Session 1: Make contact with Bhjurba's Den

@Leilara - After tinkering with the thing for a couple of hours you discern that the band is imbued with magic! Specifically, when someone wears the band they can cast the spell 'Jump' on themselves. You also figure that the ancient civilization that used these bands were pretty skilled with magic, which explains how they were able to live in such a inhospitable place.

Scanning the horizon, Yrsa ponders about the 'ancients'. The fact that their civilization existed is well known throughout the Kamatayan, but hardly anyone knows anything specific. Their culture is a mystery, but their artifacts are found all over the desert. So it would be safe to assume they were successful in whatever they did, and were able to spread themselves very far.

The night goes by slow and cold, the distant starlight is beautiful but does little to keep you warm. Leilara spent most of the night fiddling with the artifact, but she eventually let herself rest. She determined that the ankle band would let anyone, regardless of magical ability, cast the 'jump' spell on themselves up to three times per day. She couldn't figure out how it worked, but she theorized that it might charge itself by absorbing mana from sunlight.

...

After Yrsa's shift was over, she woke up Magnus and swapped places with him. The human kept watch until the morning came. He fiddled with a crossbow bolt, thought of his child, Varkas, and examined the case of Genera tobacco.

Moments before dawn, Magnus's instincts flare. He had been listening to the sounds of the desert for half of the night, and suddenly he heard new sounds. He heard indistinct conversation and sounds of packs being thrown on the ground. It was obvious that there was another group of travelers making camp by the base of the plateau.

Slowly and steadily, Magnus approached the rocky cliff to peer over the edge. A blade of yucca dug into his leg and he crouched, but he hardly felt it. There were three brigands on the ground below, they looked like they had traveled all night and sought shelter under the rocks before the sun started to rise.

The first looks like a dullard more suited for doing a noble's dirty work than traversing the desert. The second wears little armor, but wields a great axe. The third looks experienced, and half of his skull has no hair due to a large burn scar.