[Game Thread] I. The Sultan's Claw

[DarkTower]

Round 1

Originally Posted by Continuation

1) Put Out the Fire: Karsh
Almah, Garavel, and four soldiers dressed in the distinctive red chitin-plate armor of the Pactmaster Guard run back and forth between the burning wagon and an uncovered wagon about 20 feet away. The latter contains a huge barrel holding a week's worth of water. The six of them form a line and run pales of water from the barrel to the wagon.

- The half-orc druid, Karsh, draws close and then makes intricate gestures with his hand and mutters in a low whisper. Just as Almah draws close to the wagon Krash completes his spell and the fire sizzles loudly and dies a bit as if gallons of water had been pored onto it, ridding much of the flames spreading to the top.

2) Pull Wagon Away from Other Wagons: Il'tehp
Two burly men and two women try and push the wagon away from the others before sparks can spread. Thick with soiled armor and greasy hair, they look to either be slaves or mercenaries for the Merchant princess. They strain to push the wagon but it's barely moving until there is a sudden heave as Il'tehp puts his back into with them and giving them the extra muscle that they need.

- Il'tehp pushes the wagon with the others, who roars in unison as they push, but it's not enough to push it out of the way with the help of the mercenaries. He's allowed another try on the next round if he wants.

4) Deal with Frightened Animals: Alphard
The gnome sorcerer runs over to the animals which number more than a dozen. Sheep, pigs, and goats run around, frightened. Luckily the gnome is not alone for two other people (a middle-aged man and woman in humble clothing) run around a pen trying to box them in also. The gnome finds a rather large pig seeking shelter under a wagon and attempts to pull him out back to the safety of the pen but it runs off from his grasp. He's allowed another try on the next round if he wants.

1) Put Out the Fire: Khalid
Khalid bolt forth and directly into the wagon and flings sand into the fire, doing some help at smothering the flames it's precious oxygen. The fire shines off of his bronze face as he peers into the wagon and his eyes sharpen as he sees something only known to him inside.

3) Heal Wounded Firefighters: Khavhan
At first a bit hesitant, the elf flies forth from his hateful camel and arrive at the front of the wagon and is drawn to the screams of two people! One is a man being cared for by a curiously red-headed gnome already tending to badly burned wounds (from the chanting he might be a cleric). But another, a woman with a sword sheathed into her belt, is screaming in dear agony. The elf arrives at her side and manages to stop enough bleeding and help her flesh to stop her screaming. She falls unconscious, mummering some sort of praise to the elf.

The elf had saved her life with his quick thinking.

Choose your options for Round 2.

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard, frustrated by the pigs stubbornness, looks up to see if their are any animals that he can find to help. He again tries to calm them and bring them under control.

[Bismuth]

His whispers had barely finished when the fire in the wagon was doused by the water he had magically created. what a waste he thought if I could have been sure that no one was in the wagon it would have burned, water is too precious to waste.

He is jolted back to reality by a piercing scream and he sees a collapsed woman being tended to by the elf who was part of this curious group he had joined. Her screams die away, Karsh moves over and kneels beside the elf what is his name, had he said, Karsh couldn't remember.

He had expected to see that the woman had passed away but to his suprise the elf had managed to do enough to stabilise her although she had slipped into unconsciousness. " If you would allow me, I can continue your good work" suggests Karsh. He shuffles nearer to the woman on his knees, near enough to see the damage that the fire had done and to smell the sickly sweet smell of burnt flesh.

He clears his mind. To an onlooker they might notice his hands begin to move almost like a master musician playing some fantastical invisible instrument, his fingers constructing notes only heard by himself and perhaps some higher power. Words tumble from his mouth like sand in an hourglass, he reaches forward and gently places his hands on the fallen womans head.

[Of Line and Flow]

"Freak." Khalid mutters with barely a backwards glance. One scoop after another, he spreads smothering sand over the floor and furniture from the carriage entrance. However, the sand finds no purchase against the walls' climbing flames.

"We need water in here!" his muffled bark takes to the air from the bottom of the steps where he leans on his spade. He coughs and spits as the acrid smoke burns his nostrils and his eyes despite the cloth. Closer to the floor, he peers inside. "What the hell?" He creeps nearer.

Khalid's jaw drops to the floor, followed by his shovel and a moment of stunned shock. He rips off his shirt, then rushes inside.

[AlwaysCivilMike]

Oh......he did NOT like touching blood. Well, that was not totally true. HIS blood was ok...but others....not so much. However, this woman needed his help and....well....he was KHAVHAN. So, he thought back to how he had seen others tend to wounded and went to work. To his utter surprise....he found that he actually had a knack for healing. Sitting up on his knees he put his fists to his hips and smiled down at the woman with pride. He...had saved her! Just then Karsh stepped over to help.

Originally Posted by Bismuth

" If you would allow me, I can continue your good work" suggests Karsh.

He smiled and said "You may indeed tidy up here. I manged to do a pretty good job if you ask me." He smiled proudly then heard a scream and that brought him back to reality. He patted Karsh on the back before getting up saying "I think I am needed elsewhere. I will leave them to your capable hands." With that he trotted away to see where he could help. As he did this two things jumped out at him. First, the fire was still raging. Second, the gnome was having trouble rounding up all of the animals. Fire....gnome and animals....fire....gnome and animals.....he chose the fire.

Moving quickly he made his way over to where Khalid was fighting the fire. He heard the man call out for more water so he started to look around for a pale or something to carry the precious liquid in to help. As he did this he said "I am on my way! Hold on until I get there!"

 

I will look for something to carry water in and then run in to help Khalid

[Rook]

Il'tehp calls out for the team working to move the wagon to work as one and directs them to improve their chances of getting the wagons separated while there is still time.

[DarkTower]

Round 2

3) Heal Wounded Firefighters: Karsh
The half-orc feels the hot East Wind pick at his head cloth, the rock underneath the ground, the hardy life force of the tree called the Sultan's Claw. Once again he becomes one with the land and pulls it's energy out and into the badly burned woman, using gestures and commands passed down the eons before kingdoms and cities ever rose from the sands. Black, flaked flesh shed under new, pink skin as her vessels surge with fresh blood to replace what was lost. Nerves regenerate and infection is purged, the pain fades away. Her eyes flutter open to see the flat, pig-nosed face of an orc with eyes as calm and peaceful as a sage.

- Karsh has completely healed the mercenary

4) Deal with the Frightened Animals: Alphard
Alphard approaches slowly. "C'mon boy. That's it, stay calm." The goat looks back and forth, it's legs quivering as it's eyes roll around in it's head in fright. It does not move until the gnome is within 4 feet of it when it just bolts for an open area between wagons and into the desert. The poor dumb animal runs directly for a cactus patch, the middle-aged man running after it calling it by it's name. "Rombard! Roooombard! Curse you, you stupid goat."

Alphard was not able to catch the goat 'Rombard'. He can try another animal in the next round or move on to another activity.

2) Pull the Wagon Away from the Other Wagons: Il'tehp
A fifth mercenary arrives (the one that was healed by the cleric) and he adds to the muscle. Il'tehp, the strongest of them, calls to everyone to shove all at once. The large wagon groans as it lurches forward but rolls back stubbornly. Sparks from the fire begins to spread and drift over the fighter, some of the sparks drifting down and sizzling when it makes contact with his sweat lathered skin.

- Il'tehp was not able to move the wagon, even with the +4 bonus from the Aid Another. He can try again on the next round or move on to another activity.

1) Put Out the Fire: Khavhan
Khavhan finds an empty pale and as he fills it with water from a large rain barrel he has it ready for Almah as she runs up. "Thank you, good man." He can smell her perfume and it smells of jazzman, her eyes flash a smile for one fleeting moment before she turns to run back to the wagon to douse the fire. She looks so out of place here out in the desert. She looks like she should be back at some spiraling tower in Katapesh. With another pale he fills the bucket with water and follows after her.

-Khavahan reduces the fire by one round. He can continue on or move on to another activity.

5) Rescue Attempt: Khalid
The sweat is running down his face and drips from his smooth scalp and into the cloth covering his mouth. Soot and ash layer thickly over his bare torso as he leaps straight into the wagon, searing flames and suffocating smoke in close proximity. Everyone quickly looses sight of the man in the black smoke.

The fire that was at once gutting the wagon and beginning to spread it's tentacles to other wagons of the caravan has now been halted in it's tracks. But it can regain strength and over take the other wagons if they do not act soon. The wagon tries to move forward,*Khalid can feel it lurch while he's inside, but it remains in place. The life stock is running into the desert and without the milk and meat they can provide the caravan will be forced into the limited diet available in the desert.

Choose your options for Round 3

[Of Line and Flow]

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard, completely frustrated with his inability to stop the animals from scrambling, feels a fiery rage begin to build inside him. He doesn't know if this is simply a reflection of the inferno that is beginning to abate due to the efforts of his companions, but he begins to feel like his blood is boiling from a flame deep in his soul.

He searches for the largest group of animals that looks as if it will scatter but is at least 15 feet from others that are trying to help. He digs into his spell pouch and pulls out some strange looking colored sands. With an instinctive flash of the hands and some indistinct words, a blinding rainbow flies forth from his finger tips at the scattering animals.

[Rook]

Encouraged by the coordination of his fellows and the arrival of another man, Il'tehp tries once more to coordinate the team into moving the cart out of harm's wayh, "All together now . . .1 . . .2 . . .3!"

[Bismuth]

As the spell began to work on the woman it felt to Karsh like he was channelling the very essence of the desert through his hands, a primal connection that, if asked to, he couldn’t put into words.
He leant back as the power coursing through him fell away to nothing. It looked as if the spell had done its work extremely well.

There was still a commotion going on what with the burning wagon and the animals evading capture. Karsh stood up, realising that his legs ached from kneeling down. He decided against trying to help with the capturing of the animals and moved towards the burning wagon. It was obvious that the flames were not spreading as quickly as before but they were still a danger.
Karsh stood facing the wagon and he again began to move his hands and speak strange words.

[DarkTower]

Round 3

1) Put Out the Fire: Karsh
Karsh opens the secret pathway to the Plane of Water and spills another pale's worth of fresh rain water onto the wagon, eating up the fire.

-Karsh reduces the fire by one round. He can continue on or move on to another activity.

4) Deal with the Frightened Animals: Alphard
The boiling point inside of his small frame boils over. Alphard’s had it. He flings dyed sand from his spell pouch and it catches in the wind and swirls as the sorcerer pulls from an inner self. Rainbow flies towards a group of animals before they scatter, cast from the gnome’s finger tips in a brilliant and spectacular display. Greens, reds, and purples and be seen like the smoke erupting from a genie bottle.

Two sheep go rigid and their eyes go wide as the colors numb their simple minds. The middle-aged woman does not voice her relief but it’s evident all over her face as she grabs the light, fluffy animals and drops them safely into the pen. A pig and goat are also within the cone of effect but their stubborn nature allows them to shake off the effects, shaking their head viciously from side to side as if someone had attempted to put a sack over their head. The pig and goat run towards the desert just as the other goat, Rombard, had.

- Alphard has captured two animals using his innate ability. He can try another animal in the next round or move on to another activity.

2) Pull the Wagon Away from the Other Wagons: Il'tehp
The woman that the half-orc druid, Karsh, healed hops onto her feet the moment that the druid left to cast another spell onto the wagon. She runs over to her mates and adds more help to Il’tehp, making it six mercenaries now. All of them have the same raven black, dry, matte hair and skin tone. They look to perhaps be a family of desert warriors for hire, which is common among nomads that pass down their skills by bloodline.

Il’tehp grinds his teeth as he pushes, making everyone go at once, but even with the extra help the wagon stubbornly does not move. Water from the druid and the bucket line sprays precious water onto the fighter but he can’t notice as his muscles burn from the strain.

- Il'tehp was not able to move the wagon, even with the +4 bonus from the Aid Another. He can try again on the next round or move on to another activity.

1) Put Out the Fire: Khavhan
Khavhan stays where he is and continues to fill pales of water for the line of people splashing water onto the wagon.

-Khavahan reduces the fire by one round. He can continue on or move on to another activity.

5) Rescue Attempt: Khalid
Khalid can not be heard or seen with the wall of black and gray smoke. Has he succumb to the fire? Is he dead or dying? Has he found something of importance? No one yet knows.

Chaos is starting to submit to the efforts of the party now. With a handful of life stock saved, people healed within less than a minute, and the fire beaten back to just a few sections they have made great progress. Il’tehp carries perhaps the hardest part as he tries to move the massive wagon from the others with the help of the mercenaries. He might just make it on the next round.

Choose your options for Round 4

[AlwaysCivilMike]

Lifting another bucket of water from the barrel he moved over and handed it off to the next person in line of people carrying buckets. It was fortunate that he was handling water as he was certainly cool than he might have been if he was just to put out the flames. At the mention of the flames Khav looked over to where Khalid was....or at least...where Khalid was SUPPOSED to be. He frowned and then went and filled another bucket. After that was done he looked around the area for where Khalid had gone. To the person he had been giving buckets too he said "Have you seen Khalid?" The person said "Who?" He waved her off and trotted over to where the man had gone too when all of this mess had started. Calling out he yelled "KHALID? WHERE ARE YOU?" He looked at the burning building with smoke billowing out and thought "Oh....he couldn't be...in there...could he?"

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard, heartened by the fact that he actually was able to do something to mitigate the loss of their livestock on the long journey ahead, again chooses to find a group of animals and use his magical talents for the betterment of the entire caravan.

Seeing that the others seem to have the fire well in hand, and knowing that he would be almost entirely worthless in trying to help move the other wagon, he sets off to find more animals to render unconscious.

He just hopes this time the goats and pigs won't be so stubborn.

[Of Line and Flow]

Khalid nearly blinds himself squinting in a completely ineffective attempt to ward his eyes from toxic fumes and stinging soot. He catches a relative chill on his exposed back as he stumbles down the stairs. The midday sand clings to the sweat on his back and trousers. The charred black lump in his arm escapes and lands beside him. Dry hazel eyes meet Khalid's own.

"They were searching for the key... the key..."

A withered black bone-tipped claw touches Khalid on the wrist. One final breath escapes its crumbly skeletal mouth.

All is still.

"Ah-aah! Aaah-ah-aahhh!" Khalid screams in panic as he scuttles away like a desert crab then rolls over. He spits on his wrist and rubs sand into it.

"Healer! Where are you?" he yells, hobbling to his feet, still rubbing his wrist. "Healer! I need you to look at this!" he demands.