Contract: The Don's Request
Previous: The Mold Maddened Beast and the Plague Warden
Next: Unknown
We rejoin #Team High Turnover Rate as 2 grenades clattered off the stairway within the plague warden which landed at Zuri of House Du'Mansia's feet. She deftly avoided the brunt of the damage and charged up to confront 2 Lashunta mercenaries. One lay out suppressing fire while the other ran up with a sword and knocked Zuri unconscious. In that short time Bash, Roquesta (Rocket) Strauss, and Roswell Mogul finished the cleansing ritual and joined the fight. Rocket exchanged ranged fire while the others ran up to engage in melee until the enemies were defeated.
Cautiously proceeding further into the statue Bash found a large circular room in the head with a waist high pedestal filling the majority of it and a small and clearly modern box located in its center. Rather than taking a chance on what might be a trap the rest of the crew continued up the arm to the hand. It contained spent casings and a small pool of blood from when Bash shot the sniper. Since the entire statue had been cleared, you went to investigate the package. It contained a small memory chip with a sound recording of a raspy damaged voice and a text file with coordinates.
"Now that the captain and I have had our heart to heart I will leave you be for now. You are too injured to put up a proper fight. Stay here and rest. I will not lay any further traps or ambushes. I will await you at the Temple of the Twelve in the ruins of Loskialua. I expect you to take the time you need to be at your best. I don't want to feel cheated of my revenge when you are defeated as easily as a newborn ento mo."
Realizing the futility of following with Zuri gravely wounded and Jerzac Scarlewe almost crippled from the skyfisher's poison. Those two remained on bedrest in the cool chambers while everyone else kept watch. On the 3rd day of rest your old friends the ksariks returned at the edge of the tree line. Wanting to finally finish these annoying followers, you threw the dead mercenary bodies over the edge of the statue to lure them into an ambush.
Once they got near enough, Zuri pulled her standard idiotic maneuver and tried to land on one's back and ride it. Of course it failed miserably. While Zuri was attacked the rest of the team efficiently focused fire on one beast at a time. Roswell joined the melee fray until he fully attuned to the light of the universe and burst like a miniature supernova devastating the opponents but also seriously burning Zuri. After that it was just mop up duty.
After a final afternoon's rest, the party started a brutal 36 hour forced march towards the supplied coordinates. The heat started rising around the exhausted party when you were about 5 out. Some sense worked its way through the mental fog and you all turned on your heat protection and passed out for the entire day. After you all woke up early early in the morning you hustled over rolling foothills towards the ruins on the mountain to take advantage of the relative coolness.
As the sun came up you walked into a field of pyramids consumed in the verdant loam, leaving only ~2-25 feet exposed. Of greater interest is what was clearly a temple perched several hundred feet up a cliff face on the side of a large mountain.