Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Session Ninety: The Tower, The Village, and The Oasis

The group appeared in a large, white room. The group had never been to this place and looked around. Everything in the room was very old and dust covered. There were stone tables and glassware. There were also empty scroll racks and comfortable, but ancient chairs. The group looked at The Unspoken One and asked what this place was. The Unspoken one explained.
"My master came from a race called the Pyreen. They were a race of wise individuals that other races called peace bringers, because they valued peace and harmony. I have traveled all over the Tablelands and have not seen a single Pyreen, so it is possible that they are extinct. Pyreen were long lived and had features that you would recognize as belonging to all the civilized peoples of the Tablelands."
"This was my master's home and workshop. He was a master of the way and worked here, in this white tower. He was a genius and figured out how to become immortal. He created preserving magic and taught it to others. He worked with the Ogre Doom, before he was the Ogre Doom, and taught him preserving magic and the way. Then, the Ogre Doom and his compatriots betrayed my master. Even they were not powerful enough to kill him, so they imprisoned him in a realm called The Black."
"I was a devout follower of my master and, for my devotion, the Ogre Doom and his compatriots imprisoned me as well. Over time, I died, but my soul could not escape and I became a creature of The Black. I have been imprisoned for over two thousand years. When Alaxander freed me, I bonded to him and traveled with him, to learn everything I could. Then, I left him and traveled in a different body, to learn more. So, I know you do not trust me, but I want to assure you. I hate the Ogre Doom more than you can imagine. I hope that by destroying him, we can somehow free my master and bring an end to the reign of the sorcerer monarchs."
The group understood his hatred and agreed to assist him with freeing his master, if they survived their attack on the Ogre Doom. Cheet asked what his master's name was and the Unspoken One answered that his master's name was Rajaat.

They group explored the strange white tower. They were amazed at the lack of seams in the stone, as if the tower was carefully carved from a single block of stone. They asked The Unspoken One if his master had crafted the tower. The Unspoken One said his master found the tower and it predated his master's birth.
Many of the rooms of the tower were empty and some of the doors were unable to be opened. The other rooms had tables and glass containers, but they did not know what they were used for. The bottom room was interesting, as it was filled with giant crystals. Cheet touched one and could feel it hum with power. The Unspoken One explained that the crystals harnessed an individuals power. Unfortunately, he never learned how they worked.

They left the tower, through huge doors that had hinges built of the same stone-like material as the tower itself. Outside was a lush and impressive forest. When Raco and Dimetria stepped outside, their open wounds began to burn. Looking down at the various cuts they had, they saw that the skin around them was calcifying. Horrified, they both ran back inside the tower. The calcification ceased. Cheet walked out and nothing happened to her. She could see, vaguely, that some of the trees had human faces on them. They decided not to investigate the forest any further.
They asked The Unspoken One to take them away and he said he would. He failed to open a gateway to the Lost Oasis, instead opening a gateway near the village, where the orange skinned humans lived. The previous group had freed the orange skin humans from tari slave owners. The Unspoken One apologized and said he would meditate and then take them to the Lost Oasis.
Raco, who had some of Julius' memories, recognized the canyon walls and wanted to check on the orange skinned humans. The group went with him. They quickly found the village and saw the orange skinned humans were unchained and no longer slaves. The humans seemed to be in control of the small village and had made slaves of the tari. This turn of events did not sit well with Raco, who had been raised a slave.
Raco approached a small group of humans and demanded that he be allowed to speak with the leader of the tribe. Raco was quite intimidating, so the humans agreed. The leader of the village was directed to Raco and he approached, cautiously, with several spear wielding guards.
Raco explained that he was friends with the group that had freed them from the tari. He said that they were there to make sure that they were okay. The leader welcomed him and said that their attack on the village went so well, that the humans were now in charge. He laughed about the tari being their slaves. Raco shook his head and told them that slavery was wrong, no matter who was enslaved.
The tribe leader did not understand why and asked Raco to explain it to him. Raco explained that all living, sentient creatures deserve dignity and should be in control of their own destiny. If killing an innocent man is wrong, and the human chieftain agreed that it was, than slavery was wrong, because slavery is the same as killing a man. You are killing his spirit and his enjoyment of life.
The tribal leader seemed to understand and asked to speak with Raco further, over dinner. As they ate, Raco talked to him about their shared experience as slaves. He offered no apology, when he pointed out that the chief was a hypocrite. The chieftain was forced to agree and it shamed him.
After their meal, the chief had all of the tari gathered together. He explained that their punishment was over. Now that they all understood the horrors of slavery, the tari would be set free. The tari were shocked, they had been cruel to the humans when the humans were slaves, and did not expect this act of mercy.
Some of the other orange skinned humans objected, but most of them agreed. Most of the tari fled into the canyon, once they were released, but a small group apologized for enslaving the humans and asked that they be allowed to settle nearby. They promised to work with the humans, for the betterment of both races. The orange skinned chieftain agreed and they shook hands.
Raco and the others were invited to sleep at the village. They accepted the invitation.

Day 29, Week 2, Macro, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

After preaching sermons about the glories of water and air, The Unspoken One opened a gateway to the Lost Oasis. Once they arrived, The Unspoken One explained that he would meet up with them later. He said that he was going to search for more weaknesses of the Ogre Doom. The group understood and wished him well. He then teleported away.
The group talked about what they should do next. They thought about putting the rain drake eggs inside the oasis, but changed their minds when they saw creatures swimming inside of it. They fanned out, to enjoy the water and plants.
Unfortunately, a bog warder grabbed Dimitria and tried to drag her into the water. The group heard her screams, before she was pulled under, and ran to save her. Kraah was able to keep her head above the water, while everyone else used ranged weapons, or magic, to drive the creature away.
This commotion brought the druid of the oasis, Hakim, to the group. He knew Dimitria and Raco. They were both welcomed. The rest of the group was introduced to him and they asked him about the Paraelemental Plane of Rain. Hakim suggested they find a rain cleric. No one had ever heard of a rain cleric and did not know where to find one. He told them about the fabled forest beyond the Ringing Mountains. He thought they might be able to find a rain cleric there. The group decided to cross the Ringing Mountains and find a rain cleric, after helping Cheet with her poison problem.
They asked Hakim to assist them with Cheet's poisoning and he agreed to do so. He was not powerful enough to remove the poison with magic, so natural healing techniques and herbs would need to be employed. They made incisions near the location of the poisoned wound. They then extracted the bad, poisoned blood, and gave her clean water and nutritious food to help her body make new blood. The hours long process seemed to work.
They let Cheet rest for the rest of the day, as she was in no condition to travel.

Day 30, Week 2, Macro, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

They bid Hakim goodbye and Dimitria used her magic to teleport the group to the outskirts of Tyr. They found a mining village at the base of a mountain. They approached two human guards, armed with iron tipped spears and wearing mekillot hide breast plates. The guards asked them their business. When Dimitria said they were looking to climb the Ringing Mountains, the guards began laughing at her.

Join us in two weeks for another exciting session of Adventures Under the Dark Sun. 
2nd edition AD&D Dark Sun Cast of Player Characters 
Dimitria: Human female druid. 20 years old. Played by Mary. Speaks Urikite, Raamin, and Tyrian.
Raco: Mul male psychometbolist. 20 years old. Played by Dave. Speaks Dwarf and Tyrian.
Samsun: Half-Giant water cleric/fighter. 37 years old. Played by Ben. Speaks Giant and Tyrian.
Kraah: Aarakocra air cleric.17 years old. Played by Chad. Speaks Aarakocra, Tyrian, Balician, and Gulgish.
Cheet: Human female preserver. 24 years old. Played by my wife. Speaks Drajish and Tyrian.
Yusef: Human male thief. 24 years old. NPC party member. Speaks Tyrian, Nibnese, and Urikite.

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