Chapter 2 - The Forty Thieves
General Summary
As the night rose again, Shargazi continued her tale with her husband Jezen as the sun lowered over the horizon. She knew this may be her final day on Talamh. Regardless, she continued to tell Jezen the story of the five adventurers.
"When the thieves returned to the thieves guild, they were assigned by their leader Jezeera to search for these forty thieves and disband them. They were to also look for a missing fellow thief, Marko, who Jezeera believed was taken by the Forty." "So the adventurers made an expedition to the Cave of Greed, travelling on the backs of camels. They still took the monk Chufumasa with them, who secretly took the information on the banker and the thieves from the party. Etim showed them the way to the mountains outside Anzibar, but they were attacked by giant lizards roaming the desert. With speed and cunning they dealt with the beasts, and as the night fell, they made their way towards the caves in the mountains." "Casim disguised himself as the banker Bajal and found his way toward the Forty Thieves, entering their lair and saying the secret password alone. There he came into the office of his former mentor, Ardeth, who offered him a smoke of tabaco. The two discussed the happenings, and how Ardeth believed they found a vault filled with unimaginable treasure. However, they were missing the key. As Ardeth had the thieves search for it, Casim found the corpse of Marko in the prisons with a strange note, written in Thieves Cant. He returned outside to a hiding Farid, and Farid decoded the note, saying Marko had swallowed the key." "The party the plotted how to get inside. They snuck around the thieves and got past the alarm spell at the entrance, first killing the guards at the front and then passing through all at once. Farid and Etim stole costumes of the dead guards and brought Chufu and Ishar in as 'prisoners' and went back to the prisons. The jailor was foolish enough to think Casim and his costumed friends were 'relieving' him of duty and willingly gave them the jail keys. Thus they opened up the cell and Ishar used her magic to retrieve the key from Marko's stomach." "However, they soon realized their disguises would fail when their prisoners were not truly locked up. They fought their way past a group of five thieves, taking them out with speed and stealth. Then they rushed toward Ardeth's office, where he awaited them with his lieutenant and thugs. The party tried to cast spells or attack Ardeth with magic, but he unveiled himself to be a dangerous Rakshasa!" "What is a Rakshasa?" Jezen asked. "It is a demon from the abyss, left upon the mortal plane. It is like a tiger-man but with backwards hands, and has a disdain for humans! He wore fine clothes and a very precious ring on his finger, that he rubbed with pride. Very dangerous creature, and even some of the greatest spellcasters cannot match against them." Jezen shook his head. "That's just a fairy tale, right? No such things really exist?" "I'm afraid not, for our adventurers were overwhelmed by his might. The thugs attacked the party, and the thief Farid was slain by the lieutenant. Chufumasa also went down. In a quick moment of thinking, Casim healed Chufumasa and allowed him to get back up in the fight. Etim and Ishar began their focused fire on the lieutenant, while Chufumasa, seeing how bad the situation was going, got quick to thinking. He had a strange plan. He remembered: the ring." "What of this ring?" "In a quick dash, Chufumasa avoided an attack from the thugs, and leaped upon Ardeth! With the quickness of his hands, he slipped the ring from the Rakshasa's fingers, and placed it on his own!" Jezen laid his head back into his pillows. "So what?" "Listen, my dear. Ardeth did not want this ring in the wrong hands. He utilized his magic to try and mind control Etim to attack Chufumasa, but Casim knocked Etim back to his senses with a spell. With the time to activate the ring, a terrible ROAR was heard from the ring, and from an enormous puff of black smoke came a four-limbed creature, skin red as blood and covered in jewelry. This was the terrible Lady of the Fire, the Efreeti named Krajiik!"
As the sun rose again, Shargazi realized her time was up. She looked fearfully at the dagger that Jezen held in his hands. Yet, he only stared at it, not so longingly as before, but more in contemplation. "Once again, you leave me with more questions with this story," Jezen said. "Yet, I cannot bring myself to end it so abruptly." Shargazi placed her hand on Jezen's, which at first surprised him. Then she looked at him and said, "Then we shall continue it tomorrow. I am sure you desire to know what happens to this Krajiik and the adventurers?" "Yes, I'm afraid so." Jezen put down the dagger. "I am afraid so..."
"When the thieves returned to the thieves guild, they were assigned by their leader Jezeera to search for these forty thieves and disband them. They were to also look for a missing fellow thief, Marko, who Jezeera believed was taken by the Forty." "So the adventurers made an expedition to the Cave of Greed, travelling on the backs of camels. They still took the monk Chufumasa with them, who secretly took the information on the banker and the thieves from the party. Etim showed them the way to the mountains outside Anzibar, but they were attacked by giant lizards roaming the desert. With speed and cunning they dealt with the beasts, and as the night fell, they made their way towards the caves in the mountains." "Casim disguised himself as the banker Bajal and found his way toward the Forty Thieves, entering their lair and saying the secret password alone. There he came into the office of his former mentor, Ardeth, who offered him a smoke of tabaco. The two discussed the happenings, and how Ardeth believed they found a vault filled with unimaginable treasure. However, they were missing the key. As Ardeth had the thieves search for it, Casim found the corpse of Marko in the prisons with a strange note, written in Thieves Cant. He returned outside to a hiding Farid, and Farid decoded the note, saying Marko had swallowed the key." "The party the plotted how to get inside. They snuck around the thieves and got past the alarm spell at the entrance, first killing the guards at the front and then passing through all at once. Farid and Etim stole costumes of the dead guards and brought Chufu and Ishar in as 'prisoners' and went back to the prisons. The jailor was foolish enough to think Casim and his costumed friends were 'relieving' him of duty and willingly gave them the jail keys. Thus they opened up the cell and Ishar used her magic to retrieve the key from Marko's stomach." "However, they soon realized their disguises would fail when their prisoners were not truly locked up. They fought their way past a group of five thieves, taking them out with speed and stealth. Then they rushed toward Ardeth's office, where he awaited them with his lieutenant and thugs. The party tried to cast spells or attack Ardeth with magic, but he unveiled himself to be a dangerous Rakshasa!" "What is a Rakshasa?" Jezen asked. "It is a demon from the abyss, left upon the mortal plane. It is like a tiger-man but with backwards hands, and has a disdain for humans! He wore fine clothes and a very precious ring on his finger, that he rubbed with pride. Very dangerous creature, and even some of the greatest spellcasters cannot match against them." Jezen shook his head. "That's just a fairy tale, right? No such things really exist?" "I'm afraid not, for our adventurers were overwhelmed by his might. The thugs attacked the party, and the thief Farid was slain by the lieutenant. Chufumasa also went down. In a quick moment of thinking, Casim healed Chufumasa and allowed him to get back up in the fight. Etim and Ishar began their focused fire on the lieutenant, while Chufumasa, seeing how bad the situation was going, got quick to thinking. He had a strange plan. He remembered: the ring." "What of this ring?" "In a quick dash, Chufumasa avoided an attack from the thugs, and leaped upon Ardeth! With the quickness of his hands, he slipped the ring from the Rakshasa's fingers, and placed it on his own!" Jezen laid his head back into his pillows. "So what?" "Listen, my dear. Ardeth did not want this ring in the wrong hands. He utilized his magic to try and mind control Etim to attack Chufumasa, but Casim knocked Etim back to his senses with a spell. With the time to activate the ring, a terrible ROAR was heard from the ring, and from an enormous puff of black smoke came a four-limbed creature, skin red as blood and covered in jewelry. This was the terrible Lady of the Fire, the Efreeti named Krajiik!"
"HAHAHA! Your wish is my command, Ardeth!" Krajiik cried. "I shall eliminate these mortals for you!"
Yet, Ardeth gave her a nervous look, and the monk Chufumasa rose up the ring in a strange sense of pride. Suddenly the expression on Krajiik changed: one from joy, to utter fear to see who her new master was.
"Chufumasa made the demand for Krajiik to bring Farid back to life. Krajiik begrudgingly brought back Farid utilizing a wish spell, and Ardeth, seeing the situation, teleported out of the lair out of fear of his plan going horrendously wrong."
"A genie!" Jezen said. "Now I know you are making things up."
"I am afraid I am not, dear Jezen. As the party recovered from the attack, the terrible Krajiik, one of the most powerful genie lords, was now a slave to Chufumasa. She uttered disdain to her new master, saying she would not grant him anymore wishes, but Chufumasa said that he never wished anything."
Jezen grinned. "Clever cat."
"Yes. The party then found the entrance to the vault, uncovering a puzzle that was related to the process of becoming sick and dying. When they opened the vault, they found an entrance to a world of pure fire: the home of the Efreetis. Krajiik guided the party members to the hidden treasure vault within the plane. There they looted many treasures, such as a Cloak of Protection, a Doss Lute, and Bracers of Defense. They also got away with so much treasure and a huge diamond that would last them practically a lifetime. Unfortunately, before they could get more, due to the vault door being opened, a thousand mephits from the plane swarmed in and stole gold as well, clearing the vault!"
"Was this Krajiik's vault?" Jezen asked.
"That is the funny part: no, it belonged to a rival Efreeti named Malak. Malak grew angry as he heard his vault being stolen from, but our adventurers made their daring escape and closed the portal's door behind them. With that, they had gotten away with the heist of a lifetime, as well as a powerful genie on their side."
As the sun rose again, Shargazi realized her time was up. She looked fearfully at the dagger that Jezen held in his hands. Yet, he only stared at it, not so longingly as before, but more in contemplation. "Once again, you leave me with more questions with this story," Jezen said. "Yet, I cannot bring myself to end it so abruptly." Shargazi placed her hand on Jezen's, which at first surprised him. Then she looked at him and said, "Then we shall continue it tomorrow. I am sure you desire to know what happens to this Krajiik and the adventurers?" "Yes, I'm afraid so." Jezen put down the dagger. "I am afraid so..."
Date (in world)
Calustra 2-4th, 4450
Report Date
20 Jul 2022
Player Characters
Chufumasa, Tabaxi Monk. Part of the Order of Bastet, he seeks to stop the return of the Pharoah Kana-Ra, seeking to protect Tamay from necromantic evils. Though he seems crafty and vile, it is a disguise for his good nature.
Farid El-Shaddai, Human Rogue. Raised an orphan and escaping potential slavery in Tamay, he has recently lost his mother from the snare of Pharoah Kana-Ra and seeks to find a way to bring her back. He equips a whip to help him fight. He is joined by his camel, Sadeeda.
Casim, Human Bard. Once under the employ of a master thief named Ardeth, he is a bard who seeks to unravel his mysterious master's fate and seeks adventure and treasure.
Etim, Emerald Dragonborn Ranger. A caravener, he has specialized in being a hired sword to protect those travelling the desert.
Ishar, Amazonian Wizard. A spellsword, Ishar searches for the mystery of her father's disappearance in the lands of Tamay, and find some treasure along the way.
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