"Uh, um hello, Frackit Alloyeye, urm" Having seen and heard Idn's words the gnome then added."Jeweler of Daggerdale, Glitterbright of Garl Glittergold. A pleasure to meet you Fadilah."
Frackit the blonde-haired pale skinned gnome in yellow-gold and cream swept his arms out and placed a foot back to give a strong bow. He wasn't sure if these added-on titles were titles or honorifics. He would need to know for the future.
"I mean if you wish, ladies can go first I do not mind." Frackit says as he smiles and reaches up and clutches his holy symbol. It was truly a strange yet polite land.
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" I guess, I'm not sure about telling that tale too much. I just wanted to do right by my master and the community that took me in. In my teachings, The Watchful Protector tells us to protect the community from evils that come at us. Be it active defense through arms, or via deception with illusions and traps. How does one take ownership of something that is a moral obligation? Sorry it just relaxed here and the Philosophical strains of these questions are not the same as home"The gnome priest says wondering exactly what he was here.
"I need to find a forge soon. I think better with my tools and a piece of jewelry to create. Life is simpler when you toil for your art!" He chuckled as he fiddled with his hair. Not as long as Ibn, but apparently an issue.
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Nura enters the hammam, bloodied from their earlier adventure, and fight with the statues. "I don't suppose that your little friend there could find a healing spell," she says to Fadilah. She rubs her tired muscles and gingerly begins to clean her wounds. Almost as an afterthought, she seems to notice the newcomers. "Forgive my poor manners," she says, standing. "I am Nura Hamdani, explorer, and sailor." She bows deeply before the men.
The attendant says, "What is a Zentarium and a Daggerdale?"
"Do you need healing? I can use magic to heal you. I'm a priest" He says in Midani though rough and still in a weird accent.
Looking at the attendant he then smiles and speaks."Daggerdale is my home before it was conquered. The Zhenterium are a very evil organization seeking to rule through manipulation, lies, and deception when they other half doesn't seek pure domination"
Turning back to Nura he smiles."Let us see what the Sparkling Wit can do for these wounds"
Frackit will come over and begin his chanting. Towards the end, he places his hands on Nura and lets the building energies release.
Healing energies wash through Nura as he lets it go and then steps back breathing deeply after the chanting and gestures making him readjust to the heat.
Agrammar says, "Well, lasses, I am feeling a wee bit ill, so methinks I won't be joining ye for the exploration on the morrow. This here rod was a might helpful in today, so methinks one of ye ought to carry me Rod o' Smiting wit ye."
The attendant smiles and says, "By the Loregiver, we have our own problems here. It is known the Grand Caliph, may he rule for 1000 and one years, has been having health problems and then there is the Brotherhood of the True Flame oh and the Hashishin."
"Wait who is this Loregiver and this Grand Caliph" Frackit asks quietly to Ibn. He wasn't sure who or what this place was or who it ran. It would be hard to bring laughter and joy if you didn't know who to tease and trick.
"Brotherhood of the Flame sounds dangerous, and did you mean Assassin?" Frackit says scratching his head. As for the Rod of Smiting, well that seemed powerful.
Zairiah is thankful to be able to take a warm bath. The portable spring is supremely useful, but it is not warm.
When she hears the Grand Caliph mentioned she says
We might be able to help the Grand Caliph with his health problems. We need to travel to Huzuz.
Although... we have a lot of other tasks to accomplish as well, and many people traveling with us that we need to help. Perhaps we should discuss what our priorities are at some point.
Having anticipated the mighty storm, Paritosh dug into the side of a dune, as his people had done for millennia. "Well Jamal [Camel], you can dig, or you can watch!" The camel chose to watch. With some space cleared, he helped the camel to her knees, "come now Jamal. Standing is no way to make it through the haboob [sandstorm] as you well know." It took a while, as Jamal was a very stubborn camel, and kept wanting to get up. Finally, with Jamal in position, he tossed a blanket over the two of them and settled down to sleep out the storm.
Before throwing the blanket off of himself and Jamal, Paritosh lifted a corner and peaked out across the dunes. He saw several figures. One of the figures was short, a child perhaps? The other was clearly a warrior, and what was probably his warhorse. Paritosh whispered to Jamal, "what city fool has brought such a beast to the desert?"
He waited a good while for the two to move off before emerging from the shady hole they had slept in. As he rose, he let Jamal rise, throwing his leg over her neck in a practiced movement, so that when she came to her full height, he was astride her. "Praise be to Najm, a new day, and the sun in our face Jamal!" He checked his weapons, and glanced into the distance. He spied the three figures and headed in their direction, staying back where he could see them, but it would be hard for them to spot him in return, due to the sun's angle.
It was several hours of travel later when he saw the Janni floated to strangers. A Janni was not to be missed, so he dug his heels into Jamal, to speed her up, "come girl, let us see what blessings are being doled out here."
As he got closer, he could tell the one was no child, but a grown gnome, a rarity in this area. "Jamal, what do you make of this? A gnome and a Janni? The beginnings of a good joke I should think. If only there was an oasis for them to enter!"
He arrived in time to receive the Janni's invitation to the nearby town. After the others had expressed their intent to go in that direction, he inquired, "Greetings human and gnome, may the blessings of Najm fall upon you both. Would it be to your pleasing for Jamal and I to join you?"
Paritosh is as his picture presents. An elf of average height, but with clearly above average strength, unusual amongst his people. His dusty and trail worn leather armor and boots may portray a bit of destitution, but the attention clearly given to maintain his weapons and camel suggest tha he invests his time and money in things other than appearances.
Having anticipated the mighty storm, Paritosh dug into the side of a dune, as his people had done for millennia. "Well Jamal [Camel], you can dig, or you can watch!" The camel chose to watch. With some space cleared, he helped the camel to her knees, "come now Jamal. Standing is no way to make it through the haboob [sandstorm] as you well know." It took a while, as Jamal was a very stubborn camel, and kept wanting to get up. Finally, with Jamal in position, he tossed a blanket over the two of them and settled down to sleep out the storm.
Before throwing the blanket off of himself and Jamal, Paritosh lifted a corner and peaked out across the dunes. He saw several figures. One of the figures was short, a child perhaps? The other was clearly a warrior, and what was probably his warhorse. Paritosh whispered to Jamal, "what city fool has brought such a beast to the desert?"
He waited a good while for the two to move off before emerging from the shady hole they had slept in. As he rose, he let Jamal rise, throwing his leg over her neck in a practiced movement, so that when she came to her full height, he was astride her. "Praise be to Najm, a new day, and the sun in our face Jamal!" He checked his weapons, and glanced into the distance. He spied the three figures and headed in their direction, staying back where he could see them, but it would be hard for them to spot him in return, due to the sun's angle.
It was several hours of travel later when he saw the Janni floated to strangers. A Janni was not to be missed, so he dug his heels into Jamal, to speed her up, "come girl, let us see what blessings are being doled out here."
As he got closer, he could tell the one was no child, but a grown gnome, a rarity in this area. "Jamal, what do you make of this? A gnome and a Janni? The beginnings of a good joke I should think. If only there was an oasis for them to enter!"
He arrived in time to receive the Janni's invitation to the nearby town....
"Yes!" Frackit says tentatively in the beginning.
"So the Caliph rules via succession through lineage, like a King. And the lineage was given by an ancient Prophet? Okay. That is a lot to unpack." The gnome priest says tapping his chin before stroking his mustache.
" Oh, Assassins are just assassins. The Zhents use them a lot." Frackit points to the sky."Along with various magic users, including Skymages who ride Foulwings and Wyverns! Nasty business. Thankfully I know a few tricks to avoid them. Thankfully one of The Flawless Gem's divine gifts is the ability to use arcane illusions, as well as letting us hone the necessary skills to skulk, stealth, and other clandestine things."Frackit then looks up with a smile.
"Fear not I am more a protector than a saboteur. Though having been at war does make one do things you wouldn't have done. I know though that I was protecting others. It was my duty, It is the real reason why my order does not count me among them." Frackit admits to having joined the guerilla war against the Zhents.
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"Come, Zairiah and Nura, the fellows have given their accord that we might use the baths first, so let's be rid of this road-dust. If the facilities are amenable I might even have my hair scented!"
Zairiah joins Fadilah to go get cleaned up.
Nura bows again, with her hands clasped together in thanks to the cleric and the paladin. "I cannot express gratitude enough," she says earnestly, marveling at the closing of her wounds. "I trust that you will be here upon our return? I would converse more with you. In particular, the little one." Nura waits for an affirmative reply, then takes her leave to join the women.
@ Ladies: The women go into the bath house at the time when women go and are joined by Sheyisha the Sheikh of the Janni camp and she says, "I trust you have met with Nerim. We were a little worried about you when you had not returned last night but the monster prowling the city during the day are daunting but at night can be even more challenging. My husband said you had a couple run ins there like with skeletons and automatons."
@Men: When your turn is up you are joined by a large male Janni and he says, "My name is Abdalla and I am the sheikh's husband. Where have you come from. I guess I had just missed you this morning when I left to explore the ruins of Azaltin."
When the sheikh joins the ladies, Fadilah hunkers down in the water, apparently a bit cowed by the presence of the noble djinn.
"Indeed, we were a bit worried ourselves," she says in response to the sheikh's comments. "Our companion Agrammar was able to convince the skeletons that he had legitimate access, and we managed to work our way through a small quantity of the locale. I feel like there is still much that we could learn from this place's history, though."
Zairiah luxuriates in the bath, and when the sheikh joins them and the conversation is started, she adds in
Indeed, much more to discover. I wish we had more time among you. Everything is so fascinating here.
"Greetings human and gnome, may the blessings of Najm fall upon you both. Would it be to your pleasing for Jamal and I to join you?""You are welcome, fair traveler," Ibn Taaib says. "Hayyak [Welcome], refresh yourself on some milk and join us. You appear as one who has a tale to tell!"
"I do not know if I have a tale to tell, or more of a story having been lived. I am not much of a tale spinner myself. I leave that to those with the tongue for it."
In the bath, Frackit tousles his golden hair and nods."Interesting. We don't have anything like that in the north. We are various countries and kingdoms, various cultures and ideologies that have to learn to live with each other. Some are better than others. Some are pretty awful. I guess aside from monsters and maybe the occasional ner' do wells that this land is peaceful? Or relatively so. I know I could use some peace." Frackit admitted as he then looked up and wondered what the north would look like under such a law.
"Wait for our religion here, does it have gods that let's say are evil? Do you have anything like that here? Just curious. My enemies had two Cyric the Black Sun and Bane the Tyrant! Both evils seek to dominate others. There are others like The Crawler Below, The torturous Divine Worm who seeks to tempt Gnomes so they do evil and then become prey to the Worm and his minions feasting on their blood for succumbing to their greed!" Frackit stops and kisses his holy symbol making himself frightened of the Toothed maw of Urdlen's Worm-like form.
" I will say I am grateful for the chance to rest and cleanse myself. Usually where I am from I would have to pay good coin for such hospitality. I am very grateful, if there is anything I can do to repay you I will try and do it." Frackit says to Abdalla. He still is unsure what Abdalla his wife and the others were.
"Your questions about the gods are better directed to a Priest. It is not for such as me to speak of those things."
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Ladies: Sheyisha says, "Well, you have another two days and nights to search the ruins."
Men: Abdalla has chiseled muscular golden skin and has the features of a half-elf except he has a beard colored blue and he stands over 7 feet tall. His eyes are green.
Abdalla says, "Hmmm, your people are far to the east of here. The Gods and Goddesses of the Land of Fate do not represent good or evil specifically but represent traits people should strive to emulate like wisdom or wealth or risk. For us Janni, we also worship the four Gods of the geniekind. The cities fight each other over resources and politics but at least nominally follow the Grand Caliph. I am not so familiar with the ways of the Northerners but it is known that they do not follow the Laws brought forth by that of the Loregiver which is to say they have not gained the Enlightenment as we here in the Land of Fate enjoy. I mean no disrespect my new friend but Gods and Goddesses should not be so petty. I shall be joining you in your search on the morrow."
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After the bath, she is more than willing to converse with the others, particularly Frackit, since she has never heard of the far-off lands he hails from.
"Ah I see. Fascinating. So your gods all get along and promote individual ideas? That's great! So I don't have to worry about some evil gods' minions seeking to torture me for worshiping The Joker." Frackit kissed his gold nugget and utters in gnome a quick prayer for the reprieve.
"Could be why I am here. I could be here to learn and maybe take back these Enlightened ideas. Still, trying to figure out the Laughing Lass? hmmm"
"Wait you are coming with us? Is it dangerous out there? If so what sorts of dangers could we face?" He asks curiously now.
"Lastly I have a question, Are you a Half-Elf? because the Half-elves I know are not as big as you or have blue hair? Are you Gaint Kin?" Came to the curious questions the gnome minds inquisitive nature seeking to find the answers.
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Abdalla chuckles and says, "I am not a half-elf. I am a Janni we are kin to the other genie races, be they Djinn, Marid, Dao or Efreeti. My beard is blue because I have dyed it so. My beloved finds it becoming and who am I to question. It is dangerous in there. The ruins of Azaltin have already shown to have accosted us with skeletons and automatons. Dangerous statues are also their as well. We, janni, have understood that the Shai'ra Fadilah is most favored by The Great Padisha of the Marids, the Keeper of the Empire, the Pearl of the Sea, the Mother of Foam, the Maharaja of the Oceans, Emir of All Currents, Mistress of Rivers, Grand Raj of the Monsoon, General of the Whales, Pasha of Corals, Savior of Fish, Marshall of Nets, and Matron of Waterspouts."
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Sheikh
well versed in poetry, astrology, and the ways of magic. As the Loregiver
wandered Zakhara, teaching the laws of the divine to man and genie alike, she is
said to have stopped in Al-Anwahr and been a guest of Azaltin for 11 days.
Azaltin honored his guest daily with lavish celebrations and exquisite gifts of
silks, gold, and perfumes. After each night of entertainment, the king would ask
his guest the same question: “How can a man live forever?”
The Loregiver warned Azaltin about the danger of such knowledge, but in the
end could hardly insult her gracious host by refusing to answer. Each night she
told the king about the obstacles that prevent man from achieving immortality.
Azaltin’s scribes labored furiously to capture the Loregiver’s parables and cryptic
riddles, which were set down in a legendary scroll titled The Eleven Baneful
Gates. According to legend, the Loregiver departed Al-Anwahr, leaving the
equivocal scroll in Azaltin’s care. Azaltin pondered the scroll for a decade,
ignoring his people while trying to unravel its secret.
After months of fasting and meditation, he abandoned the kingdom to his
brother Amakim and left to ponder the scroll in the solitude of the wilderness.
Ancient legends say he returned a dozen years later, an undead creature of
hideous appearance, to reclaim his kingdom. Before long, Amakim led a revolt to
topple his monstrous brother. Some members of court remained loyal to their
undead king, however, and a bloody battle ensued throughout the city.
Ultimately, Amakim’s forces triumphed, but when they reached the king’s palace,
they found that Azaltin had vanished. Amakim and his forces departed AlAnwahr and eventually founded the city of In’aash. Centuries past, the city was
renamed Muluk, while Al-Anwahr and Azaltin passed into folklore.
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"Looks like I'll need to pray and study. Combat will be had."The gnome cleric says as he hears undead and then sighs.
"A lot of souls need to be put to rest. Skeletons are not good." Frackit works on his mustache again and then nods.
"Wait you're a Genie? Like grants wishes and trapped in a bottle? Sorry, that's rude. I'm not familiar with genies at all. Just the stories of them being freed and offering Wishes.Seems this part of the world is very alien to me. Interesting." Frackit says a bit somberly. It is true that he was no longer in the Dales anymore.
"Also that is a lot of titles. But still impressive."Frackit then looks over at Ibn and raises a brow when the man made an oath. After it was finished Frackit chuckled.
"I mean I was gonna go in, because of all this hospitality. One must aid those who aid you. Selflessness should be rewarded. So as the Janni are my Hosts I will gladly aid them in expanding and securing their home. It's the least I can do." He says as he goes over to dry off and get dressed.
Frackit does not don his armor. His belt and buckle are golden. His tabard slips over his head and his golden yellow and cream-colored clothes show his foreign fashion. With a promise of food, the famished gnome hadn't really eaten anything but rations for days. Let's hope he would get bacon, lamb, succulent fruits, and fried vegetables. Lots of hearty foods and breads coupled with good ale and wine!
Having cleaned his body, Paritosh will wash his clothes in the remaining bath water as he listens to Sheikh recount the tale.
Paritosh shakes his head in disgust, "Azaltin was a fool to even ask the secret to immortality. My people list such a thing as one of the three 'unwishable wishes.'" He wrings out his newly cleaned and wet pants, and begins to put them on. "The wise man knows that there are three true paths to immortality. First, that you should leave behind many children to bear your name. Second that you should be beloved of your clan. And third, that you should be feared by your enemies." He looks around expecting to see that the others are fully aware of these truths. Finding none, he continues, "For it is only by being remembered by those who love and fear you that you will achieve immortality."
Abdalla says, "We are related to the other genie folk but we do not have the ability to grant wished nor are we able to be trapped in a lamp or bottle or another receptacle."
He continues, "I did not go through the full list."
He then responds to Paritosh and says, "That is not for me to say, we Jann are favored much be being able to live very long lives and can you not empathize with short lived creatures as humans who have such a small life span."
After the baths, you go back to your quarters and freshen up.
About an hour afterwards, an attendant knocks on your door and says, "The Sheikh will see you now, please follow me."
The castle's large double door eventually swing open and there is a windy garden path way that opens up to a large feast with over 20 of these huge half-elves sitting on large colorful cushions with brass tea kettles and china from various parts of Zakhara. Sitting in the place of honor is a tall, heavily-muscled woman, standing well
over 6 feet tall. She has sky blue eyes, braided dark hair,
and a stern, angular face. The sheik wears an embroidered
purple aba over her lamellar armor, and is never without
her gold-hilted desert blade.
Next to her sits Abdalla. The rest are equally distributed between male and females and they are sitting much lower than both the Sheikh and the man next to her.
A male standing next to the sheikh says, "The Grand Sheikh of the Krak of Al-Anwahr, the lady Protector of the Haunted Lands, and Quirilocha of the Janni of the Northern Deserts of Zakhara would like to welcome you to our stronghold.' as he crashes two large bronze cymbals together.
All sorts of food lay out on the table in a variety of colors with fruit and vegetables. You can see two large camels being roasted on spits for the group to eat. There is a large cauldron of plov spiced with raisins and cilantro. Everything looks delicious.
Nura takes a seat but refrains from eating until their host does so, or bids her to do so.
Frackit donned his Gnome work leathers, enchanted by his former mentor, his shield was similarly enchanted though it was a spoil of war. Frackit placed the new veneer on it with the symbol of Garl Glitter Gold in the center. Lastly, he placed his tabard and conical hat. Ibn said it would be good to dress as nicely as possible for dinner, including keeping your weapons near.
The Gnome having read of courtly affairs thought one would not want its guests to have full armor and weapons when in attendance, but this was not Faerun. SO on his back rested the Battle Ax with intricate scroll work that was filled in with gold fillagree. His many daggers are hidden though out his work leather straps and buckles, and lastly his sling. The simple weapon a child can use.
After the grooming and dressing Frackit enters the room and seeing the Shiekh again he tried not to goggle at her. These people were impressive and strangely comfortable here in the strange land. Frackit heard Idn and nodded as he sat feeling smaller than he had ever felt before.
Worse he was sitting on the floor. He wasn't used to sitting on the floor? Why would you not want chairs? It was strange but he held himself up trying not to slip into his workman's stoop.
Paritosh, being unfamiliar with courtly etiquette makes every effort to follow along as instructed.
"I am not even six score years alive yet, much too young to be considering 'forever,' and much to old to be childish about it."
Zairiah listens to Fadilah intently, loving that she is so talkative here and that she is able to get to know her a little better.
She is enjoying herself immensely, but after a while she says
I should retire. We need to get started early on our explorations since we have a limited time here.
She bows to their hosts
Thank you so much for the wonderful hospitality. We are very fortunate to have such an opportunity.
I should get to sleep early so that we can get back to our exploration in the morning, but I did have one question for you... do you do any trading with the surrounding lands? I am a trader, and would love to talk to you about different opportunities if there is any interest.
The Sheyisha says, "Well, yes, we would be amenable to a trade partnership. What kind of products do you have on offer to sell?"
Zairiah shows them the different dyes that she has collected from different cities, and also tells them that she has two waterskins full of powerful magical healing water, one reserved for the Grand Caliph, but another that might be able to help someone else with an illness that normal healing cannot mend, and they still have 12 gold rings and a heavy gold crown from their travels, if they have anything to trade in return.