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The three zombies lie on the floor, twitching but now clearly done for. The two brothers then continue their way across the dormitory.
A short hallway connects a shallow, empty pool to the west to two curtained cubicles to the east. A wooden bench is bolted to the floor in a small alcove across from the pool. A set of stone doors marked with hieroglyphs stands to the north.
Two corpses have been dragged into the northern cubicle here. One is a pile of bare bones kicked unceremoniously out of the way, and the other is a rotting, but still intact, cadaver. An old, broken scimitar lies nearby. The bones are scorched and still warm to the touch, and the corpse has suffered a number of recent injuries.
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The double doors are locked, and are inscribed with Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs that read, “High Priest Only—All Others Forbidden.”
The doors aren't trapped though, and it is only a matter of time before Anakh-Ka picks the lock.
This sparsely furnished room contains a bed frame bolted to the floor in the southwest corner next to a lacquered end table. On the opposite side of the room, a wooden desk has partially collapsed against the wall. Doors exit the room to the north, east, and south. Nothing remains of value here.
The door leading northward is locked in the same way, and Anakh-Ka deals with it in the same manner.
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Beyond the door lies a small, unremarkable hallway that ends with a door. As he's about to set foot in there, Anakh-Ka notices something strangely familiar... a hidden pressure plate. It soon becomes clear that the corridor is trapped.
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Patiently starting over, Anakh-Ka pays attention to his every gesture, careful not to mess with the trap until it's completely safe to do so. A few seconds later, he rises to his feet with a smug grin on his face. "Done!" The dwarves then continue their way north, past the next door.
This octagonal chamber is empty save for a large metal chest against the eastern wall. A series of hieroglyphs are inscribed on the wall above it. Stone doors are set in both the northern and southern walls. The Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs on the eastern wall read, “The righteous and the holy have no need of staff, rod, or ring. Place your faith in the Good Magister and walk without fear.”
The next door opens into a short hallway followed by stairs descending into the basement.
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"I think you misunderstand. The “Good Magister” refers to the Sanctum’s high priest and refers to that person’s control of magic, not his righteousness. Now that I think about it, it's too bad I disarmed that trap, we could have used it to ambush the Scorched Hand after they've done all the work in our stead."
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Khal-Ib shakes his head. "I disagree. We should try to find out about their motivation and confront them before we decide whether we attack them or not. They should be allowed an opportunity to explain their course of action. Let's go down, we'll explore the rest of the ground floor later." he concludes.
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After a couple of minutes the bars are lifted, allowing passage. Yet right after you have passed, it swings closed again.
In addition to the bronze gate to the north, pairs of stone doors exit this empty room to the east and west, each emblazoned with black-and-white mask symbol of Nethys. The doors to the west are locked, but the eastern ones aren't. In fact, Anakh-Ka notices that the lock has been picked in the same fashion as the one he spotted before.
The only thing of note in this room is the lifelike representation of Nethys standing against the southern wall. When you enter the room it comes to life, stating with an even voice: "Woe to the unfaithful, they shall be destroyed." He then casts a spell.
The Guardian - round 1
1. Guardian
2. Ka, Ib
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Anakh-Ka lands a mighty blow, yet the guardian hardly feels pain or moves. It remains steady, slightly bowing its head as its readies itself for the battle to come. His wounds slowly start closing.
The guardian moves to a combat stance, acting very quickly. He wields a quarterstaff, allowing him to fight both the the dwarves at the same time despite being flanked!
The guardian is a formidable opponent, swinging back and forth with his quarterstaff, knocking the wind out of Khal-Ib's lungs before assaulting Anakh-Ka!
The Guardian - round 2
1. Guardian (18)
2. Ka, Ib
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The guardian turns to Anakh-Ka, aware that Severance might be far more deadly than the stonelord's more mundane axe. It goes all out, flurrying blows at an amazing speed!
Anakh-Ka's many layers of defense seem to be paying off, and the guardian doesn't manage to land a single blow.
The Guardian - round 3
1. Guardian (16)
2. Ka, Ib
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As the two brothers exit the guardian's room, they find themselves in a large circular hallway. Their dwarven instinct immediately warns them of something odd: the edge of a secret door sticks out slightly from the wall immediately to their left. It opens into a secret chamber.
A stone effigy of a humanoid figure stands at the north end of this room, its arms spread in a gesture of supplication, or as if commanding an object to rise in the air. The figure’s face is devoid of detail, with only vague contours where the eyes and nose should be. An extensive series of hieroglyphs covers the western wall, opposite a stone bench that stands against the eastern wall. The Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs on the western wall are written in a poetic style in an ancient dialect and are particularly difficult to follow, but they read as follows:
Woe to you who would plunder the Reliquary of the Thrice-Divided Soul. Turn away, lest the harsh judgment of the Forgotten One fall upon you and your descendants for a thousand generations. Turn away, for his ka cannot be appeased and it shall call forth legions of the dead and the damned. Turn away, and may the All-Seeing Eye and the Lady of Graves take pity on you, for if not, the Forgotten Pharaoh shall consume you, body and soul.
The effigy at the end of the room could also be inspected closer, if you so wished.
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Khal-Ib examines the hieroglyphs with great interest. "That sounds very ominous. Do you know who this Forgotten Pharaoh is? Strange that his Ka is mentioned. Of course, you do remember what this is, right? We were named after it: the “ka” is one component of the ancient Osirian concept of the soul, which was divided into five parts. The ka contains a person’s “vital spark,” that which distinguishes the living from the dead. But you knew that already."
"Look here, brother, traces of blood. Quite recent too. Someone was here, and was wounded. Perhaps the Scorched Hand? There's nothing left to loot here, so whoever was wounded must have taken something worthwhile... unless the room was empty then." observes Khal-Ib.
"No trace of what could have caused this wound. Anything on your side?"
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As you come closer to the effigy in a careful manner, a slithering sound can be heard. Soon, a skeletal figure comes out of its hiding place, from behind the effigy. The soft scrape of bone reveals the long, sinuous skeleton of a large snake, its head a humanoid skull with a snake's jaws.
The creature immediately starts dancing back and forth, its large coils moving in an entrancing way.
Skeletal Snake - round 1
1. Skeletal snake
2. Ka, Ib
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In one single, mighty blow Anakh-Ka utterly destroys the skeletal snake!
The two brothers then have all the time they want to investigate the effigy.
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"I think you're theory is right, brother. See these indentations? Something was supposed to be placed over the figure’s head or upon its face. What's more, while a fine layer of dust coats the body of the effigy, the head is free of dust, as if it once wore some sort of mask or headdress that was removed recently. That was must have been taken." explains Anakh-Ka.
"In any case, the Scorched Hand will have some explaining to do. Let's continue"
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A large silver summoning circle is inlaid in the floor tiles near the center of this octagonal chamber. In the northeast corner of the room, a set of narrow steps leads up to a raised dais. A concave stone bench, almost a throne, perches atop the dais, flanked by two bronze braziers. Four columns carved in the form of fantastic creatures support the room’s vaulted ceiling. The columns in the room are incredible examples of ancient sculpture. The column to the northeast depicts a beautiful, hawk-winged, succubuslike woman, while the southeast column is fashioned in the form of a feminine figure of billowing smoke or clouds crackling with electricity. The northwest column portrays a half-skeletal spellcaster of some kind, and the column to the southwest resembles a winged, angelic creature wearing a metallic mask.