SESSION FIFTY-FOUR
With the Cup and Talisman of Al-Sindor in Senef’s slightly deranged hands, the Dragons of the Desert decided it was time to head for the surface. Unfortunately the way out brought them through the octagonal treasure room they’d earlier detected was a sinkhole of evil; there, they confronted the guardians of the Cup and Talisman – eight Zaharan mummies. The mummies came from secret doors in every direction, and the party was nearly overrun. Suad was forced to escape in gaseous form, while Celic was cut down. Dornethan held the rear flank long enough for Mahmud and Rakh to finally destroy the mummies.
Even upon reaching the surface, the party still had lots of issues to handle. War with Jubai still loomed, as did the mysterious dangers of Amur-Sin to the west. The realm had to be put in order. And Senef had to be cured of his obsession with Al-Sindor’s relics, if possible…
Several of their soldiery had died during the investigation into the sewers, and Mahmud felt ethically obligated to pay their widows a wage for their loss, as well as a bonus to those who had dared the sewers at all. This cost the party 2,500gp but the generosity inspired more recruits to make up for the losses.
Meanwhile, the fallen Celic and Valara were restored. Celic came back stiff and scarred; Valara emerged with vestigial angel’s wings. Both henchmen resigned upon recovery. Celic had already died and been reincarnated twice. “I can’t do this anymore. I’ve died so many times, I barely remember who I am. I need to take what I’ve earned and go.” Valara was more curt: “I should have listened to what I’d heard about the Fated.” The party was sad to see them go, particularly Celic, who had been with them for over a year.
While Senef was busy healing the wounded, Suad recruited Achmed Raisul, the imam of the local mosque, to cast remove curse on Senef. The shaman was caught off-guard, but the spell had no effect. “What are you attempting, priest of Imran?” the outraged shaman demanded. Suad smoothly talked him down while a worried Achmed Raisul fled the angry shaman.
Suad now approached Rakh and Mahmud. “My friends, Senef remains obsessed by the relics. I fear we must break into Senef’s room tonight, tie him to his bed, and unleash spells on him until this curse is broken.” His comrades agreed this was the wisest course of action, and that night put their plan into action. Despite all of their precautions, Senef woke up instantly when his door opened. He might have unleashed a spell on them had the two warriors not quickly grappled the shaman and tied him up. Suad found the relics and hid them away in his portable hole.
A few minutes later, Senef became placid. With the relics out of his possession, the curse was lifted. “My friends, I feel much shame at what I have done. These relics are dangerous. To see them together is to cover them. I deeply regret my actions. Forgive me.” Rakh assured him that all was forgiven, but Senef was left tied up for now.
Achmed Raisul was summoned again, briefed on the situation, and commanded to commune. “Is there a way for us to remove the effect on the Cup and Talisman of Al-Sindor that causes people to covet it?” No. “Is Senef still coveting the Cup and Talisman of Al-Sindor?” No. “Can the covetous effect on someone affected be removed by the Dragons of the Desert somehow short of a wish or miracle?” Yes.
Senef, finally freed from his ropes and gags, explained the results. “This item is not cursed. It is something more. It is Imran’s power and will brought into this Sphere of Existence. It is difficult to resist the allure.” Suad sighed. “I could not resist. I am a weak man.” Bellona looked at Senef’s groin, still bandaged from his castrating injury in the dungeon. “Are you still technically a man?” “I will kill you in your sleep,” said Suad. He was polite enough not to mention that Bellona herself had experienced similar genital adjustments.
Suad had a theory that the Cup and Talisman might be safe if stored and viewed separately, but very dangerous if kept together. A few days later, on the 7th of Genelen, Senef was able to commune with the spirits to confirm the theory. “Does someone in the presence of the Cup and Talisman need to resist covetousness continuously?” Yes. “Do the Cup and Talisman cause covetousness when viewed separately?” No. Ok then! “Is Mad Dog planning another attack on Khaibar?” No.
The spellcasters wanted to study the Cup and Talisman. The party’s workshop was split into two halves by thick curtains, with a neutral zone between, so that the two relics would never be seen at the same time. When not being studied, they were kept in the portable hole. This was but a temporary measure, though. The Dragons of the Desert decided that the Cup and Talisman ultimately deserved to be in a Tabernacle, a Holy of Holies. They decided to use the entire sum of the money they had found in the dungeon below – 200,000gp – to construct a holy mosque, a great pinnacle of good where the Cup and Talisman could live. The minaret would feature a winged sun disc adorned with diamonds. Workmen began construction on the 9th of Genelen.
On the 10th of Genelen, Ethlyn and Mahmud decided it was time to go to war with Jubai. All of the wounded party members were now fit for travel, and the necessary tasks – training troops, supervising the construction of ballista, hiring mercenaries as they arrived in town, and so on – had been completed. It was time. Ethlyn assumed overall command of the army, with Bellona as her adjutant. Mahmud took command of a cavalry division while Senef and Zoya each took a light infantry division.
By the 17th, the army had reached the Oasis of Akhir, half-way to Jubai. They were greeted there by local guides from the region of Jubai. These men, experienced Opelenean caravaneers, explained that the Auran leadership of Jubai was marshalling for war against Khaibar, a move they opposed. They offered to advise Ethlyn and Mahmud on the best routes to travel within the region. Jubai, they explained, sat in a large oasis overlooking a series of salt mines to the south-east. To the west, north, and east, it was ringed by smaller oases, each ruled by a bey; these beys were opposed to the Aurans, too. The guides’ words confirmed the missive that the party had received from Alakyrum. They decided the first order of business was to recruit the beys to their cause.
The problem was how to do so. Prefect Ionicus’s army, numbering perhaps 3,000 men, was well-supplied in Jubai. Sitting at the center of the ring, he enjoyed interior lines. Any attempt to march Khaibar’s army along the ring of oases would leave their supply lines exposed to a thrust by Ionicus, or subject the beys to being defeated in detail. Success mandated that all of the beys be recruited nearly simultaneously, timing their marches so they concentrated in space and time on Jubai at once.
Bellona worked out a cunning plan. Ethlyn would take the army and march it to the Khabul, the closest oasis, then steer south-east towards a rendezvous point a dozen miles from Jubai. The proximity of her force would prevent Ionicus from striking to the more distant oases, for fear of exposing his own lines of communication. Meanwhile, Mahmud and Shikra would use the magic carpet to fly to the outer oases of Bab al-Yasir, Bir-Nadia, and Dadbeh. Each bey’s forces would be ordered to the same rendezvous point. With sufficient alacrity, the armies could converge in strength before Jubai’s army was able to destroy them in detail.
The plan was put into motion on the 18th of Genelen. By the 19th, Ethlyn was at Khabul, and had recruited its bey, Tavish, to the cause. To the party’s delight, Tavish explained that all of his fellow beys had been ordered to marshal their forces by the Council of Wisdom in Alakyrum and were ready to fight! This prediction proved true. On the 20th, Mahmud had little trouble recruiting bey Kamal of Bab al-Yasir and bey Abbas of Bir-Nadia – flying in on a magic carpet bedecked in magical armor made quite the impression. On the 21st, he and Shikra reached the oasis of Dadbeh. Its bey, Farbood, was gravely concerned about joining the war effort, however. His oasis was the easternmost in all Opelenea, meaning it would be on the front line of any Auran counter-attack. He requested that Mahmud personally pledge to defend Dadbeh if it came under attack. The Grand Mufti, a man of honor, gave his word to do so. By the 22nd, the beys had consolidated with Ethlyn’s forces about 12 miles from Jubai.
Meanwhile, in Jubai, Prefect Ionicus had been taking action of his own. With the countryside against him, he was hampered by poor scouting and reconnaissance. He knew that the beys of the oases had marshalled their forces, but it was not until the 19th of Genelen that he located Ethlyn’s army in the vicinity of Khabul. Ionicus decided to march out to destroy Ethlyn’s forces before any of the other beys could reinforce her. Unfortunately, he did not know her route of march, and his army marched past her’s to the west. By the time he realized where Ethlyn’s forces were, they were nearly astride his lines of supply to Jubai. On the 22nd, he turned course and marched eastward, also encamping about 12 miles from Jubai.
Between the two armies was a lush region of oases, farms, and groves. On the 23rd, the two armies met there for a pitched battle.