LXII. Lina's In-Vest-Ment

"Well, that was fun," said Lina to nobody in particular, as she sat in the parlor of her estate in Darksea after returning from the desert of Khemri. And for the next few months, she took time off from adventuring to tend to her estate, visit with neighbors, work on her sorcerous powers, and take a few well-earned vacations. But soon enough, like any true adventurer would, she started getting restless. It didn’t help that her sister Firiona had gone off on a quest of her own, with or without company.

"Seems like everyone else is questing, or wants to go questing, so I might as well try my hand at it," she thought to herself. "The only question is, what do I want?"

After much consideration and a lot of research, Lina settled on what she wanted. Her investigations had led her to cryptic references to a powerful artifact known as the vest of the archmagi. This item, when worn by any spellcaster, was said to confer a number of astounding powers on the wearer, including greatly improved spell penetration, spell recall, and healing powers. However, the vest had disappeared centuries ago, and its whereabouts were unknown.

Her research, and use of a vision spell, yielded the mysterious words "Khemri" and "Thutep", apparently the names of a lost kingdom and one of its last rulers, as well as an image of a beautiful woman’s face, which may have been some kind of death mask. The city of Kanak, far to the southwest in the Plains of the Paynim, also seemed to have some significance.

"Well, let’s see if my friends are interested in another adventure," thought Lina to herself. "And Edward, at least, owes me some assistance after that war we fought in Chalons!" So, the elven sorceress went to Greyhawk, where she met with Edward and Green Arrow, who happened to be in Greyhawk at the same time as she was. "What do you say, fellas?" she asked. The paladin and the elven archer seemed agreeable to join Lina on her mission. "Guess it’s about time to go monster-hunting again," Green Arrow observed. Edward nodded. "And to generate some revenue!"

The first thing the party needed to do was to obtain information about, and ideally a map of, the city of Kanak. A brief search at the main Greyhawk library yielded both. The city was about one thousand miles as the crow flies from the city of Pellak, on the shore of Lake Udrukankar in the desert realm of the Paynim, of which it was their capital. Once the needed information was obtained, the adventurers teleported back to Darksea, where Lina had artisans at the Darksea Magic Academy prepare a number of needed magic items, including a wand of assay spell resistance (which was very rarely found in conventional magic shops). The production process took about two weeks. Edward and Green Arrow took the time to prepare themselves and obtain magic items of their own.

Two weeks went by, and finally the adventurers were ready. They teleported to the outskirts of Kanak, about two miles out. They could see in the distance Lake Udrukankar, a nearly lifeless body of salt water. Salt flats lay about them, to the east and north of the lake. A few groups of Paynim nomads could be seen in the distance, heading toward or from the city.

The party advanced toward their destination. From time to time they passed isolated structures, and more frequently, tents. The density of structures gradually increased, until they reached the outskirts of the city proper. The adventurers were surprised to note that the city had no walls surrounding it, although apparently it had had such defenses in earlier days. Perhaps the natives no longer needed to rely on defensive structures?

On entering the town, Lina noticed that the town’s inhabitants weren’t speaking common! At least, nobody was speaking common within earshot of them. This would present a substantial obstacle to the party if something weren’t done to facilitate communication with the natives. So, Lina shapechanged into a ghaele eladrin, thus gaining an eladrin’s tongues power, while Edward relied on Sharkbite’s similar ability.

Now able to communicate (primarily in Ancient Baklunish, as they learned), the party looked for the city’s marketplace. Eventually they found it: a large central square, surrounded by merchant’s stalls and heaps, stacks and sacks of goods of all kinds. Narrow streets and crowded alleys extended from the central square into the surrounding districts. Shops of greater or lesser quality fronted on the various side passages.

Lina’s initial attempts to gather information about the names from her vision met with no success. Nobody had ever heard of "Khemri" or "Thutep." Edward was likewise unsuccessful. So next, Lina began to look about the market to see if anyone were selling masks that might be similar to the image she had seen. Again, she spotted no such items. But this time, Edward began to gather information about merchants that might deal in such objects.

"Ah, yes," said one man. "Dry Bones Alley is where you should go. A merchant there deals in ancient artifacts, including masks." The man directed the party to the appropriate location, in a narrow alley, almost at the end.

The adventurers soon found Dry Bones Alley. It was very crowded, both with goods and with customers. Awnings stretched from the buildings on either side, shading almost the entire length and width of the alley. Near the end of the alley they spotted it: a large shop, with a large doorway and large windows displaying a variety of artifacts of indeterminate age. They went in.

More goods were displayed inside. Ancient artworks, weapons, and other items hung from the walls or filled display cases, racks and floor stacks. Soon, from behind a curtain in the back wall a man emerged, clearly the owner of the establishment.

"Can I help you, noble travelers from a far land?" asked the merchant in common, recognizing the party as foreigners immediately.

Lina described the image of the beautiful woman, which she guessed was a mask of some kind, to the merchant. Edward diplomatically asked the merchant if he’d ever heard of such a thing. "My, my!" said the dealer. "You seem to be describing an ancient death mask. It is similar to masks I have obtained from time to time from desert traders who call on this city with their goods. I believe it represents a queen of an ancient kingdom that vanished centuries ago."

"Do you know, or can you guess, where it may have come from?" Edward continued. "No, alas, I know not where such an object may have come from, based only on your description. Have you any more information about the object?"

"It may be associated with the name "Thutep" in some way," Edward replied. "Hmmm, I still cannot say. But perhaps the people of the Oasis of Uf might know of such an individual. They have many legends from the ancient days. I have dealt with them on occasion. Some of my finest artefacts have come from Uf."

Edward also offered the name "Khemri," but the dealer’s response was the same. "Now, if you should desire to find the Oasis of Uf, the best way is by caravan," the merchant added. "But, alas, no caravans have arrived from Uf, or from anywhere south of the Sulhaut Mountains, for six months or more." His eyes darted toward the shop’s front door, and he lowered his voice. "Rumor has it that an evil power has arisen in ruins in the Sulhaut Mountains, and has blocked the caravan route." He then spoke up a bit. "There might be profit in it for you, noble travelers, if you escorted a caravan and dealt with this evil." He winked slyly at the party. "I may perhaps know of some bold merchants who would be interested in joining such a venture."

Edward looked at Green Arrow and Lina. This sounded interesting! Edward pulled out a money pouch and gave the merchant one hundred gold pieces. The man’s eyes went wide with amazement.

"Thank you, thank you, most generous travelers!" exclaimed the merchant.

"It is nothing," replied Edward. "Now, about those merchants?"

"Yes, yes. If you would stay here in the city for a day or so, I will gladly arrange for a meeting," said the dealer.

Green Arrow asked where the best inn in town was. "Alas, even the best inn in Kanak is not so good, certainly not for great ones such as you," replied the dealer fulsomely, "but I shall direct you to one that is close to being worthy of your presence." And he provided the party with directions to the Inn of the Loyal Servant of the Amir. The three adventurers proceeded apace to the recommended inn, and took rooms that were the best in the establishment. The merchant was, unfortunately, correct in his assessment of the inn’s quality, but the party didn’t care much about comfort under the circumstances.

They stayed in the inn for the next three days, leaving only briefly for fresh air and short walks. At last, on the evening of the third day of their stay, the merchant showed up at the inn with a party of adventurous men–and women!–who were interested in the journey to Uf. They discussed the project in the inn’s common room.

It would be a long journey, about sixteen hundred miles in all, through deserts, dry grasslands and mountain passes. But Uf was so remote that virtually any goods from the outside world would find a ready and profitable market. So, arrangements were made.

The caravan would include the three Enterprise agents; three expert merchants, led by a local man named Zeff; ten warriors to guard the caravan; and ten teamsters, each driving a wagon with a team of two horses. Five wagons would be loaded with trade goods, the other five with provisions for the journey. Any extra provisions could also be sold in Uf for a handsome profit, so Edward planned to make liberal use of his create food and water spell.

The first stage of the journey, a distance of about six hundred miles, would take about forty-eight days, from Kanak to a valley in the Sulhauts in which a city was known to exist, or to have existed (if rumors were true). From there, another four hundred miles would lead the caravan to an area of rocky foothills, from which the main caravan route across the Sea of Dust began. It was another four hundred miles to the first oasis, and four hundred miles more to their destination, the Oasis of Uf.

But a journey of sixteen hundred miles begins with a single step, and the following morning, the caravan took that step. The first stage was relatively uneventful, with no monsters and only scattered local nomads sighted. After forty-eight days, the caravan reached a crest in the road. They looked down and ahead to see a small valley. The road stretched down into the valley and through it back into the Sulhauts beyond. Edward and Green Arrow looked carefully, and saw what appeared to be a town, the buildings of which were in various stages of ruin. They also spotted an area on the near outskirts of town that seemed to be a cemetery of some kind, from the number of tombstones that were visible.