GM: Egg RancherSome things are better left buried.
The winds uncovered the tomb of someone known as Tahrik, a once powerful man able to rule through others using the power of words. The winds now carried Tahrik's words, and they were bringing people under his sway again. Zaid organized the tomb cleansing party: His servant Clink, the holy one Razkan, quiet Flyga, clever Sikander, and Shokran and Khazera, two visitors from beyond the desert, perhaps here by providence.
The group of tomb cleansers hurried across the wastes towards Tahrik's tomb. After stopping at an oasis for the night, one of the group saw a band of tomb raiders pass in the early morning. Before the cleansers could depart the oasis, a gnoll arrived with a warning: "Do not heed the whispers." The gnoll warned that those who go to the tomb are changed, no longer living or dead. Shokran used some of the camp remains to make earplugs for himself. The rest of the group followed his example.
When the cleansers reached the tomb entrance, they found the raiders' camp in some disarray. It seemed they left in the middle of their meal. The food seemed rotten; the water seemed stale. Shokran found the food with honey seemed fine, delicious smelling. The wind blew the words of Tahrik to the group, bidding them to join the whole. As a devout follower of the Radiant Songbird, Shokran declared the camp a lie, the food a lie, and the wind a lie. Sikander and Khazera studied the statues at the entrance of the tomb. Sikander told the group the statues represent the power of Tahrik over man and beast, for he could charm either to serve his bidding with equal skill.
The cleansers entered the tomb. They found one of the raiders who offered them a cup of the honey. Clearly, the tomb raiders had fallen to Tahrik's words. Khazera spotted a second raider hiding behind a fallen pillar. Clink took the cup and dumped it on the floor. Incensed at this "sacrilege," the tomb raiders attacked. The raiders fell quickly, including the one Shokran bit. He discovered their insides were full of sickly-sweet honey. He spat it out and warned everyone not to bite the raiders.
After the cleansers felled the first few of the raiders, small blobs of honey emerged from them, continuing the fight. Only fire seemed effective at preventing the honey from emerging from the dead bodies. As the fight turned into a chaotic fight across the main entrance chamber, wave after wave of the possessed raiders attacked the group. Several of the cleansers were injured, but they survived and were victorious. Two raiders fled to warn their master. Soon after, the remains of the honey spoke with the voice of Tahrik. It offered a truce. It invited each of the cleansers to join him. They all refused.
After a rest, the cleansers pressed on, finding a chasm. A raider had withdrawn the plank bridge used to cross the chasm. After some of the group failed their half-hearted attempt to trick the raider into returning the plank bridge, Flyga's familiar helped the group build a rope bridge to cross. On the other side, the possessed raiders were too distracted to notice the group. Shokran snuck up on the lone raider and released him from Tahrik's chains. This act alerted Tahrik who ordered his remaining minions to attack.
The muddled raiders were no match for the spells, arrows, and crushing flail attacks of the tomb cleansers. Soon, the tomb cleansers cornered Tahrik. After hearing his pleas and offers for greater wealth or knowledge, the cleansers completed the work Zaid had set for them, destroying Tahrik for good.
After collecting a few minor items and some vials of Tahrik's honey, the tomb cleansers departed to tell Zaid the cleansing was complete.
GM: CaesunThe easy path deceives those who walk it. Do the job. Don't make noise. Get paid.
Fenolin, Khazera, and Shokran followed a merchant caravan into Ad-Dywahan. They made their way through the city to Amber Lane. After speaking with a jewelry vendor Nassim and a young man, the group avoided agents of the Amber Suns and The Fence to speak with the jeweler Orvyn.
After determining what leverage The Fence and Amber Suns had over the jeweler and his daughter, the three made their way to the lower market to speak with a merchant there. The Fence is buying up lots and lots of a root called Desert Myrrh Vine, which is the same key ingredient in the treatment for the jeweler's daughter. Khazera arranged for the group's organization to buy a small supply of the root "off the top" every 10 days the merchant Perdwell comes to Ad-Dywahan.
Protected by an abjuration Fenolin worked, the three followed the wagon full of Desert Myrrh Vine The Fence hauled to their safehouse. While there, the group spied on the location, the nearby tavern, and the comings and goings of key Amber Sun and Fence gang members. After gathering enough information, the group slipped away in the night, returning to the jeweler's with some medicine purchased from Perdwell.
When the group arrived, they found an outcast scholar there with a theory that the jeweler's daughter is ill from a curse placed on her, a curse the scholar believes could be spread to many people to control them. The Desert Myrrh Vine only suppresses the symptoms of the curse for a time. With The Fence buying so much of it up, it seemed they intended to control lots of people with this ancient Zilleesi curse. The group and the jeweler reached an agreement on how they could work together.
Before the group could go with the scholar to learn more from her, the group was confronted with a large contingent of the Amber Suns. Khazera was able to pass the three of them off as customers, and after paying "the toll" the group hurried on their way. At the scholar's home, two agents of The Fence confronted the group, recognized them from their past dealings with The Fence, and initiated violence. Shokran, Fenolin, and Khazera quickly and quietly resolved the situation and stayed with the scholar for the night.
With their business concluded, Fenolin, Khazera, and Shokran met with the agent that contracted their work, reported their findings and successes, and received their compensation. Perhaps this was a small victory, but a chain is made one link at a time.
These moves and countermoves in the seedy underworld of the the Belt of Tirva are not for the faint of heart or those too greedy for good sense. In the end, the coins won't bring you meaning or buy you truth. What will?
GM: Holy-K |GM BeltofTirva/BjarnfellIn Shuria, Rykenvist, Fenolin, Thallan, Salvo, Khazera, and Shokran accepted a job from a man named Dimos. It seems Baron Pivari Rhyark of Zeeraj would be bringing his offering from Zeeraj to a temple. If someone were to find a way to take the offering without anyone knowing, a reward would be forthcoming.
The group secured appropriate attire and established a security checkpoint along the road to Fort S6 at a spot where "bandits" had "damaged" the road for an ambush. The two guards at the checkpoint (Rykenvist in disguise and Thallan) stopped the Baron's caravan, and when the Baron ordered them to stand down, Thallan began clearing a path through along the road. The work went too slowly for the Baron, who ordered many of his men to help clear the road.
As they were making progress on that, a woman's voice came from the ridge, hollering for help (another of Rykenvist's illusions). The Baron ordered Rykenvist to investigate. When the Baron asked Rykenvist for details, Rykenvist responded that it seemed a tree had fallen on someone, but the details were difficult to make out. The Baron ordered most of his remaining guards up the ridge to help and called Rykenvist over to learn more about his orders.
The remaining guard heard something at the back of the secure carriage, and when he investigated, he spotted Shokran and sounded the alarm. Shokran ran west out into the open where he could be seen, and then, he fled into the swamp. The Baron ordered almost all his guards, including Thallan, to pursue Shokran.
Khazera and Rykenvist opened the secure carriage, but the remaining guard heard it. He came to investigate, so Rykenvist cast a fog cloud. Khazera quickly unlocked the chests in the carriage, and she and Rykenvist unloaded the gold from the Baron's offering into sacks and hid them in an illusory rock. When the guard reached them, Rykenvist sent him running after the other guards and Shokran.
The guards from the ridge started to return to the Baron, not having found anyone. Salvo fired on them, so the four guards charged east to find her.
The Baron became suspicious and came to investigate the secure carriage. Rykenvist used an illusion to get him to go back into his carriage.
The Beguiler must have smiled down on Shokran rather than the 9 guards pursuing him, for they ran pell-mell into a group of gnolls moving through the swamp. The guards and gnolls attacked each other. Shokran paused a moment to sell the pretense he was working with the gnolls before fleeing to go find Salvo and Fenolin. Thallan saw what was happening, shouted he would pursue the lizardfolk, and then doubled-back to the carriages once he was out of sight.
The four guards searching for Salvo were all felled by her arrows.
After Khazera and Rykenvist had unloaded the gold and a special ring from the secure carriage and refilled the chests with rocks and dirt, the Baron demanded to proceed on his way. Rykenvist tried leading his carriage through the dirt blocking the road, but a horse broke loose into the woods. It ran near Fenolin, who was in the form of a giant spider, and she spooked it back to Rykenvist.
As the gang returned to the carriages, the Baron suffered a fatal "accident." The secure carriage was reloaded with the gold, and, after a note was left pointing blame towards The Chain, the group drove the secure carriage back to Shuria.
While Khazera and Shokran guarded the carriage outside of town, Rykenvist, Thallan, Salvo, and Fenolin met Dimos in Shuria and led him out to where the carriage was parked. They learned more about Dimos and The Fence on the way. When they reached the carriage, the group attempted to ambush Dimos, but he turned invisible and escaped.
The group sold the carriage and horses, took their spoils, and relocated to another part of the Sarzalom side of the Belt of Tirva. Rumor has it they have gone into business for themselves under the auspices of The Chain.
