Tasya's Story

Tas holds steady and presses her knees into Stripe's sides, as she steels her nerves and takes another shot at the angry giant scorpion.

You keep Stripe at ease and fire another bolt from his back. Petalwing, becomes visible and exclaims, "No-no! Friend Mariquette get stingy-stingy! I make stingy thing see big wormy thing!"

She closes her eyes and and mutters something using words you don't understand.

Tasya's Current HP: 24, Temp HP: 0
Scorpion Current HP: 11, Temp HP: 0

The scorpion screeches again as another bolt lodges into it. It's about to lunge at you, when suddenly it's attention is diverted. It turns and starts clawing at the air. It's trying to fend off something you cannot see.

The scorpion remains distracted and engaged with a foe you cannot see. Watching the scorpion claw at the air, Petalwing begins to laugh out loud, "Ha ha! Stingy thing silly-silly."Tasya's Current HP: 24, Temp HP: 0
Scorpion Current HP: 9, Temp HP: 0

Tasya has no time to join in the little one's humor of the moment, as reloads and takes another shot at the giant scorpion. The moment the bolt is released, she can feel its trajectory is true and follows it with her eyes.

Your blow indeed hits true and lodges in one of the eye sockets of the beast. It finally slumps, lifeless.

With the urgency of fighting the scorpion over. You notice the painful squeals of Mariquette's horse once again. Mariquette herself lies motionless on the hard road. You can see that she is still breathing, but her skin is pale.

As you assess Mariquette's situation a group of birds emerge from around the bend further back down the road. You passed the same bend earlier trying to catch up with Mariquette. They fly in your direction and seem to be spreading out, as if they are scouting the area.

Tasya dismounts and hurries to Mariquette, eyeing the birds with suspicion. "I have very little to help with the scorpion's poison." She says for Petalwing's benefit and pulls out her small healer's kit from her backpack.

You find your healer’s kit and hurriedly begin to fashion a salve for the wound where the scorpion stinger pierced your friend. As you do you hear Petalwing whimper, "ouchy-ouchy!" When you look up to see why, you see that she has just plucked a leaf off her own back. She holds it out to you and says, "Use too. Make stingy thing bad stuff slow-slow."

You keep an eye on the birds’ advance. As they get closer you notice all their breast feathers are the same color purple as Mariquette’s disguise. You may recall being told something...

OOC:
continued after rolls…

Although out of all in your circus troop you have had the least experience in Sind, you do recall being told that many Sindhi nobles keep a beast master in their party when traveling. Creatures like the desert pigeons you see are often used to scout ahead of a caravan to make sure travel is safe from bandits and deadly creatures while traveling roads such as this canyon pass where there are many hiding places.

Tasya accepts the leaf from Petalwing. "Thank you my new little friend." She sticks it in her own mouth and chews on it a bit, while she works on Mariquette's sting site, then spits it into the palm of her hand and rubs it all into the wound.

When you include the leaf from Petalwing, before your eyes Mariquette's skin begins to return to its natural color.

After a moment Mariquette's eyes open and in a weak voice she asks, "Did you kill that thing?" She pauses, and then alarmed she forcefully says, "My mount!" Her excitement makes her cough. "There's a healing potion in my pouch. It may be enough for the horse if you can get it in the beast."

The purple breasted pigeon flock now flys over head, a couple diving low near you, before swooping back up with a coo or two. "That's not good." Mariquette says. "We have to get off this road."


Tasya's Current HP: 24, Temp HP: 0
Mariquette's Current HP: 11, Temp HP: 0

"It's dead."Tasya assures Mariquette and rummages through her friend's pack until her finds the potion. She then scurries over to where the poisoned mounts is located and attempts to have it drink the healing draught.

You hurry to behind the boulder where the horse fended off the scorpion. It lies motionless, its eyes sunken into their sockets. Its mouth is open and its visible tongue has a pail blue tint. A large bloody puncture wound is discernible on its hip. You are right...the horse is dead.

The couple pigeons--that dived low a moment ago--swoop back up and fly back toward the direction they came, separating from the ongoing rest of the flock.

Tasya hurries back to Mariquette. "The horse is gone." She says, shaking her head. "Let get out of here. Stripe can carry us and get us off this road before those pigeons bring their master down upon us."

Mariquette stiffly gets up. You mount Stripe and reach out a hand to help Mariquette get on. She takes your hand and awkwardly, grimacing in pain, slips on behind you. Petalwing grabs Stripes mane in front of you.

"Some unnatural power is bent on keeping us from our goal of reaching Jahore." Tasya exclaims to her companions. She visually surveys their options and turns Stripe down the path toward their destination. "We should get off the road as soon as we can find an alternative that leads in the proper direction." She says.

With Mariquette riding behind you and Patalwing (gleefully again) riding in front of you, you race Stripe on with haste. Soon ahead you see the pigeons swooping and scouring the road. Slowing, so you don't catch the bird's attention, you spot another canyon pass that leads off the road, you believe that passing through it will lead to desert and from there you can make way to the delta water ways, which you can follow to Jahore.



You make the choice to cut into the pass; the birds continue on searching the without noticing you behind. The pass does indeed open up to desert sand. Before urging Stripe out from the canyon cover onto the hot sand you grab a waterskin and pass it to Mariquette. She hands it back after drinking. You drink some yourself.

Petalwing gets excited, "Me, wet-wet!! Please-please" You oblige the plant sprite and pour some water on her. She breaths a deep sigh of pleasure. You then dismount and pour water into you hand while Stripe laps it. Ready to go. You mount and press on. The desert does in fact lead to a finger of the delta, nested in sparse canyon formations. You follow the water in the direction of Jahore.



After a long hot day of travel, some water breaks, and a depletion of your water supply, the delta finger finally leads you to the outskirts of Jahore.



The sun will set shortly, perhaps in a half hour or so.

Walking Stripe into a slow canter, Tas leans back and tells Mariquette, "We must make our way as discreetly as possible to the Resting Dragon Inn and look for an opening get close and mention our seeking of the Way of the Keis."