FRIDAY, JUNE 5TH & JUNE12TH - KINGDOM OF KESHANAR : SESSION 9-10 RECAP
We rejoin the siblings as they stare in awe at the floating figure before them. They could scarcely believe their eyes, or their luck. A Djinn capable of granting a wish? Things did not seem as grim as they had first suspected. They considered the wish, but Zafira told her siblings that they should first investigate their surroundings, attempt to get some idea of where they were and just how bad their situation might be.
They moved south east in the direction they believed Keshanar City to lie, the Djinn following along, floating in the air with a sardonic grin on her face. After an hour they saw what appeared to be a pile of bones. Moving down the dune to the low area where they lay, they discovered the shattered remains of their Dusker Camels strewn across the sands. Mixed amongst the bones they found their packs and gear, along with the Jug of Alchemy and their rations. It appeared their mounts had been attacked by some desert scavengers that had sought a meal, but found nothing of nutritional value and had moved on leaving their items intact.
Zafira immediately used the Jug to create water and the three drank their fill, refilled their water skins. They ate hungrily from their rations, but Kharu urged his sisters to go sparingly as they knew that if this where their camp was, then they were four weeks from their home by camel, longer on foot. The Jug would ensure they had more than a sufficient amount of water, but even rationing their food may not prove enough to see them through. Kharu calculated the distance and guessed with their need for rest and not being able to travel the mile their undead mounts had been able to, they would take six to seven weeks to walk the distance home. It was not a prospect that he looked forward to, crossing the desert on foot with all of the dangers the sands held. He shared his concerns with Khephri and Zafira, who, like their brother, did not make much of their chances.
The three looked at one another, then to the Djinn, who floated in the air, sitting crossed legged, watching them intently. The three confided for some time, they had all heard the stories of Djinns and how they would try to twist the wording of wishes in an effort to turn their believed fortune into misfortune. They knew they must be careful in how they worded their request and avoid allowing greed to color their choice.
Finally satisfied they had the wording in such a way that it would be difficult and obviously deliberate if the Djinn were to use their wish against them. They merely asked to be returned home safely, immediately, to their own home and time. The Djinn smiled, but looked somewhat disappointed.
“Tell Ra-Solari my debt is paid and that I am free,” she said and snapped her fingers.
There was a flash of light and then when it faded the three found themselves standing on the familiar doorstep of their manor home. It was day time and they appeared to have all their belongings. They were dirty, battered, exhausted, but they were home safely and they had the Shield.
Entering their home they passed by the ever vigilant, yet unmoving, golem of Anubis. Khephri smiled at the silent guardian, still very pleased with herself for bringing it home and knowing it was her to protect their mother when they were away.
As if thinking of her caused her to materialize their mother, Alaeah, came out of the sitting room and into the foyer and was startled to find her children standing there, looking road worn. Her look of surprise quickly changed to one of joy as she rushed forward to hug and kiss each of them. It was then that she noticed their appearance and the smell of the dried sweat and desert upon them. With a grimace she sent each of them off for a bath and then instructed them to come see her when they were clean.
After bathing the three met their mother who had refreshments prepared. They told her what they thought they safely could without giving too much away. Alaeah listened to what they said, but it was what they did not say, the meaningful looks they exchanged that told her more than their carefully chosen words. She did not press, she knew it would do little good. She was simply glad to have them home and safe.
They all shared a meal, and left the talk of missions and dangers for another time. The siblings enjoyed the comfort of being home and out of harm’s way. While they would have been happy to allow the cares of their duties to slip away in the joys of the simpler life, they knew they had to check in with Arislene and advise her that they had secured the shield.
The next morning they went to the Seer’s tower and met with Arislene. They recounted their adventure, the things they had seen, and the fight in the pyramid that looked like that or Ra-Memmnon and how they had found the shield.
Kharu took the Bag of Holding from Zafira and reached in to pull out the Shield of Set. As his hand touched the cold metal and the light through the window played across its dark surface, the eyes of the skull on the face of the shield sparked red, the mouth opened and omitted a piercing wail. Necrotic energy washed over everyone in the room, some of them were able to shrug it off, but each of them heard a voice in their minds.
At long last the Shield is near.
The deep voice was ominous, full of malevolence. They knew at once it was the voice of Set.
Kharu shoved the Shield back into the Bag and the wail ended. They heard cries from the streets below, people crying out in fear and pain. The effects of the wail had been felt beyond the confines of the tower.
Arislene told them it would be best to leave the Shield in the bag for now while she continued to try to discover a way to destroy the Shield. She also told them she had discovered the whereabouts of the Spear of Set, another part of the arsenal of the Champion of Set. When she saw the looks on the faces of the siblings she thought better of going into too much detail at this point.
She suggested they take some time to recover from their ordeal of recovering the Shield, rest, and start preparing for the next adventure. They decided it might be time to take on some additional training to learn skills that might help them.
During their downtime, when they were not training, they did some investigation around Arislene’s tower seeking to find out how far the wail of the Shield had been heard. They discovered it had been heard blocks away and that it had had painful effects on the citizens of the city. There had been no deaths reported, but many spoke of a terrible voice, some whispered it was Set himself speaking from Duat where he was trapped.
The siblings knew that the time had come to speak with Arislene and to pursue the second piece of the unholy artifacts of the Champion of Set. They bid their mother farewell and made their way to the tower of the seer. There they found her deep in study, but she had them into her study and told them she had discovered the last known location of the Spear of Set.
She told them of an island, sunken long ago in the Orthanic Ocean, somewhere west of the city of Aureen. The people of the island had been tempted by Set and taken to worshipping him, building a massive temple to him in the center of their city. The Spear rested there, central to their worship, and revered above all things. Sacrifices were made to Set in great ceremonies, the Spear being used as the sacrificial weapon. The other gods took notice and they used the dormant volcano at the heart of the island as their instrument of retribution, awakening the slumbering mountain. The explosion leveled most of the city, the ash and lava killing nearly every living being that dwelled there. In the cataclysm that followed, the island broke apart and sank into the ocean, disappearing and taking the Spear with it.
Arislene provided a map with what she believed to be the approximate location of the island to be, the name of a captain and ship that would transport them up river then north along the coast to Aureen. Once there they would need to find a pirate captain and their ship to take them out into the ocean in search of the resting place of the Spear at the bottom of the ocean. It seemed simple enough.
That night as they slept, each had a dream where they were visited by their patron; Khephri by Bastet, Zafira by Khonshu, and Kharu by his Sphinx patron, whose name he did not know. Each was told that they had drawn the attention of Set and that his minions here in their world would now move against them. They were warned that the dangers they had known would only increase, and that they should beware. The next morning the three shared their dreams and pondered their meaning, dreading what may come, but knowing that it must be done.
They found the River Serpent captained by a man named Gresh. His crew was small, numbering only six. The ship was small, but appeared to be well maintained. They were taking on cargo to take to Aureen, but as promised he had a small cabin booked for the siblings so that they might travel up river. Introductions were made and the captain shared his rules with the party; they were welcome aboard the ship, they could move about as they like, but they were not to interfere with the crew, the running of the ship, or to go down into the cargo hold as it was off limits to those not part of the crew.
A week went by, leisurely, quiet and for a while they were able to act as if they did not carry the great weight that they did. Kharu spent time in his books, Zafira struck up a friendship with Dharia, a young woman who was a hand on the ship. Khephri formed a bond with Zorah, the first mate who helped her hone her skills in water navigation and the workings of a ship. It seemed things would remain calm until they reached their destination, but it was not meant to be.
They were eleven days out of Keshanar City when they were attacked by a great beast, a massive horror with skin like a rock, massive hooked tentacles, and a gaping maw filled with razor teeth like a lamprey. The great monster pulled itself out of the water, climbing the prow of the ship, its great weight threatening to sink the ship. The siblings and the crew fought hard, with Dharia being knocked unconscious and being drug overboard, had it not been for Zafira struggling to prevent her being taken into the river. They were finally able to defeat the creature, Khephri channeling the divine energy of her goddess into a powerful Smite, cleaving the creature with her Khophesh, “Decision Maker”. Captain Gresh told them the beast was a Ballast Fiend, a monster that drug its prey down to a watery grave, but he had not seen one this far down river before.
The crew made sure the ship had not been damaged by the Ballast Fiend and continued on their way, the crew more alert, on guard for dangers.
Three days later the lookout spotted something in the water and cried out a warning. The siblings went to the port gunwale and looked to where the lookout pointed. They saw debris, wood mostly, but also bodies, floating in the water. A shipwreck of some kind. As they got closer the party could see some of the bodies bore terrible wounds. Something had torn these people apart.
The captain order the ship slowed so they could search for survivors, though the grim sight that they were presented with seemed to say that hope was misplaced here. That is when Zafira saw a familiar face amongst the bodies. A black robed figure lying prone on a large wooden plank bobbed in the water. Without warning she misty stepped down from the ship’s deck to land on the plank. The wood bobbed in the water, but she managed to keep her footing. She leaned down, shaking the figure below her.
“Bek? Bek can you hear me?”
Khephri and Kharu stared in disbelief as the crew worked to pull Zafira and the body of Bek out of the water and up over the railing. They checked the Rogue and found he was still alive, though barely and having several wounds that looked like claw marks. Zafira used her healing arts on him and his eyes flew open.
“Where am I?” Bek asked.
The siblings had not seen Bek since they had secured the Dagger of the Night. He worked for Ulrik, an information broker in the City of Keshanar. He had set Bek to follow them, and they had never figured out what his motivation was or what part Ulrik played in the schemes they had run afoul of.
This is where we will leave off for now. Our next session is Wednesday June 17th so be on the lookout for the recap to come out the weekend of Father’s Day. Thanks for reading and we will see you back here next time, in The Maze!
