We had cooked up a workable plan last time, but obviously we spent an hour rehashing it. It later turned out to be a good idea. So instead of me distracting Larkin at the chute while the others crawled out, we all crawled out together through the passage enlarged by Amos[1], while Jackson Elias lit up the puddle of fat.[2]
With Amos and Archibald up front carrying the rods of gold, Larkin and the kharisiri were content to simply watch us get out. As soon as Mendoza cried smoke, Larkin ordered them to attack.
The two conquistadors jumped Amos and Archibald, who put up token defense, failing all their rolls. Karl and I shot them to death, however, with final blows dealt by the golden rods' double damage. Mendoza jumped on Jackson.
At this point Larkin pulled himself together, turned his eyes black and compelled me to kill everyone in the pit. Free to interpret as I choose, I went berserk and hit Karl with my pistol but. Of course, we both lack any brawl skill, so it devolved into a slap fight. Karl tried to disarm me, but gave me his weapon again. Then retrieved it next turn.
Archie decided to target Larkin, but as soon as he climbed out the pit, Larkin threw him back - right into Amos and a freshly revived kharisiri. Looks like not even shoving the golden rods down their throats kept them out for long.
Having traded ineffectual blows with Karl, I looked around for an easier victim. Everyone in the pit included Mendoza sucking on Jackson, and a prone target is always easier. Off I went, screaming and hitting Mendoza with my pistol again, much to Larkin's chagrin.
No longer in melee, Karl lined up a shot on Larkin. Make that two. One to the lungs, one through the mouth - the sorcerer fell on his back. This caused the kharisiri some consternation, but they quickly recovered, one even using Amos as a living shield.
I also recovered from the mind control, and yelling my signature 'What the fudge!', shot Mendoza through the brain. Karl then circled to the back, shooting the other moving target.
With all the kharisiri down, we kept them down as soon as they started moving again, giving us time to come up with a more permanent solution. We piled them high, doused them in lamp oil, and lit them up. Along with their internal fat supplies, they made a nice pyre.
Jackson Elias lived, though it was a close thing.
We broke through the other chutes, and as soon as the smoke cleared, we went back and replaced the golden bars, sealing the monster in for good.
We were just getting out with the golden loot, as another kharisiri came down the mountain path. Then fell. Then crawled. Then dissipated into dust when reaching the gates.
Epilogue
About 20 molten/dusty corpses were found throughout cities in Peru. The kharisiri were extinct, and their cult was reduced to old man stories in a generation or two.
With our sanity intact and our wealth increased, we traveled back home.
Jackson Elias recovered and wrote his book, entitled 'The Hungry Dead'. We all received autographed versions. Any mention of the supernatural had been redacted.
[1] Who chucked away several corpses.
[2] Yes, this was our new plan. The culmination of planning physics talk regarding smoke and current.
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