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The grotto is dark, save for a single mote of moonlight streaming in through a hole in the roof of the cavern. It is wide and spacious, with a natural stone platform extending outwards from the wall near the entrance that is surrounded on all sides by beautiful, glittering blue water that seems to faintly glow, even in the light of the moon. The interior of the cavern is filled with green life; ferns, flowers, vines. It all grows in excessive amounts on the floors, walls and ceiling. The chamber is silent and peaceful, and home to only one individual.

On this day, he has a visitor. She enters through the twisting, low cavernous entrance, dressed in a white dress. Her skin is dusky, a healthy and vibrant brown, and her hair is raven-black. She is strikingly beautiful, but the one who lives here cares nothing for such aesthetics, only finding beauty in nature. He remains in his cross-legged meditative position in the center of the platform surrounded on three sides by the water he is sworn to protect. His back is to her.

"I do not know you," he says, turning his head somewhat.

"But I know of you," she replies, stopping in place. Her feet, wrapped in sandals, dig into the moss beneath her. "I have travelled far to seek the Wellspring of Shun-Koto."

He is silent for a moment. "I am not gifted with sight into the minds of those who enter this sacred place, but many have come. I have seen enough who are noble, and enough who are of ill intent to recognize it, even in its subtlest form." He turns his head more to half-face her, showing his face-covering mask of pink and floral design. "Why are you truly here?"

Her hands, previously hanging loosely at her side, clench. "I am here for the water."

"But not to experience its powers of healing or revelation," he says in a low tone. "You seek something else."

"I am here... for the water."

He rises. "You may not have it. I sense your purpose is not noble."

"My purpose is noble," she insists. "You simply can't understand it."

"Sometimes the worst of things are done with the best of intentions, by those who lack the vision to see."

She lifts her chin slightly, and in a somewhat indignant manner, tells him, "I have come for the water. You can either let me have it, or stand in my way, but either way I will have it."

With the threat laid out, the pink-clad warrior turns around, staring at her as he puts his hands together. "You do not carry much on you, but the burden you carry in your heart is heavy indeed. It weighs upon your soul as well."

She shakes her head. "You cannot dissuade me from my course. My cause IS noble."

"To you," he says softly. "I know my words mean nothing to one as deluded as you. But when you attempt to justify this, your own words will mean nothing in turn. It is your actions that will speak loudest."

"I will have it," she says.

Slowly, he spreads his feet apart and raises his hands, bending his knees and bringing his body into a combative pose. "You may try."

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>>3286874

Turana has grown powerful in her studying of Shang Tsung's magic. In learning the spells of the snakefolk and uniting their tribes, and in pledging to serve Anubis, she has become far greater than the mere illusionist she was before. And her new body, though more frail than her former form as a sphinx, is far from without strength and defenses of its own.

'I must do this,' she says. 'He will not let me have the water. I must do this... for Kaito.'

The plant-warrior, Phlox, awaits her move.

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>3286877
>Close
>Swipe with hand
>Pitch some magic into it

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>3286877
Dusty wind cone to blast Phlox off his feet. Call up spectral hands from the earth to hold Phlox down.

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>>3286895

Turana's eyes begin to glow as her lips move in the casting of a spell. Summoning the strength, speed and feral power of a great cat, much like she herself once partially was, she leaps forward. The spell she casts creates a spectral paw around her hand, complete with sharp claws, which she uses to swipe at him with. He brings up both arms to block, but the attack slices into his gauntlets, tearing at them and cutting his flesh.

>>3286897

Having landed in front of him and opened with her attack, Phlox counters by pointing with his fingers down at the ground and flicking them towards her. Vines spring forth from beneath him, shooting up with balled ends to punch her in the face like fists. Turana takes two successive blows to the face, stepping back and forced slightly off-balance.

He isn't done yet. With a wave of his hand, he summons razor-sharp petals that fly at her, cutting into her skin. She shouts and tries to block, but several of them draw blood and cut parts of her dress---but she seems far more distressed by her skin being harmed, though not due to pain.

"You cut me," she says, almost as if in disbelief. "My skin..."

"You cut me first," he points out.

She doesn't seem to care, or even hear him. "I can't have scars... Not for him!"

"Him?" Phlox asks, attempting to probe deeper, but Turana is already back on her feet, preparing her next attack, driven into a fury by her bleeding cuts.

>Current Meter: 2
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>3286924
Earth pillar underneath Phlox. Try to smash him against the wall or ceiling.

Rolled 19 (1d100)

Summon a spectral fiery soul in the form of a jackal to cut through his defenses and summon two sand pillars to trap his feet to the ground

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>3286924

> Wrath of the sun time.

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>>3286938

She attempts to draw upon power in the earth, bringing a pillar of stone up from underneath him, but instead vanishes in a flurry of harmless flower petals. Turana gasps and suddenly he is behind her, bringing up a foot and kicking her from behind. She falls into the foliage and mud, staining her dress.

"I think you are not a fighter, and thus not a conquerer," he says, walking slowly around her with his arms behind his back. "You are also not here for yourself, though you have convinced yourself otherwise."

"Silence," she says, attempting to cast another spell.

He twists a hand and vines emerge from the floor, wrapping around her wrist. She is about to cast another spell, but instead he wraps a vine around her mouth. "Perhaps it is you who should be silent."

She struggles as more plants begin to take her over, holding her in place as they wrap tighter and tighter...

>>3286955

Clenching her fist, which begins to glow with a fiery power, she conjures forth a summoned servant, a spell that needs no words. This being takes the form of a jackal, a gift from her new lord Anubis, and it leaps upon her, burning away the vines while leaving her unharmed. Turana struggles to get back up and sends the hound after her opponent as a distraction while she readies a spell that will summon sand pillars.

He teleports through the dog, spinning slightly in place as pink flower petals swirl about his form, ending his movement now right in front of her. She widens her eyes as he brings up a fist and punches her in the face before she can cast, breaking her nose and putting her back onto the floor.

>>3286964

As she falls and backs up, bringing up a hand to her broken nose and looking up at him with watery eyes, he stands straight and puts his arms behind his back.

"Why did you come here?" he asks in a sincere, inquisitive tone.

She looks away, trying to maintain her dignity.

"You are not a warrior. You are powerful, yes, but not a warrior. Why have you come here?"

"...I have no choice," she whimpers.

"You always have a choice," he says, reaching down to offer her a hand up. Slowly, warily, she takes it, and he helps her to a standing position. She rubs her bloody nose. "I apologize."

She shakes her head and holds herself high. "I had it coming, I suppose."

"What is your name?"

"...Turana."

"Turana, tell me. Who is the one you truly seek?"

She limps over towards a stone and sits upon it, trying to ignore the blood coming out of her nose and stem the tide of it. "He once told me about you. His name is Kaito."

Phlox immediately nods in recollection. "I remember him well. He was a noble soul, a wandering warrior but one who was worthy to bathe in the wellspring. Why did you think he would approve of you coming here to take this water?"

She shakes her head, looking down. "I didn't. I just... I don't have a choice."

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>>3286998

"We have already been over that," he says, walking to stand in front of her. "You always have a choice. I sense you believe what you are saying, which means you have gone to considerable lengths to justify it to yourself, and while I may not know the truth of all that you have done, it is never too late to redeem yourself and correct your mistakes."

Turning to consider the water, he says, "I myself once walked down a dark path. I made many mistakes, and justified them in my own way. I thought that all I could do was move on, but that simply did not do. I made more mistakes, because I refused to correct the problem. That was until I discovered this place and become something more. A guardian."

"I was once a guardian," she says, looking up at him. "A slave."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"I made a promise to myself, once I was freed by Kaito, to never be a slave again." She stares hard at him, and he does not see her lips moving, nor the gestures of her fingers.

"Then you needn't be a slave to your heart's desires," he says, turning around. "You can be free, if you would only---"

He doesn't finish his sentence. Turana brings up her hands and casts a wickedly powerful spell upon him. Phlox attempts to escape, but the spell overpowers him and holds him in place, causing him to become very still. He tries to move, but his muscles seize and his body twitches.

Slowly, starting at his feet, he begins to turn into stone. He reaches towards her, grunting in pain, staring at her all the while as the magical effect creeps up his body, taking his colorful outfit and turning it into dull, grey stone. It reaches the tip of his hand as his face begins to turn.

All the while, Turana stands in front of him, silently staring into his eyes. She is the last thing he sees before turning completely to stone.

She then ignores him, turning to consider the water. She knows well of its healing properties, as well as the other magical powers it grants: visions. Approaching its still, calm surface, she looks at her reflection in it, seeing the beautiful body she acquired for Kaito in its ruined state, bloody and cut-up.

'I'll fix it,' she thinks. 'This water will heal me. The damage is only superficial... It will still be perfect for you when you finally arrive.'

With a deep breath, she falls over and plunges into it, and wakes up.

An explosion rocks her bedchamber, causing the walls to vibrate. Turana tightly clutches the soft, silk sheets as she looks around, trying to remember where she is and what is going on. Consciousness fully catches up to her a moment later.

'The siege, the war, Nemsai is in danger,' she thinks. She shakes her head. 'The wellspring was long ago. I must stop dreaming of it...' She clears her mind of the conflicting thoughts raised by her dream and looks around her empty bedchamber. The sadness from her not sharing it with her love that she feels every morning passes as she realizes she must leave and help her people.

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>>3287001

>Get dressed
>Summon your advisor to your chamber
>Go to the window
>Think about your dream
>Other

>Get dressed
>Summon your advisor to your chamber
>Go to the window

>>3287003
>Summon your advisor to your chamber

>>3287003
>Summon your advisor to your chamber
Dressed? Pffftt

>>3287003
>Summon your advisor to your chamber
>Stretch like a lion in the sun. Smooth hair over like feathers.

>>3287003

> To the window.

>>3287003
>>Summon your advisor to your chamber

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>>3287015
>>3287017
>>3287034
>>3287035
>>3287043
>>3287049

Rising from her large bed, she casts aside her sheets and looks at herself in a tall, golden-framed mirror. Her flawless body shows not a single scar nor blemish on her smooth, dark skin. Her hair elegantly frames her beautiful face, with lips, eyes and other features that seem as though cultimated by magic---which they were. Her body was cultivated to be the most pleasing thing to behold for any man.

And yet, he denied her when he finally returned. She stares at herself, trying to find some flaw, some horrific flaw to blame, but there is none. She is perfect... on the surface.

Her lips quivers as she tries to focus on something else. She summons a small, golden bell to her hand and rings it, summoning her advisor.

Within moments, Neobek enters her chamber, hunched over and carrying many papers. The crocodillian is small for his people, who are normally larger than a man, but he is only roughly human-sized, and much more intelligent than any of his dimwitted cousins. He is clad in brown, tan and red robes along with a tapered hood, and has a staff tucked under one arm.

Though she is naked, her flawless body on display, he has no reaction. Crocodillian standards of beauty are vastly different than typical mammalian desires, and so it has no effect on him. 'Perhaps not any man after all,' she tries to cheer herself up. "What was that explosion?"

"We believe that several hinparian scouts from Kotal Kahn's forces infiltrated the city last night and have placed explosives," he says, adjusting his scrolls. "I believe they are attempting to target our food stores."

She places her hands on her hips. "How did they get past the ward?"

"We do not yet know, oh great priestess," he says, bowing his head. "We are attempting to find out. Those we captured either died fighting or killed themselves, but we suspect there are more. We have the gnolls sniffing the area and all guards are on constant alert."

>I want them found and captured.
>I want them found and killed.
>Let them make their move, then capture them.
>We will set a trap for them.
>Other

>>3287080
>We will set a trap for them.

>>3287080
>>We will set a trap for them.

>We will set a trap for them.

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>>3287088
>>3287110
>>3287145

"We will set a trap for them," she says simply, without any hesitation. "Present them with a suitable-looking target, and bait them into going for it. Then we will have them."

He bows his head. "It will be done, oh priestess."

"I am pleased, Neobeck. I will be more pleased if you can capture one of them alive and bring them to me, that I may learn how they get into the city through the ward. You may go."

He then leaves the chamber to carry out her orders. Turana summons two servants with a different bell, devotees of the Temple to the Three Gods, who dress her. She is adorned with white silk, blue threads, and gold finery. An elaborate necklace and headdress are placed upon her, as she slips her hands through bangles and rings are slid onto her fingers. When she opens her eyes after their work is complete, she once more resembles the proper high priestess that she now is, both in beauty and fashion.

She looks at herself in the mirror and smiles for the sake of the temple maidens, seemingly pleased with their work. She dismisses them with a minor gesture. In reality, ever since Kaito rejected her new body, she has been having a crisis of identity. Does she return to her old body?

'No,' she reminds herself, closing her eyes. 'No, the people here know me as what I am now. This is who I am now. Kaito will come to understand that. He will. In time, he will accept it. It is only a body; what does it matter what form it takes, when love is of the soul?'

She proceeds through the halls of the grand temple, passing by priestesses, guards and servants. When she leaves the temple, she is accompanied by four elite guards---faceless, masked undead servants whose necrotic bodies are covered by full-body platemail. Their gold armor reflects dazzingly in the sun where it is not covered by black cloth, but they are no less intimidating for it, carrying wicked khopesh blades and large shields. She did not used to require such protection, and she is still very powerful, but this is a time of war, and the city is under siege.

Though protected by a powerful ward created by the gods, a bubble-like field of shining golden magic light, there is still danger. Kotal Kahn's servants are numerous and crafty, finding ways inside. A tunnel was discovered, being used by his soldiers to sneak into the city, and consequently flooded with man-eating scarabs. The shield prevents teleportation, denying them such tactics, while also preventing the use of artillery.

Still, patience hasn't won them the siege yet. Both sides are on edge, ready for whatever may come.

>Visit Kebechet and check on the magic water
>Confer with Brother-Captain Haka on the soldiers
>Visit your inner sanctum and look upon your old body
>Walk the streets of Nemsai
>Other

>Confer with Brother-Captain Haka on the soldiers
>Walk the streets of Nemsai

>>3287160

> Confer with Haka.

>>3287160
>>Confer with Brother-Captain Haka on the soldiers

>>3287160
>Confer with Brother-Captain Haka on the soldiers

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>>3287166
>>3287169

'I think I shall see what my soldiers are up to,' she muses.

Though accompanied by undead guards, they do not appear undead, and so the people do not fear them, seeing them only as guardians for their beloved arch-priestess. They shower her with praise and adoration as she walks through the streets of Nemsai, and occasionally with flowers as well. She smiles as she receives the love of her people.

In the lower courtyards of Nemsai, Brother-Captain Haka is directing his chief lieutenants, giving them orders and commands, including patrol routes and plans for defense, as well as checkpoints to search for suspicious characters. Upon seeing her arrive, he turns from them and bows to her, as do they. "Arch-Priestess. How may I serve?"

"Has Neobek spoken with you?" she asks gingerly.

"No, he has not."

At that moment, as if on cue, Neobek comes waddling up, struggling to not drop any of his papers, books or his staff. He opens his large, flat mouth, sucking in a lung's worth of air. "Brother-Captain! I bring word from the Arch-Priestess!"

Turana brings a hand up to her lips and smiles in amusement. "Indeed."

Before Neobek can speak further, suddenly an arrow is launched into one of her undead guards. Her eyes go wide as a group of hinparian warriors, clad in black with red hoods, leap from nearby bushes, drawing swords and daggers. "For Kotal Kahn and Outworld!" one of them cries. "Z'unkarah!" shouts another. "Kill the priestess!" screams a third.

They move to charge at the group as Haka, his lieutenants and her soldiers all move to stand between yourself, the cowering Neobek and the invaders.

>Let them handle it, you'll watch
>Let them handle it, you'll get Neobek to safety
>Use your magic to help them
>Insist that you will handle this personally
>Other

>>3287210

> Help them.

Only when someone is about to be defeated though. Earn your unlife minions.

>Insist that you will handle this personally

Lets give those foreigners a reason to fear us

>>3287210
>Let them handle it, you'll watch
If they can't beat the guards, they're not worthy of getting to her.

>>3287267
Swapping to >>3287218 for convenience's sake.

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>>3287218
>>3287272

With a flash of light, she teleports in front of the guards and Haka. "I will handle this personally," she insists. "These foreigners must be taught a lesson."

Raising her hands and summoning a jackal-headed staff, Turana prepares to do just that.

>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>3287300

> How much power do we have?

U N L I M I T E D

Rolled 57 (1d100)

Stare at them for a minute and then quickly teleport behind them to put them off guard. Then, stab your staff into the back of one of the assassins, causing him to explode in front of his comrades in a fiery explosion.

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>3287300
STICKS
TO
SNAKES

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>>3287303

One of the hinparians dashes forward, quicker than the others. Turana raises her staff and brings up a defensive shield, blocking his twin-dagger strike---but creating an opening for his allies to leap past her and attack her guards. She slams the bottom of her staff on the ground, creating a loud chime and conjuring a wall of light that pushes the one who attacked her backwards.

Nearby, one of them fires off an arrow, which embeds itself into her arm. She lets out a cry of pain and falls onto one knee.

>>3287308

As the one in front of her prepares to finish her off, she teleports as he swings, ending up behind the one who shot her. With a scream of fury, she stabs the head of her staff into his back, causing him to explode in front of his comrades in a fiery display of your power. Turana grits her teeth as the ones who rushed forward battle her guards, while two other archers attempt to get some distance from her.

>>3287318

She prepares to conjure up a spell that will turn the very arrows in their quivers into snakes that will swarm over them and kill them, when one of them shoots her in the chest. Her eyes go wide and she stumbles, dropping her staff as she takes a knee.

The one behind her, emboldened, similarly fires at her, piercing her back with an arrow. Turana gasps as she slumps to her side, feeling out of breath and very, very tired, as well as in terrible pain. Her muscles feel on fire and she gasps as she looks up into the sky...

>Kaito... his firm mucles, rugged face, caring eyes... His arms are wrapped around her and he is holding her gently. She melts in his embrace, sighing happily as her arms encircle his torso. She stares up into his eyes as they share a smile.

>Slowly, he closes his eyes and leans down, parting his lips ever-so-slightly, leaning in for a kiss...

>And she leans up to meet him, standing on her toes, ready to make her dream finally come true...

A splash of water on her face startles her into consciousness. She takes a deep breath, feeling her arm and her chest for the arrows which are no longer there. Her lungs fill with air as she takes several more deep, powerful, desperate breaths in a rapid, gasping fashion.

As her vision swims and her mind reels, she feels hands on either side of her head. "Are you alright, oh priestess? Speak to me, please."

"K... Kai...?" she gasps.

"Kebechet," comes the misunderstood correction. The serpentine woman, human-like from the waist up and with the elongated form of a snake from the waist down. The daughter of Anubis. "It is I, Kebechet, oh priestess."

Turana blinks a few times. "The water," she gasps.

"Yes, the water. It has healed your wounds, but you were nearly too late in getting here. We almost lost you. You mustn't risk yourself so brazenly, oh priestess! We could have lost you!"

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>>3287391

Turana closes her eyes. "Of course... Yes. I know." She feels her arm again---the flesh is once more prestine and without marking or scarring. 'How?' she wonders. 'How am I so distracted? Was it my dream that is giving me such distress?'

"What did the waters show you, oh priestess?" Kebechet asks enthusiastically. "Did you have a vision?"

"I... did," she replies. "They showed me what they always show me."

"What was it?"

"I do not wish to speak of it," she says, moving to stand. Kebechet helps her; she is strong, despite her frail-looking human-half. "The waters only show me that which I do not yet possess."

"But they impart visions! Surely, they shall come to pass."

Turana is silent as she stands alongside the healing altar, and looks out over the grand, blue pool of magical water, the lifeblood of her civilization, the thing she stole from Phlox and his grotto to make Nemsai a reality.

'The waters punish me when I bathe in them,' she knows. 'Only those with purer, more honest hearts receive useful visions. Instead, they taunt me with my desires, denying my heart its ultimate wish...'

She regards Kebechet. 'Not like you, Kebechet. You are pure and devoted, honest and true. A good person, though the daughter of a poor god.'

It is true that Turana has always felt bad about serving the gods of this land. She agreed to do so when she thought Anubis could bring Kaito back, but when it became apparent that he could not, she began to lose faith. But, already in the position of their Arch-Priestess, she had no choice but to keep up appearances, and has done so ever since---even going to war for them against the city she once helped liberate alongside her beloved Kaito, earning the ire of his allies, particularly Kotal Kahn.

'You always have a choice,' Phlox's voice from her memory-dream echoes in her mind.

"Priestess?" Kebechet asks. "Are you well?"

"I am fine," she insists. "Fetch me my clothes."

Kebechet nods and coils her tail behind her to slither away, seeking a fresh set of temple clothing for Turana to wear.

>Look at your reflection
>Speak to the gods
>Meet back up with your subordinate captain and advisor, ensure them you are alright
>Attempt to commune with Kaito
>Other

>>3287397
>Speak to the gods
Ask why they haven't kicked Kotal Kahn in the head yet.

>Speak to the gods

I second that.

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>>3287420
>>3287429

When Kebeshet returns, Turana has made up her mind about what she must do next.

'This siege has gone on for far too long,' she thinks as the snake-girl dresses her. 'I must speak to the gods. There must be another way to end it.'

Once she is properly adorned once more in her priestess garb, she heads towards the primary temple. Within, there is a grand stone staircase, flanked with golden bowls containing never-ending flames, which she ascends. The other priestesses take note of her and bow, knowing that she is going to commune with the gods in thier holy chamber, a right reserved solely for her and her alone.

The staircase leads up into the temple's highest rooms, but goes further than even that. Through the magic of small pocket realms, much like the one that Kaito once ventured into to destroy her former master in this very temple long ago, she steps into an open field of long, tall grass and reeds. She looks around, feeling the pleasant wind blowing across the serene landscape. This is a fragment of Aaru, the realm the gods came from, the only surviving shred of it.

Turana knows not that if this is nothing more than a creative facsimile or an actual shard of Aaru that somehow survived the merger with Outworld unscathed, or some other place of being, but this is where Anubis, Bastet and Sobek dwell. She walks across the field and approaches another temple, guarded by a great beast. This is Ammit, the pet of Anubis, a chimera-like creature with the head of a crocodile, the mane and forelegs of a lion and the hind of a hippopotamus. The beast pays her no mind as she passes, and she regards the great devourer only with a glance.

Within the temple on his heavenly demiplane, the three gods sit in great thrones, all situated around a central platform that she walks up a flight of stairs to reach. She kneels before them, placing her palms upon the stone tiles.

"I am eternally honored to be in your presence, my lords," she says to them. "I am your high priestess, your Arch-Sorceress, and I live to serve."

"It is good you are here," Anubis says, his deep voice rumbling throughout the chamber. "We have commands." Bastet is quiet, her legs crossed as she idly plays with her long cane, while Sobek's loud breathing can be heard from her lowered position and is almost distracting. Lord Anubis is usually the one who does all of the talking for them.

>What are they?
>I wish to speak about the siege.
>Say nothing
>I do not believe our enemies will give up; they are only growing bolder.
>Other

>What are they?
>I wish to speak about the siege.
>I do not believe our enemies will give up; they are only growing bolder.

>>3287565
>I do not believe our enemies will give up; they are only growing bolder.

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>>3287573
>>3287574

Perhaps somewhat unorthodoxically, she speaks her own point before he does. "Lord Anubis, I do not believe our enemies will give up; they are only growing bolder. They are infiltrating the city, penetrating its defenses and attacking us." She swallows. "I, myself, was---"

Anubis cuts her off. "That is the subject of our commands. This rabble is not dispersing. We must do away with it."

Turana blinks a few times, then lifts her head. "My lord?"

"We are going to lower the shield, and we will meet them on the plains outside of the city. You will lead this attack. This is what we have decided."

Turana's lips part. "I... Forgive me, my lords, but we are under siege. We can survive for months---years, perhaps---on the fruits grown by the waters. Why would we lower our defenses, march out and... attack them openly?"

"Because they will be destroyed," Anubis replies simply.

Turana looks up at them, then at Bastet and finally Sobek, seeing uncaring and unyielding eyes. "They will slaughter many of our soldiers, even if we win," she protests. "Our society may be thriving, but it is not populous, and what of when Kotal Kahn sends more soldiers across the sea?"

"You will have our support," Anubus replies. "From the heavens above, we shall deliver unto the field our power. Sobek will bring flooding, Bastet shall bestow great beasts, and I shall bring death. Our enemies will cease to be. Then, if he sends more, we shall destroy them as well, until he relents and bestows upon us our realm from his vault."

Turana wants to nearly scream at them. How can they not see the casualties this will cause their people? Your people?

>I would like to lead this attack from the rear.
>Can you not use your powers while our army remains behind the ward, safe?
>But Kotal Kahn has advantage out in the open fields!
>I refuse! I will not send our forces out to die pointlessly!
>Other

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>>3287678
>But Kotal Kahn has advantage out in the open fields!
The sun answers to him. Last I checked, Ra's nowhere to be found.

>But Kotal Kahn has advantage out in the open fields!

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>>3287685
>>3287713

"But... Kotal Kahn has advantage out in the open fields! He has power of his own!"

"Do you think his power dwarfs ours?" Anubis says, his yellow eyes flashing threateningly.

"...No, of course not, my lord," Turana says in a lower tone. "But our people will not emerge unscathed. Surely you must see that. There must be another---"

"We have spoken!" Anubis says, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. He raises his staff and thrusts it downwards, creating a clang that resounds just as loudly. Turana flinches somewhat. "You will lead our forces. Take your creations with you. Our army will meet theirs and drive them back or destroy them; whichever comes first."

Turana slowly lowers her head. She is furious, but hides it. "Yes... my lords."

As she leaves the hall, her mind reels from this latest news. How could they be so blind as to the future success of the city? If the army is slaughtered, they will be defenseless! Can they not see this will only lead to ruin? Even if the waters are used to heal the wounded, the dead can only be made into more slaves, not true soldiers. A dead guardian can fight, but it cannot think for itself.

Turana storms past Ammit, who pays her no heed once more as the beast slumbers. Her mind is aflame with traitorous thoughts, but this is hardly the first time. Long has she planned to be rid of her gods, having grown disillusioned with their leadership and her service to them. The truth of the matter is that she desires her freedom once more, but having tasted the adoration of the masses, seeks both: she wishes to rule over Nemsai alone.

'No, not alone,' she reminds herself. 'A queen needs her king.'

But the gods are powerful, stronger than she, especially in their greater numbers. She also knows that no one else would help her; she may be the high priestess and their Arch-Sorceress, but she is ironically the only one who would cast off her 'faith' and rise against them. Everyone else is far too loyal or blind.

'Yet it was I who built this city with the water. I who stole the water. I who united the tribes and stopped the warring snake-clans. Not them.'

She reaches the staircase and descends down it. An opportunity to do away with the gods has, unfortunately not presented itself. About halfway down, she pauses.

'What if I asked for help?' she thinks. 'Kaito and his friends may help me... but then they would desire the water. There is only so much, but perhaps I could work out a deal with them. And it would give me an opportunity to see my beloved once more...'

She turns to her right, biting her lip. 'But I am watched constantly. I cannot sneak anyone into the city without them knowing, nor can I leave. Here I am, a ruler in all but name, but a prisoner in my own home...'

Down below, Brother-Captain Haka, Neobek and Kebechet await, discussing amongst themselves while they wait for her to bring them news from the gods.

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>>3287848

>Deliver the orders of the gods.
>Deliver the others, but delay them.
>Tell them the gods have said nothing.
>Tell them the gods have given a different order than what they actually told you (Lie)
>Other

>Deliver the orders, but delay them.

>>3287850
>Deliver the others, but delay them.

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>>3287863
>>3287872
That will be all for this evening. We'll be resuming tomorrow, so stay tuned!

>>3287850
>Deliver the others, but delay them.

>>3287850
>Deliver the others, but delay them.

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>>3287863
>>3287872
>>3287887
>>3288388
Good morning everyone.

Updates will be slightly sporadic today, as I am running my game of D&D, but we will be resuming our normal pace this evening.

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>>3287863
>>3287872
>>3287887
>>3288388

Steeling herself and coming up with a plan on the spot, Turana descends the stairs as they look up, hearing her approach. She stops just a few stairs from the bottom.

"The gods... have spoken," she says, and they bow their heads. She swirls her tongue around in her mouth for a moment. "They intend to lower the ward so that we may meet our foes outside on the plains in... glorious battle."

She struggles through nearly every single word. Neobek seems confused and conflicted, as does Kebechet, but Haka is immediately on board with the idea. "I will gather our troops immediately!"

"No!" Turana says, holding up a hand. They hesitate, looking at her strangely. She composes herself, clears her throat and says, "We will fight them this evening, when the sun is not high. Our enemy will be deprived of their greatest advantage."

"Of course!" Haka exclaims. "Then I shall prepare them for this evening."

He moves off as she walks down the last three steps. Kebechet gives her a worried look. "My father wants us to attack them outside? To lower the ward?"

"Indeed," Turana says in a low tone. "He commands it."

The serpent-girl is conflicted, but ultimately bows her head. "I shall... make preparations of my own, then. In accordance with his wishes."

Turana watches her slither away. Neobek approaches from her side and says, "Shall we assist Brother-Captain Haka, oh priestess?"

"You may," Turana replies absent-mindedly, for she is busy with other thoughts. "I have other matters to attend to." He bows his wide head and leaves her.

She folds her arms and thinks hard. She's bought herself some time, but not much. While she does not dare defy the gods without the power to truly resist them, she can delay their will and stretch it out for as long as possible. As much time as she needs to come up with a plan...

>Travel to your inner sanctum and study Shang Tsung's spellbook
>Go to the hall of relics and examine your arcane artifacts
>Travel to the well of souls beneath the temple, where Rahmac and your old body are stored
>Return to your personal chambers and attempt to commune with an ally
>Other

>>3290475
>Travel to your inner sanctum and study Shang Tsung's spellbook

>Travel to the well of souls beneath the temple, where Rahmac and your old body are stored

>>3290490
>>3290512
Can I get a tie breaker?

>>3290475
>>3290490
I think we will have to fight in the day if Kotal Kahn is attacking, so we should as well try to make any glorious battlefield a mire or mudpit.

>>3290638
Turana just gave the order to stall until night, so Kotal doesn't get the sun.

>>3290644
We decided not to meet the enemy until night, that doesn't mean Kotal will attack at night.

Fuck it, I'm changing to:

>Travel to your inner sanctum and study Shang Tsung's spellbook

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>>3290490
>>3290638
>>3290667

Deep within the temple, behind a pair of stone golem guards, Turana's inner sanctum lies. She is the only one who enters this place and knows it intimately, for it contains one of her most valued treasures: the spellbook of Shang Tsung. Taken from the sorcerer's home long ago when she, Kaito, Sheeva, Tortek and Jade (though unbeknownst to her at the time, it was actually Khameleon) faced and defeated him. Turana took the spellbook from his personal belongings, and has possessed it ever since, learning much from it: soul-stealing, transformation, the creation of soulnados and soul constructs and much more.

Opening the tome upon its pedastal always gives her a sense of nostalgia. It reminds her of a simpler time, when she and her friends were travelling Outworld and discovering new things and places. After centuries of enslavement, everything seemed so new and wonderful, especially the bright, cheery attitude of the man she came to love. Kaito was adventurous, brave, powerful, but kind and compassionate as well. He cared about his friends, particularly her...

'But not as much as Mileena...'

She closes her eyes as she thinks about how she was there, in Shang Tsung's flesh pit, disguised along with Kaito when Mileena first awoke. It is a memory she often replays in her mind. Her beautiful body marred by her hideous face, the mind of a child in the body of an adult, twisted and insane, ravenous and revolting...

'How could he love her?'

When Mileena awoke, she petted the top of Turana's head, who was disguised as a taigore at the time. Turana instantly disliked her. When Kaito left for Earthrealm to help Sub-Zero, she remained behind with Kitana and Sareena, but all three were captured and witness to Shao Kahn's attempted wedding to Sonya Blade. Kaito and the other Earthrealm warriors arrived to object to the union, and Mileena attempted to attack him. Turana herself leapt upon her and knocked her off of him, and they fought.

She remembers that after the destruction of Quan Chi's fortress in Outworld, she was the one who saved Kaito from falling. She was the one who saved his life when Khameleon attempted to poison him.

And yet, there, at the moment of Shao Kahn's defeat, Kaito kissed Mileena, in full view of the poor sphinx, after she herself had done nothing but support him and love him... while that wicked clone had done nothing but attempt to kill him!

Her heart broke that day, and never fully healed.

A small tear falls from her cheek onto the page of the book, and Turana wipes her watering eyes with the back of one hand.

"I still love you," she whispers to the air. "I love you so much..."

Her knees buckle, but she remains standing, trying to strengthen her resolve. She dries her eyes. "I'll make it better. I'll make it all better. I promise." She resumes flipping through the pages of the spellbook, looking for something useful.

>>3290716

>The chapter on binding and harnessing souls
>Creating flesh pits and cloning
>Secrets relating to serpentine magic
>Divination, transformation, projection and other utility powers
>Other

>The chapter on binding and harnessing souls
>Secrets relating to serpentine magic
>Divination, transformation, projection and other utility powers

>>3290716
>Secrets relating to serpentine magic
An Egyptian Queen messing with Snakes, huh?
>Divination, transformation, projection and other utility powers

>>3290719
>Divination, transformation, projection and other utility powers

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>>3290781
>>3290787
>>3290823

Shang Tsung was a powerful man, a clever and multi-faceted sorcerer who knew many spells. She has spent lots of time learning from him and his writings, hours untold spent studying the many powers and arcane rituals detailed within. Once, she held back from studying the darker and more powerful spells, but she has since long abandonned any such reservations. Magic has its costs, and she has paid them in different ways, only ever refraining from that which would ruin her body, her soul or her own moral standards. Which is to say, anything that Kaito would have looked down upon.

Or so she once thought. The truth is, she has engaged in several such rituals in the past, justifying them in different ways. When he finally reappeared after so long and called her out on them, she knew that he was right. On some level, she knows that she has done wrong, despite the good it has done for her and Nemsai.

'What fairness is there in this life?' she muses, flipping pages until she finds the section on divination and projection. 'If I hadn't taken the water, this land would still be a blasted desert, its people suffering and warring with each other for meager scraps. I freed them, gave them prosperity and civilization... only for these foolish gods to put them in danger, anyway! And after all I built, after all I did, he still, STILL doesn't love me!'

She takes a deep breath, and resumes looking.

There are quite a few spells here that are not meant for combat, but communication. She could spy upon others, as she often did to Kaito's unconscious body, or even speak to them. She can create messengers of serpents and send them, as she did to Mileena when she discovered that Kaito was gone and with her, and she flew into such a jealous, horrible rage that she poisoned the hybrid, forcing him to come and see her...

Her fingers clench into a rage. Again she thinks back to that day when she and Kaito first met Mileena, and wishes she could travel back in time and destroy her then and there. Then she and he would live happily ever after, and---

Slowly, her shoulders sink and another tear runs down her face. "How pathetic am I?" she muses in a soft voice. "Everything I do, everything I think about, every fiber of my being comes back to him. Am I incapable of thinking of anything else? Of doing anything else, other than what it relates to him?"

She has had this kind of thought before, and always immediately banished it, but now she does not do so. Instead, she reflects on it.

"Perhaps I should... talk to him..."

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>>3291680

There are spells to do so. She could speak with him even from here, if she so desired, using magic similar to how he once appeared to her in spirit form when she was trapped in a steel cage in Shao Kahn's personal quarters, mere feet from the bed she once cuddled with her love on.

'No,' she thinks. 'He doesn't want to talk to me. I still haven't kept my word, and changed. And if I talk to him, does that not prove that thought correct? That everything I do relates to him?'

But who else could she speak with? Kitana, perhaps. The edenian princess has tried many times to bring Turana back into her court, most recently when Kaito woke up and visited her. She is a diplomat, and an understanding individual. Perhaps she could speak with her?

And what of Kotal Kahn? The emperor is no friend, but if he desires the water, perhaps she could negotiate with him. And it is the gods who wish Aaru to be freed, but they have made no progress towards that goal; whatever allegiance she had to that idea has dwindled over time. Does she even care to free that realm any longer, when she has already made a paradise here in the desert? If it weren't for the gods, she could simply rule over it by herself, perhaps as an ally to Kotal Kahn. But would he even hear her out?

>Commune with no one.
>Speak with Kaito.
>Speak with Kitana.
>Speak with Kotal Kahn.
>Other

>>3291680
>"Everything I do, everything I think about, every fiber of my being comes back to him. Am I incapable of thinking of anything else? Of doing anything else, other than what it relates to him?"
The bane of a sphinx is a man after all.

>>3291689
>Speak with Kitana.
Imagine the timing, with Turana calling Kitana to agonize over her feelings for Kaito only to find out LIU KANG IS FUCKING DEAD and Kitana is a complete wreck as a result.

>>3291689
>Speak with Kitana.

>Speak with Kitana.

Time for some relationship talk. Turana needs a counselor for such matters.

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>>3291704
>>3291708
>>3291710

'Kitana... she is a fair, noble person, who has negotiated peace between peoples before... Surely Kaito hasn't told her everything that I have done, has he? No! I must make this decision and commit to it.'

She closes her eyes and begins an incantation. The room around her seems to darken as her mind expands, losing its anchor of her physical form. Across time and space and realms, she begins to project herself. From the far reaches of Outworld to the beautiful lands of Edenia, she projects her very soul. It is a fascinating experience, but one she dares not open her eyes for, lest she become lost in the furies between the realms. It is dangerous, for she could risk losing concentration and becoming lost. Even as she hears the roiling chaos of creation all around her, she maintains her focus and finishes the incantation.

She beholds the princess, sparring with her friend Jade. The two of them are battling quite fiercely, exchanging kicks and punches in an acrobatic display of skill and prowess. Kitana twists in the air, delivering a powerful kick to her partner who blocks it with her staff. She follows it up with a few sweeps of her fans and feet, continually pressing upon the emerald-clad edenian and forcing her on the defensive. Turana is taken aback by the pure, raw ferocity of her attacks; she has not seen the princess battle so fiercely and so passionately since the time of the Outworld invasion of Earthrealm two decades ago. She almost wishes she could fight as well as the princess, but she was never martially-inclined as much as she was talented in magic.

Alas, though she would like to leave the princess to her match, her time is limited by her own power. "Kitana!" she calls out, her voice echoing somewhat. She stops her attack and looks upon Turana, her eyes widening in surprise. "Kitana, it is I, Turana. I would like to... to speak with you."

Kitana breathes heavily, her chest heaving from the exertion of battle. She attempts to calm herself down. "Turana?! What are you doing here?" She holds up a hand. "I see that you are... a projection. Forgive me, I... am weary."

"I understand," Turana says. She waits for Kitana to speak.

"Why do you contact me now?" she asks, not in an accusatory manner but with an odd tone nonetheless. "Is this about the attack?"

"The siege of Nemsai, yes."

"No, no, I meant..." She shakes her head and changes her line of thought as Jade looks on, concerned. "I am aware of Kotal Kahn's siege upon your city. He first announced his intention to do so here in my court."

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>>3291856

"I wish to renegotiate," Turana says. "This battle will only result in bloodshed and death for my people. But the gods here do not wish to relent; they seek only resistance to Kotal Kahn. Princess Kitana, I... I need help."

Kitana slides her fans away after closing them and approaches the astral projection. "Are you now in opposition to your rulers, then?"

"Yes. They insist upon meeting Kotal Kahn's forces in open battle. I do not know why; they will not see reason. Nor are they willing to surrender. Long have I endured their mightier-than-thou attitude, but no more. It is as if they simply do not care that the people I gave a home to will die, so long as it somehow advances their goals."

"Like Shao Kahn before them," Kitana says with a nod. She thinks for a moment, then places a hand on her forehead. "I... Forgive me, Turana. I am heavy with grief. Liu Kang has been... killed."

The sorceress' eyes widen. "Killed? But... how?"

"The Deadly Alliance attacked the palace and now... he is gone," she simply says, her voice conveying a world's worth of sadness. She closes her eyes and turns her head aside, gripping her blue mask and pulling it down. Jade places a hand on her shoulder in support. "They took his very soul..."

Turana now looks upon quite a sight indeed. Once, Kitana came to her while she herself was in great pain from losing Kaito. She rebuked her friendship then; will Kitana do the same?

>Express your great sorrow over her pain.
>Ask again for her help in ending this conflict.
>Promise that if Kitana helps you, you will help her reclaim Liu Kang's soul.
>Apologize for disturbing her in her time of grief, and hang up.
>Other

>Express your great sorrow over her pain.

>>3291860
>Express your great sorrow over her pain.
>Promise that if Kitana helps you, you will help her reclaim Liu Kang's soul.

>>3291860
>Express your great sorrow over her pain.

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>>3291872
>>3291873
>>3291897

She is surprised by this recent turn of events, but nonetheless expresses her honest feelings. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am, Kitana. I did not know Liu Kang well, but I knew he was a good man. He fought alongside Kaito, and the two of them were friends and allies in the war. I do not wish to speak solely about myself, but I... understand your pain. I went through something... similar."

Kitana stares at the astral projection, and then softly nods. "You did, this is true. Ours is a strange fate, is it not?"

"It is indeed." She places her hands together in front of her. "But, I doubt you will turn down the dark path that I did. Kitana, I know I have made mistakes. Some cannot be easily remedied, but I do not desire for others to suffer because of it. My people are not many, and I do not wish for them to die. The gods here do not care."

"What of the water?"

"I would share it. I would! Enough to cure the plague in your realm and others. I wish... I wish to not be enemies. I seek peace, but Anubis and the others will not hear it. Please, princess. Lives are at stake."

"What will they do, once they have found out you are acting against their wishes?"

"They would kill me. I have no doubt. Or worse, enslave me, as I once was. I act now with autonomy, but if they were to bind me once more, as I was to Sumancothep..."

Kitana holds up a hand. "Say no more. I will go to Kotal Kahn on your behalf. How long do I have?"

"Until the sundown of my land," she explains. "Mere hours."

"Then I must hurry. I am glad you have finally spoken to us, Turana. It gives me hope to hear your words, and I hope you truly do mean them."

"I do," she says. Feeling the spell begin to end, she closes her eyes and says, "Hurry, Kitana. Make haste, I beg of you."

She cannot hear her reply, if any comes. Darkness folds around her and the cries of the realms echo in her ears as she returns to her body. Again she is physical; the sensation of going from one state of being to another disorients her for a moment. She opens her eyes and sees her hands placed upon Shang Tsung's spellbook and takes a deep, steadying breath. She wishes she had more time to talk to Kitana, but the spell is taxing.

She may have enough strength of will for another such casting. But who would she speak with? Kaito? Kotal Kahn? Someone else? She reconsiders the notion; if she is too taxed, she may not be prepared for any further surprises that occur. Magic can be a draining thing, unless she were to do what Shang Tsung once did, and consume souls for power. She has never done such a thing, but if she were desperate enough...

>Contact Kaito
>Contact Kotal Kahn
>Contact someone else
>Save your strength
>Other

>>3292088
>Save your strength

>>3292088
>Save your strength
>So, the Gods are powerful. But, they think themselves your people's masters. Perhaps there's a way to make them your people's servants? Research if the rezzing can make more articulate servants that can fulfill a function.

>Save your strength
>Other

Look into the book again and see if there was any mentioning of Aaru. Perhaps Shang did some research on other realms when he was in service of Shao Kahn in Outworld.

>>3292088
>Save your strength

>>3292103
>>3292114
Supporting both of these.

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>>3292099
>>3292103
>>3292114
>>3292357

She sighs forlornly. 'Oh, to see him again. His eyes, his hair, his smile... But, I will need my strength.'

Slowly, Turana lifts her hands from the book. She stands there for a moment, contemplating her feelings. What will happen if Kitana reaches Kotal Kahn, and the war is ended? Will it be a temporary measure?

'So long as the gods live,' she realizes. 'But who can kill them?'

Placing her hands on the book, she turns its pages. Aaru is only mentioned once in the text, only in passing. Shang Tsung studied the many realms that Shao Kahn destroyed in the past, many of which are lost to history and recorded only here. More interesting are the passages on gods.

Every realm has gods, beings of greater power than mortals; immortal and strong in different ways, such as gods of fire, or wind, or things like death and nature. Many are tied to their realms, but some escape death even if their realm is absorbed, as these ones did. Death, however, is something none of them are immune to. Gods can die, their power either claimed by their killer or left to dissipate.

She pauses for a moment. 'Could I kill them? And, perhaps, take their power?' Her mind is temporarily aflame with ideas of what she could do with such power, but then she calms herself. 'I must not get ahead of myself. They are powerful... especially together. The three of them have survived for so long due to their proximity.' Bringing up a hand, she delicately traces along her jaw until she reaches her chin. 'But what if they could be separated? Isolated, and set upon by forces greater than their own? That is indeed an idea worth considering, but how to pull it off is another matter entirely...'

Unfortunately, there are no spells in the book meant for killing gods, but they can be worn down and killed. They are ageless, but not invulnerable. Turana closes the tome and leaves the sanctum, her feet carrying her lightly across the floor.

'It is a riddle indeed,' she thinks, and then smiles. 'Ah, riddles... it seems so long since I last riddled with anyone. The very last person I riddled with was the one who freed me. Kaito...'

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>>3292970


She thinks then of her mother, who taught her many riddles as a child. She stops for a moment as she thinks back to those days, so many centuries ago, when she was just a young, wide-eyed sphinx. Her mother was so much larger and wiser than she, and loved tricking her with clever wordplay. Turana was an only child---what little she knows of sphinx birthrates tell her that they were always low, and rare.

It is an odd thing, to think of oneself as a rarity. A precious, unique jewel in the desert, loved by her mother, who is now long gone, along with all of the other sphinxes. Leaning up against the wall, Turana realizes that she hasn't thought about her mother or her kind in so long. All of her thoughts were about Kaito.

'What of the sphinxes? Where have they gone?' she wonders. 'Am I the last? The very last one?' It is a sad thought, she realizes, one she has avoided thinking about for a very long time. 'Perhaps I am a rarity indeed... or, rather, was...'

She closes her eyes and wonders what her mother would say about what she has become and what she has done, but she supposes that she can never truly know. Deciding that it is best not to dwell on it, she moves onwards, determined to accomplish her next task.

>Meet with Kebechet and talk about her father
>Meet with Neobek and go over the city's supplies
>Meet with Haka and oversee military preparations
>Travel to the well of souls beneath the temple, where Rahmac and your old body are stored
>Other

>>3292973
>Meet with Kebechet and talk about her father

>>3292973
>Meet with Kebechet and talk about her father

>>3292973
>Meet with Haka and oversee military preparations

>>3292973
>Meet with Kebechet and talk about her father

>Meet with Kebechet and talk about her father

>>3293009
>>3293106
>>3293372
>>3293765
Good morning, everyone. I'm resuming writing now.

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>>3293009
>>3293106
>>3293372
>>3293765

The waters are kept in a sacred, well-guarded pool adjacent to the primary temple. Turana travels there briskly, desiring to speak with Kebechet. As the daughter of Anubis and part god herself, she could offer some keen insight into her father's weaknesses.

There is a problem, however, for she is a good daughter and holds her father in high respect and regard. She is also a good person, and could be persuaded to see things from Turana's perspective. Kebechet is a guardian of the water, an interpreter of visions, a skilled healer and also quite lovely, in her own exotic way. Turana finds her in the small pavilion near the pool, overseeing and arranging her tools; little more than specific pots, bottles, mixtures and additives.

Upon seeing her enter, the snake-girl immediately curls her lower half so that she bows. "Greetings to you, oh priestess."

"No need for formality," Turana replies in a soft tone, approaching her and lifting up her head until her back is straight. "I would like to speak with you as an equal."

She nearly gasps as her eyes bulge. "But we are not equals! You are the Arch-Sorceress!"

"And you are the daughter of a god. What of it? Not everything is about rank and station in life. Sometimes, the only way to truly appreciate another is to step out of your 'role' and see things from their perspective."

Kebechet seems nervous at the idea, but trusts her. "What would you have me do?"

"I would like to simply speak with you. Do you not find it odd that your father speaks only through me and not you, his daughter?"

"Well... that is proper. It is how it has always been."

"But need it be so?"

"He speaks to me through my visions that he allows the water to grant."

Turana shakes her head and waves her hand. "No, that's just the magical properties of the water itself, not any gift of Anubis. Of late, I have come to realize how limited his power truly is."

"Don't say that!" Kebechet slithers over and clasps her hands together. "Please, do not speak ill of him."

"I only intend to speak the truth. Once, he promised me something, but couldn't deliver it: the soul of a dead loved one. The truth is, though he is a god of the dead, he only has control over what souls die in his worship or the worship of his pantheon. The one that I wanted wasn't such a soul, but he promised it nonetheless---knowing that I did not know what I know now."

Kebechet's brow furrows. "My father wouldn't do such a thing..."

"Just as he wouldn't send the city off to be slaughtered when the ward comes down?" Turana asks. "I think there are problems here, if we only have the courage to admit them."

She still seems nervous, but is not blindly rejecting Turana's words.

>What can you tell me about Anubis and his Hall of Two Truths?
>I think Anubis does not have the interests of the people in mind.
>We are not going to get the realm of Aaru back this way.
>What do you think is best for our current situation?
>Other

>>3293922
>What can you tell me about Anubis and his Hall of Two Truths?
>We are not going to get the realm of Aaru back this way.
>What do you think is best for our current situation?

>>3293922

>We are not going to get the realm of Aaru back this way
>I think Anubis does not have the interests of the people in mind.

Building up to;

>What can you tell me about Anubis and his Hall of Two Truths?

I agree with Star

>We are not going to get the realm of Aaru back this way
>I think Anubis does not have the interests of the people in mind.

Building up to;

>What can you tell me about Anubis and his Hall of Two Truths?

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>>3293942
>>3293947
>>3294018

Firmly, Turana looks into her eyes and says, "We are not going to win the realm of Aaru back this way."

"But... that is why our lords desire us to meet them in battle, is it not?"

"I am not so certain," Turana muses. "I think Anubis does not have the interests of the people in mind."

"That cannot be," she says in a distant whisper. "That... that cannot be." She grows quiet as she looks into her lap, deep in concerned thought.

"I know it is difficult to confront the idea that someone you love may be doing the wrong thing, but they may not be able to recognize it themselves." She swallows. "Sometimes, they need someone else to point it out to them."

"Are you saying that I should speak with him?"

"No, not necessarily. But you are his daughter, and you know him well. What can you tell me about his Hall of Two Truths? Is there another way inside, one that he may not know about, but you do? Or one that only you two know?"

Kebechet's grip turns tight. "I do not know if I should speak of such things..."

"Kebechet, please. This is important. I hold you in the highest of regards; you are a good person, and a noble soul. If there is a way to save the people of this city, shouldn't it be found and used?"

"Yes, of course. But what does that have to do with the Hall of Two Truths?"

"It is his inner sanctum, much like I have mine. Within it, I may discover something that could persuade him or change his mind."

She is quiet for a moment. "You aren't going to hurt him, are you?"

"No, of course not. Please, just tell me."

"...Very well, but only because you are the high priestess. In Duat, there is another way inside the temple, from below. It is guarded by a great serpent, an undead spirit who allows none to pass."

"But you do, yes?"

"...None but its own kind," she explains. "I have, in the past, slipped by the spirit, to explore the inner halls, to see the souls and the artifacts contained within."

Turana takes her hands. "Thank you for trusting me with this information, Kebechet. You are doing the right thing. If I can find some means to convince your father that his course is wrong, perhaps bring about peace, then we can end this conflict with Kotal Kahn and live in harmony once more."

"I would like that very much," she says with a smile.

>Depart for Duat immediately
>Speak to her some more
>Ask her to come with you
>Speak to someone else
>Other

>Ask her to come with you

then:

>Other
Meet with Neobek and go over the city's supplies

>>3294106
>Ask her to come with you

>>3294113
Also this.

>>3294106
>Ask her to come with you

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>>3294113
>>3294139
>>3294140

Turana runs a thumb over the back of Kebechet's hand. "Then, would you be willing to travel with me to Duat, to see me to this entrance?"

She reels back slightly. "I do not know... Is it truly proper?"

"Please, as my friend. There are so few I can speak honestly and openly with. Set aside our titles and ranks. You know, once, I was something of an adventurer."

"You were?"

"Yes. I travelled many lands and saw many sights, with companions at my side. It was a wonderful time, and I often think of it. It was a time in which many grand events were happening; the Mortal Kombat tournaments, the invasion of Earthrealm..."

"Do you miss it?"

"I miss the people I was with the most," she says softly. She looks into Kebechet's eyes once more and says, "Would you like to hear a riddle?"

"Oh, a riddle?"

"I haven't told one in a long time. I would like to do so again."

"Please!" she says with a smile, excited at the prospect of the game.

"Very well. 'Ancient is its age, a bite so deadly it can kill, solitary, it has no mate. What is this creature's name?' That is the riddle."

Kebechet thinks very hard for several moments. "A bite so deadly it can kill... is it a snake?"

Turana chuckles. "No, not quite. Snakes take mates."

"I... do not know," she admits. "What is it?"

Turana gazes into her eyes more deeply. "Loneliness." Kebechet's lips part slightly as Turana continues to stare, unblinking, deeply within her own. "I am lonely. I have no true friends anymore. They are all gone, as are the sphinxes." She rubs her palm over Kebechet's hand and squeezes it tightly. "I would like a friend. Would you be mine?"

She feels slightly bad about manipulating the poor girl this way, but it achieves the desired result. Kebechet nods. "I would like that very much," she repeats herself from earlier.

"Then come with me and show me this passage."

They leave the pools under the ceaseless guard of the undead elite soldiers, but do not immediately head to their destination. "I wish to speak with Neobek about the supplies after the foreigners snuck in," she explains. "Meet me at the portal to Duat, and let none see you or know of your purpose."

Kebechet nods and slithers off into the temple.

Neobek isn't hard to find; he never is. The crocodillian is seemingly in all places at once; merely wandering around the city would cause one to bump into him, as he is constantly taking care of some matter or affair. His current errand is issuing written orders of the coming attack to chief sergeants around the city. Turana stops him when she finds him in the street.

"Neobek, tell me of the city's current stores of food. How are they?"

"We have only lost one from the bombings," he explains. The market is still thriving, though the people are afraid. We still have three other stores of food prepared, as well as the hanging gardens, and we still have plenty of grain and livestock."

"Good," she replies.

>>3294185

>Head to Duat with Kebechet
>Give Neobek new orders
>Meet with Brother-Captain Haka
>Issue commands to the priestesses of the temple
>Other

>>3294187
>Meet with Brother-Captain Haka

>Meet with Brother-Captain Haka

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>>3294206
>>3294208

Brother-Captain Haka is still organizing the various races and warriors of Nemsai, preparing them for battle on the field. As Turana looks upon them from a balcony, she sees the human footsoldiers, gnoll archers, rhino-like rhox shock troopers and the largest, most powerful units of all, the loxodons, elephantfolk. Each stands nearly four to five meters high, massive creatures who can wield weapons the size of smaller folk. They are not clad in much armor, other than large chunks of metal and wood wrapped about their chest and arms, but their tough, grey skin and size makes them difficult to harm.

Turana reflects on how few of them there are. Of all the species here in Nemsai, they are the fewest, and now what grown male adults there are among them are being prepared for war. They could battle a tormentor in single combat, and gore great foes upon their tusks and crush them beneath their wide, flat feet, but eventually and with enough combined effort they can be brought down themselves. She imagines they will, with how much attention such creatures would bring on the field of battle.

She descends the stairs, where Brother-Captain Haka notices her and bows. "The soldiers are ready, oh priestess," he says without hesitation. Her face betrays no emotion, but she doesn't much care for the man. He is a great soldier, an inspiring leader of men, but a soldier is all he is. If Anubis ordered him to march off a cliff, he would.

"We wait until nightfall," she explains. "Kotal Kahn can still draw upon solar powers during the evening, but not as greatly. We must take every advantage we can afford."

"Our enemies will fall before our might. Our soldiers are dedicated to the gods; their faith will make them prevail."

'Faith does not block a sword through the gut,' Turana thinks. "We wait until nightfall. No sooner. That is my command."

He bows and resumes speaking with the lieutenants of the species. Turana considers some of the others who are scattered around. Despite Haka's confidence, the soldiers of Nemsai are lightly-armored, preferring to take advantage of the freedom of movement in the desert, but it is not quite so advantageous in large, mass warfare. Of course, should Kitana not reach them in time and diplomacy not prevail, they will have magic on their side---but she doesn't think it will make much of a difference. Many of these soldiers will die.

She observes a group of humans gathered around a fire, offering prayers to gods who do not listen. She sighs. 'They truly do not know how dire their position is... Here in the city, protected by the ward, we could last a hundred years. Marching outside will destroy us...'

>Head to Duat with Kebechet
>Issue commands to the priestesses of the temple
>Command Haka to disperse the military; the attack is called off by you
>Speak to some of the soldiers
>Other

>>3294392
>Head to Duat with Kebechet

>Speak to some of the soldiers
>Issue commands to the priestesses of the temple

>>3294404
I don't think we should stall for very long. The more time we have to enact our workaround, the better.

You have a point. There is an urgent task ahead of Turana to stop the bloodshed before sundown.

Changing to:

>Head to Duat with Kebechet

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>>3294397
>>3294432

'I have precious little time. I must away to Duat, and find a means of stopping Anubis.'

She knows not what she will discover there, but anything that can give her a hint or a clue as to how to stop these gods would be invaluable. Returning to the Temple to the Three Gods, she descends a staircase within and opens a secret passage. The pyramid-like structure is built with many such passages and hidden secrets, as well as traps. Turana knows them all, and has magic as well.

There is a portal here to Duat, an underworld-like realm. It is, like the sharp of Aaru the gods keep for themselves, a remnant from ancient times, but this never fully went away due to its connection to the Netherrealm. She has often hypothesized that it is one of the many layers of the Netherrealm, tucked away in some hidden, forgotten pocket of it, but she may never know for absolute certain.

Here, she meets Kebechet, who is no stranger to Duat but has often avoided travelling in it. The portal takes the form of a pool of black water.

"Shall we?" Turana asks.

"I am wary. There are dangers here that we cannot control."

"But that's part of the fun of adventure." She smiles and holds up a hand. "Let us go together."

After but a moment's hesitation, Kebechet takes her hand, and they both plunge into the water, the latter's coiling tail slipping into its black surface as they both vanish.

Gravity seems to shift around them; they dove in, and yet are now rising. They break the surface of the water and look around them at the strange, malformed landscape they now find themselves in. They both swim towards the nearby shore, with Kebechet's coiling tail propelling her faster than Turana's arms and legs. She helps the sorceress onto the shore after pushing herself up onto it.

The sky here is dark and cloudy. In the distance, twisted mountains can be seen, along with jagged geography and strange burning fires. The air is stale and strange to breathe; it has an effect on those who breathe it but it isn't fully understood, merely felt. The other thing that marks this land are temples and ancient structures.

Turana wipes some of the dark water off of herself as Kebechet helps her to her feet. "This way," the snake-girl says, leading her on down the bank of the river.

>Follow after her
>Look around some
>Clean yourself off more
>Cast a spell
>Other

>>3294507
>Follow after her
>Clean yourself off more

>Follow after her

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>>3294517
>>3294518

Turana keeps light on her feet as she moves after Kebechet. This land is dangerous, for the beasts here serve no master.

"This way, hurry!" Kebechet says, but unfortunately it is too late.

Two mounds of grey dirt burst open as two creatures emerge: large, black scarabs with spiked shells and wicked-looking claws at the ends of their legs. Turana grabs the girl by the arm and pulls her back as one of them opens its back, revealing large golden wings that carry it forward, landing in front of them.

The other one lands behind them, and Turana turns around to face it. Kebechet removes a dagger from her belt.

"Do we fight or run?" she asks, afraid. The large beetles advance, not giving them much of a choice.

>1d100 and an action!

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Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>3294635
Sand spikes to impale those beetles.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

Summon a shield to deflect any of the beetles' attacks

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>>3294643

Turana's brow furrows as she summons her staff and raises it high over her head, preparing to cast a spell. The scarb nearest her charges in, but suddenly finds itself impaled as a spike of sharp sand emerges from the ground, cleaving through its shiny black shell and emerging out the other side.

>>3294674


Kebechet shouts and Turana turns just in time to see the other scarab about to descend upon her. In response, she holds up an ankh conjures a magical shield between her and the scarab, causing the insect to crash into it.

As the scarab falls, the sorceress points her staff and launches several sand-spikes up into it, pincushioning it with her projectiles. The twitching body of the scarab falls to the ground alongside the recoiling snake-girl, who moves behind Turana.

"Are they dead?" she asks.

"They weren't really alive to begin with, but yes," Turana replies with a smile. "Let us hurry."

"The Hall of Two Truths is not far... this way!"

Again they take off, this time moving more quickly than before, keeping their eyes peeled on their surroundings. Up ahead is a large temple, one that has a bridge leading into its great arch of an entrance, but that is not what they seek. There is a path of winding stone that leads down below that temple, to a place of darkness. A cavern opening can be seen.

"This is it," Kebechet replies.

Turana is about to walk past her when a stray breeze rustles them both, lightly scraping their skin with sand. A figure begins to form in their path, built by the sand. A golem.

"I don't recall this," the snake-girl says.

"He must be new." She points her staff at the golem. "Let us pass."

The sand construct merely remains still, blocking their path.

>Attempt to use your magic to dispel it
>Attempt to use your magic to capture or control it
>Attack it
>Find another way
>Other

>>3294696
>Attempt to use your magic to capture or control it

>Attempt to use your magic to capture or control it

>>3294703
>>3294724

I'll take some 1d100s.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

Get fucked, golem man

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>3294741

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3294741

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>>3294744
>>3294745

"Nothing more than a simple construct," Turana says, holding up her staff. "I can bend it to my will."

It seems the golem has other plans, however, for as she points her staff at it the construct suddenly flies into a fury, a tornado of whipping, shredding sand. The whirlwind blows upon them, biting at their skin and clothing.

"Turana!" Kebechet cries as their ears are filled with the noise of the sand golem's attack.

Turana holds her close and attempts to shield them from the attack. 'Damn... But I still have another trick up my sleeve!'

>>3294755

Taking out a small bottle, she opens it and raises it high over her head. She casts a spell and the whirlwind seems to lessen in severity as it suddenly is sucked into the bottle. Sand falls all around them and scatters in all directions as the spirit of the construct becomes trapped in the bottle, unable to escape, especially when she slams the top back onto it.

Kebechet peeks from behind her hands which were covering her face. "Is it gone?"

"Not quite. I have it here." She holds up the bottle. "A tempest of a guardian, I must say. I don't think it has a mind of its own; it simply attacks what it sees. Useful, perhaps."

She tucks the bottle away and helps Kebechet up. "That was amazing!"

"Well, we're far from finished. Lead on."

They enter the twisting cavern and discover a vast chamber beyond. Kebechet tells her to be silent with a wordless gesture, a finger in front of her mouth, as they advance. Up ahead, there is a curious golden glow, and then she learns its source and nearly gasps before Kebechet puts a hand over her mouth.

The chamber is filled with gold. Koins, jewels, statuettes and more. Piles upon piles of it can be seen, a kingdom's worth of treasure.

'What is this all doing here?' she wonders.

Kebechet leads her around the piles, wordlessly telling her to not touch any of it or make a sound. It quickly becomes apparent why when they round the bend of a golden pile and see a massive, serpentine skeleton sliding across the floor, softly disturbing the many bits of treasure in its wake.

Turana's eyes follow the long, winding skeleton, discovering that it is monstrously gigantic, ending in a strangely hunman-looking skull, similarly giant. Green gems glitter in its eyes as it surveys its territory; Kebechet pulls her down to hide so that it does not catch a glimpse of them.

>Sneak
>Attack
>Speak to it
>Attempt to use magic on it
>Other

>>3294919
>Sneak

>Sneak

>>3294923
>>3294932

Give me a 1d100+10, please.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>3294960

Rolled 100 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3294960

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>3294960

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>>3294961
>>3294970

Turana has a plan. She prepares to cast a spell upon them both, waggling her fingers without making a sound. Kebechet gives her a questioning look, but Turana's eyes tell her to trust her.

With a wave of her hand, they are both transformed into gold. Not solid gold, only the illusionary appearance of being gold. In a place like this, it is the perfect, most flawless form of camoflage one could ever ask for. They move again, walking through the gold, and when the snake spirit looks upon them they both merely freeze. Its emerald eyes gaze upon them, seeing nothing more than gold on gold, and it slithers away.

The hurry onwards towards a nearby passage and leave the chamber far behind them. Turana dispels the golden illusion and Kebechet smiles. "That was some trick! How did you know it would work?"

"Just a hunch. I was an illusionist long ago; the spell was a simple one, though rarely used for hiding. Quite clever, if I do say so myself."

"Truly you are the most amazing sorceress in all of the land!"

Turana waves a hand. "What was all that gold for, anyway?"

"The Hall of Two Truths is above us. There, my father judges the hearts of mortals. Their belongings, the gold they thought to bring with them in the afterlife, holds no value to him, and is discarded down below, into the pit of the serpent, where it has been guarded for eternity."

"I see. Interesting..."

They walk along the halls of the underground chambers, illuminated by torches and burning bowls of pitch, searching for anything of interest. This is a temple proper, with smooth stone floors, walls and ceilings, with symbols and great reliefs covering them. As Kebechet inspects a chamber of statues, Turana finds her way into a dark room with many stone shelves. This place is home to countless jars, and upon opening one, she realizes that they contain preserved organs like hearts, brains and other oddities.

"Turana! Come and see!" comes the voice of the daughter of Anubis, and she follows it.

What they discover here is a library of many texts, scrolls and stone tablets. They enter it and examine the many writings within, not touching any.

"Do you think this is what will help us?" Kebechet asks.

"Perhaps so..." Her fingers run along the edge of a scroll, considering where to begin looking.

>Search the scrolls
>Search the stone tablets
>Open chests and look for hidden things
>Kebechet will search here while you look elsewhere
>Other

>Search the scrolls
>Search the stone tablets
>Open chests and look for hidden things

>>3295033
>Search the stone tablets
Stone holds longer than paper. So long as it's not worn away, there must be more ancient knowledge there.

>>3295033
>>Search the stone tablets
probably older and more important.

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>>3295041
>>3295044
>>3295047

As Kebechet inspects some of the scrolls and sorts through them, Turana focuses on the stone tablets, surmising that they may contain more ancient and important information. Approaching a wall of them, she begins to study them intently. A master of the ancient languages like her has little problem in understanding the complicated hieroglyphics on them.

Her eyes drift from one passage on one tablet to the next, scanning for anything useful. Then, she finds one that seems to concern Anubis in some manner, but what catches her eye is that it doesn't seem as old or worn as the others. It describes a time in which all of the gods were dying, and the measures Anubis took to protect himself. She leans in close, paying very strict attention to all of its details. It seems that he removed a piece of himself and hid it away, though it does not say what the piece is or where it is hidden. It is this piece of himself that allowed him to survive the purge of gods when Aaru was conquered by Shao Kahn.

'What could it be?' she wonders. 'And did the other two, Bastet and Sobek, survive in the same manner?' Folding her arms, she begins to think about what this could mean. 'What if destroying this piece would kill him, or at the least, severely weaken him? Make him vulnerable?'

She looks over her shoulder at Kebechet, who is studying a papyrus scroll. 'Kebechet would no doubt be displeased at such a thing... She loves her father, even if he has little love her her and the rest of us.'

At that moment, before she can contemplate this piece of information further, they both hear a great rumbling noise issued from somewhere above them, in the temple proper.

"What was that?" Turana asks. "Ammit? Or something else?"

"I know not," Kebechet replies. "What do we do?"

>You stay here, I will go see.
>Let us both investigate.
>Ignore it, I'm sure it was nothing.
>Attempt to use magic to divine its origin
>Other

>Ignore it, I'm sure it was nothing.

>>3295176
>>Let us both investigate.

>>3295176
>Let us both investigate.

>>3295176
>>Let us both investigate.

Turana Sphinx: Phat Pharaoh Investigations

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>>3295201
>>3295225
>>3295228

"Come, let us see," Turana urges her as they leave the library. Turana listens carefully, hearing the sounds of deep talking coming from somewhere nearby. She finds a staircase going upwards and climbs it.

"Is that my father's voice?" Kebechet asks.

Turana holds up her hand as she tries to listen, but it is indeed the voice of her father.

"We have done all that you have asked. We expect compensation in return."

Another, equally powerful and deep voice returns. "Compensation shall be delivered, provided the water becomes ours."

Turana's eyes widen as she peers around a corner. There, speaking with a great apparition in the flames of the grand hall is Anubis, and the subject within the flames is none other than Onaga, the Dragon King! She knows well the deal made between Anubis and Onaga in which several netherships were provided to ferry his army across the sea to hasten the invasion of Z'unkarah, but then Onaga died and the attack was ended. How are they speaking now?

"The water will be yours, yes," Anubis says, his arms folded. "There will be no resistance. They will be far too busy with the battle against Kotal Kahn's forces to notice that it is gone."

Turana's eyes widen. 'No, it cannot be,' she thinks. 'The reason he and the other gods desire us to lower the ward and go to war... is so that Onaga can claim the water for himself?!'

"Once Kotal Kahn and his people are deprived of the cure for the plague and the realms are weakened, the Deadly Alliance will see the return of your precious realm."

'The Deadly Alliance... the ones who killed Liu Kang...'

Anubis bows his head. "It shall be done, Lord Onaga, and soon. Ensure your man is prepared."

"He is prepared. We are not very patient, Anubis. Hurry."

As the flames containing Onaga vanish, Turana is about to turn to speak with Kebechet when she realizes the girl is gone---she has slid right past her, and towards Anubis!

"Father!" Kebechet cries out, and the god turns around. "Father, say it is not so! It is a ruse, a trick! You are not going to give to him the water!"

"Daughter... you are not allowed here."

"Father, please! Tell me you were only lying to him! You would never give that vile beast our water, or send our army out just to give it away! The wounded from the battle will have no way to be healed!"

"SILENCE!" He summons his staff and points it at her, causing chains to emerge from the floor and wrap around her body. "How did you come here? Who else is with you?"

Kebechet, tears streaming down her face, shouts out, "N-no one!"

Turana holds back, hiding, wondering what she should do. His daughter has told a lie of her own, meaning that he doesn't know of Turana's presence and would not suspect her if she were to return, but this would mean abandonning Kebechet to whatever fate her father subjects her to. Imprisonment seems the most likely, but what if it is worse? Still, does she dare give herself away?

>>3295446

>Kebechet has covered for you; you must escape
>Step out and confront Anubis
>Attempt to rescue Kebechet by distracting Anubis
>Disguise yourself as someone else
>Other

>>3295448
>Kebechet has covered for you; you must escape

>>3295448
>>Kebechet has covered for you; you must escape

Anubis can still judge a person's life in their entirety even without them dead, no?

>>3295471
Wait, says he actually needs to weigh their heart on a scale, and the Egyptians removed those from the dead.

>Kebechet has covered for you; you must escape

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>>3295464
>>3295468
>>3295481

'I'm sorry, Kebechet. Be strong.'

She slips downstairs, away from Anubis, her mind running with what she has learned.

'The gods have abandonned Nemsai, but I have not. I will not allow them to destroy what I have built. I will not allow them to slaughter my people.'

Returning to the library, she takes the stone tablet in hand and examines it more closely. 'It is time for the gods of old to die. But where has Anubis hidden his piece of himself?'

The tablet contains no clue, until she holds it over the stone floor as she reads it. The symbols along its edges are not hieroglyphics, but seemingly random glyphs, until she sees that they line up with several etchings in the walls. She holds it up and uses the tablet like a map, finding her way through the lower levels of the Hall of Two Truths until she comes upon a great relief of Anubis, Bastet and Sobek, rising triumphantly over the pyramid at the heart of Nemsai, the center of all things.

'The heart of Nemsai... the gods believe they created it, and it is centered around the pyramid... the pyramid is the heart... the pyramid contains the heart! His heart! Anubis' heart!'

Whether literal or metaphorical, that is the answer to the riddle. Turana runs out of the lower levels, turning to gold to sneak past the skeletal serpent spirit as before, and escaping into Duat. There, she finds the water and dives in, seeking the portal.

She resurfaces in the temple. Taking a moment to pull herself out and dry off, she realizes that this very pyramid contains the fragment of Anubis that allowed him to endure. This very pryamid that she herself once guarded holds the key.

'I must find it,' she thinks. 'But where could it be? I know all of the secret paths and passages of this pyramid. Therefore, it must be hidden somewhere in plain sight...'

>Search the main hall
>Search the upper worship area
>Delve into the lower levels
>Attempt to use magic to seek it out
>Other

>>3295542
>Search the main hall
It's got to be be super obvious.

>>3295542

>Delve into the lower levels
wherever the burial chambers are

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>>3295542
>In plain sight...
>A pyramid...
>If only we had some clue that could Illuminate this?

>>3295542
>Attempt to use magic to seek it out
We can make stone look like sprinkles or something and spot the thing that still looks like a stone.

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>>3295551
>>3295563
>>3295647

She begins her search of the temple, going high and low, using her magic where she can. Hoping to pick up on some trace power left behind, she goes room by room, seeking the key she needs to end the tyranny of these traitorous gods. Alas, as the sun dips lower and lower and the time of the attack draws nearer and nearer, she is unable to find what she seeks.

That is until she passes by a hall with many jars in it, however. She pauses, looking within, remembering the one she saw back in Duat. This one is very similar, containing funerary jars and other important artifacts of ancient people, kings and queens and otherwise. She enters it and knows that no one is permitted to touch any of them, on fear of being cursed... but her magic shows her that there is no such curse, only the fear of one. She never paid much close attention to these jars before, because why would she? It is that very notion that makes her want to look now, for if someone were to hide something valuable, why not hide it amongst the mundane?

She holds up the stone tablet and inspects each jar, until at last she comes upon one with the head of a jackal.

'Of course,' she thinks with a wry smirk. She sees that several symbols upon it match the tablet. 'This is the one.' It is sealed, but she knows that it contains the heart of Anubis. 'This would explain why you no longer care for anyone else, wouldn't it, my lord and master?' She picks it up, feeling rather powerful at that moment, knowing she finally holds the key to throwing off her shackles.

Tucking it under one arm, she brings it to her inner sanctum and considers what to do with it.

>Offer it to Kotal Kahn as a gesture of good will
>Break it open yourself
>Hold onto it for now as a trump card
>Go to Anubis and threaten him
>Other

>>3295800
>Save it for the Scale of Ma'at, you shall have a Public Judgment in front of all the Realm, asking all a riddle: "How heavy is Anubis' heart?"

>>3295800
>Hold onto it for now as a trump card

>Hold onto it for now as a trump card

>Save it for the Scale of Ma'at, you shall have a Public Judgment in front of all the Realm, asking all a riddle: "How heavy is Anubis' heart?"

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>>3295814
>>3295829
>>3295911

Running her hands along its surface, she thinks about the many possibilities it holds, but for now she decides she will keep safe and hidden. Her heart races with excitement at the prospect of finally being rid of those gods, especially now that she knows they care nothing for the people she has united.

'Nemsai is bigger than any of them,' she thinks with a satisfied grin. 'It isn't theirs to toss away as they see fit. It is mine. I made it, not them! These are my people, not theirs! And I'll not allow them to bring them harm!'

She begins to form a plan of what she will do with Anubis. Her next destination is beneath the temple, where the well of souls she constructed lies. This is the sanctum of Rahmac, her soul construct and loyal creation. Upon commanding him to emerge, he does so, floating out of the green soulnado and hovering towards her.

"We exist to serve," the soul construct says, his voice an echo of many speaking at once. The gestalt mummy touches onto the floor and kneels before her.

"Rise, Rahmac. There is work to be done. You are to accompany me."

Rahmac wordlessly follows her as she approaches a wall, opening a secret door to reveal the preservation chamber of her former body. Devoid of its soul, the large form of the sphinx lies immobile but alive, kept within a kind of stasis by the large mask placed upon its head. This mask preserves the body and all of its functions perfectly as though her soul still inhabited it, as well as allowing her to command it mentally. She approaches her former body and runs a hand along the blank face of the mask.

It is here that she pauses in deep thought, reflecting on when she brought Kaito into this chamber. Turning around, she looks at Rahmac, staring into his glowing green eyes and knowing that within that mass of thousands of souls is the soul of the little Earthrealm girl, Nadeen, whose body she stole.

She knows the truth of the matter. Nadeen knew nothing of her plans for her body, and never consented to giving it to Turana. Then again, Turana never asked. She raised the girl, using magic to enhance her beauty, all the while planning what she would do with it. When the day came that Nadeen was to leave her homeland for schooling elsewhere, she came to thank Turana for her guidance and mentorship. Turana's response was to suck the soul out of her body and place hers within it. As for Nadeen's soul, she held onto it in a piece of jewelry until she could find a safer place for it, which ended up being her creation Rahmac. Fueled by souls granted by Anubis, she made Rahmac and placed Nadeen within him, where she has existed ever since, not truly living, and not truly dead. A piece of a greater whole.

She also knows this was wrong. It was a wicked, vile act. She could remove Nadeen from within Rahmac, place it back within her body, and return to her old body at any time. She could fix what she has done.

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>>3296048

And yet, as she looks upon her slender fingers and hands, turning them over, she finds herself unable and unwilling to do so. She likes this body. It is hers now. She spent so long cultivating it, imbuing it with magic, helping it grow beautiful and lithe, why shouldn't she consider it hers? Without her, this body wouldn't be as flawless as it is. She made it. It belongs to her...

What's more, she did it all for him. This was to be her ultimate gift for him, a means for him to truly love her. Rather than force him to cross the species gap with her lion-like body, she sacrificed everything she physically was to take on a new form, one of his own kind. Losing her wings, her ability to grow and change size, the body she was born in, all for him.

'Why doesn't he understand my sacrifice? Why doesn't he love me? I did all of this, I created Nemsai, I brought prosperity to a wasteland, for him!'

She brings up her hands, nearly clawing at her face.

'It's that Mileena. I know it is. She sunk her fangs into him and won't let go. She's a monster, a beast, a witch. I hate her, hate her, HATE HATE HATE HER!' Turning around, she nearly pushes Rahmac out of the way as she storms towards the center of the chamber. 'If only she were dead... If only I had killed her when she first work up twenty years ago. Then he would be all mine... and perhaps, still can be. I won't share him, not with anyone, especially not that sharp-toothed hag, that disgusting affront to nature, that monster.'

Her thoughts are bent entirely outwords and there is no moment of self-reflection, so intent is her hatred of the woman who stole her love away from her. She does not realize that many of the thoughts she has about Mileena could describe her as well; that Mileena, while looking like a monster, has done heroic things, while she who looks beautiful has committed terrible acts. For Turana, everything she has done is justified by her twisted moral code, and it is everyone else who doesn't understand. She brings her hands up to the sides of her head, gritting her teeth as she vents her frustration.

It is almost nightfall. She must decide her next course of action. With her former body and Rahmac at her side, she leaves this chamber and returns to the main hall of the pyramid temple.

>Sneak out of the city to speak with Kotal Kahn
>Attempt once more to commune with Kitana
>Head to the warding sphere to ensure it is not tampered with
>Travel to the waters and ensure they are guarded
>Other

>>3296051
>Head to the warding sphere to ensure it is not tampered with
The city is vulnerable to sneak attacks as it is. With the Deadly Alliance on the prowl, we can't afford surprises.

>>3296051
>>Head to the warding sphere to ensure it is not tampered with

>Head to the warding sphere to ensure it is not tampered with

>>3296051
>Huh, that was quite a bit of self-reflection and judging you just did. Could that urn be the catalyst? Oh well, something to consider another time.

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>>3296069
>>3296073
>>3296077
>>3296086
We will be resuming tomorrow after I return from work. Thanks for playing up until this point, and we've still got plenty left. How are you enjoying our glimpse into Turana's life so far?

>>3296051
>Head to the warding sphere to ensure it is not tampered with

>>3296123
Needs more whoredom because she's a total slut

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>>3296069
>>3296073
>>3296077
>>3296996

Not far from the Temple to the Three Gods is a building, a golden pavilion. Contained within it is the Warding Sphere, a magical artifact that projects the shield around Nemsai. Another gift from the gods, though not of their own creation; a byproduct of a forgotten age of magic. Upon placing one's hand upon its surface and speaking the command words, the shield can be raised or lowered. This knowledge was trusted only to her and two others: Neobek and Haka. She travels there now to ensure that it is not tampered with, but as she discovers, someone else has gotten here first.

Brother-Captain Haka turns as she enters the pavilion, striding past the guards. He speaks. "The moon is rising, and the sun is setting. It is time to lower the shield and attack."

"No," Turana says flatly. "The shield isn't lowering. I'm calling off this foolish attack. Now, stand aside."

"That is not your decision to make," Haka says in an authoritative tone. "The gods have made it their will!"

"The gods care nothing for the people. They will send out our army to be slaughtered and then see Nemsai looted and burnt when it is defenseless, and they care nothing. You are a pawn to them, a piece to be discarded. We all are."

"I have faith in my gods, priestess!" he says, turning towards the sphere. "I have given my orders to the men. When the shield lowers, they will charge. Do not try and stop it, lest you be branded a heretic."

She holds up a hand. "Don't try it, you fool of fools. I have heard Anubis speaking with Onaga the Dragon King, promising to relinquish our water to him and his ilk. They have betrayed our civilization and all that we have worked to achieve."

"You lie!" He draws his khopesh and points it at her. "I will not suffer any such blasphemy of the gods! Least of all from a priestess who should know her place!"

"My place?" she says with narrowed eyes. "My place is standing over you, with my heel on your neck! Your place is groveling at my feet!"

He moves to strike at her, but suddenly finds himself lifted off the ground and surrounded by a green aura. Rahmac holds Haka aloft with his telekinetic power as the captain struggles. Turana, satisfied, approaches the warding sphere to ensure that it is still active, which it is. Having confirmed this, she turns to consider Haka, who is shouting all manner of curses upon her.

>Kill him.
>Imprison him.
>Have Rahmac continue to subdue him.
>Let him go.
>Other

>Kill him.

>>3297046
>Imprison him.

>>3297046
>>Kill him

>>3297046

> Have Rahmac Kill him.

>>3297046
>Imprison him.

He'll be useful to us after he realises the truth about Omega and Anubis.

>>3297046
>Kill him.

>>3297046
>Imprison him.
No reason killing a perfectly good soldier if he can be made to see reason.

>>3297046
>>Imprison him.
Blind loyalty is useful once his faith is thoroughly shaken.

>>3297083
Onaga*

>>3297046
>Imprison him.

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>>3297050
>>3297083
>>3297095
>>3297107
>>3297425

Turana approaches him and looks into his eyes. "It is fortunate for you that you are more useful to me alive than dead. You are a competent captain, even if an unimaginative one. When I reveal the traitor god that Anubis is, your blind faith will be shaken, but you will believe in something even more powerful: me. Rahmac, take him away and imprison him."

The mummy does as he is told, levitating out of the room with Haka alongside him, still stuggling to escape. When they are gone, she folds her arms and thinks.

'I have bought more time for Kitana to reach Kotal Kahn. But what am I to do before then? Kebechet is a prisoner of her father, and I have no allies who are yet willing to march against the gods.'

She hears a noise from a nearby corner, and whips out her staff. "Reveal yourself."

Neobek awkwardly shuffles into view. "My priestess," he says, bowing his wide, flat head.

"You heard everything?"

"I did."

"And where do you stand?"

"I have neither the power nor the strength to stand against you. Even if I were to deactivate the ward, which I do not wish to do, I would only invoke your wrath and send our men out to be slaughtered."

"Good. You are a smart one. Now hear this: the gods have gotten what little use they had for Nemsai and its people and are ready to discard it. I am not. These lands are mine, these people are mine, and this city is mine, not theirs. I will not allow them to destroy what I have built."

"Your words are wise, oh priestess."

"Stop calling me that. A priestess worships, and I no longer worship those pathetic deities. They are undeserving of it." She pauses for a moment, realizing that this is the moment she is to take control. "From this point onwards, you and all others shall know me as Pharaoh."

He bows his head and kneels. "Long live Pharaoh Turana."

A smile comes to her lips. "Rise, Neobek. There is work to be done. I shall have my sphinx guard this pavilion; none shall enter. You are to accomplish a task for me."

"What is it, oh Pharaoh?"

>Deliver new orders to the soldiers.
>Gather the priestesses for a ceremony.
>Reconsolidate all of our supplies and make them safe.
>Release Kotal Kahn's captives and send them back to him.
>Other

>Release Kotal Kahn's captives and send them back to him.
>Gather the priestesses for a ceremony.
>Deliver new orders to the soldiers.

Relocate them to the pools to guard it from any foreign intruder

>>3297887
>Release Kotal Kahn's captives and send them back to him.

>>3297887
>Deliver new orders to the soldiers.
Have them assemble for a ceremony before they are to be shipped out. If you act like you're going with the Gods, the Gods will be less suspicious.
>Gather the priestesses for a ceremony.
We have a heart to be judged for all to see.
>Release Kotal Kahn's captives and send them back to him.

Ok, maybe most assemble for the ceremony before moving out and a small battalion of soldiers secure the pool more tightly.

>>3297887
>>Release Kotal Kahn's captives and send them back to him.

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>>3297898
>>3297899
>>3297913
>>3297935

"You are rather skilled at moving all over. I have three tasks for you. Firstly, I want you to gather the soldiers for a ceremony, under the pretense of blessing them before being marched off to battle. Secondly, I want you to gather the priestesses, for much the same reason, but tell them that this is to be a special ceremony blessed by the gods themselves. And finally, take what soldiers, spies and infiltrators of Kotal Kahn's that we have captured and release them."

"Release them, my Pharaoh?"

"Send them back to Kotal Kahn, unharmed. Oh, and I want you to post the most elite of our guard at the pool---I know for a fact that it is to be a target."

He bows his head. "It shall be as you command, Pharaoh."

He shuffles off. Despite his awkward gait, she knows that he will accomplish these tasks and that none will question him. He speaks with her commands, and all know it.

This gives her time to prepare for a special ceremony. Anubis would judge the damned by weighing their hearts against a heavenly feather of a long-deceased goddes of truth, Ma'at. If the heart was lighter than the feather, they would be granted eternal bliss in the afterlife, but if it was not and weighed down with sin, they would be devoured by his pet Ammit.

So too shall be his own fate. It is only fitting.

The only problem is that she lacks two of the three tools necessary to perform this task: while she has already secured his heart, she lacks the scales and the sole feather of Ma'at that remains. Both of these artifacts are kept in the Hall of Two Truths in Duat.

But how to retrieve such items, without rousing Anubis' suspicions?

>Return to Duat, steal the items, rescue Kebechet
>Contact the New Defenders and ask them for help
>Wait and see if Kitana has contacted Kotal Kahn
>Confront the gods about their treachery
>Other

>>3298131
>Contact the New Defenders and ask them for help
>Return to Duat, steal the items, rescue Kebechet
This is a major matter of Outland politics, so I see no reason why they wouldn't help.

>Return to Duat, steal the items, rescue Kebechet
>Contact the New Defenders and ask them for help

Hey, can we challenge the Gods to a Shadow Game over Riddles?

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>>3298141
>>3298157

'There is someone else I could ask for help from,' she thinks. She hastens back to the temple, leaving her former body to guard the warding sphere. Within her bedchamber, kept inside of a small white box, is a device. It was given to her by Kaito when last he came to visit her, a thing of technology. He had hoped to dissuade her from going to war with Kotal Kahn, but at the time she thought it only right to follow her gods. How foolish she was...

Even so, he seemed to trust her enough with this beacon.

>"Take this," he had told her, placing the device in her palm. "When you need help... use it."

Many times has she been tempted to use it, simply to summon him back to see him again, but always she held herself back. What little sense when it came to him prevailed, telling her that if she was ever to win him back, it would be with prudent actions. At this moment, she would be hard-pressed to think of anything more prudent than asking an old friend and ally for help in a dire moment such as this.

But she knows she cannot use it here in Nemsai, not while the ward is active. That leaves only one option: returning to Duat.

As she slips unseen back into the halls of the temple, she hears the excitement of the priestesses. They know not what the coming ceremony will be about, only that it will be blessed by the gods. 'You don't know how right you are,' she thinks, taking advantage of their fervor to sneak past them.

Using the same portal to Duat as she did before, she emerges from the black water once more within that dark pocket of a realm and takes out the beacon, activating it. She waits for several minutes, hoping that it is not broken or somehow out of range, when a portal opens nearby. Her heart races as she stands up, holding a hand in front of her eyes to shield them from the bright light.

Three figures emerge from the portal. When it seals behind them and she can see, her heart nearly rockets out of her chest.

"Kaito..."

He stands there alongside the shokan champion Sheeva and the thief-prince Cao Kahnzedah. The two of them look none-too-pleased to see Turana, but she cares little for them. Her attention is focused solely upon Kaito. She longs to run up to him and wrap her arms about him in embrace, but manages to maintain her self-control. Clearing her throat, she speaks.

"Thank you for coming. I need your help."

Though his companions stand guarded, with their arms folded, Kaito seems more willing to engage in a dialogue with her. He cocks a brow as he approaches. "I recognize this place," he says, looking around. "Back when we first met, and I fought your master."

"Yes, precisely." Despite the dire situation and the lack of time, she cannot help herself and remarks, "You look well."

He exhales sharply from his nostrils. "I've been better."

She wants to hear of his woes, but pushes her needy thoughts aside and quickly brings him and the others up to speed on the situation at hand, starting from the beginning.

>>3298349

>Go with them to steal the scales and feather.
>Have them steal the artifacts and bring them to Nemsai
>Ask to speak with Kaito in private
>Apologize to them for your actions
>Other

>Go with them to steal the scales and feather.

>>3298350
>Have them steal the artifacts and bring them to Nemsai
We have to be ready to meet Kotal and Kitana topside.

>>3298349
>Have them steal the artifacts and bring them to Nemsai. Instead of asking Kaito though,
>"Kahn of Thieves, I have a task for you. That showing of your swiftness, ratty though it was, left a positive impression on me."

>>3298381
Though, maybe "request of" would be better than "task for."

Good point.

Changing to:

>Have them steal the artifacts and bring them to Nemsai

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>>3298366
>>3298381
>>3298386
>>3298396

After finishing explaining her situation, she puts her hands together and gives them a moment to take it all in. Kaito rubs his chin in deep thought while Sheeva stands diligently nearby. Cao, having gotten bored of the tale, started throwing rocks into the nearby black river.

"The one Onaga and Anubis are referring to is probably Rain," Kaito mutters. "He could manipulate the wellspring's water. Drain it or absorb it, perhaps. I don't want to think about what that would do to him."

"What of my plan?" Turana says. "To turn the people of Nemsai against the gods, they must be shown their wickedness. I need your help in acquiring the scales and feather." Looking over at Cao, and with a diplomatic tone, she adds, "Particularly yours, Kahn of Thieves."

He throws another stone, then looks back. "Huh?"

"That showing of your swiftness as you defied the gods, ratty though it was, left a positive impression on me. I have little doubt that you could steal the artifacts from the Hall of Two Truths."

Appealing to his love of stealing seems to have worked, as Cao scratches his chin with a smirk. He then stops smiling. "I haven't forgotten what you tried to do to me or my friends, lady."

"I know," she says, bowing her head. "It is not my desire for us to be enemies any longer." Looking back at Kaito and Sheeva, she says, "I long for the days when we travelled together."

"Much has changed since then," Sheeva mutters, her orange eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Both times, and people."

Turana averts her eyes from the shokan's judgmental gaze, turning her own back to Kaito. "Please. You are my only hope. I pray that Kitana has reached Kotal Kahn and is speaking with him, or has already done so, but the gods are still alive. I must show the people of Nemsai that they can no longer place their faith in them. I must weigh the heart of Anubis."

Kaito takes only a moment more to come to a decision. "Alright. But on three conditions, Turana."

"Name them."

"When we free Nemsai of these gods, you will grant use of the water to Kotal Kahn, Edenia and Earthrealm to cure the Wraith-Plague."

"Of course. There is more than enough to cure those who are ill."

"Two, you will pledge allegiance and fealty to Kotal Kahn as the Emperor of Outworld. You will not resist his rule, act against him or make war upon him or his allies."

She is quiet. After a moment, she relents and nods. "I understand."

"And third... when we find a way to help your civilization become self-sufficient, you will return the water to the Wellspring of Shun-Koto."

Her eyes widen. "But Nemsai needs the water!"

"There may be other ways to survive in the desert," he explains. "We would be willing to help you find an alternative solution." Stepping closer, he says, "Please, Turana. You know it is the right thing to do."

>Without the water, Nemsai will slowly die.
>I refuse!
>Very well, I accept.
>Promise it to him, but lie; you intend to do no such thing.
>Other

>Without the water, Nemsai will slowly die.

>>3298490
>I will only agree to the third condition over Kombat.

>>3298490
>Other
>>3298490
>"Very well, I accept, but only after you find another effective solution. Until then, I shall keep the water with me."

>>3298490
>>Without the water, Nemsai will slowly die.

That's it for tonight; we'll be resuming tomorrow. Stay tuned for more!

https://youtu.be/N3bEh-PEk1g

>>3298490
>Other
What possible alternatives are there to survive as an oasis in this desert? All of this will be for naught if Nemsai can't exist anyway. I'll agree, but I will not give up the waters until I know there is an alternative.

>>3298490
>Without the water, Nemsai will slowly die

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>>3299172
>>3299124
>>3298540
>>3298539
>>3298497

Turana takes a step back, heavily conflicted. Her lips tighten as her gaze hardens. "Kaito, without the water, Nemsai will die."

"That may not be true."

"But it is. This land was a desert. Now this one oasis has become a home for families and all manner of different races, living together. What would you have us do? Move to Earthrealm, where they hate monsters from Outworld? Or Edenia, where none share our short lifespans? My people have built homes, families and lives. You can't just ask us to change our entire way of life because I made a mistake."

He folds his arms. "But it WAS a mistake."

"And dishonorable," Sheeva adds.

"I know it was. But I can't just take it away now. I've used the water to make something much bigger than myself and to deprive my civilization and its people of the water would be far, far crueler." Casting her eyes off to the side for a moment, she asks, "And besides, what resources have you to help an entire city of people?"

"...To be honest, not many. Earthrealm is having difficulties, and our team is operating independently now. As much as it pains me to admit, we can't take on refugees of an entire city, nor offer resources to make up for the water's absence."

"Then, all I can agree to is making peace with Kotal Kahn and offering the water as a cure to those who are sick. But I cannot return it."

His brow furrows. "It was wrong, Turana, what you did to Phlox."

"And I am sorry. But what is done is done."

Though he clearly doesn't accept that answer as readily as she does, he nods and says,"Yeah... what's done is done." He swallows, pauses for a moment, then continues. "Turana, when this is over, I want to talk to you again."

"I would like that very much," she says, trying not to sound overly enthused. Knowing that they are in the presence of others, and that time is an issue, she simply gives him a firm look that promises she will do so. Not that she needed to promise; she would talk to Kaito regardless, but the fact that he wants to in the first place helps.

He, Sheeva and Cao set off towards the Hall of Two Truths, leaving Turana to watch them as they go. Her eyes focus intently upon Kaito and she feels her heart ache at his missing presence, but she reminds herself that soon, all of this will be over and they can simply talk again. She sorely desires to. Even being in his presence for this short time and speaking of serious matters has left her swooning.

'If only you knew how much it hurts to see you walk away,' she thinks. 'It never gets any easier...'

>Return to Nemsai and prepare for the ritual
>Attempt to speak with Kotal Kahn
>Travel to the realm of the gods and confront them
>Destroy the staircase leading to the realm of the gods
>Other

>Return to Nemsai and prepare for the ritual

>>3300547
>Return to Nemsai and prepare for the ritual

>>3300547
>Return to Nemsai and prepare for the ritual

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>>3300548
>>3300550
>>3300553

Hastening back to Nemsai, Turana lifts herself from the black pool and quickly travels to the site of the coming ceremony. What she discovers is a scene of laughter and music as priestesses mingle amongst the soldiers and civilians, all eager for what is coming, though none knowing the truth of the matter. When Turana happens upon the scene, emerging from the temple, they are prepared to celebrate her arrival before they see how wet and disheveled she is. She looks upon them as a moment of tense silence passes before one of the older priestesses approaches her. "Lady Turana? What is it? Is something wrong?"

Composing herself, she says, "Please, good people, forgive my appearance, for I have just returned from the realm of Duat."

Murmurs can be heard all throughout the crowd as she straightens and slips her damp hair behind her shoulders. Knowing there is a way to spin this to her advantage, she says, "Yes, it is true. I travelled there to visit the Hall of Two Truths, and its name has never been more apt, for I have learnt two important truths there."

"What are they?" a nearby priestess asks.

Holding up her hands, Turana explains, "They shall be revealed soon enough! The time of the ceremony is almost upon us, where all truths shall be revealed! Rejoice, for this is to be a night known throughout our history!"

A great cheer rises as the soldiers, civilians and priestesses all resume their excited festivities, drinking and conversing and even dancing to music and song. Turana, satisfied with their pacification, returns to the temple. As she changes from one outfit into another, trying to look presentable and fix her apperance, she thinks.

'I will not have long before the gods come down to see why the attack has not occurred. Hopefully, Kaito and his friends can steal the artifacts before then.'

Then, she hears a strange noise, one that startles her and nearly sends her back in time to long, long ago: a clap of thunder. She knows that Kaito once wielded lightning, but lost those powers. It surely cannot be Raiden.

Running to the balcony, she looks out past the dull, golden haze of the ward to see large, black clouds forming over the city, blocking out the stars and the moon. Her eyes widen as something hits the back of her hand, splashing upon her skin. She looks at it, horrified to discover what it is, and even more horrified to learn that it passed through the ward as easily as the wind.

It is a drop of rain, in a land where it never rains.

She knows exactly what this means.

>Travel to the pool
>Lower the ward
>Collect Rahmac and your sphinx body
>Bring Rahmac, leave your sphinx to guard the ward
>Other
>

>Bring Rahmac, leave your sphinx to guard the ward

>>3300628
>Bring Rahmac, leave your sphinx to guard the ward

>>3300628
>Bring Rahmac, leave your sphinx to guard the ward

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>>3300633
>>3300641
>>3300642

Turana casts a spell to summon Rahmac from the dungeons. He manifests nearby in a swirling mass of green light, ready to serve.

"Take me to the pools," she commands, and he raises his hand to encase her in a green aura as they both lift off of the balcony. They soar over a few rows of buildings, passing over the heads of cheering people. They know not that the rain is not a gift from the gods, but a portent of an enemy infiltrator. They sing and dance in the rain, oblivious to what is truly going on. She and Rahmac approach the walled-off section of the city where the pools of water are kept, and what she sees even from a distance is a worrisome sight indeed.

She knows not how, but Rain has entered the city. Perhaps he was carried by his own storm, dripping down into the city and entering it through the puddles it created. Regardless, he is here now, tearing through the ranks of guards stationed there. At most all they are to him is a distraction, for the edenian prince is a seasoned warrior with few peers. Combined with his elemental abilities, the guards are simply fodder for him.

As Turana and Rahmac descend, he surrounds four of them in orbs of water, encasing their heads in bubbles. He tightens his grip in both hands, the action heralding the constriction of these orbs. The guards drop their weapons and struggle to escape, but cannot. The water compacts around them, crushing their heads as it makes room before draining completely inside of their skulls. Rain thrusts his hands upwards as they stand in a wobbly fashion, and with a violent, bloody burst, their heads explode in showers of bloody water.

"Stop, Rain!" Turana shouts, holding aloft her staff.

He looks over his shoulder at her, dark eyes studying her carefully. His arrogance is betrayed in his tone. "Do I know you?"

"I know you. We have met before, under other circumstances. I know why you are here! You will not touch the water, so long as I live!"

He holds up a hand, and before her eyes a strand of the water from the pool, blue and glowing, rises and surges towards his hand. He collects it in an orb before absorbing it, then clenching his fist. She grits her teeth as he laughs. "I just did, and I must say, I enjoyed that little taste. It feels good. In fact, I feel... stronger."

To demonstrate his point, he lifts his hands up high with his palms facing downwards. Several spires of water rise from the ground underneath the dead bodies around him, forcing them upwards. He directs these hydrobursts to launch them at her. She holds up her staff but Rahmac is ready, catching all of the bodies in a telekinetic field before tossing them aside.

Rain chuckles darkly. "Ermac, is that you? No... No, you look much worse. Decrepit. Clearly created by an amateur." Turana's eyes narrow. "I have some time to waste, so I might as well waste it on you two." He holds up his hands, and Turana and Rahmac ready themselves.

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 54 (1d100)

"Time isn't a thing that you should waste" or something like that

Summon a giant pillar underneath Rain to trap him and order Rahmac to do a dropkick into his head from the sky

>>3300888

> Sand Vs Water let's go

"Nobody will mourn your passing Snake of Edenia."

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>3300907

Okay, missed my dice.

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>3300888
Dust devils to dry Rain out. We're in a desert, man.

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>>3300898
>>3300907
>>3300913

"Time isn't something you should waste, Snake of Edenia. No one shall mourn your passing."

"Nor yours, I think," he says smugly.

Turana brings the bottom of her staff down, slamming it onto the tiled floor. She means to create a pillar of sand that will rise and clamp onto both sides of Rain, trapping him, but he propels himself upwards with two jets of water blasted from his palms. He lands atop the pillar she creates, ready for more.

Rahmac levitates upwards then swiftly descends towards him with both feet extended. Rain, in response, turns in place and performs a roundhouse kick empowered by a jet of water blasted from his heel. This powerful kick is fast and strong enough to knock Rahmac out of the air and send him flying backwards, into a wall which cracks.

>>3300919

As Rain leaps off the pillar, Turana breaks it apart and uses its sand to create a whirlwind around him. Rain brings up his hands to block it while he attempts an escape, but the whirling dust prevents him from doing so; to turn into water within this dust would cause him to become weighed down by it, as it would circulate through his body. His eyes narrow as he charges forward, intending to escape from it.

>Current Meter: 1
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>3300935
Intensify the dust devil.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

"Fang of Pakhet!"

Turana lunges forward in a cat-like aural construct and punctures her astral claws into his shoulders and throws him into a large statue

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>>3300939

As she prepares to intensify the strength of the sandstorm, Rain brings both hands to the ground and creates a bubble around him that rapidly grows larger and large, forcefully pushing away the sand from him. The bubble bursts after expanding to nearly ten feet, showering Turana with a combination of droplets and sand. Rain leaps from within this mass, faster than she can react, landing in front of her and delivering a punch to her jaw.

Turana is instantly put down by the blow, falling to the ground. Rain walks around her and gives her a pitiless snort as he approaches the nearest pool, raising his hands over it. She looks up as two small tendrils of the water twist upwards into his palms.

Rain gives off a sigh that transforms into laughter. Not only is he riding a kind of high granted by the magic of the water, he is being healed. More than that, he is being empowered! Turana scrambles to get back up, looking over at Rahmac, who is picking himself up from the rubble of the wall he crashed into.

>>3300945

Determined to not give up, Turana casts a spell upon both of her hands. They glow bright white as large, panther-like paws appear around them, complete with wicked claws. "Feel the Claws of Pakhet!" she cries, leaping at him from behind.

Rain simply turns and lifts up his leg, kicking her in the face. Again, Turana is knocked to the floor.

"Feel the foot of Rain," he laughs, his eyes glowing white from the power of the wellspring water. He clenches his fists, his glistening muscles bulging beneath his royal garb. He approaches Turana as her claws fade and she shakes her head in a dizzying manner.

He kneels down alongside her and grabs the back of her head, yanking on her hair. She shouts in pain as he speaks to her. "You know, I was only bantering earlier. I do know who you are. I know what you are, and I know what you have done."

Letting go, he stands over her, briefly illuminated by a flash of lightning in the sky accompanied by a loud crack of thunder. "I wouldn't normally care about a pathetic sorceress such as yourself. But you hold some place special in the heart of one of my hated foes."

She blinks. "K... Kaito..."

He nods, and she can imagine the smile behind his mask. "Yes... Hurting you would hurt him. And I wish to hurt him very much. Later, I will do so physically, but for now I will settle on... emotional!"

Lifting up his foot, he intends to bring it down upon her stomach. However, as he is about to land the attack, she flinches and realizes that it does not come. This is because Rain is glowing green, caught in the aura of Rahmac. "We will not allow you to harm her," the soul construct says before hurling Rain nearby, into the base of a large statue. The edenian prince crashes into it and the statue falls upon him.

Rahmac levitates over and helps Turana to her feet with a telekinetic hand. She summons her staff to her hand and looks over at the ruined statue of Anubis, hoping that is the end.

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>>3300999

Of course, it is not. Due to the falling rain, she cannot see her foe drain out from beneath the rubble. He leaps out of a nearby puddle to their left and attacks!

>Current Meter: 2
>1d100 and an action!

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>3300935
summon a column of sand the strike him from behind.