Lanka is untouched by the heat of the day as the group travels and spends a little time in the sand with the camel after the group dismounts.  She does finally come to kneel with the group under the lean-tos, but it appears to be for companionship as much or more than anything else.

OOC: Almost got him with a wild empathy check, but missed it by 1.

By mid-afternoon, Ha'laam begins preparing the animals for the second half of the day's travel. He is quick and efficient, and you are soon ready to go.

For the next several hours, you welcome every moment the sun dips nearer to the horizon.  As the sun crosses that boundary, the transition from day to night is akin to a candle being being snuffed out in its swiftness.

Glim leads you another two hours in the darkness before again turing off the road to make camp. "We head south in the morning.  You will need your rest."  And he pitches in to help Ha'laam ready the camp for the night.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:16, Sun 13 Aug 2006.

Tuar rides for the rest of the day, next to Lysande and her horse, and Dom manages to keep the pace steady with the horses, little wonder from a bird of such great size.  When Glim motions for everyone to stop and set up camp, Tuar merely jumps off the giant bird and puts his pack on the ground.  The half-elf savage seems happy to be rid of the burden, and gladly removes the chain shirt and places it with his other things.  Finally, he removes his rope belt, placing his dagger and bow with the rest of his gear.  He walks out into the night with only the golden bracelets, the pin stabbed deep into his chest, and his sword.  The brilliant silver of the tattoo on his back shines in the moonlight.

As Tuar feels he is far enough away, barely within sight of the rest of the group, he unleashes his emotions.  As taught to him by the drow priestesses, he let out the thoughts he could not express in words reach out to his goddess in dance.  At first, it starts slowly, the half-blood merely twisting his body to an inner music.  Then his arms and hands join the motions of his body, coming in front of his chest and flowing together in the silvery light of Selune.  Before long, his feet have joined the unheard music in a dance that spans several meters.  Unlike what might be expected from a savage, there are no grunts of approval or stomping sounds to join his dance, but it is light, almost as if he were floating above the sands.  He appears more elven in the light of the moon than he does in the hard, burning sun of the day.

After almost ten minutes of the dance, the lightness of his feet, the worries and cares of his body drifting away to his goddess, he stopped for a few seconds.  The sweat on his body was already glistening, and he took a few deep breaths before looking back at the camp and then at the only thing he brought with him, his father's sword.  As he thought, Tuar realized that this sword should share in his problems.  It, too, was part of his family, and it should be given some time to speak up to his goddess, if it would prefer.  Tuar bent down in the few seconds between the dance, and lifted his father's sword up to the Maiden of the Moon, Eilistraee herself.  The gesture was clear, he was offering the sword and his ability to wield it to her cause.  A few seconds of silence, and Tuar once again continued his intricate dance, weaving the sword through the air as if fighting invisible foes.  Instead of his normal technique, which usually consisted of slashing at the nearest foe with an entire lack of any finesse, the half-bred elf dodged and ducked with his sword in hand, as if he were a swordsman from the ancient elven legends.

Dance: 21
This message was last edited by the player at 00:59, Sun 13 Aug 2006.

Joseph kept his camel in the back, and he had at least one eye on constant watch as they rode.  When they got to the place they would camp for the night, he first gave Aelynia a hand to help her down, before climbing off himself.  Then, he began to set up his tent, figuring that it might get crowded in the other ones, and since he had brought it along for such a long trip, he might as well use it.  It was big enough, he reckoned, so before he began setting it up, he offered Aelynia to share it, if she should want to.

The new crescent moon seems to smile as if in appreciation of a true master of the Lady's dance. When Tuar holds up his sword to honor Selune, the blade hums with energy as it simultaneously absorbs the moonlight, and reflects it ten-fold.  Lending its strength and power to Tuar's perfomance, the sword slices through the air with a single pure note as the dance becomes faster and faster and faster...

Aelynia graciously accepted Joseph's help off his camel and also his offer to share his tent.  With a sweet smile she promised to return in but a few minutes.  As hot and exhausted as she was, Aelynia's ever calm face was the picture of happiness and serenity as she walked around the campsite, offering to help any who might need or want it.

After everyone was settled for the night, Aelynia returned to Joseph to see if he needed anything before completing some exercises after the day of ease she had spent riding on his camel.

Tuar stands amazed as his sword shines with the lights of Selune and Eilistraee combined into one powerful brightness, all centered upon his sword.  He does not stop the dance, however, but continues as it grows faster and faster.  Tuar is no longer the savage he appears to be to the untrained eye, but a graceful servant of the good-hearted drow goddess.  He continues the dance, even though he is not in charge of his movements any longer.  He could no more stop the dance than he could stop his heart from racing with the power of his father's sword combined with the light and power of his goddess.

After dismounting and taking care of Beauty, Rend set up his own tent and bedroll before undressing down to his loincloth and wiping himself down with sand.  His short muscular hairless form was definately a strange and humorous sight to see, however the look in his flinty eyes made it clear that no comments would be tolerated.  Once sufficiently clean, he suited back up into his chain shirt and desert robes.  He ate his dinner with the group, but maintained his stony silence the entire night save for a slight, muffled chuckle while watching Tuar perform his flamboyant dancing.

Alister quickly dismount and again helped with the camp.  He also provided a few gallons of water with the help of his god.

At the campfire Alister sat thinking about the coming battles while silently sharpening his sword.

24 Elient, 1375, early morning before dawn to mid-morning

The night passes quietly, no caravans pass along the road, and the ony sounds you hear are sands shifted by a light breeze, and a lonely desert cricket.

Glim and Ha'laam get you going again before dawn, this time travelling south-southeast toward the northenmost pint of the mountain range known as the Wall of Fallen Djinn.  Though he normally keeps to himself glim takes time to point out subtle landmarks and features to Lysande and Joseph.

By mid-morning as the sun begins its noon assault, you come upon a rock-filled depression between two high dunes. it is good shelter, so glim stops and Ha'laam readies the mid-day camp.  The beasts soon become restless however, and Glim begins a more detailed survey of the area. After a few minutes he voices his concern, "There is something I do not like about this place...a smell, perhaps...", as he says the last a mild wind carries a stench of rotting meat down over a dune crest and down into your camp.  The stench is followed by a loud reptillian hiss, and the ugly head of a VERY large 30-foot long lizard as it lumbers over the dune toward you from about 50 feet away...

OOC: I'll try to have a map up soon, but for now, assume you are all about 50 feet away from the beast as it runs down a large but not too steep sand dune toward you.  Please post initiative rolls with your actions, and I'll fit it in on a round by round post.  Don't worry too much about waiting your turn, unless you are trying to coordinate an action with someone else.


This message was last edited by the GM at 00:28, Thu 17 Aug 2006.

For the first time in a day Rend utters something loudly, "'Bout damned time!  Come on ye filthy carcass-bitin' gorbellied urchin-snouted maggot-pie!  Come at me!"  He continues trying to grab the thing's attention after loosening his greataxe into his thick hands.  As he does so he moves himself about ten feet ahead of the rest of the group, so that he is between the monster and the caravan.

[17 Init.  Move Action: 15-20' of movement.  Standard Action: Hold attack in case the thing manages to clear the distance to him this round.  Rolled 13 to hit, 10 damage.]

[Edit: 17 Init, not 21]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Thu 17 Aug 2006.

"By Tyr!  What are they feeding you!"  Alister gasped as he checks if the monster is evil enough to taste the divine power of his god.  While draw out his weapon.


---
04:40, Today: Alister Flaga rolled 21 using 1d20+8. atk with long sword.
04:40, Today: Alister Flaga rolled 9 using 1d20+2. initiative.
Detect evil please.  If Evil go ahead and attack when the lizard gets in range.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:08, Thu 17 Aug 2006.

Joseph quickly let his camel come to a halt, and slipped down quickly before helping Aelynia down from it, too.  Finally, he drew his blade, though he waited for an order to attack.



14:04, Today: Joseph Copeland rolled 8 using 1d20+2. Init.

Total Defense (AC: 19) for now.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:34, Fri 18 Aug 2006.

Nodding her thanks to Joseph for the assistance, Aelynia was already praying that Ilmater would grant them victory should they fight the large creature before them.  Waiting next to Joseph, Aelynia also waited for some sort of signal to attack whether it be Lysande or the creature making a threatening movement.

07:43, Today: Aelynia Th'wil rolled 9 using 1d20+4. Init.

Tuar swift jumped from the huge bird carrying him and had his sword in hand before a moment had passed.  He stands where he is, however.  It had done no harm as of yet, though it promised to be able to do something if allowed.  A glint of want in his eye, Tuar kept his place and watched with anticipation to see what might occur.

Lanka eyed the creature, but didn't move to attack it just yet.  Instead, she pulled a splinter of wood from a small pouch around her neck and watched the creature approach.

OOC: Init 4

Ok, here's the map.  Forgive the odd images, my Dunjinni library is a bit limited.  The bison are the camels, the scorpion is the lizard, and the giant chicken is Tuar's bird. So far, here is the init order (again, during the rounds, don't wait for others to post):

Gli = Glim
Ren = Rend
Tuar = Tuar
Lys = Lysande
Hal = Ha'laam
Ael = Aelynia
Alf = Alister
Jos = Joseph
Lan = Lanka (w/ companion dog Tagari)


ZS = Zhent Scribe
ZW = Zhent Warrior

The dark sand is the lower area of packed, pebbled sand.  The light sand slopes up and costs double movement to go uphill.  The areas with large pebbles (squares with 3 small rocks) will require a balance check if you run through them. The squares with large rocks cost large and smaller sized individuals double movement - unless you jump over them!  The lizard is charging down the slope toward Rend and the larger group of camels and horses in general.

Please let me know if I have you in a reasonable spot.  I'll try to wait one more day for Lysande, but normally during combat, I'll post every other day, and NPC your character if needed.





This message was last edited by the GM at 22:57, Tue 22 Aug 2006.

Lysande saw the creature charging down the slope and wondered what to do for a moment. The thought of sending a ray of fire towards the lizard crossed her mind, but the realization the camel and horses may be frightened by it, caused her to chose a different option.

Her bow flew into her hand and an arrow was knocked and ready within a split second "It's after the meat of the horses, we can't afford that! Stop that beast!" with that she let go of the arrow...

ooc:
10:55, Today: Lysande rolled 12 using 1d20+2. Initiative.
11:08, Today: Lysande rolled 20 using 1d20+8. Attack lizard.
11:08, Today: Lysande rolled 4 using 1d8+2. Damage.

_{edit: Add a knowledge Arcana check if the creature should be something like a magical beast:
11:30, Today: Lysande rolled 27 using 1d20+10. Knowl. Arcana.}
This message was last edited by the player at 09:31, Mon 21 Aug 2006.

---
PM

Tuar looks back at Lysande as one of her arrows goes toward the beast and he immediately follows the arrow to put his body between the elf and the lizard.  The half-elf bares his blade in front of him, preparing for the inevitable battle.

Joseph moved forward at Lysande's command, his blade ready to strike out if the beast should come within his reach.

OOC:  Move to M-16, ready action to attack if it comes close enough for it.

In case it will help:  12:24, Today: Joseph Copeland rolled 18 using 1d20+7. Knowledge: Nature.

In an attempt to get to Rend before the lizard does, Aelynia goes around the large pebbles and through the rocks quickly. 

to O12

Rend continued to move towards the lizard, screaming obscenities and spitting foam between words as his face grew progressively redder.

[Moving to S10 (30' movement, or 25' with the diagonals, if I can make S9 then I'm going there and attacking).  Attack roll was 14, Damage was 13.]

PM:

Lysande's eyes rested on the huge lizard for a moment before something tingled in her mind "Try to stay away from the lizard, it is most likely poisonous! Have you seen the coloration, Joseph, it is not meant to camouflage the thing!" the sun elf explained her reasoning. "Everyone, drive it away from our mounts and use distance weapons if you can!"