Mummies of Carkade 1472.12

In the few days since you had seen it, it was visibly clear that the walls had been mended and there were more levels of courtyards and buildings cascading down the edge of the mountain behind the main wall.
battle at the gates with a skeleton guard force including 2 Hill Giant Skeletons and a supporting cast of zombies (including hobgoblin and goblin zombies)!  There were some people as well who fled behind the inner temple gates.
The courtyard is paved with polished stones that show a dew drop shaped face with a heavy neck & chest piece resembling a mortar free wall and an elaborate headpiece that turns into 13 stars.
You later put together this is connected to a constellation relating to the “patrons”. There one painting of same preserved on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall that contains gates leading deeper down into the temple, though it is very faded as the paint covering it has largely faded.
There are many stone terror bird statues (in a heavy Aztec-style) in the courtyard area and fallen obelisks slowing mending themselves covered in graphic scenes of violence against the enemies of Carkade.
Altars are built into a large alcove and depict a constellation which was unknown to Ephut-ki.
You holed up in what resembled stables/barracks and found 4 tomb slabs in 2 of the rooms that contained skeletons. After finishing off a few skeletons that charged at you when you entered you worked out that there was a combination of necromantic and abjuration magic at play – the skeletons were stupidly old (i.e. at least 6000 years old) but very well preserved, while the necromantic slab seemed to be the means to reanimate them as undead.
Another chamber contained that undead skeletons that you recognised were uncontrolled.
The 2nd last stable contained many human and hobgoblin corpses on meat hooks and 2 butchers slabs
The final stable contained a workshop and a large number of canopic jars contained vital organs and blood
A fight with a Hypnotic Spectre and cultists, the little girl emerged requesting you to leave on behalf of Houtl-het accompanied by another mummy You encounter the name Ammutseba – putting together that the cultists are part of the Cult of Ammutseba and that it is an elder being
Puzzling out a series of levers, golden stars and patterns you find a secret passageway behind the altar ion the other side of the courtyard and make your escape into it as another column of armed undead lead by a wraith and heavily armed wights emerge from the lower temple depths and leave the former ruins
You examine a series of carvings in the passageway and put together:

• The temple that was a ruin and has been a ruin for millennia is restoring itself (with some assistance from cultists) – it is emerging from a time in the past
• It belongs to Houtl-het; a mummy noble from Carkade
• The Carkade disappeared 6000 years ago 
• A small undead army is emerging from the past lead by mummies from Carkade
• You see the revered name of the last Carkade King (Xaman-Kinich’kan) in pictograph form and feel terror just from seeing it
• A faction of Carkade elite who were part of an ancient Ammutseba cult were transformed by that being and sent forward through the time void to evade destruction by whatever event was annihilating the Carkade Empire
• saw images of thirteen adorned devotees entering a cave and then in the darkness of the cave successive images show the numbers reduce from thirteen to one. The one emerges from the cave in the garb of an Alin ‘Patron’ (this was the image of the creature in the main courtyard)
• Originally this complex was the great house of Houtl-het and her family. It included many dedications to the complex dedicated to the Alin Patrons.
• Ammutseba dedications are a later date

You hide out in a small magical hut and witness Houtl-het performing a ritual on a massive platform on a lower temple level (overlooking the deep valley below) where she is doing something to greatly enhance 8 skeletons (their faces are painted day of the dead style) by turning them into Dredge Skeletons (for game purpose 10HD not 2HD; much higher AC & attacks; smarter & quicker; more resistant to damage)
You interrupt her but she evades you – but the ritual is incomplete; but the skeletons are still tough to overcome – much sturdier and abler fighters than a normal skeleton
There are 2 huge pools out here, including one with a giant stone jaguar and one with a giant stone constrictor; you watch cultists take a small boat to climb them and light the fires in braziers hanging from their mouths and return to the darkest part of the temple
Entering the deepest part of the temple you descend a huge (40’ tall; 20’ wide tapering to 5’ at the peak) hallway into the lower level that is covered with tiny figures of defeated enemies, each represented by a tiny individually carved shape no larger than 1” tall in row upon row of defeated individuals. All sides of each block is covered, meaning the actual number of slain enemies is significantly higher than the estimated 2 million visible shapes.
In the main area there is a great pit before a raised dais that contains thousands of skulls of defeated enemies are piled up in a pit before the ceremonial pulpit. They have masks of the dead sketched on the inside or outside of each skull.
The outside masks were used in a ritual to create an undead shade, shadow, spook etc. in service to the Carkade priests, however the inside masks were an attempt to spiritually destroy the victim.
An undead Vision dwells in the dark of the sacrificial chamber. Ophion and Heian were shown visions of ancient Carkade, complete with pyramids of corpses, the skies alight with towering flames and death rapidly approaching from beyond. Houtl-het herself appears as she did when she was alive revelling in the slaughter but terrified of the approaching sickly green light causing all to wilt before it.
You find 600cp, 500sp, 900gp, Potion Supreme Healing, Potion Fire Giant Strength, Scroll - 6th (Create Undead, Insect Plague Gong (made of gold), 3 white enamel statues 2”, 2 golden ribbed canoes with crocodile skin, chain of silver bells, 3 platinum platters decreasing size & several intact glazed blue bowls
Also 2 very heavy gold and platinum scroll cases capped in mastodon ivory covered in images of skeletal Carkade beasts – the magic from the scroll cases and the scrolls within are necromantic + summoning + abjuration in nature and are at least 9th level or higher in potency
You got into a fight with slinking shades and went down a great hall with polished brass panels on the walls, 6ft tall fireplaces built into walls every 20 feet; many alcoves with clay statues (each one a different individual to any other) - Professor Rubens is physically carried while still making notes to escape a deadly threat at one time
A fight in the private sanctuary dedicated to Ammutseba with Houtl-het, her 4 guard mummies and the little girl (that Ophion killed when he shredded the skin off her arms, neck and face)
Houtl-het redirected all damage at her guards; she also kept demanding to know why am I here? while trying to destroy you – also was much “fleshier” than the other mummies
She also asked where is the Wyrding? Where is the Argentweald? Where is Panthalessu?
She had reconstructed a transportation Circle which she used to escape in with the little girl, you all dived in and followed her far far far far far far far across the ocean; getting me out of a continent (Faerun) I have only marginal interest in understanding
The final part of the tunnel leading to the final cavern meant passing through 2 Cloud of Daggers spell (4d4 each - so average 20 damage) Houtl-het used eldritch blast as a staple attack at distance and attempted to smash with the the rotted mummy fist up close She was quickly bested and was about to be destroyed The little girl was dead (e.g. as in no healing spell works dead)
Time froze and the Witch Queen Sili appeared (party worked afterwards that time was creeping forward very very slowly and they were temporarily "phased out" of real time)
Sili was semi-transparent and there appeared to be multiple versions of her stacked one on top of the other that sometimes moved as one but often were slightly out of step with the others (a little psychedelic perhaps)
When Sili was present and the party was out of phase they saw flickeringly slightly different versions of the cave translucently overlaid with the real cave.  Sili sought to bargain for the "creature's existence".  Party agreed on yes, provided that Sili resurrect the girl (which she did) and that Houtl-het would not be released into the world again
Sili also wanted the girl taken to the Bruja Ubusara in the Treonol settlement Habbek and the party agreed after they were given the location of a nearby cairn that had treasure from a lost Argos Kingdom trade caravan buried beneath it.

• Professor and Maybellina saw Maybellina briefly engulfed in hellfire (or didn't see according to Maybellina) and Sili said "interesting"
• Atala was told by Sili that Maybellina was hers and that she must not go over to the others
• The party was "unphased" and back in the normal timestream with barely seconds having passed.
• Houtl-het slowly faded out (gathered up seemingly by dozens of smoky painted skeletal hands and the girl coughed blood, sat up and was reborn (for a moment her face was painted in a Day of Dead mak but that faded quickly)

Critical Observations:

• The Witch Queen Silis never a solid presence in real time or space and seemed to have multiple "selves"
• The Witch Queen can be bargained with - but buyer beware, she is a Witch Queen after all
• Met the Crag as a deranged old man, didn’t say who he was. He stole coins from Ophion, now cursed
• Interrogated the party over nonsense, acted as a harmless old man
• Found the eviscerated body in one of the small stone groves
• Heavy Guard interrogated - Grand Merchants, learned about the construction of the forts and who's in charge

Houtl Het

Game dates:

• June 2016
• July 2016
• August 2016
• September 2016