Pahhu: Shifting Sands of Time 1: Two Letters

Two letters arrive simultaneously to Pahhu Kilaniu, the Half-Elven sorceress of time living in Hyssop Home. Pahhu immediately reacted with anxiety, after all a letter was filled with letters, and she'd never been good with those. She opened the first one, it was an invitation from Lindia to revisit Habib, part of a roaming Bedine clan in the far East Anauroch near the Border Forest. Pahhu had met them when trying to learn more of her own story, one that had begun in Secomber nearly 20 years prior in fall of 1473.
 
Pahhu looked at the letter, with the camel embossed into the parchment and continued reading.
 
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Pahhu,
 
Your visit brought some memories rushing back to old Habib. Though your friend’s treatment has been easing his pain, he is growing increasingly frail, and likely shant likely last long for this world afore passing to the next. He wishes to speak with you. He says… he has a message. From your mother.
 
Sands flow soft under your feet,
Lindia
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Pahhu took out her magic stork egg, the orb of time and considered it. Gifted to Pahhu by the elder Habib, the last trinket he has from his friends in the Felfarrin Tribe. It is a golden sun-like orb that glows faintly to tell the different indicated times. A warm golden glow for morning, a brighter golden glow for afternoon, a silvery sparkling gold of a dimmer nature for evening, and finally a fully silver dim glow for nighttime, with sparkles of golden stars. Using it to determine the direction of north causes the orb to fade to the nighttime glow, with a starry constellation of Amaunator’s Belt showing the way north, aligning with true north and the generalish direction of the Spine of the World, over which it is known to appear.
 
"I wonder when it is going to hatch. I need to ask Rajit if she can help me build a nest, and maybe Rafeeq can sit on it." Pahhu tucked the orb away and looked at the other letter, which was sealed with purple wax and bore the seal of a purple dragon. This letter seemed to be from a man with a very fancy title…
 
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Pahhu,
 
Please accept my humblest apologies for the actions of my associate, whom you met briefly in Neverwinter. He was always known to be a brash headed fool, and it served to his rather timely end at the flail of your companion. I would like to extend formal apology on behalf of the organization, and would invite you to a feast in your honor. If you should wish to accept, please write back to the Harmonious Harp Feasthall in Arabel, at your leisure. We can settle on an agreeable time for the feast upon your arrival.
 
Sincerely,
High Inquisitor Guust Voorveld
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"Oh, those are the people from the cold Black Desert place." Pahhu misremembers the details, as she thought the city of Neverwinter must be a desert since it must never be winter there, and the Black Lake district where her party was once attacked by drow assassins and other hired muscle when they visited Hulfgar’s Harper contact, Mary. Pahhu had frozen most of the assailants in their tracks, and they’d been quickly defeated while paralyzed. “Says they want to invite me to an ‘apple guy dinner.’” Pahhu squints at the word apology and sucks her teeth. “I don’t think apples are supposed to be dinner foods though.”
 
Pahhu reversed breaking the seal on the letter, mending it to a time before it was broken, and stowed it in her dirty bedroom. “Apple guys can wait, I bet Habib is gonna hatch some new storks or he can show me the stork that brought me and then I can know where I came from!” Pahhu ran down the halls of Hyssop Home, breezing past Ed’s room, who opened the door just to see Pahhu bounding out the front door. He knew she was up to something. Again.
 
Ed was right though, up was exactly where Pahhu wanted to be. Habib and Lindia were far away and if they were going to make it there they were going to need help. Good thing she knew the best way to get up top was the man with the top hat. And he was always in the corner of the tavern! Pahhu cut across town, jumping fences and ducking through alleyways before coming to the familiar establishment. She bounced across the threshold and saw her quarry in a corner, reading a book. “Eww, even more letters than letters.” Pahhu thought but, ran towards him and leaned on the table.
 
The book must have been from a foreign land, as Theodore began to quote from it in an exaggerated accent. “What is love? What is life? Mmmyes…” Pahhu saw her chance and jumped on it. “Hey, hey, tophat-man. We’re gonna go see the stork guy in the desert, I bet he can tell you. Because when a man and a woman love each other very much the stork brings them a new life and everyone is very happy! So you’re coming right, right?” Theodore put his book down and stared in exasperation at Pahhu, he considered the offer and decided: “Well why bloody not?”
 
The two encountered the foreboding muscular figure of Marinette outside of the tavern, standing before a fountain as she let the flowing water roll over her cracked skin and healing burn wounds. Pahhu considered her for a second, thinking perhaps Marinette was bathing, but then realized exactly what she must be doing. “Marinette! Are you making a wish in the fountain? What are you wishing for?” The tall hooded woman barely responded, lost in her own thoughts, so Pahhu continued on. “Hey, we’re going to go to the desert and maybe there will be a lamp and a genie and you can wish for something there!” Marinette finally turned to look at Pahhu and Theodore, the two exchanging some message well over Pahhu’s head literally and figuratively.
 
Pahhu explained the trek to her, and after explaining about the presence of big ugly snake people and big ugly purple worms and other dangerous Marinette seemed to grow more and more excited and interested. Pahhu grinned to herself and told the two of them to meet her at Hyssop Home, and then she began to run back herself, taking her unique route through alleys, over fences and across roofs. Lucky for her she just so happened to see another friend in the sky as Violet flew by on a ebony griffin. “HEEEEY! VIOLET!” Pahhu yelled and waved up to draw attention. “Can you check my stork egg again? I wanna know when it is gonna hatch!” Violet banked around and flew down to the roof, smiling at Pahhu. Violet knew the strange orb wasn’t an egg, but appreciated Pahhu’s enthusiasm for the bird, and did his best to try to communicate with any creature that might be inside. Alas, though nothing could be heard from inside. “We’re gonna go to the desert and see Habib, he’s the guy with all the storks. I know you love birds, so do you wanna come and see him again and maybe meet some of them? Maybe Habib will know why this egg won’t hatch too!”
 
Violet agreed, and the party began to assemble in Hyssop Home. Ed stood there, already packed. “This a job from Hulfgar, or is it Pahhu getting us all into trouble again?” Pahhu sucked her teeth and replies. “We’re gonna go see Habib! I got Theodore to make us go woosh, and Marinette in case of snakes and Violet so we can talk to all the storks! And you’re already ready, so now we can go!”
 
With the party formed they considered their travel plans, and with the help of Hyssop Home’s cartographer Bisturk Ves they decided to start by paying a visit to Poppy’s Oasis. Theodore worked the magic, and a ripple crawled across the great oak in Hyssop Home’s courtyard. Another ripple crossed Kyle, Poppy’s friendly tree in her oasis. After a brief visit and much pointing at Kenneth the snake, they set out, walking on the winds and guided by Theodore’s magic.
 
The party traveled as the crow flies, perhaps blessed by one of Violet’s many crows, but before long the sun was setting. The party landed in a desolate area in the Plain of Standing Stones and erected a Tiny Hut. Through the night strange small creatures patrolled around them, and although no hostilities were taken by the group the creatures began setting up hideous effigies of spiked snakes around the group. Little did they know that the creatures lay in wait prepared with some form of ritual…
 
As the sun rose the party’s camp broke, the violet dome that had protected them through the night released into the weave. At that time the weather began to change, suddenly and violently a huge thunderstorm manifested around them. The party rushed to gather their things and prepare to go, but the torrential rains caught them unprepared.The sandy and stony wastelands had no way to absorb the water, and it began to pour in around them from the surrounding dunes. One of the nearby dunes began to collapse under the rain, as a massive slurry of water and sand cascaded downhill toward the party, threatening their very lives.
 
Theodore lifted his hands and spread them, evoking his druidic magics to attempt to Control the Water. He split it with all of his force but the water was laden with sand, and his magic mitigated the oncoming flood, but was unable to stop it. Pahhu reached to the earth below her and tried to Mold an Earthen wall, to at least absorb the impact of the coming slurry, but her reach was too great and as she ripped up the earth itself a great gouge breached into a cavern below! The water began to drain into it, now forming a whirlpool as the water violently churned and thrashed. The group strained against the sand, but Pahhu, Theodore and Violet were unable to resist and began to be pulled towards the center in the whirling current, soon to be dragged under and drowned or ground apart in the churning sand.
 
Theodore struggled to slow and control the water, while Ed charged into the maelstrom, trying to reach his allies. Marinette however had other ideas. Straining her muscles she grasped Pahhu from the muck, and with one great swing threw the small woman… right at the center of the Maelstrom. She slammed into Theodore, and the two of them became tangled up. Ed, charging in reached Violet who quickly cast a spell, Dimension Dooring the pair 500 feet away. The two found themselves disorientingly in the bright and dry desert, realizing the storm that threatened their lives, and still threatened their party seemed to be localized only to the place they had camped…
 
Pahhu and Theodore floundered in the sand, but Marinette charged in towards the two of them. Now that they were both together she grabbed them both in one of her huge arms and then leaped from the slurry, holding up one hand and then… click. The rod snapped into place, as the trio hung in the air above the rapidly filling sinkhole, the last of the water swirling and then with a final splash the trial was over, the storm clearing overhead as quickly as it had formed.
 
The group reformed and looked down into the now deep water beneath them. Pahhu had unwittingly opened a cavern some 60 feet deep, and as they watched the sand settle they saw the strange glint of light play deep within the water. At first they believed it may have been a reflection of the sun, but even in the shade the light gleamed.
 
“Hey Marinette, I bet you could make a wish in this fountain and it might come true!” Pahhu threw a copper into the deep water and nodded her head. If there was going to be a wish in the desert this would definitely be it. Marinette simply growled and looked down at the light, her instincts alarmed. The group considered their options, whether they should go to Habib, look for the creatures or explore the light, but Marinette’s patience ran out and she dove in, sinking rapidly in her armor.
 
Pahhu went in next, throwing one end of a rope to Ed, she dove in to chase after Marinette, wanting to give her the other end so she could be pulled up. Theodore, Violet and Ed watched Pahhu descend into the water and… then the rope went slack. Ed jumped in next, and was quickly followed by Violet and Theodore.
 
The three found themselves at the bottom, in front of a brightly lit round entrance way, and as they pushed through they found themselves in dry air, with Pahhu and Marinette standing in the middle of a tiled room. The room had great mosaics of the rising sun in the east, the setting sun in the west, the bright day to the south and night to the north. The tiles seemed imbued with warm light, and their clothes begin to dry as if in the sun itself.
 
A voice spoke into their minds. “Oh, welcome. It’s been so long. If you can reach me you will be oh so duly rewarded!” Pahhu turned to Marinette and exlaimed: “See, I told you there was gonna be a wish and I threw in a coin! Let’s go!“ The room had only one exit, a hallway leading north into the night. 10 feet wide, nearly 20 feet tall and tiled with the same motifs the party entered only to find a closed door, etched in Abyssal it bore the message:
 
“Time is the greatest trap of all.”
“The young believe they have all the time in the world.”
“The old wish to have just a little more time.”
“Answer these questions three, and earn a little more time.”
 
Ed read the message aloud in confusion, and the party turned as they heard the door behind them shut with scraping stone, only for the stones above their head to begin to part. Sand began to trickle in on them, rising by the second… A new message appeared:
 
“I measure out in time, until in time, all is smashed into me. What am I?”
 
The group answered incorrectly with guessed such as history, an hourglass, a calendar, with each wrong guess the tiles above opened more, and the sand rose as it climbed above their ankles. At least Marinette grabbing a handful of the cursed stuff surrounding them shouted “Sand! It’s sand!” in exasperation. The tiles above stopped widening, but a second question appeared:
 
“What has two hands, a round face, always runs, but stays in place?”
 
Pahhu held up her shield, emblazoned with a clock face and shouted repeatedly: “Clock! It’s a clock! Clock clock clock!” The text faded, only to be replaced with another question:
 
“What belongs to the competent, the patient, and the faithful?”
 
The group began to struggle again. Answers such as belief, patience, confidence and hope proved wrong. The sand rose to nearly their waists before the correct answer was given. “Tomorrow.” said Pahhu, and the sand stopped. The door ahead opened and the party continued into a new room.
 
The group finds itself in a room with an altar and four giant floor to ceiling hourglasses, each one slightly different in the countdown as its sand spilled. An altar embedded into the floor bore a copper bowl, and beneath it written in abyssal was the text:
 
“Sacrifice will buy you more time. Buy enough, and find the way forward.”
 
The sand began to flow in the hourglasses as the door behind them shut, and the party began to try to understand their predicament. Investigation of the altar revealed little, though Ed’s use of Detect Evil and Good revealed it was a desecrated altar. Violet sacrificed his familiar to the altar, to no avail. Theodore tested the altar, offering it a bit of his own blood from a cut, which the altar drank greedily. He then poured holy water on the altar, which evaporated in a burst of steam. Marinette licked the altar, much to the confusion of the party, and it had no effect. The sand continued to trickle down…
 
Pahhu began to fight the sand, using her connection with Molding the Earth to stay the sand in one of the hourglasses, trying to buy more time. Marinette grew frustrated and slammed her first into an hourglass, as major cracks formed. A second punch and it shattered, the sands inside swirling as they began to form the shape of a massive naga. A fight broke out, the sand continuing to accumulate as Pahhu struggled to hold one hourglass from emptying while the party found itself unable to investigate the altar as they fought. Theodore acted quickly and polymorphed the naga into a dove, which Marinette seized and tried to force into the bowl. The bowl would not accept the polymorphed dove however, and with it controlled through Animal Friendship by Ed the party tried to understand their situation.
 
It soon became clear blood was the only answer, and much of it was spilled into the bowl. When at last it was full the door opened, the party ran through and they left the polymorphed dove behind as the stones slid neatly back down behind them. The only way was forward...
 
The party soon found themselves in a rectangular room. A table with richly carved stone boxes stood before a number of marked tombs in the wall. The voice spoke in their heads. “Yes, you’ve done well to get this far… please accept your gifts.” As they opened the boxes they found strange treasures of many types, and the tombs opened revealing the remains of what may have been their former owners. As the last box was opened and the last tomb unsealed, the ceiling itself began to slide and split open as ooze and pus began to drip from the ceiling.
 
A filthy Sibriex covered in chains and scabbed wounds descended and spoke in a sickly sweet tongue. “Well, you all are the first people to have been here in 372 years. That’s how long I’ve been locked in here. Now, tell me friends, what are your names and how are we getting out of here? What are all of your names? I have many, but many call me Birgallaz.” The fiend spoke well, and the group found itself disgusted and horrified but nearly unable to resist the demon’s wiles and offers, but Marinette only got more and more wound up as the fiend spoke. The tension would snap at last when Marinette let out a battle cry and attacked.
 
The battle was lengthy, and draining. Pahhu trapped the Sibriex in the Silence of Quiet Time, while Marinette and Ed fought valiantly. Theodore and Violet rained magics down on the fiend, though Violet suffered greatly and was knocked down sizzling in a pool of acidic spittle. Pahhu pulled Violet away from the line of fire, and tended his wounds as Marinette’s onslaught drew the vicious attacks of the Sibriex. The room was stifling and the corruption of Sibriex tore at the bodies of the party, with filthy poisons ravaging them from the inside. At last however Ed drew from deep within him and smote the Sibriex, the radiant energy leaving it naught but a pool of black ichor…