The last gnoll falls quickly to the blade of Dekion.
The gnolls are dead, giving the party a safe location to rest before continuing to the ruins. A weathered, partially buried marker about 100 feet west of the oasis matches the description in Grandmaster Torch’s notes. During the hour before dusk, the setting sun’s light causes a weathered hieroglyph depicting an arch to glow. Even as the sun sets, the long shadow cast by the stone never shifts, always pointing to the northwest with exactly the same bearing.
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Swayaah grins as Dekion slices the last Gnoll, then swerves around to engage the other two. It takes her a few steps to realize Insidion has already handled things.
"Oh. Right. I guess it's a good time to rest once we get these bodies out the way."
As the sun sets, Swayaah doublechecks the map. Did it mention something about the long shadow?
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It takes a moment for Insidion to regain his senses...he is breathing heavily and seems fatigued.
"You have managed to stay on my good side...so far," he responds to Dekion. It seems probable he is joking, but with the gore from the gnolls still fresh on his maw and claws, everything about the tiefling seems unsettling.
As the sun sets, Insidion looks at the hieroglyphy and the stone, trying to decipher what it could all mean.
The gnolls have hidden a supply cache, poorly. In the cache, the adventurers find a mundane silver cup and a hodgepodge of coins. The gnoll's other ill-gotten gains include alchemical supplies: an alchemy crafting kit, a vial of antitoxin, and two flasks of alchemist’s fire.
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Insidion smiles as he removes a wand from his belt and taps his wounded side. An unholy light bathes the wound as his flesh knits itself back together.
Devil blood to heal a devil...how appropriate.
"Very well..." Insidion responds to Annalisa, a broad, toothy smile still evident on his face as his wounds heal. "Let us make camp."
The party makes camp, and spent the night at the oasis. The night goes by without disturbance.
The remainder of the journey through the desert proceeds uneventfully, with only the rise and fall of the dunes to break the monotony. A low, uneven hill of granite appears on the horizon to the northwest, presenting the only shelter for miles around. Although the crag appears solid from a distance, on closer examination there is a wide fissure in the rock sealed by a heavily weathered stone wall fitted with a large iron door.
The iron gate that seals the entrance is heavy and partially buried by sand, yet it is unbarred.
Insidion seems to grow for a moment as he busts the large gateway open. There's an archway leading to a courtyard. The archway’s ceiling contains a recessed inscription in Ancient Orisiani that has avoided the worst of millennia of erosion.
"Welcome travellers and be safe from the winds"
There's a set of stairs leading up to a sentry post above the archway, and a courtyard lies beyond the gate.
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Swayaah looks around, notes the lettering and wishes she paid attention to her mother's language classes. Mom probably cheats with her telepathy, anyway.
She'll wait for everyone to catch up. Maybe someone knows what the message says. If asked for a direction, Swayaah will elect to take the stairs to get a hopefully higher vantage point of the courtyard.
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Walking through the archway, Dekion shakes his head when he sees the writing. "I can't say I spent much time in a library studying language, so I have no idea what that says. Hopefully nothing like 'All who enter shall die'", he says with a grin.
He moves to the base of the stairs to keep watch while Swayaah checks out the sentry post.
Insidion suggests moving about on the ground floor, but Swayaah is already ready to move upstairs, and moves onto the courtyard.
The wind gusts about this small courtyard, filling the air with fine grit. Corpses litter the area, little more than bone and desiccated, leathery skin. A dry well occupies the center, surrounded by the remnants of an outdoor market, though even the best tent is tattered and leans precariously. To the east, a set of low steps rise to a set of stone doors surrounded by symmetrical wall carvings of pharaohs. Stairs to the south ascend to the outer wall.
The figure in the wall carvings is the legendary Pharaoh Azghaad. The carvings depict the pharaoh founding the city of Sothis and bringing water to its people.
The fine sand makes the area hard to inspect, but two shapes are clearly advancing toward the group.
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Insidion
Annalisa
Swayaah
Reinor
Dekion
Race
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Shape
Shape
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Swayaah is about to start talking to Insidion when everyone notices the odd creatures advancing upon them. Swayaah quickly runs off and digs her claws into one of them.
"I wonder where those supposed 'other' group went, or if Torch wanted us out his hair for a bit. Oh well, no time to think about that..."
Swayaah moves toward the shapes and slashes with her claw. Coming closer, she sees the two shapes are, in fact, undead creatures. Zombies. Her claw does massive damage. Reinor quickly slips past her and the first zombie, slashing away with his sword, cutting deeply into the undead flesh.
Annalisa and Dekion take position, and use their attacks to distract the shambling undead.
Insidion's great sword ends the first of the zombie threats, cutting the creature in half. The big slash causes something of an explosion, covering Reinor and Insidion in undead bits
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Insidion
Annalisa
Swayaah
Reinor
Dekion
Race
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Shape - Dead
Shape (10)
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The remaining zombie slams at Annalisa
[ooc]I need a fort save, dc 12[/dice]
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Insidion
Annalisa
Swayaah
Reinor
Dekion
Race
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Shape - Dead
Shape (10)
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Insidion and Annalisa finish off the last zombie, leaving only the chafing of the sand as a discomforting note to the area.
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Swayaah is in mid howl when she sees the creature ignore her and slam into Annalísa. As she prepares a lunge, she sees Annalísa counter and Insidion tear the creature in half.
Hmpf. Tearing undead in half...it's like old times. Swayaah notices Annalísa's injuries. Swayaah reaches into her bag and pulls out a wand.
Reinor had a good idea. Turns out I can use these easily and heal your wounds. One sec.
That should handle most of it...oh that infection doesn't look good. Not much I can do about that.
The door to the west leads into a small brick building. This modest brick building provided housing for a caravan’s beasts when the fortress was active. Only the stone has survived intact, with empty sockets for lanterns at even intervals. Ancient tools for leatherworking sit on a table to the south, next to an empty stone trough. Barren stalls line the north wall.
The next door leads into a smaller room. This room served at times as a smithy and at other times as a storage facility over the course of the fortress’s occupation. The chimney that rises from the small forge in the southwest corner is clogged with grit from centuries of storms, and the smith’s tools lie nearby under a thick layer of dust. The south door is cracked in places, and some crates lie scattered on the floor.
Most of the crates are empty, two one contains two flasks with (different) salt crystals.
A small enclosed guard post above the gate probably offered protection from the elements in a distant past. The wooden door that seals off the entrance crashes in wards with a loud bang as soon as it is touched, loose on it hinges as it was.
There's a stone cabinet, while a tarnished bronze brazier dominates the center of the room. The cabinet contains five crossbow bolts.
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Annalísa takes a flask from Swayaah and examines it in front of the light. Shrugging, she says "These flasks definitely look valuable. We should take them and learn what they are once we get back to civilization," putting them in her backpack.
As the group prepares to move up the short staircase, she examines her wounds which begin to look affected by some infection and quietly says "I hope there won't be more of those nasty zombies up there. My wounds don't look too good."
The double doors open to what must once have been an entry hall.
A profound quiet has settled over this timeworn hall. Elegant stone columns line the passage, and hieroglyphics and colorful art depict scenes from a distant age. A small wooden door stands at the east end of the hallway, while a larger door leads south. The sound of steady splashing water is audible through an open passageway to the north, and large stone doors lead outside. One of the pillars has collapsed, and a crushed human corpse lies pinned underneath. The distinctive shape of a wayfinder peers out from under the body’s hand.
The blazing sun provides bright sunlight, that penetrates from the open doors to the courtyard.