The last few years have been strange for all of you, stranger than everyday life in your homelands already is anyways. The divine spark awakening within each of you has gifted you with power beyond your previous imagination. Since that awakening you have all started testing the limits of your powers. You worked together to destroy a parasite god that threatened the homes you were fighting to protect. You established several small refuges of peace in decimated countries. You fought back against the monsters who sought to take the only things you ever cared about away. And you always pushed forward to try to better understand your role in the world now that you have these gifts.
Some of you know each other better than others. Several of you have worked together extensively for the past several months to try and better the situations for your respective people. All of you hail from across the globe and your goals do not always align but within each of your companions you have seen that same power that is slowly growing within you. And you see that though you may not always agree with their methods, your fellows seek to make the world better in some way.
Because of its centralized location to all of your homes the five of you have made your way to the Oasis States, Bilaal’s home nation. There is not a great deal of love between the once raider and his home nation. Life in the Oasis States is hard for those not specifically bred into roles of influence. Bilaal has fought to survive for years and longs to conquer the Oasis States and implement a system that is better. You may not all be convinced that his idea of better is necessarily better for all, but looking at the Oasis States as they are now it's hard to imagine something much worse. If the Oasis States were united under a leader you all knew though the benefits seem obvious. Sun Li Tao is looking to dethrone the Emperor of his home as well and both Sun Li Tao and Bilaal have set eyes upon the Raktine Confederacy. Fidelity’s fight for people’s freedoms wherever she is fills her with disgust when looking upon how easily the people of the Oasis States trade in flesh. Bereket’s homeland of Ancalia has so many issues that even simply putting a stop to the raiders coming out of the Oasis States to kidnap survivors along the borders would be a huge boon. And Evelyn is as eager to protect her new allies as she is to plumb the depths of the many ancient pyramid cities that are rumored to be full of countless treasures.
You are all currently in the small town of Horam, barely more than a village build up around an Oasis in the sands between the pyramid city of Qanat and the Zeraf River. Bilaal’s knowledge of the raiding parties in the area seemed to indicate that this village was currently one of the safer places to meet up and was relatively close to the ruins of Amon, a small pyramid city said to have been overrun by all manner of foul creatures years ago. The mood in the village is tense, after all only one of you looks remotely like a local, and strange people dont often mean good things for the people of the Oasis States. Even Bilaal though is receiving some odd reception, it seems as though there is an underlying tension in the town that has nothing to do with your arrival. So it is that you gather together near the well at the center of town, about to set out all together for the first time. But with so many different goals to accomplish, where do you plan to start?
The soft cotton of his clothing does well to keep Sun Li Tao cool despite the blistering heat of the land. While his garb is much more accommodating to the change in environment, it still marks him very much as an outsider in the Oasis States. He wear a black tunic that is kept open, his clothing underneath worn well and, while once it was white, has been stained with sweat and travel. The baggy, dull blue pants are tucked into a pair of leather boots. It is all tied together with a simple cloth belt. Leather does cover his arms and legs, reinforced padding underneath his tunic protecting him from attacks. The leather was flexible but contrasted with his Dulimbaian clothing; a suggestion from Bilaal to better protect himself.
Sun Li Tao waited in the town's center, looking around carefully at the villagers that avoided making direct eye contact with him and watched him and the others from afar. He wasn't an ugly man, being just barely twenty years of age, nor was he a handsome man. With black hair and eyes like coal, his expression could be quite severe and off-putting if it wasn't for his friendly demeanor. In the months that had passed, his search for answers had only resulted in more questions. He was not alone though, not since he has met the other ones. They all came from different places, with different goals, but they at least understood one another.
"So, we're going to the ruins of Amon, right?" Li Tao asks, his voice soft and gentle. It was quite the opposite of what he was capable of doing, his powers leading to untold destruction when they needed to be unleashed. They were not as glorious to behold as Bilaal's sandstorms or some of the others that his friends had, but it was ruthlessly effective. Once more, he focused on the world and listened to the dead that laid among them. He didn't plan on using them but it was always good to know where reinforcements laid.
Bereket had begun to wonder if he would ever see good earth and stone again as their journey to get here had dragged on. The shifting sands of this place are so unlike the firm land that he knows. But, at last, they had arrived at this oasis.
Bereket lays a hand on the low wall of the well, and can almost feel how it goes down, deep and solid. The knight's weathered, grim face relaxes just a little into a slight smile.
Bereket shifts a bit, tugging on his traveling cloak and adjusting the great sword which hangs on his back, and then sits on the edge of the well. He looks around at the watching villagers, and his smile fades as he feels the tension. "Something is amiss here. I'd like to know what it is before we leave for Amon. What troubles these people?"
As most of his new friends and allies tasted the sun of the Oasis States for the first time, Bilaal seemed more than unfazed by the blazing sun above being reflected by the sands. His nearly-black skin bare from the waist up to the heat revealing his vitiligo-marked body, the splotches of almost albino skin have a striking pattern running from the bottom of his eyelids to his chin in twin-stripes until dissolving into otherwise random marks on his chest. As for below the waist line, Bilaal dawned himself in a gaudy pair of loose fitting bright yellow cloth pants that flowed in the desert wind, ending just above his ankles and his bare feet on the sand.
Hearing both Sun and Bereket's questions, Bilaal nodded his head to both. Speaking in a low hush that only the Godbound could hear as to not draw too many eyes to his voice. "Yes, something is indeed a miss in this village." Shifting his eyes to one of the passing villagers, Bilaal called out to the man. "My friend! A moment?" His tone chipper and welcoming to his fellow Oasisen.
Fidelity had been wearing a strip of cloth over her eyes ever since the first winds had blown sand into her eyes; it hadn't seemed to affect her vision at all, and it protected her from the gritty evil stuff floating around everywhere.
Upon their arrival in town, she had immediately disappeared into the well, clambering down it with the curiosity usually present only in a small child. She had no trouble at all descending into the depths, trying to figure out just how far down it went, and whether the town had much water - or even a secret underground thieves' den that had sprouted out of the bottom of the well. If not... well, that would be a good place to carve another base into the sandstone.
She had returned to the top of the well and was now perched on the side - not that any of the mundane people seemed to notice her, and she moved calmly out of their way when they approached if she thought she might be in the way. She was trying, unsuccessfully, to get one of her knives to balance on the tip of her index finger, while she sat quietly mouthing words that most could not hear.
If not for her powers being able to protect her from the brunt of the heat Lyon's pale northern skin would have been fried by now. She had shed the heavy clothing of her northern home in favor a cotton tunic and a pair of dark, loose fitting pants more appropriate for the climate but had forgone any kind of armor or protective materials.
The desert was nothing like she'd ever dealt with so she trusted Bilaal to lead the way in his home land while she focused on taking in the new environment and trying to keep everyone in the group within eyesight, just in case. "Not everyone is welcoming to strangers and with the threat of raiders nearby they're right to be worried about us."
While Bilaal started chatting to the locals Lyon would do a quick sweep of the defenses of the area, looking at how strong their defenses are and if there were any signs of a recent attack.
The man who Bilaal called to jumped, almost startled by having someone speak to him and then grinned sheepishly as if to hide his discomfort. It wasn’t hard to notice his eyes dart first over Bilaal’s partially bleached skin then passed over the companions who stood out far more. Still he seemed determined to put on a smile and greeted Bilaal as warmly as he himself had been greeted, “Greetings brother and friends, welcome to Horam. My name is Nadim al Barakaa, humble caravaneer, what can I do for you today?”
After you climb your way back up and sing our your song onto the winds it takes some time but eventually you hear something coming back to you, a woman’s voice. The voice is filled with hesitation, as though they are not quite sure what compels them to answer this unearthly call, but also has a sense of fragile hopefulness as it sings back to you, “Lost to the raiders my dear son, find him and protect him oh holy one.”
Thankfully Evelyn doesn't see the need to keep up Mutable Wards on side side of the sandstone cliffs that frame the Oasis. The shade provided in the area and the closeness to the pool keeps it bearable, if still much hotter than the northerners are use to. On the trip out here over the dunes and across the wide expanses of desert though the Mutable Wards proved invaluable for everyone but Fidelity and Bilaal who were immune to the heat. As Evelyn looks around and takes into account the surroundings she might notice several things. Although the town has a small sandstone wall it largely seems to serve as a marker for the borders of the town, rather than a serviceable defense. You did see a watch tower at the south end of town, opposite the tall hills surrounding the oasis that the town was built up around. It might be possible to attack by climbing the sandstone cliffs at the back of the oasis and coming down through it into the town from the north, but with so little on the south side of town any attacks would be more than likely to come from that direction. Coming through town you did pass by a group of men working on a large caravan wagon that appeared to have taken some damage. You couldn’t see just passing by exactly what had damaged it but it was clearly more than simple ware and tear from use.
Bilaal, pleased to the man's openness to talk to a stranger, approached him with a friendly outreached hand as he spoke. "Nadim, my friend, I am Bilaal and these are my traveling partners: Evelyn, Fidelity, Bereket, Sun. We are. . .adventures - in a sense." Bilaal making an effort to not reveal his godly nature as much as he wished to. "And it would seem luck is upon both our sides. We were just seeking one of your skills to help us along our path and you, Nadim, seem to be in some distress. Tell me, my friend, what ale's you and your village? The last time I was here this was a joyous place. Now, even a man like yourself gives me and my friends eyes of distrust."
Li Tao's eyes close for just a moment, focusing for that second to sense the dead that were here. "So much violence." He thinks to himself as he not only senses their deaths, he sees them too. Cut down by raiders, murdered in cold blood. No wonder the people here were so very wary, they had every right to be so. Assuming that Fidelity does not make herself scarce even to them, he would watch her come up and out of the well before he spoke to her in a soft, whispering tone.
"Did you find anything down there?" He asks with that tone of voice that makes it clear that already has an idea of what the answer is. "I felt through this place, over two dozen bodies at their graveyard. Most killed by the raiders in recent years. There are two more that are...unusual. One...is buried under a hut nearby the entrance. Another...is deep down below us. Did you see anything?"
After asking his questions, Li Tao's eyes focus once more on watching Bilaal as he speaks to his fellow Oasian. This place was troubled it seemed and if anyone was going to assist them, it would be them.
As Bilaal makes mention of Fidelity, suddenly, Fidelity is there for Nadim, as if she had always been there, crouched on the edge of the well, still trying to balance the knife. She's stopped mouthing words, though, so she doesn't look as crazy.
Even still, she's fully dressed in her leathers - a muddy red color overall, with fur lining, and her usual furs from the north; given that the heat didn't bother her, she hadn't bothered to take them off... and all the better for when the temperature dropped to more frigid at night - not that she needed to worry with Evelyn's wards guarding the group from the harshest things the desert could throw at them.
She drops her knife once more as Sun talks to her, and rather than picking it up, she simply draws another. She doesn't immediately return to balancing it, but returns the hushed tone.
"There is an underground spring below. I believe it may come from their pond, and roll through the sandstone below. Around it is a hollowed out cavern... I'm honestly surprised by its size. Now that you mention the one far below, I'm much more curious about the space." she pauses. When she next speaks, only the pantheon can hear her, though her voice is still clear.
"But, word on the wind says that a raider has taken the son of a local. So... perhaps with all this death and theft of freedom and wanton destruction... we have a more pressing goal than borrowing ancient technology for our own ends."
Immediately afterwards, she begins to mouth words once more.
While Bilaal was talking to the locals as a native, Evelyn would take the short trip back to the men working on the damaged caravan. Seeing an opportunity to make a good impression on the locals and maybe ease some of the tension with small talk, she would attempt to help them with the repairs.
"Excuse me, would you like a hand?" She asked trying to appear as sincere as possible, knowing they would likely be suspicious of the new comers. "The roads in my home can be difficult so I've had to deal with my share of break-downs."
The man looked around as Bilaal introduced his companions and seemed mildly perplexed for a moment at the number of people listed. And then, suddenly, he sees Fidelity sitting on the edge of the well. He tilts his head and shakes it as if trying to come back to his senses. She stood out so much, clearly a foreigner like the others but he could have sworn that there were only four of them a moment ago when he walked up. When the woman he didn’t notice and the Dulimbaian man started talking amongst themselves he turned his attention back to Bilaal and his questions. At the mention of trouble his face fell somewhat, “Indeed we have had trying time as of the past several months. Normally I take a trip to the great pyramid city of Dehnet every couple of months to stock up on any supplies the town might be lacking. I also take any trade goods we have made or treasures scavenged from ruins along with me to make a profit. During our last trip we were waylaid. Not by sand raiders, that would be one thing but this was something different. No these black robed figures were something else, and the creature they had with them bound in chains… it was horrifying. Unlike anything I had ever seen before. When they did not demand our goods but three of the men helping guide the caravan, we did not know what to do. Ultimately they volunteered to go if the rest of the caravan was spared. They were led away south towards the mountains. Khufu and Nakht were older men without families, they knew the risks going out into the sands. It's been harder for Sabu’s mother. The boy was sixteen and it was his first trip outside of our city… I feel terrible that I could not bring him home. But you must understand I truly believed if we did not give them what they wanted we would all be killed and our goods taken as well. Still, as I'm sure you can understand it has made us that much more hesitant about any foreigners.”
The young man doesn’t seem to understand you as you approach them asking if they would need help. He says something in Menet and the older gentleman who is supervising snaps out a reply to him before turning towards Evelyn and speaking in a heavily accented Trade Cant you can both understand, “Peace unto you for your concern misses. I would not wish to see you put yourself out on our behalf. In truth I fear it's just a matter of putting in the patches.”
Now that you’re close you can see what is wrong with the caravan wagon. It has claw marks running deeply into the side of it and some of the frame is cracked as if a great weight was set upon it at some point in the near past.
Li Tao's eyes remained closed for some time, focused on the scenes of death that flowed through his mind. When his powers first came to him, his fellows had seen the reaction he had. He weep for days at every injustice he found, at every young life ended so early. It was a painful power, a hurtful one, and it ripped open wounds that had nearly healed when he saw the truth of what happened. Yet it also prevented foulness from festering. Whenever possible, he sought to give them the rest they deserve and right whatever wrongs that had not yet been judged. He had been chosen by the dead to carry their words to the living and in return, the dead would serve him.
"Poor boy." Li Tao would say softly, looking back down into that well. He would look back at Fidelity, that look of compassion etched upon his face. "Fidelity. Before we leave here, I would like your help. There is a body down there, a child's body. He starved and he deserves a proper burial." Turning his eyes towards the huts, he would nod towards the one where the dead man laid buried. "A representative of the one of the boyar automatons lays there. Poisoned. I wonder why."
Sun Li Tao's attention focuses upon the man's words as he speaks about what it was that had come to them in the desert. Some terrible abomination in chains, something wicked and awful. They were not the same as the raiders with the red accents upon their clothing and he remained quiet for a moment though it was obvious that he was listening very carefully. It was only when he had finished that he would approach Bilaal and Nadim.
He would bow courteously to them both, an instinct ingrained in him every since he could remember. "I apologize to be eavesdropping, friends, but I couldn't help but hear the awful events you have gone through Nadim." His Menet was rough and not too practiced but it was manageable. "If you could Nadim, I would like you to describe this robed men and this...abomination...as best as you can. Every little detail you can, it is important." This was not the first time they had seen Sun Li Tao question someone. The amount of knowledge that he had within his mind was astounding, more than any scholar could have fit in a single lifetime. Regardless of this, he swore he was just a simple gravekeeper back in his homeland before everything changed.
Seeing Sun take the lead in the conversation, Bilaal simply listened in on the caravaneer's reply. Though, by the look on Bilaal's face, it was obvious his formulating his own thoughts while the two spoke.
Damnable men and their gods, taking another life for the sake of feeding some long dead faith.
And, while Bilaal was more than eager to seize the opportunity of killing yet another false deity, he held his breath and awaited for any further information Nadim could supply.
Fidelity's face scrunches up a bit as Sun speaks with her. After a moment, her mouth is a thin line, but she nods. She slips the strip from her eyes and collects her knives, returning them to their various sheathes, before slipping silently into the well once more, vanishing from sight almost immediately.
She slips quietly down the stone walls, then along the sleek cavern walls, before finally shifting her weight to the rope once the surface rolls outwards and she can no longer simply cling to the walls. Hopefully the rope could bear her weight as it had clearly borne the child's.
Dark and alone, hungry and full of thirst. Her heart sank as she drifted into the darkness, following the path that would have lead the boy to freedom, if he could have possibly known it as she did. She stays out of the way and avoids any threats she might encounter - should she be aware that they were indeed threats, and sticks to the safest, easiest path, otherwise, in search of the young man.
After a short while, Bereket follows after Evelyn to the damaged wagon. Hearing the older man's polite denial of Evelyn's offer to aid, he walks closer to the wagon himself, ignoring any protest (short of actual physical confrontation/obstruction). He examines the damage closely with his own eyes, and then says to the man in the Trade Cant, "Allow me to save you some time and effort."
Bereket then scoops up a handful of sand, spits on it, and rubs it in his hands to something of a paste. He slaps it onto the deepest of the claw marks and starts to hammer it with his fist. As he does, the sand seems to merge with and transform into wood that matches that of the wagon perfectly. Bereket walks around the wagon, again hammering with his fist here and there. Within moments, to the amazement of anyone watching, the wagon is as good as new, as solid as when the wood was fresh.
"Now that will last you a good long while, I think," he says to the older gentleman with a friendly smile.
Evelyn gives the man a polite nod and steps back."It wouldn't be much trouble but I won't impose." She wouldn't attempt to stop Bereket but she does looks a little nervous when he approaches the wagon and even more so when he starts rubbing dirt on it, good intentions or not ignoring protests as an outsider never ended well.
"What kind of creature made marks like these?" She asked half to get information and half to distract the man in case he wasn't happy about the repairs. " I have some friends that are good at dealing with dangerous things, if it is still near your route maybe we could deal with it?" The marks were deep and clearly from a large creature but if a normal caravan was able to escape surely a pantheon would be able to take it down.
The man’s eyes widened slightly when Sun Li Tao approached. It didn’t seem as though he was offended at the man listening in, merely surprised that he had been able to understand thing thus far. Likely he’d seen few Dulimbaians at all, and fewer still who could speak Menet. He shivers as he talks of the men, who both Bilaal and Sun Li Tao could easily identify as being from the Black Academies. Though he does mention that their clothing seemed somewhat frayed, as though they had perhaps suffered some hardship lately. As for the creature it takes him a moment, “It's hard to picture even now. It simply didn’t look as though it should be able to exist. Surely no moral creature gave birth to such an abomination. It followed them at chain length, stooped but still standing taller than my wagon. Its arms were too long, clawed fingers dragging in the sand. And it was unnaturally fast for something so big. It barely seemed to cross the space between their group and my cart. And when it lay its hand against the side of my cart its claws cut into the wood like sheers going through cheap cloth. Mouths, all over its twisted body opened and snapped as it looked around, though I saw no eyes on its head you could tell when it looked at you. It was terrifying, I hope to never see its like again.”
From what he’s said you can be fairly certain that the creature was an Uncreated chained to the will of several Black Academy sorcerers. What they’re doing on the other side of the mountains from where most of the Black Academies are and why exactly they took people instead of supplies you can't be sure of. But given what you know about the Black Academies it is unlikely to be good for those taken.
The older man and boy look on with quizzical expressions as Bereket scoops up a handful of sand and spits in it. The younger man steps forward, almost as if to protest, when you slap it onto one of the cuts in the side of the wagon. His words seem to die in his mouth, his hand just starting to raise, as you casually rub the material in and seal the tears as if they had never happened. The boy says something in Menet pointing at Bereket and the older man immediately barks something back, cuffs the boy upside the head and bows his own head towards you, “I humbly thank you for your services. I did not realize that our village was being visited by sorcerers. Truly if I had known I never would dared to have spoken to you so informally. May the God King bless you for your kindness, I apologize and take full responsibility for my boy’s rudeness.”
The mood the man was projecting has changed noticeably. He seems incredibly nervous and anxious, his eyes keep darting towards the young man as if afraid that you intend to do something to the young man, perhaps for his comment earlier. You notice the older man put himself in between you and the young man after he bowed. At Evelyn’s prompting he explained, “We work for Caravan Master Barakaa, some creature did this when it waylaid his caravan during its last trip out. I have never heard of its like before. Indeed I wasn’t sure that it wasn’t a creation of sorcerers like yourselves perhaps. Who are we to question the God King and Queens trusted Flesh Shapers after all.”
Sun Li Tao listens carefully to what the man says, his hands tightening slowly in a simmering anger. It seemed that the Black Academy's presence was here within the Oasis States as well. He gave the man a polite nod, smiling as softly but it was plain to hear the irritation in his voice.
"What a terrible injustice that has been done to you and yours. We shall look into these awful men and their terrible beast." Li Tao would bow once more, nodding to Bilaal and moving back to the well. Fidelity was gone and it would be rude to have let her go to retrieve the young boy's body and then not be here to take care of it. His mind thought for only a moment as the burial rites of the common people in the Oasis States began to flood through his mind. Looking back up to where those other graves, he began to plan how he'd put that body to rest.
With Li Tao leaving after Nadim's description of the beast,showing an obvious level of irritation at some information he'd gathered from it, Bilaal gave the caravaneer a nod. "Thank you for your time, my friend. My allies and I will surely help your village in do time. For now, stay safe." With his goodbye said, Bilaal left to meet with Li Tao at the well.
Meeting his fellow god, Bilaal took a stance with his arms crossed and his head slightly at an angle, making his annoyance with the situation crystal clear. "You're going to want to help these people, aren't you, my friend?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned his head to look at the homes in the township with a long sigh. "We'd be better off letting things simply run their course if these people can not help themselves."
Waiting there at the well, Li Tao would listen to the sand lightly crunch underneath Bilaal's feet before the man would begin to speak. It was only when they were looking over the desperate state of the town did he speak up, talking in a low tone.
"The raiders have been more aggressive as of late. I have not seen once peaceful death within this town, not one except for the very old." Sun Li Tao would finally look at Bilaal, giving him a nod. "The men that came here came from the Black Academies and they have an Uncreated with them, chained to their will. We both know that if they're taking people...they'll come and take more, in time."
Sun Li Tao would reach over, clapping the man's shoulder in a sign of friendship and the smallest of smiles would spread across his face as he looked down the well. "With what we are, letting things be is almost a sin. Not when we can change things. That...and do you think the others would let them suffer such depredations?" As if to answer that question, Sun Li Tao let out a small, sarcastic laugh. Bilaal was a poor man, a survivor caught up along a group of saviors and heroes.
Fidelity takes a few moments to look around the space, ensuring that she felt the area was actually safe. She nods, finally, before slipping deeper, to gather the bones, piece by piece and place them solemnly into her messenger bag, gently packing away a now-forgotten death in amidst her leathercare tools. Unceremonious, to say the least, and there seemed to be no way to make it less so.
After packing the child into her bag, she leaves it open, some portion of her being unwilling to close the bag and leave the child in the dark - despite the fact that everything here was dark. It was a strange context that she'd not grown used to, being able to see in the dark.
She slips quietly back the way she'd come, grabbing the rope to clamber back up most of the way, leaving it to sway and swing as she climbs steadily towards the top, slipping back over to the sandstone wall once she'd reached it. She slips over the top of the well, back to where she'd been sitting previously, and slides her messenger bag into her lap to hold the whole. She sits silently looking about the town, unseen to most.
When Fidelity's message reaches his ears, Sun Li Tao smiles softly and nods. "No one deserves to be forgotten like that. The poor child." She would come up and out of the well now, messenger bag in hand and he could sense the young boy's fragments within it. Reaching over, he'd knock some of the dust and dirt off of her shoulder before giving her a nod.
"Thank you Fidelity. We can take them to the all the graves are soon and ensure a proper burial. However, this village is being threatened by the Black Academies of the Raktine Confederacy. I'm not sure why they are here, so far from their home, but there must be some kind of reason." And whatever reason it was, it could not be good. "I think we should go after those missing villagers and find out why they were taken...and destroy the monster traveling with them."
Evelyn would place a gentle hand on Bereket's arm in a subtle signal for him to move away from the people and their caravan as she addressed the man's concerns. "This wasn't the work of anyone I know but it needs to be looked into. If we are able to find it we will make sure it won't bother your routes again but until then, please be careful."
Hearing Fidelity's song Evelyn would try to convince Bereket to regroup for now. "I think the others are looking for us, we should leave them to finishing their repairs and find our friends."
Bereket was about to say more (certainly to protest that we are not Flesh Shapers, nor do we serve the God King and Queen), but when he feels Evelyn's hand on his arm he looks at her, gets the message, and holds his tongue.
"Farewell," he says to the older gentleman with sincerity. He then walks with Evelyn back to rejoin their companions.
"It was some kind of great monster which damaged the caravan wagon we saw," Bereket says. "I have repaired them now, but the grooves rent by its claws were deep in the wood."
“Thank you both and blessings be upon you,” the older man nods overly eagerly towards the both of you as you leave. He does seem thankful and relaxes slightly when Evelyn says that she did not know anyone who took part in the damaging of the wagon but he’s still somewhat on edge. The younger man appears to be trying hard not to simply stare at you both in amazement out of fear of drawing the older man’s attention back to him. As you round the corner you can hear the older man start speaking very quickly in Menat to the younger man, it sounds like he is lecturing him.
"Surely this is one of the Uncreated--no different from the many of them which plague my own land." Bereket ponders a moment. "These sorcerers have found a way to command one for their own benefit, but their actions are a blight to this land and a curse upon this people. I cannot abide that. We must seek them out, destroy the Uncreated they hold, and return the hostage men to their home. Do any of you disagree?"
"Nope." came the quite verbose reply from Fidelity, who was swinging each of her legs back and forth on the side of the well, leaning back to watch the sky. "How do you even get used to so few clouds?" she asks rhetorically, before kicking off of the well. "I figure the missing kid and the caravan kid are probably in the same place, if they're not the same person. So... maybe work off of the assumption that they are, and we just have to go kick a giant monster's butt? And... the people who've chained him."
"Yes, let us "kick monster butt". It can be no harder than killing a false god, no?" Bilaal stated as he seated in the group on the sand with his legs crossed, making sure no local heard his mention of their past deed together. "And it shall be of no issue finding these sorceress fiends, given Fidelity's and my own skill"
Sun Li Tao would turn towards Fidelity, his eyes focusing upon the bag that contained the remains of the poor boy named Jamir. He had tried valiantly to improve his lot in life, to make things better for his sister and himself. "No one should have to risk life and limb for a better life." The gravekeeper thought to himself, the words of the others distracting him for just a moment before he would whisper out to the others.
"The Uncreated are terrible things, as Bereket can attest to. Their existence is anathema to reality, bending it around them. We will need to be careful, even if it is just one." The sorcerers would also be a problem potentially, any of them that could find and bind one of the Uncreated to their will were terrible foes that had to be stopped. "We must destroy the entity and its keepers. They're the greater threat here now."
His eyes traced back to Fidelity's bag, his head nodding toward her. "I would like to find Jamir's sister, return his bones to her and prepare a proper burial. if...you all do not mind, I do not think that this would take too long."
"If we are tracking the monster to start then we should start at on the caravan's trail." Evelyn points in the direction of the broken down wagon that Bereket had repaired. "The damages looked fairly recent and if it's a common trail it will likely have markings or maybe even a map."
She would take a moment to think before rambling off her plans. "While Sun returns the child's remains to his family, Fidelity can you speak with the mother and make sure her son was the one that went missing in the caravan attack? Then Bereket, Bilaal and I could try to get someone to provide us with a map of the caravan's routes so we know where to start."
As you pursue your tasks about the city it takes some time but you are able to determine a few things after taking the time to look into the matters. The woman singing to Fidelity of her missing son is not the same woman who lost her child Sabu to the Uncreated attack on the caravan. This woman, Hekat, lives near the oasis at the base of the cliffs on the inner side of the town. Her son left to join a group of raiders known in these parts as the Scarlet Serpents, a name that may sound somewhat familiar to Bilaal from his past in these parts. After talking to her for sometime you learn that her son left because he felt that he could get more out of life as a raider than by helping Hekat and her husband Imaan weave the fronds that grow from the vegetation around the oasis. He’s a young man and she provides you with a solid description of him, she says that he is just brash and worries that he’ll end up dead following those raiders around.
You also learn that Baasti does still live in the town. When directed towards her home, a small hovel near the entrance of town, Sun Li Tao realizes that it is actually the building which the Nezdovhan is buried under. You hear that she should be found in the hut and if you inquire about a younger brother you hear a few sad tales of the boy who left the town around the same time as a merchant visited. Apparently he had been recruiting mine workers for his boyar and everyone assumed that Baasti had been convinced to send young Jamir off to earn some money in the mines. A sad story to hear the family pushed to such hard times but people are rarely able to spare much extra these days.
By talking a little more to Nadim al Barakaa and the repair crew of the wagon you are able to obtain a rough map of the route they had taken. Normally they would be hesitant to part with information like that, since giving it away would normally make them easier pray for raiders. But the older worker seems to be genuinely appreciative of the work you did to repair the wagon, and perhaps he is a little intimidated as well. Besides the route is not likely to be much use to them if there are worse things than bandits laying in wait along it.
Fidelity ensures that the woman knows that while she could almost assuredly force the young man to return that she would not; she would speak upon Hekat's behalf if she were to meet her child, but it was the way of the world that he should choose his own path - she would do what she could, though.
"They are not the same." she says simply as she moves off of the edge of the well, "So... we hit these slavers - or worse, first? The map will make it quite easy. Think you can redo the wagon thing... but with a whole wagon instead of just the scratches? Surely we could lure them out of hiding that way." Fidelity grins broadly, threading her fingers together and resting her head against them as she leans back. "Assuming they could take Sun and Bilaal as traveling merchants with a small guard retainer..."
"Oh, you wish me to create a wagon? Of course. Perhaps we should find some seclusion before I begin. Something of that size won't be complete in an instant, but it won't take long."
Bereket transmutes sand into wood, enough for the wagon, and then quickly builds it.
"As one who has traveled with the likes of killers and thieves, I'd say there a far worse fates for a young boy. These Uncreated masters are no doubt a larger threat to these people." Bilaal stated somewhat off handily while assisting Bereket construct the wagon, turning the sand into sandstone while Bereket transferred the hard grain to wood. "If nothing else, we could very well meet with these "Scarlet Serpents" on our way to or fro"
Check: 11
While Bereket focused upon creating a wagon for their ambush, Sun Li Tao would move through the town and ask if anyone knew the location of Baasti. Heading towards that hut where the man's body was buried, he would knock softly upon the wall of it.
"Excuse me? Is this the home of Baasti?" He would wait to see if this was where the woman was or not. If not, he would leave in peace and return another time. They would soon be ready to go and explore the sands.
"I bear sad tidings then but...I hope it will bring you closure. I have found your brother's remains. He...went down the well in the center of town, trying to find some sort of treasure for you. He got stuck and could not leave." Taking out a small bag, he'd respectfully place out the soft remains of Jamir for her to view before he continued. "I am sorry for your lost. I...I can hear the dead sometimes and I know your village has already suffered greatly recently. I just felt it'd be right to give him a proper burial and finish his story with you. He loved you so much to risk his life to try and make things better." It was a lot to take in and he would let the woman react however she needed to this awful, sudden news.
Once they'd found a safe place for Bereket to start constructing the wagon with his powers Evelyn would try to discuss the plan further.
"A wagon on a known trade route will be a target for raiders and the Serpents so they might decide who we go after for us and if Bereket can make a cover for the wagon we might be able to hide in the back. We will need a horse...or camel?" She asked with a look towards Bilaal. "Something to pull it. Unless we jut plan to leave it in the open and hope they come to us."
"If The Serpents show up we'll need to deal with them harshly but leave one alive to find out where they've taken the man they took. The bandits will be a little more sensitive to deal with, we don't want to over do it and scare the one we're supposed to be talking to." She says with a glance at Bilaal."But people that make a life attacking others are hard to reason with without force."
"Not killing any of them is an option as well. I mean, not killing is just as easy as killing, I think. Fidelity offers up to the others. "That way we don't have to worry about which one has blue eyes hidden under their robes. Can you pull punches with an arrow?" she asks, looking to Bilaal.
Fidelity would now most likely notice that Bilaal dosen't carry any quiver or arrows on his person. The man looking up from his task with Bereket to shape a pile of sand into a finely crafted blunt arrow. "As much as I know killing en mass would sate the lady Evelyn's apparent blood lust, I see no reason to slaughter any raiders we may run into to." Shifting his attention to Evelyn herself, Bilaal took up a sassed tone to the woman. "After all, it's not a life anyone would willingly choose. These are harsh lands and harsher times for all."
Her voice chokes off for a moment and she swallows once more, “I apologize for being rude but would you mind leaving me with his remains? I will take care of them, but I find myself reliving sorrows I thought left behind and think myself rather unpresentable to guests.”
You all can easily find a section of the town to start making the wagon without people paying you too much mind. If anything it seems some of the villagers are happy for an excuse to avoid your rather eclectic group. At one point while discussing things Evelyn spots the young man who had been working on the other wagon looking around a corner but then you hear a shout from the older man and he disappears. Between Bilaal and Bereket’s gifts it is relatively simple work to construct a simple wagon. As Evelyn points out you would need something to pull the wagon ideally unless one of you planned to transport it and leave it setting out as if stranded. Other than that last detail though it seems you all have a path in mind that will take you relatively close to the raider’s territory and definitely within range of where the Black Academy Sorcerers were abducting people.
Fidelity can't help but grin at Bilaal's quip, "Ooh, ooh, Sun. Do you think you could find a dead camel to make into a not-dead camel? Then all we'd need is some dressage, and we'd be good to go."
"Force doesn't always mean killing." She said, frowning at them. "And hard times aren't an excuse to attack someone. I was referring to the 'flesh shapers'."
Once Evelyn spots the young man she would try to move the group along. "We're starting to attract more attention than when we got here, if Sun can do that we should leave soon."
Sun Li Tao returns back with the others just as the cart was beginning to be finished, listening in on the others as they conspire on how to deal with the others. "I will do my best to leave them alive but I cannot promise that they will be well." Li Tao's strength was infamous now, as deadly as any blade would be.
At Fidelity's question, a small smirk spreads across the man's face and he gives a shrug for a moment. "I do not think the locals will like seeing that but...we just made a cart from sand. I am sure they'll adjust to it." Squatting down low to the sands, Sun Li Tao's eyes would close and he'd take in a breath. It was just like breathing to him, only taking a moment before he thought out his instruction. "Come to me."
Wherever the closest remains of a camel were, it would suddenly twitch and squirm. Rising up from the dead, the beast would march its way towards its master's location, obeying Sun Li Tao's will. "It is coming but I do not know its state of being. We will need to disguise it." Li Tao said with a smile, nodding to them. It was a small contribution but a contribution nonetheless. Part of him ached to pull more than just that, to bring the dead back to life again and take them with him. Not yet though, there was no point in terrifying the locals that much yet.
It is clear that once the desiccated camel shambles back to a semblance of life and walks towards Sun Li Tao, anyone who hadn’t already made themselves scares finds reason to be elsewhere. Between Bilaal, Bereket and Sun Li Tao you are able to fashion some simple cloth coverings to drape over the camel that, at least from a distance, would help disguise its form somewhat. With that task done you set out into the dunes to try and lure the abomination controlling sorcerers to you.
You travel for several days. It is perhaps not the most comfortable you have all been, hiding your powers so as not to warn those you seek and keep a low profile as you travel. Still the innate abilities of your group make it possible to travel without too much trouble. It is on the third night out that you hear something. It sounds as though its coming from further south, possibly just over the large set of dunes where you have currently made camp for the night. It sounds like chanting and just barely under it you can hear pained moaning.
"Looks like baiting the villains totally did not work." Fidelity chimes in, once they've been out for a few days, finally giving in to the boredom. "Really wishing there were clouds, or something. It's just sand... and sand... and sand..." she continues. "Oh, well. A proper distraction." she says, hopping to her feet and heading south, looking to see what she can find that way.
During their travels Evelyn had kept her wards up, likely more often than needed, due to the heat of the desert being a bit much for someone that has spent most their life so far north. Even with her wards up so often the heat began to get to her after so long out traveling. "No wonder you're always half naked, you'd die from heatstroke otherwise." She complained to Bilaal.
Evelyn was relived that the sun was finally setting as set up camp for the night and enjoyed the relative peace until Fidelity took off after the chanting. "Stay close." She warned Fidelity as she followed behind, making sure to leave enough distance between them that she wouldn't be spotted while Fidelity was scouting with her powers.
"This doesn't sound good," says Bereket on noticing the sounds of chanting and pained moans. "Quickly! Someone needs our help! Leave the camel and wagon here," he says, and follows after Fidelity. He tries to remain hidden as they reach the top of the dunes to see what is happening.
Sun Li Tao would guide the dead camel along the way, his power keeping it animate. Even with the cloth though, it was uneasy to be around. There was no sound, no breath, just the faint smell of rotting escaping the clothes that were upon it.
On that third night, when the chanting rose and those pained moans accompanied it, Li Tao's face grew concerned. Something was happening but not even he was exactly sure what. Following behind the others, he crept up the sand dune until he could look over it, staring down upon whatever dark event was occurring.