Tales Under a Burning Sun

When they arrived back at the small village by the muddy oasis the old ashik was mobbed by the village's few children. They all wanted to hear more of his story. He gently pushed through the small crowd and took a seat beside the cooking fire that had been lit in preparation for the evening meal, the children followed him and all settled down near him waiting for the adventures that would spill from his lips. And so the old ashik continued his tale that must be told. The Company of the Cloaked Inix sneak themselves into position, near to the base of the south east tower, without being seen by the Elves on watch on the walls. When she feels that the guards are not watching, Scar dashes the last fifty feet to the base of the tower and starts to climb. As soon as Scar begins to scale the base of the tower, Kank dashes across the open space to join her. He is closely followed by Miloch, while Balboa, Ferulah, and Arthur remain hidden keeping an eye on the guards to see if they raise th...

The old ashik had fallen asleep and the younger of the sibling herders covered him with a blanket to keep the cold night air off of his old bones. He turned to his brother and asked him if he had noticed how furtive the old man had been in the town, his brother nodded but didn’t say anything more. That was when the old man coughed and sat bolt upright. He locked eyes with the siblings and both brothers thought that they could see a steel behind his eyes, and then the moment was passed and the old ashik was once again telling his tale. The Company of the Cloaked Inix make camp within sight of the Silver Springs oasis, but they wait until dawn before approaching. Arthur scans the oasis with his telescope and can see nothing untoward, with the exception of the picked clean bones of the dead Mekillot. The Company approach with caution and make their way around the water's edge, which is looking much cleaner, towards the bridge and the monumental arch that marks the druid's sanctum....

The first time that the herders realised that the old ashik was not sitting with them anymore was just after the town guard had entered the souk. They finished their meal and headed out to gather their new beasts and return back to their small village. As soon as they passed through the town gates they found that the old man was shuffling alongside them, and as they noticed him he once again started telling his tale. The Company of the Inix set out as dawn's first light hit the top of the tallest building in the Village of The Free. It was to be a six day journey to Kled, and they had plotted a route that would see them bisect the route between the home of the Jura Dai Elves and the Mausoleum in the sands that had become the haunt of both the patrols of Urik and the Black Sand Raiders. Most of the Company was on foot with only Arthur mounted on his trustee kank and a second kank loaded with all of their provisions, this allowed them to keep a steady pace and a low profile. By the m...

As they passed through the gates of the town the old ashik pulled the hood of his black cloak up over his head, plunging his features into deep shadow. The gate guards paid the sibling herders, and the old man shuffling along between them, no heed as they were used to seeing the brothers on a monthly basis. Once inside the town walls the old ashik disappeared into the crowds. He reappeared a couple of hours later, after the herders had completed their business, and joined them for something to eat. As they sat down he once again continued his tale. The Company of the Cloaked Inix had travelled three hours out of Tyr and into the dark shrouded desert when Balboa and Scar both spotted movement against the moonlight in the distance. Arthur pulls his telescope from his pack and focuses where they pointed, he sees a dozen Elves moving away from the group. The rest of the Company manage to convince him that they are too far away to chase down and they continue moving towards the Village of T...