"Right, takin it easy den headin ter der city, good plan. Hmmm, magic carpets could be good, mebbe wees could gets a singing blue genie too." Minmorc will spend the next few hours thoroughly ransacking the tents, searching for human food and alcohol. He will also claim blankets, rugs and furs from multiple tents and will make himself a nest in one of the larger tents that hasn't been ripped, stomped or burned. If there's no interruptions during the night at dawn he will head out about a mile and will do a loop around the camp checking to see if there's anyone still close to the camp or any signs of smoke or movement in the distance.

In reply to Minmorc (msg # 173):

Oopses prepares 2 more horse legs for the morning, sets the ribcages up to smoke, lets jurz/rog take choice bits from what's left.


Hesitantly, "Moffdust, are yous one of da brain eattin goblinz?" before he drags what's left away and buries the 'kitchen' mess.

Moffdust looks at Oopses strangely "Of course." then she grins and says reassuringly "But dont you worries Oopsie, youse safe."

She watches the chained slaves for a while, a suspicion growing in her mind, but she does not voice her thoughts yet. She shares Bully's tent, sleeping through the day.

Dregz too is puzzled over the slaves, the moreso as he watches Minmorc ransack the tents while Oopses does all the cooking and cleaning up.

"Izn't dat what der slaves are for ?" He asks Jurz, rather confused.  "Dey do der work and we beats dem ?"

The idea of a flying carpet is a good one, and the priest nods enthusiastically at Bully's suggestion.  "As dey say, if der gods didn' wan' us ter fly, dey wouldn' aave given us der flying carpets and der winged beasts and suchlike," he pronounces with divine authority.

Dregz spends some time pouring over his Holy Book before curling up for the day, cradling the other Magic Stick with the hopes that Bargrivyek will favour him with another vision of the future.  Come nightfall, the little goblin prays dutifully to his god.

"I likes de sounds ov a flying carpets too. Wes could sneaks up on de Watchers from de skies. Den wes could dangles Oopses down like a worms on a hookses." she snickers softly at the thought.

To Dregz she muses "Maybe de slaves has friendses in de Kesters? Maybe wes should lets dem go before dey cause troubles fer us in de towns?"

The talkative slave is a bit crestfallen when he realises that Minmorc still plans to sell him to the slavers when they reach Kester, but he soon rallies and tries again.

"Please Master, will you set me free when we reach Kester if I help you sell all the goods and horses and the other slaves you have captured? If you sell the horses and slaves to merchants they will give you half the price they could be sold for. That is the only way you will be able to trade things like weapons, armour, tents and other ordinary gear. But horses and slaves are as good as gold if you know how and where to sell them. I was a merchant before these nomads captured me, so I do know how and where to sell horses and slaves. I can sell them for you and earn you 75 gold for each of those horses and 150 gold for the ones that are trained for battle. All of the adult slaves can be sold for 100 gold each and 50 gold for the child. Don't worry about them having friends in the town. These are Paynim nomads but the people in Kester are Ullites. They have no love for the Paynims but they will trade with anyone, even with you! Please Master, if you will set me free I will earn more gold for you than you would get for selling me!"

A couple of horses are butchered and various bits roasted or smoked over the campfire. Everyone feasts on roast horse meat and Rog has a feast of his own of uncooked horse's hooves and offal. Quite a few rats creep out from their hiding places around the camp and gorge themselves on the scraps as well, although Oopses spoils their fun a bit when he buries a lot of the remaining scraps in the morning.

Guards are set through the remainder of the night and the following day but there are no unwelcome visitors to disturb everyone's rest.

As the first light of dawn lightens the eastern sky those who are still awake see the jagged outline of a great mountain range that forms the eastern horizon. It is probably only a day's walk to the east of this campsite.

Minmorc heads out at dawn on to scout around the surrounding area and Riza tags along They return about half an hour later from the dunes to the north herding 15 terrified nomad women and 3 children.  They quickly head out to complete their sweep south of the cam and return with 2 more nomad women and another 2 children.

The prisoners are quickly secured by roping them together but several are used to help pack up everything of value and load the horses for travel as the sun sets.

The talkative slave (whose name is Abbu bin Dhehr) proves to be an excellent guide and successfully leads Team Arda-Nuff from one waterhole to the next and so on over the following four nights (Nights 8 to 11 of this adventure). They travel northeast along the foothills of the eastern mountain range during this time. Everyone (including the slaves and prisoners) travels on horseback to

Sometime before the dawn of Day 12 he suggests that they halt to rest for a few hours because they are nearly at the town of Kester. It would be best to wait until daylight before approaching the town as the guards at the gate will not allow entry during the hours of darkness.

OOC: Everyone is fully healed. I will pause at this point to allow discussion of the group's plans for trading your goods and slaves, etc. If anyone has any other actions or preparations they want to have taken over the four days and nights of travel you can say so here.

Moffdust was thinking that the slaves were more trouble than they were worth, and haggling with slave traders was no way to spend her holiday in town. She was thinking of just setting them free, but the price just mentioned has changed her mind, greed wins out. "Yes." she says emphatically to the merchant. "But one more fings. If youse wants us ta lets you go den youse gotta finds us a flying carpets. A big one dats got rooms for us alls, even Bully and Min."

Minmorc is happy to let the slaves do the work and has no issue with freeing Abbu to do the sales and negotiations. He agrees that if the group can find a big magic carpet it would be fun to have one but it is clear that he would rather have his share of the loot. He will go along with whatever the party decides to do.

After a good day's sleep and some mighty fine praying, Dregz is ready for anything.

"I dreamed sumfin'," he assures his tribe, scratching his bristly scalp, "but it wasn't very clear.  I suspect out here we are very far from all der gods excep' fer all dose dat live in der desert, so dat's only ter be expected."

"But I did see more desert an' it was dark, so it must've been night. Shows we must go ter Kester and sell der slaves an' horses." the little priest nods sagely.

"All de goddses if over dere." Jurz comments pointing at the mountains in the distance.  "Dose is de Chrystal Mist Mountains, dose is.  We's jumped all de ways over dem wid dat Black rod."

However, he looks dubiously at the others as they start to speak of flying carpet  "Rog wouldn't like de flying carpets!" he says in a gruff sort of voice.

When selling magic items comes up in conversation, he will point out all of the things he expects the slave to get a good price for.

The full list of magic items found is:
 The segment of black rod (strong magical aura)
 Wand of Burning Hands (faint aura)
 Wand (unknown type) (faint aura)
 Magical flaming scimitar (moderate aura)
 Magical glowing scimitar (faint aura)
 Mighty composite shortbow (+2 strength)(faint aura)
 2 x Heavy steel shields (faint aura)
 1 suit of chainmail (faint aura)

Oopses won't fight over loot or even ask, but he will when he thinks no one is watching.


Magical glowing scimitar (faint aura)

Riza will keep quiet over the travels, she will take the time to store 2 of the small knives she finds and will wait until they get to the town before looking for anything in particular.

Moffdust will examine the unknown wand, trying to figure out why the old woman tried to use it first. She is ready to go to Kester.

Bulldust takes the leader's large steel shield and slings it on his back.  He resists an impulse to nail the leader's hands to the shield ... seems tacky.  He has a play with the flaming scimitar at night, howling over the dunes with it blazing in his hand, but decides not to take it.  "I already have a good flail, jus like Bargriefyuk, so I'd ravver sell dis an share out da gold.  Sides,"  he grins at Jurz  "no one ever hits anyfing wiv a flaming scimitar!"

At each oasis the bugbear spends some time at the water's edge catching water beetles.  He agrees with letting Abbu negotiate the sale of the slaves.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:44, Wed 13 Apr 2016.

"I tink dis ones a Wands of Magic Missileses..." Moffdust announces after careful inspection. "an I wants it, but I doesnt knows its wordses yet." She stores it safely with the others. She makes a floating-rippling gesture with her hands in front of Abbu to remind him that he needs to find a flying carpet.

Jurz just grins at Bully when he makes his comments about 'not hitting with flaming scimitars', those Humies certainly hadn't hit very much.

As they travel he keeps glancing across at the Chrystal Mist mountains.  Home is behind there  ...

Team Arda-Nuff all end up agreeing that Abbu bin Dhehr will be set free after he helps them sell all the rest of the slaves, prisoners and horses in Kester. So Team Arda-Nuff and their whole convoy of horses laden with slaves, prisoners and equipment approaches the western gates that control the road through Kester.

Abbu bin Dhehr deftly handles the questions of the guards at the gate to allow this band of armed humanoids into Kester to trade. The guards are not at all concerned about the Peynim women and children prisoners as there is obviously no love lost between the Peynims and the Ullites of Kester. Armed humanoids are a different story, though. After some animated debate Abbu and the guards finally agree that these humanoids must be escorted by a squad of 10 armed guardsmen while they are within the town, they must pay a fee of 100 gold pieces for this escort, they must all stay together wile in town and they must all leave the town before the gates close at sunset today. Abbu begs Team Arda-Nuff to accept these terms as it is the only way they will be allowed to enter.

Assuming that deal is agreed to, Abbu leads them all into town and heads straight to the horse market. In less than two hours he has successfully sold all of the 13 light riding horses and 24 light warhorses for the princely sum of 4,575gp.

Then he says the slave market is just about to open for trading so he leads the Team and their slaves and armed escort through town to the slave market. An hour later he has managed to sell all of the other original slaves (11 male humans) and the Peynim prisoners (17 women and 5 children) for another 3,050gp.

Then comes another four hours of haggling with all sorts of merchants and traders in the central marketplace of the town. Abbu manages to sell everything else the Team wants to sell at the normal rate of half market price.

Bulldust had decided to claim the leaders magical shield as part of his own share and Moffdust wanted to keep the unidentified wand as part of hers, but apart from that everything else was to be sold.

The sale price of the rest of the gear is as follows:
Wand of burning hands (735/2=367.5gp)
+1 flaming scimitar (8,315/2=4,157.5gp)
+1 scimitar (2,315=1,157.5gp)
+1 shortbow [+2str] (2,525/2=1,222.5gp)
+1 chainmail (1,300/2=650gp)
+1 heavy steel shield (1170/2=585gp)
2 x Masterwork chainmail (2 x 300gp = 1,200/2=600gp)
Masterwork studded leather (175/2=87.5gp)
Masterwork heavy steel shield (170=85gp)
Masterwork quarterstaff (600/2=300gp)
4 Masterwork longspears (4 x 305gp = 1,220/2=610gp)
22 scimitars (22x15gp=330/2=165gp),
10 shortbows (10x30gp=300/2=150gp),
12x20 arrows (12/2=6gp),
20 leather armour (20x10gp=200/2=100gp),
20 heavy wood shields (20x7gp=140/2=70gp),
10 short spears (10x2gp=20/2=10gp),
26 daggers (26x2gp=52/2=26gp)
2 large tents (2x30gp=60/2=30gp)
17 tents (17x10gp=170/2=85gp)
Other miscellaneous gear = 50gp
Subtotal = 10,514.5gp
Horses = 4,575gp
Slaves = 3,050gp
Coins and gems = 1,605gp
Total = 19,744.5gp
Minus 100gp entry and escort fee
Grand total = 19,644.5gp

After all the profits are shared out between Minmorc, Bulldust, Moffdust, Jurz, Dregz, Riza and Oopses (taking into account the extra 585gp they could have got for the shield Bully already claimed) they each receive a share of approximately 2,890gp (2,305gp for Bully).

By now it is about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, leaving about 3 hours for everyone to buy whatever they want before the guards start escorting them all back to the gates to leave town before sunset. Kester is large enough to be considered a small city with 8,600 inhabitants and most items up to a market price of 15,000gp can be found here.

In reply to Wyrm of Wyrd (msg # 190):

Does the flaming scimitar only burn when swung, when unsheathed, held, or when willed.


Oopses is still interested in a shiny scimitar, though not the flaming one unless he can use it to cook.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Sat 16 Apr 2016.

Bulldust is disappointed, he'd expected to see the skies above Kester full of people riding on flying carpets.  "Ahem.  Abbu, so far so good, but wheres da carpet?"

Abbu wrings his hands in despair as he answers Bulldust.

"I am so sorry, master bugbear. All of the gold from all of the trading today would not be quite enough to buy even the smallest of flying carpets and there are none to be found anywhere in Kester anyway. The merchants here are not wealthy enough to have such a marvel for sale. You would have to go to a bigger city for such a thing!"

Riza considers briefly purchasing some more poisons, and while she does not doubt the town would have a supply, she decides against it considering the armed escort. She will instead stock up on arrows again, and supplies for the travels through the desert. Deciding to keep a hold of her coin until they get to a bigger city.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Sun 17 Apr 2016.

"I did not wants to buy one..." Moffdust says pointedly at Abbu "I said I wants one! Youse a bad men Abbu. Now youse gotta tells us where wes can gets a big flying carpets. An when wes goes dere i's goin ter summons youse up like a genies from a bottles an makes youse gets it fer us!" She takes a handful of dust from the road in his shadow and walks around him three times waving her arms and cackling as small dust-devils rise from the road and caper along in her wake. "Dis is goblins magickses Abbu. Now I's always knows where youse is, an youse will always comes where I is."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:20, Sun 17 Apr 2016.

"No worries Abbu, her goblin magics is still only a little killy, yer should be safe enuff. Dunt lets her close enuff ter bites you. She's a biter." Minmorc will talk to Abbu about magic gloves that make you stronger and when he finds out how much they cost, then has it carefully explained how much he's short by he will get subdued. Then hearing that Riza is saving money he'll get excited. "Oi, cleva Riza, can I borrows a thousand golds? If not, can I bleargh saves monies too?" The thought of saving money clearly makes Minmorc feel ill.

Riza cocks her head to one side and considers minmorcs request for a moment. "Yeah okay but you need to help me when we get to the big town"

Riza will give a thousand monies to Minmorc.