Tales Under a Burning Sun

The old ashik moved around the small hut belonging to the sibling herders preparing a meagre breakfast for the brothers. He hobbled out to the herd and passed each of them a bowl, and then took his place next to them with a bowl of his own and they ate in quiet companionship. Once he had finished, the old man set aside his bowl and once again started to recount his tale. The demoralised Kank’s chin hits his massive chest and he gives a big sigh, he turns on his heel and walks away from the fight mumbling to himself about nothing being worth it. As he moves away the final fungal creature also backs away and remerges with one of the large patches of vegetation in the corner of the storeroom. As he is passing Scar asks Kank what is in the pit, the Mul looks at her with tired eyes and says; Nothing but despair! The big Mul then walks out into the corridor and slumps down with his head in his hands. Arthur steps up to the edge of the pit to engage the still thrashing vine, and the othe...

The older of the sibling herders sat watching the old ashik sleep, there was something about the old man and his tale that nagged at the back of the herders mind when he sat still in the pre-dawn hours watching out for predators. Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him, it was prone to doing that when he was tired and his focus drifted. He shook his head like an erdlu being bothered by flies trying to shake away his clouded thoughts, and when his eyes came back to rest on the old ashik he realised that the old man was awake. The old man stretched his aged limbs, sat down next to the herder, and continued his tale. Leaving the fungus covered storeroom behind, Kank leads the group down the corridor and eventually arrives at an ornately carved door. The door is covered in intertwined snakes in a similar style to others seen within the temple, and so Kank calls forward Balboa and steps back. Balboa, still holding the key, steps up to the doors and pushes them open. Beyond the ...

Now that the herd were settled the young siblings sat beside their small fire keeping watch on the night. It was unlikely that anything big enough to make off with one of the domesticated kank would appear, but it was a possibility and so the brothers always watched through the night. The old ashik had taken to joining them on their vigil and he filled the quiet hours with his tale. The fiery skeleton stood stock still in the brazier and launched another ball of fire at Kank. It hit him square in the chest and his colleagues heard the big Mul grunt in pain, but he stayed on his feet and swung wild with Bone Crusher missing his foe. Miloch finally managed to land a blow on the thrashing skeletal snake tail but it is only a glancing blow and does not appear to inflict much damage. From his vantage point behind both Miloch and Scar, Balboa finally gets a chance to look at the skeletal snake in more detail. He realises that while it has a twenty foot long tail its torso is humanoid...

The two brothers sat by the side of the muddy oasis and watched the herd graze. They sat in companionable silence and enjoyed the peace of their surroundings, the sun had set below the horizon and the the air was cooling slightly making it more comfortable. Beside them sat the old ashik, and as the younger sibling watched him he turned his head and locked eyes. The eyes of the old ashik held a spark of youth that seemed out of place in his heavily lined and weather beaten face, but with a blink it was gone and the young herder believed that he had imagined it. Almost as if distracting the brothers the old ashik took up his tale once again. Once Miloch and Scar have made sure that Arthur and Kank are safe and not in imminent danger of dying, they assist Balboa in getting across the underground river. Scar performs first aid on the wounds of her friends and after a short while both of her companions regain consciousness. They discuss their options, but with Arthur and Kank st...

Finally the sandstorm outside had abated, and the villagers of the small settlement beside the muddy oasis left the headman’s hut and blinked in the bright sunlight. The air was still hazy with sand and it cast a dull yellow glow across the land, the old ashik joined the young sibling herders as they went to check on their kank herd. As they encouraged the kank to dig themselves out of the sand drifts and move to the oasis to graze the old ashik looked over at the brothers and said ‘let me tell you about the battle of the Face in the Stone, a fight that they nearly didn’t survive’ The group of freed slaves continue to sprint hard for the left hand passage, desperately trying to make it to safety before the obelisks charge and fire once more. But luck does not look kindly upon them and just as they are entering the passageway lightning leaps once more from the pinnacle of both obelisks, one of the bolts just misses Balboa but the other strikes Kank in his left leg and the large Mul cr...