You pad in, awestruck at what you see before you. Behind the rubble, an entire room appears to be undamaged, filled with dust, artifacts and ornaments. Little Ushabti figures gather under your paws, analyzing the uncovered area.

The Ushabti clean the interior up, wiping off dust and alighting the ancient artifacts. In the low light, you can clearly see the room is a small shrine dedicated to a god.

As Anubis pads in, his ears perk up with a swoosh.

"The Shrine of Thoth! He must have decided this place would remain untouched. He would know, of course. He must know that you are worthy, for his wisdom is beyond what we could ever comprehend."

Anubis sits and stares in silence at the shrine, his eyes dark and glittering. It's as if he's able to look deep inside into the world of the dead, to find out if there's anything more than meets the mortal eye.

"Ah... There's a coffin with a vessel. However, it's very small, and not strong enough to walk with you as I do. You could wake it up, if you'd like. I could use a mentor and advisor. And perhaps you could get additional blessings."

You lean towards the box and gently push the small stone lid. There's another box inside, with a wooden lid and spells written down in an ancient language you cannot understand. With an encouraging look from your companion, you open the box gently with your claws. A tiny mummy inside reveals that the vessel isn't of much use physically, just as your companion mentioned. But having more allies against the Serpent would really boost morale.

A spark of life powered by your heart wakes the ancient mummy. Just as before with Anubis, it cracks open and twists, revealing its true form.

The bird looks at you and then looks at Anubis. They start speaking to each other in a language you cannot understand. It sounds very melodic and hypnotic, and your brain is fuzzy as if in a trance. Suddenly the bird is making sense, and you blink rapidly, coming out of your stupor in surprise. The new vessel has adapted to your tongue.

"Although I knew this would eventually happen, I did not expect a lion to partake in this, [NAME]. The Serpent will be stopped, but it is up to us. Whether we can stop it before or after it destroys most of your world, I cannot say. I can try to help, but I need strength. Just like Anubis, I need essence. In return, once Ushabti clean up the artifacts in this shrine, they will expand what they have to offer. I will also use my magic to reverse the effects of this catastrophe on your pridelands."

You sit down on the safe side of the rift. With your heart still pounding in awe of what happened, you look around the devastated landscape. It's time to bring back some slithering essence to the vessel of Thoth.

You have currently collected 0/5 essence.

You sit down on the safe side of the rift. With your heart still pounding in awe of what happened, you look around the devastated landscape. It's time to bring back some slithering essence to the vessel of Thoth.

You have currently collected 5/5 essence.

You walk into the narrow passage and greet the resting, mummified vessel with proper reverence.

Just like before, you gently put the Ankh on its bandaged chest and watch the creature open its eyes.

"Despite being in another realm, thanks to this energy I can come back once the thread of connection is stronger. Please, come back tomorrow. I need time to reconstruct the vessel properly."

Inside the shrine, the coffin is closed and the vessel is resting. Come back after rollover!