FRIDAY, JANUARY 30TH, KINGDOM OF KESHANAR : SESSION 2 RECAP; PART 1
Three weeks have passed in Keshanar City since the siblings were able to deny the Phoenix Blood to the dark god Set. The siblings have begun settling back into the normal routine of their lives when their mother tells them that their father, Semat, is now overdue a week in returning from his trip to Aswan, a city to the east. Semat had gone there on the business of the Pharaoh to secure shipments of grain and livestock. Kharu checks his father's study and goes through his itinerary discovering the names of the contacts he was to meet in Aswan; Ia-Afik, a grain merchant and Redjeet, a merchant dealing in cattle and other livestock. The siblings tell their mother that they will travel to Aswan to find their father and return him home safely. She expresses her concern for their safety as they have never ventured far outside of the walls of Keshanar City, but they assure her they can handle themselves and will look out for one another.
Kharu tells his sisters that it would be best if hire a guide to lead them through the desert along the trade route to Aswan, so he thinks their best bet is to check with the caravan masters who frequent the warehouses and staging areas near the Eastern Gate. As they reach the area and begin asking the folk they encounter where they might find someone to help them, they meet a cheerful man named Amir. Amir tells the party that he will gladly make introductions to the right people to lend them aid and then extends his hand, palm up in anticipation. Rolling her eyes, Khephri slips him two gold coins which cause the man's eyes to go wide, and his grin even wider. Bowing and eagerly leading them out beyond the gates he introduced them to a caravan master named Akentaten, who is currently organizing a group of wagons full of crates to go east to Aswan. The party makes arrangements to travel as passengers with the caravan, but first they want to get more supplies and rent a horse. Yes, a single horse.
Securing the horse, supplies for the horse, and extra food and water for themselves, the trio make it back in time to board the passenger wagon and start their adventure. Kharu and Zafira ride in the wagon, making small talk with the other four passengers that will be their traveling companions. Khephri decides to ride the horse they have rented and make her way up and down the line of wagons talking to the drivers and guards to see what she can learn of the route and what they carry. She overhears two of the teamsters talking about the cargo they carry. It came from the west, none of it was offloaded in the City of Keshanar, and now they carry it to Aswan. The crates bear the mark of a trading company that neither of the men have seen before, but they suspect it must be valuable.
On the second night of their trip several hours after the sun sets, Kharu notices that the watch fire set by the guards to the east of the camp appears to be unmanned. Moving to the edge of the circle of wagons, and scaling the tarp covered crates, Kharu tries to maneuver for a better vantage of the dune where the watchfire is set. He sees two guards on foot patrolling nearby and calls out to them. He tells them that he sees no one at the watch fire and he is concerned something is amiss. One guard makes his way toward the dune to investigate while the other goes back into the camp to alert the caravan master. Turning back toward the dune Kharu notices strange, shadows moving past the light of the fire, which appears to be growing dimmer. He looks back for his sisters, calling to them to have them join him. As they do, Yamut, the leader of the guards approaches and asks what is wrong. Kharu tells him that he has not seen the guards at the fire and that it appears the fire is going out.
Yamut says he will check on his men and moves outside the ring of wagons. The siblings follow him, making their way up the dune. Arriving at the top they find the fire in need of fuel, the guards bedrolls on the ground empty, and no signs of the men stationed here or the other guard who had come out to see what was wrong. They do find what appears to be drag marks off to the side of the fire, but the track suddenly ends without a trace. Kharu investigates the strange drag marks, Yamut circles the fire to the left, Khephri to the right, and Zafira moves to add camel dung to the fire to stoke the flames. As Kharu bends down to take a closer look at the strange drag marks, he notices the sand begin to move, to push up from below. He watches in surprise as the sand erupts upwards and a giant scorpion pulls its way to the surface, its claws grappling him. His cry of surprise is echoed by Yamut who has had another giant scorpion come out of the dune near him, grasping at him with its pincers. The sisters move to aid the two men, Khephri landing a heavy blow from her khopesh then calling upon the divine energy of her goddess, Bastet, unleashes a divine smite into the giant arachnid, shaking the creature holding her brother. Zafira releases a Guiding Bolt at the scorpion holding Yamut, but in her haste the spell misses its target. Kharu tries to hit the monster holding him with his Eldritch Blast, but at close range and being grappled by the creature he misses and shouts in frustration. The scorpion lashes out with its stinger, striking the Tiefling in the chest, but Kharu is able to shrug off the poison, though the damage he sustains causes him to cry out. The other scorpion tries to impale Yamut on its stinger, but misses. Khephri, hearing her brother's anguished cry moves to attack again, watching in horror as the monster scuttles backwards and begins to drag her brother back into the sand. She rushes forward and thrusts her blade downward striking the creature and unleashing another Smite into it, its body convulsing under the radiant energy. Zafira, seeing her brother's plight, casts Healing Word to cure him of his wounds and try to prevent him bleeding out.
As he is being pulled deeper into the sand, the scorpion's body vanishing beneath the dune, a desperate Kharu throws his hand out and releases another Eldritch Blast, a critical hit! The green energy smashes into the face of the creature and splits its head like an overripe melon, its now lifeless body dropping Kharu into the sand. The other scorpion is now pulling Yamut back into the sands as the warrior struggles to break free of its pincers. The monster thrusts it stinger into Yamut, releasing his deadly poison. Yamut thrashes, splitting up bile as he cries out. Khephri, seeing his plight, runs across the ground and lays hands on the man, releasing part of her healing pool into him to rid him of the poison before it can kill him. She has alleviated the immediate concern, but her companion is still being pulled down into the desert sands. Desperate, Yamut clings to her, pulling on her in an effort to drag himself from the scorpion's grasp, but only succeeding in pulling the paladin along with him. Zafira cries out and unleashes Toll the Dead on the arachnid, but it seems to have no effect. The three siblings combine their efforts to finish off the scorpion before it can pull Yamut beneath the sands.
As the battle ends, Akentaten arrives with a half dozen guards carrying torches. They move to help secure the top for the dune and provide healing to those in need. The fire is stoked, the guards ensure the two scorpions are dead, and bring Yamut and the siblings back within the safety of the wagons, The caravan's healer tends to Yamut while the siblings tend to one another. The three slip off to sleep, Kharu having nightmares of being pulled into the sand by grasping claws and hungry mandibles.
The rest of their trip to Aswan is uneventful with the exception of a brief stop at an oasis for rest and refilling of their water. At the end of their seventh day of their journey the city walls of their destination came into sight. They said goodbye to the caravan after checking to see that Yamut had recovered from his wounds and went off to find the city watch. They found a captain of the guard and questioned them about their father and whether or not he had been seen. The captain checked their records and found that their father had in fact been in the City, but had left three weeks past, heading west to the City of Keshanar. The siblings were surprised by the news as that meant that their father had been a week leaving Aswan to make his way home. They asked the Captain if he knew Ia-Afik or Redjeet and he told them that many knew them as they are two of the wealthiest merchants in the city. He gave the siblings directions on where their manors were if they wished to ask after their father and when asked where they might stay he referred them to the Lion's Rest, a posh inn near the center of West Ward. Making their way there they found the inn, a two story structure that caters to wealthy merchants and visitors to the city. Kharu recalled from talks with his father that he preferred to stay here due to its amenities and proximity to those that he did business with in Aswan.
This is where we will wrap part 1 of our Recap. A lot to share so check back in a few days for part 2 of this adventure to see what our three heroes find out about the disappearance of their father. Thanks for reading and we will see you back here soon, in The Maze!
