The Danger Gang encounters the Guardian of M

Following the directions to an undersea gave Gershom received from the local sealife, the Danger Gang arrive at a small town on the banks of the Sungarius. They stroll in to find a crowd of concerned townspeople muttering quietly to each other. One of them addresses the party.

"Hey strangers -- if any one of you knows how to tend to wounded, we need your help."

They are led to a cottage where, astonishingly, the Angry Jews lie bloodied and beaten. Ehud explains that they were on a mission for David ben Boaz (and the Ziz!), trying to find any or all of three immortals: Serach, Ahaserius or Germanius. They got a lead which led them to the underwater cave nearby, but as soon as they entered the cave some kind of sculpture leapt up, smacked the tar out of them and shoved Gideon inside(!) itself. That was a week ago, meaning that Gideon would almost certainly have perished from thirst.

Without further ado, the Gang spell up and swim into the cave. It is just as advertised -- some strange Sumerian sculpture with four arms (and as many swords) starts cutting them up. From within a weak, muffled voice,

"It's me! Gideon! My life sucks! I can't control my arms! I'm sorry if I chop you up by accident!"

Indeed, the bottom two arms of the ancient cuisinart are human. The Gang whales away at the malevolent objet d'art.

"Owch! Half the damage you do is being transferred to me! It hurts! I'm really in a bad way here, guys!"

Zombres grabs hold of one of his flailing arms and manages to teleport him outside the statue. In a few short rounds, the Assyrian masterpiece is rendered into scraps.

Gideon helps himself to a waterskin and repeats a story very similar to Ehud's. While Gershom talks to the newly free and angry as ever Jew, the rest of the gang discover the following carved into the back of the cave in Hebrew:

     Serakh, perhaps you have followed me here.  I find that quite charming, really.  I have left behind the 
     guardian of M, as my little gift to you, and also, because, frankly, he is far too slow to travel 
     with.  (Be careful with him, if you provoke him I cannot answer for his behavior.)  I never found 
     Tarfon—maybe you can do better?—but there are plenty of other antiquities to seek out.  Everyone has 
     been badgering me to go for Aharon’s rod, but, frankly, and despite what I may have jocularly claimed 
     in the past, it is the marginalia that interest me.  Let some latter day Hizkiyyahu seek out the arks 
     and pillars.  For me, well, if you wish to continue to follow me, and part of me hopes you do, I may as 
     well tell you that I am off to find the descendants of a different M, in search of a wonderful rope.
     
     Mazel Tov

Deeper in the cave are some coins and a tablet struck (stoneshaped, perhaps) neatly down the center. The Danger Gang takes possession of it.

The Jews are reunited on the surface, which for some reason only makes them angrier. They can't make heads or tails of what Isaac wrote and agree to visit the library of Halikarnassus while the Gang uses their connections in Constantinople to do some research.

Upon re-reading the note, Ehud mentions somewhat self-consciously that back in the day when people talked about the first letter of a word having the same first letter of a different word, what it really meant was that both words are the same but refer to different things or, er, people. That sends Zombres down what is probably the wrong track, thinking that perhaps the statue is Median, thus the descendants would be those of Medea. Maybe she had something to do with a magical rope? Ehud clears his throat rather loudly and suggests that if they could ever find additional correspondence from Isaac it might help them find the answer, and the answer might be really easy and obvious, like pretty much totally obvious. Still, Zombres likes his theory better and gets totally attached to it.

Gershom spreads healing around liberally and both parties rest for the night.