Lut Gholein

"Hah! Sorry to tell you, my good barbarian, but with such great demand for our work right here in the city, why wouldn't we charge a premium for the privilege of dying out there in the desert?"

"Come back if you change your mind."

On that gruff note, the men of the party return to their inn.

The rest is slightly surprised when Aldrick announces his intention to quit the party - apparently, he has caught some kind of rumor about there being a "need" for good men in the palace, and no kind of persuasion can get him to change his mind. Luckily, with the influx of people in town, finding someone adventurous enough to fill the hole in the ranks doesn't prove to be difficult.



The following morning, the party heads out towards the Valley of Snakes, where a man called Drognan, who appears to be some kind of wise man around these parts, claims the nearest cult of claw vipers now resides.

After what feels like a long march without Tatsuhiro's magic fortifying against the heat, the party passes what is surely the lair of the famed sand maggot that keeps the Staff of Kings, but the journey continues, on into the abandoned city that guards the entrance to the Valley.

The restless dead have taken their share of this place, as they have many others. They offer little resistance, but they do much to counter what would otherwise have been a rather somber experience.

You are near what you guess is the center of the crumbled city, when you encounter a creature that is clearly not undead at all. It is human-shaped, but smaller, and possesses rather feline features. It is armed with a whip, and clad in leather armor. It prominently displays a belt of potions.
You are still some distance away, but its expression of malice is clear.

Further, it is blocking your way.

Martigule's trained eyes notice two more hiding in the ruins of crumbled walls, looking no more friendly.

Spoiler
Show
Enemies ahead!

SC1 is visible to all. Only Martigule has noticed the other two.

Yellow stuff is sand. Grey stuff is a badly maintained road. Dark red are the remnants of buildings. The L-shaped walls are just 5' high, the saber cats are hiding on top of them. The larger boxes are houses that are more intact.

You are free to act.



Map up.