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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 15, 2006 17:59:43 GMT -7
PCs Keesha the sorceress Maher the sailor Waleed the scholar Ya'qub the merchant Saqir
NPCs Sahra - Ya'qub's wife Eakon - Keesha's familiar Mamoun - Waleed's servant Jaheira, Wudei'a, Najiba - Waleed's bodyguards Shabab Eblis - Bright Dancer's young captain Haroun the faris Adila - bearer of the curse
Notable crew Rasool Yameena Galeel -- 7th of Saris
Fahhas, City of Searching and I'tiraf, City of Confessions are contrasting memories several weeks sailing behind you. The former yielding a mundane cargo of dried fish and little else except a joy to be leaving the sullen city, the latter a modest cargo of some potential, a small collection of ancient texts, and the promise of a quick death should you ever return without a convincing disguise.
Yameena's laughing, "It is as I said, no?" as you sailed hastily away echoes yet in your mind. To be fair, blame however unjust the circumstances, was shared by all. Waleed's search for and purchase of forbidden texts of the forgotten savage gods; Ya'qub's skillful trading with an unscrupulous trader; Keesha's unbending will in the face of bigotry; Haroun's offense at an insult that bordered on questioning his piety; Maher's innocent flirtation with a wealthy man's daughter.
Southeasterly through the Golden Gulf you'd raced, into Bahr al-Izdiham, the Crowded Sea. At that point Shabab became ever more vigilant. "The countless isles hide a thousand and one coves and more than enough corsairs ready to relieve a careless ship of its cargo."
Finally rounding the cape that marked the beginning of the ruined kingdoms of Nog and Kadara, you began to tack northeasterly in high swells caused by the warm Bahr al-Izdiham currents mixing with cold currents of Bahr al-Ajami, the Foreigner's Sea.
Gone were the shining deserts with their cold beauty. Solid green vegetation of all hues and shapes stretched inland, broken only by the occasional cliff covered hill with the temerity to pierce the jungle. Three days tough sailing finds you waiting for an early morning high tide at the mouth of the Nogaro River; the river delta's sandy bank impassible except at high tide.
"The Gateway City." Shabab said. "That is how foreigners call Dihliz as it is considered the gateway into the ruined kingdoms. It's built on the river's edge fifty miles upriver from here. It is no small feat to sail up the mighty Nogaro, but I have made the journey many times."
As the sky lightened, the captain turns and points out the dark line on the eastern horizon: "Sahu, Isle of Serenity. Beyond Sahu to the northeast lies Afyal, Isle of the Elephant. There the enlightened city Medina al-Afyal's blessings of riches are only rivaled by Huzuz." Lowering his voice, "The Mad Padishah. Fate in her wisdom has allowed the House of Alon to rule there for 500 years. Its no secret the family's blood runs very thin, producing heir after heir who are at best, eccentric." With a shake of his head, he said, "That whole civilization is a bit odd... it would almost be the opposite of I'tiraf. The land is yet rich with artifacts from the time of the forgotten gods."
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Post by saqir on Jan 15, 2006 21:27:33 GMT -7
Saqir had spent the whole of the eventful voyage with his ears wide open. He had managed to piece together parts of the passenger's quest, but he still couldn't understand why he had to follow them. Or even where his orders came from... The Fedayin?
No, he thought, it couldn't be. They want me dead. Don't they? Yes. The Fedayin want me dead. I'm doing this for myself.
But why?
As he sat on the poopdeck, splicing a line with his knife, he caught parts of the captain's explanation. The part that most caught his attention was the information about the ruling family's inbred nature... The thought came to his mind that they could do with fewer relatives.
After he was done with whatever he was following these travellers for.
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Post by Keesha on Jan 16, 2006 7:23:27 GMT -7
Watching themselves arrive she smiles going on deck, looking at the city. "Finally we are here.. now I understand old Methabas" she laughs then, remembering owne of her old friends. The old one once told her "schew such mundane ways of travel as soon as you can; when you are powerfull enough you will be able to teleport; fly and simply avoid the boredom of a long trip by sea". Hurridely she calls Eakon to her side and starts heading into the docks.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 22, 2006 12:17:12 GMT -7
With the sunrise came the tide and Rubban Shabab's order to haul up the anchor. Piloting the sandbar with the precision of one who'd passed this way more than once, he plunged the Bright Dancer into the maw of the jungle. Tall, strange trees loomed over the banks of the dark green river; the still air heavy with the smell of vegetation grown fat cannibalizing the decaying layers of plants beneath them.
Here, wide open expanses did not exist. What lay a stone's throw beyond the river's banks was hidden from view as if a thatched wall of shadow. Beyond that wall, unseen wildlife teemed in a cacophony of strange calls.
During the trek up the Nogaro you learn a little more about the Gateway City.
Established less than a century ago by the padishah of Afyal to regulate the flow of magical antiquities out of the Ruined Kingdoms, Dihliz also provides a base of trade with the Pantheon cities.
Dihliz is the only major city in the Ruined Kingdoms not built on the wreckage of an older metropolis. Carved from the banks of the Nogaro, which flows along its western and southern sides, the city is bounded to the north and east by wide canals separating it from the jungle.
Those brave enough to seek fortune and high adventure commonly use Dihliz as their debarkation point. It also serves as a major trading center between the inland towns and the civilized world.
Since the city's founding, the Grand Caliph, blessed be his name and may Fate guide and keep him, has appointed new rulers with ever-increasing frequency, whenever the level of corruption in the government becomes obvious. Since the new emirs are appointed by the Grand Caliph based upon the recommendation from the padishah of Afyal, the trend has been rulers who have been to busy catering to Afyal's interests and profiting from their own positions to exert the force of civilization.
The current ruler is provisional Emira Hassana Alim al-Gaib, until recently a wealthy merchant from Afyal, four years into her provisional period of five. It is rumored that she is busy hiding away her riches for her inevitable retirement. The emira operates a wide-open town, the sort favored by adventurers (especially foreigners). Interpretation of the Loregiver's law is loose and usually to the advantage of the emira and her cronies.
The city is home to nearly 80,000 people living in homes of baked brick and distinctive stone. The stone was hauled from a distant temple, or so it is claimed, for those who can see such things say the city radiates a low-level magic. Rumors among the Bright Dancer's crew say Dihliz was built upon some sort of holy or taboo site of the lost civilizations of the Ruined Kingdoms. The city is also unusual in that it lacks the ruins found elsewhere throughout the region. All cut stone was imported.
Two places to stay are recommended by those who know the city well enough to do so: The Jasmine Dream and the Steel Serpent. The former a poshly decorated inn with a reputation for providing safe, immaculate rooms; the latter a favorite among low-budget adventurers, owned by a retired treasure-hunter named Tahani. Visitors in the Steel Serpent share a common room for sleeping- "...mind your coin purse does not run away during the night."
8th of Saris
Midmorning of the following day, the Bright Dancer docked in the stone wharves after carefully weaving through the small teak canoes from nearby villages, barges from Kadarasto, and sailing ships from Afyal and the Pantheon cities. The docks are bustling with merchants and the sound of business is in the air.
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Post by Ya'qub on Jan 23, 2006 13:08:45 GMT -7
While the sailors were busying themselves with the docking procedures, Ya'qub and Sahra were in the hold, looking over their stores of merchandise and planning to visit the bazaar to sell their goods in hopes of making a fine profit.
While there, Ya'qub reminded his lovely bride, perhaps they could pick up some juicy rumors to share with the others.
"I hear the Jasmine Dream will make a fine respite from sleeping aboardships," he said.
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Post by Keesha on Jan 23, 2006 18:31:14 GMT -7
Descending in an unpreocupied manner into the docks, she cautiously nevertheless watches the people around, suspicious to anyone who might have recognized or followed them as well to the adventuring young trying to make a quick profit on the party...
I heard there was an inn with good rooms in here. We could head there if you are afraid to share a room.
Then she grins moving around the docking area, relieved to be on firm ground.
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Post by maher on Jan 23, 2006 20:53:36 GMT -7
Maher looks at the craziness and the people trying to sell him fruit and told them that a person named Haroun the faris will buy some( it was mean but they would not go away). If we sleep in that Steel Serpent Inn or any other Inn, sharing a room with five people, it will be crowed in there, with little air, no comfort, and maybe no "Good Morning" in the morning. Maher sighed........"You all can fight over the blankets and which spot on the floor is your territory and such, but I get the Bed!"
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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 25, 2006 9:10:38 GMT -7
While the sailors were busying themselves with the docking procedures, Ya'qub and Sahra were in the hold, looking over their stores of merchandise and planning to visit the bazaar to sell their goods in hopes of making a fine profit. While there, Ya'qub reminded his lovely bride, perhaps they could pick up some juicy rumors to share with the others. "I hear the Jasmine Dream will make a fine respite from sleeping aboardships," he said. Discreetly, Sahra asked that they begin with getting a room at the inn. "At the Jasmine Dream or another inn with privacy... I need to lay down and rest. This air weighs heavy on me." She dabbed a bead of sweat from her temple and smiled wanly. "My appreciation for the desert grows with each moment."
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Post by maher on Jan 25, 2006 12:43:18 GMT -7
Maher stares at the sky, I don't trust city's when it's dark thought Maher. "I am ready to go to sleep any time you are, I'm going to buy some good old fashioned sweets in that shop over there sooner or later , before it closes". Maher grinned and headed that direction.( he wondered if he had any gold on him? or if he did, was it snatched by a pick-pocket stranger? I'll check later... )
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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 25, 2006 13:03:37 GMT -7
"Three dirham for each half day docked," a whip thin, grey-beard bureaucrat called out as he hastened toward the gang plank. Bright Dancer’s sailors darted around him, securing the ship to its moorings. "And have your manifest ready for the tax inspector..." His obviously oft repeated new arrival speech losing its focus as his eyes fell on Keesha. "...he'll...need...full..." Blinking, he regained his composure and strode past her, stopping at the foot of the gangplank. "He'll need full access to the hold. Who's in charge here?"
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Post by saqir on Jan 25, 2006 18:44:01 GMT -7
Saqir watched the obseqious little functionary putter around the dock, finally coming over to pester the Bright Dancer and her burden; people and goods both. His lip curled as he strained to pull the ship to and tighten the berthing lines, and not from the strain. He hated politicians. Especially lecherous politicians....
But then, the only time Saqir ever understood women was when they were trying to kill him.
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Post by Ya'qub on Jan 26, 2006 7:36:01 GMT -7
Discreetly, Sahra asked that they begin with getting a room at the inn. "At the Jasmine Dream or another inn with privacy... I need to lay down and rest. This air weighs heavy on me." She dabbed a bead of sweat from her temple and smiled wanly. "My appreciation for the desert grows with each moment." "The Lady has spoken!" Ya'qub said, with a hearty, gap-toothed smile crossing his face. "To the Jasmine Dream it is!" Turning to Shabab, he called out "Captain! I leave Bright Dancer in your capable hands. See to it that she is well-moored and guarded." Noticing the official, he addded, "And I trust you will negotiate a reasonable docking fee for us..."
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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 27, 2006 8:52:23 GMT -7
"He'll not collect one dirham more than the Emira has decreed, the toothless dog," Shabab replied in a voice only those nearest him could hear. His face betrayed none of this as he smiled and waved the old inspector aboard.
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Post by saqir on Jan 27, 2006 14:33:45 GMT -7
Saqir finished tightening the ropes and stalked up the gangplank after the nosy little inspector. He had to retrieve his weapons from belowdecks, and he might as well do the captain one last service and keep an eye on the inspector before he was paid.
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Post by Gamemaster on Jan 27, 2006 14:40:15 GMT -7
"Saqir!" the captain called, leaning over the rail and gesturing to the sailor below. "Leave the mooring to the others and carry Nabila Sahra's luggage to the inn. Assist them until they need you no longer and return to the ship. Your wages will be here upon your return."
Adila followed Sahra and Ya'qub, her eyes wide as she took in the bustling docks with its hardened sailors, traders, and beggars, both Zakharan and ajami.
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