Sefu will retire with the rest, but take a turn on the watch. He will leave the camp and scout in wide circles about it, stretching in his cat form under the cool night air.
Mus'ad and Zephyr turn in gratefully to the prepared tents. Zephyr snoring softly as he floats just off of the ground next to Mus'ad.
One of the mercenary soldiers patrols near the tent. She stops and listens as the howl sounds, then continues on her patrol. If asked about the howl, she says, “We’ve heard that about this time every night since we’ve been camped here. Dashki says that it is the gnolls in Kelmarane communing with one of the tribes up around Pale Mountain. The howl of the Carrion King he calls it.”
Farasha prays to Sarenae and gets some sleep. She sleeps heavy and doesn't wake until morning
Al heads to bed and sleeps deeply until dawn
Sarenrae’s favour smiles down upon the world. The sun is climbing steadily upwards into the cloudless sky by the time everyone awakens.
Father Zastoran is on hand to provide magical healing to anyone still suffering aches and scratches from last night’s adventure , as well as a light breakfast of fruit, flat bread and goat’s milk.
As you are finishing up your breakfast, Garavel approaches, with two of the mercenaries and a typically surly looking Dashki in tow, the pugwampis corpse still hanging from his cane.
“Dashki will guide you to the old monastery,” speaks Garavel. “I will leave it to yourselves and he to decide whether he accompanies you within, or stands watch for threats from without – gnollish or otherwise. Likewise, Dullen and Yesper,” the male and female soldiers nod in greeting, “know the way. If you wish it, they can accompany you, either as additional swords if you run into trouble, as reinforcements, or as runners, should you need to get a message back to camp.”
Hadrah and Hadrod approach, leading saddled camels.
“You camels are loaded with food and water for a day. You should aim to return here before the next day dawns, or to send a message if you cannot, but should you be forced to stay longer, there is food and water to be found in the area for those who know where to look.” Garavel’s gaze flicks to Sefu, then Dashki.
Sefu greets the morning sun in prayer. He makes his way to the others gathing his belongings and hearing Garvel speak. Humm he thinks to himself.Dashki coming with us is he, while a smelling uncouth barbarian he does seem to know his way in the wild. Sefu could respect that. With that thought he goes and see's to his mount
Al speaks up when Garavel has finished. 'Does anyone need some new or spare weapons? I think we should not fight these creatures with our best weapons, judging what happened last night ey?' He pats the hilt of his small rapier as he speaks. 'It would be unfourtunate if we have to kill gnolls with lesser weapons because of these cursed creatures.' Al speaks in a low grim voice, without his usual flare. HE seems to be in one of his bad moods.
Garavel nods. “That is a good thought. We have several spare weapons; a few scimitars and spears, two shortbows and arrows, and a half dozen daggers. Beyond that, there are the personal weapons of myself, the guards and the mercenaries. You are welcome to take a spare weapon each from the store if you wish it – I shall fetch them. But I fear that we have nothing sized for your people Al’Kazeer.”
Sefu, while not dependent upon his blade decides to take a spare. He ties it upon his camel. If all else fails someone else could use it.
Mus'ad takes a spare club. He has his crossbow, and his sling, but he figures if he has to get in close, he doesn't want to be bare-handed! (And there is NO way he is risking his precious Jambiyah after what he just saw!)
As you are getting ready to leave, Hadrod checks all the camel’s packs and straps. He quietly thanks you all for returning his lost goat to him, and tells you that his wife has packed some extra sweet biscuits into your day’s rations. He has also selected the best behaved camels for those who did not bring their own camels from Katapesh.
Farasha give Hadrod a blessing as he gives them the camels
"May the Dawnflower, a thousand blessings upon her, shine down her blessings upon your noble brow friend Hadrod!"
Dashki and the mercenaries lead the way through the trackless, rocky hills, heading north away from the Sultan’s Claw. The group keeps mainly to the valleys, skirting around the taller crags, occasionally changing course to avoid a ravine, or a cactus field, or, at one point, an enormous monitor lizard that eyes you coldly from several dozen yards away, its dark tongue flicking from its mouth.
The day grows hot as the sun rises up into the clear blue sky, though not so hot here amongst the barren hills as it must be down in the sandy desert that is a distant golden haze to the east. The buzzing drone of cicadas carries across the hills, palm sized scorpions scuttle behind rocks, a vulture flies over-head.
It is about a mile as the bird flies between the camp and the old monastery, but it takes almost an hour on camel-back to make the journey across the harsh landscape.
Finally, you round the corner of a hill, and Dashki points out a low rise up ahead. There, standing at the crest of the hill, is a forlorn and run down edifice of weathered stone. It is a long, low building, single storied, but with a timber framed peaked roof in an exotic northern style. There is some sort of squat tower at the far northern end of the building. Most of the stone walls appear intact, although large sections of the roof appear to have collapsed, and most of the narrow windows are gaping dark holes, the glass that once filled them long gone. Patches of faded red and yellow tile work still cling to the stone walls, but most have succumbed to time, weather or vandals.
There is no obvious entrance visible from the southern approach, but a faint track seems to wind up the hill to a flat area just west of the building – perhaps the entry is located there. This track appears to lead away to the north.
Bashad will take two spears
"Anyone feels like going scouting the place ? "
'I can take a closer look.' Al dismounts and takes out his small kit again to start applying camouflage. 'Dashki, do you know if these creatures are nocturnal? Is it likely they may now be sleeping?'
Dashki slowly dismounts from his camel, looking about for a sheltered spot to corral or tether the beasts.
“They are more active at night it seems,” he answers, “but I do not know if they are wholly inactive during the day.”
|
Nasir thanks Farasha for the return of her scimitar.
As the group approaches Nasir makes a quick sketch to the temple, taking note of it's condition.
She studies the structure intently observing its design and wear, seeking possible hazards, and considering possible entrances that the group or the pugwampi's may use. She spent much time entering old places in her teen years when her parents were busy, and it is this experience she calls upon now.
"One would think anything in there with intelligence might post guards. or at lest watchmen. I will fallow behind Al'kazeer in case he finds trouble' With that Sefu dismounts.
Nasir, you estimate that the structure has been abandoned for between twenty and thirty years, given the state of the stone work and the exposed timbers of the roof. The stone walls appear sturdy and structurally sound, in little danger of collapse. You are initially somewhat surprised at the fairly extensive damage to the roof – it appears to have completely collapsed in several areas – until you notice two things. Firstly, a number of the holes are quite regular in shape, and you realize that the roof had quite a number of windows and sky-lights installed within it, making the structure weaker than it would be otherwise. Secondly, some of the timbers show old scorch-marks, indicating that there was a fire here at some point – not bad enough to destroy the roof, but enough to weaken some of the beams and other support members.
What is left of the roof seems fairly sound from your visual observation, but you wouldn’t advise trying to climb up there or walk around near the collapsed areas. Some of the roof forms suggest that there is at least one open courtyard within the building, located near the centre.
The architecture appears ecclesiastic in style, you would say that the theory that this was once a monastery is a sound one. Given the skylights, and the remnants of red and yellow tiling on the walls, it may have been dedicated to Sarenrae. The squat, ovoid tower-like structure near the north-west corner is probably a temple or large chapel. You can see a small wing jutting out on the west side of the building near that structure, it is likely a smaller chapel or shrine. A tall slim tower jutting out from the main building near the south-east corner may have been a prayer-tower; it’s hard to tell, as the upper portion and roof of the tower has collapsed.
The building’s entrance is likely to be located near where the road reaches the building, and also near the chapel, so probably somewhere along the west side (out of sight from your position to the south). Two tall, fairly wide windows in the south wall, near the south west corner could also probably be climbed through to gain entry without too much difficulty, though you suspect they may lead into the same entrance area or hall that the main entrance would open onto.
Al, Sefu, and anyone else approaching the building, make Stealth checks if you are trying to be stealthy, you may also like to make perception checks.
Is anyone else doing anything?
Al sets of towards the monastery, maling use of any available cover in his approach.
Al sets of towards the monastery, maling use of any available cover in his approach.
The area around the trail that winds up the hill is fairly clear, although the open space immediately to the west of the building holds a number of hardy trees and patches of salt scrub and other bushes. The southern slop of the hill also has some cover, a few bushes and boulders. It is not particularly steep, and should be easy enough to scramble up.
Sefu starts off after Al'kazeer but keeps catching his shield on overgrowth. He silently curse his decision to bring the shield.
Mus'ad grins at the mention of sweet rolls, and blesses the man with a grin.
When they get to their destination and dismount, Mus'ad seems a little out of sorts, and follows the advise of the others.
"I don't really have much experience with sneaking and such, so I'll follow your lead." He tells the others. He stays with the 'Main' (Non-sneaking) group, pointing out that his last attempt through the cactus field was less than a stellar success. As Al and Sefu ready themselves for a scouting mission, he racks his brain for how he could best help himself and the others avoid the full effects of the Pugwampis' ill-luck powers.
Mus'ad loads his crossbow and pulls out his sling, tucking it into his belt for easy retrieval. He watches the others sneak off, and winces at the sound of Sefu snagging his shield on some brush.
Al makes his way up the hillside, flitting from cover to cover, his light feet making virtually no sound on the rocky ground. Sefu follows at a distance, rather less stealthily.
There is no obvious sign of danger in the area. However, Sefu notices that the area appears to be almost devoid of the usual small animals and birds that live throughout this region. With the exception of the ever present desert scorpions that scuttle under rocks or click their tiny claws menacingly as the men pass, there is almost no animal life larger than flies and ants.
As Al nears the top of the hill, he feels something hard and sharp pressing against the under-side of his boot. Lifting his foot he sees an old rusted arrowhead. Nearby is a curved, yellowed bone, partly buried in rocky rubble. Carefully shifting the debris, Al can see that the bone is part of a human skull.
Skirting about the top of the hill, Al comes to the flat area to the west of the building. There are several clumps of bushes and trees here (some of them fruit-bearing), but again, little sign of animal life. He can see two wide, arched entrance ways in the western wall, no doors. The arches appear to lead to a wide, rubble filled, partially covered colonnade within the building.
Moving clockwise around the building, Al passes the squat, wide tower-like structure at the north-west corner. This part of the building hosts lots of tall windows, their wooden frames broken and splintered, the glass generally gone. Moving carefully and closely towards one of the windows, the halfling peers within. Inside, it appears to be a cavernous chapel of some sort, with marble pews lining the chamber, the floor heaped with piles of debris, some of it fallen from the large holes in the roof and upper walls. He thinks he hears something scrabbling about somewhere within, but cannot see anything.
Moving further around the building, there is another short tower-like structure jutting out from the building near the north-east corner, smaller than the chapel, but again with tall, glassless windows looking into a dark chamber. Passing these windows, Al is hit with a hint of some foul stench, like rotting meat, coming from within. Flies buzz lazily around the windows. Looking within, the halfling thinks he sees something move slightly up in a dark corner near the chamber’s high ceiling, but he cannot be sure.
Continuing along the east wall (which hosts only a few smallish windows), Al arrives back at the southern slope and meets back up with Sefu, who was circling the building with him at a wider distance.
Meeting back with Sefu, Al crouches down where the slope obscures the view of the building and speaks softly to his companion. 'Well there seems to be many ways in, and no obvious sign of the pugwampis ey? Should we take a closer look or get the others? So many entrances also means lots of exits for escape if the beasts decide to make a run for it. Probably not a good idea to let any get away.'
Nasir looks at Mus'ad. "Perhaps if you were to use spells that hit everything at once and do not require aiming. Leave less up to luck."
Mus'ad nods and grins at Nasir, sketching an exaggerated bow. "Zephyr!" He whispers.
"Yes Master?!" Comes the high-pitched reply from the tiny blue Gen, who moves quickly in front of Mus'ad and tenses eagerly with anticipation.
"Kindly fetch me Color Spray, then Burning Hands, and then,..." He pauses thoughtfully. "And then Sleep!" He adds with a grin. The gen echoes his master's grin, and quickly bows.
"As my master commands, so shall it be!"
"I shall return in One, Two, Three!" The 'Three' echoes softly through the air from the spot which Zephyr has already vacated.
Mus'ad grins at Nasir. "I'll just have to trust the rest of you to keep me safe, and I'll take care of any who get too close!" He says cheerily, but with a certain amount of trepidation as he realizes he will be not be spell-armored against physical attacks.
Color Spray Diplomacy Roll: 1d20+12=28
Burning Hands Diplomacy Roll: 1d20+12=21
Sleep Diplomacy roll: 1d20+12=13
;P
After Zephyr returns, Mus'ad asks him to fetch him the 0-lvl spells Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Message, and Resistance (X2). ALL are 'known' spells.
1d20+12=29, 1d20+12=30, 1d20+12=14, 1d20+12=20, 1d20+12=23
By the time the Gen has vanished and returned for the last time, the little man looks positively tired, but both he and his master grin happily, and Mus'ad's hair almost stands on it's own with the mystic forces now at his command.
"Thank you noble Zephyr!" Mus'ad praises the tiny gen who actually sits on his shoulder at the moment, instead of floating above it as he usually does.
"Let us now bring the light of wishcraft to these desert-dwelling denizens of darkness!" The half-elf grins like a kid in a sweet shop.
Zephyr is gone for just over ten minutes the first time around, returning with Colour Spray and Burning Hands, but sadly informing Mus’ad that he unable to bargain for Sleep.
On his second trip, the hard working Gen is gone for a little over five minutes, and returns with all the requested spells (including sleep), except for Message, which a trouble-making elemental power refused to grant him.
Sefu looks to Al' Kazeer, and in a low voice says "While we do not wish them to escape, we do not know how many there is. Seem to me we should have the others with us. We can stay slightly out ahead, but if the things scatter just the two of us are unlikely to be able to run them down'
Sefu looks to Al' Kazeer, and in a low voice says "While we do not wish them to escape, we do not know how many there is. Seem to me we should have the others with us. We can stay slightly out ahead, but if the things scatter just the two of us are unlikely to be able to run them down'
'Agreed. I'll go get them.' Al moves back towards the others, still staying low and sticking to cover where possible.
Making it back to the group he swings his pack off and takes out a waterskin, taking a large gulp of water.
'There are any number of ways into the building. No obvious signs of enemies, but we didn't get to close for fear of alerting them. Me and Sefu suggest that we all go in together now, prehaps he and I alittle a head to see if we can't get the drop on them ey?'
Al pauses and takes another pull on his water skin. 'Lots of exits though, not sure if we should go as one group or split up and approach from different directions. Probably don't want any of the crtters to escape if this is going to be the new base of opperations.'
Farasha checks her Healer's Kit, making sure all is in readiness.
"I stand ready to heal any who are wounded in the battle against these vermin" She says grimly
Mus'ad grins when Al returns, and nods eagerly when he suggests that they all go together.
"Perhaps we should simply enter through the easiest means? That is the way they would most likely use, and most people take the easiest path whenever possible. Even if surprised, we may have them first run towards us instead of away, as they head for the exit out of habit!?" MUs'ad suggests. "Of course, that IS also the entry most likely to be watched,..." He adds sheepishly.
"I will follow your guidance on such matters, I only suggest that we do not delay, as the favors which Zephyr has worked so hard to procure will only last an hour before I must request them again."
He again checks that his crossbow is ready, and his sling in tucked into his belt, and nods his readiness as Zephyr rises to once again float in the air above his shoulder. The little Gen is still beaming with the success of his last trip, but eager to erase the stain of failing to bring his master not one, but 2 of the spells that he had requested, even if he did manage to recover one of them. Zephyr can be heard to mutter something about, 'Earth-bound simpletons with dirt in their ears!' As everyone grabs their gear.
We just need to clear the building . If some flee , it should not be a problem . Let's not separate ourselves , this is not good tactics
"Oh, yes! I think that staying together gives us the advantage. What little advantage we have here. At least then we can cover each other and render aid of needed."
"IF by 'a little ahead', you mean 5 or 10 feet so you can spot Pugwampis before they spot us, then I agree with that too." He adds to Al as an afterthought.
The consensus of the group appears to be to go in together. Everyone makes their way carefully up the slope, to where Sefu waits near the top, standing out of sight from the building behind a tall cactus.
'Well seems like where going through the front door ey? I'll take a quick look.' Al will move down to the closest of the Western openings (the southern I think?) as quietly as possible and peer through the oppening.
Scrub brush and a light, patchy carpet of weeds invade the monastery through two wide openings in the western wall. The exposed nave beyond is a huge hallway littered with bits of debris ranging from tiny rocks to enormous sections of collapsed masonry. Most of the roof above the long promenade is gone, but several jagged pillars remain.
There is no sign of pugwampis or other enemies.
To the south, the nave ends at two tall glassless windows, looking out onto the direction from which you approached. At the far northern end a short, wide flight of steps leads up into a cavernous looking chamber, with shafts of bright sunlight lancing in to penetrate the gloom; this is probably the large chapel at the north west corner of the building. Just before the steps is a wide arched opening on either side of the colonnade (east and west).
Spaced somewhat evenly along the eastern wall are three narrow, arched doorways, opening into dark rooms or chambers beyond.