The Chronicles of Dosei: Sands of Blood
A Dungeons and Dragons Tale by EWillden

- There are somethings in the world better left forgotten, better left beneath the sands for eternity. This is true with most objects hidden within the world. In the wrong hands they could destroy the world or unleash nightmares you only read in books read to you by your parents.-

There is a city on the sands right on the coast called Saphire, this city is one of many but is the largest. Some claim it is the countries capital ,but it does not hold its keep. It is only the largest do to the fact it holds a port to which it uses to trade with the rest of the world. There are many tailors, blacksmiths, alchemy, and of course a few magic shops as well. All magic shops have connections with the great wizards tower that made its home in the city. Run by the Mages Guild. Some are at aw of its immense size while others are completely terrified. A superstitious lot that believe perhaps the mages delve in the dark arts here and there. Only rumors though however it hasn't stopped a few inquisitions by the Order of Pelor. The other stores are privately owned and there is no telling if a guild runs them or not. The people within the city are all dressed in the typical attire of a middle eastern civilization. The guards dressed in similar fashion only that their silk is sown into the armor they wear. Their swords a mix match of flalchions and scimitars.

However, humans are not the only race that live here. A few halflings, maybe a dwarf or two and other races live within as well. However, not all races are entirely welcome, orcs being a popular hated species in the land. Like anywhere else in the realm orcs live in the deserts as well. Like every other orc tribe the pillage and burn small villages in the country. The lizardfolk that live in the desert are also unwelcomed, the tribes are not overly violent except against those that encroach on their homeland. What makes them so hated is that they are ugly and quite fearful in the eyes of the people that live there. The final species on the hate list is another common race that is hated all over the globe, the drow elves of the underdark. Due to their horrific crimes on the surface it has painted enough of a picture to give people a need to hate them. What makes it more dangerous for them to enter the city is that they would be put to death on sight compared to the other hated races. This did not stop one from entering the city though. She put on a clever disguise though. Due to the necklace drooping from her neck she was able to disguise her self as a simple surface elf. The typical blonde and blue eyes that followed her pale skin.

A smirk formed on her face as she looked the fools as they walked around her bowing their heads. If only they knew who they showing courtesy to. Then again it would only mean her death if they found out. Before she could ever reveal her true self, she would have to make a name for herself. That would take some time and money as well. Trusts would have to be made between people here. She carried with her a scythe, it was a charcoal black with little shine except that provided by the sun. It had little jewels except one. A large amethyst towards the top. The scythe was actually forged around its shape. Vivian took small glances around her as she moved through the crowds. Every so often some vendor would come to her trying to sell her his junk. Vases and pots mostly, she was not interested at all in them. Their design wasn't all that appealing. Event their concept of jewelry wasn't all that exciting. There were a few that did catch her eye though. However, she had to avoid such pleasantries, only because she could not fully try them on to see if she looks good with them because she would have to remove her disguise. She couldn't do that,.... not yet. She sighed as the heat was starting to get to her. She could not understand why the people wore so much silk around their bodies. It only made it even more hot in her opinion. I suppose its the sweat and the air hitting it that keeps them cool. The sun never agreed with the skin of a drow elf. It always seemed to burn so much more brighter. It was even worse being located in a desert. She took notice of a tavern door and decided it was best she wonder inside. What she found was a few drunks and others who just wanted to be left alone. She looked to a board on the wall next to the door and saw that there were job postings. Some of them were poor tastes... especially for her. The tavern was even looking for a spot involving cleaning their toilets. No she did not escape the dark horrors in the underdark and the deadly gazes of her mother to clean toilets.... Then she saw it.

"....The Mages Guild asks for brave souls to embark on a adventure to obtain a sacred artifact, A silver chalice long lost. A representative is sitting at a table in the back to the far right. He will explain details of this quest to those willing to see it through."

She turned heard and saw the table. There was some old man there. He looked frail and weak. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the man. Looks could be deceiving though,... she began to walk closer and noticed a staff leaning against his chair. That explains things,... he is a mage possibly a member of the guild. She walked ever closer and sat down at the round table. "Well you got...."

She was about to say but she was interrupted by the man raising a hand. "Silence,... the others are not here yet." He said. She rose a brow and leaned back in her chair. Others?.... what others.

The city was no stranger to Malkai. The Desert, on the other hand, wasn't something he was prepared for. While he packed the necessities like food supplies and a caravan service, he thought that perhaps putting on clothing would help protect him from sun burns. But his choice of attire was practically roasting him alive, and he was forced to strip down to his bare essentials. He would have gone entirely nude if the caravan master insisted he maintain some modesty. Malkai obliged, wearing nothing but his loincloth, leaning his hide armor draped over his shoulder to provide shade during the day, and warmth at night.

Flying in the skies, but also occasionally resting on Malkai's head, was his falcon "Falchion", who's eyes and wit were as keen as the blade he's named after. Falchion was much larger than most falcons of it's type, nearly as big as a hawk (which is quite big for a bird). Malkai and Falchion had a natural bond towards each other, or at least a partnership. Falchion would be Malkai's eyes in the sky, while Malkai would ensure Falchion's safety and health. They seemed to be an odd pair to outsiders, but regardless the two are staunch allies. As Falchion flew about, he would occasionally stop by to tell Malkai of his findings, typically things like enemies in the distance or possible ruins to explore later. Malkai would use this information to barter with the caravan master, and information like possible ambush locations have saved the caravan more than once. Though sometimes Malkai purpose stayed quiet so he could fight; he didn't like being bored.

Eventually the caravan reached the city of Saphire. This was Malkai's final destination with the caravan, as they only intended to stop by the city for a short rest. Here Malkai would seek his fortune and glory. With Falchion perched on his head, the orcish warrior moved into the crowds, not bothering to disguise himself. His skin was fairly dark as it was, with only a slight hint of green. To a passerby they may not notice the pigment. His mask also helped disguise his more obvious orcish features such as his eyes, nose, and ears. Though his tattoos were certainly tribal, they were much more complex than the sort of designs orcs would use, almost elvish in design really. His dress and overall demeanor certainly screamed "Barbarian" however, the bird aside.

The first place Malkai stopped to look at was the tavern. There was always jobs to be done there. Leaving Falchion to hunt outside, Malkai entered the establishment and was met with only a few stares. While certainly an outsider, outsiders weren't a strange thing in these lands, so no one aside from those curious about his origins bothered to notice him. Moving over to the notice board Malkai sought out any quests to slay great beasts or to topple a powerful band of raiders. However there were no such quests at the time; most of it was guard duties for caravans or excavation groups. Malkai was not a bodyguard; he would not sell his blade merely to protect peasants and merchants. He kept looking for better quests but the only quests he could find was one from the mage guild. Malkai has met with a few mages from the guild, most who had the decency to respect his druidic ways and his half-orc heritage, though those types were odd ones who also wanted to do things like commune with zombies or fuse plants together. Fools with more intelligence than they had insight.

The mage guild wanted a group of adventurers to find a silver chalice for them. Treasure hunts weren't really Malkai's preference, but it certainly beat guard duty. With any luck he might be able to take the silver chalice for himself, if he can figure out it's properties. Surely the adventure to obtain the chalice would be worthy of his time at least. Looking for the representative nearby, Malkai noticed a comely womea also waiting at the table, along with an old man. Malkai assumed the old man was the representative and woman a possible adventurer. This would be... Very interesting. Malkai approached, his form hard to miss, and made himself known.

"You are the representative of the Mage Guild?"

---

Finally arriving to the city of Saphire, Veridis stretched his arms out and gave his prayer of thanks to Shelyn. He had taken a long boat ride to this gem in the sands, and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. The boat was very crowded and they got attacked by pirates. Fortunately the ship was able to elude the pirates until the navy scared off the brigands. Thus finally being on dry land made Veridis happier than a dog with a steak.

But he didn't travel to Saphire to sightsee. Here he would find adventure, friendship, and perhaps even love. A romanticized view, sure, but a man can dream. The best place to find a quest would be the taverns of course. Perhaps a peasant who would beg Veridis to save his village from raiders. Or perhaps a quest to delve into a dark dungeon and retrieve a sacred artifact. Anything was possible, though first Veridis needed to get to a tavern first.

Veridis then learned that the city of Saphire was very busy, and very crowded. He quickly found himself stuck in a mob of travelers, workers, and merchants trying to get somewhere. Veridis managed to escape the wave of bodies by ducking into an alley, bland much to his fortune he noticed signs leading to a tavern just on the other end of the alley. Veridis made his way over before he found more trouble. Or rather, trouble found him.

A shifty fellow appeared before him, brandishing a dagger. "Your money or your life! Give up one of them!" Veridis feigned fright. One of the core skills of the bard college was acting, and pretending to be a frighten tourist was as easy to do as breathing and eating. "Oh, please don't hurt me! Here, just take it, please." Veridis handed the thug a bag. He snatched it from Veridis and looked inside. But what he saw wasn't gold, but marbles. "Argh!? What is this, some sort of-"

Suddenly underneath the thug's feet, a large puddle of slippery oil appeared. Before he could realize what was happening the thug slipped and fall onto his back, causing the bag of marbles to spill out. "A trick? Why yes." Chuckling, Veridis acrobatically danced around the spilled marbles and over the large oil slick, avoiding the wild flailing of the thug and reaching the other side of the alley. The thug tried to stand up and give chase, having difficulty getting up from the slippy oil. By the time he managed to get on his feet and take a step however, he slipped on the marbles and fell down again.

It was unfortunate. Veridis won those marbles from a trader, and thought maybe he could sell the colorful stones for a good price. But that bag of marbles weren't even worth five silvers, so it was no loss on his part. With that bit of excitement over, Veridis went to look for that tavern. Once inside, he took note of how bustling everything was. Men and women of various professions were drinking in merriment, sorrow, and anger. There was a noticeboard not too far away offering jobs, so Veridis looked here first. There was an interesting job for finding a chalice deep in the desert. That sounded exciting! So Veridis followed up on the job, looking for the mage guild representative. Once he found the right place, the bard introduced himself.

"Hello! My name is Veridis Quo. Are there still openings for this quest?"

A single person with improbably clothing for the desert was walking through the sands. Her metal armor was giving of bright shines as she made her trek under the desert sun. The place was bloody hot and any normal person wearing metal armor consisting of plate and chain, would have been long since cooked, but Elleonora wasn’t exactly normal she was a cleric. She survived the desert’s burning sun by casting Endure elements on herself each morning. Currently she walked with a big dark blanket wrapped around her in a cloak like fashion.

She had the worst luck so far. Instead of her journey passing normal, her caravan got caught up in a bloody sandstorm! She was in one of the carriages when it happened, it was covered with the sheet she was currently wearing as a cape. By the time the storm stopped, all it took for her to get away from the sand was to stand up. Seems like the carriage wasn’t really deeply buried by the sand, but she saw no other people around. Managed to find the dead animals pulling the carts, buried and chocked to death by the sand. In that regard she indeed turned out lucky. Like that she found herself not too far from her destination with minimal supplies and alone.

She walked through the sand as she finally saw the town of Saphire in the distance. It wasn’t the first time it happened with all the mirages playing tricks on her mind, but this time there was a difference. Seagulls… there were sea birds flying in the air and she could smell the salt in the air.

As she approached the gates, the guards seemed completely shocked and surprised when she came into their close visual range. She was the exact opposite of what people wore here, not to mention the great warhammer on her back. Took some talking, but when they got she was a cleric and how her caravan got swept in a sandstorm, they let her enter.

Walking through the town, still with her makeshift cloak, she eventually found a tavern that seemed like a very promising place to get something cool to drink and maybe a room for the night. She opened the doors with a strong push, almost causing them to crash against the walls. Entering with her whole body and armor still covered by the dark cloth, she found herself with some wanabe thug, probably searching for A: easy pick which she looked like right now, B: a lady for the night to keep him company, which her face seemed good for also.

Before the man has even the time to say something, she walked forward backhand slapping his face with her steel gauntlets, sending him to the ground, as he pulled on her cloak while he fell, revealing her armor and hammer to all in the inn.” Scam, before I feed you to my hammer.” She said, pointing to the hammer out of blackened steel on her back. The hammer head has a lot of sharp edges, clearly as if it was forged from sword blades.

Having scared the idiot off, she walked towards the bar, giving a passing glance at the message board, noticing a job about adventuring into a dungeon or something in search of a magical artifact. Reading through the notice in haste, she walked right to the table where it said.” Is that notice, still valid?” She asked, noting all the different people who were around already." If so, I want to take part in that undertaking."

Veridis was not the only one to enter the city from a boat. Arriving from the far north came a knight named Alexander. Beside him stood his mount and only friend left in the world. A dire wolf dressed in the attire of a battle horse. It was custom made to fit on the dire wolf though. The man sighed as he could feel the heat from the city. He looked towards his loyal mutt whose head was leveled to his. "Well old friend, looks like we might have to fix your armor for the life in a desert. I might get hotter then a red dragon's cave for us if we stay in the armor. Sadly I am not as combat ready without mine so I will have to suffer. You on the other hand... We can remove a few things. Keep the head plate, lose the rest." The companion seemed to agree. You could easily tell from the guys panting. He ruffled the dogs fur at the top of his head with a pat. Of course this gave him a face full of slobber from the dogs tongue. Touche...

The exited the boat and into the city getting eyes from a lot of the folk. He wasn't the one drawing in all the attention. They must have seen knights like him before but the mount was a new one. He stopped at a merchant who was selling mount armor. "You buy armor too right? How much for my friend's chain mail?" He gestured to the chain armor under the saddle upon the battle mount. The merchant looked to the dire wolf and back to him. "200 gold,.." The man offered. Alex sighed and scratched his head. He was hoping for more but this will just have to do. He unstrapped the saddle and placed it down for a second and then removed the chain mail underneath and placed it on the merchant's stall counter. The merchant counted out the gold into a money pouch and handed it to him. One man moved as if thinking to steal it but Fordis moved in between him before he could. The thief stared at the growling muzzle of the most biggest dog he ever seen. The puddle underneath his pant leg that began to form showed his fear as the dire wolf began to growl at him. It's teeth were as big as long as the mans palm. This made the thief literally shit himself and step away. Alex snorted at the man as he ran off. He took the gold and placed it underneath the white silk sash where his other gold pouch was and nodded to the merchant. "Thanks for the business." He said.

With that they walked for a little while longer and one guard walked by and stopped in his tracks to look at Fordis and whistled. It was a common response of respect and Alex smiled with pride. "Hey adventurer.. you look like you could handle a quest. Go to the tavern down the street. Heard the mages guild is looking for a group to go find something in the desert. You should take a look at it." The guard said. Alex nodded and looked to Fordis and shrugged. "Might as well,.. got nothing else better to do." He said and followed the guards directions right after thanking him for the tip. He thanked him by giving him permission to pet the dire wolf's head. Of course he thought he would get a fine when the wolf covered the guards face with slobber but they just laughed and kept going. What a nice place this is...

They came upon the tavern and he knew Fordis would have to stay outside. He moved him to the troth where all the other mounts were. He didn't bother tying him down. who would try and steal a dire wolf? Fordis was also well behaved and would attack anyone either unless they gave him reason. With that he entered the tavern and could feel the cold air from within and gratefully accepted it. He looked around the tavern and noticed the group gathered with a wizard looking man and figured they were the group. He walked over and sat down. "Alexander Von Wolfe at your service." He said.

The wizard look at the people who came in to join them and he was a little surprised by the diversity so far. Each one looked unique in their own way. Funny how quests of wealth and glory tend to gather people from all over. He nodded to the four who had joined them and gestured to the seats. He then gestured to the bar keep and the man brought over some refreshments. Ice cold water. Alex took this with kindness and took a long drag before stopping.

Vivian looked to the man and rose a brow. A man from the north and... well the woman looked like she was from around that area too. Then there was the barbarian looking fellow and... okay the drow wasn't going to lie but the next one was pretty handsome. A bard by the looks of it and she sighed. Well this will be the adventure where she loses her virginity. That's right she kept her body a temple until she would meet the right man. That never happened in the underdark but here... the man was inviting. Then again so was the knight and the woman with the giant hammer too. The woman still looked very inviting even with the caked on sand. It made her look even more hot no pun included.

Catarina had been in the city of Saphire for over a month now. She's mostly been doing work as the personal guard of a wealthy fur trader, protecting him and his caravan from robbers and raiders. Mostly desert orcs. Her blade has felled many of the monstrous men, but they were hardly a challenge to the warrior. True they were a threat to merchants and common guardsmen, as their numbers and indvidual ferocity made them threatening opponents, but they were disorganized and unskilled. Catarina could take on a whole raiding party on her own, cutting down the Raiders one-by-one.

One month was the duration of Catarina contract, and the merchant had no interest in renewing. While grateful for her service, he has made an alliance with a merchants guild which would provide him skilled guards for all his caravans. Of course he wouldn't mention that for the price he pays Catarina, he could hire ten mediocre guild guardsmen. Catarina likes to think of herself as a noble and just woman, but she was not cheap. Her blade was not earned through sweet but empty words. Money was was a powerful force in this world, as strong as magic, and she wasn't hesitant time use either.

Hence why she'll work for the guild of mages. Catarina bad her father once worked with the Mages Guild once in the past, and it was a delightful experienced. She fought her first demon that day. Now, in this dingy tavern, the Mage Guild now needs adventurers to find a silver chalice for them. Perhaps it was some sort of holy grail or decanter of endless water. Whatever it was, Catarina looked for the representative and those who would later become her future party members.

What she found was a fairly typical group of characters. An elvish mage of some sort, a lanky but muscular barbarian, a handsome adventurer, a fellow warrior woman, and a more manly knight. Catarina was fairly larger than the knight thanks to her armor, and the first thing she noticed was that he too had a bastard sword. However he was able to wear his on his belt, where Catarina had her's strapped to her back. A quirky group, but Catarina had high hopes. Approaching, Catarina removed her helmet and let her hair down, smiling at those gathered at the table. ”Hello! I am Catarina La’Spada. I take it that you all will take part in this quest?” she then offered her hand to shake with everyone at the table, including the quite old man.

---

It's been a good month for Parum so far; when she first arrived here in Saphire she didn't think much about the opportunities here. Sure it was a bustling trade city, but many port towns were like that. A good place to trade but hardly a place for excitement. At least that's what she thought before she was mugged by a gang of thieves. Well... Not quite mugged. More like they tried. Being numbered and facing off against opponents larger than her was the story of her life. For a halfling everyone was a giant. And all these giants always wanted to take advantage of her, thinking they had some sort of strength over her. But strength wasn't just the size of one's sword or body, but their wits. So against the usual brutes who try to bother her Parum had no trouble evading and and stealing from their pockets until they're left with nothing but their knives. Granted it was likely their poverty that drove them to robbery in the first place. But that wasn't Parum's problem.

Using her connections to the merchant's guild Parum has started a little business for herself in Saphire. Nothing too big; she could stop whenever she wants and wouldn't lose anything from it. Maybe one or two porters would be out of a job but that wouldn't weigh too much on her conscience. Parum's business was simple: she made lock. Her skills at disabling locks were handy at knowing how they ticked, and she had a few porters from the dock as apprentices. Indeed, her skills probably enriched their lives. There wasn't really anything else she could teach them, as their skills now only needed to be honed with effort and practice. But that was just her cover business.

Parum broke as many locks as she made. During the day she was a locksmith but at night she robbed homes. But not just any homes: the homes of other thieves. Bribing urchins and the homeless, Parum was easily able to figure out the homes of some low-level thieves and burglars and used her talents to steal from them. But it wasn't as if she gave these treasures back to their rightful owner or anything, she still sold them to fences for quick cash. Just enough to give her a nice room at an inn and occasionally a few luxuries. But cat burglary and locksmithing weren't bringing in the money she wanted. She's been at this game for a month and she's barely made more than 100 gold. While considerably good for a "newbie" merchant, Parum had expensive tastes and hungered for some excitement.

So Parum left the inn she was staying at. Unlike most this inn wasn't a tavern, though it did serve drinks and the likes to it's patrons. No the inn she was staying at was only for those who would actually reside within. She rented her room for two months, which was about how long she planned to stay in Saphire. Today she had no real plans so she decided to go looking or a quest. With any luck she'd find a job that would catch her interest. So once more she went to her fellow vagrants and listened to what they had to offer. Unfortunately most were trying to con her into helping them with their problems, to which she had no interest in. What a beggar could possibly offer to make it worth her time wasn't worth the effort to figure out. So in the end, she had to rely on the old standby: looking for jobs in taverns.

She went to most of the major taverns and one job stood out in particular. The Mage Guild needed adventurers to search through an old ruin and retrieve an artifact. That interested her the most; more often than not these artifacts were far more powerful and valuable than the what their pay would cover. And while Parum was no mage, she knew a thing or two about magic. At least enough to know how to sell it to the highest bidder. Taking the post off the wall, Parum went to find the one who would be giving this mission. And once she found that person with the others gathering around him, Parum hid in the shadows, watching and listening from a distance.

Vivian watched as each person arrived. Each one very unique and different. She took her little gander and most of them were quite delicious. The barbarian looking person was a bit mysterious though. She stared at his mask trying to figure him out. The others were pretty inviting though. She couldn't tell if the barbarian was or not. Muscles wise he was exquisite, but until she saw his face her judgement would have to wait.

Then she arrived, the most weirdest knight she had ever seen. She had onion like armor and sword at her back. Then the helmet came off and she was such a..... Beautiful rose with her blonde hair. The woman then offered her hand to them and introduced herself as Catarina. She stood up and took up her hand.

"Greetings Catarina La'Spada. I am Vivian Bloodmoon. You beautiful can call me Viv." Maybe her sister Cassandra had the right idea to escape to the surface if this is what the big world was to offer up here. She sat back down waiting for the others to introduce themselves.

***



One by one the table became more and more full. There was the blonde hooded elf with blue eyes sitting the closest to the mage. She was a sorceress judging from her staff and her lack of a tome. Unless it was hidden somewhere in her clothing. That was most unlikely. Then there was the barbarian. He had to be a barbarian. The giant axe tended to clue him in. What was curious about him was his mask. He never seen that before. Is that what some of the barbaric tribes in this region wore?

Next who joined them was a bard. How did he know the man was a bard. The lute gave it away. They always filled the hearths at home singing about the end times or about heroic battles as if they where their. Fools, as if they ever fought in the wars to know what they are singing about. This one looked charming enough to the women. He decided he would keep his coin purse closer to himself while he was around.

Then there was she. She was dressed for the north with the furs but still revealed a lot of skin now caked with sand. She was stunningly beautiful and wielded a mighty hammer. No, not a hammer. Calling it that would be a insult to the smith who forged it. It had sharp edges and was designed very complicatedly. He would bet the gold in his purse that not even the smiths in his hold could forge something if that quality. Deadly and beautiful. That defined this woman. He gave her a bow of his head out if respect. With the current head count that meant they were six strong but the mage still remained quiet. As if he knew more would show up.

The he showed up. Dressed in onion armor. At least he thought him male until the helmet came off. The knight was a woman. Well it wasn't unheard of back home. She seemed to study each member including himself. She was something to look at of course. She then offered her hand and introduced her self as Catarina La'Spada. Name like that she had to be a noble. First the elf shook her hand and introduced herself as Vivian Bloodmoon.... Bloodmoon. He heard that name before. He couldn't quite put his finger to it. It bothered him slightly until she sat back down.

He eyed the elf closely and then turned to Catarina and accepted her hand shake.

"Greetings Catarina La'Spada, I am Alexander Von Wolfe."

***

Once everyone introduced themselves the mage coughed and lifted up a satchel and opened it placing it on the table and letting the papers fall out. One revealed a outlying map of a ruin. One showed a picture of a chalice. The one they where going to find. "Now that everyone has arrived I will explain this mission.... After years of searching we finally located it. A artifact called the chalice of silence. We will pay 10,000 gold to the group that retrieves it. Even more if it is undamaged. This temple was unearthed from the sands and we have little time to act." He said pausing for only a few minutes.

"The stables have been purchased for those without them. Take the parchment there to the owner and he will see to it that you are well prepared. With water of course. It is a long way there."

Elleonora Alnara

Just everyone else, the cleric threw a few glances first studying the masked man, then the elf and then the bard.. She immediately suspected something was off about the masked barbarian looking man, she just wasn’t completely sure what it was exactly. As for the elf she was beautiful indeed, a magic user by the looks of it. Finally there was the bard. He was simply beautiful man, but had the air of a womanizer about him.” Nice to meet you, you three. My name is Elleonora.” She gave both of them nods as she noticed a man approaching them.

He appeared like a knight by the looks of it and surely he had not passed through the desert like she did. His armor barely had any traces of sand on it and not to mention he would have been burned alive if he wasn’t a cleric. The only logical solution was that he must have arrived on ship.” It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. I’m called Elleonora.” She replied to his greeting and introduction with a smile. She then paid a close look on his armor. Now that was a warrior’s armor. She was impressed though suspected she would have to bless him against elements before they leave town.

Finally Elleonora noticed yet another person join them, a knight by the looks of it also. Though that armor was the strangest thing she had seen since the time she saw a pig wearing platemail. On first glance it looked bulky especially with the onion shaped helmet, but once the person was closer, she recognized the craftsmanship on the armor. It was well made to provide maximum protection as well as decent mobility. Frankly an impressive piece of armor.

She was even more surprised when it turned out the person was actually a woman! Now that was something she didn’t expect to see. A beautiful blond in a suit of armor. By no means it was rare, she just didn’t expect to see it in these parts of the world. She smile as the woman introduced herself as Catarina.

“Nice to meet you, Catarina. My name is Elleonora.” The cleric shook the blonde’s hand after the elf. Elle was smiling, she was amused at how many times she had to introduce herself in such a short time span, but it was normal for forming parties.

Now the cleric observed the old man who gave them the status and explanation of their job. The temple was unearthed… she was bloody ready to bet it was during the sandstorm that hit her caravan. She suspected something very bad must be in that temple. As it was usual with buried temples, castles, dungeons and everything else that had the time to grow horrific monsters without the interference of people.

---

Kalista Neles Ka Valesti

Kalista was walking fast through Saphire. She had just arrived via a transportation magic straight to the Magic guild from One of the other big harbor towns in this desert country. The wizard chose to pull some small favors she had and get transported like that rather than to spend the days needed to arrive by ship and the horrific heat to trek across the desert in a caravan. Once she was at the guild over at Saphire, she got wind of a job involving ancient temple, buried treasure and adventure! Naturally she also got wind of the massive payment if the mission was completed. That’s why without further waste of time she headed over to the inn where the mission was posted.

It didn’t take her long to reach it. She felt uncomfortable under the blazing sun, but her clothing was very well made and light so at least that wasn’t a problem. On her left hip, Grimoire was attached on a special book holder while on her right was her whip. On her back she had a small backpack with all her possessions and supplies she currently needed.

She walked straight into the inn without any stops for pause. Her confident pace, her perfectly proportioned tall body and beautiful face, naturally attracted the town’s people and travelers to turn to look at her. Right away she located the table where the meeting about the quest was going on and without slowing pace walked right to it.

“I’d like to take part of the quest.” Kalista stated, most adventurers would check the board, but she had already seen it at the guild.” My name is Kalista Neles Ka Valesti.” She introduced herself and quickly threw glances around to check about the other adventurers. She was intrigued by the elf sorceress, though the whole party as a whole was rather interesting. 3 people wearing heavy armors, clearly more northern in styles, especially the woman with the huge battlehammer. That thing looked very dangerous and very precious. The man in armor looked quite capable, the blonde was heavily armored and also looked capable. There was a bard fellow who was an incredibly looker, but the air about him made it clear what type of person he was. Then there was barbarian looking man… a mask? Why? What did he have to hide, was the question in her mind. As a whole all of the people present was beautiful looking. This sure was a first for her. Usually she would have to be in parties where at least half the men were too ugly and stupid.

Malkai

Looking at the group that gathered, Malkai felt a bit uncomfortable at it's size. A party of six he was usually okay with, plus whatever animal companion they had. But a party of seven seemed a tad too much. He disliked large groups as it often brought many conflicting opinions, not to mention divided the reward. Still... If this mission was dangerous, then perhaps a few of these people won't be there to collect a reward. Not that Malkai intended to do harm to any of them, but if they don't make it they don't make it.

Everyone made their introductions aside from Malkai, and he at least spoke his name when the strange onion knight Catarina went to shake his hand. "Malkai." Once the formalities were done the old man began to explain the quest. The job was simple enough: go to the ruins on the map and get the artifact within. "A Chalice of Silence huh?" Given it's name Malkai assumed it caused silence to those around or who drinks from it. Silence might not seem like the most dangerous thing to happen to someone, but if one was silenced than any spells that relies on verbal components won't activate. Even Malkai's own magic requires him to speak an incantation, which he can't do if he's silenced.

"Hmm... Yes... We should find this. It's too powerful to leave it behind. Money's good too." Malkai looked at some of the papers. Aside from the map and picture, there wasn't much more information about the ruins or chalice. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprise; they did just recently uncover the ruins. Any time spent excavating and researching the ruins were going to have to wait as they get important relics out, and deal with any guardians left inside. Of course, since they lacked any research on the ruins, no one knew what sort of threats would be inside. But all the more reason why they're the ones hired to do job. Standing up Malkai walked from the table. "I accept the job. Let's be off."

---

Veridis Quo

More and more adventurers came and joined the crew. First it was the half-orc. While Veridis couldn't quite see his face, even in the dim light Veridis could make out the man's greenish skin. It had a somewhat... Subdue coloration, but unless there was some subspecies of elves with greenskin, he was sure the masked barbarian was an orc. Possibly a half-orc. There was also the knight. Not really anything unusual about this guy, except for the fact a heavily armored knight was even here. What was even weirder was when another knight showed up, except he wore a suit of armor shaped like an onion! The surprises just continued to grow as the onion knight turned out to be a woman. More women joined, an armored warrior who seemed to be a northener, and an a comely elvish lass. She was nearly as pretty as Veridis was.

This was certainly starting to get interesting. "Veridis Quo, at your service, m'lady." When Catarina extended her hand to shake, Veridis took it up a notch by leaning in to give her a kiss on the top of her gauntlet. With a sizable party formed the old man began to explain the quest: go to a ruin in the desert and bring back a treasure within. Simple! The orc accepted the job and left, leaving the rest behind for questioning. Though there wasn't really much Veridis had to ask. He suspected that this would of course be a dangerous mission rifle with hostile bandits in the desert and monsters within the ruins. Chances to uncover lost history and other legendary lore within. And a chance for Veridis to get to know some of these fine adventurers. Though he did have one question.

"I'm not sure how the mage guild operates in Saphire, but is there a contract we'll have to sign? I'd imagine that the mage guild would like some... Liability." While not everyone used contracts or other binding agreements, an organization like the Mage Guild probably would. After all, what stops the group from just stealing this chalice for themselves? The mage guild would essentially be giving them free stuff without some record of agreement. Probably why Malkai left early. "But with or without, I'll be going on this quest as well. I'd imagine you want us to leave ASAP, so once we get the paperwork out of the way I'm ready to go when you all are."

Catarina felt proud that she managed to shake everyone's hands. They seemed fairly receptive of her greeting, especially the mage, Vivian. She had to admit, Catarina felt rather... Flustered at her flirtation. More so than with Veridis: a pretty boy like him flirting with Catarina didn't seem too odd, but for Vivan, an elf and a woman, to show some attraction to her... Well, Catarina wasn't put off by it. Mostly curious. Her attention was soon turned to the old man as he explained the job, where he wanted the party to delve into a recently unearthed ruin and grab the Chalice of Silence. Simple enough. Catarina remembered a time where she would have panicked or fretted over how little they had to work off of, but recent jobs she's had in the city of Saphire were much like this. Big risks, big rewards, no clue how to go about them. At least the mage guild were considerate enough to buy them supplies, which was more than what most people did.

Though when Veridis asked about contracts, Catarina also asked about it. "Some proof of business would be nice. Too many of my 'employers' have tried to off me to save a buck, and I have nothing for it except blood on my hands." It wasn't that Catarina wanted to deal with paperwork or anything, but one's word was only as good as one's life, and on these sorts of adventures you learn just how easy it is to lose a life. "And ten thousand gold... That's a lot of money, even if we have to split it among ourselves. But I'm sure you meant ten thousand gold for each of us, no?"

---

Parum had heard everything she needed to know. Who these people were, what they needed to find, and where to get her supplies. Slipping out from the shadows, Parum stopped by the bar to order herself a large tankard of Dragon Punch Whiskey. She'd need it if she intends to take on this quest herself. Sure, ideally she'd work with others. But she doubts that the mage guild was really going to pay everyone ten thousand gold coins a piece; with that much money, they could just hire out the local fighter's guild to not only throw themselves at this ruin, but dig it out and excavate it too! These ruins were probably rife with danger, traps, and other assorted nastiness, but Parum was confident in her skills. Before she reached Saphire she had robbed dragon hordes, crypts of ancient kings, and stolen a giant's cheese from right under his nose. Granted she did all those things with a party, but they were more like distractions than actual help. Not even good distractions; she wouldn't be the sole survivor of the crypt quest if the paladin didn't insist on purging the tomb of it's undead.

Downing her cold brew, Parum left the tavern and quickly headed back to the inn she was staying at. She gathered up her things, stuffing it all into her big bag of holding, before rushing over to the stables. She didn't bother taking the streets; her big backpack was just going to get in people's way. No, what she did instead was even more insane. She climbed out of her winder and onto the rooftops, and proceeded to use her acrobatics and agility to hop across the buildings to the stables. Much faster, far less traffic, and it wasn't as if people looked up. Sometimes people were afraid to look up just as they're afraid to look down.

He looked to Veridis the Bard and then to Catarina the Sword maiden. He nodded to them respectfully. Out of the whole group they where the only two who wanted to sign a contract or for him to sign one to ensure that they just didn't get sacrificed to a demon lord rather then being paid. Now Veridis was also issuing it to stop members of the group from just taking the chalice and selling to the highest bidder. The Wizard liked him and Catarina for their honesty.

With this he pulled from the his robes a orb and a signed contract from the branches head mage. He pushed the contract forward. It was signed by two other wizards as well. "This is our signed document ensuring that you will all be paid 10,000 gold each. Why such a high price? Because this branch of the guild has been wait for several hundred years to gain access to the temple for this item. Yes we can hire the mercenary guild for that but they wont care for the ancient relics that also lay in there. Your group will. We want the chalice. This temple, I feel that I must be honest with you... It is no temple to Pelor or Corenthian or Moradin. No Good deity saught in its construction. This is a temple in honor to a dark god. The Reaper, the God of Death. Nerull. There wont be just mundane traps but magical ones and do not , I repeat do not cast aside that there will most likely be immortal servants guarding its corridors. That's why 10k is the offered price. I don't expect all of you to return."

He then put the orb in the middle. "But as Veridis has so kindly pointed out. You have our contract that holds us to our agreed payment of the quest. However what is stopping you from running off with it and selling it to a cult for a higher price? Nothing except this... A good few of you seem trusting but then again no harm in being careful. Poke yourself with this needle just enough to cause a drop of blood. Then let it drop onto the orb. It's a type of scrying orb that will track you via your blood so we can locate you. If you veer off the path given to you or go elsewhere after you retrieved the chalice we will find you. Catarina here can likely tell you what happens to those that betray the guilds trust." La Spada... That name was no mystery to the guild. They knew it and respected it. It was good that she came to service them once again.

The old man waited for a second. "Once you leave your mark on the orb with blood. You can go. Be swift about this. We do not expect a rather large window for getting the artifact. But don't be too hasty. Fools have vanished going after such things in the past for being reckless." With that he nodded to Catarina and Veridis once more. Figuring them to be the smart material the group will need.



She listened to the wizard's proposition and listened careful. We were to retrieve a chalice from a temple. That could be simple or can fail utterly and quickly with one stupid move. She sighed and wished Cass was here. Her sisters skills would be useful in this. Then Veridis and Catarina mentioned contracts. "Beautiful and smart,...good characteristics for a warrior." She said aiming the words mostly at Catarina. She looked to the wizard to hear his answer. He responded to it with a orb and a contract. The piece of paper made them have to pay the group the gold on completion. The orb... That was a interesting approach. A object that can track via blood. How long did it take the guild to acquire that? That was something she would expect ilithids to have.

She then listened to his explanation about the temple. It was a dark God's temple. Specifically Nerul. He had a reputation alright and it wasn't a good one. She sighed and understood why the pay out was so high. She pulled the blade of her scythe closer to herself and ran the finger of her free hand down it. Not to much. Just enough to draw blood. She then let it drip on the orb and then waited for the others to do the same. Once it was over she proceeded out the door and noticed a giant wolf.

Her eyes widened at the sight of it. It was huge. Her people described these once. That some creatures where bigger then the average animals. It had a saddle meaning this one was someone's mount. She gulped and waited for the others to join her.



The knight took it all in. Thanks to the words of two other members the Wizard explained it ever more deeply. This was a Temple of Nerul. Undead will likely be involved in the artifacts defense. That was not good sense his sword was not holy. It wasn't even that special. It would have to do. Well one good thing is this will be the near death experience he was looking for. He nodded and with out a thought he removed his gauntlet jabbed his finger with the needle and squeezed a drop of blood onto the orb. He then stood up and nodded to Catarina and then a smile with a nod towards Elleonara with the Hammer. He looked forward to seeing her in action.

He looked to see the full blooded elf staring at something outside before the door closed and he remembered. Fordes was still outside waiting for him. He moved outside and moved to his companion. "He is a good pup don't worry. He is only mean when he has to be."He explained hoping that would make things better.

“Ohh yeah…” The cleric suddenly said, when the mage and some of the group started talking about assurances for the job. She smiled and rubbed her temples for a moment. Seems like the lack of proper food and rest during the few days in the desert was affecting her. That and the fact she usually did business with simple villagers who were in need of help. Frankly she had never went on a job that pays so well. Only once she did a job for a mage guild up north, but that was for a different type of job entirely.

“And I knew it… temple buried in the desert… usually not a good thing of worship.” She said as she quickly took off her right gauntlet.” Just a drop of blood, right?” She asked in confirmation as she reached back to her hammer and pressed on one of the very sharp edges on it, causing blood to start dripping of her index finger, before she placed it above the orb to mark it.” This is it, right? I propose we stock up on healing potions and other things of need. Now if you excuse me for a moment, have something I need to do, will meet you all outside.” She said and left the table, moving over to the tavern keeper.

“Good day, kind sir, I would like for you to get me two buckets of clean water, please. Also can you fill one my waterskins with wine and the other with also clean water?” She said as the man clearly gave her a questioning look. She could have used the town’s well for the buckets, but frankly she didn’t want to bother with waiting in the line. For in towns such as this one the wells were very crowded thing.

After her order was done, she paid the man, attached the waterskin with water to her belt and the other she put in her backpack. Then she took the two buckets and walked out of the tavern.” I will leave them by the door.” She informed the keeper and walked out the door, seeing a curious sight, a big fluffy direworlf!

“Well, I haven’t seen one of those in ages! So adorable, that’s your mount? What's his name?” She asked the knight as he appeared to be the owner.” Here then, some water for him. He must be getting really thirsty with that fur.” The cleric said and put one of the buckets in front of the animal. She planned to use both of them to wash up, but one was enough.

Without losing any more time, she took the bucket she had left and rose it above herself, pouring all the water on her head, effectively washing away all the sand from her hair and face, also most of her armor. In the desert sun she was going to by dry in matter of minutes anyways.” That’s better~” She whistled to herself, her wet hair clinging to her neck and armor.



Kalista had a rather curious time with the current situation. The group was quite filled with interesting characters. She never expected to meet so many far off travelers out here in the desert, but it happened. As she had been told, adventurers are everywhere and never stop moving. She herself was from the far east so she was also one of the foreigners to these lands.

As the other gave the blood to mark the stone, she reached into her small backpack and pulled a very small knife. With it she made a very small wound in her finger, enough so a few drops of blood fall and moved it over to orb also. She was used to dealing with magic guilds, but this was the first time one actually brought such artifact. Usually it was just blood pacts on parchments.

After that she quickly walked outside only to find herself face to face with a big wolf.” Eeeeeeeh!?” She made a surprised sound as she almost jumped back! Was this thing always here?! How in oblivion she missed it when she entered the tavern!? Her usual interaction with loves was they want to eat her. It took her a few moments to realize this one was tamed.” Wait… do you use it as a mount?” She asked the knight, seeing the saddle. It was then that she heard the cleric appear from behind them. Why was she carrying those buckets? Kalista blinked a few times when the northern woman simply poured the water on herself.’ Different cultures…’ She thought. She also just realized how white the cleric’s skin was under the caked sand.

“So… what will we do now?” The wizard asked, throwing a look around the group. They had a limited time before the sand buried the temple again, but they also couldn’t really just rush this job. Temple of evil god, undisturbed for gods know how long.” We need a lot of supplies…”

Catarina was familiar with the Mage Guild's methods. She's never did this before, but she knew about it from other mercs and their failures. The few jobs she had for the mage guild were fairly easy stuff, mostly killing X amount of monsters and bringing back their organs or some such. Nothing that the guild needed to track her for, that's for certain. But with this much money, and the sort of danger they'd be diving into, it only made sense that they would be tracked. Additionally, the old man told them some important information about the temple. "Temple of Nerull huh? I've dealt with his kind before." Catarina just meant slaying undead, which Domina was well suited for. She doubted that there'd be any undead threat that Catarina couldn't slay, though the traps would be trickier. She wasn't familiar with trap designs and often only saw them after they've been triggered. Sufficient to say, magical traps were out of her expertise.

As for the blood scrying, Catarina wasn't too comfortable with it. She knew such things didn't last permanently, but for the duration it did last the mage guild could track her down to the inch. It was the sort of thing a bounty hunter uses to hound his mark, which is exactly something she's seen done by the mage guild. Even just a drop from a sword is enough to track down the stealthiest rogue. But Catarina was also no coward, nor did she betray a contract. As long as the Mage Guild honored their side of the bargain, Catarina wouldn't steal the Chalice, nor would she let others take it for themselves. So Catarina took out a piece of charcoal, her "pen", and give her signature on the contract. Then Catarina took out her dagger, took off her gauntlet, and gave herself a small cut across the thumb, letting a few drops touch the orb. "And with this, our contract is sealed."

After signing the contract, a direwolf showed up at the tavern. Fortunately before blades were drawn the knight, Alexander, mentioned it was his mount. Catarina's eyes widen at this statement. Dire Wolves weren't easy beasts to tame, Catarina should know. She once spent an entire year trying to tame dire wolves for herself, but they always attacked her within a week. Elleonora the cleric and the newest newcomer Kalista seemed interested in the dire wolf, though Catarina was a bit more interested in Vivian. This entire time she had been complimenting Catarina, which made the fighter feel... Warm and confused. Perhaps later Catarina could investigate further on Vivian's attraction to her. Or maybe they could go now. "The old man said that the stables would have mounts and some basic supplies for us. We should use maybe about an hour to buy anything more specific, and then we'll meet at the stables. We should leave before nightfall."

Looking over at Vivian, Catarina smiled and extended her uncovered hand towards her. "I still have some money from my last few jobs. We should go shopping together, pool our resources to help prepare for our quest."

Malkai

Malkai had already left the tavern before the old man would have told them more about the temple or get their loyalties through contracts and blood bindings. And even if Malkai wasn't there, he wasn't going to agree to the blood binding. His only interest was the Chalice of Silence and how it could be useful to him. If an artifact had no use for the druid, then he'd be glad to simply pawn it off to the Mage Guild and get his money. However if he could somehow tap into it's power and draw out it's true potential, then Malkai intended to do so. Regardless of whatever the Mage Guild desired.

He arrived to the stables relatively quickly. Falchion was also there, having flow there before him to ensure no one took the supplies before he could. And to that end, Falchion quickly spotted Parum, the halfling hopping across the rooftops. He didn't attack as he didn't know what Malkai would want, but once the half-orc arrived he did get Malkai's attention and directed him to the halfling. What she was doing roof hopping was certainly a guess, but Malkai assumed she was here for the quest too. He didn't know how the girl heard of it, but she wasn't going to take their supplies. So Malkai went inside the stables and waited for her, intending to confront her when she would try to claim the mounts and whatever the mage guild had ready for them.

---

Veridis Quo

Smiling at his correct investigation, the old man did have more for them. Contracts to sigh, blood binding rituals to make, and of course more important information about their destination. Veridis knew a bit about Nerull and his clergy. No doubt his temple was crawling with undead, but it would be an easy misconception to think it was just the undead. Nerull ruled the entire underworld, which included such creatures as drow and duergar, so it was possible that he would have actual living servants attending to the sunken ruins. And even if he didn't, there was still the chance that the temple was guarded by more mundane things like traps or constructs. After all, making a zombie wasn't too much different from making a golem, the only difference was the materials.

Veridis didn't hesitate to sign his name and give a drop of blood to the mage build representative. He took his dagger and pricked himself with it before pressing his thumb into the orb. With that settled Veridis left with the others to get ready for their quest when it seemed that a dire wolf had arrived! Veridis was about to spring into action when it seemed like it actually belonged to Alexander, the knight. Veridis had imagined he had a mount, but he was surprised to see it was a Dire Wolf! Veridis had seen various people use Dire Wolves as hunting partners, but rarely mounts. They were generally ill-suited for humanoids to use effectively. However it looked like this wolf was trained and even equipped for that purpose. Certainly an exotic steed.

"While it'd be important to shop for supplies, knowledge is just as valuable as any meal or tool. If we have time, I think I'll stop by one of the temples or maybe a library and read up on Nerull's influence around this area. If you wish to come with me perhaps we could find out something important that would help us all survive this quest."

Vivian liked how Veridis thought. It would be very wise to study about this enemy. She did a lot of studying when she lived among her people ,but she mostly studied other worldly things. None of which consisted of Nerull. As she thought about it she wondered why she never studied his path. It did suit her very well actually. She simply just shrugged to herself. "That would be wise Veridis, but this temple was just unearthed by the desert. We do not know when it might swallow it up again. Perhaps if there is a book store along the way I can purchase something for you to read along the way." She said. She then began to look around and noticed the orcish barbarian was not among them. Come to think of it he didn't still around for the blood binding so he was not bound to the contract. She sighed and began to massage her temple. "Not only that but anyone else notice we are one member short at the moment. That damn oversized goblin is probably taking his ride and supplies and heading out already. Not to mention he did not stick around to get the blood binding so unlike us he aint bound to the quest. Nothing except us is stopping him from running off with it for his own gain." She added. She looked to Catarina whose offer to go shopping still stood. They could still do that but hopefully they could come across any books about the temple perhaps. I mean it is indeed old history, perhaps it was recorded at sometime in a book.

She took Catarina's hand and pressed upon it her lips and then proceeded to follow her. Now Catarina was a stern fighter. You can tell by the sword and her choice of weaponry. As much as she would like to rely on this giant of a woman to protect her she wont always be. What she could use is a few potions or healing scrolls. "So Cat,... may I call you Cat? I wouldn't mind if you called me by Viv in exchange. Anyhow I believe I might need some potions. I am not too sure how this run will go and I dont think you will always be there with your sword and shield to fight off any enemy that threatens me. Therefore I would need a backup plan. Healing potions or scrolls would be nice." She said. She then looked to the cleric. "Yes you could heal us but I can not put that fully on your shoulders. Besides,.. I think I want you throwing around your hammer then casting healing spells." She said. She then took notice that their group mostly consisted of women. Beautiful women to add to that. I mean Veridis and Alexander were the only males excluding Malkai who rudely ran off. That confirmed any suspicions of what race he belonged to. Orcs were always in such a rush all the time. She did not mind as she felt more of a connection to Cat. Perhaps the woman reminded her a lot like her sister. The one she betrayed to please mother but then failed anyways and wound up on the same path....

---------------



Alex looked to his companion Fordes and then to the others smiling at their awe of his mount. He was proud of his friend and felt no reason why he should feel otherwise. "His name is Fordes. He has been my friend for a long time now. My family is in the business of training them for mounts and then take them into battle. It brings a new name to terror when you cant just worry about the rider but the mount as well. Dire wolves are very hard to train though. I think what makes our bond close was that,... well he chose me I believe. I don't know how to describe it. Like it is not so much me choosing him to be by companion but him choosing me. Like we had to feel a connection of some sort." He said shifting his shoulders. Then came the talk of supplies. They most certainly needed it and he did like Veridis's idea. "I will accompany you on that but lets do this with haste. Like take the book with us or something." He was surprised the bard did not know plenty about Nerull as it was. He was always led to believe that bards knew a lot about the world which is why they always sung great tales. He always liked listening to them when he was a kid.

He wondered if this bard ever traveled far north. "Veridis was it?,.. I was curious, has your travels ever taken you to the borders of the frozen lands up north?"

Elleonora Alnara

"Alright, in that case I will head off to buy additional provisions for the journey while you two deal with the potions and scrolls. Worst thing that can happen in the desert is run out of water and food." The cleric said to Vivian, quickly securing the hammer back to it's holder on her back. The water was nicely and quickly evaporating under the heat of hte desert sun, so her body was already dry, good thing the endure elements spell lasted for a whole day and night cycle.

"Anyone who wants to acompany me in the job?" Elleonora asked, checking the money she had. Yeah she had enough to buy supplies for hte whole group indeed. Though she'd be broke afterwards really. Well no one said helping people was east! Just the opposite in fact...

Kalista Neles Ka Valesti

"Actually won't it be best the six of us to split into 3 groups?" Kalista asked, throwing a questioning looks at the other people from the group. They had the needed numbers for it." That way group can quickly prepare and deal with what needs to be done and we can get going faster that way." She stated, nodding at Vivian and Cat." You two can go and deal with the potions and scrolls as your original plan was, while our cleric and maybe you Alexander, prepare all the supplies. Since you already have a mount that way you two can carry all the supplies to the stables." The wizard stated and threw a look at Veridis.

"In the meantime, we two can go and find the needed books for this." She stated, narrowing her eyes at the bard for a moment, before patting her whip." If he tries to act improper I will bring him on the right path..."

"How does this plan sound to you all?" She asked, hoping they wont get angry at her for proposing how they act at the moment, but frankly there was no time to waste. They were right for one thing, the temple could vanish at any moment so as fast as they got there the better and this plan was simply the best. She had the feelign Vivian would probably have had proposed something like that as her small speech was hinting at it, but hey time was money... and their lives in this case if the temple got burried with them inside.

Veridis Quo

Veridis sighed as their barbarian friend seemed to have already left. "How unfortunate. I hope he doesn't intend to take on the temple alone. He might end up activating a trap that could block our way in." Still, it was unlikely that Malkai would even be able to find the temple alone, or at the very least, deal with the various threats between the city and the temple. There were still roaming orcish marauders who could take on the lone warrior, or possibly desert creatures looking for a easy mean in the form of a lone wanderer. Hopefully Malkai was smart enough to realize this, though even if he was it didn't help he wasn't bound by blood like the rest of them. Veridis would have to keep a close eye on him.

In the mean time, they still needed to prepare. Kalista made a sound suggestion: Catarina and Vivian could go grab potions and spell scrolls while Alexander and Elleonora gathered supplies. In the mean time, Kalista and Veridis would go looking for more information about Nerull. Veridis liked this plan. Of course, Kalista patted her whip to make it known she won't accept any funny business. Veridis just laughed at this. "I would always accept the lash from a lovely lady." Veridis approached and smiled. Veridis was no stranger to the scourge, though he made sure to use his magics to heal those scars. He doesn't know why woman and men value scars. Ugly, wretched things really. "On a more serious note, I agree with the plan. Considering how limited on time we already are I'd rather not get caught up in an argument debating different tactics. Not to mention if our orcish friend really did decide to head off on his own, all the more reason we need to hurry before he does something... Foolish."

"Oh... Oh my." Vivian was being so forward. She expected a kiss from the hand from someone like Alexander, not Vivian. Perhaps it was just an elvish thing? Still, Catarina wasn't going to let an opportunity like this pass her up. Catarina returned the geasture, taking Vivian by the hand. But instead of kissing the top of her hand, Catarina kissed the palm of Vivian's hand. Her father told her that such gestures had more meaning than the usual kiss on the fingers; where a kiss on top meant to serve honorably, a kiss on the palm said that you were putting your life in their hands. And indeed, Catarina was going to trust Vivian for what's to come.

"I'd love to keep you company, Viv. I know a reliable magic shop I've done business with before. Their selection is somewhat limited, but they sell their products at a much more affordable price." Kalista, the party's wizard, suggest essentially the same thing. Not only that but Elleanor and Alexander would go get more mundane supplies while Veridis and Kalista herself went to do research about Nerull. It sounded like a good idea. But that's also when Catarina noticed that the brute from before was gone. Sighing, Catarina felt the need to voice this. "Yes, it does seem like we'll be pressed for time. That barbarian is gone, and he already knows where the temple is. There are plenty of orcish tribes around these deserts; hopefully he doesn't have plans to use these tribes to raid the temple, or else we'll find ourselves in more trouble than we've been paid for." Putting her gauntlet back on Catarina started walking out of the tavern. "Thus, let us be off. The sooner the better, yes?"

---

As Parum hopped from rooftop to rooftop she did spy and curious bird above her. She hoped it didn't think about trying to whisk her away or attack her. She could stab it ten times over before it could even put it's claws on her. Fortunately it seemed to just be flying so Parum didn't pay it too much mind. Once the stables got into range Parum jumped into the alley, slowing her decent by pressing herself against the wall and landing on the floor with a quiet thud. Adjusting her clothes and pack Parum walked out of the alley and towards the stables. Fortunately, it looked like no one from the previous party had left. Unfortunately for Parum, the barbarian was already here.

Parum went inside the stables oping to claim a horse and pack, but the orc confronted her. She tried to ignore him by acting meek, as if she was here for other business. "Scuse me sire, pardon me." Parum said with innocence as she tried to walk around the brute.

Vivian was pleased how Catarina returned her gesture. Oh this woman is going to make a fine partner for her. If only it was just the two of them traveling together. They could have some fun right on the desert sands. She was a little aroused by the thought of it. She listened as Cat mentioned she had contact with a certain merchant before. It then dawned onto her,... was Cat a sell sword? Most would take that as a insult to honor and glory but then again those people are fools. Who cares who you use your sword for as long as you get it dirty with the blood of your opponents. Catarina was a very honorable woman judging from the kiss she returned. This was a kiss on the palm,... no on the top or on the fingers like royalty but a kiss on the palm. She hadn't felt that in ages, not even from her own kin. She tossed the thoughts aside seeing as they were not important. "So your a mercenary of sorts? Is that how you obtained your armor and sword? Or are those like family heirlooms?" She wanted to know more about the swordsman though. They can discuss this on their way to her merchant friend.



He was tasked with going with Elleonara to acquire supplies that they would need and then use Fordes as pack mule until they reached the stable. He did not mind helping out with this but they better help with the load. He weighs enough as it is and he was not going to put more pressure on Fordes by putting more stuff on his back. He sighed and looked to Elleonara. "Best get going then, like everyone has mentioned thanks to our brutish friend. We have little time to get going. We will need lots of water I know that. I mean the guild will probably supply us with a lot at the stables but it doesn't hurt to have some extras... maybe the merchant has some holy water too. Would come in handy if we are to fight servants of a undead god." He gave her a nod and proceeded. The large dire wolf following right behind. The towns people were still at awe of the creature. That or they were afraid as well. Which is double good for him. Right now he was compiling a mental list of stuff they would need. He wished they had a thief or rogue among them,... detecting traps was not his fortitude. Like most of the group he was a fighter. Even the magic users couldn't detect traps... well maybe the elves could but detecting them is one thing. Disarming them successfully with out causing a cave in, that is another thing entirely.

He sighed and figured they might as well buy a kit for that as well. Unless some thief would hop down from the roofs and ask to join them out of the blue for fortune and glory. Wishful thinking as always.

“Don’t worry, friend.” The cleric stated with a smile as they walked down the streets towards the marketplace. They would have best luck of shopping for common supplies such as food and the like from the marketplace as they could buy cheap food and other things there. Inns and other shops that specialized in adventuring parties as she had seen from time to time, tended to have greater prices.” We can pass by a temple on our way to the stables after we finish stocking up on supplies. Besides I can bless if the need arises.”

“Hey look those look fresh!” She stated suddenly pointing at a few stands that were selling fruits. She immediately moved to there, studying the presented fruits. Due the fact they would be traveling through the desert, they actually didn’t really have the freedom of choice here. They only could buy food and products that wouldn’t spoil under the heavy heat of the sun, thus most fruits were immediately out the question.

“Hmm, hmm check out the rest of the stalls to see if there are fruits that could be bought and would stand the long trek through the desert, I would go over there to buy bread in the meantime.” The cleric stated heading of in the direction of the bakery she saw a few moments ago.

She barged into the building like a storm and left it equally as fast, with her pouch feeling a lot lighter than it was when she entered, but in return she was carrying a big sack of strange flat bread.” Bread secured, now we can go get some salted and/or dried meat and we should be good to go on that front.” She informed her partner, throwing a look at Alexander.” Found any fruits we can use? I just came to town after 4 days of walking through the desert after my caravan was destroyed in the sandstorm that probably unearthed that temple, let me tell you living off only bread and water isn't fun!”



“Glad to hear that, Veridis.” Kalista stated as she waved him to indicate they should get moving and she quickly headed out the tavern and towards the bookshop.” Though I should really inform you that I’m not really joking.” She added as they walked down under the blazing sun. She disliked deserts, but the sense of adventuring was stronger than her dislike of blazing sun and burning sands.

“I will truly hit you in case you get too distracted... or annoying.” She said with a half joking smile. Partially at least she indeed wasn’t kidding, though it wasn’t the whip she would hit him with… no no no… that wasn’t as effective as hitting him with her metal encased grimoire.

“So tell me, what brought you in this part of the world?” She asked, throwing a curious look at him.” Wouldn’t bards usually prefer the more colder norths, where the inns are always filled with weary travelers at night and adventures through the perilous mountains happen all the time?”

Malkai

Malkai wasn't goping to fall for the innocent trick. He put his staff in front of Parum to block her path. "These horses are reserved for agents of the mage guild... Are you one?" Chances are she was there when the old man explained the mission, but wasn't visible. But instead of seeing her as a threat, he saw the halfling as an opportunity. He lifted his staff out of the way and walked with her. "You know what we're looking for, and you know it's power. Don't be a fool and expect us to do the hard work for you; partner with me, and we can both the chalice and the money. And more importantly, you'll live longer." Falchion landed to rest on the halfling's head, as if to serve as a warning that this offer wasn't deniable.

---

Veridis Quo

"Nor am I, m'lady." Veridis quipped with a smile. He was no stranger to women aware of his charms and libido. Often, he is a gentlemen and respects their choice, though that didn't mean they never came around after some time. A kind word, a deep thought, or even a stern talking to often allowed Veridis to charm his way into a woman's company. Still, he wasn't here on vacation; their quest truly did have some priority over pleasure. Still, Kalista was willing to chat with him so Veridis would oblige. "Perhaps if I were a simple minstrel, you would be right. Playing soothing music for weary travelers and adventurers would be best done in the north, where there is an abundance of both. Or perhaps in a court of royals, if I ever grow older and more accomplished. However my musical talents are merely one part of my occupation. As a bard, it is my duty to collect and recite epic tales of adventure and journey, wherever they may be."

Veridis took out his instrument and started to strum and tune it as they walked. "Not many would think a bard as the adventerous sort. Lacking the martial prowess of warriors, the magical power of mages, or event the cunning of rogues, one may mistake a bard as a liability. But I assure you, m'lady, a good bard hears a good story. A great bard is a good story. We are here." Veridis and Kalista arrived to a temple of Gilean. While a greater god, his temple was modest, yet large. Suiting for what is essentially a grand archive. People were allowed to come and go freely, generally offering donations to the temple for their service, however none can remove a book from the temple. Each book was safeguarded by a spell that would alert the temple paladins of it's theft. And should that spell be dismissed or otherwise hidden through magical means, it would also be detected. Those who wish to obtain a transcription or copy of a book may purchase one from one of the scribes. Veridis, however, was quite prepared and had his own ink and parchment. After all, how else did he keep music sheets?

"So tell me, m'lady, what brings you here? You are obviously a scholarly yet adventurous sort. Why choose Saphire?"