qat 2014/08/14(Thu)18:31 No. 589466 ID: f74bb7
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Or collapse from exhaustion and get buried by a sandstorm.

Although it was nice and cozy in here at first, you're getting itchier by the hour. Besides, the worst of the winds have long since passed, so there's no point in sticking around here any longer.

So, which are you, dead or soon to be dead and, more importantly, why?

Suggestion 2014/08/14(Thu)19:14 No. 589472 ID: f74bb7
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You are most certainly not dead yet, although that last incident was pretty close.

You have a pilgrimage to continue, after all.
What kind of a shaman trudges through the desert for months, just to expire before she even gets to the outskirts of the ancient city? Not this one, that's for sure.

You could try a simple pathfinding ritual, but you're not sure how much energy you have left. Then again, travelling aimlessly through the desert isn't the best idea either.

i think you will have to chance the ritual.

>>589472
Better do the ritual.

How did you breathe under the sand?

qat 2014/08/14(Thu)19:44 No. 589475 ID: f74bb7
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Mustering up the strength you have left, you mutter a quick incantation and drive your staff into the sand. The ground ripples gently outward, and it takes all your concentration to focus the waves in a single point.

Gradually, they carve a path northwards, where you can just barely see the beginnings of a heap of stone. Glorious.

It's a wonder you're still alive, especially since you've always struggled with inducing the deep, hibernation-like meditation that comes like second nature to every other shaman. Dire circumstances call for dire measures, or something like that. You were always far better at conjuring, a skill that proved lifesaving after you quickly ate through your initial food supply.

>>589475
Oh yeah, what other stuff can you do?

Better get going, head towards the stone.

qat 2014/08/14(Thu)20:18 No. 589478 ID: f74bb7
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As you make your way to the ruins in the distance, you wonder what made you think this shaman gig was ever a good idea. Healing others inevitably leaves them worse off than they started, religion honestly bores you to tears, and you're still not sure how you pulled off that meditation stunt. The only things you're actually good at are transmuting things for personal gain and using your staff as a cudgel and/or improvised crowbar, neither of which are encouraged by the elders or the community at large. The only reason you've even bothered to get this far is out of a stubborn need to prove yourself by going on what is essentially a suicide mission. You may be impulsive, violent, and irreverent, but you're not one to back down from a challenge, no matter how impossible.

While mulling over your thoughts you nearly walk headfirst into a massive stone marker. If you squint, you can just barely make out the words "HERE LIES ARANI PADHMAR, WHO DRENCHED THE SANDS IN BLOOD". That doesn't sound like a grave you want to be walking over. Although, if he did get a great big honking stone in front of his tomb, he might be important enough to have carried some loot with him to the grave.

At this point, you could keep trudging north or you could take a quick detour for some shameless personal gain.

you don't really have much, and just getting out of the sand for a little bit would be great. in you go.

qat 2014/08/14(Thu)21:22 No. 589493 ID: f74bb7
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You decide to descend into the tomb for a brief rest before continuing on to the city.

There doesn't seem to be much of note here: a few scattered vessels and a single stone coffin carved with the same inscriptions as the grave marker outside.

What will you check first?

check sealed vessels. then the coffin.

qat 2014/08/14(Thu)21:53 No. 589503 ID: f74bb7
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You carelessly upend the containers for hidden loot, but they've been sitting here for so long that their contents have turned to dust.

Maybe the coffin might be more lucrative, but you honestly doubt it.

coffin zombie, smack hand with stick.

>>589503
Maybe you can heal the undead.

>Healing others inevitably leaves them worse off than they started
Is that just the way shamanistic healing works? Is that some kind of commentary on how people don't learn if you remove consequences? Or is that a failing of your own practice- you're just no good at healing?

>Although, if he did get a great big honking stone in front of his tomb, he might be important enough to have carried some loot with him to the grave.
He might also be important enough to have carried some kind of curse or protection to his grave. Someone who drenches things in blood sounds kind of vengeful.

Maybe you can alleviate that with some kind of prayer or chant before his coffin, there? Spiritual obsequence in exchange for the material things you may be relieving him or her of.

qat 2014/08/15(Fri)19:27 No. 589606 ID: f74bb7
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You hear a rustling noise from somewhere behind you, almost as if something were shifting in the coff-
Wait a minute.

Perhaps poking around in those vessels wasn't such a good idea after all.

qat 2014/08/15(Fri)19:33 No. 589608 ID: f74bb7
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Looks like Arani Padhmar wasn't as dead as you thought, and he sure doesn't seem happy to see you right now.

In a panic, you pound your staff into the ground and rattle off every spell, every incantation you can think of in the hopes that something in your limited reportoire might stop Padhmar, who is shuffling towards you at an alarming rate.

Finally, you hit on something as a jagged streak of light shoots from your staff and into his decayed ribs.

follow up! smash your staff into the arm holding the sword

qat 2014/08/15(Fri)19:40 No. 589610 ID: f74bb7
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Well, you're used to your healing spells never turning out the way they're supposed to, but even by your standards this is a royal mess.

Padhmar's slowly but surely regenerating, and at this point there's no stopping your bungled magic. You'll have to hope he's in a merciful mood today.

that... actually is kind of impressive, at this point there shouldn't be anything alive to regenerate from. so... yeah, that's amazing.

>>589610
...well, you brought him back to life. Maybe if you uh, gave him some space, he might be grateful.

1/2 qat 2014/08/15(Fri)21:35 No. 589619 ID: f74bb7
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While Padhmar recomposes, you hunker down for a much-needed rest and contemplate the poor life choices that brought you here.

Your begin to wonder just what the hell Padhmar really is, since there's no way a fluke healing spell could rejuvenate a dried-out body all by itself.

2/2 qat 2014/08/15(Fri)21:40 No. 589622 ID: f74bb7
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By the looks of it, he's about as alive as he'll ever be. Considering his vengeful epitaph, this cannot be good.

There's a chance he might spare you in his gratitude, but the undead are generally an unruly, unpredictable bunch. There's no telling what he could be up to, but in your weakened state your chances of fending off an undead warrior with only a wooden staff are pretty slim.

...maybe you should just run then.

I wonder if your healing spell combined itself with the immortality/preservation enchantment?

Is he a good looking undead or actually revived to the world of the living?

Greet him cordially. Offer him food or drink or a chance for conversation; if he declines or shows hostile motion, just leave.

>Greet him cordially. Offer him food or drink or a chance for conversation; if he declines or shows hostile motion, just leave.
Yeah, that's the best way to handle this, really.

qat 2014/08/16(Sat)18:42 No. 589750 ID: f74bb7
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You really don't want to be on the business end of that scimitar. Then again, he ought to be grateful, considering he was a leathery skeleton until you stepped in. You decide to take your chances and say hello.

"Good...morning, I guess? Terribly sorry for raiding your tomb, Your uh, Excellency, there was this raging sandstorm, you see, and I had to duck in here for a-"
He holds up a hand, cutting you off mid sentence.

Then, to your utter consternation, he gets down on one knee and begins to speak.

"Your service has bought my eternal gratitude, stranger! Tell me your name, that I might properly repay she who supplanted my deathly curse with an immortal blessing."

Well, that could have gone a lot worse.

"Korat Shantar, wandering shaman-for-hire at your service." You wonder if that last bit was really necessary.

"Well met, Kora Chandra! Your desire I am duty-bound to oblige, for no price is too great in return for re-entry into the land of the living."

Not butchering your name would be a good start, you think. But to be honest, what are you supposed to do with an undead, scimitar-wielding warlord? Make him your personal manservant? Send him off to wreak havoc on your enemies? Put him to work redoing your landscaping?

>>589750
Bodyguard! If there's nothing else here, then let's continue on our way.

>Not butchering your name would be a good start, you think.
Hey, he's not killing you, we'll take it.

>Send him off to wreak havoc on your enemies? Put him to work redoing your landscaping?
Do you even have enemies than need killing? Or land to scape? Not much to do with sand.

An escort or traveling companion might work. I'd avoid putting him on menial tasks, or taking advantage of him though. You don't want him to have a reason for vengeance if and when he considers he debt repaid.

...maybe ask him what happened? How was it that he came to be cured? His epithet was somewhat sparse on details.

qat 2014/08/19(Tue)17:47 No. 590234 ID: f74bb7
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You quickly seize the opportunity to land yourself a bodyguard. Although you are pretty damn good with a staff, a hunk of wood only gets you so far against more serious weapons. A little extra help never hurt.

First things first, though, you want some answers. Padhmar sheepishly admits that he doesn't really know how he ended up in his crypt; all he remembers is a sorcerer offering him eternal life in exchange for sparing the nearby city, then waking up in this tomb with his own scimitar stuck through his middle. He assures you that he was, however, fearless in battle and a mighty conquerer of cities. Real modest, this one.

You think you know what happened here, but without some hard historical evidence you can't say for sure. If the city hasn't completely disintegrated, there may be a library left standing you could peruse.

>>590234
That sounds like a cool thing to investigate. How would we get to the library though? Isn't the city buried in the sand?

well that's kinda funny, he's alive and the town is dead anyway.

Sounds kind of like he might have got ripped off. 'Eternal life' as a cursed mummy or something. But yeah, we could look into a library when we hit civilization, sure.

qat 2014/08/20(Wed)10:06 No. 590288 ID: f74bb7
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You leave the tomb and continue your trek northwards, Padhmar in tow.

It's not long before you hit the city's outer wall. Ancient as it is, the thing still looks impenetrable.

What will you do?

Ask him if he remembers where the entrance to the town was.

qat 2014/08/20(Wed)15:40 No. 590316 ID: f74bb7
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Padhmar looks doubtful. From what he remembers, the city was completely sealed off from the outside. Everywhere you looked, the wall was the same.

You take another look at the wall in front of you. Upon closer inspection, there appears to be a rope of some kind hanging about halfway down the wall.

Shaman magic to grow the rope to full length and it strong enough to climb?

Suggestion 2014/08/20(Wed)16:28 No. 590329 ID: f74bb7
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You could transmute the rope longer, but you need to touch it for that to work. You try to jump up and grab it, but the end of the rope is still well out of reach.

>>590329
Get your bodyguard to give you a boost.

ask padhmar for a boost, he's a strong warrior dude, lifting someone should be easy.