"The Seven Voyages of Sinbad,""Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,""Aladdin and His Magic Lamp" -- these and other classics fill the pages of the Arabian Nights. Each story is told by a very wise and beautiful young woman called Scheherazade, who reveals them night after night to a king with a murderous heart. The first of the thousand-and-one tales is Scheherazade's own...the last may be yours. Join the adventure in a land of sultans, genies, and desert nomads as we explore the world of Zakhara, The Land of Fate. (A vWorld Expansion)
Here begins the fith tale of our unwilling heroes who have recently come through an attack against themselves at the hands of a man named Muli. A man working for an unknown source, but a vile one at that. Posing as Ayyam's brother, he morned her sudden passing, suggesting she was murdered. The group joined the funeral of the woman that had helped them with Ahmed and provided them with some coin and a task to complete. On the Mount of Forgiveness the group was ambushed by Ghuls and the Ghast Rasheed. Siraaj was killed, and Jabiir left for dead as the group feld into the tunnels under the Mount only to fight their way to the surface as Jabiir was eaten alive. Eventually Jabiir woke, alive again by the power of The Disk of Suhail min Zann. Jabiir hunted down Muli and slew the man as the group escaped the Ghul tunnels. Meeting back up trouble errupted beteen the group when Jamal and Jabiir butted heads. In the end Jamal was killed by the heroes, and everyone fled once more. Making their way to the Temple of Juahar the Gemstudded and the dwarf Abdalla they hoped to learn more about the disk, but where once again ambushed. This time a Slayer Geine, a powerfull elemental assassin attacked them along with a patron of the mosque Sayyid. Jabiir gave The Disk to the genie and the Slayer fled. Knowing that eventually the Disk would return to them, the group, including Abdalla and Sayyid, both now marked as targets for the Genie, quickly gathered supplies for a trip to the tomb of Suhail min Zann in the Ghost Mountains far to the east. We pick up now as the group has been traveling a day out of the city of Muluk, with little hope of returning to this city.
Abdalla stops his camel. The dwarf grunts, grumpy as always. "I need to stretch my legs." He stuggles to get off his camel, and flops onto the ground cursing, "My Liver!" It has been several hours now on the road, and at this pace the group will reach Sakina Falls a few hours after dark. Sakina Falls is a place most in the group knows wells. So far The Disk has not returned to Jabiir, this has been the longest the Disk as been away from him since you met the strange barbarian Askar. The last time the Disk was taken by the Invisible Stalker, it returned via an unknown power, and the Stalker with it.
The area here is lush plantation lands of the indigo fields that support many of the rich merchants family. The Al-Zalim river runs east to west empting into the sea at Muluk. You travel along its southern banks, heading east, toward the Furrowed Mountains, and the lands beyond. Mamluk patrols guard these lands, and travel is fairly safe, unless the law is after you. (Which it might be for some of you.) Its starting to get late in the day and food and water sounds like a good idea to everyone, for nothing else then to put something in Kasib's mouth to stop him from singing those terribly written songs.
Welcome to the 5th chapter! Wow, who'd have thought you guys would live this long. Please post in now, and we will continue the trip...
Last edited by Vardaen on Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Sayyid calls a stop. The party has traveled significantly slower than he expected, and he had planned to be at the falls by now and setting camp. He still needs to show these people how to set up a proper camp, something best done with some light, but the lamps will have to do. He slides off of his camel without bothering to have it squat down and helps those of his employers who need help. He then pulls all of the animals together and tends to them while everyone else eats, rubbing them down and checking to make sure their straps have not worn through the protective blankets. The man displays neither hunger nor thirst and passes his time with the animals.
After he finishes with the camels, he digs a whistle out of his shirt, hung from a chain on his neck. This be blows a few times, as he has about once an hour since leaving, then looks to the sky as before, and as before, nothing seems to happen.
Jabiir, slides from his camel. A smile sits upon the Askar Barbarian's face, the cursed disc has been gone from him for an abnormally long time. He hopes, but only barely that perhaps the foul thing is gone. He actually takes an intrest in Sayyid's doings. Following the guide around and observing. Jabiir knows well that to live here he is gonna need help and learning from the guide might just be the best way.
Sayyid glances at the sky where a buzzard has started circling over the lunching caravan. He smiles at whatever he sees there. "I'm just calling to an old friend. Sometimes it takes her a long time to come visit."
Seeing that there are those who seem interested, he'll explain a little of the care and feeding of camels before calling to the rest of the party. "We need to get moving agian. I want to make the falls before we stop, and it will be good practice. Once we get into the deep desert, we'll be travelling almost exclusively at night."
Abdalla is down at the riverside drinking his fill of the water. "What? More travel? Are you certain we can just stay here for the night. That damn camel has mre sway to it than a corsair sambuk." He leans back, cracking his back looking up into the sky where he spots the small form of a circling buzzard. He squints his eyes and watches the bird.
As the group is talking about camels and desert travel, something that doesn't sit well with either Kasib or Rambad or Abdalla for that matter, Jabiir's hands wander.
Jabiir is standing there, hand's reach into his pocket and draws out a small clay disk. The barbarian turned askar fiddles with the object of so much trouble that he's doing it without even realizing it. Everyone, except for Ka'im, has their eyes drawn to the disk and to Jabiir. Ka'im is currently looking at Sayyid's whistle when Orman taps him on the shoulder, "Um, master...it's baaaack." The Gen points at Jabiir, and the clay disk of Suhail min Zann.
Everyone made the spot check except for Ka'im, but Orman made it so no need for a PM.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Rambad dismounts his camel without waiting for it to bend it's knees, instead he uses his skill from climbing the rigging of ships and simply throws himself out of the cumbersome sadle. He mutters and rolls his eyes as the travelers speak about camels, which is about as interesting to Rambad as the different types of sand found in a desert. Which sadly enough, is close to the second subject the group is discussing.
So the corsair strolls about with his hands in his pockets as Jabiir draws the disc from his own pocket. The corsair raises gaze towards the burning sun and mutters, "And when something can go worse....it does..."
Sayyid sighs, "The camel's gait will not change as we travel, Imam. But if you expect to make it to your temple before dying of thirst, a little more fortitude on the part of your ass will be needed." He, too notes the return of the disc and it seems to tip his hand. He decides to camp here with a suddenness that might surprise his employers, but without a word, he's unpacking the two camels which bears the pavilian poles like a litter between them. Then he gathers up any who are willing to learn and begins teaching the fine art of turning three long poles, some rope and a rediculous amount of canvas into a home.
Ka'im turns and looks to the disk from from the shiny whistle.
He opens his mouth, about to speak, just as Sayyid pronounces their staying.
After the other man finishes, he pipes up. "I was just going to suggest that we keep going, to the falls at least, since any further distance is a good thing. Although, once our trail is picked up, it won't really matter whether we are at the falls or not, will it?"
He ponders for a few moments.
"Now that the disk is back, that means that the Tasked Slayer is also back... and probably more upset than it already was."
He glances at his gen. "Hopefully we won't need anything, but stocking up on some tokens seems like it might be a prudent idea. Orman, please go fetch me a Magic Missile."
Ka'im then moves over to the tent. "How many can effectively help set up this thing? The faster we set it up and tear it down, the further we can travel, right?"
Ka'im begins watching and possibly trying to help setup the tent, depending on who else is involved (ie: if there are too many, Ka'im will just watch).
Orman bows, happy to be away if the Slayer Genie does return. "As you command, oh master of the obvious, and learned of your own ineveitable death! Don't worry master, if you aren't here when I return, I'll take all your valuables for safe keeping." Orman vanishes to fetch a magical missile spell for Ka'im.
Dip: 26 vs 21 Success. Search Duration: 5 rounds
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
