Shadows of the Sand (Inactive)

Game Master caster4life

my damage goes way back as far as I can tell, so it should be healed by natural means by now.
If possible I'd like to get hot weather clothing as well - although I imagines Amari to always be dressed like that ...

Zaza is very winsome and a drunken soldier whispers to her "Hey lady. Want to come back to my bunk? I can show you some cool toys if you keep it a secret..."

After some time of thinking upon the glassware Lo'Laan suggests a plan of action. "I think I'll try and communicate with this smuggler and see what I can shake loose from them."

"I'm not really into those kind of toys . . ." responds Zaza warily. She's more interested in a not-so-drunk soldier that is good looking and can impress her.

The soldier shakes his drunken head at Zaza. "Not like that, sweetie. Glassworks. Nice stuff. Pretty to look at. Maybe I'll even give you a piece. Aristocrats pay a buttload for them."

There are less drunk soldiers and some are good looking too.

"Oh!" says a startled Zaza, as she runs across the very soldier they were probably looking for. "That sounds a lot more interesting. Let me freshen up and I'll be right back."

Zaza takes her leave and makes sure her party gets the scoop. <Ran into the smuggler just now wanting to show me his stash. Stay close to me, and we'll see if he's in league with the Taldans.> She waits to see if anyone else has a response. Then, she heads back.

"How about one more drink, then we go," she suggests, wanting the man to be even more inebriated.

The soldiers laughs. "Can't shay no to that!" He knocks back another then grabs Zaza's hand and begins leading her to the storehouse, staggering. Then he looks around to ensure the coast is clear. "Sshhhhh" he drunkenly orders. Then he heads into the empty building to open up the stash.

Counting down from 20, Amari slips out of the canteen soon after the firery woman led herself dragged away by the drunken soldier-possibly-smuggler.
Stealth (Shadowing Zaza and 'friend'): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
... which is all but easy in a crowded canteen as he has to find out!

Several soldiers see Amari leave the canteen but shrug and turn back to their drinks. The target doesn't hear a thing.

Somebody take stealth synergy! Amari really wants to use that more.

Yeah, I miss Ashivla.
Those tours during M1 were great stuff.

Zaza follows the drunken smuggler into the empty building. "Is this the storehouse? How'd you make a place to hide anything in here? Couldn't have been easy." Zaza probes for information, hoping he will brag about his accomplishments.

"Heh heh... Builder was a friend of mine. Got him to reserve me some space." He looks extremely proud of himself.

"Oh, clever. How long has it been, then? Must've been years by now?" she continues, following the man. Too bad this is all coming to an end for you she thinks.

The solider nods smugly. "Yes ma'am. I've been runnin' these fine goods for three years now. Turned down a couple chances to get a better post just so I could stay here!" He hiccups then begins opening the stash. When he finds it empty, he tries to spin rapidly around.

Drunken acrobatics: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (6) - 2 = 4

He falls to the ground with a thunk and begins cursing.

Once he's distracted, Zaza decides to try and ensorcell the man. Charm Person, Will DC 15.

Hopefully it works, in which case she will try to befriend the poor fellow in his time of need, in order to get more information about his Taldan counterparts. She acts stunned by the revealed disappearance of the glassware. "Hold up, did someone get to your stash? Do you think it's someone in this fort, or someone from outside? I don't know this place, but I know the open sands. If it's the smugglers you deal with, I could help you track them. Was there anything different about them recently? Like new faces, or maybe strange behaviors?"

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

The big fellow looks at Zaza dumbly. "Um... huh... well you do seem worth trusting... I *hic* I really have no idea who would have gotten it. We've been so sneaky lately... Maybe Gazeeb stole it! He's my partner..."

"Oh, yes, I guess you can't be too careful with those Dread Gazebos -- er, I mean, Gazeeb. But what about the folks who trade these trinkets with you? Who are they, and could they have decided to steal them back?"

Hey everyone eelse can act too! You can talk to someone back in the cantine, describe your characters thoughts, etc. I'll work with whatever you come up with. For example, Lo was investigating this fort very perceptively so I spontaneously decided there could reasonably be a smuggler's cache.

After a confused hiccup he asks "Whaddaya mean? But yeah Gazeeb is pretty sneaky... He's the one who figured out we could sneak this stuff back and forth whenever we escort diplomats... Not a lot of those lately though..."

"Taldan diplomats? Yeah, can't say they're too popular these days." Seeing that this man was not specifically allied with the Taldans alleviates her desire to report him, or Gazeeb. It was punishment enough that their smuggling wealth was now lost. "Sorry this has been such a lousy night. If I were you, I wouldn't tell Gazeeb what you know. See if you can find the stash hidden in his things. Or check out his reaction when you two come to the stash together to see that the things are missing." Zaza offers to walk the drunken soldier back to his barracks. She gives him a brief kiss before returning, and telling the others what she knows, and that the smugglers weren't conspiring with Taldan agents.

"I suppose it's best we avoided confrontation then, well done. What's out next step then?" Lo'Laan asks.

The drunken smuggler nods to Zaza and slumps into his bunk, unconscious.

Yes what would you like to do now?

Sorry I didn't post during this section, and does anyone want to roll knowledge nature, geography, and/or local to see what we are going to travel into in the next couple days...sadly dont have any of these trained unless religion/history would help.

Sleeping through this whole adventure Agaban takes a couple hours to mediate in the morning and trying to tie the commander into his slight knowledge or local nobility.

Knowledge (nobility): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Knowledge (Bardic): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6. Zaza seems not to know what their next set of travels may bring, as they seek to investigate the other commander who may have been bribed.

Ah of course, that's a good idea.
I was thinking hard what to do, but I didn't really come up with anything
Once he made sure that Zaza did not end up in a smuggler fight, Amari returns to their quarters (I guess we get one?) and studies the maps he bought way back in the town of their first mission, milling over the best and shortest path to take for their travels ahead.
Take-20 on Survival? for a flat 30. 32 if I get anything from using the maps.

Amari determines that there are two possible paths that will take them quickly to the other fort. One is forty miles but likely to have large predators along the way as it passes through some hills while the other is 60 miles but through desolate landscape unlikely to hold much life.

Remembering the encounter with the dessert-dragon, Amari will recommend the slightly longer path to his comrades, but will offer the riskier option as well in a neutral manner.

<We've already seen the dangers of the desert. We should take the safer path, even if we may lose a day in the journey.>

Agreed here...we are better equipped to deal with the harsh conditions than any unknown large predators.

That's a quorum. State any purchases you need to make here, e.g. rations, in your next post.

After spending the night at Seleukka, the fort on the river, you head back out into the desert. After a day of traveling, you make camp. The next day you reach the fort around midday. As normal, you are hailed by the guards when you approach the gate.

What do we know about the types of travelers who would go to Fort Nayiz?

K. Local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Fort Al-Nayiz is in a pretty remote part of the desert, existing only to guard against invasion along potential routes through the western portion of the desert. Civilians only travel to the fort if they are supplying it.

"We would probably benefit from a cover story again. Trouble is nobody really goes here except to supply the fort. Should we just say that we're messengers sent from another fort to warn of the Taldan threat?" Zatinya doesn't have any particularly clever ideas at the moment.

<Either that or could we potentially be bounty hunters looking for a fleeing thief/convict that took off into the desert? Not sure if that is all that viable of an option but figure they would be a little on guard against unknown messengers trying to sneak through.

<Our target is the commander, right?
Maybe we can make him think that we were sent to interrogate one of his subordinates.
That way we can keep him cooperative during our investigation without him fearing us.>

Amari has clearly payed attention during their subterfuge teachers - but his Al'Fahd upbringing keeps him from implementing these methods himself...

Big gamble but may pay off quite well, if we succeed at a bluff check...

Zaza, I just noticed that small amount of book-keeping XP nudged you up to level 3! Everyone else is close behind.

How do you want to approach the gates?

Woohoo! Should I level up now or after the next rest?

<Hm . . . I like your idea, Amari. We can the code phrase to get an official audience, and tell him that we have reason to investigate his second in command. He might get nervous, but he also might want to lay the blame on the subordinate. Or, if he's clean, he should be cooperative.>

Assuming her companions are on board, the party approaches normally toward the gate. "We seek an audience with the Commander!" announces Zaza, once challenged by the guards.

Go ahead and level now. A diplomacy check would be appropriate for a demand like that so I'll roll it for you.

Zaza diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

The guards look somewhat taken aback at Zaza's total confidence. The sergeant at the gate shrugs and sends one of his men to go tell the commander. The commander arrives a few minutes later accompanied by three more soldiers. In his early thirties with a confident and sophisticated bearing, he strides toward you "What is the nature of your most unusual request?"

"Thank you for receiving us, Commander," says Zaza respectfully. She then leans in more closely, bringing her voice down to a whisper. "The river rises daily. Can we speak in private?"

Going along with the plan Lo'Laan keeps a weary eye on the surrounding population of the fort.

<Be careful. Even if this is the right Fort, the commander may not necessarily be our only adversary.>

While waiting for the commander to arrive Agaban keeps an eye on the surroundings...quickly signing.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

<Should we split-up and have Lo search the outside for anything suspicious. Also, how do you think he would react if we told him about the thieves/spies we caught and their information leading to an investigation at all forts on the frontier to see if there are anymore...that way he doesn't think this is a specific target but rather an overreaction...potential witch-hunt by command.

<I guess we could do both.
Ought to make it appear that we don't believe it necessary in the first place to keep him from being overly concerned though.
Then approach him and and tell him in private that we suspect his second in command to ease him up further.>
***
Once Zaza adresses the Fort Commander, Amari will keep his reaction under close surveillance.
Once they are led into the fort, he will quickly scan the crowd for signs of the two missing Taldans.
Sense Motive vs Commander: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Perception on people in the fort: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Meh, I would have liked the rolls in-reverse, but hey, maybe I do catch a sign of the missing ones after all ...

The commander maintains his perfect poise "But if course. This way, if you please." He leads you into his well-appointed office. "Now, how may i be if service to the High Command?"

Amari doesn't notice any Taldanes lying about.

<Lo can split off, but I need your keen senses to guage the Commander's reactions> says Zaza at the suggestions by others.

Upon obtaining a private audience, Zaza tries to make the interview seem as routine as possible. "Thank you, Commander. We come bearing good news. Some Taldan spies who have been penetrating this region have been dealt with. But with that news comes the possibility that there is more activity we don't know about. We have been tasked with investigating various forts for more information. We'd like to know a little more about your second-in-command. Can you tell us about him? Do you have any reason to be concerned about his loyalty?"

She checks for any reactions--about when she mentions dealing with the Taldan spies, and when she takes the pressure off by directing her concern toward his subordinate.

Bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

Watching the commander closely; Agaban also mentions.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"Same question goes for your other officers, tell me about them, and whether you have any concerns. Also, have you seen any unusual activity around these parts, especially anything that might signal Taldan involvement?"

As Zaza speaks of a search for Taldane spies, she catches a subtle twitch of fear in the commander's face. "Well that is most surprising and troubling indeed." He furrows his brow as if to think and replies "Yes I do suppose here have been odd occurrences as of late. Abed has been strange. You should search his quarters! There will be a drill in an hour. Search them then." He digs a large keyring out of his pocket and selects one carefully. "Here. Check his room in an hour."

Zaza takes the offered key. "Thank you. It hopefully is nothing, but we will check on Abed," she says. Her suspicions aroused, she was now interested in getting out of this meeting. She turns to her companions and away from the Commander. "Anything else?" she asks?

When she turns around, she signals subtly. <He's afraid.>

Missing the commander's reaction due to a massive sneeze apparently...Agaban still trusts Zaza's instincts.

Pointing briefly at Zaza.

Once away from the commander Lo'Laan signals to the others.

<He was quick to have an answer for us. Possibly a simple framing or a buy for time while he schemes against us.> He signs.

Zaza nods in agreement with Agaban's plan. She turns back to the commander. "Okay, I'll go check on Abed in an hour. In the meantime, we'll also need to review the logs and records at headquarters--see if there's any Taldan activity we can discern from them. Would you mind taking my colleagues there, commander?"