Game Date: 26 Heatblight-1 Harvestmonth, 994 KC; Play Date: 7/8/2000
26 Heatblight: Over breakfast, the party decided to provision today, and leave the next day. Ruqayyah asked Al-Zaki for help in getting supplies, telling their Ranae hosts that they're leaving, thanking them, and making sure she stays awake. Eskildes's family was very generous with food, and she passed on what little she information she had on what was safe to eat in the badlands.
27-28 Heatblight: The party left Rana early, while it was still cool, and followed the river south through the forest. Ruqayyah entered her lethargic phase, and needed occasional prodding to stay awake and moving. During the trip, Darra asked Al-Zaki if dragons breathed fire. Some do--he does. He also stated that his night vision and swimming skill were not particularly good in human form.
29 Heatblight: They reached the edge of the forest soon after breaking camp. About midday, they reached the Pardos River, which was reasonably broad, deep in the center, and had a strong current. Laylah tested the waters, and had little problem, but knew the others would. Al-Zaki needed to change back to dragon form soon anyway, so they gave him time to hunt, then he carried them across the river two at a time. He took Ruqayyah and Darra first; Ruqayyah was excited (but tried not to be), while Darra was nervous and glad to dismount. Naima and Laylah were next; Naima was nervous, but Laylah was thrilled and gave the dragon a hug after she climbed down.
Al-Zaki decided to stay in his natural form for now, finding no good reason not to. And if they met another dragon, this form was less vulnerable. (This prompted Ruqayyah to ask if dragons eat one another. He replied that it's rare, but if one did have reason to kill another dragon, the loser provided a handy food source.) He agreed to try to teach Ruqaayah more about magic to pass the time, and to keep her alert.
They began their trek east across the plain, and saw the badlands in the distance. In the late afternoon, they saw wolves in the distance, but those animals kept their distance (most likely due to the dragon's presence). As they approached the edge of the rocks and broken hills, Al-Zaki scouted for a campsite. He found one in one of the first rocky outcroppings they reached. The night was uneventful, but they heard many unfamiliar animal cries.
30 Heatblight (New Moon): The sky was quite cloudy, and the sun could only be seen indistinctly. They entered the badlands proper. The dragon mostly boulder-hopped while they walked. Ruqayyah asked Darra questions about fighting necromancers and their undead servants. [At some point, Laylah let Ruqayyah and Naima know that Darra gets "frantic" around undead, probably due to some past trauma. She went berserk once, and panicked another time. Laylah isn't sure how to help her when that happens.]
A storm moved in during second watch (Naima's): thunder and lightning at first, then rain half an hour later. The rain stopped just before Laylah started last watch. Halfway through her watch, she saw a light appear beyond a cluster of rocks about a quarter-mile away. The light moved, then faded somewhat. A few minutes later, the roar of something large came from that direction. Naima and Al-Zaki woke immediately; Laylah roused the others. Another bellow followed, but not as loud; Laylah sensed the screamer was in pain. The party soon made out additional sounds, which Naima believed was metal striking metal.
Ruqayyah shifted to cat form, and scouted ahead as the others moved towards the light and noise. When she drew close, she could see two bull-headed humanoids--Mynars--fighting. The light came from a glowing shortsword one of them wielded; its bearer was bloody from several wounds. His opponent used a great axe, and had him on the defensive. Ruqayyah moved away, and met the others halfway back to camp. She told them what she had seen. Another bellow, obviously one of pain, caused them to resume moving forward.
The entire party soon saw the two Mynars. The sword-wielder was reeling, his right arm limp and left leg hurt. They could now clearly see that the axe-user was a walking corpse. Darra hit the undead thing with a crossbow bolt. A moment later, the sword-user stumbled and dropped the sword; its light vanished. As Ruqayyah ran to the fallen Mynar, Laylah prayed for light. Her palm began to glow with a pure white light. Naima and Darra ran forward, drawing swords, while Al-Zaki reared up behind Laylah to guard her. The undead Mynar saw the women, and lumbered towards them; it tried a wild swing at the fallen one as it passed him, but missed.
Darra and Naima engaged the Mynar. They soon learned that its thick hide deflected most of their attacks--and that its thick skull made its head nearly impervious. Darra took an axe blow to her foot, crippling it. Seeing that there was only one enemy, Al-Zaki left Laylah to fly to their aid. A blast of fire breath caused the thing to fall, but he bathed it in flames again after landing.
Meanwhile, Ruqayyah had cast a healing spell on the fallen Mynar, draining her remaining strength, and began first aid on him. The Mynar was unconscious, with a crippled arm and leg and serious wounds in his torso; he would have surely bled to death without her timely intervention. The sky soon began to lighten, allowing Laylah to give Darra first aid, and (after resting) Ruqayyah to heal her. Their help restored the use of the foot.
Naima examined the Mynar's sword: a fine bronze weapon about two feet in total length. She picked it up with a piece of her robe, and tried touching it to the Mynar's hand with no effect. Darra examined the Mynar, and his equipment (little beyond a kilt, a sword belt, and pouch [of rocks?]); Laylah persuaded her to leave the pouch alone, but that cleaning the sword would be okay.
Darra picked up the sword, and immediately heard a voice in her head, in Krithian: "Who art thou?" She learned that the sword was sentient, and named Helledoth the Demon-Slayer. She told it of her quest to kill her necromancer father, which it approved--and could help with! They made a bargain that Helledoth would allow her to bear it, and help her fight Taroq, in return for then being returned to the Krithian Empire, where it was forged. It no longer wished to be wielded by a savage Mynar, and felt that a Holy Avenger was a much more proper bearer. The others only saw Darra holding the sword, with odd expressions on her face for several minutes. She then moved its scabbard to her own waist, and sheathed it. She then told them the sword spoke to her, and what it had told her. Darra asked that, if she fell, would Laylah return the sword to Krith. She agreed, but only if the sword would not make her do any fighting. (The sword reluctantly agreed to let the pacifist carry it if need be, but Darra simply replied "yes.") Darra asked the sword for the Mynar's name: Umok.
Interlude (8/3/2000): Darra and Helledoth
[1 Harvestmonth: After a nap, Darra checked her directional arrow, then spoke further with Helledoth. It was forged during the Krithian Civil War, nearly two centuries ago, but was lost in the fighting. Through many hands, it came further south into the Outlands. It described its magical powers: a keen edge, good balance, and won't dull or break easily; it is especially good vs. demons and undead; it can sense living things nearby; it glows when undead are nearby, and can warn its bearer of danger. With a "proper" bearer, it is easy to draw, return s to the hand if dropped, and bursts into flames when used. The sword has addiitonal powers, which Darra cannot use because of her Magic Resistance. When Darra wondered if Naima could use them, the sword claimed that it could only tell that if she held it, and it preferred to have only one wielder at a time. Compatibility would be determined by strength of faith and willingness to use the blade to smite evil, with human Celestian priests getting the most use out of it. The sword disliked pacifists, necromancers, and nonhumans, and would actually harm undead. Darra told Helledoth more about her freinds, and explained the dragon's presence. The sword's attitude towards the dragon remained suspicious.]
[Darra asked Helledoth about the Asanos-like symbol she found in her father's papers. It told her that yes, it resembled the Asanos, but was missing pieces. The Krithian Asanos was stolen by Ormenlind at the start of the Civil War, and to the sword's knowledge, was never found, even when Ormenlind was slain in battle in Ongrica. (This land was south and east of the Empire. Helledoth believes that they are not in Ongrica, but west and south of it.) The Asanos had been created by Ororant the Prophet, who had also forged an Asanos for Visala. Only priests who knew the proper rituals could use it. Wild rumors during the war claimed that Ormenlind's unknown master might have corrupted it, as (it?) did him. Darra expressed her fear that Taroq was headed for Perbor to find "this Asanos thing." They ended their talk, and started sword practice.]
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