Lysande looked at Alister, clearly unhappy with him yelling up the ravine where the sun elf stood. Instead of yelling down in return, and possibly alarming other raiders, she pointed out Aluvendar. The black bird circled the area to check if there were any hidden threats or openings and Lysande relied on the bird's view. However, she would have to wait until he returned with any news...

ooc: Waiting for a PM of the DM

Alister nods and looks around.

---
Tries to detect evil?

Aluvendar circles lazily above, trying to stay as inconspicuous as a big black bird in a desert can.  After a time, he circles lazily back down to land on Lysande's shoulder.  His tone is not lazy, however, as he whispers excitedly into Lysande's ear.

Lysande caresses her feathered friend, once more his scouting had proven to be effective and alerting the companions early. The sun elf fingered a dried date from her pocket and offered it to Aluvendar. She shared the proud feeling over their bond, letting him know how important he was to them.

Quickly she climbed down to meet the others. "Aluvendar spotted what he called a rock fortress, horses and men. About half a mile south. This must have been the first lookout. I am sure they have more." Lysande said to her companions.

Aelynia returned Joseph's hug while thinking how sweet he was for caring so much bout her wounds.  She tried to keep an eye out for Lysande's bird, nervous and yet almost excited to continue.

The raider who tried to run south gurgles out the last of his life onto the sands as the Bedine boy, Ha'laam, rides up the ravine from the north. He spits into the sand before speaking, in a gesture of disgust.

"Zose Zhent Berani are asking if eet ees safe to come near. Zey did not want to even come zis close, but I told zem I would leave zem wandering ze canyons if zey did not. And I see you haf dealt wit zis scum.  What shall we do now?"

"Will will move south carefully, half a mile from here my feathered friend has found a rock fortress, men and horses. We must keep eyes and ears open for more hidden lookouts. I do not think this was the only one. I had hoped to find somekind of secret entrance here but it does not seem to be the case." she looked at her friends for any opinions and suggestions.

"Are we doing the bait thing again?"  Alister asked Lysande.  "Do we have any idea how many are they?"

"I have no idea how many. But I am certain they will be too many for us to best in a frontal assault, from what I remember there are several dozen riders, plus a number of creatures that don't seem to be humanoid. Also, there are two sphinxes that are quite dangerous. What I suggest is an attempt to move past the guards and strike at the heart of evil: El Aqrab'azim. If the leader is gone, the rest of them will have no other thought than to get away with their hides intact." the sun elf turned to Ha'laam "Can you tell me what this title means?"

ooc: I guess we should not go with the 'bait' approach again, using the same trick twice makes us predictable (not that I think we have been noticed yet). But we should stick to the sneaky types doing some scouting and let the 'noisy' ones follow until we find the entrance Mourn spoke of.

Other ideas and suggestions?

Ha'laam scratches a wispy beard as he answers Lysande's question,

"Lady, In  my tongue zat would be meaning 'Great Lord of Scorpions', or perhaps, 'Scorpion King'. "

Lysande rolled her eyes, she should have expected something like that. "Well, perhaps I should add that when I searched Mourn for clues as to the whereabouts of the Black Scorpions, I found a puncture mark on his abdomen. Also, he seemed to be under some sort of control. I admit at this time it is only guessing, but we might run into a few giant scorpions on the way, or maybe it was a ritual that robbed him of his free will. - I just say this that you all know what we are heading for and the possible dangers we will face."

The sun elf briefly turned to Mourn's mare and stroked her neck, whispering in elven "His death will not go unavenged!" She grabbed a few more arrows from the quiver on her horse then motioned for her friends to follow.

"We will do it like before, the silent ones on top of the ravine, Alister and Aelynia within. You may put on your armor again, nobody will believe you passed the first outpost unmolested, Alister.

From now on Aluvendar will not take to the air again, I worry he might be spotted, giving our approach away to our enemies."

"Sure, same plan?"  Alister was now treating his wounds.  "Are we taking prisoners?"

Lysande thought for a while then said "I do not think any of the lower ranks of the Black Scorpions can reveal more details to us than the one's we interrogated yesterday. If we could capture one of the commanders, that would be very helpful, yes." For a second Lysande was worried, were they setting a person's right to live based on their usefulness to them? They had to be practical, that much was sure and the enemy would not play harmless games with the intruders if they were to catch them, as much as it troubled her: They could not let prisoners slow them down.

"Ha'laam?  What is the punishment for banditry in this land?"  Alister asked their faithful companion.

Accepting Lysande's leadership and instructions, Aelynia nodded but a silly little grin crossed her face at the mention of Alister's armor.  She far preferred going without, but after having her sides split open the way they had been just a short while ago, she rethought her position just a little bit.  While she waited for everyone to finalize their plans and finish their conversations, she put her cloak back on and then stood with Joseph, linking her hand with his in another show of gratitude.

Ha'laam looks down at the ground as he replies to Alister, remembering the justice he administered not long before.  "Sheikh Binwabi has ruled death for all bandits, El Aleester

"Thank you, Ha'laam."  Alister turns his attention back to Lysande.  "According to the laws of the land, people performing acts of banditry are to be put to death.  As said by our friend.  Any qualms in that law?"

Although it may have sounded heartless, the sun elf clarified "I was concerned with the possibility of learning more about our enemy, more than granting mercy." Lysande was rather certain, gathering from the raiders they had met thus far, that none of them would surrender or ask for mercy, which did make matters less complicated.

"Anyway, let's get going.  We better hide the bodies somewhere or are we going to leave them here?"  Alister looks at everyone like he as asking for any other suggestions."

You move up the ravine slowly, looking carefully for any new watchposts.  The path near the top of the ravine continues for a distance, but ends after a quarter mile or so, a crude stairway cut into the cliff, leading down.  A moderately experienced climber could continue along the upper way with little difficulty, due to the numerous ledges and handholds.
 With Aluvendar acting as a low-level scout, you see no sign of more of the desert raiders to this point.

"Those without climbing skills should join our friends at the bottom of the ravine. Aluvendar and I will stay up here and keep an eye out from a different  angle. - Unless anyone else has a better idea?" Lysande said, squinting in the bright light.

ooc: climb mod 9, is that sufficient?

OOC: A 9 is sufficient to move at 1/4th speed - no running. Any faster will require a balance check.

Lysande decided it would be better to move along the ground rather than climbing.

The sun elf feared for Aluvendar's life and decided not to have him scout ahead, instead she asked Joseph to scout with her until they would find the entrance to the rock-fortress. She hoped it would be easier to avoid notice if they were only two and not a bunch of people.

19 Elient 1375, Midmorning

Lysande and Joseph decide to advance carefully up the ravine while the others wait for word.  Glim decides to climb back up to the cliff path and maintain a watch as best he can while the scouts survey the situation.

The two scouts follow the ravine around a slight bend to the west for about a quarter mile, the steep cliff walls coming closer together as the old streambed narrows.  They are able to see signs of foot and horse traffic, going boths ways, from fairly old, to fairly fresh.

Passing a last curve, the scouts see the ravine open up into what looks like an old, bone-dry lakebed,  Toward the center of plain, a large rocky hill, possibly a former island rises at least from the dust.  You can see what look like man-made structures cut into the rock, and the movement of riders on horses travelling down a steep road off toward the northeast (you are facing south-east).  It appears you have approached via the backdoor...or one of them anyway.


OOC:  I'll try to have a decent map up by tomorrow.