Hessaret's Treasure
Hessaret's Treasure is a scenario for Runequest which you can find here. It's also on the usual download sites such as RPGNow or DrivethruRPG. I find scenarios like this quite useful because they are intended for a percentile dice system, although I have to say that anything for Glorantha usually takes a bit of work to translate. This one, however, is set in a different fantasy world, so is easier to use for something like Stormbringer.
The number of players in our little group fluctuates depending on who can make it, but the core remains the three run by my kids (Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque). These are also strong enough now that I don't need to accompany them with a major NPC. Bomilcar is now being run by somebody else, but he wasn't there this time. So from now on, I'll narrate things relatively impersonally, I think...
The Story Continues
There is quite a bit of downtime as Jorthan steps into his final role as a representative of the Consortium of Ilmar in Karlaak, before becoming Senator of Gorjhan full-time. The characters all take advantage of some relative piece and quiet to train, while Destiny catches up on studying Theleb K'aarna's grimoire and various other items they have picked up on their travels. The time is now approaching for setting out on the expedition to the fabled East, as agreed with Duke Avan Astran of Old Hrolmar. At the beginning of the third month, they all decamp to Gorjhan to set up their bank as the base of operations, protected by the renegade Triad of Eshmirian assassins they befriended last time they were here. This gives them a month to finish logistical preparations before the Duke arrives.
One evening, Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque are in the streets of Gorjhan when they hear a disturbance from one of the town's taverns. They spot a young woman rushing through the main door and then heading straight down a side alley; a few moments later a very large, imposing man appears at the door of the tavern. He has a look around, shakes his head and then starts to walk towards the gateway out of the town.
There still appears to be uproar coming from the tavern, so they go inside to see what is happening. The commotion is coming from a private room at the rear, which is occupied by two men and a body. One of the men is a scarred Weeping Waste veteran, who nods at the group and then takes up station with his back against a wall, arms folded. The other man, flustered, introduces himself as Tobias, and swears that if he ever catches that little bitch Finiel, he'll kill her. According to Tobias, Finiel has poisoned their dear old friend Zarkand here, the corpse on the ground, because she obviously wants the treasure map he recently acquired. "Fortunately, though, Zarkand must have realised she couldn't be trusted, because he tore the map in two and gave a part each to myself and Finiel." He further explains, "Everybody and their aunt thinks they know the whereabouts of Hessaret's treasure, but this map looks like a good bet. Finiel wants the lot for herself!"
The characters look at each other; Hessaret was a major figure in this part of the world about 150 years ago, a warrior from the Wastes who managed to unite several tribes and plundered northeastern Vilmir and eastern Ilmiora before being ambushed and killed in a large battle here in Gorjhan; the proceeds of his raids were never recovered.
Tobias introduces his bodyguard, Arkannad, and asks him to go and see if he can find any trace of Finiel, "The stinking little thief!" The taciturn warrior nods and heads off outside, followed by Sir Blanque. He tells the nomad that he spotted Finiel dashing up a side street, so they go and take a look, but she is nowhere to be seen. There are plenty of ways she could have escaped across the town's low walls via low hanging branches, not to mention lots of hiding places and other alleyways; she is long gone. In the meantime, back at the tavern, the innkeeper organises a stretcher party to take Zarkand's body to the priest for proper burial; he obviously doesn't want his business to be too badly affected.
Destiny has noticed that Zarkand's clothing looks slightly rumpled, but keeps this information to herself (critical Search roll of her own to spot this). When Arkannad and Sir Blanque return, Tobias tells the group that he, Arkannad, Zarkand, Finiel and her bodyguard Loram are a group of like-minded 'adventurers' with an eye to the main chance. The treasure map Zarkand bought recently seems like their best chance in a while to make big bucks, but it looks as though that won't happen now. "Zarkand was like a brother to me!" he says. Eventually, Tobias and Arkannad head back to the inn where they are staying. Tobias asks the players if they will let him know if they find out anything else; he and his own bodyguard will be leaving after a few more days. He asks them to meet him the next evening.
On the way back to their home in Gorjhan, the desecrated temple they have restored to be Jorthan's senatorial residence and bank, Loram steps out of the shadows. He says that Finiel would like to meet them at their residence tomorrow, but please don't say anything to Tobias in case he tries to poison her too. Loram is adamant that it was in fact Tobias who did the deed, and not Finiel. The characters sigh and agree to meet her at lunchtime the next day. The big man nods and disappears off down the streets again.
There isn't much they can do until they meet both parties and try to figure out which of them is telling the truth, so they wait for Finiel to appear. At lunchtime a little old lady knocks on the door of the bank, and when they let her in she turns out to be Finiel in disguise - "Just in case Tobias is watching, the murderous traitor!" Finiel proceeds to tell her side of the story. Zarkand did indeed buy an old map, and did split it in two, giving her one half and Tobias the other. She says that Zarkand smelled a rat, and the rat is Tobias. "Zarkand was like a father to me!" she says. The characters admit they have agreed to meet with Tobias later that same day, and will try to broker an agreement - after all, regardless of how much the two of them hate each other, they will have to work together if they want to find the treasure. She agrees, and slips off, saying she will send Loram to find out how they get on with Tobias.
It isn't easy to decide who is telling the truth, and who isn't. Destiny consults her Demon of Knowledge, who says that it knows as much as they do. "However," it adds, "you did notice that Zarkand had been searched. Presumably Finiel didn't have the time to do this because she seems to have run out as soon as Zarkand was poisoned, which means that Tobias could be the one who was looking for the other half of the map. This isn't exactly proof, and I wouldn't trust either of them, but it seems to me that Tobias is more likely to be the culprit." The group agrees to keep this observation to themselves, and heads off to meet with Tobias.
He seems to be trying to be open in his discussions, and is amenable to the idea of teaming up with Finiel to find the treasure. "However," he says, "I wouldn't trust that little sneak thief to come anywhere near me; I might end up with a knife between the ribs, or dead from poison like poor Zarkand. So I propose a deal. If the map is genuine, there will be lots of cash to go around, so I think we should split it three ways: one share for me and Arkannad here; one for Finiel and Loram; and one for yourselves. That does mean you'll each receive slightly less, but then we are the ones with halves of the map. To be honest, I'd feel much safer if you three were to come with us and keep the peace. This could be a dangerous trip, and some more personnel would be welcome. We can then split up and never have to see Finiel again."
The characters agree, and say they will be in touch to arrange everything. They leave, and find Loram in his usual spot. He sets off to tell Finiel the news, and they all agree to go and meet Tobias over breakfast the next morning.
Tobias' breakfast turn into a rather tense affair as he and Finiel glare at each other over the table, with their respective bodyguards behind them. The players let the two of them do the talking, and the upshot is that they agree to the joint plan. Finiel and Tobias each separately asks the characters to watch their backs; they then hire some horses and join the trio of characters (Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque) outside the gateway to the town.
The group heads off to the escarpment of the Wastes. The trip is mostly silent, with the characters riding in between the two pairs of sullen adversaries, just to keep them physically separate. They camp at the foot of the imposing ridgeline for the night, and then head on up the pathway that follows a river ravine tumbling from the heights. The players have been this way once before, but take a different direction from that towards Ginjada Oasis once they reach the top. This time they follow the trail to a strange looking notation on Tobias' portion of the map. It kind of looks like a circle within a larger item.
This peculiar piece turns out to be a very large dolmen stone with a perfect circle bored into it at head height; it allows one to look directly eastwards into the Weeping Wastes, which is exactly the direction they need to go according to the map.
It takes them a couple of days to reach what looks like a couple of hands drawn onto their map, which would seem to have been scribbled in haste. At one point they almost encounter a group of young nomad warriors lying in ambush, but their trap is easily spotted, so they wave merrily at the group of travellers before riding off northwards. The marks on the map turn out to be two ancient gnarled trees of the kind that famously produce the wood used by the nomads to make armour and bows. The map's dotted line passes between these into one of the large swampy areas common to this part of the plateau.
The rather surly group follows this path, often having to dismount to lead their horses from one relatively dry patch to another. The two pairs of Tobias and Arkannad, and Finiel and Loram, have to be kept apart at all times, just in case one set tries to attack the other. At one point Sir Blanque leads everyone off the marked path because he really doesn't like the looks of an area of deep water off to one side - he thinks he saw something large moving in there. [He did; a critical Detect Ambush roll saved them from something...] Eventually they all reach an area of high ground, which has various notations beside it on their map. This is a really good place to camp, and from the debris scattered around the place, they aren't the only ones to reach that conclusion. There are signs everywhere of a major combat having taken place on this spot a long time ago: skulls, half-buried bodies, burned bits of wood, remains of weaponry and so on. They bed down for the night.
This is where things get weird as the area is visited by a ghostly refight of those events long ago. The characters are all awakened and catch glimpses of various occurrences. All in all it looks like a slave uprising against a group of nomads, possibly Hessaret's own people. Loram is completely freaked out by it all and runs off into the swamp in the darkness, which is really not a good idea. Marion and Sir Blanque go after him, while Destiny stays behind to make sure that Tobias doesn't try to kill Finiel. At one point Marion falls into a deep pool and has to be fished out by her old friend, but eventually they come across Loram nursing a sore ankle - "A snake bit me!" he says. Still, he's a big lad, so he survives apart from some swelling; at least he is now lucid again.
The group reunites at the now eerily quiet campsite, and tries to get some sleep for the remainder of the night. The next morning, they continue their weary way through the swamp, eventually emerging onto an area of plains once more, with some low hills off in the distance.
According to the map, they must now head to the southeast to what looks like a crag of some wort, with a funny squiggle over it - Destiny makes a quip about wyverns.[!]
Off they go, and come across a gorgeous watering hole feed by incredibly clear water coming from the highest hill in the area - the one on their map. There are quite a few animal skeletons around the place, and some have even had their skulls caved in completely. Maybe there really is something really large lurking in the vicinity!
The trail winds upwards towards that crag, and seems to pass around it as it presses ever upwards. It looks dangerous, with what will eventually be a sheer drop off to the right as one climbs. They decide to leave the horses here because there isn't much of an alternative. The trail is only wide enough for one person at a time. Sir Blanque goes first, followed by Finiel and Loram; Marion precedes Tobias and Arkannad; and Destiny takes up the rear. At least this way the feuding partners are separated as much as possible.
Loram gulps and suddenly overcomes his natural fear of heights; this doesn't do him much good though, since he is naturally the least dexterous of all. He starts to slide off the trail and is saved by Marion. However, in turn she is herself unbalanced and he has to save her. The noise attracts attention from above:
Destiny was right about the wyverns. This could get really nasty - death from above on a narrow trail with a sheer drop:
Fortunately, though, the beast hesitates when it catches sight of Destiny. She asks if she can roll her wyvernship skill (or whatever we decide to call it) and rolls a critical success. The wyvern flaps off, only to return from its nest at the top of the hill, along with its mate and several eggs. They hover for a while looking at the Melnibonean, and then fly off to the west-northwest. [This happens to be exactly towards Destiny's coastal tower; although it still needs rebuilding, she now has a pet family of wyverns. She says she is looking forward to riding them!]
They all struggle to the source of the waterfall that feeds the oasis at the foot of the crag. The trail does continue towards the top of the hill where the wyverns came from, but is extremely faint. There are good reasons for nobody going up there, after all. Sir Blanque is half expecting a cave entrance behind the fall, and sure enough he finds one. It leads to a very large pool that is in turn fed by a smaller waterfall that seems to be issuing from the rock itself:
This is not at all natural, looking more like a water volcano than anything else. Arkannad mutters something about it being a blessed place - water like this is everything to the nomads. Sir Blanque theorises that the water is coming directly from Straasha's home elemental plane.
Anyway, they are going to have to wade across the pool, which is about waist high, going against the flow that produces the main waterfall, because there is an opening of sorts up ahead. They proceed in the order they established on the way up the hill, but clumsy Loram slips and falls with a mighty splash. This in turn disturbs thousands of bats living here and they mob him as he tries to right himself. Marion saves him from going over the edge of the fall by throwing him her grappling rope.
The group is confronted by a passageway that heads further upwards into the rock:
Part of the way along is a large open pit filled with spikes. Marion jumps across with ropes and sets them up so that everyone else can work their way across hand over hand; Loram almost falls, but Destiny saves him with her air elemental. Being the largest person and by far the clumsiest, he is the one coping least well with the natural hazards on this trip.
Eventually they all arrive at their destination: the tomb of Hessaret's beloved. It is guarded by eight silent skeletal warriors, and contains various cult items and a large, beautifully carved sarcophagus. Whatever is in there must be worth a fortune. Finial and Tobias both move forwards, but are cut off by Arkannad. Surprisingly, he goes against the will of his employer: "This is holy ground. We must not disturb the spirits of the dead! We have found the treasure, but it is in a tomb. We must turn around and go back now!"
Tobias in particular is not impressed. Sir Blanque joins the Weeping Waste warrior, and asks Destiny to fill his swords with flame. He tells the two enemies in no uncertain terms that Arkannad is right. Unfortunately, Sir Blanque fumbles his Persuade roll and Tobias lurches forwards again, with Finiel at his side. However, with all eyes on Sir Blanque, the little thief chooses this as her moment to strike, and launches a flying kick at her former comrade. It catches him full on the chest, and thrusts him straight back towards the pit. He collapses unconscious on the edge. "Damn! I was hoping he would fall in there!" she says, moving to finish him off completely.
Arkannad stops her. "He wanted the treasure. I think we should let him have it!" Between them, he and Finiel toss Tobias towards the sarcophagus, and everyone leaves the shrine undisturbed. Noises of clacking movement and metal echo behind them as Tobias gets what he deserved. Arkannad says that it was in fact Tobias who murdered Zarkand in the first place. All's well that ends well, although Finiel still has a wistful look on her face...
Umpire's comments
I don't know if the players noticed, but in fact not one of them actually used a weapons skill at all on this adventure. It was all interaction and travel, combined with some rather serious natural hazards. The possible wyvern attack on the hillside could easily have turned deadly, although I had decided that if they drove it off by inflicting enough damage, it would swoop down and grab a couple of horses instead. Both wyverns would of course attack if the characters decided to continue to the top of the hill - they would defend the eggs to the death. And yes, there is a fortune inside that sarcophagus, but in a sense the real treasure is external. That crystal spring is effectively immensely valuable, and Destiny now has a family of wyverns...
The number of players in our little group fluctuates depending on who can make it, but the core remains the three run by my kids (Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque). These are also strong enough now that I don't need to accompany them with a major NPC. Bomilcar is now being run by somebody else, but he wasn't there this time. So from now on, I'll narrate things relatively impersonally, I think...
The Story Continues
There is quite a bit of downtime as Jorthan steps into his final role as a representative of the Consortium of Ilmar in Karlaak, before becoming Senator of Gorjhan full-time. The characters all take advantage of some relative piece and quiet to train, while Destiny catches up on studying Theleb K'aarna's grimoire and various other items they have picked up on their travels. The time is now approaching for setting out on the expedition to the fabled East, as agreed with Duke Avan Astran of Old Hrolmar. At the beginning of the third month, they all decamp to Gorjhan to set up their bank as the base of operations, protected by the renegade Triad of Eshmirian assassins they befriended last time they were here. This gives them a month to finish logistical preparations before the Duke arrives.
One evening, Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque are in the streets of Gorjhan when they hear a disturbance from one of the town's taverns. They spot a young woman rushing through the main door and then heading straight down a side alley; a few moments later a very large, imposing man appears at the door of the tavern. He has a look around, shakes his head and then starts to walk towards the gateway out of the town.
There still appears to be uproar coming from the tavern, so they go inside to see what is happening. The commotion is coming from a private room at the rear, which is occupied by two men and a body. One of the men is a scarred Weeping Waste veteran, who nods at the group and then takes up station with his back against a wall, arms folded. The other man, flustered, introduces himself as Tobias, and swears that if he ever catches that little bitch Finiel, he'll kill her. According to Tobias, Finiel has poisoned their dear old friend Zarkand here, the corpse on the ground, because she obviously wants the treasure map he recently acquired. "Fortunately, though, Zarkand must have realised she couldn't be trusted, because he tore the map in two and gave a part each to myself and Finiel." He further explains, "Everybody and their aunt thinks they know the whereabouts of Hessaret's treasure, but this map looks like a good bet. Finiel wants the lot for herself!"
The characters look at each other; Hessaret was a major figure in this part of the world about 150 years ago, a warrior from the Wastes who managed to unite several tribes and plundered northeastern Vilmir and eastern Ilmiora before being ambushed and killed in a large battle here in Gorjhan; the proceeds of his raids were never recovered.
Tobias introduces his bodyguard, Arkannad, and asks him to go and see if he can find any trace of Finiel, "The stinking little thief!" The taciturn warrior nods and heads off outside, followed by Sir Blanque. He tells the nomad that he spotted Finiel dashing up a side street, so they go and take a look, but she is nowhere to be seen. There are plenty of ways she could have escaped across the town's low walls via low hanging branches, not to mention lots of hiding places and other alleyways; she is long gone. In the meantime, back at the tavern, the innkeeper organises a stretcher party to take Zarkand's body to the priest for proper burial; he obviously doesn't want his business to be too badly affected.
Destiny has noticed that Zarkand's clothing looks slightly rumpled, but keeps this information to herself (critical Search roll of her own to spot this). When Arkannad and Sir Blanque return, Tobias tells the group that he, Arkannad, Zarkand, Finiel and her bodyguard Loram are a group of like-minded 'adventurers' with an eye to the main chance. The treasure map Zarkand bought recently seems like their best chance in a while to make big bucks, but it looks as though that won't happen now. "Zarkand was like a brother to me!" he says. Eventually, Tobias and Arkannad head back to the inn where they are staying. Tobias asks the players if they will let him know if they find out anything else; he and his own bodyguard will be leaving after a few more days. He asks them to meet him the next evening.
On the way back to their home in Gorjhan, the desecrated temple they have restored to be Jorthan's senatorial residence and bank, Loram steps out of the shadows. He says that Finiel would like to meet them at their residence tomorrow, but please don't say anything to Tobias in case he tries to poison her too. Loram is adamant that it was in fact Tobias who did the deed, and not Finiel. The characters sigh and agree to meet her at lunchtime the next day. The big man nods and disappears off down the streets again.
There isn't much they can do until they meet both parties and try to figure out which of them is telling the truth, so they wait for Finiel to appear. At lunchtime a little old lady knocks on the door of the bank, and when they let her in she turns out to be Finiel in disguise - "Just in case Tobias is watching, the murderous traitor!" Finiel proceeds to tell her side of the story. Zarkand did indeed buy an old map, and did split it in two, giving her one half and Tobias the other. She says that Zarkand smelled a rat, and the rat is Tobias. "Zarkand was like a father to me!" she says. The characters admit they have agreed to meet with Tobias later that same day, and will try to broker an agreement - after all, regardless of how much the two of them hate each other, they will have to work together if they want to find the treasure. She agrees, and slips off, saying she will send Loram to find out how they get on with Tobias.
It isn't easy to decide who is telling the truth, and who isn't. Destiny consults her Demon of Knowledge, who says that it knows as much as they do. "However," it adds, "you did notice that Zarkand had been searched. Presumably Finiel didn't have the time to do this because she seems to have run out as soon as Zarkand was poisoned, which means that Tobias could be the one who was looking for the other half of the map. This isn't exactly proof, and I wouldn't trust either of them, but it seems to me that Tobias is more likely to be the culprit." The group agrees to keep this observation to themselves, and heads off to meet with Tobias.
He seems to be trying to be open in his discussions, and is amenable to the idea of teaming up with Finiel to find the treasure. "However," he says, "I wouldn't trust that little sneak thief to come anywhere near me; I might end up with a knife between the ribs, or dead from poison like poor Zarkand. So I propose a deal. If the map is genuine, there will be lots of cash to go around, so I think we should split it three ways: one share for me and Arkannad here; one for Finiel and Loram; and one for yourselves. That does mean you'll each receive slightly less, but then we are the ones with halves of the map. To be honest, I'd feel much safer if you three were to come with us and keep the peace. This could be a dangerous trip, and some more personnel would be welcome. We can then split up and never have to see Finiel again."
The characters agree, and say they will be in touch to arrange everything. They leave, and find Loram in his usual spot. He sets off to tell Finiel the news, and they all agree to go and meet Tobias over breakfast the next morning.
Tobias' breakfast turn into a rather tense affair as he and Finiel glare at each other over the table, with their respective bodyguards behind them. The players let the two of them do the talking, and the upshot is that they agree to the joint plan. Finiel and Tobias each separately asks the characters to watch their backs; they then hire some horses and join the trio of characters (Destiny, Marion and Sir Blanque) outside the gateway to the town.
The group heads off to the escarpment of the Wastes. The trip is mostly silent, with the characters riding in between the two pairs of sullen adversaries, just to keep them physically separate. They camp at the foot of the imposing ridgeline for the night, and then head on up the pathway that follows a river ravine tumbling from the heights. The players have been this way once before, but take a different direction from that towards Ginjada Oasis once they reach the top. This time they follow the trail to a strange looking notation on Tobias' portion of the map. It kind of looks like a circle within a larger item.
This peculiar piece turns out to be a very large dolmen stone with a perfect circle bored into it at head height; it allows one to look directly eastwards into the Weeping Wastes, which is exactly the direction they need to go according to the map.
It takes them a couple of days to reach what looks like a couple of hands drawn onto their map, which would seem to have been scribbled in haste. At one point they almost encounter a group of young nomad warriors lying in ambush, but their trap is easily spotted, so they wave merrily at the group of travellers before riding off northwards. The marks on the map turn out to be two ancient gnarled trees of the kind that famously produce the wood used by the nomads to make armour and bows. The map's dotted line passes between these into one of the large swampy areas common to this part of the plateau.
The rather surly group follows this path, often having to dismount to lead their horses from one relatively dry patch to another. The two pairs of Tobias and Arkannad, and Finiel and Loram, have to be kept apart at all times, just in case one set tries to attack the other. At one point Sir Blanque leads everyone off the marked path because he really doesn't like the looks of an area of deep water off to one side - he thinks he saw something large moving in there. [He did; a critical Detect Ambush roll saved them from something...] Eventually they all reach an area of high ground, which has various notations beside it on their map. This is a really good place to camp, and from the debris scattered around the place, they aren't the only ones to reach that conclusion. There are signs everywhere of a major combat having taken place on this spot a long time ago: skulls, half-buried bodies, burned bits of wood, remains of weaponry and so on. They bed down for the night.
This is where things get weird as the area is visited by a ghostly refight of those events long ago. The characters are all awakened and catch glimpses of various occurrences. All in all it looks like a slave uprising against a group of nomads, possibly Hessaret's own people. Loram is completely freaked out by it all and runs off into the swamp in the darkness, which is really not a good idea. Marion and Sir Blanque go after him, while Destiny stays behind to make sure that Tobias doesn't try to kill Finiel. At one point Marion falls into a deep pool and has to be fished out by her old friend, but eventually they come across Loram nursing a sore ankle - "A snake bit me!" he says. Still, he's a big lad, so he survives apart from some swelling; at least he is now lucid again.
The group reunites at the now eerily quiet campsite, and tries to get some sleep for the remainder of the night. The next morning, they continue their weary way through the swamp, eventually emerging onto an area of plains once more, with some low hills off in the distance.
According to the map, they must now head to the southeast to what looks like a crag of some wort, with a funny squiggle over it - Destiny makes a quip about wyverns.[!]
Off they go, and come across a gorgeous watering hole feed by incredibly clear water coming from the highest hill in the area - the one on their map. There are quite a few animal skeletons around the place, and some have even had their skulls caved in completely. Maybe there really is something really large lurking in the vicinity!
The trail winds upwards towards that crag, and seems to pass around it as it presses ever upwards. It looks dangerous, with what will eventually be a sheer drop off to the right as one climbs. They decide to leave the horses here because there isn't much of an alternative. The trail is only wide enough for one person at a time. Sir Blanque goes first, followed by Finiel and Loram; Marion precedes Tobias and Arkannad; and Destiny takes up the rear. At least this way the feuding partners are separated as much as possible.
Loram gulps and suddenly overcomes his natural fear of heights; this doesn't do him much good though, since he is naturally the least dexterous of all. He starts to slide off the trail and is saved by Marion. However, in turn she is herself unbalanced and he has to save her. The noise attracts attention from above:
Destiny was right about the wyverns. This could get really nasty - death from above on a narrow trail with a sheer drop:
Fortunately, though, the beast hesitates when it catches sight of Destiny. She asks if she can roll her wyvernship skill (or whatever we decide to call it) and rolls a critical success. The wyvern flaps off, only to return from its nest at the top of the hill, along with its mate and several eggs. They hover for a while looking at the Melnibonean, and then fly off to the west-northwest. [This happens to be exactly towards Destiny's coastal tower; although it still needs rebuilding, she now has a pet family of wyverns. She says she is looking forward to riding them!]
They all struggle to the source of the waterfall that feeds the oasis at the foot of the crag. The trail does continue towards the top of the hill where the wyverns came from, but is extremely faint. There are good reasons for nobody going up there, after all. Sir Blanque is half expecting a cave entrance behind the fall, and sure enough he finds one. It leads to a very large pool that is in turn fed by a smaller waterfall that seems to be issuing from the rock itself:
This is not at all natural, looking more like a water volcano than anything else. Arkannad mutters something about it being a blessed place - water like this is everything to the nomads. Sir Blanque theorises that the water is coming directly from Straasha's home elemental plane.
Anyway, they are going to have to wade across the pool, which is about waist high, going against the flow that produces the main waterfall, because there is an opening of sorts up ahead. They proceed in the order they established on the way up the hill, but clumsy Loram slips and falls with a mighty splash. This in turn disturbs thousands of bats living here and they mob him as he tries to right himself. Marion saves him from going over the edge of the fall by throwing him her grappling rope.
The group is confronted by a passageway that heads further upwards into the rock:
Part of the way along is a large open pit filled with spikes. Marion jumps across with ropes and sets them up so that everyone else can work their way across hand over hand; Loram almost falls, but Destiny saves him with her air elemental. Being the largest person and by far the clumsiest, he is the one coping least well with the natural hazards on this trip.
Eventually they all arrive at their destination: the tomb of Hessaret's beloved. It is guarded by eight silent skeletal warriors, and contains various cult items and a large, beautifully carved sarcophagus. Whatever is in there must be worth a fortune. Finial and Tobias both move forwards, but are cut off by Arkannad. Surprisingly, he goes against the will of his employer: "This is holy ground. We must not disturb the spirits of the dead! We have found the treasure, but it is in a tomb. We must turn around and go back now!"
Tobias in particular is not impressed. Sir Blanque joins the Weeping Waste warrior, and asks Destiny to fill his swords with flame. He tells the two enemies in no uncertain terms that Arkannad is right. Unfortunately, Sir Blanque fumbles his Persuade roll and Tobias lurches forwards again, with Finiel at his side. However, with all eyes on Sir Blanque, the little thief chooses this as her moment to strike, and launches a flying kick at her former comrade. It catches him full on the chest, and thrusts him straight back towards the pit. He collapses unconscious on the edge. "Damn! I was hoping he would fall in there!" she says, moving to finish him off completely.
Arkannad stops her. "He wanted the treasure. I think we should let him have it!" Between them, he and Finiel toss Tobias towards the sarcophagus, and everyone leaves the shrine undisturbed. Noises of clacking movement and metal echo behind them as Tobias gets what he deserved. Arkannad says that it was in fact Tobias who murdered Zarkand in the first place. All's well that ends well, although Finiel still has a wistful look on her face...
Umpire's comments
I don't know if the players noticed, but in fact not one of them actually used a weapons skill at all on this adventure. It was all interaction and travel, combined with some rather serious natural hazards. The possible wyvern attack on the hillside could easily have turned deadly, although I had decided that if they drove it off by inflicting enough damage, it would swoop down and grab a couple of horses instead. Both wyverns would of course attack if the characters decided to continue to the top of the hill - they would defend the eggs to the death. And yes, there is a fortune inside that sarcophagus, but in a sense the real treasure is external. That crystal spring is effectively immensely valuable, and Destiny now has a family of wyverns...
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