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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4494526" data-attributes="member: 3285">Soul of the Serpent: PrologueThey were surrounded. Kham kept a tight grip on both of his pistols.  The ssanu were everywhere, but they were stoically silent, keeping spears at the ready.  Nobody made a move.“Don’t look at their eyes,” whispered Kham to Ilmarė.“I know how to deal with the serpents,” replied the elorii.  “But something isn’t right.”“Squeak!”Kham blinked.  “Wait a minute.  That’s…” He looked around for the source of the squeaking noise.“Squeak!”A tiny ssanu half-slithered and half-hopped up to Kham’s foot.  “Emric?” asked Kham. “What are you doing here?”“Squeak,” said Emric.“We’re not sssure, but we think he found a Ssethregoran portal,” came a sibilant voice. The ssanu visibly relaxed.  “Be at peace, brothers. This is a guardian of the Chosen One.”“Yeah,” Kham holstered his pistols and lifted the amulet of Yig.  “See?  I’m part of the club.”A ssanu slithered forward, dressed in blue robes.  “Hello Kham.  It’sss good to sssee you again.”“Good to see you too…uh…”:If the ssanu had been capable of smirking he would have.  “K’Stallo.  I know, to your kind we all look alike.”Kham cleared his throat but didn’t add anything to K’Stallo’s observation.“You ssstartled usss.  As you can sssee, we’ve been renovating the ancient temple of Yig.  Through the glory of the Mother Goddessss, ssshe kept it intact after Beldin made hisss great sssacrifice.”Ilmarė took another look around. “I thought this placed looked familiar.” K’Stallo nodded.  “Apparently, the Valossssan ancessstorsss usssed thisss room asss a portal to Carcosssa.”  He frowned down at the yellow sign inscribed in the floor.  It was slowly fading away.  “Had I know sssuch a thing exisssted, I would have dessstroyed it.  We mussst cleanssse thisss room.”  “So you’re really anti-Hast—errr, Unspeakable One?”K’Stallo nodded.  “Pleassse, join me in our reception room.”  The ssanu formed an honor guard of sorts behind them as they began to climb down a series of spiraling steps.  “You sssee, there are two sssects of Yig worssship, just asss you have many variationsss in worsssship of your own godsss.”Ilmarė pushed back some of her purple and silver hair.  “Yeah, Larissa’s got more than one cult I’m acquainted with.”K’Stallo bobbed his head.  “I had heard you were captured.  I am pleasssed to sssee you essscaped unsssullied.”Ilmarė muttered something but it was inaudible.“I teach the way of Hitthkai.  It isss a peaceful path, and emphasssizesss learning and wisssdom through Yig.  But there isss another ssanu teaching…a different path.”“A different path?” Ilmarė arched an eyebrow.  “How different?”“The Sskethvai,” said K’Stallo.  “A new priessst, Ffashethh, hasss begun preaching the way of Sskethvai.  He believesss it is the ssanu’s manifessst dessstiny to wage war on all the lesssser racesss.”  “Join the genocidal club,” said Kham.  “The val protect humans against all the other races.  And I’m pretty sure the elorii plan to kill everyone, eventually.”“It’s true,” said Ilmarė.  “We do.”K’Stallo hissed softly.  It might have been a laugh.  They had arrived in a room with many pillows on the floor. The walls were hung with faded and poorly repaired tapestries.  A large rug, in similar condition, lay on the floor, upon which stood a marble pedestal holding a beautifully-carved snake made of jade. Kham flopped onto one of the pillows.  “Got any wine?”“I believe your arrival isss a sssign.  I fear that Ffasheth has ssset into motion a terrible plan.  I believe he will sssacrifice humansss and ignite a war acrossss Onara.  He will ssseek to connect with Ssethregore and begin a full-fledged war from Freeport’sss sssewers.  He mussst be ssstopped.”“And you want us to stop him?” asked Ilmarė.  She hadn’t relaxed. “No, no, wait.”  Kham put two fingers to his forehead.  “My psychic powers tell me you want us to take care of this little problem because it would look bad for a priest such as yourself to get involved.  You don’t want any more ssanu on ssanu violence; but if outsiders handle things, it will be much easier to overlook.”K’Stallo’s black orbs widened.  “Your powersss are impressssive.”“No,” said Ilmarė.  “He’s just a wiseass.”“I mussst asssk one favor of you, Kham.”  K’Stallo sounded apologetic. “I need the amulet back.” He pointed one long, clawed finger at Kham’s chest.  “It isss unssseemly for a human to wear sssuch holy regalia.”“Fine.” Kham took it off his neck and tossed it to K’Stallo.  “It was just a matter of time before Finn took that from me too.”“Worry not.” K’Stallo handed him a holy symbol in the shape of Yig.  “Show thisss to alliesss of the Hitthkai and they will know you are our friend.”Kham sighed.  “Just what I need, another trinket.”  But when K’Stallo turned away, he carefully placed it in a pocket.</blockquote>

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