A Small Burden

04/14/2013

 Yaotl began by approaching the little girl. "What is your name?"
 The girl responded in Rammin, "Where is my father?"
 Kaza moved the body and placed the gruesome side of it against the ground. Yaotl, who is the only player character who speaks Raamin, brought the young girl over. She immediately began crying.
 "Daddy! Daddy!" She wept, as Yaotl did his best to comfort her.
 After a few minutes she looked up at Yaotl and asked with tears in her eyes, "Are you going to sell me?"


 Shocked, Yaotl flatly stated, "No. Of course not."
 Yaotl fed and watered the girl, and finally discovered her name was Basheera. Yaotl introduced himself and the other characters. Aziza, Roan, Ren, and Cyrus set out to look for water. Kaza buried the girls father, committing his body to the earth, and Yaotl set a small fire atop it.
 Aziza and Roan came back empty handed. Ren gave Aziza his water and used photosynthesis. In a stroke of luck, he was able to acquire food and water from the suns rays. Cyrus took a short nap.
 "You're a father now." Ren jokingly commented to Yaotl, indicating the girl with a nod of his head.
 The party decided to continue their march. Yaotl picked up the girl and carried her. Ren offered the use of his basket backpack to carry her, but Yaotl declined.
 "Can I ride in your backpack?" Cyrus asked.
 After an hour of marching, Ren and Aziza found a campsite. Yaotl set off the hunt and returned with a lizard for dinner. After eating, the party went to sleep. Ren kept watch. Ren was alerted too late, a large group of Tik-Tiks (aka compsognathus) sneaked up and attacked the party. They jumped on Yaotl and Kaza.

We decided they're Tik-tiks, because Athasians wouldn't call them Compsognathus.

 Ren quickly killed one that was attacked Yaotl, then kicked Yaotl.
 "I'm awake!" Yaotl yelled.
 Yaotl grabbed his scimitar and attacked from the ground. He missed. Everyone else jumped up and scrambled for their weapons. Ren knocked one of the small lizards out, then kicked Yaotl again.
 Once the party was up and armed, they had little trouble killing four of the tik-tiks and driving off the rest. Yaotl butchered the four they killed and everyone, except Ren, went back to sleep.
 In the morning, Ren began to photosynthesize and everyone else prayed for spells. Half way into prayer time, they group was surprised and rocks came hurtling at them. Roan was struck several times. The group looked up to see a group of Sligs attacking.

They just wanted hugs and kisses.

 The party got up and grabbed their weapons, but Roan was quickly knocked out. Cyrus grabbed the unconscious Roan and teleported him to safety. The Sligs turned on Yaotl and attacked in a group formation. The fight was tough, but the party defeated the Sligs. None escaped.
 They finished praying for spells and marched on through the rocky badlands. Finally, they stopped just before high sun. Ren picked out a spot he believed would provide the best shade, but Aziza disagreed and found a different spot. The rest of the group agreed with Ren and went to his spot. Yaotl nudged Ren and encouraged him to go talk to Aziza. Ren did so.
 When Ren walked over, Aziza asked him, "What are they doing?"
 "They wanted to give us some privacy." Ren answered.
 "Why?" She asked, confused.
 "They think I like you." Ren answered sheepishly.
 Aziza turned to Ren, "Why would they think that?"
 Red faced, Ren answered quietly, "Because I do."
 Aziza sighed and shook her head. She laid a hand on Ren's shoulder and said, "Once you meet more girls, you'll forget all about me."
 As high sun got hotter, the group decided that Ren made a bad choice and they retreated into the shade Aziza had found. After an hour, the group set out to find water. Kaza and Yaotl failed, but Cyrus created some for them. They decided to rest and eat for another hour before setting out again.
 As they marched on, the group was attacked by a group of rock cactus. Cyrus, Roan, and Kaza freaked out and tried to run away, only to discover the cactus were attached and followed them. It was a comical encounter, but they quickly overcame the cactus threat.
 As the sun set, they spotted the glowing lights of the fort. They camped among the rocks one more night, Ren keeping watch. In the morning, the group set off to find water and Ren photosynthesizes. Kaza and Yaotl fail again, but Cyrus creates some for them. When they decided they were ready, they marched toward the fort.
 A fortress wagon was parked outside and the group marveled at it for a moment, before making their way to the bazaar that was set up outside of the fortress walls. They quickly found a slave trader.
 Yaotl convinced the trader that they were looking for some escaped slaves and described the men who were taken from the unnamed village. The slaver produced one of them, Fenuku. The group considered attacking the slaver, but the number of guards in the area changed their minds. They bought him instead.
 "Ren, I am so happy to see you." Fenuku exclaimed.
 "Where are the others?" Ren asked.
 "I think they took them to Nibenay." he answered.
 Ren looked west, "That is a long walk."