With the happenings of the day before, several pactmaster guards were stationed outside the wharfmaster's mansion for the night to allow the protectors of Kelmarane a good night's sleep before heading out. It is still dark when you awake to commotion outside. Investigating, you see that the morning sunlight is just starting to show far off behind the Brazen Peaks in the distance. "We need to get an early start if we want to avoid the mid-day desert heat." The familiar voice of Garavel is heard, he tone always seemingly without much emotion.
Outside is quite a scene. Almah's majordomo is climbing off a wagon attached to a pair of camels that are parked in front. More camels are coming down the street towards you being led by several handlers. Three pactmaster guards are riding of their own camels and coming up along side the wagon while a fourth guard is working to tie up the camels attached to the wagon. A quick count shows a total of 12 of these animals. "Load up your stuff so we can head out."
Daumari silently approaches one of the waiting camels and straps his gear to the beast. He climbs atop the beast, then nearly falls off as it stands beneath him. He scowls, growling out a largely hollow oath as he does. The day this beast throws me will herald the night we discover what camel tastes like ...
Hazreem laughs "Aye, camels can be very difficult to handle at times but they do have a unique charm to them."
It takes close to an hour for everyone to get up and get ready, load up the cargo, and figure out traveling arrangements. The sky has brightened quite a bit now, but still the sun hides behind the mountain peaks. Bahir, Daumari, Mah'ysa, Efreat, and Haleen all climb up clumsily onto one of the camels after strapping their personal belongs to the saddle. Pae climbs into the back of the wagon and already seems to be relaxing for the long journey. Hazreem hangs back and tries to hide from sight to see if anyone follows the group out of town. Four pactmaster guards climb onboard camels of their own while Garavel, with his plain white keffiyeh covering his head, mans the reins for the two camels pulling the wagon. The slave trader Amwyr joins Pae in the back of the wagon. The last camel is loaded up with water and other supplies for the long journey.
With everyone loaded up, you begin to make your way out town, heading south through the lower section of Kelmarane. Soon you are clear of the town and closing on the Monastery of St. Vardishal and turning the bend to leave the valley within the Brazen Peaks. As you look back to see Kelmarane disappearing in the distance, you have a strange feeling that you'll be back here again one day. That the town will need its protectors once again. Hazreem hurries up behind having seen no sign of anyone following the group.
After passing the dried remains of the sultan's claw that burned to a crisp over a year ago, you head out into the open desert, following the main trail that the merchants frequently travel as they make their way to and from Kelmarane. In front of you, you see nothing but sand all the way to the horizon. Behind you the Brazen Peaks line the horizon with Pale Mountain soaring high into the sky, towering above like a giant tomestone, with the House of the Beast resting near the base of this giant peak. For those you traveled to Katapesh in the past year, this journey brings back memories of that trip which you completed only a few months ago.
Around mid-morning, you pass a single wagon going the other direction. Several people ride on top, a couple of them heavily armed with swords and crossbows. Obviously they are serving as mercenaries guarding whatever goods the merchants are transporting. Near mid-day, the terrain becomes a little more rocky with a few large boulders rising out of the sand. You come across a spot where you can find a little bit of shade along one of the larger rocks. You are finally able to dismount for a few hours, rest, eat some lunch, drink plenty of water, and find a spot to take care your business.
By mid-afternoon, having not seen anyone else out here since the one you passed earlier, you load back up and continue on. As the blazing sun starts to get low in the horizon, Hazreem scouts ahead looking for anything along their path. Still at least two days from any kind of civilization even if you headed due south instead of southeast in the direction you are headed, you spot something on the horizon. The ground here is still a little rocky and there are numerous large boulders scattered around the terrain surrounding the path you are following. You see something lying on the ground directly in your path. No, make that a few somethings lying on the ground. You carefully get closer to inspect what it is before the rest of the group comes into sight. Finally, you are able to make out is before you.
Lying in the middle of the trail are a pair of camels, not standing by laying on their sides. Numerous arrows protrude from their hides and blood stains run from several gashes in their bodies. The broken down remains of a wagon sits a little ways behind the corpses, one of its wheels is snapped off and several more arrows are embedded into its right side. Numerous chests lie dumped onto the sand next to it, their lids resting open. Based on the condition of the camels, this didn't happen that long ago, maybe just a few hours.
Hazreem immediately waves the caravan to a halt, and motions for the other party members to join him and get ready for trouble. Once they have acknowledged him, he cautiously approaches the ambush site, scanning for any activity. Assuming nothing jumps out at him, he will check out the camel corpses to determine if they were poisoned. Afterwards, he will check for any tracks left behind in the immediate surrounding area.
Daumnari slides off his mount's back, relief evident on is face as his feet once again touch sand. He readies his bow and follows Hazreem, coming to a halt several feet behind the man, scanning the surrounding terrain while he waits for the druid to finish his examination.
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"Lords of Light I hate these beasts."
Bahir seems to get along with his camel quite well but the animal mostly does what it wants and he finds himself at the mercy of wherever the other camels are going. Also dismounting he follows closely behind the druid. Scanning the horizon as he does so his hand rests at ease on the pommel of Vardishal.
With the caravan halted, Hazreem advances towards the scene of the apparent ambush. Daumari and Bahir follow close behind.
As you approach the dead camels, it becomes apparent the gashes were made with some kind of bladed weapon. The chests scattered around the wagon are all empty, their cheap metal locks bent as if pried off with a steel rod or blade, with footprints in the sand all around the wagon. The back of the broken wagon is now empty. A quick examination of the camels reveals no signs of any poisoning. They appear to have died from their numerous injuries.
Scanning the surrounding sand, you notice numerous tracks heading back and forth off to the right of the trail, the stride of the tracks is rather large as if whoever made them were running quickly. On the left side, you see a single track heading away in the other direction, also at a quick pace. While it is difficult to tell what type of creature created the tracks since the sand has filled the tracks in and obscured the details of the prints, they are all about the same size and in the general shape as if made from a medium-sized humanoid creature. You are unable to tell any differences between any of the footprints.
Movement catches your eye-sight off on the left side of the trail that you are following, the side with only a single trail leading away, and leading right to this spot. Someone is peering at you from around a large boulder, his head poking out at a angle with his hand griping the side of the rock. The man's dark complexion still stands out against the dark blue keffiyeh he wears over his head. He appears to be watching the three of you intently.
As Bahir offers a word of peace to the man, Pae gets up and scans the horizon. Sand and rock are all you see in all directions. A faint trail leads off in front and behind you that your caravan is following, tracks of other animals and wagon wheels made in the sand. Some of the rocks are large enough that men or other beasts could be hiding behind. You keep an eye on several good hiding spots, but you don't see any signs of trouble.
The man behind the rock slowly shows him and self, though he seems a little uneasy. He starts moving in your direction. "Did you see them? Are they gone?" The man looks a little parched as he moves closer. He is wearing a dark robe to match his head dress and doesn't appear to be carrying anything by a spear in his hand, though he is holding low, hanging from a relaxed arm and not in any combat ready posture. He continues to speak as he gets closer. "They came at me out of nowhere. All at once, arrows came flying from over there." He gestures off to the other side where multiple tracks lead. He then looks over at his dead animals. "My camels seemed to be the target, but a few almost hit myself and my partner. Then a bunch of gnolls came charging down at us. I grabbed my spear to fight them off, but I ended up fleeing instead. I don't know what happened after that." He looks around a bit. "Just the three of you walking out here? Where's your water?" He turns to see the halfling walking towards them. "Or four of you."
Hazreem brushes off the man's questions, "Are you injured, good man? I am a healer, and I can help with your injuries." He waits for a response from the survivor.
"No, I think I am okay. Just a little shook up. But I'm a little thirsty as they took my water and it's been a few hours. They took everything I've had. I was headed to Kelmarane, but there's no reason to head there now. Where are you headed?"
We travel from Kelmarane. Gnoll raiders seem to be a never-ending blight in these parts; we have slain the by the score, and yet they continue to crawl out from beneath stone and sand. The inquisitor spits as he speaks, his disdain for the beastmen ever apparent.
Slaying your camels was likely but a means to an end. Tell us, what were you carrying in your wagon? Why are you braving the deserts?
The man seems taken back by Bahir's question. "I am Radi, a traveling merchant. I sell a wide variety of spices, from the mundane to the exotic. I had a whole wagon full from Katapesh. They are shipped there from around Golarian and I distribute them inland. I've made this trip twice before since Kelmarane opened up again for trade without a problem. But why would those things want spices? I don't understand it."
Hazreem looks at the merchant Radi. Keeping his voice carefully neutral, he responds, That is a good question, radi. Perhaps if you could be more specific as to the nature of these spices, it would shed some light on the situation."
Mah'ysa maintains her position aboard her camel looking around for an ambush.
Sense motive rolls?
"The nature of these spices? You use them to prepare food. What else would you do with them? I have a whole... Or I should say had a whole selection of curry spices very popular in these parts." The man appears to be getting a little agitated by these questions. "Wait, why am I being treated like the bad guy here? I was attacked those things, my partner is missing probably killed and taken by them, my cargo stolen, I'm stranded in the middle of the desert, and here you treat me like I'm some sort of criminal."
He seems confused by Bahir's comment. "The light? What light?"
Calm yourself, Bahir; anyone can be a victim, and even the darkest of villains can speak the truth when the situation demands it. Despite his words, the inquisitor's eyes are intense, as if he is staring through the man before them.
As Pae approaches and starts rummaging through all the chests littered about the ground, Radi seems to mumble to himself, "Darkest of villains, my ..." He then speaks up, "So is it possible to get something to drink? I'm dying of thirst out here. And hopefully a lift. Which way are you going, did you say?" I'm assuming you have a caravan over yonder" indicating the direction Pae just came from.
Hazreem sighs inwardly, still not sure of whether to trust this man. Still providing him water could not hurt here.
He takes out a gourd made of camelskin, and chants a quiet prayer. Soon the gourd is filled with crystal clear water. He hands it to Radi, "From the blessings of Gozreh."
"Thank you kind sir." The man gratefully takes the offered gourd and begins chugging the contents, a few drops running down the sides of his mouth and dripping onto his robe. The camelskin almost empty, he lowers the gourd and wipes his mouth with his sleeve before handing it back to Hazreem with a smile.
Daumari smiles at the man's mumbles. I apologize if we have offended you. We are simply being cautious; as I'm sure you are aware, things can differ greatly from their initial appearance in these lands.
We're travelling to Katepesh. You are welcome to join us, if you would like. In fact, you can ride my camel; I've been looking for an excuse to rid myself of the beast, and will be much more comfortable riding on the wagon.
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Calm yourself, Bahir; anyone can be a victim, and even the darkest of villains can speak the truth when the situation demands it. Despite his words, the inquisitor's eyes are intense, as if he is staring through the man before them.
Bahir nods at Daumari but remains unconvinced as the memories of genies masquerading about as people still roam about fresh in his mind.
The man nods to Daumari, "Completely understandable." Radi, Bahir, and Daumari begin heading back to the caravan. Hazreem stays back to scout forward again. As Daumari describes their destination and offers his camel, "I am most fortunate that you have come along, and to be heading back to my home as well. I am most grateful."
Pae continues to search each chest in turn, patting down the felt interiors and searching the outside for any signs of hidden compartments. As he finishes up completely empty-handed, he sees the others have already taken off and hurries to catch up. Daumari and Pae climb into the back of the wagon after Radi gets up onto Daumari's camel. With everyone ready, the caravan begins moving again.
The rest of the afternoon and early evening go by without incident. The landscape continues to be a mixture of sand and rock, but mostly sand. As dusk nears, Garavel stops at a spot to make camp for the night.
Garavel provides you with hard bread, dried meat, and plenty of water to wash it all down. The outline of the desolate landscape clearly visible in the star-filled night sky. After a long day of travel, you prepare for the night. With watches set, the night goes by uneventful. At the first sign of light, everyone is up and getting ready to head out on day two of your long journey.
As you break camp, Radi seems to be pulling his own weight and helping out where he can. But soon you are all packed up and continuing on towards the city of Katapesh.
Soon after leaving, the rocky landscape gives way to a sea of blowing sand as far as the eye can see. You quickly find yourself completely surrounded by a desolate environment with waves of sand dunes running across from horizon to horizon. Nothing living can be found, not even your own tracks as they are quickly covered as the wind covers them up in this barren and inhospitable desert. You don't see anything all day. You take a break mid-day, but there is little shade for you to escape from the blazing sun overhead. It would seem like you could get lost easily out here, but Garavel continues on without any apparent concern. As the afternoon wears on, Garavel says, "There is an oasis not too much further ahead. We'll stop there for the night and refresh our water supply."
After another couple hours, the sun is starting to get low in the sky and you see your first sign of life off in the distance in the direction you are headed. Large birds circle over a spot near the horizon, possibly vultures wheeling around their expected meal. A little while later, plant life comes into view as the promised oasis appears on the horizon. The birds overhead seem to be soaring around this location.
As you get closer, you see a few of the birds are already on the ground, picking at some corpses. They move away as you approach, but don't go far. As the caravan comes to a halt, you disembark and examine the area. The clear water of the oasis stands in stark contrast to the scorching desert surrounding it.
Scattered along the shore of the oasis are several mangled and quite dead bodies, but it is impossible to tell how many due to their fragmentary state. There seem to be pieces of two different types of creatures, gnolls and hyenas. The pieces seem fairly fresh, the flies covering the dismembered flesh, as if they have been here for less than a day. But that's not the interesting part. These pieces are half-burned and melted. Several dozen sections of rope are scattered among the body pieces, no one section over 10 feet in length. All of the rope pieces seem to appear within a line about 30 feet long through the sand. Examining the pieces, the rope appears to have snapped under great tension or having been melted into pieces.
Hazreem looks over the corpses pefunctorily, and it does not take him long to determine what killed these gnolls. "By Gozreh's teeth! What slaughtered these creatures? I see signs of acid and electrical scars on the bodies."
Daumari nudges one of the pieces of flesh with his boot. I would not like to meet the same fate. Might I recommend we post extra guards this night.
Mah'ysa slowly examined the scene for what could be learned.
Heal check:
"Acid damage... lightning damage..." she muttered to herself. This was a lot of power unleashed for such targets.
Perception:
Distracted, she almost missed it. Casually, she approached Garavel, Bahir, and any of the rest of her team without causing suspicion in observers.
"Off to the east, atop that dune; I think I saw a flash of something metallic. I can't be absolutely sure, but considering what we have all around us I thought you ought to know."
Efreat looks over everything. "Fire and acid...hum. Drasheaze."
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A frown crosses the paladin's features, "First the caravan and now this. This route is proving fatal to quite a few." Listening to Mah'ysa he says in response his voice quite low, "Perhaps our more stealthy friends would care to check it out?" He casually watches Radi to see if he has taken particular interest in the metal reflection. He has heard of bandits signaling one another out in the wastelands and still doesn't trust the man.
Hazreem nods grimly, "Yeah, I have a feeling whoever is striking these caravans is looking for something specific..." his hand strays to point at Bahir and the pack where the paladin has the Scroll hidden.
His meaning made clear, he motions to Pae and says, "Yeah, good plan here. One moment." Hazreem's form shifts and wavers until you see a swirling mass of air where he used to be.
Once he has finished wild shaping, he waits for Pae to start up the path towards where Mah'ysa pointed out the metallic object, before following along silently.
The pactmaster guards dismount their camels looking uneasy as they gaze upon the carnage. Bahir keeps an eye on Radi who is staying back with the Garavel and the guards as they look upon the damage. He seems oblivious to any potential signal being sent from afar. If it was a signal to him, he either got it already and is purposely not looking now or he has just has no clue.
"Drasheaze" Efreat looks upon the remains and scans the area for anything magical. But other than the items that the party is already carrying, you don't detect anything. But you do take note that there are a couple of auraa emanating from Radi's body, as if he is wearing or carrying items which are magical.
With the intent of scouting out towards the location where the Mah'ysa noticed the reflection, winds begin swirling around Hazreem as he transforms his body into that of an elemental. An elemental of air this time. Sand begins blowing and Hazreem has to rise slightly into the air to avoid giving everyone a sand-blasting. Pae begins moving away from the oasis and heading off towards the East.
Hazreem thanks Gozreh for not selecting an earth elemetal shape, as it would have immediately encountered the creature. He flies up in the air as he prepares to assume his whirlwind form.
Perception:
"Look out!" Mah'ysa points at the aproaching anomaly and casts BLESS on the caravan.
Efreat is oblivious to the incoming danger.