Loose Threads: rest of City of Srasthadra's history/culture, possible plans to return to the surface, potential political shifts, vague animosity from at least one (former) leader towards some force on the surface (likely Rydess)
Participants: Bhitzaoji Ocitra, Catchis Slake, Naomi, and Yskandar
Locations: City of Srasthadra
Short summary:
Follow-up and correction to the writings of the attached report's party. Zyss are the order-giving caste of Serpentfolk, not a singular alien entity. They direct the warrior-caste, the Aapoph, and while they do utilize Enchantments to do so, it seems the more common usage is to stave off boredom in the guards. (Even so, a junior member of the city's leadership named Prophet Mihsu opposes this practice and its potential deeper, more disturbing usages, aided by Ssuku, a Prophet in training. Perhaps there were others.)
We went to the entrance of Srasthadra, since I apparently speak Aklo (their primary verbal language) and wanted to investigate, speak with them, and offer aid against mind-control if present. We found a note on the surface in Aklo to look for Ssuku at the gates, where I spoke with the Aapoph guards, but they held to their orders to kill or capture outsiders, and were killed by us in turn. We found Ssuku afterwards, and he helped us meet and question Prophet Mihsu. Peaceful measures are needed so that what little Srasthadra has left doesn't collapse, so we left the campaign against enchantment in her hands and promised to keep in touch.
We stayed the night in a secluded dining hall hoping to investigate more the next day, but were found by the leader of defense, Prophet Zholkala. We killed him after a hard fight, but thankfully didn't need to hurt his guards, though we were also found by his lieutenant and her guards and forced to run, recalling after getting away.
Please let the city recover and avoid direct contact for now.
Full report: Naomi
After a stealthy route through the Watchers' Holy Lands (which featured a traveler who'd lost a magic cloak and an unknown familiar watching us), we arrived at the surface entrance to the City of Srasthadra without much trouble, finding a new aboveground inscription ("Seek Ssuku at Gates") in Aklo, which seems to be their primary language. (Some of the higher-ups also have access to linguistic magic as we do, of course.)
Descending the pit, we found the destroyed door and stair trap described by attached report. Beyond them, we found guards with orders from a Zyss woman, (presumed lieutenant of defense) Atiu , to kill or capture outsiders.
Zyss are the order-giving caste of Nieznane, not a singular alien entity. They direct the warrior-caste, the Aapoph, such as the guards. While they did utilize some mind-control, this was a bit exaggerated by attached report, mostly (in our experience) consisting of enchantments to avoid boredom while guarding their decaying, withdrawn empire. (Given the conduct of attached report's party, perhaps the defense was justified.) It is also a practice heavily disagreed with by at least one (potentially very small) political faction within their ranks, to which the Zyss Ssuku offered support. The leader (and only other member we met) of this line of thinking was Prophet Mihsu, a junior member of the Prophets' council, who was already seeking a way to peacefully end the practice (as internal conflicts threaten what little Srasthadra has left). As later revealed, the same sort of magic can be used for much heavier enchantments, up to an equivalent of the Domination spell, and possibly is used to ensure deeper obedience.
We only saw a very small sliver of the city, in the end, and even less of its culture and history. In short, though we informed the guards of our goal to gather information and assist against mind-control if present, (magically-enforced) orders were orders, and self-defense(?...) ensued. We killed all three, after sustaining notable wounds. Encountering Ssuku afterwards allowed us to escape hostile detection for a meeting with Prophet Mihsu, from whom we learned much of the above information. Thankfully, she and Ssuku are somewhat amenable to contact and diplomatic relations with surface-dwellers, though it seems some of the leaders of the city are possibly leery of Rydess's presence (perhaps related to the fact that the entrance to their city is nestled deep in the outskirts of what the the Watchers' Tribe consider to be her holy land), or of another indigo creature. We promised to keep in touch.
As it was late by then, we elected to camp in a secluded, long-disused dining hall so that we could investigate further in our own ways the next day. Unfortunately, we did not quite secure the room well enough and the Prophet in charge of defense, who is a primary proponent of enchantment and much less amenable to outsiders, found us first. Prophet Zholkala was a very intimidating foe we were loathe to recall from due to the strategic value of keeping those secret for now, but Catchis Slake was somehow able to disrupt his spellcasting at a critical point, and... well, let's just say his guards were not a help to him. (Which is good, as none of them were killed in the fight.) Even with the strange, lucky circumstances that saw his death, his backup in the form of Atiu and more guards arrived not long after. We had no chance to explore further, escaping into the tunnels they use(d) for hunting and finding a place to discreetly recall once we'd lost them.
Naturally, the deepness of our incursion and the blow to their defensive leadership likely has the city on high alert and in some degree of political turmoil. Zholkala felt that working with outsiders would lead to Srasthadra's doom, and though they have some cultural issues (as, indeed, all cultures do) and present a possible new political consideration if they ever return to the surface, I ask that we not prove him right. Please refrain from destructive incursions and keep contact with the city indirect and minimal until further investigations can be made and official relations established. Ask Naomi (writer of this report) if you have further questions.