Hassani's flames catch the two men entirely unprepared. Both go down writhing and screaming at the same time that Alton and Bradar's combined assault results in Bradar's thin blade shoved straight through the third assailant's chest. In the blink of an eye three men are dead.
The camels find new strength as the chains slip free from the stones, no longer providing the men holding them with additional leverage. The wagon surged forward, but the momentum was short lived as another chain exploded out of the sand and caught the beasts across the chest, halting them again.
Another of the mysterious assailants came around the back corner of the wagon to lunge at the passengers inside but the rest seemed preoccupied with holding chains and struggling against the camels.
Then an apparition rose from the ground, seeming to coalesce out of the heat wavers rising off the sands and swirling sands borne upward on an unseen wind to create a swirling form with eyes that glinted like the glare of the sun off polished stone.
"మీరు తీసుకొని మీ దైవదూషణ అంతం ఫైర్!" a hissing voice rasped like a distant sandstorm, thrusting it's hands forward and causing a wave of sands to sweep out and form into the shape of hounds that began to rush towards the wagon!
Religion
Spellcraft
Alton notices the dogs but feeling pressed, lays into the man before him.
To Hit
Damage
Farooq shoots at E4, through a slit in the canvas.
Threatening
nope
"The dogs are some kind of elemental, ice or water would be useful in stopping them.
Bradar will search for any more easily dispatched minions to attack.
Farooq's bolt and Bradar's blade drop two more of the raiders but in that time the elemental beasts rushed forth. They seemed to gather sand from before them and trail it behind them, as if they were picking it up as they went and leaving behind the excess. The also began pulsing with reddish light from within, like the heat of a forge. The sands they left behind were practically molten.
They passed the camels, sending the already wounded animals into fits from the heat of creature's passing.
One leaped onto the front of the wagon but didn't make it all the way up. The wood was scorched and smoking just from it's brief contact.
The other leaped through the canvas, which flared up at it's touch. It landed in the bed of the wagon and lashed out at Farooq.
It's sandy paws left scorched prints on the wood and it's savage attacks sent superheated sand scattered about. The driver screammed and began batting at his clothes. The unconscious porter's hair and shirt caught fire.
Two of the raiders abandoned their chains and ran to join the fray, lashing out at Bradar with their strange knives.
Creatures and objects who begin their turns adjacent to the elemental Must make a DC 10 Reflex save or Catch Fire.
Creatures and objects who begin their turns adjacent to the elemental Must make a DC 10 Reflex save or Catch Fire.
Reflex
Alton begins to round on the creature as his linens catch alight, he drops his blade and begins swatting at the flames.
Farooq bursts into flames
Farooq drops to the ground and starts rolling to put out the flames, screaming the whole time.
Hasani steps forward raising a hand and calls, "Ash fill us with the life you nurture and protect!" And as he calls out a green tinted light spills out fresh and sweet smelling lapping at wounds and leaving healed flesh in its wake.
As Farooq and Alton frantically try to put out the flames and Hasani's divine energies knit the flesh the fire seared, Bradar cut down another of the strange zealots but took a knife deep in his back.
Spurred forth by the heat behind them the camels surged forward dragging free of the stones where the chains were anchored.
The front of the wagon began to smoulder as the fire-dog in front leaped onto the dying porter and sunk it's teeth into the man's throat leaving molten sand dripping like saliva in the terrible wound.
The other dog continued it's assault on Farooq. In the distance, the effigy who had summoned the creatures cackled. "Burn! You will not wake the sleeping serpent!"
Farooq takes a vicious bite and is torn from his feet.
Farooq stands up and run away to N12
The camels lurched forward in a mad rush. The driver, smouldering and fearful, was sane enough to steer them away from the efigy.
The molten sand-dog in front of Farooq lunged at him again, but he managed to duck out of the way just as the wagon lurched. The dog crashed into the tailgate of the wagon, it's lower legs bursting into dust on impact for a moment, leaving trails of hissing glass dripping down the wood. It hit the ground the ground in a puff of steaming sand that quickly collected and reformed it's legs. In a matter of moments it went from yellowed grains to clear and glassy as the sand was heated by the dog's fiery spirit.
Hassani, seeing that the wagon was pulling away, ran after it barely avoiding the teeth of the dangerous creature that had fallen out of the wagon. He slapped the licking flames from his pants and yelled back to Bradar.
Farooq reached out as Hassani scrambled for the back of the wagon, helping to drag the other man back in. Suddenly, next to them a wave of heat and screams crashed by as the second dog tackled Alton so hard that they both went over the tailgate.
The burning wagon pulled away, still trailing the chains that had captured it while Farooq and Hassani watched in horror as the second dog joined the first in savaging Alton and the remaining crazed cultists bore down on Bradar burying him under a tide of flesh and blades...
Hasani stares at the mess behind them in horror panting heavily as they pull away, he whsipers,
"May you find your peace, Ash guide them to your sweet oasis beyond life."
-The Ruins of Gahala-Tir-
The burned and battered wagon had pulled into the dig site at sundown the following day. They made terrible time once one of the camels succumbed to it's wounds and had to be put down.
The three survivors were haggard. Their injuries had been healed by Hasani, but the sun and the harrowing experience had taken it's toll.
A bird had been sent back to the city apprising the Royal Explorer's society of the situation. Half their debtor exploration crew had been lost before even arriving and a new, frightening enemy had revealed itself. There was a need for more help.
Two wagons, reinforced with extra guards, brought additional debtors, as well as an addendum to the initial debt-contract. The timetable had been extended by a week, and "protecting the dig site and it's team" had been added to the list of tasks.
Their trip had been uneventful, though there were two times when particularly sharp eyes caught what might have been someone moving with them against the sun. It may have been another traveler, but then again, it might not.
After a day of rest Hasani and Farooq were feeling much better. They were awakened and given water when the caravan was sighted. It was sometime after midnight. The night was clear and the moon was bright.
The wagons were quickly unloaded and the debtors gathered to meet with the dig site foreman, a large excitable man named Balandan, and his crew chief, a thin, dusky skinned woman with a sharp tongue named Fala.
"You've all been told the basics of why you're here" Fala began, "Our initial excavation crew went missing a few days ago. At this point they are on day four gone with no sign of them. They all carried water rations, but our survivability projections are pretty grim beyond this point. Your first priority is to find them. We recovered the map they had been working on. It only details the first couple areas, so don't expect it to be of much use. It does make note of a two precarious areas,a potential collapse, and a pressure-plate trap, which is why we haven't sent anyone else. The ruin is dangerous, so we are sending you."
One of the new arrivals, a young man with calloused hands and well-sunned skin, stares at the ground while Fala is speaking. When she finishes, he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, then nods. "We'll... I'll do what I can. May I see the map?"
One of the new arrivals is a lean, shorter man, with burnished skin and a vaguely exotic appearance. His hair is about shoulder length and slightly disheveled by the sand and winds of the desert, and he sports a short beard and mustache that look to have only been grown over the past few days. Despite the heat and terrible conditions in which he finds himself, he looks ready and eager to act.
"I can't say I'm used to exploring ruins, but I may well have the skills required to do so. And the blessings of Sekhmet and Bast are with me."
He nods to his new companions, clasping his hands and giving a small bow. "I am Apedemak, servant of the Great Cats."
Fala passes the map over as it is requested. It is a fairly simple sketch drawn by someone who was a stickler for correct measurements but not much for description. It details a large round chamber labeled as "observatory", where the entrance is listed as being in, and two other rooms off that one, both unlabeled.
"The danger areas aren't mapped. There were three other rooms reported, but the cartographer hadn't gotten to them yet. The unstable area is in a room they were calling the "gallery", and the trap they found is off of the observatory in a room they think may have been a library. The third room not on the map is past the trap in the library. The only thing we know about it is that it contains a staircase leading down, and a doorway leading to another chamber. After making that report, the scouting team didn't come back."
A desert woman wearing a well-worn, sand-colored burnoose over pliable leather armor leaps lightly down from the wagon, her backpack slung casually over one shoulder. She peeks around the shoulders of the men with the map, jostling them a little to get a look as needed. She fiddles with the collar around her neck - clearly unused to it.
She addresses Fala, "Where was this map found?"
As an after-thought, in response to Apedemak's introduction, she adds, "Ayaal."
The young man looks up for the first time as the woman appears, and takes a moment to study those around him. His eyes narrow slightly at Apedemak's introduction, but a moment later his face is blank and unreadable. He inclines his head slightly, his eyes meeting those of the shorter man. "I am Zayid."
Hasani, eyes haunted and red rimmed, bows to each of the newcomers in turn,
"A pleasure to meet you, Apedemak, Ayaal, Zayid. Permit me to introduce myself I pray. I am Hasani, humble servant of Ash - he who is Lord of Oases and bringer of life in the desert. I hope we can work well together and foster a productive and amiable relationship in trying times. I am a healer, though I fervently hope my services are not required in our forthcoming endeavors."
He examines the map carefully, nodding to himself periodically as if committing it to memory,
"We seem to have our path laid clearly enough before us. It would seem prudent to head for the library and explore past the known confines of the map, I see little point in risking the unstable gallery if there is nothing beyond it," he glances up at the Fala, "Or am I making an unwarranted assumption there?"
"If I may interject," Apedemak says, holding out a hand, "what part of the gallery is 'unstable?' I am adept at... non-conventional exploration, if you will." He takes a moment to hold out the hand again, flexing his fingers to display the bronze claws that adhere to the ends of his digits.
An irritable old man in singed robes acknowledges the newcomers with a grunt.
"I am Farooq the flammable, practitioner of the mystical arts. One would hope that you lot prove more formidable than that last group of ne're-do-wells. As for our "assignment", it might be best to start by retracing the steps of the missing scouts. As you lot seem like the sneaking sort, it might not hurt to go about this quietly, just in case there are other dangers beyond traps to be found."
"The report simply sited an unstable section of wall and floor. It hadn't been fully surveyed before they disappeared. It might be something you can brace up and get past, but I haven't seen it personally. When the second team found a few drops of blood near the stairs, we pulled everyone back. No tracks were found that werent supposed to be there, so it could have just been someone cutting themselves accidentally, but we've learned never to take chances in these old ruins."
"Indeed blood is hardly auspicious given the circumstances, and it would seem to indicate that is where we should find our goal. However, I am loathe to leave potential victims untended in an area we dismissed, and a potential threat at our backs. Therefore, I favor a methodical approach checking everywhere before we press on, the extra time is not like to make the difference between life and death after such a time I pray. Thoughts?" Hasani says, running a fingertip over his moustache as he contemplates the map.
Zayid's face remains impassive, but his eyes avoid those of the old man, and he flinches almost imperceptibly during Farooq's self-introduction.
He nods at Hasani. "I am as prepared as I will be... you won't take it amiss, I hope, if I agree with your expressed desire that your... services... should prove unnecessary."
"No, no, trust me this venture has seen enough bloodshed already. Very well then let us be about this, procrastination only serves to lengthen our servitude!" Hasani says clapping his hands together, and making for the observatory entrance.
Zayid checks that he has his belongings, and follows.
"I'm eager to get this over and done with, personally. Talking is only delaying the inevitable."
A tall, looming figure hovering along the edges of the small assembly finally spoke. Wearing the traditional long garments of the desert nomads, her hair obscured beneath a black/white patterned keffiyeh and agal, she could have easily been mistaken for a man had she not spoken.
"We're going? Good." Hefting a wicked-looking hammer and a small bag of supplies, she moves to follow the two men who had begun to make their way towards the entrance.
Apedemak also moves toward the ruins' entrance, falling into step by the man who looks to have the most experience--Farooq, the eldest member of the expedition.
"The mystical arts, you said?" Apedemak tilts his head to the side, questioning. "What exactly would that be? I've heard tell of the gods' works; is that what you mean...?"
"Watch closely and I'll show you a wonder..."
Casts prestidigitation
A small ball of blue flame appears in Farooq's hand. He tosses it from hand to hand, changing its colour with each pass. Eventually he tosses it into the air above his head where it bursts with a flash and a rain of brightly coloured sparkles.
"No god had a hand in that my fine fellow. I have enough problems without bringing the divine into it..."
An irritable old man in singed robes acknowledges the newcomers with a grunt.
"I am Farooq the flammable... One would hope that you lot prove more formidable than that last group of ne're-do-wells."
Ayaal chuckles at the man's irascible humor. She responds lightly, "Let us hope so, Farooq."
She contents herself with listening to the discussion until the team moves towards the ruined temple. Ayaal appears in no hurry to catch up. She turns to Fala, "You are well provisioned, yes? Do you have a precision set of tools, I might borrow? If not, I'll use mine," From one of the many pockets sew to a wide leather sash she wears, Ayaal pulls a wrapped set of tools to give Fala an idea of the type of equipment she means. It is a small set of picks.
Ayaal sorts the gear in her pack, placing a large crowbar so that it sticks out past the flap of her pack - in easy reach - then shoulders the pack and follows the others towards the temple. She slides easily across the sand, well used to it. Approaching the group, she notices Zayid's tense actions and files it away for later thought. Right now, the thief is focused on the job and the temple before her.
A pleasant husky laugh draws atttention to the stunning woman at the back of the group, her for enveloped in a brilliant scarlet cloak a what appeared to be silk, concealing her other clothing yet hinting towards a well developed figure.
"I can see why they call you the flammable," she purrs.
She draws back her hood revealing a sultry beauty one would expect in a sultans parlor rather than the desert, but it is her eyes, a flickering amber, seemingly swirling with....smoke, that is the most fascinating.
"I am Zariah."
Apedemak looks startled at Farooq's flames for a moment, but once he begins to pass it and it's apparent they aren't dangerous, his expression turns to wonder... although he notices Zayid from the corner of his eye. "Amazing," he breathes when Farooq is done. "It seems there's much I have to learn of this world."
He turns to look as Zariah speaks, and bows his head in her direction. "Apedemak," he says, in case she didn't hear his earlier introduction.
That leaves... three women, and an elder, Apedemak thinks, prioritizing who needs his protection in this party.
"I'm afraid our best tools went down with the missing group" Fala said with a shake of her head. "We have plenty of provisions and basic supplies, but the specialty equipment is missing with the men who carried them."
She led the group to a roped-off area that had been mostly cleared of sand. Wind shelters made of poles, rope and canvas had been set up all around it. Inside the wind shelter, a scaffold had been built over the uncovered top of a stone structure. A large stone had been moved to the side revealing a hole down into the ruin. A thick rope ran from the top of the scaffold down into the hole.
"Here's your way inside. We have the hole manned constantly. Anything you need we can lower down to you, but it may take a while depending on the winds and weight. We expect you to report back in every six hours. Once you clear the area and we're sure there's nothing in there that might attack, we'll move a small group in to the Observatory to support you from inside."
Zayid nods, examining the rope and testing the knot. After picking up two more days' worth of rations, he approaches the entrance. "Shall we?" he asks.
0th:Dancing lights, Detect magic, Prestidigitation
1st: Grease x2
Casts Dancing lights
With a gesture and a word Farooq calls four glowing, floating lanterns into existence and sends the down into the hole.
"Who's first?
Mahsati glares warily at the ruin entrance briefly, but the call for those willing to head first makes her shrug and step forward. "I'll go if no one else will."
The rope is a simple pulley system, one anchored at the top of the scaffold, the other anchored at the floor. Whoever put it together must have been quite skilled at splicing rope. The two ends had been woven together so that the rope was taught and effectively never ended.
Every five feet or so a grommet was woven in allowing things to be attached to the rope by a hook. Fala handed the big man a stirrup and showed him how to hook it into the rope. By stepping into it and holding the opposite side of the pulley line he could control the rate of his descent.
He disappeared into the depths.
At the bottom Farooq's mystic lights revealed a camp site. Crates were stacked. Bed rolls were neatly kept. Makeshift tables covered in books and paper showed partially finished surveyors records. Lanterns were hung liberally, but had burned out. The walls were decorated with ancient drawings, but the lights were too dim and danced about too much for him to get a good idea of what he was looking at.
It was cold and quiet. The footsteps of the people above echoed in his ears. The place felt hollow and gave a sense of being quite alone.
Once in the tunnel, Zayid looks around carefully, trying to determine which exit leads to the library, as well as whether one or the other of the exits was more heavily used.
Hasani follows the others down casting a light spell upon his turban so it glows with pale white light. He glances at the surveyors records on the off chance that they reveal anything not shown on the map,
"Ash let us find these people alive, I have seen enough death for a lifetime."
Ayaal slides down the rope and goes through the lamps, shaking them until she finds one full of oil. She lights it and surveys the ruin critically. "This should be interesting."
Farooq brings up the rear, hoping to keep some distance between him ans any possible attackers.
The lamps appear to be empty, having burned out at some point in the last few days, but hanging on a hook near each one is a skin of lamp oil for refilling them, as well as a small oil keg with the camp supplies, about three quarters full, for refilling the skins.
Hasani moves over to the oil lamps and refills them in turn,
"Does anyone have a means to get these lit? We seem to have plenty of oil, and I would rather have excess light and not need it than face danger in the darkness."