Vendui Tarantulas, I have recently returned from an excursion into the Southlands to assist the Jackals with their Pharaoh problem and the Vipers with several smaller issues around Tutonia. The Vipers were also dealing with a being known as the Taker of Names, who had been given the Pharaoh’s true name and had agreed to assist in his removal, the Vipers then planned to “deal” with the Taker of Names once he had served his purpose.
We arrived at a beacon, that had been dropped by an advance team, called Moonlight. This was situated in the heart of the garden of the Pharaoh and upon arrival we were assailed by his forces, namely the Horus Guard, these were dispatched in reasonable time and the ‘basecamp’ made secure.
Scouts went out to check the surrounding area and identified two structures nearby, one a sealed temple and the other a pyramid. Passing amongst the gathered forces it appeared that the Jackals had not come prepared and only brought with them one experienced and one new healer, this gave me great concern for the success of this mission.
Friday evening saw us attacked relatively frequently by the forces of the Pharaoh, either in the form of Horus Guard or the more deadly Scarabs. A group of assassins utilising poisons, oils and high magics to attack us.
That evening also saw the appearance of Sekmet, one of the Jackals’ pantheon who gave some indication of what was happening and how we might succeed in overcoming the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is supposed to be the chosen of the ancestors and is granted power by them, but this particular Pharaoh was somehow subverting power from the pantheon and empowering himself in an effort to ascend and assume control of the pantheon himself.
The Vipers also took an excursion to an area called the Blood Marshes, they seemed successful with the transport group all returning but when they arrived back at Moonlight only two of the group appeared to be standing and almost all were suffering from wounds and the effects of decay…this proved another major drain upon our limited healing resource.
Saturday saw us explore the Pyramid and face unliving forces that were guarding the entrance, inside we found some scrolls written in ancient hieroglyphs that needed to be translated. Our presence there also seemed to awaken something as we were soon facing additional forces and decided to withdraw back to the basecamp.
A young messenger came to us speaking of a Temple of the Stars, this was the sealed temple we had found the night before and the name linked to a clue given by Sekmet about where the Pharaoh was drawing his power “the stars”. A small group of us went to investigate with this young messenger who claimed that the temple was her “den” and she wasn’t happy about sharing with the Pharaoh. Inside we found eight canopic jars, a large tablet with a series of indentations; which was some sort of rite focus, several drawings that the young messenger said she had produced and beneath each a series of hieroglyphs that described what each depicted.
Shortly after we entered the young girl fled and had to be apprehended by our forces outside, for as she left the temple sealed behind her, locking seven of our party inside. Finding a way to escape we began opening the canopic jars hoping it to be some puzzle, it transpired that of the eight jars seven were trapped with a poisonous vapour, unfortunately opening the jars summoned Anubis who demanded the jars be returned. His appearance did unseal the temple and allow us to leave and gave us a small pyramid looking item which fit into one of the indentations upon the tablet.
The day progressed with Vipers taking transport groups out to deal with issues around Tutonia. The second of the day raised an issue with threatened the success of the overall mission and the alliance between the Vipers and Jackals.
A transport group had gone to the Brandenburg Gate to investigate what was going on there, unfortunately the group that was going to go was one member over, so one of the Jackals was asked to stay behind. Instead the individual, Praxis or Piraxis I am unsure of the exact spelling, decided to transport there alone despite repeated requests/warnings not to lest he jeopardise the mission…. which is exactly what he did. As I was not part of the initial group I cannot say for sure what happened, reports are that upon arrival and seeing the first party falling back the lone transporter started a new rite and transported back when the group arrived to him, in doing so putting the group one over again and this time a Viper was left behind at the Brandenburg Gate. They arrived back at Moonlight rather agitated at the fact one had been left behind, the wounded were removed, and I stepped in to go and assist in the recovery of the stranded Viper.
Arriving at the Gate it appeared to be guarded by Ancestral forces that were conducting a ritual/rite to remove demonology from the individual and empower the gate somehow, our forces engaged but it was unfortunately too late. As we fought the individual wielding our artefact was knocked down and the weapon stolen from his person by the enemy forces. Unfortunately, the gate then seemed to explode in some fashion giving out waves of destructive energy forcing us to withdraw and transport back to moonlight.
Council was called between Jackals, Vipers and Myself to resolve the issues that this “Praxis” individual had caused with his actions, both the death of a Viper and the subsequent loss of our artefact because of needing to return to the area were both laid at his feet. The Jackals leaders did not refute either accusation and it was come to an agreement that he should stand trial and get to say his part for the death of a Viper on their lands and I came to an agreement that the Jackals would present the Tarantulas with their Artefact at our campaign in the coming weeks, I did advise that the Valsharess may well demand it for longer as recompense.
When confronted with this “jury” the individual who had been essentially remained at the transport beacon completed a transport rite and fled the scene rather than face his crimes. This led to us chasing him through several circles but unfortunately his trail was lost, he was declared a traitor of the of the Jackal nation having fled his trial and so was no longer protected by their laws.
The evening saw us attacked again by Scarabs, they managed to enthral two Jackals away from the compound and fled, they were pursued and used sampling kits were found upon their bodies along with a selection of other oils. We also had visits from a sect of Apophis, who seemingly were a temple order comprised entirely of Vampires. I am led to believe that they provided us with a potent venom which would work upon the Pharaoh.
I took part in another Viper excursion to Tutonia, this time to Triess to visit a Demonology Gate, this was a short and uneventful trip but quite fascinating nonetheless. Upon out return to Moonlight we found the beacon and the basecamp surrounded and held by enemy forces. A force of Horus Guard and Scarabs guarded the area around the beacon and attacked us as we arrived, we were commanded to leave, which was the agreed action, they then dropped one of the Jackals that apparently had not been able to flee the site at our feet. This meant Stavros had to stay behind to transport separately, but those guarding the beacon assured that he would be unharmed and he did appear so when he re-joined us later that night. The Jackal contingent of our force joined us in Prague, minus Shard a member of their command who had not managed to escape with the transport group and had been slain by enemy forces.
Sunday saw us arrive back at Moonlight from Prague, the area of the garden was unsecured, we proceeded to the Pyramid we had found earlier, Ancestral forces guarded the place and we engaged, they appeared to be led by an individual named Ezekiel. Forcing them back we were able to gain entrance to the Pyramid and during an exchange of words Big & Clever, a member of the Viper contingent was able to strike the Pharaoh with an artefact laced with the Apophis venom. This act then sparked our fighting withdrawal from both the pyramid and ultimately the garden overall and back to Prague.
The mission would be deemed mostly a success, at least from a Jackal stand point, the Vipers were not able to deal with the Taker of Names and so will pose a problem for them another time. I found the Jackals military effort to be lacking throughout the time within the Garden, they seemed to rely heavily upon the Vipers and allies, often with clusters of then just standing around during engagements. Due to this I would not recommend assisting them in future endeavours like this until it can be seen that they work fully together to support each other and their allies.
Forr’O’Fyve
Tarantula Quarter Master
Tarantula Ambassador
Vipers Deputy Minister of Kicking off (revoked)
