Secrets revealed...

The old ashik was deep in his tale and the siblings were hanging on his every word, it was just how the old man liked it. A little smile caressed his weather worn face and he made a decision. He knew that he would not be able to finish his tale before the herders reached their small village in the middle of the blasted desert, beside the mud hole that they referred to as an oasis, but he decided that he would try and stay with them and finish his tale.

Having met back at the mekillot wagon Arthur, Balboa, and Scar quickly update the others on what they found in their quick scout around the bazaar. Kollus listens carefully and then says that he is going to spend the rest of the day trading the cargo. Kank and Scar both volunteer to act as his guards, mostly because they both stand out with Scar being very tall and lithe and Kank having a wooden peg for a right leg. Miloch agrees to remain on guard, and in reserve, on the mekillot wagon leaving Arthur and Balboa free to spend time learning all they can from the bazaar and in particular attempt to identify Braden Vlock.

Arthur and Balboa find a food vendor near to the tents of the Black Sand Raiders and have a couple of drinks and something to eat. They ask the female vendor about the oasis and the mausoleum, and as they are spending ceramic she is more than happy to talk;

The Templars, thank King Hamanu for their grace, have arrived and reinstated law and taxes. They are in the mausoleum as well, won’t let anyone else in there. I’m not sure that the Black Sand Raiders are as pleased as us honest traders, praise King Hamanu for his good grace!

Arthur points at one of the Black Sand Raiders sat by their main awning and asks the vendor if he is the one in charge, knowing full well that the soldier that he is pointing at is nothing but a foot troop. The vendor shakes her head and bends in close, in a hushed whisper she says;

Oh no! Braden Vlock only has one eye. But don’t mention it or stare, he don’t like it!

Balboa asks where he is so that they can be careful and the vendor tells them that he normally can be found near the slave auction tent. Having finished their drinks the pair move to another food vendor nearer to the slaves and continue to watch the comings and goings of the bazaar, as they pass one of the spice sellers they spot Kank and Scar standing outside chatting to a very young looking guard who doesn’t look like he knows one end of his weapon from the other. The young guard looks nervously at the massive Arthur, but breathes a sigh of relief when he just nods a greeting to Scar.

Arthur and Balboa settle down at their second food tent and again start to watch the comings and goings of the bazaar. Balboa strikes up a conversation with the vendor and finds that he knows no more than the first vendor that they spoke to, but as he is leaving them he does say;

If you are out that way, beware of the Silver Springs oasis. There are rumours that it has been poisoned!

As he walks away Arthur and Balboa share a smile, knowing full well that the Silver Spring oasis is no longer poisoned as they were responsible for freeing the druid who once again cares for it. Having watched for half a day the pair quietly tally up what they have been able to see, they agree that there are roughly thirty Black Sand Raiders and slightly more of the soldiers from Urik. They have also seen three Templars and a handful of soldiers in the blue and yellow tabards of King Hamanu’s Templar guard.

A few hours before sunset the officious looking female Templar approaches Kollus, just as he is leaving the second of the spice traders, and informs him that Senior Templar Burduk Meer has agreed to heal Kank’s leg for the paltry sum of five gold pieces. Kollus’ face is a picture of shock, the Templar looks at him and then points at Kank;

It is the tenth of the cost of a new slave, if he is not worth it, buy a new one!

Watching this exchange from the food tent Balboa turns his head and sees a tall man with a livid scar running across the left side of his face, his left eye socket just an empty pit. The man is dressed in the black and red of the Black Sand Raiders and is in deep conversation with a mul that appears to be the auctioneer. Balboa nudges Arthur, who is still watching the female Templar walking away, and nods at who can only be Braden Vlock.

An hour before sundown most of the traders begin to close up shop and more people head for the food tents. The auction tent becomes the centre of this activity as it turns into a communal area for everyone to relax and mingle. The friends regroup and Kollus informs them that he has been told that more slaves are being delivered and that representatives of one of the large merchant houses will be arriving in the morning, and that they are looking to buy slaves so prices are likely to rise. Arthur quietly tries to convince the others to assassinate Braden Vlock, but Kank says that he thinks that there are far to many combatants for it to be possible.

Kollus says that he believes that the cost for healing Kank’s leg is worth the gold, and the group agree to use one of the gems that they captured when they hijacked Merchant House Ianto’s caravan. The group head back to the mekillot wagon for the night, but take no risks and set a two person watch through the night. During their watches they spot that the Black Sand Raiders have a pair of guards patrolling the perimeter of the bazaar, but the guards do not appear to be very alert.

The following morning Kollus and Kank head to the administration tent, inside they are greeted by a different Templar, Crontas Klar. Klar is clearly more of a warrior than the other two Templars that they have met, he is a slab of muscle but he is also by far the most friendly of the Templars. Kollus tells him that they are there for Burduk Meer to heal Kank’s leg, Klar looks surprised and as he turns towards one of the doorways behind him Kank hears him mutter;

No one tells me bloody anything round here! Out of the loop again!

A few minutes later he reappears in conversation with the pudgy looking Meer who is heard to say;

Well I would have thought that Sashan would keep you informed.

Turning to Kollus and Kank Templar Meer says;

Which one of you… Oh!

His eyes end up resting on the wooden peg that is in the place of Kank’s right leg. He looks up and grumpily asks;

Why couldn’t you have come and seen me last night? I could have then rested before today.

Kollus hands Templar Meer the gem and bows. Burduk Meer rolls the gem around in his hand for a few seconds and then closes his fist around it. He turns on his heel and heads back towards his bed, as he goes he shouts;

Crontus! Fix his leg!

With a shrug of his huge shoulders Templar Klar gestures for Kank to remove the peg leg and sit on the floor, he bends down and inspects the wound. He looks up at Kank;

You say that you got this in a mekillot accident? I don’t think so. Very clean wound that.

But without saying more he places his hands on Kank’s stump and calls out praises to King Hamanu. There is a momentary tingling and then a sharp grind of pain as Kank’s leg starts to regrow. After less than twenty minutes Kank stands on his own two feet, bows to Templar Klar and leaves.

Returning to the mekillot wagon it is agreed that Arthur and Balboa will escort Kollus that day, while Kank and Scar look around the bazaar and see what they can learn. As is always the case when people gather to trade, rumours were rife. The Dragon has been seen of Gulg. King Hananu of Urik is sending soldiers to deal with the Dura Dai elf menace. The King of Tyr has nearly completed his ziggurat. The Silver Springs oasis has been poisoned. As always the art is in picking the truth from the rumour. Scar visits one of the armourers, a dwarf by the name of Brundin, and discusses getting a pair of greeves.

While they are trading Brundin asks where Scar is from, Scar tells him that she is a guard for Merchant House Ianto out of Tyr and Brundin says that he has heard that the ziggurat is near to completion and that the King of Tyr is planning a huge celebration. He looks at Scar;

What have you heard?

Scar holds her silence for a moment, and then says that she has steered clear of it all as it is too dangerous to be close with all the Templars about enforcing the laws. Brundin nods;

It is a vanity project. That’s a fact. But where there are celebrations, there is good trade.

When Brundin starts to discuss cost, Kank goes to relieve Arthur so that he can give Scar the money that she requires. While he is there Brundin manages to talk him into getting a new suit of armour, Arthur can barely part with the cash but eventually he relinquished when he realised that he could give his old armour to Kank to protect his new leg.

Scar and Arthur then visit one of the weaponsmiths where Arthur cuts straight to the chase and asks if he has any metal weapons. After a brief discussion the trader shows them a pair of cestus, a light mace, and two spear heads, all of which are made from metal. A small fortune, and one that Arthur cannot quite afford just yet. As they are stood at the weaponsmiths, Braden Vlock walks past and says hello to the weaponsmith. The smith says hello back but as soon as Vlock has passed it is obvious that he does not like him. Vlock then crosses paths with a squad of Tyr soldiers led by an officer, the officer does not acknowledge Vlock and it is clear that there is bad blood between them.

Mid-afternoon, and a rush of activity passes through the bazaar as a large merchant caravan arrives. It is comprised of two mekillot wagons with several erdlu outriders. As soon as it is within sight it is obvious from it’s pennants that it is from Merchant House Resherek, the merchant house whose slave brand everyone but Kollus bears. The group quickly minimise their presence around the bazaar just leaving Arthur to guard Kollus, because as Scar said;

To humans, all dwarves look alike!

An hour before sunset Kollus has finished trading the goods that they had hijacked and is in the process of buying the goods that are needed by The Free. Arthur has been watching the representatives from Merchant House Resherek and is pleased that he has not recognised any of them. As the last rays of the sun disappear below the sand dunes several knak drawn wagons arrive bearing slaves. They are driven by Black Sand Raiders and their comrades at the bazaar unload the slaves and lock them in the slave pens. The kank drawn wagons then leave. It is obvious that they cannot have travelled very far, and so there must be a slave encampment in the area. All good intelligence.