"Sorry to hear about your god abandoning you and your people, I couldn't imagine losing my gods favor. I am a servant of Torag, the father of creation, his power is the reason I was able to save you. If you wish to know more about him or any other gods of this world let me know and I will give you what information I can offer." Pavok offers Haseed.
I am in the same situation as you, friend. The gods have abandoned me to monsters as well, except instead of desert creatures, the monsters were the suspicions and superstition of my own kinsmen. Thank goodness that I am not a cleric.
Lead on.
Jen cradles Whiskers in her arms. For such a small and weak creature, it has done a lot in helping her.
Arik sighs at Mus'ad's response, nods, and continues to work in silence.
"Now that is done, I think we are all in agreement that we should move on from this place?"
Al Gasreed starts to fidget, so Mus'ad moves to calm him.
You all gathering up the remaining gear laying around and follow Haseed up the path to the top of the cliff. Once at the top. You now see where you are. Haseed moves up in front and gestures to the land sweeping his arm across it. "Welcome my friends to Aradina. The land of outer Aridia."
The land that stretches before you is like one gigantic Oasis. It spans for miles. Jungle mixed with desert, various ponds and some lakes are visible. You can even see what looks to be a few cities way off in the distance. And the furthest you can see is this massive cylinder shaped mountain whose top disappears into the hazy sky. This mountain seems to sit either at the end of the land. Or in the middle as you cannot see anything around it.
Haseed turns to you. "Come, my village is not far." Haseed leads you into the jungle. You are making you way to the village and it takes about two hours to get there. You arrive at Haseed's home village. It is a very Arabic style town with square sand coloured buildings. People are busy in the streets of this town. The most interesting concept are the residence. The people here are very health looking, even the overweight folks look full of energy. Another odd thing is the number of the supposedly rare Oreads who seem to make up part of this cities populace. The Oread question becomes clear when the first 11 foot Shaitan strolls casually on by. As you progress further in you see more of the stone genies. They seem to be a small part of the population but there are still more than you've seen anywhere else. Suddenly a tall, muscular, dark skinned man dressed in the same leather garb as Haseed throws his arms wide and approaches. He is accompanied by a small crew of men. "Haseed I was starting to get worried!" He puts his arms around Haseed. "We were just fixing go look for you. Glad to see you made it in time for the celebration."[.b] He release Haseed. The man looks genuinely please, almost on the verge of tears. He turns and notices the you following Haseed. [b]"Who are these people? Haseed turns to you. "These are my saviors Hadule. They were some of the Neubites surviving prey. The bundles we found belong to them. They are not from Aradina or Aridia." Haseed shows Hadule some of the equipment you took from the Neubites. "See, we have plenty of weapons and armor without their things. And maybe they will even help us chase of the Neubites." Haldule looks at you as if studying you and then nods. "I am Hadule. Leader of the Aisome Malitia. I will give your gear back but for now lets have some pleasantries." He looks to his right. "A the Seductive Sands! Perfect! Best way for you to get to know us better. Come on, you'll love the place."
You follow Haseed and Hadule into a place that is apparently called the Seductive sands. It has the setting of a fine tavern. Belly dancers are everywhere and they are gorgeous to boot. One of them seats your group at a large table big enough for eight people. As you take your seat a bunch of other militia bring bundles of gear into the room an set them down near the door. Then they leave. Hadule is at one end of the table, Haseed at the other. "Okay now. Tell me your story and ask your questions. I am more than willing to cooperate so long as things remain civil."
Please, if you have any information about Yalandere, I would have it. He is an elf with a jewwl for an eye. He is our caravan master and I fear for his safety.
Also, have you any news of a dwarf, a few years my senior. He answers to Drugan."
Jen changes into her covering cloak, a sharp contrast to the ubiquitous nudity within the tavern. She waits patiently until the man finishes with Arik's questions, before asking one of her own.
First of all, I would like to thank you for bringing us to this fine establishment. Would you happen to know the whereabouts of Turval Umandi, the wise seer?
As Pavok sits down in the tavern, his eyes stray away from the company to the entertainment. When Arik starts talking to Hadule he snaps his attention back to the table. He will wait to introduce himself till after Hadule has answered Jen's question. As he waits he will look to see if Hadule's or his militia men's souls contain any darkness. "Hadule is it; my name is Pavok Kor'tell it is a pleasure to meet you." Pavok says as he gives him a slight bow. "Haseed said this was your first battle, against who are you fighting? I mean not the nebeubites (he says awkwardly and trying to remember what the creatures are called.), but the one or many that lead them?" Pavok asks in a friendly manner.
Seeing the bundles of equipment arrive, Mus'ad goes to them immediately to search for his gear. After finding and confirming he returns to the table, unwrapping the makeshift headscarf as he does. As the other party member have already posed questions, Mus'ad merely listens.
Faznir's been awfully quiet for quite a while, some of you may notice. Only after he's donned his green turban and clothed himself in his yellow and purple silk outfit he sports his characteristic cheesy smile.
Magnificent Hadule, pardon my companion's hurry and awful lot of questions, for we have been attacked in the sands and made prisoner by these Neubite creatures. Your skilled men inadvertently have set us free, and so we are in great debt to you! Even more after you shower us with your abundant - he takes a quick look at a curvy bellydancer - hospitality. Let me humbly try and make up for it. Here's our story: * Ahem *
Faznir gestures for a refreshment, thanking gently whoever delivers it to him.
We set off against the desert sun searching for this very land, Aridia. The odds were against us, for we were battling not only the sun and the sands, but ourselves and our very own nature. Betrayal reached us deadlier than a sandstorm, for our very men robbed us out of supplies and left us alone to fend for ourselves. But still we persevered, for if we had not we wouldn't be sharing cool drinks and hot women with our benefactor, would we? Destiny has an eye for this lot, my friend, for we have survived the perils of sun and sand, battle and betrayal, and yet here we are."
Hadule listens to the question. Before he answers any of them he looks to Faznir who skillfully relays the their story. He applauds and then looks to the others. "What a fascinating tale to be sure. That explains a lot. You creatures are from outside of this realm. I have heard rumors of strange folk from lands beyond the veil but I never believed them to be true. Yet here you are."
---Arik
Hadule turns to Arik. "I am sorry my friend, but I have not seen or heard of either. I don't even know what a dwarf is. I suspect it looks like you but...I have seen people about your height before, rare, but they are our people. We don't not call them dwarf, just short."
---Jen
Hadule turns to look at Jen. "I have heard of this seer once before. I'm not sure he even exists anymore, but I would not be the one to ask about that. There is a city about five days towards Aridia called Umbab. It is better off than we are and the people there have more knowledge than we do on such things. Though your welcome to ask around our town. Lady Sianna is the wealthiest women around. She is the heiress to her fathers fortune and she was well educated but quite young and troubled. Other than her, you might want to try our Fazan. He leads the village. He has had his hands full organizing town defenses with the Neubites though. He is very busy. The barkeep Yaline there here's all sorts of rumors. She is the owner of this place and is the favorite talking partner for many of the men here. She'd be a good bed partner too but she has vowed very to mix business and pleasure. Such beauty, such a waste. Hadule stares at the Beautiful woman standing behind the counter. She is stunningly beautiful to say the least. Hadule shakes is attention back to the group. "Sorry. She can be distracting sometimes. At any rate, those are the folks around town most likely to know anything. Otherwise you would want to travel to Umbab."
---Pavok
He looks to Pavok: "Actually it is the Neubites. The Neubites are led by smart Neubite. Ever since the Aridian war began, Kerkesh is attempting to seize this opportunity to take control of the out laying lands. He is the Neubite king and a section of his army has set up camp not far off. They've attacked us twice now. This was our first act of battle against them. We need to defeat the camps leader before they'll leave. So we are gathering their weapons and armor to aid us in fighting back. I used to be a soldier for Aridina in the Aradina territories. Once the withdraw order came. I quit and stayed here to help form this militia. Now we've had our first real battle, and won. This is a good thing we will celebrate our victory."
---The whole group
Hadule turns to the rest of the party. "Well my friends. You sound like you've been through a lot to get to Aridia. You almost there. It is about a couple weeks away from here but that sounds the closest you've been in a while." Hadule stands up. "Now I will tell Yaline you would like to stay at her inn. I'll make sure she gives you the first night free of charge and I will cover the meal. Though any company you may desire for the evening is on you. However, I hear if you are charming enough, they may lower the price for you eh." Hadule goes to work things out with the Barkeep and will return. "Now let us enjoy the meal. If you have other questions please ask."
As you converse, the dinner will be brought out by several serving girls. Though the hosts are nice to look at, the meal is not. On your plates are several stringy veggie looking things, a pile of strangely coloured "fruits" and what looks to be a scorpion, minus the face and tail. (sp?)
I can't help but notice, your eminence, that your town is well-liked by the shaitan and their descendants. Pray tell, why's that? Are there other cities like this, maybe preferred by djinn or even efreet? Faznir casually asks before sucking white meat from a "scorpion" leg.
Hadule looks to Faznir and nods "Why yes. The elemental Genies are the rulers of Aridia. They dwell in this world. There are four sides to Aridia and Aradina, and each is ruled by a race of elemental genies. This is the side that the Shaitans used to rule. Because of the war. Most of the Shaitans returned to Aridia. Several still remain in our lands. There are a couple of Shaitan bellydancers. Hadule glances at them with admiration. "And I must say I hope they decide to stay."
Jen waves her hands a few times within her thick cloak, using purify food and drink on the food before eating it. While her companions' opinions were clearly skewed by the presence of the beautiful serving girls, her own opinion was clearly one of disdain, although she hid it from their host and ate it anyways.
Arik excuses himself to find the bathroom. He takes his clothing and posessions with him and returns a few minutes later dressed appropriately.
Mhykir listens attentivly as the converstation go on, and as Hadule and Faznir talk about the Shaitans and their descendants his eyes light up.
'In our plane we were not common, if truth be told until now I could have been the only one for all I knew. I feel almost like the gods have bought me here to be amongst my kind' Mhykir says, and for the first time you see him with a smile of genuine happiness.
Pavok see's the refreshments, and gives his thanks to his gracious host. Then says a small prayer to Torag and begins to eat and drink to his hearts content. Listening to Faznir and Mhykir talk about genies with Hadule, the paladin is happy to see his new friend happy. "Thank you again for all your help. I was curious; I see that your men are gathering up every weapon you can find. Do you have any weapon crafters in town? I could maybe offer them a few pointers since that is one of my trades as well as armor. If I could help I will, but as Faznir so gracefully put it we need to find our benefactor and the rest of our convoy first." Pavok offers.
Hadule turns to Mhykir. "You are in luck indeed for you are of our kind. The Aradina, the Aridia Genie's, and of course the offspring that occur when the two other entities mingle too much
-----Pavok
Hadule turns to Pavok. "We have one smith left who is hard at work day in and day out trying to repair the weapons and armor we bring to him. Because of the war in Aridia, our entire stock pile of weapons was taken, leaving us with nothing more than farmers tools and animal hides. If there is any assistance you can offer Kumadi, that would be most welcome. Heck you keep helping us you'll become a permanent resident for sure hehe." His chuckled faded and he sighed. "Honestly I wish there was something we could do to help you find your benefactor, but like I had stated, we have our own troubles and we are on our own in dealing with them. So there isn't anything I can do aside from providing you a temporary place to stay. And giving you back your things of course."
I heard so many tales of a great city of gold and brass, where these efreeti dwelled, my heart trembles in experiencing such a sight. If our benefactor happens to be in this town (or another one of those cities you mentioned), how would we get there? Which one is the closest?
Faznir tries at least a bite out of anything offered and a full cup of drinks unknown.
I heard so many tales of a great city of gold and brass, where these efreeti dwelled, my heart trembles in experiencing such a sight. If our benefactor happens to be in this town (or another one of those cities you mentioned), how would we get there? Which one is the closest?
Faznir tries at least a bite out of anything offered and a full cup of drinks unknown.
Hadule addresses Faznir: "Umbab is the closest city. Nice size and well populated. They also still have some of their military or so I've heard. If your looking for cities of gold and bronze, I hear that Aridia is like that, though I've never seen it for myself. I'm not sure you'd want to see the Efreets though. They've become the nastiest lot since the war began. The Marids are probably the friendliest. By far. The Djinn and Shaitan are somewhere in the middle. If you want to try some of the more Genie populated cities, you'll find them the closer you get to Aridia.
If no one has any further questions I will post the next segment tonight.
A militia man comes racing into the tavern and whispers in Hadule's ear. Hadule nods and turns to the rest of you. "Sorry to cut this short but I have business to attend to. Please enjoy Yaline's hospitality. I bid you farewell for now." He turns to Haseed and gestures for him to follow. Hadule and Haseed leave you to your meals.
Now it is time to confer with each other to determine the next course of action. Go for it.
I think it would be best to travel to the city of Umbab. They will probably have the information that I seek on the seer, perhaps some knowledge on the whereabouts of Arik's brother, and we'll be one step closer towards Aridia. This war is not our fight.
"I agree with Jen in so far as we should make Umbab. However, we should do what we can to make these people safer. If we find outriders or scouts we should dispatch them, assuming it is right to do so at the time. We really don't have much information. It could be that Hadule and his men are in the wrong. We'll have to wait and see."
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'This war may not be our fight, however this is not our world, and as Arik said, we do not have much information. We do not know anything of their people, their customs, their wars. This town represents a safe place to learn a little of what may lie ahead, and befriending them may give us somewhere to return to should it all go wrong.
I am not a fighting man by nature, and I am not suggesting we get directly involved in their war, but I do not think it will make a difference to our mission if we linger in this place a few days and help out how we can.
I will not be afraid to admit that I have personal reasons for staying here a while either, for this place feels like home to me, and while my Fathers home, rest his soul, was my own by birth, yet I never knew the people there for they would not know me. Here, maybe I may find a place...' Mhykir grows distant for a bit, then he snaps back, 'Tonight I will meditate and maybe the gods will share with me some of my future, however, my aide is given to my friends, so where you go, I will also go.'
"I agree with both Jen and Mhykir, I think we should linger for the night and get ourselves in order and at least talk with the people Hadule has suggested we ask for information. At least, take this day to talk with Lady Sianna, the heiress, or the barkeep Yaline since any information will be helpful. Though we shouldn't stay any longer because then our trail may get cold." Pavok adds to the discussion.
He lowers his head in thought and says,"I agree its not our war. Though the creatures are evil and our hosts hearts are free of darkness. But we will probably take care our share of those unworthy Jackals while we travel to the next major city. I would like to know Faznir's opinion since I think he understands this place the best, next to Mhykir." Pavok then waits for a response from the group.
"Yalandere must be the object of our search. Any step we take must be to draw us back to him. As we were he must also have fallen to these Jackal." Mus'ad adds after spending some time listening.
But it is not possible that our brave leader could have fallen to the Jackals in the same way that we have. He is a powerful practitioner of the arcane arts, one that only those with greater mastery of magic do not bow to. I suspect that he is on his own journey, keeping an eye on us and helping us on our way. He left us with the task to reach Aridia, and that should be our foremost concern. The Aridians and the wise seer would surely know more about Yalandare than we could ever discover by searching this vast desert.
Let us visit the people that Mhykir suggested and be on our way.
Sure, sure, get some information, ask around for Yalandere, that surely will take its own sweet time. We'll need at least this day to recover from our ordeals so far, and the one after that to acquire supplies and prepare for the travel. Must be quite some time to gather information and equipment, for surely there is a difficult journey ahead of us and it would be unwise to face it unprepared.
He smiles apologetically, and adds:
So, may we leave in the second sunrise?
Mhykir finishes his meal, then stands, 'If we are to spend a few days here, we should make the best of our time, let us start finding information, we have time before we rest this evening, but first I shall change.'
Mhykir grabs his bag and finds his room, changes, then emerges waiting to go where the party goes.
"Alright if we are going to get information from folks, I'm going to clean up." Pavok says as he gets his bag and heads toward his room to wash up and gear up. As he arrives back, Pavok asks, "So who do you guys want to visit first?"
Arik, who has been silent for some time, nods in agreement of this new plan and looks sheepishly down at his ragged clothes.
"Perhaps I should visit a clothier. I do not want to embarass anyone.
Mus'ad retreats to the room to re-garb in his normal clothing, stashing the falchion with his gear. When he emerges, he states "I will be with Al Gasreed, let me know what you decide" before moving off to re-bard and saddle his camel.
Clarifying your options.
You can talk to Yaline and try to learn what you can about the surrounding area and possibly more but this information is all hearsay and rumors. She can been found in the Seductive Sands
Talking with Sianna might give you more educated information on Aradina and Aridia as well as some info on the Seer. She lives in the largest house in the village, nearest to the town square.
He can be found in either the "barracks" or in the newly established town hall. He is good for learning more about the situation of the surrounding area. Mostly from a developmental or political point of view.
He can be found in the building with smoke constantly rising from it's chimney. You can offer to help him with the weapons, in return he may have some information, money, or even secrets to trade.
You can attempt to follow Hadule to the "barracks" to aid him in the towns little "war" with the Neubites. This could also have beneficial rewards such as a permanent place of free residence, goods, or even something more. It's all a possibility.
Those are your main options. If you have any more then feel free to act on them. Also. I don't mind the party splitting up when within city limits, so feel free to divide and conquer.
As Pavok finishes cleaning up he dawns his small armory, and heads downstairs and back to the group. "I think I will see if the blacksmith Kumadi has any information, and maybe give him a hand while I'm there. Plus it will be nice to work in a shop once again its been so long." He pauses a moment and smiles "Working the hammer and anvil helps you figure it all out better then meditation any day." Pavok says to them. "Does anybody wish to join me?"
I will be heading to Hadule. I have not yet smited any enemies recently, and I am itching to do so. I am sure that the assistance of a foreign arcane art could help turn the tide.
After the meeting, she heads off to the barracks.
"I will join you Pavok."
'I think I will find the village elder and try find out more of the land we now inhabit.'
"I will join you Pavok."
Pavok smiles and says, "Good, I could use a dwarf’s eye when checking this smith’s skill. We'll probably be gone for most the day or night, so if any of you need to get a hold of us that’s where we'll be. I do say if anyone finds a new lead or goes some where different leave a message here at the bar, so we all don't get separated."Pavok says. "Looks like were leaving the daunting task of talking to rich and beautiful women up to you Faznir hehe, do you think you can handle it?" Pavok laughs. Finishing his drink, he'll wait for Arik to then we he gets the go ahead, after saying goodbye to the group they will head to Kumadi's shop.
"Gods be good, Pavok; I know it's an awful, terrible job, but I figure someone must make some sacrifices around here!" Faznir then raises a drink in honor of his friend.
Faznir will ask around what's the time the Seductive Sands closes up, and then will try locating Sianna's house. All that after a prestidigitation clean-up and perfume.