Session 36 - "Unsettled Sands" Report

Venen 6, 1247

The next morning dawns cool and grey, with the party having found their way to bed in one way or the other. Micaiah and Thais spent the night in the same room, with Micaiah trying her best to curl up with the very-much-not-cuddly paladin.

Their third, the tiefling with black skin and golden eyes, did not deign to stay (he's got a place in Siphone-Kett). But he gives them his name: Kismet, before saying goodnight.

With it being such a good evening, it is quite a shock when Thais wakes up to see Micaiah's sleeping face, but with none of the rosy pink flesh she knows as his visage. Instead, a swirling galaxy in the form of the pretty tiefling lies in bed next to her.

When Micaiah wakes up later on, Thais is sitting in the corner of the room, just staring at him. When she demands answers, Micaiah admits that he touched the orb that they found in Malum Artis's tower, and his body was transformed by it.

Speaking of the orb, in the early morning Foenix Stolnent sneaks into Micaiah and Jacob Sterling's room to steal it out of Micaiah's bag - which Jacob sleeps right through. What Jacob does not sleep through is Micaiah coming back into the room and tickling him incessantly (Jacob tries to avoid it, but a critical failure leaves him at his roommate's mercy).

At breakfast that morning, Thais keeps Micaiah's secret quiet, while Olena is still looking at the coded messages she picked up from the bandits outside of Siphone-Kett. She's already figured out that the messages are double encrypted, and she has figured out the first level, but not the second. Foenix helps her with the second level, and the letters are cracked (full text can be found here).

The discoveries that, perhaps, there is some Rekan conspiracy in Olena's home country of Valsáth is not to be ignored, but they are too far away to do anything at the moment. They have problems in the here and now that must be dealt with.

One of them being Vishrak, the great serpent of the sand.

The party splits up to gather what they need before they depart for the Western Desert.

Micaiah gets directions to a black market dealer named Omkar, who is able to put together a spell component from some of Micaiah's supplies.

Thais and the others head to Unearthly Remedies, and speak to a purple-haired gnome who works there for some supplies, while Foenix picks up some baking utensils and camels from The Cornucopia and liquidates the rest of the stashes that they've picked up over the time they've been adventuring.

Thais also gets some advice from Sand Shift Navigators (deciding they were too expensive for guides) about avoiding sandwurms in the desert and how to spot where they lurk beneath the surface.

The party reconvenes in the Ferre Promenade, outside of the Noble Seat: a black, stately temple with a black unicorn statue rearing up on its hind legs out front. The entirety of the temple and statue are detailed with gold. Foenix, still having the painting from the Roche residence entitled The Blessing of Kings and recognizing the connection between the iconography of this temple and the painting, attempts to enter the temple to sell it.

Thais immediately stops him, and refuses to let him enter. Instead, she enters, speaking with one of the priestesses and using her old skills as a member of the Black Gauntlet to cow the priestess into submission. She eventually walks out of the temple and tosses 75 gold to Foenix silently.

Unbeknownst to her, Micaiah had used his new abilities as an untethered to listen in on her conversation by stepping into the Ethereal Plane and sticking his head through the wall, but he doesn't expose her.... yet.

The final thing that the Fate-Steppers do as they prepare to travel into the desert is to go and visit the Theurgy of Flame. They speak to a dwarven priest and attempt to use the code words that Analonté gave them, but instead of acquiescing, he grows upset.

He asks them why "Zaurok's people" are bothering the temple again. He also informs them that the temple no longer associates with him and his group of thugs (known as Noblisse Oblige).

Foenix grows more and more frustrated, and he and the priest almost come to blows, but the rest of the party drags him out before it can truly become a combat.

Frustrated, but having finished everything they need to do in the city, the Fate-Steppers make it to the desert and begin to trek out.

It becomes clear very quickly that they are underprepared for this environment: the sun and sand are harsh, and soon the party is at three levels of exhaustion when they decide to call it for the day, recovering one level of exhaustion before they continue to search for the serpent of the sands....