Key of Destiny
"Through the Desert"
Our group of heroes emerged out of the sewers as the sun began to set. They began their trek through the desert to Hurim using the map that Shaylin gave them. The trek was about 75 miles northeast, and they figured it would take about five days to travel by foot.
After traveling for several hours, they heard in the distance the sound of music and laughter. As they drew closer, they saw tents were pitched in a large circle. Tobin moved ahead to spot the leader, and the group quietly followed. They managed to get amid the group before they were spotted by several of the nomads. They each had similar smiles on their faces. Tobin went up to one of the nomads and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Tobin!”
Before waiting for a response, a large, burly figure separated himself from the crowd. “Well met, Tobin! I am Alakar the Silent, Chief of this merry tribe.” and laughed at the irony of his name. “Welcome! What brings you out this way?” Tobin explained that they were on their way to the Ruins. “Hurim was once an Istarian Outpost. On the Night of Betrayal, the dying priests called upon their gods to lay a curse upon the valley. From that day forth, no tribesman who stepped foot within the valley lived past another full cycle of the silver moon. If I were you, I would avoid that place. But come! Please join us in our celebration!”
Samuel spoke up, “We should travel now, while the sun is down. We won’t be able to venture far once the sun hits the skies.” The rest of the group thought about this only briefly—the smell of cooked meat and the idea of a glass of Elven wine quickly put all thoughts of traveling out of their mind.
Almost everyone joined in the fun immediately. Samuel sat back and watched. Tobin impressed the ladies with his dancing. He tried to climb a pole after one too many drinks and abruptly fell off, much to the crowd’s delight. Teresa picked up Tobin and carried him off to a tent set aside for the group. A handsome man came up to Amelia and together they went off to his own tent. After several hours of partying, the rest of the group went back to sleep in their tent.
* * *
*Zzzzz* *Snort* “Wha--?” Tobin was the first to realize someone had broken into their tent. A young girl in her teenage years approached the center, crossing over the others, waking them as she passed. “You must hurry… the winds carry the voices of man spirits and they are crying for help. You must keep the key safe, otherwise all will be lost. In the temple of the betrayed, you must find the shard of light. It will lead you on the path you have been chosen to walk.” The young girl’s blue eyes seem to grow softly in the dimness of the night, oddly bright against her otherwise dark features
“Hi! I’m Tobin! Who are you?” Tobin began his cheerful greeting. Without responding to the question, she quickly turned heel and left the tent. Seconds later, a huge gust of wind came through, knocking Tobin off his feet and scattered the party. Not realizing what they were up against, the party grabbed their weapons and tried attacking the two mist-like beings among the flow of air. They did not do well in attacking, but they were doing a good job defending themselves. Fifteen to twenty seconds later, the mist dissipated.
Outside, a crowd was heard. Alakar called out to see if the guests were okay. “We must go now,” Tobin responded. The Chief asked what happened, and Tobin tried to describe the girl. Asmara, the tribe’s seer, stepped close to Tobin. “Did she have… blue eyes?” Before Tobin could think back, she looked beyond Tobin’s face, as if in a trance. “Yes. It is her. It is Uleena.”
“Who is she?” one of the guests asked.
“She… was my daughter. She passed away a moon cycle ago. She was supposed to be the tribe’s seer until she died. If she has come to urge you on to the Ruins, then I guess you have been chosen by the Gods. Come. Get some rest and in the morning we shall give you some horses and escort you to the Ruins. It should only take about 1 ½ days to get there by horse.”
The next morning, the group saddled up, packed some trail food and water, and headed out. About a half-day’s journey out, they spotted a group of centaurs running around and towards the group. They zig-zagged through the group and knocked Tobin, Samuel, and Taunting Flame off their horses, yelling “Coup!”. A now rider-less horse started running off in a different direction. Teresa started after the horse. Tobin spotted a larger centaur across the way. Thinking he was the leader of this young group, he started towards that direction. The centaurs continued to zig-zag through the group, and Tobin kept tumbling out of their way, eventually reaching the larger centaur.
“Hi! I’m Tobin!”
The larger centaur, arms crossed, chuckled at the sight. “Hello, Tobin. I am Gildedmane.”
“What are they doing?” Tobin asked, as the centaurs continued to shout “Coup!” every so often.
“These young centaurs are playing a game of skill called ‘Coup.’ This game tests the courage and might of a young centaur warrior. They should not have bothered you, but I guess they could not resist,” he explained, then he turned away from Tobin to the general direction of the centaurs, “Come! It is time to go!” The young centaurs galloped together, shouted a group call, and ran off in a different direction, leaving the group to continue their travels.
By evening, with only about ½ day’s journey left, the group made camp. The night passed uneventfully, and by morning, they started off again.
Soon after starting the last part of the journey, they spotted a group of giant ants. The ants charged into the group, allowing several party members the opportunity to attack on horseback. Samuel Mudbeard and Taunting Flame slid off their horse to engage the ants in battle, while Amara shot her crossbow from horseback and Tobin readied some rope and lassoed one of the ants. With skill and luck, Tobin ended up on the back of an ant.
The ants managed to injure some party members, while Tobin, riding “ant-back,” managed to remain on top, even though the ant viciously tried to buck him off. Eventually, all but the one ant remained—the one Tobin was sitting on. He made a successful tumble check off the ant and allowed the party to finish the ant off.
About a mile away from the entrance to the valley, Alakar pulled up and stopped the caravan of horses. “This is as far as we go. Through those cliffs lie the Ruins you seek. Here is a map to show where we will be camping. We will remain there for a week. Please, come seek us out when you are finished with the valley. Also,” he indicated a spot nearby, “here lies buried food and drink for you when you are through to help you through the desert. May the Gods watch over you.”