At the Sign of the Salient Hurcheon

Jalabu walked into the end of the demonic jubilation, and the noise below.

They regrouped, Jalabu took back the lit shield and led the way below, it led to cells and detritus, litter, bones and skills of monstrosities, warped mortals of no known shape, bestial and twisted. At the back was a huge mound, a rat’s next of immense size.

Disturbing a mass of rubbish led to a vast outpouring of normal rats, swarming, scrabbling, looking for an escape, the writhing tide startled Jalabu. Momentarily afterwards. six giant rats poking their noses out of the nest.

With a wry grin Farshad whipped out a bone flute picked up from a previous exploit, and proceeds to play, charming the giant rats, leading them away, and upstairs towards a closable room.

Enraged, out came the progenitor of the giant rats, a conjoined demonic group of large rats, demonic eyes and infectious poison dripping from their claws, spells at their command, spells to freeze the blood. from behind the group followed two minior weak demons, only good for ambushing the unwary.

However here then followed an embarrassing combat . Most of its attacks would not hold and that its spells would not take effect. It’s two demonic cohorts were likewise pathetically ineffective, the rat king ended up biting itself some of the time. Even when Utana was inconvenienced by a stroke gone awry, the keen hits from his companions extricated him.

Elsewhere, Farshad led the rats to a room with door just in time, his spell broke, and he quickly nipped out and slammed the door shut, holding it against the rats throwing themselves at the door.

Eventually the rat king was slain, servitor demons and giant rats died, the latter contained by Farshad’s Herculean thews in the room to which he had led them.

All that was left was to search disgusting messes for trinkets, go back to the Inn owner, drink his gratefully supplied food and wine then fall asleep

This continues in Part One of Iralun

After a night of disturbing nightmares, even Dhran and Jalabu, experienced travellers though they may be. are shattered by the experience. Jalabu loans the lighting buckler to José Juan, and the two leave to seek a quieter spot where they might forget the dreadful visions that sent them shivers and palpitations during the night.

So it was left to Jushuur, José Juan, Farshad and Utana to investigate the cellar, to see what might be coming from below. The cellar seemed unremarkable, in fact so unremarkable that it stymied our adventurers (and a set of Perception rolls over 90%). The stone was obviously sign of older construction, but architecture had to wait, as tales of the giant rats had Jushuur and Utana seeing rodents where there were none. The Cellar seemed the normal storehouse that it should be, save for the depredations of rodents and the sad attempts of Vuntosghan to keep them at bay.

Eventually, between Utana and Jushuur, a movable flagstone was found, leading down to a spiral staircase, into the darkness  and stench of a temple chamber below. The altar was of a goddess whose figure the group had seen represented elsewhere locally, but the style was southern, Mada or Haxamanis. The goddess seemed to be looking up at the light, but  the statue had been defiled at some point. There was the detritus of chests, crates, barrels and sacks that gave the group two conclusions.

1. This subcellar was used for someone’s purposes, possibly storing illicit goods, some 40 odd years ago.
2. No one else had had been around lately

Ferreting around the detritus, the group disturbed rats as big as dogs that launched into the attack. If they got close enough to bite they clambered up their target and hung on to them, making combat difficult, though Jushuur’s pommel proved useful to stave in rodent heads. José Juan, Jushuur, Farshad and Utana ended up with shredded armour, ripped by rodent teeth and claws, Utana and José had to deal with rodents on their backs.

But it was Farshaad who had the hardest time, his blows went awry, and he soon realised why, something about this rodent of immense magnitude reminded him of a childhood pet, some spark in the beady eyes, a twitch of the whiskers, it was like Mr Squeaky had come back. Sadly, though, Farshaad slew the memories of youth though, in the rat’s gaze and quiver of the whisker, Farshaad saw, not hatred or fear, but understanding and forgiveness.

An uninviting set of stairs down, redolent of rodent urine, did not immediately invite exploration, so the group hunted around the temple room, finding a bedroom, containing rotting furniture, five skeletons on stands bearing halberds and cloaks pinned with silver as well as a shelf of clay tablets. In the main room, Jushuur found the statuette of some divine figure, Utana some silver and Farshaad some electrum.

Doors east and west were found. The door west had not been explored, but east led to some relaxing changer for hedonistic pursuits, though in Farshaad’s case it was more of an opportunity to be attacked by another oversized rat. There was also a robing room for priests, devoid of any extraneous rodent rampage.

However, a secret room, leading to a summoning chamber, in which was imprisoned the skeleton of some demonic looking thing caught the most attention. Jushuur was fascinated, though José was more interested in the silver dagger lying in the summoning circle. Disturbing that seems to have been a bad idea, for the skull of the demonic figure glowed as a voice spoke, condemning those there as she had found other hosts.

And then a noise was heard, and there we left it

Defintely feeling the side effects this morning, I couldn’t concentrate last night for my usual post game write up, so if I miss anything please let me know

Not much happened Chris, Norman, so no real FOMO, a lot of blether and jokes with occasional tech issues.

So, getting back to the trading post where your mules were took longer, given the injuries, but they were greeted by a silent boy and his mother. Jalabu, walked forward and indicated “No” to the woman, before giving her her husband’s ring.

The boy fled, stifling tears, but in her eyes was acceptance. She gave Jalabu a hug in thanks, probably causing a wince of pain on his injured arm, and left to a hard life as a single mother.

The rest of the community around the trading post treated them to the silent treatment, just staring, until a small man, seeing the injuries, fussed about the injured, cleaning wounds and applying salves. That returned some function, though at a reduced efficiency with two handed activity for a few days and cost a small amount. Farshad magnanimously offered to help pay, as a loan, Jalabu’s share. There was some definition of terms. It was explained to the folk living around the trading post that the sawmill should be left alone.

They left the next morning, rested and fed. About an hour’s distance from the trading post, tracks start to be seen. Examination show that the first tracks are coming from the same direction as the sawmill would have been. Later, from other directions, joined by others, including some mounted.

This led to a quandary when the tracks went off

Not much happened Chris, Norman, so no real FOMO, a lot of blether and jokes with occasional tech issues.

So, getting back to the trading post where your mules were took longer, given the injuries, but they were greeted by a silent boy and his mother. Jalabu, walked forward and indicated “No” to the woman, before giving her her husband’s ring.

The boy fled, stifling tears, but in her eyes was acceptance. She gave Jalabu a hug in thanks, probably causing a wince of pain on his injured arm, and left to a hard life as a single mother.

The rest of the community around the trading post treated them to the silent treatment, just staring, until a small man, seeing the injuries, fussed about the injured, cleaning wounds and applying salves. That returned some function, though at a reduced efficiency with two handed activity for a few days and cost a small amount. Farshad magnanimously offered to help pay, as a loan, Jalabu’s share. There was some definition of terms. It was explained to the folk living around the trading post that the sawmill should be left alone.

They left the next morning, rested and fed. About an hour’s distance from the trading post, tracks start to be seen. Examination show that the first tracks are coming from the same direction as the sawmill would have been. Later, from other directions, joined by others, including some mounted.

This led to a quandary when the tracks went off west, circumventing the river trading town of Majinv. Does the group follow this large body of folks, signs from the sawmill indicating they are murderous worshippers of a Dark God, in some way connected to the driving of a nature spirit to raising a dreadful curse, or do they leave word for Baltajniz about his sawmill? The reason being that, without warning him off, he may try to reoccurs the site, negating the deal with the spirit.

” text Behind the scenes note, it might have seemed that I was trying to push you towards the town, but if you had gone after the large party of folk then I had stuff prepared for that, it wasn’t as railroaded as it might have seemed, just that there would be consequences for either choice true text ”

Entering Majinv, a rather cosmopolitan town for such a barbarous land in the arse end of nowhere, you find the warehouse and office of Katyavan (” text changed from Katayvan to be more pronounceable true text “) . She was not expecting you, but did expect some activity regarding the mill from Baltajniz. She can’t offer you money or work, at least not in the direction you are going, west.
She sends a runner out, though, to find you accommodation, which she will pay for, as a measure of thanks, and offers to resupply you with some rations and wine.

All along a bustling river front, the trading season opening up, the only place with space for you all is “The Dancing Lamprey”, a lodging house that also supplies fine food, but is oddly bereft of customers.

The owner, Vuntosghan, and staff, well, daughter, Annranesta, seem at their wits end and it doesn’t take much prodding, as excellent food is served to get him opening up about his woes, for the last few months his business has suffered a curse of larger than normal rats. Biting, spoiling food, gnawing though the fabric, leading to the death of is baby daughter and indirectly that of his wife

He has lost cats and dogs to the rats. Poison seems to have little effect except to make the droppings more noxious. The only information, if it can be called that, is that a bargeman called Klemnotyes, a foreigner from the far south west, seems to know, something.

He offers the only things he has of value, a string of pearls once belonging to his wife, and a buckler that has some magic properties as payment if the group can solve his problems.

They at least agree to do some investigation, Jalabu takes the buckler.

The group go off and find the barge, The River Hound, and find the barge an playing music to himself as he waits the rest of the crew to return from carousing. It is possibly the danger of immanent return, as well as busy buildings and boats nearby, that curtails Jalabu’s preference for torturing the man rather than just talking to him, though, in his defence, that might be his natural wish to instruct his new pupil Utana.

Klemnotyes tells a story of having come of a story about what he thinks is the Inn that he had had from his father, a noted mage in his own land. Before the attempts by the Haxamanis empire, the wide spread empire that once occupied the lands now ruled by the Haraxan Kingdom, Ishtir, Sardes and more, ruled here also. At that time there was a tower raised by a general of the Haxamanis, a sorcerer who, legend says, turned aside from the path of light and studied forbidden lore and consorted with unclean things.

In the aftermath of the failed campaign to conquer the Great Forest, the Haxamanis retreated, and the tower was burned down in the chaos.

Klemnotyes believes this lies under the Dancing Lamprey, the latest venture in a building that has for a few years had a bad reputation.

So, armed with this information, but reluctantly, the group return to sleep at the Dancing Lamprey. Jalabu, Farshad and Utana suffer such disturbed sleep, full of scratching noises and unpleasant dreams, that they wake up fatigued.

Not much happened Chris, Norman, so no real FOMO, a lot of blether and jokes with occasional tech issues.

So, getting back to the trading post where your mules were took longer, given the injuries, but they were greeted by a silent boy and his mother. Jalabu, walked forward and indicated “No” to the woman, before giving her her husband’s ring.

The boy fled, stifling tears, but in her eyes was acceptance. She gave Jalabu a hug in thanks, probably causing a wince of pain on his injured arm, and left to a hard life as a single mother.

The rest of the community around the trading post treated them to the silent treatment, just staring, until a small man, seeing the injuries, fussed about the injured, cleaning wounds and applying salves. That returned some function, though at a reduced efficiency with two handed activity for a few days and cost a small amount. Farshad magnanimously offered to help pay, as a loan, Jalabu’s share. There was some definition of terms. It was explained to the folk living around the trading post that the sawmill should be left alone.

They left the next morning, rested and fed. About an hour’s distance from the trading post, tracks start to be seen. Examination show that the first tracks are coming from the same direction as the sawmill would have been. Later, from other directions, joined by others, including some mounted.

This led to a quandary when the tracks went off west, circumventing the river trading town of Majinv. Does the group follow this large body of folks, signs from the sawmill indicating they are murderous worshippers of a Dark God, in some way connected to the driving of a nature spirit to raising a dreadful curse, or do they leave word for Baltajniz about his sawmill? The reason being that, without warning him off, he may try to reoccurs the site, negating the deal with the spirit.

” text Behind the scenes note, it might have seemed that I was trying to push you towards the town, but if you had gone after the large party of folk then I had stuff prepared for that, it wasn’t as railroaded as it might have seemed, just that there would be consequences for either choice true text ”

Entering Majinv, a rather cosmopolitan town for such a barbarous land in the arse end of nowhere, you find the warehouse and office of Katyavan (” text changed from Katayvan to be more pronounceable true text “) . She was not expecting you, but did expect some activity regarding the mill from Baltajniz. She can’t offer you money or work, at least not in the direction you are going, west.
She sends a runner out, though, to find you accommodation, which she will pay for, as a measure of thanks, and offers to resupply you with some rations and wine.

All along a bustling river front, the trading season opening up, the only place with space for you all is “The Dancing Lamprey”, a lodging house that also supplies fine food, but is oddly bereft of customers.

The owner, Vuntosghan, and staff, well, daughter, Annranesta, seem at their wits end and it doesn’t take much prodding, as excellent food is served to get him opening up about his woes, for the last few months his business has suffered a curse of larger than normal rats. Biting, spoiling food, gnawing though the fabric, leading to the death of is baby daughter and indirectly that of his wife

He has lost cats and dogs to the rats. Poison seems to have little effect except to make the droppings more noxious. The only information, if it can be called that, is that a bargeman called Klemnotyes, a foreigner from the far south west, seems to know, something.

He offers the only things he has of value, a string of pearls once belonging to his wife, and a buckler that has some magic properties as payment if the group can solve his problems.

They at least agree to do some investigation, Jalabu takes the buckler.

The group go off and find the barge, The River Hound, and find the barge an playing music to himself as he waits the rest of the crew to return from carousing. It is possibly the danger of immanent return, as well as busy buildings and boats nearby, that curtails Jalabu’s preference for torturing the man rather than just talking to him, though, in his defence, that might be his natural wish to instruct his new pupil Utana.

Klemnotyes tells a story of having come of a story about what he thinks is the Inn that he had had from his father, a noted mage in his own land. Before the attempts by the Haxamanis empire, the wide spread empire that once occupied the lands now ruled by the Haraxan Kingdom, Ishtir, Sardes and more, ruled here also. At that time there was a tower raised by a general of the Haxamanis, a sorcerer who, legend says, turned aside from the path of light and studied forbidden lore and consorted with unclean things.

In the aftermath of the failed campaign to conquer the Great Forest, the Haxamanis retreated, and the tower was burned down in the chaos.

Klemnotyes believes this lies under the Dancing Lamprey, the latest venture in a building that has for a few years had a bad reputation.

So, armed with this information, but reluctantly, the group return to sleep at the Dancing Lamprey. Jalabu, Farshad and Utana suffer such disturbed sleep, full of scratching noises and unpleasant dreams, that they wake up fatigued.

west, circumventing the river trading town of Majinv. Does the group follow this large body of folks, signs from the sawmill indicating they are murderous worshippers of a Dark God, in some way connected to the driving of a nature spirit to raising a dreadful curse, or do they leave word for Baltajniz about his sawmill? The reason being that, without warning him off, he may try to reoccurs the site, negating the deal with the spirit.

_Behind the scenes note, it might have seemed that I was trying to push you towards the town, but if you had gone after the large party of folk then I had stuff prepared for that, it wasn’t as railroaded as it might have seemed, just that there would be consequences for either choice_

Entering Majinv, a rather cosmopolitan town for such a barbarous land in the arse end of nowhere, you find the warehouse and office of Katyavan (_changed from Katayvan to be more pronounceable_) . She was not expecting you, but did expect some activity regarding the mill from Baltajniz. She can’t offer you money or work, at least not in the direction you are going, west.
She sends a runner out, though, to find you accommodation, which she will pay for, as a measure of thanks, and offers to resupply you with some rations and wine.

All along a bustling river front, the trading season opening up, the only place with space for you all is “The Dancing Lamprey”, a lodging house that also supplies fine food, but is oddly bereft of customers.

The owner, Vuntosghan, and staff, well, daughter, Annranesta, seem at their wits end and it doesn’t take much prodding, as excellent food is served to get him opening up about his woes, for the last few months his business has suffered a curse of larger than normal rats. Biting, spoiling food, gnawing though the fabric, leading to the death of is baby daughter and indirectly that of his wife

He has lost cats and dogs to the rats. Poison seems to have little effect except to make the droppings more noxious. The only information, if it can be called that, is that a bargeman called Klemnotyes, a foreigner from the far south west, seems to know, something.

He offers the only things he has of value, a string of pearls once belonging to his wife, and a buckler that has some magic properties as payment if the group can solve his problems.

They at least agree to do some investigation, Jalabu takes the buckler.

The group go off and find the barge, The River Hound, and find the barge an playing music to himself as he waits the rest of the crew to return from carousing. It is possibly the danger of immanent return, as well as busy buildings and boats nearby, that curtails Jalabu’s preference for torturing the man rather than just talking to him, though, in his defence, that might be his natural wish to instruct his new pupil Utana.

Klemnotyes tells a story of having come of a story about what he thinks is the Inn that he had had from his father, a noted mage in his own land. Before the attempts by the Haxamanis empire, the wide spread empire that once occupied the lands now ruled by the Haraxan Kingdom, Ishtir, Sardes and more, ruled here also. At that time there was a tower raised by a general of the Haxamanis, a sorcerer who, legend says, turned aside from the path of light and studied forbidden lore and consorted with unclean things.

In the aftermath of the failed campaign to conquer the Great Forest, the Haxamanis retreated, and the tower was burned down in the chaos.

Klemnotyes believes this lies under the Dancing Lamprey, the latest venture in a building that has for a few years had a bad reputation.

So, armed with this information, but reluctantly, the group return to sleep at the Dancing Lamprey. Jalabu, Farshad and Utana suffer such disturbed sleep, full of scratching noises and unpleasant dreams, that they wake up fatigued.

The basement of the Inn awaits…..

The group gets themselves together after a night of rest, then start out to the sawmill camp, interrupted by the accidental finding of the detached head of a Shevam lodged in the roots of a tree. The fear ridden head was left where it was found, as they continued across the dam to the sawmill.

The entered the mill, in good shape considering, the wheel had been raised, the mechanisms at rest. There was a puzzling lack of invading rodents or bugs and even the grease on the cogs and spindles seems to have been eaten by something.

As the group carry on investigating, finding rags and blood, detritus, climbing up first one floor, then towards the third, at this point they were attacked, whilst on the stairs, by owls, owls with razor like tongues that sought out flesh to bore into and extract the blood. Swift, silent, relentless, good fortune and armour protected the group, or most of them, José and Jalabu left, like Jushuur, without the use of one arm, gushing wounds needing patched up.

There were fine moments, Jushuur and Jalabu both managed to spit two of these vampiric menaces out of the air, indeed, Jalabu slapped another out of the air with the flying corpse flicked from his sword.

Patching themselves up, they found, on the top floor of the mill, the blood owl nests and a closed room, in which was a tidier, more recently occupied room, in which were two corpses of men brutally murdered, a pile of blankets, and a chest containing clothes, two daggers probably relatively recently placed there, but an older secreted pouch with two gold nuggets in it.

Going outside, the bodies from last night were gone, and tracks led to the graveyard, the graves recently returned

Turning resurrectionist, they exhumed a body, and cut its head off, only to find that plant tendrils grew out, dragging the head back to the body. Appalled, the group built pyres, exhumed all the bodies, and burned them. Well, apart from the time José went a little mad after communing with the overgrown hut and tried to stop them, wrestling others to the ground before he was stopped.

An examination of the remaining camp showed some documentation that might , concerning some kind of plot, a couple of tool sheds and a perfectly normal well.

That left the overgrown hut, covered in plants in a way unique in the place, José suggested the nature spirit that rumour had said was angry, and let’s face it, plant zombies are fairly strong circumstantial evidence of that, might lift the curse if they could agree to leave the wood to return to nature, abandoning the offing

The hut sent out a little girl, another of the plant motivated creatures, the deywafa. She spoke for the spirit, and the group agreed to make the case for the spirit to the owner.

They left to camp out the night to rest, before next time they plan return to the village and collecting mules and servants.

The Blood Owls get a better chance of a grievous wound to normal, but even so, this shows how deadly grievous wounds can be. And how slow natural healing is, and how rare magical healing is.

Having reached the camp, the group take stock, noting the arrangement of the buildings as provided by an inadequate map, hastily drawn on an iPad not using decent software nor an Apple Pencil

The nearest, and smallest building was investigated, surrounded by heavily armed people as Farshad was pushed forward, the stench, reminiscent of a tanner’s yard, soon revealed why, as it was a latrine over a pit. A handy stick, with shreds of sponge on it, let Farshad investigate it to some degree. The pit was deep, and Farshad declined to go down too close, possibly the thing that saved him for some noxious worm creature dropping on him.

The next group of buildings were quarters, in various states of disrepair, seemingly intended for groups of four, though one stood out because of the lush greenery growing on the wood, and inside where some kind of partitioning had taken place. Doors proved to be one of the mightiest enemy that the group had faced to date, bouncing Farshad back and betraying Jalabu.

The mounds of earth, looking like graves, however were bare of growth, with just earth mounds, no markers, but no grass or other plants on them.

The last thing looked at was a larger building, armed with a discarded wooden shovel, Jushuur probed a shutter open and a door to this building, showing a seeming office and a living space, presumably the foreman’s office, the clay tablets seemed to confirm this. A quick shovel around produced a hand, with a ring on it. Jushuur retrieved the ring, seemingly a luck piece, and it was recognised as similar to that seen on the hand of the woman who assaulted Jalabu and Utana the day before.

At this time, the group decided to head across the stream and make camp, setting a watch. As Farshad’s watch gave way to Jushuur’s, noises were heard from across the river, clumsy, loud, stumbling noises

Waking the others, they got close and saw glimpses of rotting corpses walking about. Firing at one across the river, it was destroyed. Utana and Jalabu went across the river to see it more closely, Farshad went across the dam at the mill, being attacked as he did so. He ran to join the others who found themselves beset by more of the corpses.

Though they had faced walking dead folk before, these are different in some way, though they have not had a chance to examine it closely. The fight was hard pressed, the corpses attacked with claws that had erupted from the fingers, the teeth were lengthened. They may have stumped around clumsily, but in fighting they seemed fast, striking first.

Across the river, José was unable to exert his usual leadership, so Jushuur rallied the group as best he could, and the fight seemed to hard press the group, Jushuur was grievously wounded in his left arm, but Utana’s armour proved useful, though the light armour of the others was sorely tested.

Jushuur, angered, almost cut one undead down by himself, sorely injured as he was, finished off by José and Jalabu, they crossed the river and assisted in the destruction of the rest, though there is a worry about infected wounds from these filthy creatures.

After cutting the heads off the creatures, the group retreated for the rest of the night to their camp. There is much still to investigate, none of the buildings have been thoroughly explored, not all the buildings have had even a cursory look yet, the creatures that attacked your whose trinkets you took, hoping to get word back to the families, not much is known of them.

And so to next week. I’ll work out some stuff with Norman on medical issues off line, and there is the matter of owed XP from me not noticing the “double on success rule”, it won’t be double, but it will mean some additional XP.

On a note. DQ isn’t, mostly, that complex. The rules are not that well organised, which causes issues, but it is not possessed of a rule for everything, instead having a great GM tool to cover most situations, the Difficulty roll, but that still requires GM busking it.

We are joined by Andy Staples, so the group now consists of four areas of intersection with me

• NORMAN AND ALISTAIR – old friends from Strathclyde University RPG days
• ANDY, PHIL and MARK – Having met Andy through C&S, I then met Phil and Mark through Andy via Hârn
• CHRIS K – DragonQuest, obviously and through Andy sat in his RQ playtest
• CHRIS H – UK-centric RPGING internet

The alleged charlatan, Zokia, was held for those two days, but so, in a friendlier way, was the group. If Zokia was proven innocent then the group would pay for defamation of the potion seller.

Over the two days the owner of the caravanserai. Himmun, has arranged a tribunal. Totally against the laws which would insist that the potion seller would be turned over to the magistrate. This is a low and rough justice, the potential victims being customers, friends and neighbours of Himmun. To form his tribunal he has arranged for Kuldiz, the merchant Farshad had been talking to when he was robbed and a trader, of sorts, and dabbler in alchemy, Jalabu, an associate of both Himmun and Kuldiz.

The morning of the tribunal, Farshad holds up a piece of pottery, with writing scratched onto it. He looks agitated as he tells the groups that he had received a message from his family about an exciting business opportunity, and he needs to go and attend to that. He will catch up with the group, unless they are executed for defamation of character. He leaves, with great alacrity

Noon comes, as does the tribunal. Himmun has set up some basic useful tools for an alchemist, a fire, some pots, spoons, a few chemicals, and Jabalu retreats to the kitchen to analyse the potion.

Back in the main room, the group and Zokia are told that they can cross examine each other. Zokia starts, demanding who does José think he is, denying a chance of a cure, a glimpse of a healthy future to these people.

In response, José uses Soothe Pain to render Zokia insensible. It will be four hours by the time he recovers, giving Jalabu time to examine the substance. He is lucky, and determines that these are relatively common poisons, and in this combination one is a painkiller, soothing the afflicted, and the other a soporific, making the victim suggestable. Moreover they are addictive and will harm the user over time.

When the charlatan wakes up, he is dragged off by burly men, never to be seen by the group again.

Kuldiz reminds the group that he told Farshad of a contact in the next town, Khayy, on your route. This contact, Baltajniz, might be useful to the group to aid their journey. Moreover, Jabalu knows both Baltajniz and the way to Khayy.

The way is well travelled and safe, and a couple of days sees them at the gates of Khayy. Utana decides that queuing for the toll is not for him and, almost as haughty as his mule, he rides past the folk waiting to pay their tolls and addresses the guards with the full power of his rank. Unfortunately the guard is not impressed, possibly Utana’s foreign accent, but he decided to kick it upstairs, fetching his captain. The captain, impressed by the bearing of Utana and nursing a hangover, says to himself, I cannot be bothered, and waves them all in.

Baltajniz’s town estate is in a well to do, but not the best part of the city, a walled compound with many buildings around a courtyard and garden. The major domo greets you and, recognising Jabalu, leads you in, guiding you to a guest chamber as grooms take your mules.

After some small talk, Baltajniz tells you that the safe route whilst risk free, will take you out of your way because of the mountains, but that he knows a way through, to the next big town, Byni on your route. One that will take days off it. However, there is a price. He has a sawmill up in the Mountains that delivers its product to his agent in Byni. Last year,while he was trading in the East, some disaster befell it, there were many deaths and only a few graves, the rest of the bodies were left lying. By the time he returned, winter and the spring floods stopped him going to look. He offers you guidance to the other side of the Mountains, if you investigate what happens and leave word with his agent.

The group agrees, and a question about survivors brings the name of Yenab up, a Shevam cook, whom Baltajniz just learned was drinking himself to death in a scummy inn in the rough part of town, “”The Lost Hope””. The group, disarmed appropristely, leave Dhran and Jushuur with their gear left the quiet, clean streets of the merchant area, down through the busy part of town where Guinon saw, but did not register, an amulet and talisman seller with signs that in fact they are a Rune mage.

They reach the filthy area of derelicts and the hopeless, the “”Preston”” of Ishtir, and the inn, bypassing a “”Have you been to a Harvester before”” joke that fell flat, and finding the only Shevam that is both on their own and near paralytic. Yenab seemed scared, telling of a beast that killed them one by one, ripping soft flesh from bodies, leaving them where they could be found. Yenab fled, but still the dreams haunt him, the beast willing him to join it, to rend, tear, bite and kill.

José uses his empathy skill on Yenab, and is blasted by the pain and fear in his mind, Yenab is sincere.

They decide to take Yenab to Baltajniz, via the talisman seller. Some of the symbols are incomplete runes, showing knowledge without forming them. The Rune Mage, Ferhosz, analyses the aura of the Shevam, and sees a sickness born of a god, beyond his power to heal, has cursed Yenab. He suggests that the priests of Ghatama, a secretive order worshipping a regional god of Thought, Wisdom and Harmony, might be the best people to talk to,as it is said that they know sorceries affecting the mind. This costs Utana 3 gold and he is not best pleased.

Guinon buys a well thumbed papyrus book pertaining to ciphers and codes, though it is better than the stall keeper knows, having extra annotations, algorithms and techniques, this cost her 7 and a half gold.

The group go back, and give Yenab to Baltajniz’s care, as an employee of his. The merchant accepts this charge, though he is less thrilled by the annotatedExpense Claim forms. He holds that his payment for what you are doing is the route, but Utana persuades him that care for Yenab is separate to that. Reluctantly Baltajniz agrees, and refunds the money, even for Guinon’s book, which is not really anything to do with Yenab, but he is befuddled at this point.

And there we left it

Harvan has lodged you in the town of Dirkuk, the northern seat of the magistrature where he has a house by the magistrate’s buildings.

He has business for the magistrate, leaving you to your own devices. José meets with officers in the precinct and discusses tactics and learns more of the military sciences as they are understood in the Harixan Kingdom.

Farshad investigations into mercantile possibilities, and comes up with three options. A caravan heading to the Spice Lands to buy spices to bring back, somewhat high risk, but high return.

Buying up silks from Hao merchants to trade to the Sardic Empires and Ta-Khemet, fairly certain but lower returns.

The third, metal, weapons and wood to Ta-Khemet, part of their colonial efforts. Risky, as Ta-Khemet’s Nasut (King) is annoying many of his nobles and merchants with the resources bleeding out to fuel their wars of colonisation.

Farshad and those of the group who want to invest decide to divide their wealth into three. Two parts go to invest in spices, the third in Silks,

A week later, Harvan arranges a meal, and explains what he plans. He is still involved in work for the magistrate, and cannot leave for a while.

He and Gunion can puzzle out some meaning from the cuneiform, but the language is that of Ikaihurid, a dead language. However, in the west, in the kingdom of Quulbar is the enclave and free city of Irilun. This city was once one of the furthest reaches of the Ikaihurid empire, and there is a temple with a library and priests and priestesses he believes still use the language of Ikaihurid in their liturgies.

He asks the group to act for him again, travel there, taking the rubbings to the temple and start the translation until Harvan arrives. Harvan will pay, provide travel funds and the services of a translator (Kuldiz), and mules for travelling.

The group decide how to travel, if they head north they can take a ship part of the way, but might have to leave the mules behind. The silk caravan is sharing a third of the route, but it is a longer way, or they can take the shortest route, hugging the coasts.

Although José gets distracted with a treasure map, Utana and Farshad find some rough snippets of information about the journey ahead, and Jushuur has some knowledge of the area from his past.

In the end they decide to cross the border with the Rule of Ishtir with the Silk Caravan, then head north-west. In their last night with the caravan, they are entertained by the guard captain, and wished well for their journey.

Towards the end of the first day, Utana spots a group standing in a circle. Farshad and José investigate, and see a group of worn statues. The statues proved to be part of an arrangement around a covered well.

Resting and watering, despite the noises of animals during the night, they set off, coming to a town two days later. Entering, Farshad, with Utana and José in the background, sees to getting supplies. It is only as he pays for them he realises that is pouch has been lifted. It is only the experience of markets and interactions that let Farshad spot a hand off of the pouch from one street urchin to another.

Farshad followed the recipient to a small house, himself followed at a distance by Utana and José. Farshad clambered onto the roof as Utana went in through the door, spooking the boy who went up the ladder.

On the roof, Farshad attempted to intimidate the urchin, who laughed at him and turned to run, but a good skill across the boys arse with the flat of Farshad’s arse send the urchin flying into the low wall and down in pain. Farshad recovered his money and gave the boy some advice.

The group went to a caravanserai near the town gates, only to find that a healer had set up at a table on one side, with charms, philtres, herbs, pills, spells and talismans.\n\nJose watches him as he appears to cure a limping man with words, a laying on of hands and two pills.

José was curious, and took the man aside, noticed that he seemed confused and drugged. By the time he finished his examination, José was sure that the man was a fraud. He alerted the barman who got two of his burliest regulars to seize the charlatan.

The barman told him that he would hold him for two days. If all was well, then he would release the charlatan with money for his trouble. Money that José would then owe him,

If not, then not.

The group retired to bed and there we left it.

Running jokes of the night centred around Farshad embezzling the investments, setting up Farshad University, selling Farshad camel steaks, building Farshad Tower in Irbuk, with gold toilets, and wearing sharp clothes and driving a flash chariot.

Harvan and Ghushmaya talk before the Kurrim and you leave for the Haraxan Kingdom again, protected from bandits by having a large enough group. As you descend the plateau into the foothills you are met by the magistrate’s troops and escorted first to the fort and then to Irbuk again, still growing as the temporary capital of the magistrate.

Emissaries from Ghushmaya are presented to magistrate by Harvan, others are sent to other Kurrim communities in the Haraxan kingdom, to seek aid and settlers to make a success of their new city.

In their accommodation in the tents of Harvan, Farshad, Jushuur and Utana sort out some of the recovered treasure. The silvered weapons stay with those that found them, Utana keeps his gilded armour, though it is not suitable for everyday wear. Taking some of the treasure, Utana uses some of his contacts in the suppliers for the magistrates forces.

Trading in some of the treasure buys new fangled ring mail shirts in the Western style, Camels for all the group. New Composite bows for Utana and Jushuur and 12 silvered arrows each.

Along the journey, Harvan consulted with Gunion to try and decipher enough of the bronze, gold and silver books taken from the tomb, but the script, though many of the symbols are known, the concepts they represent are not clear.\n\nHarvan thinks that his mentor and tutor Gahzasad in the coastal city of Biriyan, the one who set him on the path to studying magic, to researching the tomb of Gathpaxpes.

In a fortnight Harvan intends to travel to the west, taking rubbings of the books to a temple where there might be those who can help him decipher the mysteries, and he wishes those who served him so well to escort him.

Utana visits the family estates, and impresses his family with the sight of him in his gilded armour, before packing it up carefully as a spare set of heavy armour. He equips his servant in better gear and the servant uses his back pay to buy part shares in an donkey to work the well drawing in this absence.

Farshad is looking into investment opportunities.

Jushuur sends word back to his family in the Kirim peninsula.