Session One-Hundred Twenty Three: The Bonesaw

Rafiq, Dimirtia, Ali, and Selia retreated and decided to rest with Clavis and Yusef. The sounds of the water lapping against the rocky pathway was soothing. They slept and nothing bothered them.

Day 12, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending  

Upon waking, Dimitria implored to her Spirit of the Land to heal her companions. Her Spirit of Land granted her the healing spells she needed and she was able to heal the group a bit. They ate and drank from their rations and then decided to carry on down the path they had taken before they were attacked by the water horror.
As they walked, Clavis and Yusef marveled at the strange flat snake statue and they carefully avoided the portion of the path that was an illusion. Selia spotted a blue skinned humanoid watching them from the water and quietly informed the group.

Session One Hundred Twenty Two: The Fight Must Go On

The group discussed the long wait and decided that they had been lied to. The problem was that none of them could swim. So, Rafiq used the way to make himself intangible and descended into the water below. He saw the undead woman standing on the bottom of the large cistern, and the sword was discarded nearby.
He became tangible and touched the sword. While holding his breath, he attempted to teleport back up to the platform, but failed to do so. The water pressure was something he had never experienced before and he was having trouble holding his breath.
The undead woman used the way to attack his mind, but Rafiq rebuked her. Rafiq attempted to teleport away again, but failed for a second time. The undead woman swam up to Rafiq and struck him with her jagged claws. Rafiq was hurt badly by the attack, but he finally was able to gather his will and teleport back to the platform above.
When he appeared, he dropped the sword and started coughing up water. Dimitria aided him in clearing his lungs. The dripping wet skeleton, which had been standing still for several hours, suddenly moved to attack. Clavis and Selia made short work of it. The undead woman climbed onto the platform and began attacking the group. She targeted Rafiq, but the other members of the group kept getting in her way. The undead woman was fierce in combat, with vicious claw attacks and her use of the way, but the group eventually defeated her.
She seemed pleased to have been defeated, which confused the group. At the start of the battle, the group was in bad shape. Now, they were barely able to stay standing. They had no choice, but to rest and heal.

Session One Hundred Twenty One: Evil Will Always Triumph, Because Good is Dumb

Dimitria called upon the spirit of Athas to lend her its strength. The spirit answered and Dimitria became much stronger than a normal human woman. She was ready for the skeleton to return, but to her surprise, it just stood at the edge of the light.
The group soon realized that the skeleton had been waiting for backup. As soon as more skeletons arrived, they moved in to attack. The group engaged them in combat and destroyed all but one. The last one showed a small amount of intelligence and fled into the darkness.
The group collapsed and resumed their rest. During their rest, while Clavis was keeping watch, a strange creature hoped slowly toward Clavis. The creature was small, with a large head, long rear legs, and a thin tail. It had wet blue-green skin. Clavis walked to it to investigate. He startled the creature and it spit on Clavis. The spit burned, so Clavis stomped the small creature and killed it.
When everyone awoke, Dimitria prayed to her Spirit of the Land and then used her healing magics to heal her badly wounded friends. They were grateful for the healing, but no one was fully recovered. Ali used the way to heal himself and Dimitria further, but then had to meditate to regain some mental strength. Clavis and Yusef went back to sleep, while Ali meditated.

Session One-Hundred Twenty: The Blue Shrine

The group could not leave and decided that resting in this place might be dangerous. So, they decided to continue searching the strange cavern they were in. They walked across a wide bridge, onto another platform.

Day 10, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

On the platform was a small bowl set into the floor. The bowl was filled with crystal clear water. Clavis was the first to drink from it and he discovered that the water magically healed his wounds. Everyone else started drinking it too, until they had drunk the bowl dry. Having drank so much, they then needed to relieve themselves, so they decided to just do it off of the side of the platform. They were surprised to hear splashing sounds below. They all guessed that there must have been a shallow pool below the platforms and they regretted urinating in it. There was nothing they could do to change what they had already done, so they decided to move on.

Turkey, Air

In honor of Thanksgiving, the United States holiday, I gave stats for the Athasian Turkey, which is mentioned in the Veiled Alliance sourcebook. This year, I present the air aspected form of the terrible beast.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

	Turkey, Air
Climate/Terrain	Plane of Air, Mountains
Frequency	Very Rare
Organization	Flock
Activity Cycle	Day
Diet	Omnivore
Intelligence	Semi (2-4)
Treasure	Nil
Alignment	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-6
Armor Class	7
Movement	8 fl 16B
Hit Dice	5+5
Thac0	15
No. of Attacks	1
Damage/ Attack	1-6
Special Attack	Spells
Special Defense	Immune to Air Damage or Effects
Magic Resistance	Nil
Size	S (4' + tall)
Morale	Elite (13-14)
XP Value	1,400

Session One Hundred Nineteen: The Lord of the Many

The group began exploring the keep. There was the main hall, where they battled the Klar, and two small rooms adjacent to it. These small rooms were cluttered with bones and offal. There were stairs that lead to an upper level. However, the upper level was not stable and threatened to collapse, so they decided not go explore too much on that level.
Beyond the entrance hall was a large chamber. Inside the chamber was a basin, which had been set into the floor. There was also a great stone door. The door was heavily weathered and there were some marks on it. Dimitria thought it might be writing and told the group, but they ignored her. They pushed and pulled on the stone door, but it didn't budge.
Rafiq decided to use the way to open a dimensional doorway to go beyond the stone door. The dimensional doorway appeared and he stepped through, closing the door behind him. He found himself in a gray fog and he heard whispers all around him. He attempted to manifest another dimensional doorway, but could not do so. He heard whispers in the fog, but the voices were quiet. He could not understand what they said because they were mumbling or speaking a different language. Then he felt someone, or something, touch his shoulder. He reached up to grab their hand, but felt nothing with substance. He decided that it was his time to leave.

Session One Hundred Eighteen: The Klar

The group used their healing magics to recover from the rat attack. They were unsure what to next and discussed their options. They wanted to retrieve the last two gemstones, so they conferred with the Lord of the Mind. He confirmed what they already knew, that the last two gemstones were inside the Golden Tower. They discussed various plans to get inside the Golden Tower, but none of them seemed viable.
Then, Dimitria remembered she had been given a sword by a strange blue person. It had been for Samsun, but he had died. She thought they could still travel to the mysterious Blue Shrine and awaken the swords magical powers. The group agreed.
Rafiq and Ali began using the way to search for the mysterious shrine. They knew a rough direction of travel and spent the next hour, or so, scouting. They made sure to coordinate their efforts, so they did not overlap.
There appeared to be nothing, but miles and miles of desert. Then, Rafiq saw something else. A stone keep in a small mountain range. The keep was recessed into a crevice where two mountains met. They believed they had found it.

Dark Sun Artifact: Bonesaw

 Bonesaw

Bonesaw is a magical shortsword, or gladius, created in the elemental plane of water. The sword has a hard wood handle, a single large tooth blade, with smaller, razor sharp, teeth connected to the sides of the main blade. It resembles a macuahuitl, but with sharp teeth instead of obsidian blades.
Bonesaw does not have any material penalties, for being made of bone.

Weight	Size	Type	Speed	Melee Reach	Dam. Sm/Med	Dam. Lrg
3	S	S	Fa (3)	1	1d6	1d8

Session One Hundred Seventeen: Rescuing Rafiq

Rafiq was answering questions for his new templar friend. He warned the Templar about Tyr planning to attack Urik. It was a lie, of course, but he was hoping the Templar would believe him.
The rest of the group were in the desert, west of Fort Iron. They did not know what to do about Rafiq being captured. So, they decided to have Ali use the way to spy on Rafiq.
Back at the fort, the templar brought in dancing girls and he and Rafiq dined together. This is the scene that Ali saw, when he used the way to spy on Rafiq. Ali told the group what he saw, making sure to point out that Rafiq seemed to be enjoying himself.
Dimitria was sure a spell had been cast on Rafiq, otherwise, he would just teleport away. Suddenly, a wind blew in from the south and when the dust cleared, Kraah was standing before them.
The group was over joyed to see their friend again. The group briefed Kraah on all that had happened since they left the Lost Oasis, including how Rafiq had been captured. Kraah was troubled by Rafiq's capture and came up with a plan to rescue him. Everyone listened and agreed that it seemed to be a good plan.
Yusef spent the rest of the day crafting disguises for everyone, except Kraah. He did a good job for everyone and for Clavis, he did an amazing job. He made him look like a beautiful, muscular woman. They didn't want to return to Fort Iron the same day, so they waited until the next.

Session One Hundred Sixteen: The Attack on Fort Iron

When the group arrived in the dark early morning, outside of Fort Iron, they began making a hasty plan for their attack. Rafiq asked Clavis, Ali, and Yusef to start some fires in the distance, large enough that they would be seen by the fort guards. They agreed to do so, but did not have any fuel for large fires.
Rafiq carried a nights worth of fuel for a fire and split it up among the three men.
Then, Rafiq wanted Dimitria to use the magic to create a large cloud, which would magically frighten and confuse the guards. He asked Selia to do hit and run strikes on the guards, from outside of the fort. He would then teleport in and free the slaves.

Session One Hundred Fifteen: Fort Iron

The group arrived in the stony barrens near Fort Iron. The group asked Rafiq what the plan was and they started discussing the particularities of Rafiq's plan. Rafiq's plan was more of an idea, so they spent a few minutes figuring out what they were going to do. 
Rafiq and Yusef decided to go spread the rumor that Tyr was going to be attacking Urik soon. Selia and Dimitria would go into the fort and purchase some clothing, armor, and other equipment for Ali. Ali hated taking money from Dimitria, but Dimitria told him to stop being ridiculous.
Yusef gave Clavis ten ceramic pieces and told him to go do whatever he wanted. Clavis was confused and said he would do whatever Yusef told him to do. Yusef said that Clavis was a free man and could do what he wanted to do. Clavis was confused, so he sat down.

Session One Hundred Fourteen: Love Triangle

Dimitria

Abbas accepted Kraah's pledge to defend the Lost Oasis.

Day 7, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

In the morning, the group decided to assist Abbas with fixing the devastation wrought upon the Lost Oasis by the battle there.
Since defiler ash was useless, it was discarded and nutrients, such as the bodies of the dead soldiers, were reintroduced into the soil. Seeds were gathered and planted as well. Yusef did not want to help, but Dimitria and Selia bullied him into it.

Day 8, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

The group woke up and began repairing the Lost Oasis again.

After a few hours Dimitria and Selia asked Rafiq to contact Jamal to see if Ali and the escaped slave, had made it to Selia's protected lands. Rafiq used the way to contact Jamal. Jamal is a Gulgish man who lives on Selia's protected lands. He quietly farms and tends the land. Jamal reported that Ali had arrived, but he had been badly injured by a giant eagle, which had attacked all three men. Unfortunately, the escaped slave had perished in the attack.

Turkey, Earth

In honor of Thanksgiving, the United States holiday, I gave stats for the Athasian Turkey, which is mentioned in the Veiled Alliance sourcebook. This year, I present the earth aspected form of the terrible beast.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

	Turkey, Earth
Climate/Terrain	Plane of Earth, Underground
Frequency	Very Rare
Organization	Flock
Activity Cycle	Day
Diet	Omnivore
Intelligence	Semi (2-4)
Treasure	Nil
Alignment	Neutral
No. Appearing	1-6
Armor Class	5
Movement	12 br 9
Hit Dice	5+5
Thac0	15
No. of Attacks	1
Damage/ Attack	1-8
Special Attack	Spells
Special Defense	Immune to Earth Damage
Magic Resistance	Nil
Size	S (4' + tall)
Morale	Elite (13-14)
XP Value	1,400

Session One Hundred Thirteen: The Battle at Lost Oasis

While the Lost Oasis was burning, the group quickly took stock of their opponents. There was a platoon of foot soldiers and archers, lead by a formidable looking general. There were a few squads of black cassocked templars, a couple of defilers, a squad of way manipulators, and a squad of half-giants.
Opposing them was Abbas, the druid, and a group of forty native inhabitants of the oasis. While the enemy soldiers were formed into ranks, the natives were haphazardly positioned. The group could easily see that Abbas and the natives were not prepared for a frontal assault from a trained military force.
Rafiq and Selia drew their longbows and began targeting the templars with arrows. Dimitria used her druidic magic to bolster the native's combat abilities. Everyone else ran over the flat ground, where defiled ash lay under their feet, and straight into the line of half-giants. 

Session One Hundred Twelve: The Rescue

Once inside the city, the group made their way toward the Golden Tower. Ali had told them that the processing center was in the high bureaus, near the tower. While they walked, Rafiq contact Kraah's mind with the way.
Kraah was not being interrogated at that moment, so Rafiq told him about the plan. Kraah agreed, but had to wait until the beak clamp was removed, because the spell required him to speak. Hopefully, he could hide his words and the templar will not notice that he cast a spell. The chance was slim, but it was the only chance they had.
When the group arrived at the bailey of the Golden Tower, they found that it was guarded by a templar and two half giants. Rafiq expertly bluffed and bribed their way inside, claiming he had business with the Bureau of Trade.

Session One Hundred Eleven: The Plan

The group began planning immediately, on how to rescue Kraah. Rafiq knew any templar building would be warded against teleportation, so it would not be as easy as teleporting in and out.
Dimitria thought they could just wait for Kraah to be killed and then try to recover his body and bring him back to life. Rafiq was okay with that idea, but Selia and Yusef were not. Kraah was good friends with Yusef and he would not risk his life so callously.
Meanwhile, Kraah was locked and bound in a small room. The door opened and the female elf templar greeted Kraah again. She spoke softly and promised to let Kraah live, if he gave her what she wanted.
What she wanted was the gemstones. Kraah refused to talk, but he knew a mind bender was prodding his thoughts. He tried to think of nonsense, but it was difficult to completely shut out her questions. His mind betrayed him several times.

Session One-Hundred Ten: Chaos in the Slave Pens

The group made a plan. They would disguise themselves, with Rafiq dressing up like his father and everyone else as his retainers, except for Clavis. Clavis was a well known gladiator in Tyr and Rafiq's father was his owner, so it should not be suspicious for them to be together. They agreed and Yusef made them all disguises.
Rafiq used the way to teleport them outside of Tyr and they confidently walked up to the gates, skipping the line outside. Rafiq easily fooled the gate templar, tricking him into believing that Rafiq was actually his father. Once inside Tyr, Clavis was instantly recognized and adoring fans started mobbing around him. It took awhile to disperse the crowds and move through the merchant district.
Once the group arrived at the arena, Rafiq attempted to fool the guards there, but the guards were not fooled by Rafiq's attempt at impersonating his father. They began questioning Rafiq about why he didn't sound right, as one of the guards had just talked to Rafiq's father the day before, but Kraah quickly moved in and began to sweet talk them, explaining that Rafiq was a bit under the weather. Suspicious, but not willing to accuse a noble of a crime, the guards sent a runner to check with the noble's estate.
Then, as they were waiting, Clavis punched one of the guards in the face, which bloodied his nose. Everyone was surprised by Clavis' action, but Kraah recovered quickly and used magic to freeze the other guard in place. The guard with the bloody nose began to run and scream for help. Yusef, Selia, and Kraah began chasing the fleeing guard, while Rafiq, Clavis, and Dimitria ran inside the arena.

Session One-Hundred Nine: Tyrian Conundrum

The group continued to fight the templars and the half-giant guard, but Kraah landed next to Rafiq and told him that reinforcements were on their way and would arrive soon. Reluctantly, Rafiq opened a dimensional gateway and the group fled through it. Selia was carried by Yusef and Rafiq was pushed through by Clavis.
They arrived back at the Lost Oasis. Kraah and Dimitria wasted no time in using what little healing magic they had to patch up the group. However, it was not enough and they decided to recover for the rest of the day.

Day 3, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

The group decided to rest and recover for another day.

Day 4, Week 2, Fifthover, Friend's Vengeance, 190th King's Age, Sun Descending

After the group had sufficiently recovered, they discussed their next move. They decided to disguise Kraah and Rafiq. Their plan was to have Rafiq pose as a slave of Kraah's and go to the client village, which the Bishara estate was near, and inquire why the Bishara estate was attacked.

Session One Hundred Eight: Return to the Bishara Estate

Kraah, Rafiq, Selia and Yusef limped through the portal and appeared exactly where and when they had left. They were not in the best of health, but didn't have much time to lick their wounds. Time resumed, as normal, and they scrambled to save Clavis, who was drowning.
Selia tied a rope around herself and handed the other end to Yusef. She then leaped into the water and saw a creature dragging Clavis into the depths. Selia used her bone dagger and stabbed at the creature. The creature fought back, but in doing so, released Clavis. Clavis floated back up to the surface and Kraah was able to push him to shore. Rafiq and Dimitria pulled Clavis out of the oasis and used their knowledge of healing to expel the water from his lungs.
Meanwhile, Selia was doing a decent job of fighting off the monster, while holding her breath. However, once Clavis was safely back on shore, Yusef began pulling the rope and Selia was whisked away from the fight. The monster tried to grab her, but failed and Selia was dragged ashore.
Kraah, Rafiq, Selia, and Yusef were badly wounded, from their fight with the efreeti, and Clavis needed time to recover from his ordeal has well, so the group decided to rest near the oasis for the rest of the day.
Kraah. Rafiq, Selia, and Yusef shared their experience in the paraelemental planes with Clavis and Dimitria. Dimitria was fascinated by the entire story, but Clavis only liked the parts with fighting. They gave the efreeti's bronze scimitar to Clavis.

Session One-Hundred Seven: Assassins!

Suddenly, the world around Selia, Yusef, Kraah, and Rafiq seemed to stand still. Selia was still struggling to keep her head above water, so Yusef threw her a rope and pulled her out. It took the group a few moments to recover and then they wondered what was happening.

Rafiq noticed that they seemed to be in a bubble and outside of the bubble, time was frozen. To test his theory, he threw a small pebble away from himself. Once the pebble was a few feet away, it froze in the air.

Suddenly, a large dimensional gateway opened inside the bubble. The group was uncertain and discussed their options. they could just leave the bubble, and possibly time would resume for them, or they could go through the portal. Kraah really wanted to go through the portal, so the rest of the group agreed and passed through the portal. Clavis was still in the water, but he wasn't going anywhere.