Danho Taraamene receives a small package

from a palace functionary. The courier says

the package is part of a larger report sent
from Khadis, intended for the new satrap
Murad Shah. This smaller package is intended
for Danho alone, and is delivered without the
satraps knowledge.
Opening the package, Danho finds a crude,
but serviceable copy of a document in strange
cuneiform script, along with a teraph which
he identifies as belonging to Sinnis. Unable to
decipher the script, he entrusts the palace
astrologer, Shalmassar, whom he has
befriended, with the document. Working
together and using the resources of the
palace library and archives, the two discover
one part of a tripartite sigil of warding, and
are able to decipher the Proto-Susrahnite
myth-poem:

A visitor is announced, seeking audience with

Danho Taraamene, a Yar-Ammonite, named
Apep, and supposed one-time companion of
his lordship. The guest is bathed and
anointed, and is presented for an audience.
He says he and Ardashir have travelled many
weeks from Susrah, their journey delayed by
the mighty Khamsin, the vast dust-storm
which devastated Zul-Bazzir. Ardashir is
arranging lodgings, and sent Apep ahead to
rendezvous with Danho. Danho instructs his
manservant to receive Apep and Ardashir and
his retinue at his new city-palace, while he
hides the document in his (partially-repaired)
palace in the foreign quarter.
Meanwhile Shalmassar has convinced Danho
of the merits of bringing the contents of the
document to the attention of the satrap. In
time, Murad Shah, anxious to consolidate his
own power base in light of the recent tumult,
is convinced that the documents are a path to
great riches, and orders that an expedition be
mounted and abyssal vaults plundered. Danho
will, of course, lead the expedition, and by
weeks end, the expedition is assembled.

The following aspects of the myth-poem are

revealed in due course:
1

Men of bronze , masters of fire

3
Kings of black jungles beneath a purple spire
Mad blind hands reach into the night
To plumb abysses dead to human sight
4
The Sons of Ishrah adorned with glittering stones
The earth yields riches but claims black bones
Tunnels in the earth, and vaults, too
Secrets of a lost age remain taboo
5
The one-eyed keeper of secrets knows the way
6
To the ivory goddess who holds the key all must pray

Moshedayan is gird in a suit of bronze plate

armour in the style of the Giant Kings of Kuth
2
Ardashir is a member of the hereditary fire
priests, the magi of Zadj
3
The Giant Kings said to have quarried a strange
purple stone for the construction of their cities
4
One of the slave-tribes of the Giant Kings who
chose to head south after the desolation of Elder
kuth rather than northeast like the rest of their
kind.
5
The guardian in the temple of Nataka in Katanga
has a single, three-lidded eye. Moshedayan, a
temple guard, also has but one eye
6
Nataka, a rendering of Belet-Lil in her aspect as a
fertility goddess and the Mother of Monsters

The large caravan strikes out into the rugged

wastes south of Zul-Bazzir. As it skirts
perilously close to the Risen Hamunaptra, but
eludes its hungry guardians. Apep tries to
feign surprise, but it is clear that this
development was not unexpected The
perilous lands known as the desolation of
Elder Kuth are avoided, and instead the
expeditions guides head for the Bahir Oasis in
Yar-Ammon, where tributes are paid to the
local Badawi tribesmen who lay claim to it,
and thereafter, skirting the haunted tomb
hills, though the frontiers of Zadj, where
Ardashir holds some sway, being careful not
to encroach upon the lands of the Slave
Sultans of Al-Qazir.

Thanking the party for its intervention, the

two groups join together and spend a
relatively trouble-free trek through the lands
of the Azimbans into the lands of Mashota,
King of Kings of Shoma, to whom NKruma will
commend the party.

The newcomers are amazed at the incredible

wealth on display in Shoma. Large herds of
cattle graze lazily in the rich pasturelands, and
fully one in ten of them are bedecked in large
pectorals and head-dresses of beaten gold,
protected by vigilant Royal Cattle-herders.
NKruma explains, as if able to read the
foreigners evil thoughts, that everything and
everyone in the lands of Shoma belongs to the
King of Kings, and woe betide anyone who
tries to take what is his
Finally the savannah of Azimba is reached,
whereupon the expeditions scout, Apep,
chances upon an apparent slave raid. A man
of bronze furiously defends his black master
while slavers attempt to make off with porters
and concubines. Apeps interference drives off
the remaining slavers, and the caravan is
welcomed by the master, a Shoma priest of
Nataka, Nkruma, who is returning from
temple business among the Azimbans, and his
retainer, the impressive half-Kuthite temple
guard Moshedayan. Ardahir marvels at the
impressive two-handed blade of black iron, a
level of mastery undreamed-of by the smiths
of the Zadji, clearly an artefact from the reign
of the legendary Giant Kings of Kuth.

In stark contrast to the vast wealth is the

squalor in which the locals live. There is only
one city in all of Shoma, Katanga, and it is
tightly segregated with the priesthood and
their families (slaves, servants, concubines,
children, legitimate, bastard, or adopted) and
the royal household dwelling in the inner city,
while the wretched underclass occupies the
outer city and beyond. All told, some 8,000
souls call Katanga home. In the centre of the
town, NKruma proudly boasts, is the temple
of Natanga.

Using his uncanny talent for disguise, he

manages to pass himself off as a black priest
and venture as far as an antechamber on the
second floor.

Ardashir manages to learn a little of

NKrumas business in Azimba: there are
reports that the smiths of Zimballah have
learned the secret of iron, which NKruma can
confirm. Immediately he dispatches some
loyal retainers to his Order in Zadj to convey
the news. He also learns of the bitter
infighting within the royal house of Mashota,
and the atmosphere of mistrust which he
fuels.
The convoy arrives at the city gates. Katanga
is surrounded by a wooden palisade, inside
which the poor, but free people (only foreign
slaves are kept) huddle together in wretched
huts. However, people do not live to be old,
so a large percentage of the population are
children and young adults. Most live in
buildings of sun-dried mud with roofs of straw
along with their animals, such as goats and
fowls.
The caravan master secures lodgings for his
crew while the masters of the expedition are
welcomed into the inner city by NKruma as
honoured guests. They are escorted under a
heavily-armed guard lest the under-classes
overstep their bounds and dare take up arms
against their betters.
The spacious inner city (which includes the
royal palace and cattle pens, the temple of
Nataka, and the goldsmiths workshops) is
ringed by a great mud-brick wall. The inner
city gates are adorned with massive ivory
tusks taken from the greatest specimens of
elephants; there are 12 spearmen at each
gate who make sure that only nobles, royal
guards, priests, merchants and foreign
dignitaries are allowed entry.
The heroes settle in to luxuriously-appointed
accommodations in the shadow of the white
temple. Immediately Apep works out how to
infiltrate it, and disappears for a while.

1. Temple Compound
The temple is an ancient stone tower, circular
in shape, four stories and 80 feet tall. The
tower is surrounded by a 15 feet tall wall with
three gates. One temple guard is always
posted at each gate, day and night.
During the day, both priests and visitors to the
temple can be found wandering around in the
spacious yard in front of the tower. In the
south-eastern corner of the compound is a set
of great wooden drums, which the temple
priests employ to communicate with fellow
priests in the villages of Shoma using the
secret language of the talking drums.
2. Entrance
A huge wooden door is the only entrance into
the temple tower; during the day, this door is
wide open and even at night it is rarely
locked. The high priest relies on the guards to
keep out those who attempt to enter the
temple unlawfully.
3. Chamber of Worship
The worshippers of the ivory goddess Nataka
(who include the nobles, merchants and artisans of Katanga, but not the common people)
are only admitted into the ground floor of the
tower. In this great audience chamber, the
priests accept the offerings and gifts of the
faithful, in return for blessings and omens. Occasionally, if a noteworthy visitor comes to
the temple, the high priest makes an
appearance and utters an important prophecy
after the sacrifice of a gold-adorned bull.
The walls of the torch-lit chamber are painted
white and decorated with brightly-coloured
patterns. Along the walls are flat stone altars
with small piles of skulls, having once
belonged to important people such as nobles
and priests.
Lilith expresses he grave concerns at these
most unorthodox practices, and notes that at
best, Nataka represents a much more primal
aspect of Belet-Lil, one emphasising
patriarchal fecundity over sensuality.

He quickly puts it out before any real damage

is done and the party enters a large square
chamber in the middle of which on a raised
plinth is an oddly-shaped statue

4. Priests Quarters
The shaven-headed priests live in large
common rooms on the first floor of the tower.
Each room holds six priests and their personal
belongings. Among the priests, there is an
individual named NKruma who is willing to
betray his fellow priests if the reward is great
enough (see above).
5. Antechamber
At the top of the stairway to the second floor
hangs a black silken curtain. Behind the curtain is a small antechamber. At the other end
of the antechamber is a wooden door inset
with ivory pieces in the shape of a skull.
Returning to his companions, Apep reveals
what he has discovered. Of significance is the
absence of an idol of the White Goddess; he
postulates it must be deeper in the tower,
somewhere. The King of Kings will receive the
visitors in three days, so time is short.
Moshedayan, whose wounds have been
tended by Manustishu, as almost made a full
recovery. He knows the secrets he seeks will
be revealed only with the aid of the
Prophesied One. He offers to take up his post
and allow the party access to the temple after
dark.
The Kuthians suspicious behaviour is noted
by another temple guard, who challenges him.
The reply is swift and bloody, and in moments
the corpse of the guard in unceremoniously
stuffed into one of the great talking drums
and the rest of the party enters
surreptitiously.
Confirming Apeps findings, the party makes
its way to the antechamber. While trying to
peek behind the door at the top of the
landing, he accidentally ignites the dark gauzy
curtain lining the interior of a black chamber.

6. The Inner Sanctum

The marble floor (odd in a mud-brick tower)
around the dais is covered with cuneiform in
archaic, proto-Susrahnite script. Danho is able
to read the words: Praise the Ivory Goddess!
Praise the Mother Goddess! Her lips are
sweet, life is in her mouth.
Two large braziers are either side of the
statue. These are lit to reveal the inner
sanctum, a 50 ft square room surrounded by
opaque black drapes. A symbol is etched into
an older slab of marble, a flagstone of sorts,
which is stylistically similar to the one on the
manuscript sent to Danho, and clearly part of
a larger sigil. Danho commits it to memory.
Meanwhile, Moshedayan can hear a seductive
gurgling sound from behind the curtains. He
resists its lure, while Danho counters with a
tune of his own. Taking a moment to steel
himself, Moshedayan ventures forth only to
confront an undreamed-of, three-lidded oneeyed alien monstrous temple guardian (7.):

just confirmed. On reflection he can attribute

this to his encounter with Elipa, one of the
Daughters of Rahma in Yaatana. He hopes
Manustishu is well-versed in such maladies,
but for now has to rely on his honeyed words.
Apep, as is his wont, goes to ground.

Even the dauntless Moshedayan withdraws in

the face of the horror. He follows his
companions out of the sanctum. It knocks
over the braziers, plunging the room into
darkness once more, and unleashes a bolt of
searing light at the Kuthian. A thick
sulphurous smell clings to him, assailing the
senses as he and the party ready to descend
back down the tower.
Apep is the first to discover the priests from
the lower level mobilising to investigate the
disturbance. Turning around, he dashes up to
the next higher level, followed by the rest of
the party. The towers topmost level contains
the bed-chamber of the high priest (8.), and
what appears to be a library (9.). Apep bursts
into the bed-chamber. Yama-Thembu, stands
in shock in front of two half-naked pleasure
slaves. Before he has a chance to rebuke the
intruder, he falls under Apeps hypnotic spell,
and is easily disarmed. Apep determines that
the narrow windows of this chamber offer no
chance of escape, so he returns to the library,
where a much larger window is set into the
wall.
Danho and Ardashir have little chance to
properly appraise the librarys contents
before temple guards fall upon Moshdayan
(and promptly fall at his feet). The Kuthian
takes the fight to the guards, forcing them
down the staircase and luring them into the
inner sanctum and to their doom, before
hastily exiting the tower as the alarm is raised.
Meanwhile Ardashir and Danho rappel down
the tower from the library window, and Apep
soon follows. All three escape the towers
courtyard. Ardashir and Danho manage to
secure an invitation into the loving arms of
some minor noblewomen. Danho is suffering
the effects of a long-standing affliction which
has affected his manhood, which he has only

NKruma seeks out Moshedayan, apparently

aware of his role in the recent disturbance. He
tells him to fetch the others, as he has a
proposition for them: NKruma has been
seeking out some treasures himself. He is not
a particularly devout adherent of the White
Goddess faith; he is of Mazanian stock,
served as a slave, and later an oblate to a
senior priest, before finally being adopted by
the man and inheriting his title and rank.
Delving into the archives, he has pieced
together the following information:
In the centuries after the accursed fall and
devastation of Elder Kuth, the former slave
peoples of the giant-kings migrated north and
east to settle in the lands of Susrah. An
offshoot of these proto-Sushrahnites, called
the Ishrah, chose instead to wander south into
the hills of what is now this kingdom of
Shoma.
In the jungled hills of Shoma, the Ishrah
discovered rich deposits of gold and precious
stones. They enslaved the native tribes and set
their new slaves to toil day and night in the
mines. The small kingdom of the Ishrah prospered and a series of purple stone fortresses
was built to control the mines.
Driven by greed, the Ishrah forced their slaves
to dig ever deeper into the rich ore, until one
day the toiling workers unearthed a series of
stone chambers beneath the mine tunnels.
The priests of the Ishrah studied the weird pictograms on the walls and deemed it unwise to
disturb these prehuman vaults. The mine was
sealed off and declared taboo by the priests,
and soon the surrounding area was
abandoned by the Ishrahnites.
NKruma says his divinations lead him to
believe that the party holds the secrets to
unlocking the wards, as Apep nods reflexively
in agreement. The false priest says he knows
where the prophesied purple spire can be
located, and together the group can divide
the spoils between them. In the uplands
known as the Shining Hills, to the south and
east of Katanga, and still mined by the Shoma
to this day, through trackless vine-covered
hills, languish the remnants of the Ishrahnites
civilisation. There lies the sealed vault and
NKruma alone can take show the way.

With the help of the fallen priest, the party is

ushered out of Katanga under cover of
darkness, gathering up support staff and
provisions for the trek through the Shining
Hills.

Through steaming jungle the party slogs,

braving oppressive heat and humidity,
stinging, biting insects, and the ever-present
threat of ambush and attack by the many
predatory beasts lurking therein. Expert
trackers arranged by NKruma are able to
bypass most of the dangers, although Ardashir
and Apep fall a pair of monstrous spiders,
which are desperately slain before they can
make off with their prey. As Apep lies
bleeding thanks to a spiders venomous bite,
Danho and Manustishu notice that he
transforms into a hideous man-snake hybrid,
although, after his recovery and on reflection,
both agree he must have just happened to fall
and become entangled in the shed skin of a
massive serpent, for no other explanation
bears consideration. Ardashir having seen
Apep before, however, knows better

In time the party regroups and regains its

strength, thanks in large part to the expert
care of Manustishu. After several more days
of hard trek, the expedition makes contact
with a savage black tribe. Of Mazanian stock,
but sporting odd physical deformities, the
tribesmen are cautious at first, but
welcoming. NKrumas knowledge of the
Shoman tongue allows for stilted, but
adequate communication. The Wamuban
dialect is quite easy to pick up, and before
long the more learned members of the
expedition have mastered the rudiments of
the language. On the third day, the party, led
by the Wamuban guides, arrives at their
village.
The Wamuba live in almost total isolation
from the outside world. There are currently
around 300 members of the tribe; two-thirds

are adult warriors and the rest are young

boys. The heroes soon notice that there are
no women to be seen anywhere. All members
of the tribe seem odd to a greater or lesser
extent, with many of the tribesmen bearing
gross physical (but not overly debilitating)
defects, such as missing or bulging eyes,
weirdly twisted arms or feet, purple boils or
cysts, extra or missing digits on hands or feet,
and so on. The majority still seem to be are
still capable warriors.
The heroes learn that the Wamuba are ruled
by a matriarchal queen, Nugga-Tikanda, the
mother-wife of the tribe. Her royal consort is
the tribal champion, Tibaa, a powerful warrior
and Nugga-Tikandas champion, who is sure to
view these newcomers as a threat to his
position.
Mwanza, the hunchback, is the villages chiefsteward, elder, and the queens messenger,
who has a good command of the Shoma
language, and who seems to take a shine to
Danho and Ardashir in particular.
Of particular note is the absence of any
women or girls in the village. Mwanza
explains that only to the queen is given the
honour of childbirth. Thus it has been for as
long as oral tradition holds. Any girls born of
the queen are given in tribute to the
neighbouring Man-Apes of the nearby hills.
Mwanza explains the tribes custom is that a
champion among the new arrivals must
confront the tribal champion in single combat
to vie for the favour of the queen. Naturally
the Kuthian, Moshedayan is selected, and
once the party is refreshed, the entire village
relocates to the ancient arena in the purple
ruins, above. The mood is festive and
celebratory, and the chosen champions are
feted before the contest begins.
Before the fighting begins, the corpulent
queen of the tribe, in prime of womanhood is
carried into her seat by six bearers, who strain
under the weight of the litter. At NuggaTikandas signal, the combatants face off
against each other.
The fight takes place on a narrow platform
over a deep pit. Small tunnels are bored into
the base of the pit, and a disconcerting
chittering can occasionally be heard above the
din of the excited onlookers.
Tibaas mighty blows threaten to topple the
Kuthian into the pit, but his sure-footedness
prevails, and after a furious flurry of blows,
the tribal champion plunges into the pit
below, only to be dragged away, screaming by
several tentacled creatures.

demand. Every night for a week he performs

the duties of the consort, giving the rest of
the expedition an opportunity to rest,
replenish and consolidate its position.
Meanwhile, Ardashir and Danho work to
cultivate good relations with the Wamuba,
and Apep ventures beyond the village and
after a few days has managed to discover the
presence of a hidden entrance, obscured by
undergrowth, in a nearby hill, which
accommodates a troop of oddly mannishlooking apes.

The victorious Moshedayan is raised aloft by

the cheering Wamubans before being
presented to the approving queen. He is
appointed new tribal champion, and is
returned to the village while the queen
returns to her royal compound among the
purple ruins, nearby.
The feast is held in the village at nightfall the
same day; it quickly develops into drunken
revelry as the tribesmen consume prodigious
quantities of banana wine. Nugga-Tikanda
herself is not present during the feast.
Mwanza reveals that Nugga-Tikanda is very
old, and that it is said that she murdered
her husband, the last chieftain of the
Wamuba. She knows the secrets of witchcraft
which has made her immortal. This last point
piques Moshedayans interest; he is ever on
the lookout for the forbidden lore of the
ancients.
Furthermore, Mwanza says, she is the
mother of us all every living man of the
tribe is both her husband and her son.
Apep learns a little about the long-abandoned
mines of the Ishrah, and resolves to
investigate these for himself, but perhaps now
is not the time.
At the height of the feast, around midnight, a
group of Nugga-Tikandas personal guards appear and talk to Mwanza. The hunchback
then announces to the heroes that the queen
wishes to mate with her new consort; the
celebrated champion must follow the queens
guard alone back to the purple ruins,
decorated with weird iconography and primal
fertility idols. Apep follows surreptitiously.
Moshedayan, at the urging of his familiar, Zul,
who stands to learn powerful sorcery from
the witch-queen, complies with the odd

Ardashir learns that the witch-queen tires of

the consort; he has fulfilled his duty, and even
now her belly swells as she carries his litter
inside her sacred womb. Horror is soon
replaced by rage, as the Kuthian arms himself
and races to the queens palace with
murderous intent. Before his companions can
react, the entire tribe races to the royal
bedchamber in defence of the queen. In a
matter of moments, the dismembered corpse
of Moshedayan is carried aloft, and Mwanza,
emerging from the palace, regretfully informs
the party that it is banished from the lands of
the Wamuba. Zul scuttles away, flushed with
new-found power
Ardashir pleas for clemency, and despite the
circumstances, is able to convince the queen
through Mwanza to both grant three more
days grace and the return of the Kuthians
corpse, so that he may condense it down to
its essential saltes for utter destruction, a
ritual he undertakes with surprising skill, as if
he has performed it many, many times
before