Nomen Infernale XLXXII: An Offering of Unholy Fire
General Summary
While Riven kept watch in the early hours of another hot desert day, careened through the desert into her camp. It halted before her, radiant heat licking her face as she blinked somewhat faster than normal. Before her stood an Ifrit, all snarles and surliness. She blinked at him impassively, and chirped gently at La Dona, her trusty fox. La Dona scurried down her pant leg and into the tent where it pounced on each party member's face in turn to wake them. Riven asked the ifrit if he wanted to sit by the fire. He screamed "I AM fire, girl." to which she responded "That's a no, then? Tea?" He roared that he was not here for pleasantries but that Ghamdi the Lifetaker had sent him, Abu Emir Azmi bin Faisal bin Haroun al-Jasrul, al-Madinat Annuhas, from the City of Brass with a message, and that he resented having to be among the foulness of unwashed mortal realms. "I'm with you Mr. Faisal. People are disgusting. Especially this lot." The party exited the tent, but did not move to attack, still chastened by their last encounter with the Ifriti Sultanate.
The Abu Abdul told the assembled party that he had been sent with a message, but that the party should make it worth his while with tribute. He licked his teeth and suggested that for a human sacrifice he would give the party the ultimate answer. Riven cocked her head and asked "Would we know the question based on the answer?" Abu Abdul roared with laughter "What would be the fun of that? Now choose! What do you give as tribute?"
Alex brought forth the staves of the Yafwadi shamans' staves and their accoutrements aside from the skin robes which Theo had said prayers for the dead over and then added to the pyres at the Ayadin hermitage. Abu Abdul looked askance at the Oameni who said "they are weapons of our common enemies, imbued with power, we have seen Ghamdi syphon the energies from objects to add to his own." The Ifrit snapped his fingers and Alex was engulfed in flames. He reacted quickly jumping backward and away and rolling in the sand but the fire would not go out. Kegho came to help roll him, but felt no flame lick his hands and could smell no roasting flesh even though Alex's skin had begun to char and flake away. When Kegho exclaimed it was some magic trickery, Alex was able to shake off the illusion and stood, to face the laughing Abu Abdul. They gathered what copper the party had laid it with the heavy idols of Reshpu Kegho carried and the silver decorations Asbjørn had stripped from the chambers of the Magna Larva.
Abu Abdul felt it was paltry but acceptable enough to tell them that to the south, deeper in the heart of the corruption that plagued the wastes, at the mouth of a canyon was a fallen city where men once built great ziggurats and colossi of metal to please their Rusatian queens. There they might find the next steps on their path to find the Rusati, but it was deep within the heart of the Tribesmen of the Yafwad Wastes territory. He offered again to reward them for a human sacrifice. Asbjørn and Theo briefly discussed the merits of human sacrifice in a cool comparative cultures way before Alex reminded them what a hassle it was the last time they sacrificed anything to an outer god, and Asbjørn did relent in his position for he did hate to be inconvenienced. Theo was pleased to win the day but was dissatisfied because it was over a technicality and not a clear moral victory.
Teleptyon chose to gamble a bit and bared his chest to Abu Abdul while telling him that La Compagnia was on a mission to collect the pieces of the name for Ghamdi. Abu Abdul mocked him saying he was a fool indeed if he was taking the pieces of the name of the Yafwadi god deep into their territory. He became thoughtful and stated that Ghamdi was either a fool or a genius but much would change in the City of Brass and he would be watching intently. With a blast akin to a furnace door being opened Abu Abdul was gone and the party was suddenly very thirsty.
Teleptyon engaged in a period of augury as La Compagnia struck camp and moved to untouched grazing grounds to the north while they waited for Asbørn to fully recover. Teleptyon puzzled over the meaning of "revelation and destruction." but often augury becomes clearer in hindsight. Once Asbjørn was again proper yoked, they debated following the tugging of the staff to the southwest, again near the Cynocephalus hillfort, heading due south toward the still-distant oasis and possibly an abandoned city of wonder. Rahet expressed concern for traveling toward the South as he had previously indicated some kind of doom in that area. And Alex believed him to be indicating that his people lived that way. Alex believed he was indicating that Rahet's people would likely kill the party and Rahet understood it as an invitation for Alex and Rahet to slaughter them together. Alex clarified his meaning somewhat to Rahet's great disappointment. As they gestured at each other Alex realized how poorly Rahet was doing. They decided to go southwest, but fate had other plans in store for them and they headed south around the edge of a large dune and found the ruins from a temple near their path.
Theo and Kegho were unenthusiastic about entering the temple grounds, Teleptyon hoped for relics infused with Rusati magic, Asbjørn wished to learn the secrets of his new sword, Alex hoped to find information about surrounding settlements. Riven was happy to take a break from riding.
Alex was delighted to find the front walls and entablature of the ruined temple partially intact and covered with ancient Khemian writing. He hung back as the rest of the party moved forward to explore the temple grounds, as they rounded fallen columns they saw the form of a lone giant serpent lazing in the center of a mosiac that once would have been under the temple roof. Asbjørn reached for his bone-hilted sword, but Theo stayed him. "I can speak to it!" and began marching forward.
