Tales Under a Burning Sun

It was becoming harder for the old ashik to slow the herders down so that he could relay his whole story before leaving them. He knew that the siblings had become fond of him and his tale, but they were keen to get home with all of their freshly traded goods and so he had to change tack. That night when they settled down he started talking and he fully intended on not stopping until his tale was told. Balboa shoved open the left hand door, and when nothing immediately leapt out and attacked him he shoved his lit torch into the room and looked about. Like all of the rooms that the group had investigated so far this one was full of debris and little else, but Balboa knew that he had heard a noise from within and so he stepped in carefully and began to search. Scar drew the Sword of Kemalok and followed him into the room leaving Kank on guard by the main door and Arthur heading up to the floor above to give it a thorough search. Balboa notices that there is a wide crack in the dividi...

Having sold their herd beasts the herders should have been making good time back to their home, but they were moving slower than normal due to the old ashik. He didn’t move very quickly and would constantly stop to rest his old bones. It was almost like he was trying to delay them. That was because he was, he wanted to make sure that his story was told before they returned home. His story had to be told. The freed slaves, and now scouts for The Free, were deep within the the Howling Tombs fighting for their lives against dwarven skeletons and a spectral horror in the form of the priest who had carried out human sacrifices over the bottomless pit hundreds of years in the past. All of them, with the exception of Balboa, wore the signs of the battle and only had a single functioning arm each. Balboa had not escape the damage either, he had taken significant injuries falling whilst climbing to the tomb. Scar strikes with the Sword of Kemalok, hitting the spectral horror in one of its g...

The old ashik sat amid the sand dunes outside of the small town beside the oasis. He waited for the young herders to return from selling their herd and purchasing the goods they needed to carry on surviving in the harsh environment. The old ashik had not wanted to enter the small town, his hand instinctively moved to absentmindedly scratch at the old slave brand that he had hidden beneath his robes, and so he waited for the young brothers to return so that he could continue his tale. His thoughts were interrupted by one of the siblings hailing him, so he slid down the dune and said, where was I… Ignoring the stairs leading down through the hole at the back of the ancient tomb, Balboa decides to make sure that the level they are on is clear first. The four freed slaves head into the room to the other side of the big room and discover another passageway leading back into the rock, they follow it and discover another two ransacked rooms full of niches. Finding nothing of interest, apart...

The following morning, after they had eaten a megre breakfast, the herders set out once more driving their beasts towards market in the nearest town. They had been on the road for several days but their journey had been a surprisingly happy one. That was all down to their unexpected trail companion, the old ashik. His tale was enthralling and his gift of telling it remarkable, almost as if he had been there himself… From their camp, several hundred metres away from the ravine, the group of freed slaves turned scouting party for the Hidden Village and the tribe of The Free could just make out at the edge of their hearing a low mournful wail coming from the ravines direction. As the sun rises on yet another hot, dry, dusty, and relentless day the group set off towards the ravine and as they draw closer the wailing gets louder. It is obvious why this spot is known as the Howling Tombs. Once they are within sight of the ravine they realise that it is not a ravine at all, but a long, ...