A Sojourn in Sairundan [Judge: Manzanita]

[Rae ArdGaoth]

OOC: Whoa! I guess I should have been more explicit. I meant to ask, "Do you approach the oasis or continue on your way? If you approach it, do you do so with great caution or are you at ease?" I'll pretend that the answer to that is "We approach it, of course. And yes, we are at ease. Why, should we expect trouble?" To which I will respond, "Always. "

You approach the oasis. The camel watching you does not react, but the other makes a loud noise from behind its hiding place. A woman's voice can be heard soothing the camel, but its protests grow louder as you get closer. Soon, a woman appears and walks towards you. She looks much like Shadya, and is probably Sairundani as well. She looks wary, but she has a smile on. "The fire burns the skin this day!" she calls to you.

[Insert response here]

You continue your approach. Beneath the palm trees, the sun's heat is not so bad. The shade is pleasant, and the smell of fresh green life fills your nostrils. The woman stands between you and the oasis.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: Oh no, it's the dreaded sand-ogress. Run!!!)

"I see you. I am Lasair Alant," Lasair replies, trying to read this woman's ziivash, interested in the way that a Sairundani ziivash would feel.

 

[Phoenix8008]

Kurgahz shifts uncomfortably on his camel, wishing to dismount but not wanting to alarm anyone or disturb the situation. He plays not-so-idly with the strap beside him which fastens his greatclub to the side of the beast he rides. Eyeing the woman ahead of them, he figures it best to let the desert women talk with each other for now.

 

[Solange]

Shadya nods, "But water and shade keep the fire away. I am Shadya yn Hayder, what direction did you travel from? The sands to the north are calm."

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

OOG: Thank you all for being patient. This is moving slower than I'd like (my fault completely!), but it will pick up shortly as soon as I take care of some things this week, so hang in there.

OOC: Just so you all know, every time I roll Lasair's sense motive check, I also roll for everybody else in the party. She just happens to roll phenomenally well, all the time, while the rest of you... don't. It's actually uncanny. I just didn't want anybody to think I was neglecting their carefully invested skill points.

[sblock=Lasair]This woman seems honest and good natured. She certainly means you no harm.

OOC: It's worth noting that Lasair hasn't had to look far for a Sairundani ziivash this whole journey. [/sblock]
[sblock=Cludge]This woman, for some strange reason, reminds you of the cousin that you never liked. You now associate the two in your head, and you can't shake the feeling that this woman has it out for you in particular, just like that one time when your cousin wanted revenge for...[/sblock]
The desert woman smiles at Shadya's response. "Ah, come closer! Yes, I see that you are Sairundani. But your fellows, they are from the wetlands? How far you all must have traveled! Myself, I have temporarily left my tribe with these two beasts of burden, to feel true freedom for a while. Halor blessed me with this oasis, and now he blesses you." She seems more relaxed now, and she begins heading towards the right, around the oasis to one of her camels, which is still braying though more quietly now. She soothes it and brings it into view, stroking it's bristling fur. It looks rather annoyed at the new guests, but it then ignores you and turns to the water to drink. It sidles to the left lazily as it drinks, as though it were trying to lap up all the water around the entire perimeter of the oasis. The woman laughs and says "She thinks all this water is for her! But Halor's gift is for everyone, so please, feel free. But I would love to hear of your journey. Tell me, in the wetlands, does water truly fall from the sky all year round?"

 

[Rystil Arden]

"It does indeed fall from the sky, just as you say. But there is something stranger than that which they have there sometimes. It is called 'snow'. It is a powder, strange and white and cold, and it becomes water when you reach out to hold a tiny flake in your hand. And they have vast waters filled with strange creatures called 'fish'," Lasair replies, still a bit amazed herself by the fish, "Yes, the Western lands are very strange. I can see why you would call them 'wetlands'."

 

[Solange]

Shadya nods, "Thank you, and may you continue to be blessed on your journey. Indeed, the wetlands are a strange place with water in abundance. Indeed, I have traveled far but have returned to my homeland. The freedom of travel is grand, but it is nice to have fine companions, and I look forward to seeing my family and telling them of my travels. I even learned a few songs and dances from the north."

Shadya leads her camel and the pack camel to the water, "We should let the animals drink now, and we can replenish our water supply later."

 

[Phoenix8008]

"Good idea, Shadya." Kurgahz agrees, also leading his camel to drink from the waters. The big half-orc nods a subdued greeting to the newly met woman as he gets used to standing on his own legs again.

OOC: Actually, we don't have any water supplies that need to be refilled. Just the camels themselves. With the camels fully filled to their 25 gal capacity, we can now go another 32 days before they start to eat into the stored water supplies!

 

[Rae ArdGaoth]

The desert woman smiles serenely as Shadya and Cludge approach the oasis. As they approach, Shadya sets her foot out off the sand onto some grass but strangely, feels no resistance. The nimble-footed dancer moves her foot down without putting wait on it, and suddenly sees [

Spoiler

that the oasis isn't an oasis at all, it's a dry, rocky pit!

].

Kurghaz doesn't fare so well, he puts his weight on the grass and falls right through it. He rolls (15) with the fall and recovers, standing on his feet (no damage). Now everybody can see that the oasis isn't an oasis at all, it's a dry, rocky pit, about 10' deep. At the bottom of the pit are the fresh bloodied bodies of some desert dwellers. And the woman isn't actually there, and the palm trees are actually rocks, and only one of the camels is still there. Only it's not a camel, it's a centaur-like creature, but with the body of a lion instead of a horse. Even from here you can see that the creature has cuts on its bare chest, but still it grins wickedly.

OOC: The graybrown squares (like the one Kurgahz is in) are 10' deep and rocky (hampers movement). The brown squares are 5' deep and rocky. The tan squares (towards the back) are rocky and sloped up to meet the sand (no climb check to move out of the pit from these squares). Lasair and Cludge, please advise me of your current position (I'm NPCing Conuld). If the current locations are fine, and you all understand the map... we'll get underway.

 

[AGFlynn]

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

OOC: Cludge's starting point is fine. Map looks good.

Dammit, I knowed it was funky! Cludge growls to Conuld.