(From the journals of Burhy ibn Qat'ma Al-Ma, gentleman and world traveler)
...After a
harrowing night within the strange tower of the devil monks, we
decided to set forth for the Lonely Mesa, rumored to be the home of
an Efreet and the last resting place of one of the great scholars of
Jidd-Bagdehara. It was but a short trek through the desert, and
fortunately we encountered few hazards. However, no sooner had we
arrived than a Sand-Skiff was sighted on the Horizon. At first I
thought perhaps the Tukish men had merely misunderstood our earlier
instructions, for they are a slow-witted people, if cunning in their
deviousness. However, aboard this craft was none other than
Sister Jackaline!
She had hired the same Tukish who had brought
us across the desert, having received dire portents of evil afoot.
Accompanying her was a Sorceress of Geeb, whose wanton exploits with
Mr. Cole I related earlier. It is much to my grief that even those
who dwell within our borders cannot live up to the moral standards of
we Bagdeharans, but given the nature of the Sorceresses such lewd
behavior is to be expected. I urge any of my readers with a scholarly
interest in this subject to seek out my forthcoming companion
volume “On the Connection Between the Use of Magic and
Lasciviousness”, which will be fully illustrated by one the world’s
foremost experts on anatomy.
There was another
to accompany the Sorceress, a man who called himself Sir Brad of the
Pitt. He was a most familiar sort, quick to laugh and to clasp hands
with strangers. Curiously, he claimed to be a knight of Remagen, yet
wore armor that left little of his rippling physique to one’s
imagination, a habit I have never observed among those people. Still,
Sister Jackaline informed us that these two strange people had
arrived to aid us in our venture up the Lonely Mesa, though she
confided she found them most suspicious. Mister Cole
volunteered to guard the Sand-Skiff, and ensure that the erstwhile
Tukish did not flee off into the desert again.
The
rest of us began a slow and steady ascent of the mesa. The
land was barren, save for outcroppings of rock, and I caught sight of
neither structures nor statues to tell that the place had ever been
inhabited. Sharp-eyed Ama the cook spied a suspiciously discolored
patch of earth along the slope at the side of the trail, and soon we
uncovered a cleverly hidden door! Surely this was the passage into
the hidden crypt of Keraptis, a font of incredible dark
knowledge and the doom of the great scholar Khalid ibn Yazid!
Torch in hand,
we descended a flight of stone steps, and entered a dusty chamber.
Bones and ancient, rusted weapons were scattered about the floor, and
alas I was certain that these must be the stout servants of the great
Khalid. However, backed by my trusty companions (and the rather brash
and foolhardy Sir Brad), with the God King’s favor we might survive
where those others had met their fate.
As we picked
over the bones, we suddenly heard a dreadful clattering. From the
corridors surrounding the chamber, a horde of the dead themselves
arose! The skeletons of long dead warriors approached, clasping
ancient swords in bony fists, their empty eye sockets filling us with
unimaginable dread!
Thinking quickly, Sister Jackaline and
Sister Nicole summoned great walls of flame to drive the creatures
back. Sighting a dead warrior wearing more complete armor than the
rest, I remembered the tales in the past of necromantic warriors
acting as the conduit through which their lesser servants were
animated. I hurled one of the miraculous “Explosive Darts” (whose
exciting acquisition I have spoken of earlier) and the fearsome
explosion blew this dead man apart. No sooner had his skeleton
burned, than many of the others began collapsing, their spirits no
longer enslaved by the dark being’s will. However, that was not to
be the end of things, for a great horde of skeletons was beginning to
emerge from the depths of the dungeon.
Sister Jackaline
redirected her flame wall to block off one passage, while we fought
our way through another, dispatching the few remaining
skeleton warriors who blocked our path. We discovered an
archway to another room, but this arch was covered by a strange web.
No sooner was this cobweb disturbed than it erupted in a mighty gout
of flames and a thunderous report! We were fortunately unscathed, by
I recalled that the great Khalid had warned of Keraptis’s many
traps and cunning ploys, and so we proceeded into the next chamber
with caution.
Within we found
a pair of rooms, as well as a third, web-covered doorway beyond which
we were fairly certain yet more of the undead awaited. One of the
rooms appeared to be a great library, filled with scrolls and books,
whilst the other was filled with treasure! Helmets gleamed and jewels
shined, and I recalled the words of the scholar Malik Ibn Taizard
“Always be the first to seize
a chance at profit!”
Heeding
that wisdom, I stepped into the treasure room, yet no sooner had I
crossed the threshold than a great blade came crashing down form the
arch above. Thankfully I was able to step away at the last possible
moment, but the blade sliced through the turban wrapping of my helm,
causing me no end of embarrassment! Realizing that not all was as it
seemed, I proceeded with caution, for one must always be on one’s
guard when surrounded by the Treasures of Evil.
I turned to a
seemingly innocuous chest with a heavy iron lock upon it, and gently
prodded the object with my Bialminshar. No sooner had I done this
than my suspicious proved correct, for the chest was in fact alive! A
dreadful shape-shifting beast, it stretched its tentacles out and
wrapped them about me, pulling me towards is gaping, many-fanged maw.
With no room to swing my magnificent sword of many blades, I was sure
to meet my end, but suddenly Sir Brad of the Pitt sprang to my aid! A
foolhardy man to be sure, yet he clearly felt no fear within his
heart, for he slashed away at the beast with his heavy ax. Together
with my other companions, he worked me free of the monster. Drawing
the Devil-Dicer, I lay a mighty blow on the beast, and soon the mimic
was no more!
Whilst we took
stock of the treasure room, Lady Morgan investigated the library.
Soon she became completely entranced by a particular book nothing
could rouse her. This is yet further evidence that it is better for a
lady of breeding to be read to, rather than to read herself, unless
she has purchased a work from the House of Qat’ma’s Fine Scrolls
Emporium, which are all certified to be completely acceptable for
maidens to read by themselves and are priced competitively.
With Morgan
completely enraptured, we were faced with a difficult prospect: she
had warned us that the room was filled with dangerous traps, yet none
of us were certain we could pry her out without triggering one of the
deadly devices. Again, it was the clever Sisters who came up with a
solution: they used their magic to levitate the chair Morgan sat in,
and pull her from the room. Once she had left, the spell on her was
broken, and the startled Morgan warned all of us not to enter the
library for it was a place of great doom.
With the company
temporarily safe, we evaluated the items taken from the treasure
chamber but sorrowfully learned that all of these items were cursed
and useless to righteous souls such as we. We then set to plotting
our next step. With my mastery of Bagdeharan strategy, I suggested
that we deliberately break the next cob-web door, then rush in after
the great explosion, taking advantage of the chaos to surprise our
foes. However, Sister Nicole pointed out that she had observed a
strange magical eye spying on us, suggesting that the dark wizard
who was animating these dead warriors might already know of our
plans.
With no better
solutions, we grimly made ready to fight. Ama took aim with her sling
while the rest of us took up positions, ready to rush forth. I cried
to her to loose her stone, and just as she did so, Sister Jackaline
shouted “FOLLOW ME! QUICKLY!” In a voice that brooked no
argument!
She darted off
down the corridor she had previously blocked with flames, and I was
quickly on her heels, for it is ungallant to let a maiden stride into
danger alone. As we ran, I recognized the subtleness of her plan: we
would wrong foot the necromancer who had been spying us by doing the
opposite of what we had discussed!
We rushed into a
vast, open chamber dominated by one of the strange “Air Gates”
of the ancient Thotep, and Sister Jackaline’s quick thinking
proved fortuitous once more. Within that chamber was a veritable army
of the dead, but all had positioned themselves to ambush the web
door. Had we charged through as planned, we would have surely been
felled by a volley of arrows! But Skeleton warriors alone were not
our only peril here, for there was also a being most vile and
menacing: a huge serpent, coiled unnaturally upon the ceiling and
made entirely of ancient, decaying bones. What this monster had been
in life I dread to think, but even in undeath it was a truly horrific
sight! It was none other than the mighty Bone-Naga, a monster not
only fearsome in battle but powerful in magic as well.
It was
then that Mister Cole came thundering up from behind us, voicing a
barbaric yawp! For he had learned of our plight through the
Sorceress’s magic, and had rushed to our aid. Shoulder to Shoulder
with Cole, now the time had come for battle to be joined!
Never let it be
said that fear stayed my hand, nor the hand of any of my companions,
for we rushed upon the foe, blades swinging and arrows flying. Skulls
were crushed and mangled, and the terrible Bone-Naga’s eyes glowed
balefully. For a moment, I felt my will breaking under the creature’s
gaze, but Lady Morgan cast a warding spell, and the two engaged in a
mighty duel of wills while the rest of us fought its minions. I had
thought the foe would soon be crushed, when suddenly I was struck by
a volley of arrows. While my armor was proof against much of it, a
lucky shot struck me in the jaw, whilst another arrow drove itself
into my ear! I cried out in agony, blood leaking from my wounds as I
staggered back. I had not felt such pain since my battle against the
Warmasters of the Sons of the Sun, and I am not to proud to say that
I was certain this would be the day I went to the afterlife.
But God did not
have that in mind for me. Working through the magic of Sisters and
Lady Morgan, I felt myself miraculously begin to recover. While
still sore-wounded, it was mere moments before I stood again, ready
to fight. Truly this is the lesson: that the God-King works through
even those unenlightened souls, and so I say to you seek friendship
with all, that the guiding light of civilization may improve these
poor blighted infidels and someday redeem not just their minds but
their souls as well!
Sir Brad of the
Pitt, displaying yet again his mad courage and incredible fighting
talents, was battling blade-to-blade with a skeleton warrior in the
armor of an ancient king, while Mister Cole, having been magically
enchanted to walk upon walls, pursued the Bone-Naga where it clung to
the ceiling. The battle raged, and at a key moment, the Naga struck
Cole such a terrible blow that he lost consciousness, and was left
hanging suspended in the air! However, the spells of the
ladies yet again came to our aid, blasting skeletons apart and
driving back the Naga, and rousing Cole from his dazedness.
Sensing its
doom, the Naga tried to escape from us through a hidden hole in the
wall, but Sister Nicole used her magic to seal off the route of its
flight. I called to the rest to stand back, and prepared to hurl t he
last of my Angry Darts at the beast, certain the explosion would
finish it. To my horror I realized Cole would be caught in the blast,
a terrible reward for his valor, but he roared at me to hurl the dart
anyway, and hurl it I did! The explosion rocked the chamber, knocking
both Cole and the creature from the ceiling. As it collapsed in a
heap of bones, for a moment I dared to hope the beast had been slain,
but it was not so! It rose again, hissing at us menacingly.
Together with
Sir Brad of the Pit and Cole, I rushed towards the wounded Naga. We
hacked and hewed, daring away from its lashing tail and its blasting
eyes. At last, with a cry of praise to our great God-King, I swung
the Bialminshar, and its whirling blades sliced cleanly through the
Naga’s spine. The dark magic that had bound it slipped away, and
with a final rattling hiss, the Naga collapsed.
Looking about
me, I saw that all my companions still stood. Though our wounds were
many, our clothes ragged and our armor stained, we were in a far
better state than our foes: For they were now nothing but dust and
ash...
