Qawasha could feel the sand being sucked through mechanical grinders just below his feet, and he tried to pull his feet up even as he slid further down. He tried to shapeshift into a trapdoor spider, or a mole, or a sidewinding snake - anything that might be able to move through the sand, but it was no use. Something blocked his connection to the primal spirits of Chult.
But Chrysagon was there above him. Though the angel-like paladin appeared to be slowly becoming more goat-like, and struggled in the sand on his own, he was blessed both by outside Celestial forces that were quite possibly more powerful than whatever blocked magic here, but also with an inner-spirit that helped to hold the Sticks together in a bond, in spite of all of their differences.
Qawasha reached up and he caught Chrysagon's hand. Together they half-swam, half pulled themselves through the sand until they were close enough that Ussal could reach them. Then he too, pulled them toward the door that Myrral and the other Tabaxi hunters held open. Weed and Imogen were there as well, helping to prop them up, dust them off, and get them through the door.
Once all were through, the Tabaxi could no longer hold the medusa statue back as some weight, hidden deep within the walls, shifted and the statue rolled back to its original place. The door shut behind them, and the group, with sand in places they'd rather not have sand, shook themselves off and took their first look at their new surroundings.
The new chamber was a large tomb in the shape of a cross. Row upon row of kneeling terracotta warriors sat facing a raised dais holding a stone slab sarcophagus. A soft glow came down from the highest part of the ceiling, illuminating the dais.
At this point, it also became evident that Ghorruk and the Broodguard were both missing. Perhaps they had accidentally taken the other tunnel in the water room.
