Pahhu: Shifting Sands of Time 3: Sandstorm

The party touches down southeast of the Plain of Standing Stones, having exhausted themselves in the wild day. It had been less than 12 hours since they’d woken up to a flash storm and been washed into the prison of Charva’s wards. It was time to rest and regroup, and make plans. Violet prepared a ritual of Scrying, reaching out towards Habib to determine his health after the warning of Charva and his shrinking time. Violet found the old man bent over his horse, nearly falling from the saddle if not for the support of Lindia nearby. The Bedine tribe was on the move on a hard ride, horses pushed to their limit, and the tribe all looking stressed and harried.
Violet reached toward the old man and tryed to establish contact, Sending him a message. Habib was surprised to hear from Violet again, but replied that the group was fleeing from Black Riders of the Zhentarim who had been hunting the desert for the tribe and any sign of the party. Habib told them where they would be heading the next day, a hunting camp near the Border Forest to the northeast. The party knew they had to rest, but made plans to leave first thing the next morning to rendezvous with the tribe.
 
The watches for the night went peacefully, though Marinette and Theodore’s watch gave way to stunning views from high in the desert sky as a moonlit ride on the wings of Theodore’s giant eagle form gave them both a chance to breathe the fresh air and reflect on the journey’s events. The two talked of recent events, and shared a moment of solidarity and affirmation before returning to the camp where the eyes of Violet’s watchful menagerie resumed the watch, protecting the group from the sky.
 
Nearing dawn a trio of men dressed in red tabards and robes approached the camp and stood a respectful distance apart. They introduced themselves as Thayan agents of Falcon’s Crest, and as of recently prisoners in Charva’s sanctuary. They had come to offer their thanks, and to seek an alliance with party reasoning that they were also escapees and could pool resources to avoid recapture, or that the group was the reason behind the breakout to begin with, in which case they were very interested in the power of the group, particularly Pahhu, in being able to break the locks of time in the Sanctuary.
 
Marinette looked at the men of Thay and saw red, her eyes and spirit filling with a searing hot rage that boiled the air around her. The discussion was interrupted as Marinette drew her weapon and unleashed a battle cry, charging the Thayans out of inexplicable fury. Violet however thought quickly and used his magic to Calm the Emotions of Marinette and quell her rage. In that time the Thay made their case, but accepted the party’s explanation they had nothing to do with their breakout and that they would consider the offer to join them at Falcon’s Crest, but for the time being they had to hurry to the Bedine tribe before it was too late. The Thayans departed through a teleportation spell, and the party took to the winds on Theodore’s Wind Walk.
 
The party swooped over the dunes, finding the dust cloud being kicked up the Black Riders first. They flew overhead, counting the 18 riders, bearing the mark of the Zhentarim. The tracks they chased headed northeast, and the windwalking party had no problem getting ahead to the Bedine who had a lead of a scant few hours. Landing ahead of the group they presented themselves to the vanguard of the riding column, and quickly introduced themselves. Habib was brought forward, but he struggled to speak as his body was wracked by coughs. Ed used his divine power to cure the disease of Habib by Laying on Hands, and the old man’s voice soothed. In the meantime Theodore tended to the tribe and the horses, calling forth relief by Creating Water and refilling the depleted casks of the tribe. Violet tended to the exhausted horses, offering them comforts and treats.
 
Pahhu spoke with Habib, learning of why he had sent the letter. Habib had more to share, he told Pahhu of the story of her birth, after clearing up Pahhu’s naive belief in storks with a brief no nonsense explanation aided by Lindia. Pahhu was shell-shocked to learn the truth of her origin, she had NOT come from a stork delivery. Habib wouldn’t give her a chance to process that though, in fact not only did people not come from storks they came from parents, and Pahhu actually had some. A mother AND a father. Pahhu learned her father was a man of the Felfarren Bedine tribe, Abaka Felfarren. He had wandered into the border forest on a hunt, and been lured and blinded by a nymph but was rescued by a wood elf maiden named Sariandi Morvyre.
 
For the first time Pahhu knew where she was from, and even knew which half of her was which! Her deep copper skin came from the Bedine ancestry and that of the bronze skin of the wood elves of the Border Forest, her black hair was from her father, her deep blue eyes from her mother. For the second time Pahhu was left speechless.
 
Habib went on to explain that Sariandi had taken Abaka in for months as he recovered his sight, and nursed him back to health as a relationship blossomed between the two. Once he was healthy she had escorted him back to the tribe where she began to adopt the ways of the tribe. The Felfarren Tribe was on a divine mission, believing it to be a message from Amaunator they were to head north to uncover a great temple to their god. Soon Sariandi fell pregnant, and the lengthy pregnancy nearly threatened the migration of the tribe on their mission, risking the few months of good weather into the northlands. Realizing that the babe would likely not survive the trip, and that Sariandi must recover before the journey he fretted over the final term of the pregnancy.
 
The night Pahhu was born the father would take her and head west, stealing away from the tribe and leaving only a note for Sariandi explaining himself he traveled west to the edge of the frontier arriving in Secomber in 1473. Once arriving there he left Pahhu, wrapped in a red and orange swaddling blanket, her name stitched in Elven ‘Pahhu’ and the word ‘Kilaniu’ which had now proven not to be her name at all. Abaka then left as quickly as he had come, returning to the tribe where he followed them into the Northlands. That was the last Habib had known of either of them.
 
As Pahhu learned the story of what had happened twenty years prior, the rest of the party prepared for the Black Riders of Zhent to approach. A defensive camp was made near pillars of stone erupting near a dune. Theodore called forth thorny plants and twisted the desert to hamper the riders and render the horses moot, and a great sandy ditch was dug to keep the Zhent back from the Bedine.
 
As the camp awaited the riders coming from the south, a small party of Yuan-ti approached from the north. They were companions to the ‘Holy Anathema’ that the group had encountered in their first foray into the desert weeks ago. They carried a message from their god Sseth, and demanded the group answer to their divine lord in the Sanguine Hinterlands, an icy place far to the north. The Yuan-Ti threaten that if she doesn't show within 30 days they will come for her and the others, making a pointed threat towards the Bedine and also gesturing towards the Hawthorne badges they wore. The party thought it best not to attack the Yuan-Ti with the Zhentarim so close by, and with the Bedine at risk they chose to let the Yuan-Ti leave after having delivered their ultimatum.
 
The Zhent show up and invite them to visit the High Inquisitor Voorveld of Hillsfar, near Arabelle. Anheld Garaveld represents the Inquisitor and extends his apologies for what happened in Neverwinter. He says he wants Pahhu's time. He speaks of a situation, mentioning a rift near Hillsfar colored red and orange, and the size of an archway. From this archway have come many troubles, such as a long dead soldier buried decades ago stumbling out and making his report. Other strange things have poured from this rift, which is similar to ones which have opened all through the Sword Coast, many encountered by the Hawthorne Guild, something unknown to the party.
 
The Zhentarim are willing to forgive past insults, but make it clear they will brook no exceptions this time. Pahhu must come with them to Arabelle, and if not then they will do what they must to draw her, leveling a clear threat towards the haggard Bedine tribe.
 
The negotiations break down, and combat begins as three Zhent wizards burn away the plantlife.
The captain fires arrows into Ed's mount, Nagini, striking down his mount.
Pahhu splits time and Hastened Ed and Marinette to grant them the power to dodge arrows and move more quickly though a shiver runs up her spine as her magic bends in an unknown and unexpected way...
Theodore begins to call down the sky on the Zhent, as burning bolts of lightning crash down on their ranks. The Zhent wizards counter by creating a storm of icy shards which shred through the Bedine who fire back an ineffective volley of arrows, the tribe completely off balance under the magical assault.
Ed charges across the ditch with tremendous speed and engages, being quickly surrounded.
Violet bends the light around him and winks out of sight going under a greater shroud of invisibility and warns Pahhu to be careful as she was caught in the icy storm.
Marinette charges across and engages, cleaving open the head of a Zhent Wizard in a flurry of rage fueled brutality.
The zhent surround Ed and Marinette, preparing to beat them down…
 
Ed stands against the tide, and after drawing them all in Theodore calls the thunder down on him like a lightning rod, blasting a half dozen Zhentarim in the strike.
Pahhu calls for healing on the fallen Bedine, but is only able to rouse one of them. She then opens her eversmoking bottle, clouding the Bedine tribe from the magical assaults of the Zhent. She had just found out that she had a family, that these people were here family, she was NOT ready to lose them already!
The Zhent wizards having seen Marinette’s furious attack wrapped themselves in invisibility and concealed themselves.
Ed tries to fight the group, but his magics are countered by invisible mages who hid from Marinette's onslaught, leaving him to withstand the brunt of dozens of blows without magical enhancement.
Violet's eldritch energy pours through an opposing knight, and combined with a Bedine martial artist takes him down.
Marinette unleashes her wings, her radiant energy pouring out of her body, frightening a nearby Zhent Berserker as she hunts for the mages, her axe cleaving through the Zhent soldiers as she hunted for the invisible foes.
The Zhent pound into the party, but Marinette's tough body and Ed's armor hold firm.
Pahhu dimension doors through space, well above the battlefield and casts Feather Fall as she begins to glide into the fracas. She activates her Revealing Lantern as she falls, hoping to reveal the mages so she can get vengeance for the ones she just found out are her family.
Theodore splits the sky again, shocking a mass of Zhent and Ed, the first Zhent soldiers beginning to succumb to the shocking assault.
 
The wily Zhent mages used their invisibility and carefully aimed their most powerful magic into the sky at the gliding Pahhu, unleashing a devastating pair of Cones of Cold, nearly knocking Pahhu unconscious and wrenching her concentration as she loses her Haste on Ed and Marinette. As she finishes gliding in she attempts to halt the Zhent, casting the most powerful incantation of her Hold Person, attempting to sweep 5 Zhent into disability. Three of them succumb, but the mages are still a danger.
Theodore’s Lightning continued to rain down on the Zhent, and three more fell to his thundering blows clearing a path for the charging Bedine who begin to join the melee.
Marinette ripped through the air with her axe, hunting for the mages who had nearly frozen Pahhu solid, but was unable to find them.
Violet continued to approach the battle, felling the Zhent with lancing blasts of ultra violet energy, as another knight dropped.
 
The Zhent wizards began to cast again, and as a fireball exploded over the battlfield Pahhu fell to the sand, overwhelmed by their magics and the commander Anheld Garaveld strode forth, driving his sword into her fallen body, and twisting it. With a gasp the speedy half-elf ceased moving.
In stunned denial Ed tried to Revive Pahhu, but his magic failed to coalesce and the attempt failed.
Marinette ran and to Pahhu’s fallen body and took the lantern of revealing, and with it hunted down the remaining wizards as the charging Bedine backed by Violet’s and Theodore’s magic handled the Zhent commander.
The victory rang hollow though, with Pahhu and many of the Bedine dead or wounded, the tribe would limp to a nearby camp where the party joined them for a night of rest before transporting through a tree back to Lerwick.
 
There a grim-faced Quinton began preparations for a resurrection ritual, and although Pahhu would soon fidget back to life it would seem that the attention brought onto her by these rifts and circumstances had proven deadly…
 
Pahhu was put to bedrest to recover from her wounds, and the rest of the party filled Quinton in. It was quickly decided that the best course of action would be to return to Charva’s sanctuary and try to resurrect Charva. At the very least they could learn more of these powerful and dangerous foes who threatened their lives…