Page 40 - Serpent Kingdoms

LIZARDS

crushing the sarrukh’s remaining yuan-ti and lizardfolk allies in aged to secure some werecrocodiles from his ally Sebek to send
the process. The defeated sarrukh returned to Okoth. against the khaastas. This aid prevented the khaastas from
Despite their victory, the khaastas had come to hate the sar- infl icting heavy casualties upon the sarrukh, but the attackers
rukh with a vengeance for killing so many of their kind. Upon were forced to withdraw from many of the locations in Okoth
following their fl eeing enemies to Faerûn to complete their to the underground crypt of Sar’Rukoth. In this stronghold,
destruction, they learned that the race was nearly extinct on its they were protected not only by their minions, but also by miles
home world. Unable to locate their quarry, they returned to the of subterranean tunnels. Although the khaastas continued to
Abyss, where Maadar’il decreed that the war would not be truly send out raiding parties, they no longer knew where the sarrukh
won until the last of the sarrukh had been destroyed. To that were hiding, so they began making random strikes throughout
end, he sent out khaasta scouts to gather information about the the area in hopes of uncovering them. In the meantime, the
sarrukh. They returned with news of a few areas where the sar- Okothian sarrukh’s betrayal of Sseth made enemies of the
rukh had existed thousands of years ago. Maadar’il ordered the yuan-ti and sarrukh of Serpentes, who chose to remain loyal to
khaasta armies to invade those areas and destroy any sarrukh their god.
they found there, but most of these forces returned with neither The sarrukh struck back at the khaastas by using polymorph
news nor any trail to follow. to turn a yuan-ti assassin into a khaasta and sending him to the
At last, Maadar’il decided to scale back the number of Barrens of Doom and Despair. This agent infi ltrated Maadar’il’s
khaastas he committed to Faerûn and send the more civilized camp and slew him by slipping poison into his food. The khaas-
and intelligent members of their race to gather information tas correctly assumed that the sarrukh were responsible, so they
instead. Several small groups of khaastas traveled to numerous renewed the intensity of their attacks on Faerûn.
points throughout Faerûn, eventually unearthing a trail that Currently, the khaastas and the sarrukh are at a stalemate.
led to their sworn enemies. Raids followed, and though the sar- The sarrukh are in hiding in a heavily fortifi ed position, and
rukh managed to defend their strongholds in Faerûn, they grew the khaastas have only vague clues as to where this stronghold
Illustration by Ralph Horsley aspect of the World Serpent that they worshiped. Set created claims in Okoth, the Heartlands, the Unapproachable East,
might be. Meanwhile, the khaastas are becoming more and more
worried enough to strike a deal with Set. In exchange for help
entrenched in Faerûn, where they have staked out territorial
against the khaastas, they agreed to help him bind Sseth, the
and Mulhorand.
the wereserpents as a symbol of this pact, and he also man-

Khaasta raiders

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