Pahhu: Shifting Sands of Time 16: Picking Up The Pieces

The hot desert air made sleep difficult, and although Jorah felt something trying to push into her dreams she was able to shake it off. Something was definitely trying to find them… It was no surprise then when as their rest neared its end they heard footsteps on the sand outside of the hideout.
 
DAY 27
 
“Hallo? Are you in there? I can wait.” An unfamiliar voice which the remnants would soon find belonged to a talking dog. A talking dog named Doug. A talking dog named Doug on a mission, from what he callsa giant cat lady. A talking dog named Doug on a mission, from what he calls a giant cat lady named Thamisia.
 
They had a choice. Doug was offering to lead them to Thamisia now, or they could teleport back to Lerwick and try to get help. Any help they would get from Lerwick would take time to organize, and no one had a good way back to the city. Thamisia was only a couple hours away, but was an unknown. Trusting Jorah’s relationship and the dreams she had seen they chose to follow Doug. Jorah cast a wind walk spell and the four moved silently towards the Turnback Mountains.
 
After two hours of wind walking they were lead to a strange crevasse in the mountains, a well hidden area with natural camouflage and potentially mystical effects which disrupt the senses and mind. With caution they followed Doug behind a copse of trees and down a winding passage into an ancient stone structure. His mission complete, Doug transformed into a small onyx figurine. Pahhu picked the figurine up with intent to return it to the rightful owner.
 
Once inside they were immediately on their guard for traps and other risks, but were soon taken aback to find what appeared to be a stable time portal. Similar to the time scars they had encountered but completely orderly and contained. Purple glyphs along the walls throbbed with power, perhaps the secret to this control? As they descended deeper they found another portal. Pahhu began to sense that time moved strangely in this place.
 
Their descent ended in a large temple chamber, symbols of Labelas Enoreth were carved into the walls and decorated a carpet motif on the floor. At the north end of a temple sitting languidly was a female Sphinx. Bright blue-eyes shone in the dark as the sphinx welcomed them. Was this Thamisia?
 
Thamisia spoke in riddles, she hinted that time was of the essence and unless the group returned to their fallen comrades quickly that they would be lost. She offered the help of a scroll, an ancient affair detailing the requirements to raise the dead. In return for accepting this Thamisia expected the group to return to her, to submit to a trial. Or, she offered the trial now, should they wish to abandon their comrades.
 
The party considered this, and as they did Pahhu approached Thamisia, getting within touch range of Thamisia. She laid the figurine down before the sphinx, but Thamisia insisted that Pahhu keep Doug with the group in case they needed Doug’s guidance to return. As Pahhu got a good look at Thamisia she noted her striking blue eyes, similar to those of the Yuan-Ti they had fought. The sphinx found this to be humorous, noting Pahhu’s own blue-black eyes. “These eyes are a mark of our… kind.” That was all the sphinx offered on that topic.
 
Pahhu asked if her parents had ever been to this place on a hunch, and Thamisia confirmed that once in the past Sariandi, Pahhu’s mother had spent time in this place. The tribe of elves in the nearby forest were infrequent visitors to Thamisia, she explained. Realizing the geography and the visions she had seen Pahhu became aware of the simplicity of the situation. Her mother’s tribe had been in the Frozen Forest all along. Pahhu’s chewed on the idea briefly, was there a relationship to the high ice? Was there something to all of the cold that affected time magic? She considered what she had seen of the time elemental before when she had struck it with cold...
 
What did this mean? Her mother’s side were a tribe of wood elves in the Frozen Forest, likely worshippers of Labelas Enoreth. Her father’s side had been the desert Bedine tribe, worshippers of Amaunator. Both used cold places as places of power? Or was it simply being so far north and the way the sun moved at this latitude with the lengthy days during the northern summer? Pahhu mulled this before remembering her friends were at risk.
 
Pahhu agreed to take the Sphinx’s text on their return, and she took the scroll. The trio regathered themselves and wind walked back towards the Yuan-Ti temple…
 
As they carefully infiltrated it they found the place seemingly abandoned. The Anathema had in haste damaged the doors forcing its sizable bulk through them, seemingly too exhausted to have re-entered using spells.
 
Fresh blood stains in the hall lead to the scrying pool in which they found the corpses of Tona and Nyx discarded. They plucked their friends from the bottom of the pool and placed them in Rasheed’s bag of holding with grim worry.
 
As they made it to the cavern they found the far doors shut, in the cavern were the bodies of Theodore and Marinette, leaning against a wall and face down in the stream respectively. Ed was not initially seen, but soon they saw his torso impaled on a tree branch… they had ripped him limb from limb. Making as much effort as they could to approach in silence they were halted by Rasheed who held up a hand. He pointed at Theodore… the body was moving.
 
Realizing that they needed to be careful and that they would need an hour of chanting Pahhu erected a field of silence near the far door. Rasheed approached the body of Theodore… he twitched unnaturally, the beginnings of undeath gripping him. Rasheed did not hesitate and returned Theodore to rest. He checked Marinette and found the same state had befallen her. He rectified it.
 
Jorah approached Theodore’s body and began the ritual. Pahhu also began ritually casting as she repeatedly cast silence on the far door of the room, covering Jorah’s chanting as she called for Theodore’s spirit. Rasheed used the hour to check the room for any dangers. He found nothing of the sort, but did find the remainder of Ed’s body parts. Rasheed gathered it and the belongings scattered about the room. As Theodore startled back to a living life he looked around in shock. “Barnaby?”
 
The group shook their heads and maintained their quiet, impressing upon Theodore the risk they were in of discovery. They gather everything but can not find Ed’s head or helmet. Uncertain if they needed it to revive him Rasheed chose to crack the door to the inner sanctum and explore. Almost unbelievably, and much to Pahhu’s chagrin after her efforts to maintain the silence the inner sanctum and temple were empty. Perhaps the Yuan-Ti had feared the group bringing others, or maybe they feared the mechanoid planar traveler.
 
Rasheed found Ed’s helmet in the temple, but the head could not be found. What was found however was a surprising amount of treasure, some clearly having been taken hastily while the rest had been abandoned in an effort to escape the situation in the temple… Rasheed took what he could with his bag of holding before returning to the group, and without Ed’s head they returned to lerwick to resurrect, rest and recover… they had a lot to think about.