The Southern Threat [Eventline]

[Burnsider 4542]

THE SOUTHERN THREAT [EVENTLINE]

 

 

[OOC : This post is an introductory chapter to the eventline that a group of players will be conducting in the South Hub.]

 

As he struggled through the sandy dunes of the Kharasi Oasis, Fahad looked up towards Sol and its rays, which blasted themselves through holes that stood upon the shale towers that surrounded him. He had traveled through the desert for the better part of three days, and he suspected that the other traders had reached Sutica far before his own caravan. He sighed and wiped his brow, knowing the price of silk in the city would be driven way down by the excess supply before he even make his first sale.

 

Yet, what choice did he have other than continuing through the sand that burned his feet? If he turned back, the entire journey would have been for naught, and he had already paid a price for it, having lost a camel to infection. No, the caravan had to persevere.

 

Fahad heard a whistle, and promptly turned towards a nervous Ivan, a traveler who had joined Fahad's caravan. Ivan was a citizen from the land of Oren, and from a city called Providence; names that Fahad knew well despite never having traveled that far north. The journey took a toll on the Heartlander and he was a constant drain on the water supply. His use was not in his skill, but in a useful gadget the man kept to aid in navigating these earthly wastes. Ivan bore a compass.

"What is wrong, ya rafiq?" Fahad asked the man.

 

Ivan looked around with an uncharacteristically pale face. "I could have sworn that this caravan had two water camels, but I only spy one," he meekly uttered.

 

With that, Fahad looked upon his livestock and a handful of his watchmen. The Heartlander was right. A camel had gone missing. Fahad muttered a prayer to Allah that it was not the one he feared. He approached the animal and twisted the spigot of the jug on its back, only to be met with a singular drop of water. The prayer turned to a curse. The other camel had carried the rest of their water supply. To survive, they would have to reach the Hyspian lands before dawn the next day.

 

 

The caravan moved very rapidly throughout the day, then racing Sol as it began to set. It was a futile fight. Fahad had overworked his camels during the day, and now he would have to take it slow. By nightfall, he had no choice but to set up camp with a limited amount of firewood, and only his flask for a drink. Within a few hours, he woozily drifted off to sleep, allowing himself a few hours before they started up again.

 

A scream pierced the air and Fahad woke up.

 

The camp was in a frenzy, and his handful of guards had brandished and swung their torches towards the darkness in panic. The Kalasheen merchant felt his blood rush with fear. He rushed to his feet and pulled out his sword before tripping over two people laying in the dark. One of them was Ivan. The Orenian was laying down upon the ground and, helping him, one of Fahad's guards, a dwarven mercenary from Urguan. They were both putting pressure on Ivan's throat as red blood spilled out from between their fingers. Fahad saw that the Orenian’s entire body was ravaged with fierce and deep claw marks. It was only a matter of time before the lad perished.

 

He raised his eyes towards the guards that were trying to fend off the darkness, to determine what had attacked the Orenian, though it was too late. From behind the merchant, a darkness crept, and launched for Fahad and the Urguani mercenary.

 

Fahad never got to see the dawn. 

 

 

He had become another casualty to the wild beasts that lurked the Southern Kharasi Oasis, as had many merchants before him. 

 

Other travelers to the Oasis would find themselves confronted with similar attacks, and tales of the dangers of lurking within the South spread through lands far away.

[gurlpirate 316]

Eliza Raven-Sentinel, Baroness of Brynrose and leader of the new Brynrose Hunter's Guild, began penning a missive to alert her town of the dangers surrounding them. 

"I'll need to gather the hunters...." She muttered to herself. 

[MadOne 3386]

Georg would go on to look towards Sir William Buckfort sitting next to him. There was an undeniable amount of tension in the air for the both of them while they lounged in Sutica, reaading the news aloud. Georg grunted, and got the help of the stronger man to get up. "Something will need to be done about this, Ushtar." He would simply mumble, and head off without another word.

[ibraheemc2000 2574]

[!] news spread to the Fakhr Tribe residing within the oasis, a man walked forward from the desert toward the tents bringing the news. Which a man rose from his reclining cushions and stroked his beard "It seems the trade route is threatened, including the tribe, Inform Azaam and Hakim, I will rally the tribesmen." Utayr spoke as he went to his Khayma, in which he saw his wife and childern, reaching to take his Seyf and Saqr Al-Nahash with a few bolts. "Ziyad, Stay with your mother and sister, I am just scouting, I will get you if we need men." @APurrfectNobody @ImDrippedJr @AquaticWolf @Diaolos @Chrisoulis777 @GammaRose

[youknowwhoiam 47]

[!] the word has spread far, even reaching the moutain tribes ((from another event)). Ingvild 'the cruel' Swiftwind would gather her few loyal warriors, who remained at her side, even after she betrayed the tribes "gather your axes and spears, we can get some money from this . .. i hope" she would say softly