motteditor's page

"Merely call out for us in your thoughts, and we will hear you and come to you,"[b] the first replies. [b]"I am Aumensilakos and Yrisolma is my companion. Understand, this book is a dire threat, and must be destroyed. It is too dangerous to stay in mortal hands."

If you don't want to promise for real, you can attempt Bluff check to fake a promise to cooperate, a Diplomacy check to avoid offending the outsiders, or a Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, or planes) check to demonstrate an understanding of the Necronomicon. You know they can detect thoughts and sense lies, so it may be difficult if you don't agree. (You could also mentioned your encounter with the Keeper in the Mysterium, though obviously what you tell them of that would be up to you.)

[ooc]Going to hold off on the door check for now, but I'll remember that roll.

The multiverse are all the planes. You know it more commonly as the Great Beyond.

"We also seek the Necronomicon," the first archon replies, "which we have tracked to this tower."

"What doors do you speak of? the second asks, looking around. "There is no entrance to this tower that we see."

The first interjects.

"Unimportant. If you seek the Necronomicon, you must signal and deliver it to us as soon you find it. We shall destroy it and end its threat to the multiverse."

With little idea of where you go, you continue to try to make your way to the lake, which turns out to be a stunning ultramarine blue. The single factor disrupting its beauty is the water’s mirror- like reflection, showing a haunting skyline of metal, wood, and stone structures in all directions that don't exactly match what you see when you look around.

With few other clues, you continue to search, fending off the occasional other undead-fungal creature. You think you spot something at one crossroads, a a traveler turning down one of the paths. But when you call -- and then rush after -- they're nowhere to be found. Elsewhere, Kyffin hears a phantasmal proclamation, “We’re turning right here; I have foreseen this path before,” echoing several times. Again, though, it proves to be nothing more than sound, signifying nothing that you can tell. Hours later, you all hear the screaming of a delirious person from
just out of sight and his comrades’ worried observations that tendrils are growing from his skin and that they must burn the body. When you reach the source of the sound, though, you find just a charred stain on the ground, and once again, the apparently hallucinatory travelers turn out of sight ahead, not to be seen again.

Eventually, the visions lead to a dark, basalt tower 400 feet tall with severe corners and concave sides that nonetheless appear to bulge outward. Most notably, the tower has a broad set of stone double doors—an anomaly in the alien city.

Standing before the doors are two indistinct travelers. For once, however, they do not run. They speak to one another in distorted voices, seemingly unable to see the massive entrance nearby. From a distance,
the shadow-shrouded travelers appear to be more of Lowls’s phantom hirelings, but as you get closer, their forms come into focus: The humanoid figures have no mouth, and each one carries a burning sword that matches its flaming wings.

As you approach, they turn to face them, leveling flaming swords in your direction. They seem unfriendly -- maybe even hostile -- until they catch sight of Al's religious symbol, denoting his faith in Erastil.

"Who are you strangers?" you hear their voices in your heads in your native tongue. "Why have you come to this forsaken city?"

We do need a Will save from Al, though.

Each of the lamias had a +1 dagger. One also had a ring made of clear crystal that radiates magic ring of X-ray vision, one had a copper clasp holding a filthy vest on her a brooch of amber sparks, and the third had a set of filthy gloves gloves of dueling.

The human had two scrolls, one of flame strike, one of major curse; a +1 chain shirt, a +1 spear, a cloak of resistance +2 and 548 gp.

Starflit's blade kills the spellcaster, and shatters another image, letting Kyffin kill the nearest lamia, and ending one of the two concurrent battles going on.

To the south, the unaware lamia feels confident enough in her magic, only to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks from Al and Lothan. Desperate, she attempts to take Al out of the fight 18 hp, plus DC 18 Will save or 1 Wisdom drain. It's not enough, though, and she dies a moment later.

Fight over!

:D

Fortunately I have other music on so that's not getting stuck in my head (yet).

I've decided this touch drain without a save is silly. I could buy no save for a hit vs. AC, but this just feels unfun to me.

So, I'm going to retroactively impose a DC 18 Will save for each drain, @kyffin.

Have time now, so going to post. Al can act twice in the next round.

Starflit's starknife hits the human then goes through a lamia image. Kyffin can't take advantage, though, as his blade cuts through three more images, leaving the lamia more exposed -- but still a deadly threat. Kyffin manages to see through the images, though, his spell finding the true target and slamming into her, spraying fungus across the twisted street. Still it stands, however, but he's able to fend it as it totters from its injuries.[/ooc]

To the south, Al and Lothan battle on, the archer pincushioning the nearest lamia, leaving Al free to take on the other. He hesitates, letting it comes to him -- and into Lothan's sight -- but takes a slash from its dagger in the exchange. [/ooc]8 hp[/ooc]

The spellcaster stares at Tristain and then gestures, a dread bolt streaking toward the flying loon. But somehow -- perhaps due to the odd effects of the city's geography? -- just barely misses.

Starflit continues to keep everyone safe from the black tentacles, as she calls down fire from above on the former human, though he manages to avoid the worst of it.

Lothan moves toward Al, dispelling the last image of his target with an arrow, and giving the old man a chance to get close a second later -- but he swings for where the last image was, cutting nothing but air! Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of the third lamia coming around the building, but a slash from his opponent's claw draws his attention back to defending himself. 6 hp

Kyffin -- bolstered by Tristain's magic -- has a little more luck, cutting deep with his first slash, but then hitting two images as they flicker back and forth. The many images distract him, leaving him open to a lucky blow as he fended off claws and tentacles from other directions. 8 hp, plus 1 Wisdom drain

The former human looks up at Tristain and scowls. And casts a devastating spell! DC 21 Fort save ... or be BLIND!

Starflit quickly frees everyone from the tentacles, giving them butterfly wings for a moment to let them slip free, and you all take advantage.

Kyffin rushes toward the two foes to the north, taking a vicious slam from a tentacle from the lion-bodied woman 6 hp. It tries to wrap around him but slides off, perhaps a lingering effect of Starflit's magic.

Lothan opens fire at the nearest one, which is just close enough that the strange geography doesn't throw off his aim. Unfortunately, each arrow merely hits one of the images, destroying it but leaving the creature itself unharmed. Still, that leaves better odds for Al -- but not good enough, as his spear merely destroys another image, leaving only two of the creatures flickering back and forth.

Tristain realizes that the lion-women are -- or perhaps were? -- lamias, while the other looks like he was once human. They're clearly infected with some undead fungal awfulness, however, likely from the taint in Neruzavin. Still, if he had to guess, they're all likely resistant to cold and electricity, as well as piercing weapons. They're not resistant to magic, though would be tough to harm with channeled energy. They likely would be affected by anything that affects undead or plants, and aren't immune to charms, compulsions, and mind-affecting effects from psychic sources, such as psychic spells or a creature’s psychic magic ability. However, if it's as bad as he suspects, such effects could hurt the source of such spells.

The orange lamia snarls back at Al, casting a spell, and he feels a wave of fatigue wash over him for a moment, before it passes. He's immune to her spell. The lamia to the south ducks behind a building, out of Lothan's sight, but the one to the north turns to Kyffin with deadly intent in her eyes. He's largely able to avoid her dagger, claws and tentacles, but she does manage to touch him one time and he feels his mind start to cloud. 3 Wisdom DRAIN (no save that I can see)

He can hear chanting right behind him, the former human calling out a prayer, and tenses, readying himself for whatever it might be, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees a cloying miasma form over the tentacles, covering Staflit, Lothan and Al. 20 hp, sickened 1 round; DC 20 Will save for half damage and no sickened

I'll be out of this town this weekend. Back to posting Monday afternoon/evening or Tuesday morning.

I'm out of town this weekend. My projects finish up Monday, so I should be able to post more reliably at that point. Unfortunately, high-level play means combat posts take longer!

As you begin making your way into the city, you notice the sky to the south starting to darken, an ominous, oddly moving cloud that you can only sometimes see through the strange architecture. You frequently lose sight of it as you twist and turn through the city, trying to make your way to the lake.

You think you might be starting to get close to where you want to go, when you suddenly realize you're not alone! Approaching from three directions are a horrific creature. Its lower body is that of a decaying lion, while its upper torso is that of a woman with ropey fungus for hair. A web of grotesque fibers sprouts from its body. They're accompanied by a human figure, who looks similarly fungified.

As they approach, the creatures all cast spells, the lion-bodied figures suddenly doubling and doubling again they all cast mirror image, while the human figure calls out and summons a mass of black tentacles to rise up around you and grab you! 33 CMB, if that succeeds, you take 9 bludgeoning and are grappled

Party is up!

One casting is fine.
The whispers come back to Starflit as she concentrates, along with a feeling of ... evil. It as if the creatures in the city have been corrupted, cursed by the horrors here. Where in a normal city, she hears and senses the feelings of people of all walks of life, here there is a darkness to all she senses. Please give me a Will save. Still, even so, she does get answers, even if she isn't sure they are completely reliable.

1. Great creatures from beyond this world, or your comprehension, from the Dark Tapestry, beyond the stars. They are beyond your understanding, like you are beyond an ant's.

2. The star sickness, the seedborne consumption, has claimed many, and still they walk here, hoping to spread the glory of Xhamen-Dor. The fungus spreads, its rhizomes stretching throughout Neruzavin. Giant vermin and rift drakes pray on the few mortals who against all odds eke out a living in this city.

3. In Hastur's Realm, Carcosa.

4. Starflit hears nothing but laughter. There is no safety in Neruzavin.

5. The laughter drowns out an answers she may have heard to this question.

6. Hoshbagh the scavenger, “the screaming woman” Upianshe, “the scarred man” Aeptolinu and “the deep thinker” Olkoshim, and perhaps the three serpent sisters of the stars.

7. The scavenger may trade, but she doesn't remain in one place for long.

8. No answer emerges, just a chilling silence.

Dealing with a design deadline that I'm trying to get a project finished up by, plus just general heavy workload at work, so will reply ASAP. Probably tomorrow, since I want to make sure I'm giving you good answers to your questions!

My condolences. May her memory be a blessing.

You rest -- somehow peacefully, knowing you have a moment of respite before arriving at this dread city -- and in the morning set out. By midday you reach Neruzavin, the destination you know where Lowls was headed, and where a great evil slumbers.

Ahead of you, a series of twisting towers, claustrophobic streets, and asymmetrical plazas fill a basin. Some of its towers and senseless arches have toppled, but many of the edifices remain. Averaging 400 feet high, they loom far taller than even Absalom’s impressive cityscape. Despite its enormity and former glory, Neruzavin feels utterly abandoned. Anemic clouds silently whip by overhead, far above lifeless streets practically untouched by the desert winds, as though any hint of motion would offend the barren terraces, towers, and tiles. Streets bend at irregular angles and end abruptly as if such mundane thoroughfares were never intended to be functional. Walls seem to retract inward out of the corner of one’s eyes, only to bulge uncomfortably upon closer examination, like malignant architectural tumors granted unholy animation by optical illusions.

So, this area is a sandbox, which doesn't play super well in PBP. I'm going to try it and see how far we get -- part of this is setting up the city so you can really experience it, but I don't want to get too bogged down in the multiple combats/random encounters that should happen here. The map is in the overall map and you can place Kyffin's token where you want to go and we'll see what happens.

The maze-like layout reduces your speed to one-quarter normal for the purpose of local travel. As a result, it takes a group traveling at a speed of 30 feet about 1 hour to travel 4,500 feet. Navigational magic such as find the path or flight increases your speed to three-quarters normal, as even then tiy must dodge around improbably tall structures and angled streets. Only by combining such magic and flight can you travel at full speed.

Collectively, the garden of towers has an unnerving effect on those who behold it, imposing the following effects on them.
• The unsettling geometry and lesser otherworldly signatures disturb animals, increasing the DCs of Handle Animal, Ride, and wild empathy checks to control them by 5.
• The sensory distortion makes it easy to miscalculate attacks, giving creatures a 20% miss chance against ranged attacks that originate from more than 60 feet away.
• Despite the desert climate, the city itself remains relatively cool during the day. At night, the temperature drops to near freezing.

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. Hoping for the best.

Hey all, we're almost done with this, but I'd really like to finish. One post a week is just going to take forever. I'd really like if we can all just push and get it done.

Hey all, I'm going to be on vacation next week. Since you're about to head into a new area and I still have a growing amount to do before I head off on vacation, this feels like a good place to take a short break. I expect to resume play Feb. 19 or 20.

"It is a dead city, abandoned by all but those who can gaze into the apocalypse and survive," she replies to Tristain. "Only the seeded -- the worldeater’s children -- stir the dust with their feet. Stone buildings loom and twist, rising too high and at strange angles without windows. Three pillars stranger than all others are not half so tall. Instead they bear the language of other realms, inscribed with rituals and promises to bind this world to another. I slept beneath each pillar once, each night awakening with overwhelming urges to consume, doubt, or revel. Last, beware the sleepers below. They sing. They whistle. They whisper, promising to consume all that live. They can taste your very breath. One lies near the city’s western edge.”

She turns to Kyffin. "You are close. When you set out, you will have time for just one more dream before you arrive." You're a day away.

“Many dreams reflect the waking world," she replies. "You fought the madness that lives below ground, and so too does madness sleep under the sand here. You awakened the madness that slumbers beneath the water, and so too is the water here home to the greatest fiend. You walked among the towering trees, and so too do buildings tower in the holy city. You seek the oasis from which oblivion is born? It lies within the holy city.

“It slumbers within the oasis, trading dreams for souls. Those who lack the spirit to understand its call are immune. Those of fecund mind become host to its evil and spread its seed across the world. If you seek it out, you will surely awaken it. You might have already.”

She ponders a moment at Kyffin's question, before replying. "I shall not help the puny man you seek condemn this world. I shall not stand alongside those who would prevent it. If the world ends, that is Groetus’s will. I shall only offer you my blessing and my wisdom, that you might be heralds of this realm’s salvation -- or its damnation. The Shatter Smile shall remain here for many days more before traveling again. If my magic would delay your own deaths before then, seek me out once more.”

As you turn to the cheering ash giants, you see them start rushing toward you. You're afraid for a moment that you have indeed been betrayed, but after a few tense seconds (during which Lothan almost launched a barrage of arrows toward the closest giant) you realize their goal is in fact the scorpion. They begin dismembering it to harvest its meat and chitin, while Mother Grim Moon leads the you back up the igneous hill and seats herself at its weathered summit.

"Some dreams are shared. Some dreams are spread. You carry one of the darkest dreams: dreams that would infect -- perhaps already have infected -- countless souls and condemn the world. How could I not hear your dreams?”

She agrees to answer any questions you have.

With Al freed by the Black Butterfly's divine grace, you're all able to easily dispatch the scorpion to the cheers of the giants (though you do hear a few "awww"s as Al barely escapes with his life)!

Al only got so far ahead thanks to Tristain's haste spell. So if he dies, it's Tristain's fault.

Starflit rushes forward in a blur of darkness, taking a blow from the scorpion's stinger as she gets close. She feels poison begin coursing through her, seemingly attacking all her muscles. 27 hp, plus need a DC Fort save or take 4 Str damage, 3 Dex damage, 3 Con damage
She's followed a moment later by Kyffin, who cracks the thing's chitin slightly as Al desperately tries to free himself!

The thing rears back in pain as the brutal blows rain down on it, and squeezes Al, making it so he can't move at all! 29 hp, and you're no2 pinned.

I will need another DC 25 Fort save from Al on his turn or he will take 3 Strength and Dex damage and 4 Con damage!

Tristain flies up out of range after casting haste on ever, leaving Al to charge forward on his own -- the enhanced speed letting him get close enough to crack the scorpion's chitin with his blade. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem inclined to appreciate Al's attempt to not kill it, and responds with lethal force.

It grabs him in one of its claws (Al barely notices that the other claw appears to be injured and fortunately useless, likely saving his life), crushing him even as it's tail strikes and nearly rips the old man's body in two! 72 hp, plus I need a DC 25 Fort save vs. poison or take 3 points of Strength, Dex and Con damage.

The giants react with cheers to the sudden violence.

Party is up.

Sorry, forgot I didn't set the map for you to edit. That's what I get for posting when I was in a rush. :) Also, they don't mind if you kill it -- you're proving your toughness.

After a minute, it emerges from out of the cleft, a massive creature easily 30 feet long with claws (and stinger!) about the size of Tristain. It lurches forward, but not faster than Lothan, Tristain and Albert can react.

Those three are up. Remember that the squares are 20 feet! (So you're "figs" are actually bigger than they should be to scale.)

She smiles at your answers, but ignores Al's question and climbs creakily to her feet. "Those are pretty words, but speeches can't fell all foes," she says as she begins walking toward the cleft in the hill and waving for you to follow.

“The Shatter Smile is proud and strong and has always taken stone from this hill. This time its people found one of the beasts the girtablilus stole from us, and even the clan’s best claw-speakers cannot convince it to submit. This has made the Shatter Smile resent the beast, and had I not intervened, they would have thrown rocks until it crumbled -- good, but not bold. The beast is too immense to risk getting closer, so they have trapped it in the hill.

[b]“You are the dream-walkers, the city-seekers, the endstoppers. You come to me seeking my counsel, yet you cannot command the true respect of this clan. Tame what they cannot -- fight what gives them fear -- and they shall honor you. The Shatter Smile is not strong enough to brave the holy city. If you cannot be stronger than them, why should I waste breath explaining that you are too weak to enter?”

The cleft is partly blocked by a jumble of boulders nearly 10 feet tall -- enough to deter an immense scorpion within from escaping, but not enough to trap it completely. Mother Grim Moon pauses in sight of the ridge and calls out to the other giants as she challenges you to
prove your might.

Assuming you agree
The ash giants use their bodies to form a roughly 100-foot-diameter ring around the cleft’s entrance, with you inside. Chanting and stomping the ground rhythmically, they use their vermin empathy to goad the scorpion to emerge and fight.

"Wait until the scorpion has emerged entirely before you strike," Mother Grim Moon warns. "We giants value cunning, but we respect only strength."

About to leave for the weekend. You can place yourselves on the map. They're 20-foot squares. The scorpion will be coming from the south.

LOL. Defeated by a door...

Bumping... (though I will be out of town this weekend.)

You eventually make it to the giants' camp after hearing a number of other apparently well-intentioned but nonetheless somewhat insulting observations about you, mostly relating to your very small, itty-bitty, teeny-weeny size: Several dozen broad tents of hides stretched across bone and chitin supports sprawl out in the shadow of a steep-sided hill. Glassy rivulets of broken obsidian slither down the dark slopes, and the entire peak is cleft in two as if split by some tremendous force.

The giants there seem surprised to see you, but as they realize you are in fact with Oaag and Lurrohak, they offer you tentative -- and yet ghastly -- smiles.

They lead you to a large pavilion, where an aging giant woman stares east -- toward Neruzavin. As you approach, she turns to face you. Wrinkles radiate like cobwebs across the leathery mask that is the face of this aging ash giant. Her stare intensifies, and her smile twists into a rictus of delight. “At long last, the dreamers arrive," she says. "Survivors of Sarnath, delvers of darkness, seekers of the oasis, they who walked the sleeping forest and spoke to the Yellow King. You have walked upon the moon with footsteps that echo of the end times.” Wheezing punctuates her cackles. “Yes, yes, I have awaited you. Tell me of what you would do before the world dies.”

They basically can't give you exact directions -- but say they could lead you there, about two days' journey. It's roughly in the same direction as Neruzavin.

Hey, that's not very nice! These guys have a 9 Int. That's almost average. Probably smarter than Lothan! :D

"What, you ain't dreamed of her yourself then?" one asks.

"No, just because Mother Grim Moon sees them in their dreams, that don't mean that they dream, Oaag. I told you, they ain't got big enough heads for dreams. What with all the nighthorses they probably got in there, about being stepped on, account of them being so little and all."

They go back and forth for a little longer, but eventually it becomes clear that Mother Grim Moon is in fact the leader of their group of Shatter Smile giants who's in a camp about two days away. And that they've been told to look for you, because she wants to talk to you.

It's new.

Tristain hasn't heard the name before, but it sounds likely that it's a cleric among giants or some other similar position of importance.

"Oy, well, she 'ad a dream of you, didn't she?" Oaag asks. "Sure we said that already..."

"You'd think they'd know that from their own dreams. But maybe their 'eads aren't big enough to fit a dream in there?" Lurrohak posits.

"See, I told you there was a talk-y one," Lurrohak says triumphantly. "Not shutting up. That means that one with the sticks must be the nutter..."

"Well, Mother Grim Moon, of course," Oaag interjects, cutting off his companion as he tries to figure out which of you smells worst.

"They musta' known that already, Oaag," Lurrohak says, having decided it's probably Kyffin (even though that throws off his count, since Kyffin's also clearly the charred one). "After all, they look relatively smart considering how little space they got in their heads for their brains."

"Oy, what was it she said we was looking for, Lurrohak? Five shorties, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. A proper pack of 'em, it were, Oaag."

"Right. There are five of you, yeah?" Lurrohak looks you over, counting on his fingers. "Yeah, the one girl one, what likes to dress all in black, an old one that might not smell so good, one who's a bit of a nutter, one who talks a lot and --"

"The charred one!" Lurrohak interjects. "All burned up nice and proper." He squints as he looks over you. "I don't think this is them. None of them are proper burnt up. I mean, maybe we burn one of 'em, and then we can bring 'em back and show her what we found."

"No, you idiot," Oaag replies. "She didn't say charred true. Chartreuse. He's green. And that one there looks plenty green. About to sick up like he as a scorpion guy 'oo saw us comin' for 'im.

"Oy, you sick?" he asks Kyffin. "There's a nice rock there you can yak behind. Feel much better then."

Seeing nothing from the sky, you carefully land and approach the two giants, who seem somewhat startled at your appearance. They look you up and down, one of them squinting, before talking to each other.

"Are these the ones she wants?" one asks.

"I think so. But they all kind of look alike. I don't know how you're supposed to tell what they really look like when they're so small. It'd be easier if they were bigger!"

"Yeah, but how many of them could there be?"

The second one shrugs and turns back to the five of you.

"Oy! You lot! You're the ones we're looking for, right?"

Tristain doesn't see anything obvious that they could be looking for.

She bids you farewell -- though her two companions look dubious about your chances -- and you continue on. After a short time (but a long distance), you notice a pair of ash giants trudging through the wilderness. They look like they're looking for something.

"It is possible we have encountered this man," she says after a moment. "One of our patrols tried to stop a group such as yours, bound along this same path. The trespassers did not heed our warnings but responded with violence. I found the corpses of my kin scattered across the stones, and we learned their story when our sandspeaker communed with their spirits. The trespassers’ tracks led to the most sacred site where we are forbidden to travel. I hope they perished before they could do greater harm.”

She ponders Starflit's question. "We do not journey there, following the tales of our ancestors. I know there are ruins there, but they hold no treasure, no adventure, no glory—only death.” She won't speak anymore specifically about what you may find ahead.

She considers for a moment, and then relents.

"Very well," she says. "I shall tell my people that you are permitted -- but not welcome -- to travel our lands. Beware the cursed city that lies several days from here. Within it slumbers a terrible evil that we have watched for ages, and it stirs once more. It is best that none wake it entirely, lest it cast its shadow across other lands. Should you emerge from the shattered streets showing signs of its influence, know that I shall personally destroy you so that you do not spread its curse.”

She seems concerned about Kyffin's words about Lowls, but also dubious about letting you continue. I'll use Al's first check to convey your sincerity, but I also need a DC 30 Knowledge (history, planes, or religion) check to demonstrate your respect for the past and the forsaken sites where evil dwells.

"These lands are sacred to the Ulkori," Akshar replies, "And you do not have our permission to pass. It is our duty to protect what lies within. By doing so, we protect the rest of the world.”

As Al translates Tristain's question, she nods. "This is the work of my people. As we said, these are our sacred lands, and it is dangerous for trespassers." She looks concerned with Starflit's report.

"It was likely the work of an ash giant, or some other such danger. The giants especially are reckless and cruel. They care nothing for the history of this land, and they revere neither the past nor life itself."

“The giants are reckless and cruel. They care nothing for the history of this land, and they revere neither the past nor life itself,” she replies to Starflit. No lies detected.

The trio seems surprised to see you, but with Kyffin's cautious approach, they head toward you with similar apparently willingness to talk -- though their tails clearly mean they're not at all unarmed or unable to strike back quickly should you prove treacherous. One keeps a close eye on Lothan.

The other, a woman, takes a step forward. "Hello, strangers, you have entered territory claimed by the Ulkori girtablilu band," she says. "You clearly have great endurance and persistence to travel so far into the Parchlands, and to come here unseen, but you should turn back and return whence you came."

She looks over you and notes your apparent lack of supplies.

"We can give you enough food and water to retrace your steps out of the desert."

Pic is on the overall map. No checks needed at the moment; she's willing to talk to you.

Continuing on, the Parchlands pass in a rush below you, their seeming sameness growing tiresome, and making you glad you don't need to trudge over them on camel. After a time, you spot something breaking up the sameness -- a trio of massive scorpionoid figures: girtablilus! They don't seem to have noticed you. Same deal as before; up to you if you want to engage.

Just to clarify, girtablilu aren't all evil. With that role, you can look them up too. :)

They are ash giants. Tristain realizes somehow he knows literally everything about them. Just go look up their bestiary entry after that roll, you yahoos!

The writing is definitely not Azlanti, and without access to any magic, you're not able to make any sense of it. On the bright side, the obelisk doesn't stink of evil, so there's that.

There's no immediate hint of danger nearby, so you head on, traveling again. After another few hours -- as the sun is beginning to set -- you spot a pair of giants trudging up a dune.

Again, up to you if you want to engage.