Anoria Campaign / The Rose of Jumlat pt. 4 / Nulen the 1st, 3592 CE / 1-11-2021

It has been four days since the tieflings Cyla Fletcher and Thesk Telvarii set out from Jumlat with a caravan transporting a fabled artifact, the Rose of Jumlat, to the Temple of Ishtalar in the coastal town of Ganara. Their own interest in the artifact goes back days earlier, to the tieflings' quest to find a cure for the curse of the Ring of False Djinni which has befallen Thesk. This quest took them to a shady antiques dealer and a tale of the ring's creation at the hands of a legendary craftsman, Iago the Proud. The only other known creation of the cursed artisan is the Rose of Jumlat. Since joining the caravan, things have taken a turn for the worst. The jewel was stolen by corsairs, who then lead an ambush that killed most of the merchants and caravaners. The corsairs are lead by the villainous pirate, Akbar the Sea Mage, who holds a grudge against the Mustafar clan who sponsored the caravan. For it turns out that the "Rose of Jumlat" is not just the name of the legendary ruby which Cyla and Thesk are investigating, but also the nickname for Samia Mustafar, the only daughter of the Mustafar clan's patriarch, and reportedly the most beautiful woman in Jumlat. So beautiful in fact that the Emir of Jumlat, a notorious letch by the name of Agat Doth, sought to possess the young woman by every means at his disposal, leaving her father with no choice but to send her in disguise on the caravan to the safety of the Zann Monastery, But she and her brother Talgu, along with the actual Rose of Jumlat, are now all captives of Akbar and his pirates. This is how Cyla, Thesk, and the dwarf Anwar, another survivor of the ill-fated caravan, find themselves in the middle of the desert in a pitched battle with a manticore, as they attempt to make their way from the Zann Monastery to the hovel of a mysterious hermit named Birali, who is purported to know the secret location of Akbar's fortress. The manticore thought the traveler's flying aboard their magic carpet easy prey, but learns the hard way that just the opposite is true, for Cyla is deadly with her whip, and Thesk wields all the powers of a false djinn, even as she suffers the drawback of only being able to be released for three hours a day from the ring that serves as her prison. After slaying the manticore, the party has coffee, and then is once more on their way. As they grow nearer to the coast, the tieflings soon find what they believe to be Birali the hermit, as they spot an aged sage sitting outside a cave. Cyla does not immediately recognize the man, but soon comes to realize that this old man is the same hermit who helped Thesk and her escape from the Borderlands many months ago. The party receives another shock when they discover the peddler Waqari awaiting them in the hermit's hovel. Anwar is furious at Waqari for his betrayal, but Waqari assures the party that, while he did intend to steal the jewel, it was actually stolen by the treacherous Fatahn, who in turn was murdered by Akbar's corsairs. While Anwar remains suspicious, Cyla questions the hermit to determine Akbar's location. The hermit, claiming to have a vision from the gods, tells the party they must follow the setting sun to Akbar's boathouse in order to recover the Rose of Jumlat along with Samia and Tagu Mustafar. Waqari bargains his way into joining the expedition by revealing that the Rose of Jumlat's power is to irresistible to genies, and has become the home of an efreeti named Enambo. Just before they set out, the hermit reveals one more prophecy to Cyla; that she must "remove the Rose of Jumlat from the eyes of men." Once more aboard the flying carpet, the party follows a sunbeam piercing the gathering storm clouds, and soon lays sight on a seaside cliff that appears to have had a dock installed. Assured they have located Akbar's boathouse, Cyla directs the carpet to descend as they prepare for the next challenge of their quest.