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Over the next few days, the party saw little of the Duz, but heard bits and pieces of their responses to the threat to their tribe: messengers were sent to other tribes; scouts were sent to the pass; and the tribesmen most fluent in the lizard men's language were gathered and sent to meet them. The visitors spent their time learning more about the Cat Tribe, and preparing for their departure. They inquired about caravans heading towards Tel Yuli. Darra remembered that the 25th was her birthday--and also St. Celberic's Day, a highly auspicious day to start a long journey.
After speaking further with her "friend," Naima decided to accompany the others to Farvale to seek out the necromancer Darra is hunting. Arrangements would be made to free her from Governor Hajaj's service for the duration.
20 Highsuntide: Laylah prayed to Rashira about how to safely get where they needed to go next. She received a vision of three brief images: 1. A small castle on a rocky outcropping overlooking a river. 2. The shadow of a large winged, flying creature (a dragon?). 3. A stone with a crude carving of a frog. The vision included no words, but she had the impression that these things would help her. She told these visions to the others. Darra believed the first one to be Castle Farvale (of which she had Taroq's maps), but the other two eluded understanding.
23 Highsuntide: Afla reported that a caravan had reached Tel Talib and would leave again on the 27th. The party could leave Tel Rebinat on the 25th and still have a day to themselves before the caravan left.
24 Highsuntide: Harithah introduced Darra to Huma'i. He cast a Vigil spell on her to allow her to pass this night of the full moon without resting. This would leave her fit to travel the next day.
25 Highsuntide: Darra awoke the next morning, and was led back to town by Razil. The caracal showed her something strange about her hoofprints of the night before: At one point, the tracks changed to cow prints for about 100' or so. He had seen nothing strange about her at the time, and she could provide no explanation.
The women prepared for ther journey, and Afla and Qutaibah led them to the edge of the settlement. The Umar, Razil and a small escort awaited them there. Ganirit presented them with tokens of her appreciation for their service to her tribe: a fine robe for each of them, packed for travel; two scrolls for Ruqayyah, with stories about the tribe and the goddess Jin-Mubik; and a small exquisite statue for Laylah, a cat carved from yellow-gold wood. She told them that they were always welcome in the tribe, and she hoped that Ruqayyah, at least, would return to them some day. Razil and Qutaibah gave Ruqayyah their affectionate farewells, then allowed the women to start their journey.
25-28 Highsuntide: They traveled to Tel Talib, where they joined the caravan. They left the Highmarch on the 28th. While going down the cliff, Naima briefly saw a bird-sized, shiny flying creature. She could not identify it, and none of the others saw it.
30 Highsuntide: They reached Tel Yuli. Naima reported to Hajaj, describing her travels with Laylah and her friends, and confirmed the arrangements made for her leave. She and the others stayed at the "Wine of the Sun," paying for their stay by performing again. (Ruqayyah's exotic new skin attracted a great deal of extra attention!) They saw Al-Zaki in the audience, but he left before they could speak to him.
1 Heatblight: The women sent a message to the Governors' Palace, asking to meet with Al-Zaki. Later that day, the governor's hawk, Num, found them in the marketplace, leading Al-Zaki to them. At a food vendor's stall, Laylah told him about the vision of the dragon's shadow, and asked what he knew of dragons. He knew some general lore, most of it summed up by, "Only fools and saints seek them out." She wanted his help learning about the lands to the south.
She described the frog carving, and he drew a crude image very close to what she had seen. He explained that he knew of a tribe that lived to the south, who used that symbol for one of their gods. Al-Zaki avoided her question about where he came from, only saying it was to the south. Darra said that they were following a necromancer, and had to find this place in order to find him. Al-Zaki insisted that, if their quest involved the frog, he would have to get involved. He took them to his suite at the palace to continue the discussion in private.
In his rooms, Darra explained that the necromancer was a priest of Shulkor. He had some plan involving Castle Farvale, so they were headed there. Al-Zaki said that some of the southerners had entered that valley, so he might be able to learn more from them. He would tell the four women more about this tribe, but only if they swore an oath not to harm these people or reveal their secrets to the Krithians. They agreed.
Al-Zaki described the lands to the south of Castle Farvale: a pass between the two mountain ranges, followed by a canyon, and beyond that, the meeting-place of the southerners. These people are nomads who worship nature-spirits ruled by a frog-god and a lotus-goddess. Al-Zaki knew these people and their territory well, and felt obliged to go with the party to warn the tribes.
While the others ate, the mage prepared his gear and took his leave of Hajaj. The women took the opportunity to look at their gift robes, which were fine white linen, with fine embroidery of cat iamges around the hem and a sunburst over the yoke. Laylah's emphasized the sun, Ruqayyah's the cats, Darra and Naima's neither.
They departed for Quikara. Darra's quarrel (over which Laylah had seen her meditating) now pointed nearly due south.
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