One Day Off

01/05/2014

11, Sedulous, Dragon's Agitation, 190th Kings Age

The group enjoyed the feast that Tamar had prepared for them. They were awed by how freely Tamar used magic. Unseen servants carried food and drink to and from the table. Musical instruments played themselves and the food itself was magical as well. It appeared as a gelatinous blob, but when placed into the mouth, it instantly changed into the texture and flavor of the eaters favorite dish.

After dinner, Tamar showed them to their rooms. The beds were made of cloud, easily the most comfortable bed they had ever lain in. Suddenly there was a knock on Ren's door. He called to come in and to his surprise, a beautiful red skinned woman entered and told him that she was there to dance for him. Ren accepted and music began to play with no apparent source. She danced beautifully.

Will you allow me to dance for you?

Yaotl also had a red skinned dancer visit his room. He eagerly accepted her offer to dance for him. He recognized that she was a specialized genie from the elemental plane of fire. She was enthralled with him, due to him being a fire priest and after her dance, Yaotl seduced her. Her skin was warmer than usual. They fell asleep in each others arms.

 

A woman with obsidian colored skin visited Cyrus. She danced and Cyrus was so enamored with her that he seduced her. Her skin was so smooth, it felt like glass. Afterward, Cyrus thanked and excused her. Aziza was visited by an attractive blue skinned man, who offered to dance for her. She accepted and he tried to seduce her, but she declined.

Tubaloth, Jabrek, and Gahiji were all visited by dancers of various skin coloration. They eagerly watched the dancers and thanked them when they had finished, but nothing more took place. Arabella was visited by a pale blue skinned man, but she would not let him dance for her. When the group finally slept, they slept better than they ever had.

In the morning, Ren, Cyrus, Tubaloth, Jabrek, decided to sleep in. Aziza began her morning work out, afraid she'd grow soft if they spent too much time here. Yaotl spoke with the genie, whom he had slept with, and learned her name was Nora. They talked for awhile, but there was a knocking on his door. Yaotl got up and opened it. Tamar was there and asked Yaotl to get dressed, he had something to show him.

Yaotl did as requested and bid Nora farewell. Tamar called up a protection spell and them teleported them to a cliff. The cliff was very high and over looked a large plain, with silt pouring into it. Tamar explained that they were on the elemental plane of earth and the element of silt was invading. Yaotl watched earth and silt creatures clash in battle. Earth was obviously outnumbered and was losing.
"What happens on Athas, effects what happens on the elemental planes." Tamar explained, "The planes of silt, sun, and magma seek to overrun the others. Not only should Yaotl worry about defilers ruining the land, but he should seek to destroy silt, sun, and magma clerics as well."
"I have known of the link between the elemental planes and Athas," Yaotl began, "but I had no idea it was so bad."

Tamar teleported them to the various other planes and showed him the struggles they were all having. Yaotl nearly weeps at seeing the elemental plane of fire under assault by magma and sun.

Pictured: Elemental Plane of Fire

"I'm showing you this, because I need your help." Tamar explained.

Yaotl bowed his head, "Ask and it shall be done."
"There is a cleric of silt that is spreading the ruin of earth, air, fire, and water. I cannot do anything about it, because he has a powerful artifact that keeps all elemental powers from entering his base." Tamar continued, "I need your group to infiltrate his base, destroy the artifact and kill him."
Yaotl nodded, "Yes, we will do it."

12, Sedulous, Dragon's Agitation, 190th Kings Age

Tamar teleported himself and Yaotl back to his home, just as the others were getting up. Tamar made sure the group ate a bountiful breakfast, where Yaotl explained what he had agreed to, then teleported them back to the unnamed village. The sun was peeking over the horizon.
"Yaotl, I will return with his location in 24 hours." Tamar explained.
Yaotl nodded in understanding, "We will be ready."
"We were gone for nearly 15 hours." Cyrus began, "How can it be morning?"
Ren pondered a bit, "Maybe things work differently there."
The villagers were coming out of their homes and upon seeing Tubaloth, Jabrek, and Gahiji, rushed forward to greet them. The villagers thanked the heroes and hugged them. Ishak was the first to notice the absence of Fenuku and Ren explained that he had been killed by a cloud ray. Ishak said they would mourn Fenuku, but first they would celebrate the return of the others.
Ishak offered all that the village could provide, but instead Ren gave him three hundred ceramic pieces. Ishak didn't know what to say, but Ren told him that it was to help the village get what they needed to survive. Ishak promised any and all assistance to the group.
Yaotl introduced Basheera to Ishak. Ishak welcomed her, but Basheera insisted that she would not stay long, because she was going to be a fire priest, like Yaotl. Yaotl took Basheera into the village to make some friends.

Aziza introduced Arabella to Ishak. Aziza told Arabella that she was now completely free. The village was safe and she could do as she wished. Ishak promised to find her a safe place to stay, until she figured out what she wanted to do.
Pirro was at the village and took Ren aside. He asked about Kaza and Roan. He questioned Ren's leadership of the group, but ultimately told him that he was proud of him. They both agreed that Athas is harsh and death is expected. Then, they meditated together.

Cyrus took the opportunity to catch up on sleep. Aziza showed Arabella around and got her acquainted with the villagers and village work. Aziza then used her magic to increase the fertility of the village gardens. She also trained some of the villagers in fighting techniques.
Yaotl watched as Basheera quickly found a friend around the same age as her. She showed of her doll and the two girls chased erdlu together. Yaotl met the girls parents, Corali and Vanga, and discovered the girl's name was Shivir. They were very thankful for the groups help.

In the afternoon, a group of Nikaal traders, the same group that the characters had delt with earlier, arrived at the unnamed village. Yaotl spent one hundred ten ceramics pieces for supplies. The villagers eagerly spent the three hundred ceramic pieces Ren had given them. They even were able to purchase a few luxuries.

No need to worry, he only wants your money.

Yaotl visited the home of Corali and let Basheera play with Shivir some more. Basheera was obviously enjoying the time she was able to spend with a girl her own age. They all ate together and Yaotl struck up a conversation with her parents. He learned Corali and Vanga were erdlu herders and besides being very poor, were rich is good spirit. Corali was very talkative, sharing stories of the successes and failures of herding erdlu.
Finally, the two girls fell asleep in a corner of the families hut, on a pile of straw. Yaotl, deeming the family was indeed a good family, asked Corali and Vanga to act as foster parents to Basheera, as he often went into dangerous places. He promised that the flame would reward them. The parents discussed it and they found no objections with the idea.

They told Yaotl that they would gladly watch over Basheera, while he was away. Yaotl thanked them and provided them with most of the supplies he had purchased from the Nikaal. Wgile they were thankful for everything, the 15 gallons of water and new clothes obviously excited them the most.

Yaotl excused himself and sought out Master Pirro. After finding him, he told Pirro of the gem and Cyrus' new abilities. Pirro thought it was interesting, but decided to withhold judgment for the time being. Pirro did ask Ren about it, who told him about the city with the cracked ziggurat and the blackness that emanated power. Pirro told Ren to be careful, but trusted him to make the right choice.

As everyone was bedding down, Ren visited Aziza, who was setting her bedroll up outside. Ren discussed the dancers that had visited them, while they were guests at Tamar's home. Ren lied and said he did not like the dancing very much and Aziza lied and said she did not let the man dance for her. She curled up next to Ren and fell asleep.

13, Sedulous, Dragon's Agitation, 190th Kings Age

The morning had just arrived, as was Rata tending to his grove. He was looking over some fungus, when a whirlwind suddenly surrounded him. Before he could act, the whirlwind died and he found himself standing in the middle of a run down little desert village.

He slowly moved around and saw Ren standing nearby. He decided to find out what this was all about.

"Ren!" Rata called, as he made his way over to him.
Ren and Aziza looked over and were puzzled.
"Rata?" Ren asked, "Where did you come from?"
Rata shrugged, "I don't know. I was on my guarded lands, then suddenly-"

A whirlwind interrupted Rata and a moment later, Tamar stood before them.

Ren laughed, "Tamar, you sure know how to make an entrance."
Tamar smiled, "Are you ready yet?"
"Not yet." Ren admitted, "Tamar, are you responsible for Rata being here."

Tamar nodded, "Of course. You will need his help."
As Ren gathered the rest of the group, along with their kanks and air cart, he explained what their mission was. Rata readily agreed to help. Yaotl put some blankets in the back of their cart, so they could see it better.
Once they were ready, Tamar called up a great whirlwind to carry them to their destination. Instead of being inside the whirlwind, they rested on top of it and could see themselves zooming over the landscape. Yaotl thought he would get sick and held onto the cart for dear life. Rata sat in the back of their cart and closed his eyes. Ren and Aziza held each other. Only Cyrus seemed at ease with they way they traveled.
In an hour, they had traveled to a mountain range south of Raam. He gently lowered the group to the ground and pointed up a rough path.
"This will take you there." He said.
Tamar reached out and the air in front of him seemed to ripple.
"You will not be able to summon elementals inside." Tamar began, "But you will encounter silt creatures."
He waved his hand and everyone’s weapons started to glow, even Ren's fists.
"This enchantment will allow to harm silt creatures, but only for the next 24 hours." Tamar explained, before teleporting away in a whirlwind.
"Looks like none of us are getting sleep tonight." Ren remarked.
The group moved up the rough path and could find traces of paving stones, that were long neglected. After marching for nearly an hour, the group saw that the path lead to an ancient crumbling fortress. As they moved closer they could see new agafari doors on the front.
Cyrus used clairvoyance to see beyond the doors. They were bared and another set of newer looking doors were on the other side. The room was small and had murder holes on both sides of the room. From his vantage point, it looked the the murder holes were empty. He reported what he had seen to the rest of the group.
Rata cast detect magic on the doors and could see that they were not magical. He did see, however, that there seemed to be magic dirt in front of the doors. He relayed the information to the party, who drew their weapons and carefully moved forward. Five yards from the door, the dust and dirt coalesced into the forms of lions.

Growl, I'm so fierce!

They were not surprised and as the lions attacked Aziza and Yaotl, they were able to get their defenses up. Rata began to chant, giving his allies bonuses and his enemies penalties. Cyrus used his bow to good effect. Yaotl slashed to the lion with his scimitar and Aziza attacked with her tortoise blades. Ren activated psionic accelerate.
Despite taking a beating, the lions did not back off, attacking Aziza and Yaotl, but only scoring minor hits. Cyrus used his bow one more time, but didn't have a clear line of sight, for a second. Yaotl continued to attack, as did Aziza and Ren moved to attack with blurring speed. Rata kept chanting.
"Are we even hurting these things?" Aziza shouted.
"Tamar said he could." Ren answered.
The lions pressed their attack, but did not better, scoring minor scratches. Yaotl and Aziza kept attacking their adversaries, but Cyrus did not fire, worried that he might strike an ally. Rata kept chanting. Ren punched one into dust and whirled to strike the other, but missed and struck Yaotl by mistake.
"Sorry!" Ren blurted out.
The remaining lion tried to tear into Yaotl, but Yaotl was using his shield to block the blows. Aziza and Ren moved over to attack the remaining lion. With Yaotl, Aziza, and Ren attacking the remaining silt lion, it was quickly defeated and crumbled into silt.