A Sojourn in Sairundan Part 2 [Judge: Manzanita]

Rae ArdGaoth said:

"Conuld, a wizard! We haven't had a Harukan wizard in... Phyrah, how long? The centers of arcane learning are closer to the center of the world, it would seem. Are you talented at illusions? A trader comes to Helatia every year or so, to collect rare spell components. The children love him and his illusions. He says he is from a city surrounded on all sides by great cliffs of falling water. Such a place is the center of the world!"

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Conuld's face falls. "Indeed? Wizards seem rare or unknown in Lasair's homeland too. Most curious. Could there be something about the desert which proves inimical to wizardry, or is it no more than coincidence? I have not noticed any diminution in the functioning of my castings, so that cannot be it. Ah. I have a theory, but I shall keep it to myself, I think. Do you know, sir, if there are records of the lives and doings of the few Harukan arcanists to which I might have access? Are sorcerors known here? Or bards capable of spellcasting? How strange to think that I, of all people, may be the most powerful arcanist for miles around. I do have some small skill with illusions - my interests lie in spells of shaping and changing, of both seeming and form. I have not made the entertainment of children a habit, however."

Cludge Slatefist, Fighter 3 (HP:34 AC:15)

Rae ArdGaoth said:

"And Cludge," he says, not continuing his last sentence, "I have known many a brave dwarf, you are certainly most welcome in our city. Tell me, how do you like the architecture?"

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Known some o' the undermountain folk, have ye sir? Well, Cludge chuckles, them weren't clan Slatefist I kin tell ya. I think I've gone farther then any o' my brood ever has.
As fer tha city, I ain't never seen so beautiful. (An' that's not jess because I been stuck in the desert fer months now, HA!) Ain't no hexpert, but don' think my people coulda built nothin' like this - looks like it were made by fairy magic, it does.

"Well, I do not know about 'undermountain' folk," Hayder smiles. "There are few mountains this close to Phyrah's Heart, and the ancestors of Hurakan dwarves came up out of the sands. The city is beautiful, but I am surprised you do not take more pride in your people's work! The dwarves did indeed build this city, long ago, when magic was still strong thanks to the djinn. So, you were close, but it was dwarves that built Helatia and djinn that sculpted it. Or so the legend goes."

"Unfortunately for Conuld, few of our histories are written down in texts. Stories and songs are the way our past is preserved. Paper is valuable here, the trees have difficulty surviving the wind and heat, and stone, though plentiful, is difficult to write on. We do have a library, of sorts. It is not the Hurakan library, it is the Teuseunka ai Sairundan, located in our fair city of Helatia but shared by all the tribes of the Wind Deserts. It is off limits to most, but I can arrange a supervised browsing for you if you like," Hayder offers with a smile.

"And Kurgahz, I fear your words may be too true for my heart to bear." Hayder's smile diminishes some. "Ah, here we are, home at last, love. Go in and see your brothers. All of you, please, go in." Hayder grabs Shadya around the waste and lifts her up a few inches off the ground, then he tosses her lightly foward towards the door of the building before you. The building is simple compared to the other, public buildings in the city. No ornate cloud sculpturing here. It looks smallish, but the unfamiliar curvy architecture may be throwing off your spacial estimations. And it's bigger than other houses that you've seen in the city. Hayder lives a modest but privileged life.

[sblock=Finances: ]Only the ring and the two vials were magical. Conuld can try for a spellcraft to ID the vials.[/sblock]
[sblock=Shadya: ]I'd rather you played Rafiq and Amin. They're just kids, but you know them better than I do. I'll play Hayder and Rais. How am I doing so far? Daddy too serious? =) [/sblock]

Cludge Slatefist, Fighter 3 (HP:34 AC:15)

Rae ArdGaoth said:

"Well, I do not know about 'undermountain' folk," Hayder smiles. "There are few mountains this close to Phyrah's Heart, and the ancestors of Hurakan dwarves came up out of the sands. The city is beautiful, but I am surprised you do not take more pride in your people's work! The dwarves did indeed build this city, long ago, when magic was still strong thanks to the djinn. So, you were close, but it was dwarves that built Helatia and djinn that sculpted it. Or so the legend goes."

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With a rather shocked expression, Cludge gazes up at the sinuous structures around him. Built by dwarves? Azwan's beard, I woulda never credited such a notion! An' sand dwarves no less!
He tugs at Conuld's sleeve. Say, if'n yer goin' to tha libreeary, woulja look up them sand dwarves? I'd love ta get a look at one, kin ya find out where they is?
Cludge shakes his shaggy head, chuckling. Sand dwarves! Now I heared everything.

Rae ArdGaoth said:

[sblock=Finances: ]Only the ring and the two vials were magical. Conuld can try for a spellcraft to ID the vials.[/sblock]

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[sblock=OOC]He can, but as usual it doesn't go well. 5 rolls, to identify auras on the ring, and each vial, plus two potion identifications, in that order 1d20+11=17,20,24,19,15. Although having rolled, I realise that it's perfectly possible to take 10 on aura determination for a 21, or to retry, apparently, and we've had days and days on which Detect Magic could be prepared The potions must remain a mystery, joining the growing collection.[/sblock]

[sblock=Trouvere: ]The vials weren't magic themselves, they were just holding magical potions. The ring emits an aura of faint conjuration. Based on Conuld's knowledge of magical items, he deduces that the ring must be a ring of sustenance, since that's the only ring he's ever heard of with a faint conjuration aura.

The potions, though unidentified, are clear and completely odorless.[/sblock]

Hayder said:

"I am Hayder"

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"I see you Hayder. I am Lasair Alant."

Hayder said:

"Mm, fine friends you have made. Lasair of the Fire Lands? Which part, may I ask? The Lands of Fire are vast.

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"They do not have a name, I am afraid. And it is not a place that Westerners would know...It is the land of the Durai Lyrane."

(OOC: Unless he is secretly a part of one of several evil conspiracies involved in one of my other games, Hayder definitely would not have even remotely heard of this, not even in passing)

Conuld said:

"Indeed? Wizards seem rare or unknown in Lasair's homeland too.

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"They simply do not exist. Nor do these 'sorcerers' I have heard about, though from what I have heard, they are both dangerous for their uncontrolled outbursts and pathetic for the wasted potential that could have been realised if they were Wizards, for they are never able to master more than a paltry handful of spells. It sounds like we are better off without them...but still, I would wish to meet one of these Sorcerers one day to see for myself what is true."

Conuld is a little perturbed to hear that a culture's knowledge of itself is passed on mainly from mind to mind only.

"Stories and songs are good things, but they can be lost and forgotten in times of struggle for survival, and in the end, any civilization may fall and fade into silence. In the desert, even paper may last for centuries without the need for recopying. And if paper is too difficult to obtain, there is surely camel skin parchment. Or I would suppose your most important records could be inscribed on sheets of glass using a diamond tipped stylus, which might be swifter than incising letters in stone. There's no shortage of the necessities for glass-making, although fuel for the melting would be the limiting factor."

Conuld grows enthusiastic, perhaps imagining teams of loremasters preserving Sairundan knowledge for all time.

"If I am permitted, I shall be sure to search for information regarding your kindred, Cludge. There will be wise men to ask, too, I am sure."

[sblock=Previously in the desert: ]Conuld presents his guess. "The ring glimmers with an aura of conjuration, which leads me to believe it can only be a Ring of Sustenance, a useful item for anyone lost in the desert without means of support. It does away with the need to eat or drink. Additionally, one who wears it will find they need to sleep only two hours a night. I have no need of it, however, for I must rest eight hours in order to prepare new spells each day, and even if I were awake, I would have to lie still as though I were asleep. If you wish for my opinion, I would suggest Cludge or Shadya has the use of it, since either may then watch for longer stretches of the night, while Lasair and I both require uninterrupted rest. In addition, if disaster were to strike us, and we were scattered, then Kurgahz by himself has a greater chance of survival, with his ability to create water."[/sblock]

[sblock=Previously in the desert]"What say you Cludge. Would you like this ring? You see better at night, and are a stronger warrior than I, and I have already claimed the scimitar."

OOC: Shadya will give first choice to Cludge.[/sblock]
[sblock=GM]I can play them. I didn't realy develop them much other than two younger children, probably now 14 and 11, so I would have been open to anything you did too.[/sblock]

OOC: Ugh, more to come later.

Shadya smiles and squeezes her father one last time before she heads into the house, only to have two small boys jump out at her from different sides of a hallway. She manages to deftly tumble out of the way, and the two boys wind up in a heap on the floor.

She smiles brightly as she walks back and helps them up, "You've gotten faster. You almost got me," she says as she embraces them in a hug.

"It was Rafiq's idea when we saw you from the balcony," says the smaller one. "Was not, you said they we could get her and show her how much faster and stronger we got Amin!", exclaims the larger one.

Shadya laughs and squeezes them both, "We, you both are, but not fast enough. Pretty soon, you won't be able to walk under a camel. Maybe father will let you hold a sword then."

"I already got one, wanna see it?" Rafiq says, tugging at Shadya, who follows, feigning resistance.