A Push of the Fates.... Zakhara... You Jewel!

Game Master Insnare

The woman takes a little food and says, " I have wandered
here from a nearby village after hearing tales of a
wondrous “treasure pit." I see your caravan so I assume you may not have heard of it. Would you like to hear the tale?"

Certainly. Let us hear the tale, but first, tell us of your village. What is it called? What did you leave behind to go adventuring?

Aggrammar wanders around the perimeter of the camp, to make sure this is not a ruse of some sort, while others may lie in wait to ambush them.

Kamalla says, "My village of Nurota has about twenty souls. My old mother still lives there and that my traditionally made our existence herding goats but since my father passed a few years back, I have had to eke out a hard living. I was never good at shepherding. I was living in Muluk when my mother sent for me to help her but we are getting squeezed by two tax collectors. I am sorry to burden you with our woes."
She looks at Zairiah and then down.
Give me a wisdom check.

Passed Wisdom check

Wis check: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Nura, in a rare moment of lucidity, leans over to Zairiah and whispers, "Your sash is frightening her, I fear."

Ibn Taaib rouses at the sound of talking, and sits up, looking out into the surrounding area.

" Good thing to know taxes followed me here"Frackit says as he smiles.

" You know what they say the only thing certainnin life is death amd taxes!" Frackit laughs as he looks at the woman then the surrounding ruins.

"Questions, do you known what the treasure is? Fo you know what this place was? Possible gaurdians?" Frackit says quickly with his accent and then smiles.

Isn't thorass the alphabet? :)

Its Common I thibk ots Chonfathan and Thorass is the Alphabet

I read that Midani written north of Zakhara is written in Thorass but in Zakhara a different script.

Wisdom check: 1d20 ⇒ 2

It is no burden, my dear. Have some pancakes, and sit a while by the fire. Perhaps some rest and conversation will make you feel better.

She takes some pancakes and says, "Well, I noticed your affiliation with the Emir Jamal of the Brotherhood who is the rightful taker of taxes as he says, the Grand Caliph, may he live One thousand and one years!, has made him Emir not the Sheikh of the House of Hanif. We are just lowly desert folk trying to eke out a living. Obviously, a wise Caliph as he does not have enough time to tell us of his change in territory and grants but we have been asked to give taxes by two different entities."

She then drinks some tea and says, "At the southeastern end of the Gogol Pass through the Furrowed Mountains
there stands the wreckage of an old stronghold named Kruk al-Shidda, a
reminder of the bygone wars between nearby Muluk and Hiyal. Many
years ago this tiny qal’at on the border stood as a bone of contention between the two Cities. Late each
winter, as the monsoon season was tapering off, armies of Muluk and the Free Cities and Hiyal and her allies would
besiege the fortress as it would change hands on multiple occasions. Because of the incessant warfare, the fort newer could be
properly refortified to withstand an approaching army.
Finally, a wise old general ordered the stronghold razed so he would not have to
recapture it again after the monsoon season the following year. With Krak al
Shidda destroyed, Muluk and Hiyal found they had nothing left to fight over, and
the senseless warfare between the two cities ended. But to this day, desert nomads
sometimes find old swords and bits of armor near the ruins, a few broken remnants
that remind us of those ancient battles.
Today, the ruined qal’at remains in its commanding position, guarding the
southeastern entrance to the Gogol Pass. Often, visiting dao waste hours
standing atop the crumbled keep on clear days, surveying the yellow of desert spread along the Eastern horizon. Brave travelers (like yourselves) sometimes
stop at the ruins for a night or two, seeking shelter from the winds or looking for
water among the overgrown wells of the fort. A young goatherd, the son of my
former master’s brother, once said he saw the glitter of gold at the bottom of a pit in
the ruins. But he was a timid boy, searching for a lost goat, and he did not
investigate. (O, that he may never realize his loss!)
As may be expected, my master’s brother fiercely reprimanded the child for
wandering among the lonely ruins by himself. Who knows what vile robbers or
hungry beasts might have been waiting to ambush him in that desolate place?
Humans tell stories of sheep and lone travelers disappearing near the ruins—I
modestly believe that they simply stepped into one of the qal’at’s overgrown wells
and, like fools, broke their necks in the fall.
Of course, human children all tell stories to gain attention from their parents.
Gossips in the bazaars of Hiyal call the boy’s tale of a treasure pit an example of
just such a story-but think of the riches awaiting those who prove them wrong!"

She then looks at the group of you and says, "Would you like to help me get the treasure from the treasure pit. There is also some dungeons underneath as well but I have seen a tunnel too, I have so far plucked these red garnets but now I have some more equipment you are her mayhaps we can get this together. What say you?"

Well, we have a tine-limited bonus waiting for us in Muluk, as well as some caravan guests that are eager to get there.

She looks around the fire to see what everyone thinks about a detour.

Thoughts?

"If there is time, I'm game."

She then says, "I was trying to find a good anchor point to tie my rope to. So, let's go look together, shall we?"

"I said I was willing, not that we're going. There are others, smarter than me who should make this decision. I just offered my willingness to them."

She smiles and says, "Well, you sounded with so much gusto, I am sorry to have mistaken your intent, kelishgan."

The Sheikh and Paritosh

Paritosh blushes.

Nura hides a sly smile at the thought of gold. "I'm in," she says at length.

" Interesting. So decent into the Well. Did no one cut an access shaft to it?"Frackit says as he looks around.

" Also noting the surrounding area, thier should be underground storage. Hiw else would one fight a siege here." the gnome says looking.

Oh, by the way... I'm not part of the brotherhood. Is it this sash that makes you think so? One of them tried to kill me, and I took this as a souvenir. Perhaps you should take your tax issue to the Caliph.

She says, "Sorry for the misunderstanding but the Brotherhood has extensive reach here in the Haunted Lands. Follow me."

Only the lower walls of the keep remain standing, affording shelter from the sun and wind. Recessed in the massive wall, a rubble-strewn spiral
staircase winds down into the keep’s basement. She points to the center which must have been the main well for the Krak's defenders. When you look down the well it looks dark.

Can Aggrammar ascertain the depth of the well with his Darkvision?

"I think Frackit is right - fer sure they did not use this here well whenever they wanted to go in and out o' tha place?" - the dwarf scratches his head.

Agrammar looks down into the pit.

Paritosh whispers to Frackit, "luckily, there are no examples of tales among we desert folk that detail disaster as the just results of avarice. How about among your people?"

"Hmmm, seems ta be no deeper than 60 feet, and I think I can see coins shining at the bottom"

Paritosh nods solemnly at the pronouncement of riches at the bottom of the well.

"My people tell tales of wetland cities having pools of water where wetlanders will make wishes and throw money into the water. Imagine being a wetlander, with too much money, and too much water, that they can do such things! It's so much easier to find a capricious djinn, earn its wishes, and screw yourself over that way."

Nura prepares a rope for the descent.

"A dangerous path," Ibn Taaib says. He studies the traveler.

Can I sense motive to know if it's a trap?

" I have no issues with exploring this place" he says with a smile then shrugs.

What exactly do you want to do?

Maybe we should take the stairs, and stay together.

The stairs takes you to the basement. the cash is down the well. but you could check the basement first.

Basement first? Then we can see about the well.

Kamalla says, "I have never checked out the basement, who know what lies inside. I think that is a grand idea."

" Should be interesting to say the least. We can see what sort of things they left behind and possibly scare away the rats and spiders...as yes thier are always rats and spiders" he says with a laugh.

Fetch spell: light: 1d100 ⇒ 575 = 75
Fetch spell time: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 rounds

Taking a few moments, Fadilah conferences with her gen, then casts a light spell upon her staff of the sea to illuminate the area.

While searching in the basement, behind a pile of rubble lies a
staircase that descends still farther to the dungeons.

I updated the map to include the depth stuff. There are three ways to leave the keep at the basement level. You can go out either of the two holes in the foundation or climb back upstairs. There is the well in middle. And there is a staircase going downstairs.

Hey GMEDWIN, where can I find a link to the map? Sorry.

As they decide their next steps, Aggrammar pokes around the basement for any interesting bits and pieces, perhaps some salvageable gear or consumables.

MAPAROO

Zairiah helps Aggrammar search, checking to see if there is any loot on this level before they descend to the dungeon level.

Frackit looks around for any other passages.

Paritosh sticks with Frackit to protect his small friend.

"Are you able to call forth light as well? My eyes are not as good as yours in the shadows."

" If you give me torches" he says with a chuckle.

" Ill do a continual light spell." Frackit grabs a piece of debris. A chunk of rock which he then takes time to pray in gnome overit. Once done it shines a warm golden light.

Agrammar finds 3 electrum pieces in the rubble and then you make your way downstairs to the dungeon area or the siege shelters. The first room is a large circular room with a circular wall in the middle which you surmise is the well shaft from the basement. There are entrances to rooms in the north and northeast, east, and south. There are passages that go south and another that goes west that is right next to the staircase. The floor is strewn with rubble and coated in a layer of dust. It does not look like anyone has been down here in a very, very, long time.

Nura waits while Frakit enchants a stone so that she can see. Once he is done, she bares her blade in order to be ready for anything.

Agrammar finds 3 electrum pieces in the rubble

Wohooo! Score! :D

In the room below, Aggrammar carefully peers inside, weapon and shield at the ready and looking for any threats. Then he moves to check the circular wall, wondering if there might have any opening into the well shaft.

Frackit will take time poking around and inspectinf things in the room. As he does he tries to remember all the rules and feelings his father, mother, uncle ect. Had taught him.

Unsafe Construction: 1d10 ⇒ 1
Geade/slope: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Direction,: 1d6 ⇒ 4

frackit will point at the direction he thinks is sloping downward.

Walking around the well shaft, there is no openning into it. Agrammar guesses he could probably hammer a hole through it but i would take hours to.

In the circular room it is generally even but there is a slight slope to the west.

Which room or passage would you like to look at first?