Tollo loads his crossbow.
"Who's taking first watch?"
"I will, I already caught some sleep earlier so it shouldn't be too hard." And I hardly fancy sleeping with our unseen assailants possibly still about... not that being awake might help me.
"I find it very odd that they went to so much trouble to attempt to kill all the occupants of another tent and harm the camels and go to so much else but leave us alone. Perhaps they assumed that we were too far away to notice in time."
The rest of the night passes without any other interruptions. The morning dawns dark brown and hazy, with plenty of dust and sand still in the air, nearly blotting out the sun. In the light of day, the camp now looks desolate and destroyed. The camel seems to be okay, and checking the supplies, it looks like you have enough food to feed all of you for two days.
You seem to be between two mountain ranges: one to the west (that you crossed through on your way here) and one to the south. To the north and the east just looks like endless desert.
Tollo sighs heavily.
"Alright. Well... They had to have gone somewhere. We can either circle the camp in a widening spiral to see if we catch up anymore clues or figure that they headed toward the mountains to the south..."
Horek nods at Tollo's words. "I think we would waste energy going in circles to find clues. Likely the storm has blown everything away. The mountains will likely have food and water to sustain us."
The half-orc glances at the two Qadiran men, curious if they have anything to add. The one named Abdul might know something of the desert.
Then he looks to the mountains to the south, trying to estimate how many days of travel they have ahead of them.
Loges studies his spellbook for the day.
Horek had a quick conversation with Abdul Ghafoor el-Mostafa, the more experienced of the caravaneers you rescued. He informed him that although he has accompanied caravans through the desert before, they were all within Qadira. He has never been to Casmaron, and doesn't know where they are now.
"Off to the South, then. Drimm, you still got that spell that makes water?"
Loges waves his hand over his explorers outfit, changing the color to match the terrain.
Anyone else?
He looks to the two caravan survivors.
I wouldn't be caught wearing red if I were you.
The diviner winks...
Aye, I suppose I can get water fer ya all. Food, however, might be a wee bit o' a problem!"
"I have five days of dried rations in my pack," Timbur says. "Will that help?"
The half-orc nods at Drimm. "Water is all-important when resources are scarce. I also have five days' worth of rations, and as we travel I can hunt for food. If we find edible plants or animals that provide meat, we should eat that first and save the rations, which will last longer." Again Horek notices the wizard using magic, this time to change the color of his clothes! He nods, fascinated and a bit frightened by the ease with which the human commands the unseen. "If it will help me blend in, I might do better at the hunt." He says.
for 1st day
for 2nd day
for 3rd day
Timbur can also forage for food.
"I have some rations as well... and if worst comes to worst." He pats the camel "Lets hope we don't have to put you on the menu eh? But if push comes to shove camel will do because it will be that or boiled shoe."
"If you like camel, there are lots of others already dead. Meat wouldn't have gone bad yet."
"A good point, wouldn't it make sense to make use of all our limited resources. I don't expect it to taste nice but given the circumstances taking some of the meat could stretch our meager supplies out a little longer."
"But how much time does it take to butcher the camels? And isn't that leaving time for whoever abducted the others to kill them? We need to find the people that are still missing!"
I am thinking that we take the time to butcher the animals, prior to continuing. And as far as taste, well, I may be able to assist with that using my magic.
Horek can see both sides of the argument, and so will let the others decide. If he can perform the task (or help out anyway) fairly quickly, he will offer to do so, advising that it won't delay their travel for very long.
"It sounds like this will take too long for too little worth while the wind blows the sand around us. It seems moving on is the best course of action for us now rather than spending half the day here. Let us hope we can find food before our rations run out. I did not think it would take so much time to make the meat useful. I am sure the desert will claim them soon enough."
Loges shrugs. The wizard gathers up his gear.
Horek agrees with Zuberi's opinion after looking over the tools they have available to slice enough meat off the camels to supplement their food supply. The half-orc is confident that between himself and Timbur, the two of them should be able to sustain the party - especially when they reach the mountains.
He gathers his gear and prepares to begin the march south.
Loges begins cataloging the remaining supplies, as they are loaded onto the brave, surviving camel...
Tollo looks back at the slaughter. He attempts to pack his pipe, but finds that he chain-smoked through it last night. He sighs.
"We owe 'em a burial at least, don't we?"
"Okay," Timbur says and starts the process.
Zuberi will pitch in, it may take some time but they were travelling companions after all.
The next four hours are spent making shallow graves as best you can for your fallen comrades, using two shovels that had luckily been included with your gear (). An hour or two into your work, Loges finish the cataloging of the surviving gear and gives you the details. The sand is only a foot-and-a-half deep and you hit hard, packed soil just beneath it. Without a pick you quickly give up on trying to dig through the dirt, and instead begin collecting large rocks to lay over the shallow graves.
You finish just about the time it is time to break for lunch, and consume a meager meal out of the sun.
Your two companions, Abdul and Zaiid say a few prayers from Sarenrae from The Birth of Truth and Light over the graves before turning to you for direction on what to do next.
Tollo dusts his hands off, pipe clenched in his teeth despite being empty.
"We need those water barrels, even the empty ones. Abdul, Zaiid- pull that armor on and grab whatever weapons you can use. The rest is dead weight. The coffee, the grain alcohol, all the food comes with and the everburning torches. Spare tent will come in handy and we need that firewood. Anything else you can grab if you need it. Then we go South till we find whoever did this or hit the mountains."
Horek grunts in response to Tollo. "Even carrying all that weight, the camel will move as fast as us, if not faster. I think we should take it all. You never know what might prove to be useful. The rope and shields could be used to drag a wounded man be making a crude travois if we lash them together. And the leather armor could be cut apart with a blade and used to make straps." The half-orc shrugs. "It doesn't slow us down to take it all with us. But I agree that we head south to the mountains. Better chance of finding food and water there, and we can see where to go next once we climb to the higher peaks and get a better view of the surrounding deserts."
"I can take more weight than I currently carry if needed. We might as well take as much as we can as Horek said. If I carried the food rather than the camel perhaps? If the camel gets spooked and lost carrying the scimitars and shields that is unfortunate... if it has the food thats a
much bigger problem."
Loges finishes the cataloging.
I agree. We are traveling in an unknown--for us--and unforgiving terrain. We will need all and more.
He looks at his companions.
I must confess that such conditions are foreign to me. But I learn quickly!
Horek smiles at Loges. "We will be fine. Better I think, when we reach the mountains. But it looks to only be three days in crossing the desert." Addressing Zuberi, the half-orc agrees. "My own pack is full, but I have a good deal of supplies, including rations. If others can carry extra gear, that would be a good idea. The camel may run as you said, or it might fall victim to quicksand or even a large predator of some kind before we can try to retrieve any of our equipment."
By the time the sun begins the sink toward the horizon you have finished your afternoon rest. Abdul and Zaiid both caution that even though the storm brought in some cooler weather, it is still better to rest during the mid-day hours when traveling through the desert. "The body uses less water that way." Zaiid notes.
You leave the destroyed campsite with its many stone graves behind and head in the direction of the distant mountains. The ground here is harder and a bit less sandy than what you were traveling through before, letting you move a bit quicker. Occasional, scraggly bushes can be seen along the way, along with a few lizards as evening draws closer.
After crossing over a small line of low hills, you notice something unusual at the bottom of a sandy arroyo about a half-mile ahead and a bit to the right from your direction of travel: a massive off-white object lying in the sand, easily the size of a full-grown heifer. From this distance you can't be sure what it is, but it looks like it might be made of bone.
Appreciation clearly marked on his youthful face, the wizard nods his thanks to Horek.
Doesn't look big enough for a shelter, but I am out of my environment.
Horek nods at Loges' observation. "Would be a good way to avoid another sandstorm. And I don't think we have to worry about any rains or flash-flooding." The half-orc angles toward the arroyo to get a closer look at the object.
"The tents weren't easy to sleep in last time perhaps if we are forced to stop this might provide a more restful- and defensible, refuge once properly checked." Zuberi clearly seems inclined to go over to investigate the mysterious object.
Once the company is within 60' of the object, Loges casts detect magic.
Tollo is going along.
"Let me sneak over there and see what's happening first..."
Tollo is going along.
"Let me sneak over there and see what's happening first..."
Timbur stays with Loges, sheltering him while he scans with his magic.
Drimm moves forward to look at this object as well. His lumbering and obvious approach will help Tollo move more inconspicuously.
Horek nods and lets Tollo take the lead in approaching the object, staying about 30' or so behind the rogue.
Moving closer to the object, you can now see that it is indeed the head of some giant lizard beast, possibly a dragon. Whatever it was, it must have been a truly massive beast, for its eye sockets alone are the size of large shields, and its largest teeth over a foot-and-a-half in length. Judging from its deterioration, it's been here for quite some time, slowly scoured by the sands of the desert.
A good thing that beast is dead. I've never seen anything like it. Might even be a dragon. And look at those teeth - like longswords! The half-orc is awed by the skeletal remains of the long-dead creature as the group approaches the arroyo. Still, he tries to keep an eye out for danger.