"Let's hold guard here. I'll send a psychic message to the caravan driver that it's safe to advance," says Ludi.
After a few moments of concentration, the psionicist manages to send a simple telepathic projection to the caravan: "All clear. Advance."
Returning to recover her cloak and weapon Ekee arrives at the oasis as Ludi is speaking. Looking about she says.
"Has the area been searched? It does look clear but in never hurts to make sure."
She then begins searching for the arrow that missed, hopeful that it might be intact.
"It would probably be better tasting than what the caravan has for us".
She replies with a grin.
Swiftly replacing the thrown crystal as they return, Ko-Tik looks at the beasts on the ground. "Too little challenge, see easy not real hunt."
Ekee finds her arrow partly huried nearby. She also finds a recent victim of the waders by one of the fallen trees. An elf who, from the look of things, had been speared with a bone spur and drowned. He has a pouch around his waist filled with ceramics and some small gems.
A cloud of dust can be seen as the caravan begins moving again and outriders followed by House slaves bearing large vessels arrive. They instruct the patrol to return to their posts and oversee the water refilling.
The rest of the day passes without incident. At sunset the caravan is called to halt and camp. Each squad is expected to have at least one sentry awake at all times.
Derlan moves to the pool of water and begins carefully tending it, taking time to clear not just the odd saliva off of the water, but also to pull weeds and generally try and make the pool better.
As he works, he sings a ritualized song that clearly is some sort of prayer. The words, however, are in a lost language.
While still at the Oasis.
Ekee approaches Dismoon as she is eyeing the carrion birds and says.
"Those were some deft moves. You would make a worthy Jazst, the crowd would be with you."
Nodding to Ludi she says.
"I have always been in awe of those who have such skills with the powers of mind. We didn't see them very often in the arena.'"
Slapping Jaryx lightly on the arm she smiles says.
"That was a masterful charge. I look forward to fighting beside you."
Noticing Derlan tending the pool she pauses to watch then says.
"You are a diligent and faithful servant."
Passing Ko-Tik she stops to say.
"Yes, I agree it was not much of a battle. But you could think of it as training."
Later with the Caravan
Ekee stops by Derlan's wagon and hesitantly asks.
"Would you mind if I stored some of my gear in your wagon? Hauling around my arena armor is a bit fatiguing."
When the caravan stops for the night.
After hearing the watch requirements. Ekee looks over the group and says.
"I will take one of the watches. Are there any other volunteers?"
When Derlan opens the back flap of his wagon, the first thing that hits you is the smell of water. Fresh Water. You can see that he has set up a small sleeping area in back, but the bulk of the room is taken up by 5 watertight barrels, the lid of one being currently propped open. Inside it is nearly filled with water.
"Sure, I can make a little space for you, but won't you need it if we get into a battle?"
Jaryx nods at Ekee's compliment.
Later in the day when the subject of watches is brought up, the half-giant says with a toothy grin, "I will take one of the watches. There are many beasts and predators in the night, hopefully one will show itself to be a challenge."
Ludi simply nods once as the half-elf says her considerations to him, then watches her go about her rounds. He keeps his thoughts to himself, like any good psychic.
Checking the dead plants that ring the outer edge of the oasis, he says, "I wonder if there's enough detritus here to build a small fire for the night."
Ko-Tik stands at the ready, ignoring her new companions as they figure out who will do what. Kreen need no sleep.
There is only the slightest nod to show that she acknowledged the half-elf's words of companionship after the not-hunt. This one at least seemed to show that odd sort of respect these soft creatures could muster.
Pulling a bulky cloth wrapped item from her pack Ekee sets it in the wagon and says to Derlan.
"Thank you. Oh, I've got this, for everyday use." Slapping the leather armor she is wearing.
"But here is my arena outfit." Unwrapping the package to reveal A bright blue and yellow Studded Leather kit, with polished metal studs and adorned with feathers.
"It's a little much to wear all the time."
"Fair enough. I'd hate to see you deprived of your defense because you couldn't get to my wagon!" says Derlan, who then chuckles, showing off his pointy, likely razor-sharp teeth.
Ludi tops off his waterskins before the caravan arrives, then gathers a few sticks and makes a tiny campfire for cooking.
He has no trouble with either task and manages to warm some flatbread over his small fire. He looks out across the desert as he chews slowly on the bread, then scans the various people of the caravan and takes in the fresh, dry, clean air of the outdoors.
Mostly it has been a boring evening for the rear patrol. The night is cold and Ludi's fire from the recovered scrub at the oasis has long since died out by the time the sky begins to brighten and warmth spreads across the sands, loosening Jaryx' cold muscles and reinvigorating Ko-Tik.
The half-giant and thri-kreen notice movement only fifteen feet away. A big snake! It seems to have been overlooked in the twilight due to perfect camouflage and dormancy in the cold desert night.
Taking note of the huge snake, Jaryx gets to his feet and grabs his lotulis - waiting to see if the snake approaches.
The creature, easily ten feet long from nose to tail, coils itself up and seems to almost mimic Jaryx' posture. It holds there patiently.
While keeping an eye on the snake, Jaryx calls out to his companions. "Wake up unless you intend to be this snake's dinner!"
Since it is so close, and as Ko-Tik does not want her companions to place themselves in harms way, she leaps to attack the snake in an attempt to break its back with her natural weapons.
Claws 5/14/6/19 Bite 12 Thac0:18
Claws 12/12/9/11 Bite 11 Damage
Ko-Tik leaps onto the snake, always a danger in the tall grasses of the savannah. Her claw squeezes the serpent tight, but it tries to wiggle free so she resorts to snapping her mandibles into it's scaled body, taking the fight out of the animal for good.
Roused from sleep by Jaryx's call. Ekee rolls over and sits up, all the while studying to scene before her. The 1/2 Giant stands with weapon at the ready and the Thri-Kreen is straddling a very large snake with her mandibles deep in the reptile's flesh. She blinks several times, just to make sure that she's really awake and seeing what she's seeing. Then yawns while stretching and says.
"Are you going to eat all of that?"
The journey quickly becomes monotonous over the course of the next two days. No people or animals are even seen until the morning of the third day out when a pair of elves is noticed watching the caravan from the top of a dune for a few minutes before running off in the direction you came from. Some tensions build expecting a possible raid, but none comes. After breaking for lunch, and letting the hottest part of the day pass, Kor approaches the rear patrol.
"Right, look," he sighs, "I am not worried about them elves we saw earlier, but some of the merchants are. I promised to send someone to double-back and make sure they didn't have no scouts tailing us. So go to it. Make sure you catch back up with us by nightfall."
After about an hour it seems obvious that the elves are long gone and no one at all is on the road behind the Stel merchants, but everyone is briefly detained by a sudden sandstorm. Everyone hunkers down and waits for it to pass, which it does as quickly as it began. The clouds and swirls of dust move off in the direction of the caravan.
"I had a convoluted plan for enlisting some aid from the next capable band of well-armed wastelanders I saw, but I figured I would try to just ask politely first."
A middle aged human man with a thin black beard and oily, slicked back hair starting at a widow's peak says as he trudges up a hill behind you. He is dressed well and adorned with glittering gems, including one on his forehead. He has no weapons or armor.
"I need something from Yaramuke. You will help me. Agree now and you will be rewarded. Otherwise, I will enact my back up plan and you will forfeit your reward. Do not worry. The caravan will not be going anywhere until you have succeeded in your mission."
Ludi trudges alongside the caravan for the two days, constantly scanning the horizon. He watches carefully after the elves are spotted, but doesn't seem terribly worried.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ludi's attitude changes a bit when the driver sends the team after the elves. "This is a waste of time," he grumbles a bit once the team is away from the caravan. Nevertheless, he is at least diligent in keeping his eyes peeled, though it's clear he's no tracker and probably couldn't find the elves without clairvoyance if he needed to.
The sandstorm catches him by surprise. "Why didn't I see this coming?" he pontificates, but does his best to huddle down with his hat and cloak to avoid the brunt of the winds. "We have to get out of-" and then it's gone.
He squints suspiciously at the stranger who suddenly appears and makes demands of them. "And you are... ?" he says warily.
Ludi can feel his powers being scrambled somewhat. Although he cannot use his honed skills to detect trouble, his natural instincts make him feel wary.
"A man with a very tight time table. It is best if we leave soon. If you insist on calling me anything, I am Farcluun." He glances to the sky to estimate the time.
Ekee greets each party member every morning and is generally chatty and friendly, but is just this side of being annoying. She tries to make the boring journey a little less so by offering to entertain with some juggling exhibitions in the evenings.
Although never the best at judging others motivations, other than in the area. Ekee decides to treat this human with caution and says.
"We would of course have to obtain the approval of Caravan Master Kor before any other missions could be undertaken. We wouldn't want to be blacklisted by House Stel."
Ludi points with his thumb at Ekee and says slowly, "She's right; we have responsibilities. You seem to be implying that you are extremely powerful. If you're that powerful, why do you need a bunch of simple caravan escorts like us? And if you ARE that powerful, it should be trivial to arrange matters so that House Stel lets us leave on good terms, or thinks that we're dead, or otherwise doesn't leave us completely on the outs after all of this sorts out."
He leans on his spear and says, "After all, if you want us to do something for you, leaving us hanging out to rot with our employer is... not a great motivator."
Farcluun laughs. "Of course, you are correct. As we speak my minions have used my storm to surround the caravan. One of my trusted lieutenants will deliver your people a message to halt. They will treat them well, do not worry. I will show hospitality. They have been ordered to avoid causing direct harm without my intervention."
He stares at Ludi with eyes the color of sulfur. "I need capable, but expendable pawns because there are other matters I must focus on. There is another reason, but seeing as it cannot be overcome, I see no reason to dwell upon it. My minions are capable, but they have a narrow set of skills and are not as tough or bright as mercenaries. Nor do I wish to place them at unnecessary risk."
Farcluun looks at Dismoon without a trace of emotion for several moments. "The Liberator?" he scoffs. "Perhaps some of my rivals call me that as a polite euphemism. They believe I have stolen their power. And I am neither elf, nor disguised. I appear in a form that reflects who I was when I began my present journey and who I see myself as. It is not a disguise. One is not enough."
Farcluun nods sagely in response before answering the crucial question. "A simple thing: a scroll. With this scroll I can take the next step in my journey and prevent others from gaining access to a potential resource. Of course, retrieving the scroll will not be easy. Yaramuke is little more than sand covered ruins. You will need to locate the palace. Fortunately, there is a method of discovering where the palace lies. Two artifacts which direct the setting sun's beams upon the doors."
When the sandstorm came, Derlan offered everyone shelter inside his wagon. When you all entered, he would have offered you water from one of the fivel barrels lashed together in the back.
As the storm passed, Derlan would go out the front to check on his Mekillot, which is where he would be when the Human appeared.
After listening to his commands, Derlan simply smiled and said "I can't speak for the others, but I will, of course, help you."
Listening to the conversation Ekee realizes that apart from matters of the arena she is somewhat ignorant of other things. Although this does remind her of the talk she would often overhear when her troupe was invited to attend the nobles feasts. After considering the parts she understood says.
"If it is approved by Kor and House Stel, then I am willing to aid you. It sounds more interesting than guarding a caravan. Now down to business how much is this reward?"
"I'm afraid I have no understanding of modern economics. I do understand the intrinsic value, however, and I can assure you that you will find it satisfactory." He closes his eyes and places his first two fingers by his temple. He opens them a moment later and turns towards the north and begins walking. "My minions will meet us there by nightfall. You will sleep soundly, then begin your expedition in the morning."
"You can read?" says Ludi to Dismoon with a raised eyebrow.
As Farcluun walks away Ekee shakes her head and says.
"His minions. I'm pretty sure that includes us now. Oh, don't get me wrong I'm in. But caution is never a bad idea. Especially when you are doing something that someone much more capable should be able to to do with a snap of his fingers. If one is to believe his opinion of himself, he certainly does. Oh well; at least it should be interesting."