What you see in the desert

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The bright horizon goes on and on in all directions. There is no obvious way to go. The dunes are wide and rolling, with dips and valleys as well as tall peaks. It will be laborious terrain to cross.

However, Eurynome pulls out a string worked with beads and charms tied with a small, conical crystal at one end. The crystal bobs slightly as she lets it down like a plumb-line, hanging from between her fingers, palm down. The woman begins to mumble to herself as slowly, she turns in a circle, eyes fixed upon the tiny movements of the crystal. She slows down as she faces the north, the little crystal trembles ever so slightly. She turns slightly back west and finds a spot in her circuit. When her hand rests there, the crystal jangles and sways at the bottom of its line.

“There's a lot of water,” she announces, “this way.”

You've heard that seers and magicians use such tools to divine things unseen. There seems to be no other obvious way to go and Eurynome looks convinced that what she is saying is true. You make what little preparations you can agains the desert sun and begin walking. The day is already hot and the morning has barely begun.

However, you walk for less than an hour before topping a ridge and seeing an amazing sight on the horizon.

There is a temple,  It for it to appear so large at this distance it must be truly massive: larger than the palace of the Sultan. A narrow channel crosses it's grounds, holding the tantalizing hope of water within. There are all kinds of out-buildings around the temple as well, a small town's worth. You will be able to see more once you get closer.

There is also a small tent between you and the temple, just a short walk away. It is made of outlandish purple fabric and seems to be sewn with gleaming crescents and stars. You wonder what all of this could portend.

The road is supposed to stretch on for weeks before reaching the small farming towns of the mountains. You have never heard mention of such an extravagant temple existing along the way.

Adib: You note that whoever is in the tent has posted no watchers. You could slip away, or sneak up to the tent without being noticed, as the ridges of sand are tall enough to conceal a crouching man.

Soren: You are not sure how Eurynome's divination works. To your eye, it seemed as if she was addressing someone. Perhaps she prayed to her deity, who granted her a boon. She is definitely not unskilled in the magical arts.

Eurynome: The temple is richly populated with people of all shapes and sizes. They buzz around, going about their business. But they are very strange people. Perhaps of an exotic race.

You are all on the edge of the valley in which the temple is located. Some obvious options are to visit the tent first, sneak up on it, or sneak past it. It looks to be a little less than an hour's walk before you can reach the temple itself.

Three Dreams

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The conversation is... unsettling. You are not sure why you are here with these two strange new people. It seems to have the touch of fate about it. Whether that fate is pushing you towards good or ill remains to be seen.

As the screaming wind settles to a sigh, some few stars begin to glimmer from between the waves of blowing sand. A heaviness comes over your eyelids and you nod, half-asleep and half-awake.

***

It may be just the wind. However, at times you hear a high-pitched male voice singing plucked notes of song out among the wind and the dunes. Sometimes it seems far off and sometimes it seems near as the wind blusters this way and that. It's song is plaintive and lonely.

You can only make out a few lines:

“We spun like birds on fire...
And I, I took all that I desired
Deep water, deep water...
...Senseless denial”

...

As the song subsides the images from it dance in your mind. You imagine chasing a phoenix across the sands, reaching out for its fiery feathers, hoping to catch the down that brings new life. You feel it's nest is in a high place... and that nest contains a brilliant, crystal-clear gem, the size of a fist, perfectly round, and glowing with the bright light of the sun. To find the gem, seek the phoenix's nest on the tallest tower.

...

And, whispering from between the pages of forgotten tomes, come the voices of Averoes and Avicenna.  Their words are like light that cracks through the darkness and breaks into dawn.

***

You awaken with a start and blink in the blinding light. The sky is already bright in the east, clear and yellow and at least two hours past dawn. You leave the world of dreams behind as you and your two companions shuffle, dusty and tired, from the small cavern. You emerge onto a landscape scrubbed clean and new by the previous night's storm. There is no sign of the road.

More Music

This is a song that Ada sent me in a Mix Tape of hers many years ago.  It seems like a lovely overture for the campaign.

Introductions

Another day is ending.  You watch the sun march its achingly slow course down into the blindingly blue western sky.  All around you is pale gold desert sand.

The pilgrim's road, more of a light patch of finer sand than a road, unfolds endlessly forward.  The muscles of your back and legs are stiff and aching from the long days of walking.  The heat and dust stick to your skin and the inside of your throat feels like sandpaper.  And all day, the air has been restless and moaning, whipping yet more sand into your squinting eyes.

You pass one or two small clusters of pilgrims as you walk, even some small caravans.  But for the most part you walk the weary hours alone.  It is time to find a place to settle down for the night.  As you scan the rolling dunes for any sign of shelter, you see that the way ahead of you is dimming not with dusk, but with huge, roiling clouds of turbulent sand.  A storm is coming.  And it's coming on fast.

You scramble towards some rockier ground as the air around you begins to prickle and the blows of sand against you become steadily heavier.  Several times you are turned around as the air becomes thicker and harder to see into.  The sky is blood-red as at last you reach the rocks and you know that if you don't find some shelter quickly it will become impossible to do so in the dark of the night.

Nearly tripping, you find yourself on the lip of a small outcropping.  It is of smooth, brown rock and the space beneath it forms a shallow but serviceable cavern below.  You thank the gods for your luck as you clamber down to the entrance and out of the wind.  However, the cavern is not empty.

Two human-like shapes, huddled against the base of the stone, look up to see who has joined them.  It seems you are not the only traveller seeking shelter from the storm.  When they are satisfied you are not a bandit, the three of you exchange greetings. 

The storm picks up in intensity as the light dims and the night comes on.  But there seems to be no immediate danger.  A small oil lamp is lit and tales are called for to pass the time.  "Who are you, my friend?" you are asked, "and what brings you to travel in these parts?"

Intro Music

Welcome to the Adventure of the Temple of Light!

(Intro Music)