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

Game Master Insnare

"Truly these sea camels are strange creatures! Points on their humps? I wonder if the sea people ride them?"

Your group stares at the creatures for a short while but then you get back to steering the ship to the city of Muluk. A few hours later, the mouth of the river Al-Zalim is sighted and you know you will be docked in the City of Kings called Muluk shortly.

The Bard says, "Friends, our continued journey to the River will happen shortly. We must prepare our vessel for a two week journey, which may take a couple of days to fit our vessel for."

Fadi, Nabila or Nura do you wish to go to your homes?

Liath was quite during the lion's share of the journey, the anticipation of finding so monumental a find combined with the monotonous and familiar drudgery of sea travel seemed to cancel each other out and left her tongue with little else to dwell upon. The appearance of the sea-horses could not even move her muse to action.

But as the bard (whom she still did not trust) reminded them that they would be at sea for a fortnight, a spark ignites within her and she is again analyzing the situation.

"Oh my! Peradventure that shall require provisions for some time!

Perhaps if someone of a silver tongue were to accompany me, the venture would go even doubly well?"

srsly my dudes, 10gp for a week of dry rations is nutso considering that 100 salted fish is only 1 gp.

Yeah, Nabila will plan to return to her family farm. I'll get her a post up soon.

I am intrigued what this post is, but I will push this forward tomorrow.

Nabilah goes to her familial home and her mother is glad to see her, but as expected her father is busy working, her mother makes her a large plate of her favorite muttabbel and a large side of freshly sliced basturma and as Nabila starts to eat her father comes in from a hard day farming and says, "Nabila, your mother and I have been worried sick. But I am so glad you are home."

He says to his wife, [b]"Have you told her about the woman looking for her?"

Your mother says, "Well, a woman in an unadorned plum linen chador with has veiled, dark eyes had asked about you and has left us a letter about three days ago."

Nabila

What do you all want to do on your own in the city of Muluk for the day?

I continue to be plagued by annoying real life distractions and totally got off track.

After greeting her mother and father and receiving the letter, Nabila takes time to help around the farm and enjoys her family's company. She relates the tale of the curious foreigner and following him down a well and how that lead to all sorts of misadventures. Her siblings particularly enjoy the battles, while her mother shakes her head in disapproval.

"I must depart, father. Najm points my way with this letter," she tells the elder elf. She hands him a large sack containing the money she's earned, minus some she tithed, and the money she dropped days ago, and minus the fistfuls of coinage handed to beggars just that very morning. She keeps a fair amount for herself, or at least, a fair amount by her reckoning. "If I can, I will bring more." She hugs him and heads out the door heading for the meeting.

Sorry, struggling mightily to find my place in this setting with what is essentially a warrior monk who's taken a vow of poverty.

Zaheed stays close to the harbor. The sights and sounds of Muluk do little to move his spirit. He spends most of his time working to prepare for the remainder of the journey, and when circumstances allow, takes a moment of quiet contemplation.

How would you usually get a character like yours to fit in a standard setting? It is literally a sandbox. You can do what you think is interesting. There are a number of major mosques in Muluk you could visit or something. But I have another plot threat coming up now which should be fun. @Nabila, do you bring the other party members with you to the meeting?

Make sand castles, I guess. I look forward to the next plot device.

Not having any connection to this city, I stay with one of the others who had been here before.

Sorry. Been most busy. Will have a post up tomorrow.

"Very well. I shall go and procure the needed foodstuffs and provisions for our journey.

Um, do any wish to contribute coin to the mutual pantry?" Liath asks, unsure if she'll have to pay for the whole expedition herself.

Liath spends the day walking through the bazaars looking for foodstuffs for your long journey, some of the items will take a day and others may take about 3 days but, Liath seems to be quite happy with her pull.

You probably should add in a lot of fresh water to your stores as well. I will assume everyone comes with Nabila in the evening.

Your group goes to the Calipha's garden at 6pm as planned, you see a woman fitting the description, wearing a plum linen chador, she waves at you and ushers you into a secluded corner of the garden and after she feels that you are out of earshot of other people wandering around the garden she says, "Priestess Nabila, I am glad you have come and I am even more happy that you have brought with you your disciples. Word has spread about how you have assisted with the fish and it was most impressive. Well, the husband of my mistress was swindled most heinously by a local merchant named Yodfah."

Local History untrained

Nura will offer up some gold to share in the cost of provisions.

Local History Untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Nura bristles slightly at being referred to as a disciple, but she says nothing.

Zaheed brushes off the insult, figuring it to be unintentional.

Local History Untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 2 Assuming that's a success

"I have heard of this man, Yodfah. He is a thief and preys on the unsuspecting. But he is also a very serious person to contend with. We must proceed with caution."

The woman in the plum chador says, "Exactly, the way to take him down is through gathering proof of his nefarious deeds and that would make it in such a way that the judge will have to act and imprison him. Here is what I would like you to do, is ride out to Sakina Falls, that is where Yodfah has one of his illicit bases outside of the city and retrieve for me a large, brass-bound ledger, located behind Sakina Falls outside the city. Though the ledger is not magical, it contains information vital to the my employer. Would you be interested in assisting me?"

Uthman's ears perk up at the mention of riding, and at the tale of this robber. "Yes, I think, though I cannot speak for my companions, yet it would be good to put an end to his perfidy! Zaheed, Nura- will you go with me? We can gather the others and leave in the cool hours of the evening perhaps?"

Realizing he is the only one with a mount, "Perhaps we need first go to the market and haggle for some camels to ride though?"

The woman whose eyes are obscured by her chador says, "Sakina fall is about a day's ride by camel from here. Not to far past he last indigo plantation along the Zalim River. For your trouble, I am willing to pay you 1,200 Gold Dinars with an upfront payment of 600 to kit equip yourselves."

"You can count on my blade in this journey, Uthman. Calipha, if I may, by what means did you come to know of the existence and location of the ledger?"

The woman in plum pauses quickly comprehending that Zaheed referred to her as the Calipha of Muluk, it is obvious that she is taken aback by the statement and says, "Success is not a guarantee and therefore I cannot give you that information at this time, fore if you were to be captured in this endeavor, not only my life will be forefeit but also that of my mistress and most likely her husband as well. I will divulge all the information upon your return. I suggest we meet back here in seven days time. Do we have an accord?"

I misread the narrative, an easy mistake since she hasn't actually introduced herself. Then Zaheed is about to act very differently and become suspicious of this woman and her motive.

She did give Nabila her name in her letter. Plus the price is right.

She gave a name in a letter, but she has not introduced herself since we actually met.

"Uthman, Nabila, a word in private, please." Zaheed asks, leaving the servant without answer for the moment.

"I have my doubts about this. It seems unlikely that this woman, who we know nothing about, but who claims to have heard of our exploits and yet mischaracterizes us, would employ a patchwork band of young adventurers in such a high-stakes action against an enemy with considerable connections and muscle. Surely, 1200 Dinars seems like a lot to us, but would be absurd if presented to a group of hearty veterans given the same task. And there too, she claims to be a poor old woman, dressed in plum chador handing out 600 Dinars up front.

"Whom does she serve? Are we led to believe it is the very lives of the caliph and calipha at stake? Here we are meeting with a servant in a garden. This whole setup seems extremely unlikely. We should entreat with her to meet the mistress immediately. We need to know a lot more about this before taking action against Yodfah." Zaheed is clearly agitated.

I mean as the GM I kind of skipped through the "hi, my name is" stuff..." mostly to speed this game up a bit. just another point, she is not old :) She is compartmentalizing everyone from everyone else as a security measure. She is being reasonable.

That doesn't change that we don't know who she is or who she serves, and she's asking us to steal a ledger from a crime boss without telling us how she knows of its existence. This sure seems like a setup.

"La."

Liath had been poring over her notes, trying to ensure that she had gotten everything for the journey. While others were talking, she was scribbling small notes, most of which were 'this might be improved with a sheep.'

"Methinks our current task can be delayed anon for this favor. We are in need of rides anyway," she says mostly absentmindedly.

"Yes, I will accept these terms: I feel that with Haku watching us we cannot go wrong offering aid to those in need. Shall we go to the camel market then?"

As a desert rider I can discern the quality of a camel without a proficiency check, so depending how good of mounts people want I can ensure we aren't being swindled.

The woman in plum says, "May Haku and Najm smile down upon thee. And let the Calipha reign for a hundred fifty years."

She then produces a large coin purse from her chador and says, "I look forward to seeing you in a week's time."

SO the site would not let me edit my post, so she also provides a map which I will upload for you to view shortly.

Nura will accompany Uthman, though she knows precious little about camels

MulukSuburbs

Do you want desert, mountain or war camels? Desert camels are the most reasonably priced. I think Uthman already has his own camel so that would 30 Dinars each.

I imagine that you guys take off in the morning or would you prefer to leave in the evening?

Desert camels should suffice. Yes, we leave at first light.

Fadilah takes the opportunity for one last good night's sleep before the team will be setting out on a very hot, very dry journey.

Later in the morning, Zaheed approaches Liath as they ride. "This current task, to steal the brass ledger from Yodfah, which we have undertaken with no proof of the cause beyond the simple offering of coin, would be the death of all of us, if we do not have a very good plan. I admit to thinking that the surest way to get to Yodfah is to simply tell him what we know, to approach directly with news that someone wants vengeance against him. We know nothing more than that - only what we were told, which is not necessarily the same as truth. Indeed, by withholding key information - most notably how the woman has come to know about the existence and location of the ledger - she has given us all the leverage we need to convince Yodfah that we may be trusted. After that we may do as we wish."

GM Rolls 1d10 ⇒ 9 1d10 ⇒ 1 1d6 ⇒ 1 1d20 ⇒ 13 1d10 ⇒ 8

You ride your camels along the riverbank towards Sakina Falls. After leaving the city you see the many different indigo plantations that line the river providing the city with the important dies that make the city famous throughout Zakhara and beyond. The Calipha's army marches up and down the road as you follow the river against its flow. After about 8 hours of travel you finally leave the area of the indigo plantations. The land is rougher but there is less of a road and more of a trail following the river. When the sun starts to set you decide to camp for the evening.

How do you camp?

"We should set watches. I'll take the midnight shift- I need little rest and am used to the desert night."

Uthman removes his armor save when he is on watch, and leans against his camel for warmth.

Zaheed takes the first watch.

Nura says, "I am comfortable with any watch. I'll take the second, I guess."

Eight hours of riding a camel alongside sprawling indigo plantations is intriguing at first but boring by the end of the day. Fadilah needs help to get down from her camel at the end - her backside smarts as she's unused to riding, and she staggers and walks stiffly as she moves to unload supplies for the night's rest, only too pleased by the chance to have a seat.

"Are we scavenging for firewood or burning camel dung for the fire?" she asks anyone at all. "I should figure out some way to bring some nice pillows on these trips."

"Oh, uh, I suppose I can take any watch, though we will need a light source."

You gather firewood easily being close to the river where there are some trees.

GM Rolls

About a half an hour into Liath's watch, she can hear from off in the distance small tremors in the ground and then a loud, "Where am I? Oh a fire, I will ask these people.."

About two minutes later, Liath sees a giant with black hair and a whispy goattee who says, "Najm be praised, Hello, my name is Fatim ibn Turbaaannnn, I have seemed to have lost my aurochs herd but my clan were on their way to Sokkar, would you happen to know which way that is from here?"

Later in the morning, Zaheed approaches Liath as they ride. "This current task, to steal the brass ledger from Yodfah, which we have undertaken with no proof of the cause beyond the simple offering of coin, would be the death of all of us, if we do not have a very good plan. I admit to thinking that the surest way to get to Yodfah is to simply tell him what we know, to approach directly with news that someone wants vengeance against him. We know nothing more than that - only what we were told, which is not necessarily the same as truth. Indeed, by withholding key information - most notably how the woman has come to know about the existence and location of the ledger - she has given us all the leverage we need to convince Yodfah that we may be trusted. After that we may do as we wish."

Liath is somewhat taken aback by Zaheed's words. Was it not him who confirmed that this man Yodfah was a thief most foul? "But was it not you who said this Yodfah was a thief most foul?" Liath states. "By my view, peradventure we are but performing a deed most galant. We do merely procure evidence of this man's duplicity, and bring it to a knowing citizen who, I'm sure, will use it in a manner to bring about justice in...whichever way is most prudent. I guess?

Now that you mention it, the woman was quite scant on details. She simply said that someone was cheated, but did not say in what manner they were cheated, or by what amount.

And if he is as low and base as we are told, there is always time to crush the life from him and take from his leavings whatever we desire," she finishes, her voice never wavering from her airy sing-song delivery.

***********meanwhile, back at the ranch*****************

"Oh nay nay, good Fatim ibn Turbaaannnn. Peradventure I am only newly come to this region, and am not so familiar with the cities as a native might. So and hence, alas I know not this Sokkar, nor which direction it might lay.

If wait you do, will you take refreshment? I can provide water in plenty, and would you take salt?"

Liath was not yet fully enmeshed in this Bond of Salt, but she reckoned it a puissant thing, and had vowed to make efforts to work it in, as things seemed to be.

She considered waking another of the group, but they did need their rest, and if charlatan he was, the day that a scion of the House of Borak could not handle one charlatan was the day she may as well cast herself into the sea.

Still, it was wise to be careful

She scanned about the camp to see if he had allies creeping about at the perimeter ready to launch themselves once he used himself as a distraction.

For that is what she would do, did she try this approach against a mark.

Perception check!: 1d20 ⇒ 9

The Desert Giant, Fatim says, "Well, that seems most prudent. I shall partake in your water and salt, young lady. Mayhap one of your colleagues will have said information I seek. My people ferry our aurochs from Qadib to Sokkar every year, in spite of it being dangerous because the fields near the abandoned city are a plenty with grasses the big animal may eat."

Direction Sense roll if you choose.

If there is an abandoned city, that seems like it might fall under the pervue of Ancient History.

Know stuff!: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Liath

"Ah, those ruins! Ah, yes, I have read of them often. Wonderful historical value.

I believe the famous Abu Nuwas wrote extensively of them. Unless I miss my guess, they should be East, Northeast, peradventure a 4 day walk, for one of your stature, should it please you."

She pauses in making a brief repast, if it is not needed if the stranger takes off, having gained what he sought.

He finishes his water and says, "Thank you very much for your assistance. I shall pester you no longer. Have a grand adventure."

He then stands up, pulls out his compass and heads in a noreasterly direction.

The Liath finishes her shift and it goes to the next person and the rest of the night passes witout any consequence. You cook your breakfast and break camp and head towards Sakina Falls.

After another 3 hours following the river, you come to what on your map is to the beginning of Sakina canyon and the Al-Zalim river and from a distance you can start to hear the water crashing off in the distance.

Survival

Survival (Int- 8): 1d20 ⇒ 19

Uthman looks around to no avail.