"Enough with the whinging," Royken scolds. "If we take their f!@@ing food, we're just going to have to move even faster. Let's go get this over with."
He looks around to make sure his companions understand the urgency, gives a decisive nod, and turns to leave.
Phera sighs. "I'll give you a day's worth of food to get you started, Miss Prissy-pants. But then you're on your own," she grumbles.
***
After resting to recover from the fight with the manticore, you set out on foot across the Spellscar Desert. From the air, it’s easy to mistake the Spellscar Desert’s dry, rocky badlands for lumpy but easily traversable hills. On foot and up close, the wasteland is a tangle of dry riverbeds, jagged basins, and small but steep mountain ranges. Fields of hoodoos—rock columns naturally carved by flash floods or mana storms—punctuate the arid landscape. Dust devils are common, with less-common flash floods following just about any amount of precipitation.
About 10 miles into your 40 mile journey, you come upon a dry riverbed that slowly descends into a narrow, winding canyon with twenty‑foot walls of sandstone on either side. A trickle of water cascades from a small natural spring about halfway up the western wall, near the mouth of the canyon. The canyon walls offer a rare spot of shade and shelter from the hot sun.
Evan and Lora spot strange, sliding marks in the sandy bed of the river, as if several large snakes slithered through the sand while it was wet.
Eva looks at the marks. "S++@... this will be risky, but we do need that water." She says to the others, looking worried at Lora.
Royken nods.
"Right then," he growls, and begins descending. "Shade and water are more important."
Lora is a sweat-drenched mess, her feet hurt and her hair is plastered everywhere. She hasn't said anything for hours, which every one of you knows is the longest she has ever been without saying something. Eva even knows she talks in her sleep at times.
The bard just glares around her, telling this place how much she hates it all with her eyes alone. Then she follows Royken.
You approach the spring to refresh yourself and fill your waterskins. As you are doing so, though, a strange creature emerges from a small cave on the south side of the canyon. The alien being resembles something like a human-sized octopus, pulling itself across the ground with nine tentacled arms. Five smaller eyes surround an enormous central eye in its forehead, and its mouthparts quiver as it approaches. You can hear telepathic words forming in your minds.
"Greetings! Welcomes! Salutations! New beings come, new words to speak? What are names? Where are from? Where are going?"
Lora just sighs in resignation when the creature comes out, fully expecting it to try and eat them, cause that is what this place does.
But then it talks, mentally, but it is still talking.
"H-I" her voice cracks, with annoyed disuse, so she takes a quick drink of the water, then tries again. She dips into a formal curtsey, "Lora Drowne from Alkenstar travelling to a Brighite temple that is hopefully this way." she'll introduce the others if they don't do so themselves and don't give any indication that they don't want to be introduced.
As she rises to standing she asks the same of the creature "And you are? From where? And going where?"
The creature's limbs twist with glee when Lora speaks to it. "Lora Drowne! Brighite! New words feel nice!"
When asked about itself, the creature points one of its many limbs towards its body. "I. From unknown. Going unknown. I lives, and I learns, and I eats."
The being points to Lora again. "Lora Drowne. Lora Drowne eats? How eats? How speaks? How ambulates?"
Two of the beings tentacles caress and fondle a strange cylindrical iron helmet adorned with a crown-like display of gun barrels extending out in all directions.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, I. I would say you could shorten your live, learns, and eats to Survive, but it does not always include Learning, I guess." chatting is better than walking, so she continues, happier than she has been all day, even with the alieness of the creature before her.
"I eat with my mouth. At the moment, I eat what are called trail rations, that I think must have been stored in that 'dear' captain's socks for year at least. I ambulate with my feet." she opens her mouth and wiggles a foot.
Then she repeats the questions back at I, fully expecting eat to be Lora Drowne. Cause that is how her life is going.
Royken just watches the thing, also surprised that it's not trying to eat them, at least not yet.
He tries to figure out what it might be -- or at least what it's holding.
"What are you?" he finally decides to ask.
Understanding how the alien appears to avid to learn more, Eva is happy to teach it, specially if she can keep them safe as well. "In our language, "I" is not a name, but instead each being, in the sense that to me, I am "I" as well."
"Would you like for us to give you a proper name? Like "Larry"? This is something that friends sometimes do, and we can be your friends... and friends help each other and do not eat each other."
Royken identifies the gun-studded helmet as a helmet studded with guns.
I blinks their many eyes at Royken. "I," they answer, as if that explains everything. They turn back to Lora.
"Rations! Socks! New words! I eats with mouth as well. I does not speak, but thinks nice thoughts at Lora Drowne. Thoughts like Brighite and socks! I ambulates with many appendages." They wiggle their tentacles in demonstration.
I turns to Eva. "Friend! New word! Is nice word? Means not food?" Their tentacles writhe happily. "Give I name!"
"It is a very nice word!" She says, smiling. She points to all of them, including Bleach's cat, since she could not bear the thought of the alien eating their tiny friend whole. "We are all friends. We help each other. We like each other. We are good to each other, and we'd never eat each other..." ...in the strictly meaning of the word, of course. She can't help but think of the many times she and Lora have done it to each other, and then tries not to think about it, fearing that the alien could perhaps read her thoughts.
She then frowns, thinking about a proper name for "I". "Your name is... Elias, of the Lone Canyon." Saying this, she boldly approaches the alien being and offers her metal hand to it. "Please, hold my hand, lightly, so we can be good friends."
"Elias" extends a tentacle. It fondles Eva's metallic hand, seemingly fascinated by the feeling of it. "Good friends! Interesting appendage! What made of? Socks?"
"No, it is made of different metals." She explains and then taps the metal item in Elias's tentacles, producing a sound. "This is also made of metal, while this..." She adds as she removes one of her boots. "Is a sock."
Flexing her sterling dymano, she adds. "When I was younger, I hurt myself and lost my real arm, so my father made another one for me."
"Do you live here alone, Elias? What do you eat?"
"Metal! Not socks." Elias wriggles their tentacles and holds up the helm they are holding. "This metal, too? Likes feeling it. Many moving parts. Very interesting!"
They then answer Eva's questions. "Only Elias lives here. Leaves to eat creatures around here. Many different creatures in desert. Some tastier than others! Lots of tasty bugs in soft rock. Not many in scary glass castle."
"It does look interesting." She agrees, a weight from her shoulders being lifted when Elias indicates that people are not on the menu for them. "Hum... are you hungry now? Perhaps we could look around for these tasty creatures... and why is this glass castle scary?"
Lora positivity beams at Elias. Happy as pie he is nice and not wanting to eat them. She does frown though when she feels like the conversation is going toward bug eating, but she doesn't say what she thinks about that cause she is sure it might have Roykin snap about eating what we can. "how long have you been here?" though she is not sure Elias would understand.
Royken watches -- in some bit of disbelief -- as Eva approaches the creature, but it does indeed seem to be interested in being friends. He's about to ask about the glass castle when Eva takes the words out of his mouth.
He looks around, trying to make sure they are in fact alone.
Bleach shares Royken's cautious sentiments and he too stays at bay. Hadi the winged cat refuses to leave its master's shoulder, and warily tracks the creature's every move. "Without a means to track time, time itself can pass you right on by. Perhaps, if Elias cannot answer your question, Elias can tell us roughly how many meals it has had since ... arriving here?"
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"Hungry, yes. You look tasty. But...good friends not food, yes? Not Brighite or socks either."
Elias seems confused by the mention of time. "Time is new word. Elias does not know. Many meals eaten. Many more than number of appendages."
They turn back to Eva. "Scary glass castle. Scary being lives there. Eyes that rip, teeth that tear. Not friend like Lora Drowne or Metal Appendage."
"Yes, good friends are not food, and you can call me Eva." She says, asserting once more that they are not Elias's meal. They calling her "metal appendage" gave her an idea that she shelves for when they have returned to Alkenstar.
"We are also hungry, Elias, so how about we look for something to eat together, as friends, and then we can perhaps talk more about this Glass Castle... who knows, perhaps we can help you, since we are good friends." She shrugs, looking at the others. "If this place we are is not the "Tentacle Canyon" we've read about, I'm a flying mico, so there is a good chance that this Glass Castle is the Craddle of Quartz."
"Elias, by chance, have you recently seen a flying monster made of metal recently?"
"No flying metal monster. But Elias takes you to tasty food!" The tentacled being begins to pull themself along the riverbed, leading you onward. Once you get back to open desert, they dive into the sand and begin swimming through it like it was water, occasionally glancing back to make sure you are still following them.
You travel for a few miles. The desert sun beats down, with no wind and no shade for respite. Ahead, a ridge of hills offers the promise of at least some shelter from the blistering sun. Suddenly, a small plume of sand erupts from the ground a few feet ahead, followed almost immediately by the crack of a rifle shot, arriving just after the projectile!
"Danger!" Elias says, burrowing into the sand to hide. Looking to the hills ahead, you spot a lone gnoll holding a long gun that glow with golden light! The gnoll slides a new round into the gun's chamber and raises it once more!
Before you can react, the gnoll lets loose a blood-curdling howl and fires, making the report sound unearthly and disturbing! The round slams into Royken's leg.
The gun's glow then intensifies, surrounding the gnoll and inspiring him!
At first Lora's eyes widen in surprise. "That is... just a gnoll. He's only got one head, not surrounded by rotting fruit or raining snakes or---" she stops as the glow surrounds him, then her surprise turns to "oh, f%$!" in a barely controlled whimper.
With a shaking hand she pulls her pistol and fires, before moving as quick as she can to anything that could be considered cover.
Bleach jumps up like a scared cat would when the howling bullet comes flying at them. Uncertain about what to do, the wizard does what he always does. He quickly summons forth an undead minion and instructs it to spit fire at the gnoll.
Like the others, Eva is scared about that creepy bullet and fer fingers tremble as she works on overdriving her arm, causing it to overheat and shock her. "Ouch!"
Still a bit shaky, she runs towards the gnoll, knowing that the best way to fight them is to get rid of their gun. Halfway through, however, Eva looks for some cover.
Will:
HP 69/80
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +10 (bravery)
Hero points: 3
Ammo: 7 rounds
Effects:
"Gyah! It's a trap!" Royken yells as the bullet hits him ... though to be honest, he's not sure I intended this or is as surprised as everyone else.
With nothing to be done for it right now, he takes cover and pulls his gun out, preparing to charge toward the gnoll.
Royken feels the Elias is genuinely afraid and probably didn't deliberately lead the group into a trap...
Lora's bullet and the skull's flames miss the gnoll. He calmly reloads his rifle and fires at Royken again before dropping back behind cover.
HP 69/80
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +10 (bravery)
Hero points: 3
Ammo: 50 rounds
Effects:
"Grngh," Royken grunts as he takes another bullet. Unwilling to take anymore, he charges, again using the butt end of his gun to beat down the attacker.
"Forward! We'll cover you!" And by we, the wizard means him and the flaming skull. Inspired by Lora's whimpering and not wanting to hear any more of it, Bleach lines up a perfect ray of frost.
Eva follows Royken, but tries to move around the gnoll to flank them before she starts to punch them.
The fear pumping her heart to twice speed slows down enough for her to notice the blood trail oozing out of Roykin. Raising her hand she heals him as he runs past.
"You made our dwarf mad and you don't want... wait, no you already are? Ignore that and just die!" the bard does not like being afraid and it shows in her stumbling attempt at inspiration.
Bleach's summoned skull lands a hit on the gnoll, scorching his fur. The wizard himself scores a critical hit with a ray of frost, wounding and slowing down the sniper with clinging ice.
Royken charges into melee range, the gnoll narrowly avoiding his powerful swing! Eva moves around to flank the gnoll, getting a good punch in!
The gnoll brings the blade attached to his rifle to bear, slashing at Eva!
HP 69/80
AC 22
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +10 (bravery)
Hero points: 3
Ammo: 50 rounds
Effects:
"Enough of this b%$%*+$#!" Royken growls, trying to scare the gnoll before before swinging futilely with his gun. "I don't know why you were here waiting for us, but we have enough to deal with right now. We don't need you!"
At least he might be distracting it to let Eva get in a good blow.
Bleach continues the barrage and launches another blast of frost at the gnoll. The skull, meanwhile, bobs above him and spits more liquid fire at their furry foe.
Lora reloads, and fires off another shot into the melee, "Why are you attacking us, just because we exist or smell funny or what?" she inspires with questions.
Lora scores a glancing blow on the gnoll. Eva punches him again and Bleach zaps him with an icy beam.
The rifle's golden glow suddenly flares brightly, and the injured gnoll gets an odd look in his eyes. He lowers his weapon and gets on his knees, barking a surrender in his native language.
Don't speak gnoll," Royken says, holding off any further attacks. "You speak Common? Or anyone speak his language?"
"Talarðu dverga?" he tries, in the off chance it'll work.
"Do you speak Dwarven?"
He keeps his eye on the strange rifle, just in case it acts up.
The gnoll shakes his head. It seems he only speaks his native tongue.
The strange rifle remains quiescent. Its golden glow has faded away.
"Oh good, another reasonable sort out here in the dessert. Elais, can you understand him?" Lora reloads her gun quickly, and holsters it as she looks to their new friend. She hopes the mental communication transcends the spoken word.
"I do." Eva simply says, though she sighs, frowns, and clear her throat before doing so.
<"We accept your surrender and no further harm will come to you as long as you cooperate. What with the golden rifle?"> She asks, the sound strange and somewhat ferocious coming from a human mouth.
With the battle over, Elias emerges from the sand. They examine the gnoll curiously. "No longer danger. Toy? Food?" they inquire.
The gnoll looks to Eva. <"This is Jax. We patrol the Spellscar Desert, hunting demon worshippers and bandits. We assumed you were one or the other based on the strange creature you travel with."> He winces, growls, and says, <"Sorry.">
"Hum... it seems we have just found another ally. They are neither food nor toy, Elias." She tells the others.
<"No, we are neither bandits nor demon worshipers. Our airship was attacked by a monster and we had to make a forced landing."> Eva explains to the gnoll. <"Since we are not enemies, perhaps you could assist us in getting somewhere safer than the open desert?">
She decides to speak nothing about their mission, since she doesn't know how the pair would react to it. That riffle was too nice and beautiful, and to her it looked like some item associated with Brigh, so there was a good chance the gnoll would lead them towards the Craddle of Quartz anyway.
<"Yes. I am Palzu. If you will allow me, I will escort you through these lands to ensure your safety,"> the gnoll says.
Eva nods before translating to the others. "The gnoll is Palzu and the rifle is called Jax. The gnoll thinks the rifle speaks to him, but I yet do not know if that is true, or if he is just nuts. I've asked them to guide us to somewhere safe, and they agreed... you ok with that?"
While they think, she adds to Palzu. <"And what about our strange new friend here?"> She motions to Elias. <"He seems somewhat dangerous and lost, but he is smart and appears eager to learn... do you know anything about him or his kind?">
Palzu shakes his head. <"There are all sorts of strange mutant beings in this place. I would not let your guard down around that creature.">
Royken nods, looking down at his wounds. It figures he'd have to just let bygones by bygones, but so be it. "Let me get bandaged up, then we can go."
Bleach sits down next to Royken and helps him out with his wounds. It wouldn't do to pick up an infection, not while they're stuck out here with no access to divine healers or skilled potion-brewers. "Did you see how the gnoll's rifle glowed before he engaged us? It was doing ... things ... and I'm pretty sure that it is no ordinary rifle. Can't help but wonder how he got it. "
Royken nods.
"Yeah, my gun definitely doesn't do that," he agrees. He's completely unsure whether they should trust Elias, Palzu, both or neither. But he figures there's not much he can do about it at this point, so he'll be ready if necessary, just like always. "Keep your eyes open."
You travel on through the desert. Just before nightfall, you spy an unusual rock formation in the distance. Ahead, dozens of stone pillars stand, twenty feet high and irregularly shaped. They all share the same layering pattern of sediment, indicating they’re all that remains of a riverbed that once filled this canyon. Eroded by wind and flash floods, some of the pillars seem carved almost intelligently, no doubt by the strange action of the mana storms that scour the landscape.
The pillars provide enough shade and cover to make for a good campsite. You rest there overnight, keeping a careful watch on the surrounding environs, as well as on Elias and Palzu. Fortunately, no threats manifest from without or within, and the next day, you awakened refreshed and resume your journey.
Soon enough, you come upon the site that Elias has been leading you toward. From a distance, this site appears as another crag of rock emerging from the rugged terrain. As you close in, you notice its odd symmetry, which gives it the appearance of an Ulfen longship half-buried in the sand. A few hundred feet out, it becomes clear that an Ulfen ship is, in fact, exactly what the sight is. One side of the ship is staved in. Sand covers the main deck, and only the bow and stern prows jut from the earth. At a dozen yards out, you can see the ship is embedded in the rock, as if it somehow materialized partially within the stone or sank into mud that later hardened.
"Here! Tasty bugs inside! Elias hungry!" the tentacled being thinks at you, mouthparts wriggling in anticipation.