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D&D 3.5 One on One: Sands of Darkness Game

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XavierZeherisHarper

XavierZeherisHarper

Supernova
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Location
USA
Seiken Campaign, Starting Level: 15, Gestalt engaged.
The Redgast desert was a wasteland of lost treasures and remnants of civilization, going back as far as before Dragonfall, even. No one could know every secret the sandy dunes held, not even those who lived and thrived in the wasteland. For despite, or because of the desert, there were creatures and plants of all kinds. Oasises and the water they had could be found, if one knew how to look, or went to the center of most desert towns.

Dusty Rock was the largest town, a metropolis surrounding the Sultan's Oasis, considered to be the largest source of water in the desert. The Sultan lay claim to a vast swath of the desert, but in reality only a dozen or so groups, varying from towns to tribes, accepted his rule. The rest either quietly ignored him, or outright spoke against him.

The desert is ruled by various tribes of nomads, who follow game and look for water. Each tribe is different, depending on the leader, and tend to be close to dictatorships. These varies from tribe to tribe, but there is almost always a single, central leader.
 
Over the top of one of the many dunes out in the sea of sand that made up the deeper parts of the Redgast desert rose a large rust colored and spined worm. Sitting astride the worm in a special harness was a woman wearing long flowing hooded robes. The hood was pulled back to reveal her tanned face and pale blue eyes. Alongside the worm a small band of nomads followed, hauling their belongings and tents with them on various pack animals. A few were astride several horses and camels and carries spears. The woman called out and the group stopped. The worm lowered down and the woman looked to a man that had been walking much closer to the beast then the rest of the group.

"Zerith, we should make camp. The sun is starting to get high in the sky, and the tribe could use the rest."

The man nodded and headed off to get the nomads working assembling their camp. The first thing that went up was a standard made of woven cloth. Upon it was the symbol of a worm curled in on itself, crossed lances behind it. This was the symbol of one of the newest tribes of the desert. The Worm Tribe of Yerith, which was the woman riding the massive beast. She looked around to see if any other travelers were passing near their new camp spot.
 
It had been weeks since she had entered the desert. Weeks since she had seen anything but sand, sand, and more sand. Being a Druid made it easier to deal with, but it was still outside her experience. If only that rogue hadn't outed her out in Camfeld, then she wouldn't be on the run from Thanatos. The lich that was hunting her, because of some ancient prophecy. She still wasn't sure exactly what he wanted with her, but assumed it would _not_ be good for her. Her only companion was her wolf friend, Blackfang. The other three she knew had been out looking for Dyluck when that bitch, Sheex, had found her. A narrow escape from the city had been followed by avoiding bounty hunters until she reached Redgast.
Her name was Tsuki Musume. And she was where she wanted to be. Lost.
 
Yerith continued surveying the endless sands, before she noticed a small figure wandering on the sands below. She did not notice any others with them and thought they might be a scout of some kind. Fearing an attack on her small band she nudged her mount, a huge ashworm she had named Siyam. They quickly burrowed into the sand, her bond with her mount, and her natural skill allowing her to cling to the worm as it dug through the sand toward the figure. They quickly reached the lone figure and rose up, most of the worm staying in the sand, to confront the person.

"Who are you and what are you doing out here?" Yerith asked, pointing her lance at the... woman she now noticed. The woman had a wolf with her, which was rather strange. Yerith had only heard of some of the shamanic members of some tribes being able to keep wolves so close, their link to nature being strong enough to enlist the aid or companionship of a beast. "What tribe are you with?"
 
"Tribe?" Tsuki asked, befuddled. There was a woman riding a giant worm pointing a lance at her. So she was remarkably happy. "No tribe, don't you need tattoos for those? I'm new to Redgast, I'm guessing you aren't? I'm wandering. I wanted to get lost, and so I did! My name's Tsuki. What's yours?"
Tsuki stood out from others, with her emerald colored hair and sky blue eyes with no iris, no pupil, no whites. Just sky blue orbs. She was wearing a white tunic underneath a traveling cloak. A short sword hang at her side, and a bag was slung over her shoulder. Sky blue boots also stuck out. And the dull glint of two rings were on her right hand.
 
Yerith looked at the strange woman somewhat surprised. Her mouth was somewhat open at the stream of statements and questions that came from Tsuki in a rapid fashion. She eyed her up and down and agreed that the woman in front of her was not a native to these lands. She slowly lowered her lance and urged Siyam to rise up a little more.

"I guess you are not from around here. I am Yerith Wormtamer, leader of the Worm Tribe. You are lost you say? Well, custom states that if you are not foe then we should treat you as a host. Come, hop up on Siyam and I shall take you to our camp." Yerith stated, gesturing to the back of her mount, which had now risen out of the sand, its whole 15' in length now up out of the sands. "He will not harm you, unless I tell him to."
 
"Alright!" Tsuki said as she jumped up onto Siyam, holding Blackfang with deceptive strength. She smiled, and said, "I'm ready! So, what's with the customs, and does that mean laws? And did you think I was with a tribe because of my hair and eyes? That's natural. I usually use a disguise to not stick out, but since I was by myself I didn't bother. Is it alright if I disguise them?"
 
"How you look is not the issue. My tribe is traveling through here and we have very few friends. I thought you might be a scout of some group out to destroy us. We have had to fight several skirmishes on our way out here." Yerith informed the bizarre woman she had found. "I simply noticed you and decided to check out who was wandering so close to our camp. Truth be told, your appearance is not normal around here. Your hair and eyes especially." As she talked they slid across the sands back to the camp, where there was now a large octagonal tent and several smaller square ones set up, as well as a tarp that had been set out over a hole dug in the sand. Underneath were several urns that had been set on some of the beasts of burden. They reached the camp and Yerith unstrapped herself from her saddle and jumped down, her lance and shield still hanging on her saddle on the worm. "Welcome to our camp Tsuki. My second in command is running around somewhere if you need anything. I need to see to Siyam. He probably wants out of this saddle."

With that Yerith turned to her mount and started fiddling with the straps on her saddle, loosening them to unharness the massive worm. Around Tsuki the camp bustled with activity. Men and women, all wearing some form of armor and weapons were erecting tents or preparing fires with wood that had been carried along. Standing near the middle of the confusion was a tall man wearing tight leather armor and a pair of gleaming bracers directing people in a gruff voice.
 
Tsuki looked around, taking in that she was meeting people again. Busy people, from the look of it. She didn't mind wandering the wilderness, but it was nice to be around people again. She went over to the man Yerith had pointed out. "Hi! I'm Tsuki. Yerith said you were commander guy. So, can I help with anything?" She asked/offered.
 
The man looked her up and down and snorted. "I am Zerith. Yes, I am commander here. Almost done." He said shortly to her, somewhat dismissive at the moment as it appeared what he said was true. The camp was soon ready and some people seemed to be standing guard while the rest went about doing what simple chores they could in this quickly erected camp. "Now, what are you?" Zerith asked Tsuki, looking at the exotic looking woman and eyeing her up and down, and obviously approving of what he sees.

Yerith had finished unsaddling Siyam, who had sunken into the sand to rest. She headed out into the camp, making sure everything was in order. Once she had finished she visibly relaxed. She went off to find Zerith and Tsuki, wondering what they had gotten up to.
 
"I'm a Druid!" Tsuki answers. "But I picked up a few things from a friend. Like how to find the things that go boom or splat, how to open stuck doors without a key, and how to look like somebody you're not! But she said I need to be quieter when doing those things." Tsuki finished. "What do _you_ do, Mr.Commander guy? And what's your name?" Tsuki asked. Blackfang nudges her leg, and she wilts a little. "Whoops, forgot to introduce you to Blackfang! He's my bestest friend!" Blackfang gives a look of long suffering at Zerith.
 
Zerith looked down at the wolf, who looked a little worn out and grunted. "As I said, name is Zerith. I lead, I fight, I kill." He said gruffly. At that moment Yerith found them. "Ah, that's where you got off too. I see you met Zerith. I hope he was not too rude. Truth be told... you are the first person who has not tried to kill us so... I just have no clue what to do with you." Yerith said, looking a little flustered. "Why are you out here anyway? I know you don't live out here."
 
"I wanted to get lost!" Tsuki replies. "Some people found me, and since I didn't want to get kidnapped, I ran! After that, I just kept going. The desert nice enough, but kinda empty. And Blackfang finds the sand kinda irritating, and it seems to get _everywhere_! So, how did you learn to ride a worm? It seems interesting, and was kinda fun!"
 
"That is a long story for another time." Yerith replied, looking a little concerned "But kidnapped? Why would someone try to kidnap you?" She looked over the woman again wondering just what she had brought into her camp.
 
Tsuki shrugs. "Some vague wording from seer a couple of centuries back. I haven't found a copy of it yet, so no idea what it means. But there's this old sorta dead guy after me because of it. He's sorta dead because he's a lich. I don't know how old, but probably could have heard it himself. But that is in Camfeld, so it's quite a ways. And he's never _personally_ come after me, so I just worry about his minions. Sheex is a bitch who put money on my head for all the bad guys living underground to get if they capture me. Or something like that. Elinee is a summoner who talks to demons and devils, occasionally sending them after me." Tsuki replies.
 
Yerith was somewhat torn at hearing about the people seeking Tsuki. On one hand, having someone who was so sought after from such dangerous sounding individuals was dangerous for her tribe, this woman was being hounded for something she had little control over, like Yerith herself. The feeling of sympathy conflicting with the desire to keep her people safe. Then an idea came to her. "Well, the desert is a good place to hide. If you wish I could accept you in to our tribe. You may be safer here, and if you join us I would do everything in my power to keep you safe." Yerith told Tsuki.

Zerith, who had been standing listening to all this looked at Yerith with surprise, but knew better than to question his chief's decisions. They had managed to get this far following her, and he had little to complain about with his current way of life.
 
Tsuki smiles. "That sounds nice. Is being in a tribe like being in a family? I haven't been in one of those since my home village was burned away. Are there some super secret ceremonies to go through?" Tsuki pauses for a moment. "Oh, just so you know, I have go back at some point, as well as travel to other places. Apparently this 'prophecy' thing is about saving the world! Or destroying it, or changing it. Not completely sure. Like I said, I haven't seen it. I do know that I've got to find some really, _really_ important things, or lots of people die."
 
"It is like a family. We all look after each other." Yerith considered this for a moment, then cam to a decision. "If you must do something important, and you are a part of us, then we shall assist you. I have been thinking this for a while, but while the desert is our current home, we are wanderers at heart. And it seems like the best way to keep my people safe is to get out of this desert. From your animal companion there, I guess you have some connection to nature. Would you be our shaman?" Yerith asked. The question seemed to have a fair amount of weight to it, a significance even Tsuki must have been able to sense.

Zerith looked to the two then stepped out of the tent, letting his chief and potentially new tribesman figure out what they were doing. The idea of possibly leaving the desert both made him nervous and excited him. But ultimately, the decision was Yerith's, and that hinged on how this strange woman answered the questions.
 
"What would I have to do as a shaman?" Tsuki asks, sensing that this was something important. "I do have a connection to nature. I can do many things with it. And if I'm not careful, I could lose myself in that connection, for it's unusually deep. My teacher in the Druidic Arts warned me about that. So, what would my duties be, if I became the tribe's Shaman?"
 
"Well, you would be our guide in spiritual matters, as well as tell us how to keep in touch with nature. You asked about my learning to ride the worm? Well I never learned, it just came to me. I was sent to slay him, but when I found Siyam instead of attacking he put me on his back and took me back to my former tribe. I had a moment of clarity that instead of controlling and dominating nature, we must live with it. My... former tribe though differently. And so I was outcast." Yerith fell silent for a moment then shook her head. "But that is something else. To join us all you have to do is pass a short initiation ritual. It is a simple trial by combat or deed. Then we could try to help you with your prophesy problem."
 
Tsuki nods. "Alright. Then I'll do my best. But what trial do I need to do?" Tsuki seems much calmer than before, and more serious.
 
"You have two choices. For trial by combat you will fight some of our tribesmen until you are judged worthy to join by the tribe. For deed you would have to do something related to your role. Since you are to be our shaman I believe a demonstration of your link to nature would be sufficient, although it is up to the tribe. I can over rule them but this is one of the few things the tribe as a whole has a say in." Yerith noticed the more serious tone and smiled. "I am sure you will be able to handle it though."
 
"Alright. I believe I'll choose the deed. So, if you could do whatever needs to be done to set it up, and make sure I have room, we can get this started." Tsuki says, confidence in her voice.
 
"That will be easy enough." Yerith slipped out of the tent and told Zerith to gather up the tribe around the campfire in the center of camp, when they were gathered Yerith called Tsuki out. "Show your worth to the tribe, that they may judge if it is enough." She told Tsuki simply and stepped back, leaving Tsuki by the fire with the entirety of the small tribe gathered in a semi circle in front of her.
 
Tsuki nods, and begins to chant. As she does, a wind kicks up, and begins to swirl about her. After six seconds, her eyes begin to glow, then crackle. Lightning pours out, in bolts that reach a hundred feet, going through the the crowd but hitting none. She begins to float in the air, and then in a burst of speed rises upward. Still launching bolts of lightning from her eyes, and still in sight, she begins to change. She grows larger, gains scales, and sprouts wings and a tail. Where Tsuki was before, there is now a Gargantuan Silver Dragon, which roars. It lands, and then roars again, a long, haunting tone. A cloud forms above, and a brief windstorm kicks up, surrounding the dragon. Stones falling from the sky follow, which is then followed by rain. Fire finishes the storm, and the cloud fades away. Still blasting lightning from her eyes, the dragon shifts and changes, melting away until Tsuki is there again, still floating in the air with lightning from her eyes. She gently floats down, and when her feet touch sand, the lightning begins to fade.
 
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