D&D: The Qadesh Conspiracy (Group Two.)

[TheRedStranger]

 

 

Appendix 

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[Appendicies]

________

[Mood music.]

Prologue - Trek through The Thorned Ring.

Mujammed felt the sting of sand as it whipped against the delicate ivory scales of her face. Her inner eye-lids instinctually blinked away the irritating grit and she let out an icy huff through her sun-scorched snout. She gave her pack-mule a spurring whip and egged it onwards to keep a steady pace whilst towing her covered carriage. She had been out here too long and her mouth was uncomfortably dry, the heat was taking its slow, gradual toll on this strange draconic traveler.

 It was her fifth day on the road from the green forests and fields of Celtivayne and already the world had become a much more dusty place. The uneven mountains that lined the thin band of this land had a tendency to drink up the rain in uneven ways, arbitrarily allowing some showers to slip passed one moment only to greedily drink all a thunderhead's bounty during the next. To Mujha', an amature (but by all means talented) merchant by trade the rough, uneven mountainscape reminded her of a crooked tax-collector, one garnering tariffs without a solid standard. The wadis were either as water-glutted as a floodplain or as dessicated as a mummy's corpse. One would be easy to cross, a gradual depression of sand speckled with dry-rotted driftwood around easy inclines out and in on either side. The other would be a mucky mosquito-bogged marsh of clay where brackish water pooled after the waters stilled after a long rain. And others, swiftly transformed by a torrential flood, malformed into a rabid rip-tide whose only intent was dragging you to death downstream.

 

 Truly this isthmus of Hâr-wâdí'géshar  (or the "Whip of Water and Fire" as sung by Celti bards of the northlands) was realm of harsh extremes, a tenuous, fickle ring of land that chained civilizations together and bound continents like joint and sinew. Mujha knew that she must press through this whip-like sprawl in spite of its caprice and treacherous wiles. She had a singular goal, a driving muse, a grandiose aim that she would no longer be slaked by dreams or supressed by skeptics' demurres. She would she reach the heated sands of Qadesh, explore its history, culture, and ancient wonders, be a part of its conflict and chaos, and, just maybe, reap the wealth of its whirlwind. There was saying in her clan - Crisis is tinder, conflict is flint, when the spark alights those prepared find warmth, the foolish and flat-footed are burned.

She would be neither flat-footed or foolish... 

 ---

[Pick white or black = 25. The weather remains fair.]

[D20 Con check = 11; fail.]

---

Hours of travel passed like shifting sands in an hourglass, a slow, bottlenecked trickle of progress. She urged herself up until the evening hours, withstanding the blazing sun of the afternoon. Fortunately the weather was fairly merciful besides the heat, but nevertheless she still knew deep down she would need to rest soon. Her throat was as parched as bleached bone and her tongue felt as dry as cotton. It was time for cool water and perhaps a good warm meal... Her stomach seemingly rumbled in agreement at that thought. The night would come soon, and with the night came the deceiving nocturnal chill of the dessert, a piercing cold hiding underneath the baked sands like a scorpion waiting for sun-down. With all this in mind, still the thought of setting up camp stubbornly weighed against her temptation to press onwards. She felt the urge to press into the night even if she must, each night unmoving was a day further away from Qadesh. 

[Feel free to do as you wish. Remember to your equipment list.]

 

[WarTraveller]

Mujammed moved further on, her feet starting to blister even within her boots, the sand moving beneath her and making the trek incredibly difficult. Her journey towards Qadesh had been long and tiresome, not helpful to a White Dragon-borne born from greener pastures. She sighed, wiping the sweat and sand from her snout, and began muttering to herself. Something she had a habit of doing, even with others around - she felt more inclined to discuss her own self that way.

"It's getting dark now..." she said to no-one, "But...do I want to make camp? It's only going to slow me down..."

Her stomach rumbled again in defiance, a deep and ravaging rumble that caused a sense of pained uneasiness in Mujammed's being. She glared at her own body.

"No, stomach! We have to keep moving! I want to get this done and get there before the end of this day! We'll get shelter ther-ARGH!"

Another rumble, this one more intense and painful than the last, brought the Dragon-borne to her knees. She growled, massaging her aching stomach; she supposed she had even forgotten how long it had been since her last real meal, and hunger was beginning to set in.

"Alright, alright..." she sighed, "...You win. Let's make camp."

It took a few hours more, but soon Mujammed had managed to put together a rudimentry. The Pack Mule had been tethered to the spot, the stake holding it in place sunk deep into the amber sands, with a drape over the carriage to act as a sort of primitive tent; the carriage itself was too cluttered with items to stay in it. Under the tent lay her bedroll, while Mujammed herself orbited the small fire she had built for warmth, snacking at one of her rations. She was annoyed - she started with ten such rations, now she only had nine, and lord knows how many days left until she got to Qadesh. Nevertheless, she enjoyed it, happily munching on its contents before smiling with the warmed food in her stomach.

"That's better..." she sighed, "Now then, a slug of water would hit the spot. Where is it?"

She looked around, looking in her Explorer's Pack. It had a lot of stuff in it; rations, bedrolls, Desert Traveller's kit, a trap or two...aah! A waterskin. Holder of the giver of life! But not much of it. Mujammed had drank a good portion of it before in the previous five days...and this seemed to be the last of it. The last of the water trickled down her throat and she put the waterskin back into her pack, settling down on her bedroll.

"And THAT's not a good sign. I can only hope I'm close to Qadesh by this point. Maybe someone'll offer me more water during the night in exchange for camp...heh heh, yeah, not likely."

Mujammed lay in her bedroll, her head arched out from under the drape to stare intently at the night sky, the soft crackling of the fire slowly lulling her aching body to sleep.

[TheRedStranger]

 As Mujha slipped into sleep there a comfortable draft of silence. The winds and flutter of the flames were her lullaby, to her such was one familiar song, even in this foreign land. She could almost imagine the soft pelting of snow on her cheek, and the Celsitial Aura, in all it majestic colors, dancing in a frosty sky once more, full of the spirits of her beloved ancestors (or so she was told by her mother). She imagined playing as a child in the autumn's first-snow, freezing a pond with the mere power of her breath for the first time. She gestured in triumph to her father and hugged him as he was able to cross the shallow stream with the ice even cracking. 

"I'm so proud of you!" The male Dragonborne's strong voice echoed softly in her head, bouncing off unseen mountains and pines, a cold world long forgotten. "I know now why the chieftain named you A..."

 A bloodcurdling screech pierced Mujha's ears, assaulting her nocturnal fancies, pwrverting them to a paroxysm nightmares. Horrible flashes of seering fire, growls and gasps, the scent of burn flesh, and the whooshing of arrows, invaded her mind. She jolted up from her slumber.

[Make a wisdom check]

[WarTraveller]

41 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Make a wisdom check]

Wisdom Check = 16 (Base Stat 13 = Check Success)

-----

Mujammed woke with a stir, shivering in her bedroll and with her head covered in sand thanks to staring at the stars. The nightmarish visions in her head had all but forced her awake, but she remained steadfast and stable. Any other would have perhaps become paralysed with fear from this unusual set of circumstances, but she had managed to resist it and leave herself just a bit shaken. She looked down, staring at her covered legs, as more solemn memories came flooding back.

"Father...why?"

She stopped at the sound of something else, cursing into the darkness with a foreign and rather guttural tongue. Mujammed slowly got out of her bedroll and quickly rummaged around in her bag for one of the ten or so torches she had in her Explorer's Pack; the night was still in full force and only the area around her campfire was in any sort of light. She found one, setting it alight via the flames, and quickly looked around her area; to her right was a path, leading down a ravine and lined with dead vegetation. She stumbled towards her pack mule;

"Listen. I will be gone for a while, I do not know exactly how long. Stay here, and do NOT run off. Understand, animal?"

The pack mule said nothing, being a pack mule, but nonetheless grunted its positive response. Mujammed looked back at the wagon she had put her belongings into. It was full of all sorts of things, clothes and scrolls and books and even a small blanket for comfort's sake. And there, among the boxes of scale soap, was her prized longsword. It did not have a name - she was planning to name it, but found no time to do so - and its handle was hastily wrapped in cloth for a better grip. Regardless, she took it with her, keeping it in her main hand and her torch in her off hand, and set out into the night.

As she strolled though the night, the memories and visions from her dream returned to haunt her. The whooshing of arrows, the pained screams of her people, the fire burning everything to the ground around her. She shook her head to evade such memories, but they would not leave. Even now, in the middle of this ravine, the swaying of the trees above her gave her a small cause for concern, but regardless she pressed on through the slowly dying growths in front of her. Taking care not to set the twigs on fire, she clumsily raised her longsword and slashed through the undergrowth, leading her into a sort of watering hole in the middle of the vegetation, The water looked clean, pure enough to drink, but by its side was the cause of the cursing; it was a person, too shadowed to detail, and he was being attacked by creatures unknown!

"Hey, hey!" Mujammed drew her sword, "State your business, creatures!"

[TheRedStranger]

There was a loud braying winny up the hill. Birds scattered in the air from the grarled skeletal trees around her. She looked up to find a huge winged beast, with feathers and gleaming ember-colored eyes soaring down at her. It's beak was like a pronged spear. 

[AC check - White or Black?]

[VHS and WT roll 1d20 and factor in initiative. Let the battle begin!]

[WarTraveller]

11 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

[AC check - White or Black?]

[Black Dice this time]

[TheRedStranger]

 [Unscathed!]

The black-winged beast kicked with it talons in a sharp dive, only to dig into Mujha's clothes and chain-mail, finding no purchase in her flesh. Rolling with the attack by instinct, it pushed away and batted its wings in her face to gain distance. It then hovered quickly high in the air and began to turn to it's other potential target.

[Mysterious Character has Attack of Opportunity!]

[ILOVEVHS]

Seemingly out of nowhere, an assailant appears, a shadowy, unknown figure new to the field. Steeping up to the fight is a half elf, his clothes torn, and body dusty from whatever he has endured so far. This man attempts to attack the beast with Acid Splash. The bright, wet sparks from the Catrip's strike are making an eerie glow around the beast, improving its threatening look.

[TheRedStranger]

  [Creature failed Spell save! Hit!]

Seemingly out of nowhere, an assailant appeared, a shadowy, unknown figure new to the field. Steeping up to the fight was a half elf, his clothes torn, and body dusty from the the untold travels he endured. The man attempted to attack the beast with flare of his hands and mummer in the elven tongue. Bright, wet blob formed from thin air,  an eerie glow illuminating the dead woods and the black-feathered beast, accentuating their ghastly look. With a shout of Arcana the churning, bubbling blob, gushed forth splattering against the creature. The stink of singed flesh and the hiss of sizzling feathers flooded the ravine, mixing with a sharp stink akin to a mix of sulfur, rot, and vinegar. The wretched scent was enough to make Mujha' gag as she found her footing.

Mujha'  saw the creature shriek in anger, shaking and convulsing to rid itself of the burning spray. It staggered its wings and crashed in the water only to raise back up, shaking off the acidic gunk. It leered and kawed angrily at the both of them then wailed in the air. 

A swarm of winged shadows dappled the moonlight. The two adventures looked up to see a swarm of ravens, their eyes glowing with an unearthly stare, ember-red just like the black and crimson hawk. It's screech was like a puppet's strings, summoning the mundane creatures to its unnatural biding. 

[Wizard still gets another attack for because of his high inniative.]
 

 

[ILOVEVHS]

This half elf smiles to himself, not wanting to hold back anything that's less than exciting. With the creature distracted by summoning it's hordes of servants, the man speaks again in the eleven tounge, gesturing with his hands until a surge of almost lightning like power surges from his hand and grasps at the spot on the bird closest to its wing. He looks up as the sparks fly off its body, trying to surge through it.

[TheRedStranger]

The half elf smiled smugly to himself, eyes sparkling.  Unwilling to settle with anything less than theatrical, and with  the creature distracted by summoning it's hordes of servants, he shouts again in his eleven tounge, gesturing with his hands until surging tendrils of lightning like power crackle from his hands. He waltzed up with a menacing bravado, fingers sparking...only to slip as the beast reached out quickly to snap and squack, causing him to jump back, slip on wet stone, and fall flat on his butt with an embarrassing thud. 

[Wizard is knocked prone. Failed Dex & Attack roll.]

[Mujha roll initiative]

 

[WarTraveller]

13 hours ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Mujha roll initiative]

[1d20 Roll = 10 Initiative = ...uh, 0]

[Total = 10]

[TheRedStranger]

The huge eagle-creature pulled out of the water with a mad flap of its wings, spraying mist everywhere. Ignoring the singed patches of mottled flesh across its wings chest, it hovered above the swarm, as if conducting them to motion from behind like a general safe behind its enlisted ranks. It began to eye the Half-elf with a predatory, blood-red glare as the swarm gather, growing bigger in number.

[Mujha goes before the swarm!]

[WarTraveller]

1 hour ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Mujha goes before the swarm!]

Mujammed gasped, looking at the powerful swarm and knowing their intent. The crazed look in the creature's eyes, it spelt out something of nothing but bloodlust, to strike down on this half-elf creature and take his life by force. It did not matter than Mujha did not know this man, with his foreign tongue and magic spells, but she would regardless protect a fellow adventurer, if not with her lack of spells then her longsword and strength. As she stared on, ready to pounce, she saw a single raven wring itself loose from the pack and rush towards the fallen Half-Elf. Planting her torch into the ground, Mijha gripped her sword with both hands and rushed forwards, sprinting across the wet stones like a mountain goat and swinging with all of her strength at just the right time. It caught the raven around the neck, decapitating it and causing it to drop to the ground. Mujha kicked the body away and stood in front of the Half-Elf, readying her sword and hoping he would regain his footing soon.

"Do not approach this man, burnt creature! Otherwise, you're gonna have to get through me!"

[TheRedStranger]

 

Mujammed gasped, looking at the powerful swarm and knowing their intent. The crazed look in the creature's eyes, signified nothing but bloodlust, to strike down on this half-elf creature and feed. It did not matter that Mujha did not know this man, with his foreign tongue and magic spells, but she would regardless protect a fellow adventurer, if not with her lack of spells then with her longsword and strength.  Planting her torch into the ground, Mujha gripped her sword with both hands and rushed forwards, sprinting across the wet stones like a mountain goat and swinging with all of her strength. 

 

"Do not approach this man, burnt creature! Otherwise, you're gonna have to get through me!"

 

[Mujha does not have shield equipped -2AC but dual-handed stance = 1d10 for sword attack. Attack Roll (1d20 + attack bonus). ]

 

[Mujha's alignment edges a bit from True Neutral/undecided towards Neutral Good...]

[WarTraveller]

12 hours ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Mujha does not have shield equipped -2AC but dual-handed stance = 1d10 for sword attack. Attack Roll (1d20 + attack bonus). ]

[1d10 Roll =  6 - 1d20 Roll = 19]

[Total Attack Damage = 25]

[TheRedStranger]

[Actually AC rolls determine if you hit - and you did.]

[Damage rolls determine how much hurt you put on someone with the attack. You only get that when you beat the monster's AC threshold, which you have done. Don't forget you add your strength mod as well. So it's not six - it's six plus nine. But the writhing swarm is resistant to your slashing attacks - so it ends up being a decent 5.]

[Describe!]

 

[WarTraveller]

1 minute ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Describe!]

[Almost got it...]

Mujha's sword swing hit hard, carving a gash into the burned creature's chest. The burned creature reared its head and roared in retaliation, sending a number of the swarm down towards the two travellers. Mujha moved fast, at least as fast as she could, dragging the Half-Elf away from the attack and into a safer place among the bushes. The ravens that once homed their position instead slammed into the ground beaks-first, injuring them but not killing them. Mujha rested the Half-Elf in the bushes nearby and began her attack on the swarm of ravens that had now dashed for the pair. She swung her longsword with great force, slicing into the crowd and killing quite a few ravens in the process. Unfortunately, she had overestimated the amount of them and now they had began to circle her, keeping her trapped in the swarm and pestered with divebombing ravens. Nevertheless Mujha managed to dodge almost every raven she could, continuously swinging her sword into the pack and taking out a number of ravens with every slash. The damage was severe, there was no discussing that, but the swarm was just too vast and the ravens too determined. It would not be long before Mujha would get tried - and overwhelmed.

[TheRedStranger]

[Remember - you still have inspiration to save you from a bad spot if you need it. ;)]

The swarm began circle Mujha wildly. Blood dripped from the mammoth bird like rain on the half-elf's shoulder. It still eyed him hungrily as its underlings distracted his Dragonborne protector. 

Mujha knew she had to break through the swarm, change her tactics. In the middle of the clearing the flock of ravenous beats could flood around them like a maelstrom from every side, a whirlpool pelting feathers, rending talons, and piercing beaks. Just such a thought crossed her mind, the reality of such began to build around her in a tornado of crows. They began to peck and claw and probe for gaps and weaknesses in her armour.

[White or black?]

[WarTraveller]

1 minute ago, TheRedStranger said:

[White or black?]

[Black]

[TheRedStranger]

[Ohh...bad choice this time. They hit for...]

[Mood music]]

 Mujha knew she had to break through the swarm, change her tactics. In the middle of the clearing the flock of ravenous beats could flood around them like a maelstrom from every side, a whirlpool pelting feathers, rending talons, and piercing beaks. Just such a thought crossed her mind, the reality of such began to build around her in a tornado of crows. They began to peck and claw and probe for gaps and weaknesses in her armour. With chained succession of pangs  across her back, legs, arms and belly they began to slowly find purchase through the chain mail's gaps. For a breif second she saw a talon reach out for one of her eyes, she jerked back, barely doging the attempted gouge. 

[...five points of damage.]

[The wizard's turn, unless Mujha wants to say something or add to the scene with something not-involving combat.]

[WarTraveller]

4 minutes ago, TheRedStranger said:

[The wizard's turn, unless Mujha wants to say something or add to the scene with something not-involving combat.]

[Not really. I now only have half my health.]

[ILOVEVHS]

With a groan of lingering pain, the half elf was brought back to reality through the water dripping on his shoulder. Looking up at its source, his face turned to disgust upon seeing the source actually being the blood from the bird. The situation doesn't look promising, but he shows a grin of anticipation, the drama of the scene perfect to end it. After quickly standing up,a snap of his fingers a sparkling light appears from his finger, and with a short spin, it is aims and fires at the creature's neck.

[TheRedStranger]

[Failed Spell Save. VHS rolled a fatality!  He gets to describe it. Ravens break up.]

[ILOVEVHS]

[Epic music time]

From his fingers shot two dart-like blasts of forceful magic energy, one directly after the other, towards the beast like an arrow of lighting. The first shock was enough to wound the bird lethally, but the second seared the already burnt flesh enough to slice deep into the bird's upper neck and head. The beast spluttered and garbled a final screech of pain only briefly before its neck splayed, ripping with a spray of red mist as it's head slid from off its severed neck. With a dying echo and a feather-tossing thud, the scene grew eerily quiet, the whirlwind of Ravens breaking up as fast as a fog in the noon sun. The head rolled directly on the ground, its eyes still bulging open in fiery glare as it trickled ichor over the ground. 

"Heh." He began to boast. "Looks like I'm having roast chicken for dinner." 

[TheRedStranger]

[Everyone can freely speak with each other. I am only going to give this warning once - don't forget to say in the narrative that your character picked up there equipment. If you forget something like you shield, Mujha...you will have to get it back. Same goes with arrows, darts, the works. Again - you only get this warning once! Heed it well.]

 

 

[WarTraveller]

1 hour ago, TheRedStranger said:

[Everyone can freely speak with each other. I am only going to give this warning once - don't forget to say in the narrative that your character picked up there equipment. If you forget something like you shield, Mujha...you will have to get it back. Same goes with arrows, darts, the works. Again - you only get this warning once! Heed it well.]

[Well now I just feel stupid]

Mujha blinked once or twice, slowly ignoring the aching pains of her fresh wounds under her armour. One second she had been fighting for her life among the ravens, sustaining a not-unsubtle amount of pecks and scrapes - and the very next second they were gone. Vanished, as the body of the beheaded beast rolled backwards into the once fresh water. She scrambled to get to her feet, frost emitting with every pained breath, as she got up and began to limp towards this mysterious half-elven man.

"Greetings, traveller," she began, "That was...well, that was incredible! Tell me, do you speak Common or are you of just another tongue?"

[ILOVEVHS]

The half elf was nearly out of breath. His final, show-stopping attack could've ended so poorly, but it paid off most spectacularly. He smiled a bit smugly at his victory, wiping off and sheathing his dagger until the next battle. Upon hearing Mujha suddenly speaking to him, he turned around to face her. Her wounds seemed troubling, but he figured they can be easily treated soon. At the very least, he was pleased to know she was alright, his smiling turning more warm and friendly.

"Yes, I can speak Common. Thank you! Always happy to know my audience has been pleased."

[WarTraveller]

Mujha groaned a bit, partly from the pain of her wounds and partially from the Half-Elf himself.

"Oh, one of those people, are you? The joking ones? Argh, nevermind. My name is Mujammed, Mijha for short. At least it is right now. I...had to change it some time ago. I was just on my way to that fabled land, Qadesh, I believe. Are you on your way there too? ...What is your name?"

[ILOVEVHS]

"I do like a good joke, heh. I'm Caleb Kayne, the illusionary performing master! I'm not headed anywhere exactly...mainly, I'm looking for something important to me. I've been searching all over for it for weeks, ever since it was taken from me..." He said as he looked to the sky, reminded of the item so important to him.

[WarTraveller]

"I see..." Mujha said, slowly cupping one of the more profusely bleeding wounds on her person, "Well, perhaps your artefact IS in Qadesh. You could come along with me, if you'd like I could always do with someone to help with my cargo. And someone with water, because I have more or less run out of the stuff. I was going to take some from the lake here, but..."

Both she and Caleb looked towards the expanse of water. The body of this creature that had attacked the two with its swarm of ravens now rested lifelessly in the water, its blood spilling into the once fresh-looking reserves and tainting it beyond hope.

"...Yes, that appears to be out of the question. Look, I'm just trying to discover the ancient secrets of this city, see if I can...find my way. I have come a long way from my homeland to get here, I am not turning back now."

Mujha sighed, winded but still very much active, resting her hands on her knees before looking back up at Caleb;

"Tell me. Are you from around here? Do you know of Qadesh?"

[TheRedStranger]

[Wisdom/Survival check from both you]

[ILOVEVHS]

[+4 Wisdom, +2 Survival]

"It seems like a good idea, I haven't explored this Qadesh at all, though from recent memory, I'm...not familiar with it."

Once the thought entered his mind, Caleb realized he was partly thirsty as well. Eagerly, he turned towards the lake, only to be disgusted and disappointed by the tainted water. He did carry a little bit left, but seeing that Mujha was out, he thought it'd be best to be generous. Reaching for a canteen of his, he takes it and offers to to her.

"It's not much left, but you should have it all." 

[WarTraveller]

[+1 Wisdom, +3 Survival]

"Thank you..."

Mujha took the canteen and stored it among her person, the slight of the sloshing water being music to her ears. She spoke again.

"Well then. I have made camp a short distance from here, a small fire and what belongings I have with me. I must return before they are taken by the thieves of this land. Perhaps you would like a safe-ish place for the night? That way we can move on to Qadesh together."

[ILOVEVHS]

"Of course. It'd be nice to sleep somewhere that's not infested with who-knows-what for one night." Caleb looked at the water again, and back upon the bird. Upon some more examination, an idea sprang in his head.

"Actually...I think the water down-stream will be safe. And the bird itself was in a healthy condition. Could make a filling meal tonight."

[TheRedStranger]

[Caleb rolled  a 19+wis mod. This statement is correct. The water will be clean downstream and the bird is possibly edible.]

[Remember you can actively attempt to make a roll of something is reasonably possible. For example if you wanted to see what type of creature this is you can make a Intellgence (Nature) check. I merely determine the degree of success or failure.]

-----

[WarTraveller]

"Well..." Mujha said, eyeing the beast with a contemplative look on her face, "Now that you mention it, it at least LOOKS edible. Your little lightshow back there might have been enough to cook its meat, though I perhaps a bit of fire magic could be...applied to it. Just to make sure. I have a feeling you perhaps know more about how to properly collect from and cook such a...whatever it is."

Mujha turned and began to walk briskly towards the opening she had created with her longsword, picking up the torch she had foolishly dropped during the fight, only stopping when she realised Caleb was not following her. She turned, brushing off her snout as she did;

"Well come on, then. I left my waterskin back at my campsite, so I will return there and go downstream to refill both that and your flask. Perhaps it would be within both our interests to carve out some of the bird monster first and let it cook while I find some clean water."

[ILOVEVHS]

Caleb nodded in response. "Just let me gather some meat for the campsite and I'll be right with you." Wielding his dagger again, he approached the beast, carving off some meat to cook shortly. Once enough for two has been gathered, he followed after her. 

[WarTraveller]

About half an hour had passed, and the smell of cooked...bat monster filled the air. It was a rather unusual smell, mixing the numbers of chicken, veal, ostritch...alligator, maybe? Regardless, it smelled like a wonderous multi-course meal, the sort Mujammed had not experienced for a long time, albeit all encased in a slab of meat on a relatively small plate. Mujha looked up from her plate, a part of the meat still on the bone, and looked at Caleb.

The Half-Elf, this mysterious joking man with powers that could seemingly slay demons, was staring into the fire with his flask of water by his side. The water down-stream from their food's carcass was indeed pure, or at least uncontaminated enough to cure by hanging over the fire, and both containers were now full to the brim. Caleb had been supping it all through the meal, and something was clearly on his mind. The night was somehow still young, but Mujha still had a few more questions before sleep could begin;

"So..." she started, clearing her throat and accidently releasing a cloud of super-cooled vapor from it, "It's uh...quite a nice night, isn't it? Look at those stars. Don't get star patterns like this back in my homeland...or, whatever may be left of it..."

[ILOVEVHS]

Caleb had also made sure to boil the water and cool it before any consumption, to make sure it was completely clean. With the peace of the meal, he stared into the fire, wondering about the item he seeked so badly, and...maybe fantasizing a little about the praise he could get upon returning it home to his family. Soon though, Mujha's speech snapped him out of it and he looked up at the sky as well.

"Oh, the stars? Sorry if I'm not impressed enough, but you get a little used to them."