Scenario 2 - Deadly Oasis

Stepping inside the tent, you see your captain standing behind a camp table with two men you don’t recognize. One is a snail, dressed in practical travel clothes, but with a gold and silver cloak clasp in the shape of a compass rose. The other, an otter, is shorter and younger, with an aristocratic bearing and stylish dress, including a cloak of Lorenthian blue. Your captain nods as you enter and immediately introduces the others.
‘This is Count Gelleck of Lorenthia, and Arisien, the royal cartographer. They have been working on the problem of the lost prince.’
‘A bit less lost that he was before,’ says Arisien, pulling a large parchment from a bag and rolling it out on the table. The parchment contains a large scale map of the border between Alladore and the Jungle Deep. ‘After carefully studying the star chart brought back by your rangers, we’ve been able to determine that the prince should be right about here.’ Arisien points to a small ‘x’ that sits in an otherwise blank area of the Jungle Deep, in the north-west corner of the map.
 

Looking over the map, you shake your head. ‘The northern front is completely overrun. An entire army stands between us and any access to the Deep in that area. The few entrances that are open to us are leagues away. We’d never survive such a long journey in the Deep.’
‘Giving up before you’ve started?’ asks Gelleck.
Your captain raises a hand to stop your reply. ‘The first step in any plan is establishing what is possible and what is not, and it is true that all of the entrances available in Alladore are too far away from the target. However, one of our far scouts has discovered small groups of enemy soldiers emerging from a hole, here.’
Your captain touches another small ‘x’ on the map, this one firmly in the desert wastes north of Alladore.
‘Although it means crossing a large section of desert, and either battling or slipping past whatever enemy forces may be at or guarding the entrance, from this point, it is a much shorter distance to the prince. A small team, travelling fast and light, should be able to make it.’ Your captain looks you directly in the eye. ‘I know there are a huge number of unknowns in this mission, not the least that we are trusting a “magic mirror” found in enemy territory to tell us that the target even exists. But if there is a chance, even a slim one, that we can save a prince of the house of Lorenthia… well, the King himself has ordered this mission. We must see it done.’

‘I would very much like to see a Lorenthian included in this mission,’ says Count Gelleck. ‘It means more to us than anyone, and their specific knowledge may prove useful.’
Your captain nods. ‘Of course, my lord.’ He then looks back at you. ‘I’ve also got a man that can help you through the wastes. He’s an expert. If anyone can get you to that hole safely, it’s him.’
‘And I will be coming as well,’ says Arisien, looking slightly surprised. ‘Though I didn’t know that until this minute. This map is mostly blank. It will take an expert navigator to even get within miles of the target point. I can get you there, and maybe I can fill in some of these blanks as I go.’
Again your captain nods. ‘It’s a grim road you must travel, but so are most of the roads in these times. Gather your men and take what supplies you need. Go as soon as you are able…’

Scenario 2 - Deadly Oasis

Having survived the sandstorm and the undead attack, you struggled on towards the Ba’tel oasis. Long ago, a village stood around the well there, though it has now crumbled into ruin so that only isolated walls are left standing. As you trudged along, Pabrim told you stories about Ba’tel and the people that lived there. It seems that long ago, a strange sorcerer made his home there, and, in order to deal with thieves and bandits, he summoned some extra-planar creature, a djinn, to guard the well. Apparently, you can still read inscriptions on some of the walls that relate to this djinn. Thankfully, Pabrim has made several visits to Ba’tel before, and has never seen any sign of the creature, so likely it left long ago…

 

No risk of any pesky djinn being around then, good-oh.  Wait, why is the abandoned fountain of Ba'Tel now running with water ?  Our heroes move in to investigate, and have a sip...but there is something not right here.  Those that are Hungry and Thirsty will have to wait...

More elements of that strange and lost civilisation...

Enemies are swarming now, as if some evil is drawing them towards Ba'Tel.  After taking a bit of a beating from a Sandblade, the Twins decided to hide out in some ruins, relying on Blend into Shadows to keep them safe.  We consider it lasts for the entire Evil Creature phase.

What, no, could that be the Djinn of Ba'Tel ?  In that swirling sandy form, it is impossible to harm !

 

Things were not going too bad.  The heroes already had nine pieces of the True Name, and Keila had found a very interesting looking lamp.  Then Angel, despite benefitting from Princesse's "In the Palm of Your Hand", went down to a blow from a Sandblade, decidedly his glass armour is not the best choice out in this burning desert.  The djinn's spell melted Bohwihsh's dagger, leaving him unarmed and helpless against a Sandhusk.  

Arisien found another two pieces of the True Name, and spoke it aloud.  The Djinn of Ba'Tel came into corporeal form and was revealed to be some sort of water/earth genie, no doubt summoned by the presence of the well itself, and linked forever to it.

Arisien slid over to help Bohwihsh, as the Battle Ram had tried before him, but the squirrel went down nonetheless under the weight of his opponents sand-filled body...With Keila holding off the enemy in the eastern side of the village, the heroes must affront the Djinn.  Princesse was first in to the fray, whilst Ren was busy freeing Pabrim from a Sandblade.  The valiant fortune-teller, who is proving handy with a staff, held up the djinn long enough for Ren and Pabrim to wade into the fight, all wounding their adversary.

 

Two skeletons had materialised, and as they closed in on the swirling combat, the Twins had the good idea to place a Burning Mark next to the djinn.  The first skeleton walked right into it, setting off the spell which burnt away the djinn's material being.  It vanished, leaving behind it a cascade of trailing whispers, and in the same breath, all resistance within the village of Ba'Tel ceased.

The post-action rolls were fraught again, Bohwihsh being my daughters favouritist ever character.  It turned out that he had gone down from a blow on the jaw, which was badly broken.  That didn't make too much difference to the squirrel, who has trouble talking around his front teeth anyway.

The Battle Ram was unharmed; Angel was less lucky, suffering with a Crushed Arm that would from now on hamper his combat skills.

In this scenario, characters returned to full Health.  When this occurs, they are allowed to search for herbs.  During his previous visits, Pabrim had seen Papic growing in the shelter of certain ruins, but the plant withers quickly and no luck this time.

We use our house rules for XP acquisition for Rangers and PPs for Companions.

The Twins took away 116 XP, with themselves and their team having slain a total of 3 Skeletal Archers, found 9 pieces of the Djinn's true name, and having brought low the extra-planar creature itself.  The Twins had also learned some useful facts from the strange murals they saw in one ruined house.

Ren gained a measly 42 XP, from a Skeletal Archer, 2 Sandblades, and 3 pieces of the True Name.

The Twins attained Level 12, acquiring a new Heroic Ability and the option to swap out a spell.

The companions gained, for the most, 1 or 2 PP, with 4 PP for Pabrim and Keila.

All Heroic Abilities and Spells used are regained.

Keila's treasure turned out to be gold and jewels, a timely haul as it was enough to bring her to Level 6.

As for the strange oil lamp she had found, Ren identified the contents and precious they were.  Enough oil to anoint thrice, each time yielding +1 Armour and +2 Will.  It went to Princesse.

No reorganisation occurs, so no attempt can be made to discover further hidden properties of the unique weapons picked up.