems we need three offerings to these statues, we have no idea what will happen if we do not but we are not going to take a chance. We discuss what we need and decide a bone of some sort will do for something dead, water will do for rain and sand should do for the last. We know we have bones down in the boat room and the pit room and sand down at the entrance room we just do not have water, but remember that there is the fountain in the temple courtyard, along with the bones of the priests we killed. So we need to leave the pyramid and come back in, probably using up our last snake in the process.
We head down to the boat room to look at what is there in the pots and chests, for an offering. However all of it is decaying quickly and none of us fancied putting our hand into the gooey mess to take out a bone. So we continued down towards the entrance. At the slope Telamon went down first with Jason following once he was down. As Jason got about halfway there was the sound of stone moving and a part of the roof moved and sand poured into the sloping passage. Jason held on tight to the rope while Telamon jumped sideways out of the way of the sand. As Telamon moved away from the door it closed locking the sand into the sloping passage and Telamon into the pitch dark of an unlighted room.
With Jason having his head just above the sand once it stops falling, the rest of us dig him out enough to bring him up to the top of the steps again. We have no idea what has happened to Telamon. We will find out a little later. For now we wonder how we are to get out as there is 25x10x10’ of sand blocking the door below. As we sit and wait we wonder how Telamon faired.
Telamon, gets up from the floor, in total darkness, the floor has sand on it now and feels rough to his hands as he rises. Feeling along the wall he finds the area of the door and with a prayer to Hercules flexes his muscles and try’s to pull the door open again. Slowly it moves as he pulls, as the door opens the sand starts to flow around his feet. Then the door gives and slides fully open and the sand roars through sweeping him off his feet. In the darkness Telamon can see nothing all he knows is that he is moving and being tossed about, banging into things as he goes. He keeps trying to find something to grab and stop his movement, eventually his fingers find an edge and hold on as the sand continues to push and pull at him. As the sand stops moving Telamon finds his feet and realises he is on some steps, he has been swept across the room and nearly down to the pit.
The rest of us decide we need to do something and try to clear the sand so we can get to the door. We manage to clear the top of the door from the remaining sand and Archi triggers the catch to open it again. As the door slides open Archi is caught by the sand he is standing on and starts to be swept away. Jason reacts fast and jumps and grabs Archi holding on to the door as he does so. Telamon hears the door open and feels more sand sliding past him. With Archi safe, we go and find Telamon, we find him on the steps.
With us all back together, we continue to head back out the pyramid, back over the pit by the pillars using the wood again, then past the sphinxes and using the wood around the room of sand to avoid disturbing any more snakes. Archi looks for the mechanism which controls the door and opens it. We then go and collect a skull and some fountain water and re-enter the pyramid. We cross the sand room again using the planks again to do so. When we met the sphinxes again they block our path and say ‘You must answer three riddles to pass’. We answer each riddle quickly and move on we cross the pit again and re-enter the room with the statues and pit, however the pit is now full of sand so no collecting anything from there. We do need some sand though so take some with us.
It must be around midday now as we make our way up the sloping passage, Archi checking it first, but it seems the trap is one use. We reach the area of the gem again and Telamon places the skull by the Jackal statue, while I put sand by the Vulture and Jason pours water by the Hawk. Nothing seems to happen, although we have no idea if something should. Archi and Zeno look on, not believing in Godly stuff but that this should cancel any trap set to catch the unwary.
Archi gets Jason to cover him with his bow and a special arrow, with Jason and I do the same with a Akon. Archi then steps over the rail and the snake starts to uncoil towards him.
As Archi falls back Jason loses his arrow and hits the monster, the arrow disappears, and the snake is dead, although I suspect it was already dead
Zeno rushes past us and grabs the gem, even as we shout for him not to. Lucky for him there are no more surprises waiting. With the gem in his possession we look around and notice the golden tombs, Archi checks the right side one out for traps and it seems clear so he opens it. Inside a figure stirs and a priest like mummy stands, holding a bronze mace.
Archi falls back as the figure mouth starts to move with no sound coming from them. I ready an akon as does Telamon and Jason starts to load arrow.
Archi re-crosses the railing while the mummy puts its coffin between it and us still noiselessly mouthing. I followed by Telamon throw our Akon’s Telamon misses but I get it in the right arm. However this doesn’t seem to faze it.
Archi starts to load his sling, I ready my next Akon.
As Archi continues to load and ready his sling the priest points at him and nothing seems to happen. I throw my second Akon hitting it in the head, again with no effect. Telamon readies his second Akon.
The mummy starts to mouth again, while I prepare my Dory. Telamon throws his Akon hitting the creature in the chest, but again not slowing it. Jason also is ready with an arrow again and loses and hits the chest. Trouble is all these attacks are impaling and just go through the fleshless body.
Archi at last loses his sling shot, now this smashes so should be of more use, he hits the abdomen of the monster.
Archi starts to reload, the mummy still is mouthing off with no noise. I wait with my spear while telamon readies his sword and Jason reloads.
The priest points his mace again this time at Telamon. Telamon starts to vomit, something has disturbed him, I wonder why it hadn’t effected Archi in the same way. Jason loses again putting another arrow though its abdomen.
The monster starts to mouth again while Jason and Archi reload.
Archi and Jason are both now breathing heavily [tired] but Archi still manages to hit the priest in the chest with a sling shot. This seems to be enough to to finish the creature off and it falls to the ground a pile of bones and rags.
Another combat over and only Telamon affected by the creature, we rest for a few minutes before going to look into the golden sarcophagi and find what’s inside.
A Christian Warrior 