![[Rations#Rations]]
We pick up following the combat in [[Session 11]].
We find [[Quilliam]] and 12 barrels of water in the shack.
[[Jerrex Rockbeard (Jason)|Jerrex]] does a nature check to see if we can eat the manticore. He thinks it's probably edible, but [[Sitka Ridgerunner (Steve)|Sitka]] thinks that we shouldn't eat it.
We head out. [[Jerrex Rockbeard (Jason)|Jerrex]] can sense a sandstorm on the way. We decide to dig a hole underneath Sheldon. [[Samara Threnodae (Tom)|Samara]] suggests we tie rope between us so that we don't lose each other in the storm. We tear apart a Gi to make face masks to protect us from the sand.
We make checks for the storm. We only take minimal damage.
[[Laramie Sarnoff (Luke)|Laramie]] is approached by [[Avel]]. She brings up the fact that the desert is healing. Her father is one of the leading members of the [[Circle of The Reawakened Barren]] [[Caelum Stormcaller]]. He used to read her stories about the jungles that were in this area. Her people were nomadic druids, and these stories were passed down through generations. There was a calamity that destroyed this dessert. In the stories there was a name. There was a silent god named [[Zephyris]].
We come across a post sticking out of the wand with a white cloak tied to it. [[Toshiro Mitsunara (Scott)|Toshi]] detects a trace of magic about it. He detects that the mound is an illusion. It is actually some sort of dius. [[Samara Threnodae (Tom)|Samara]] casts prestidigitation to try and lift the cloak off the stick. If you look through it sometimes you see sand and sometimes you see a lush forest. [[Avel]] says that she vaguely knows what this is. She says that it's something the gods would do to play tricks on us. [[Toshiro Mitsunara (Scott)|Toshi]] identifies the cloak as a traveler's cloak, but there is something more going on here beyond it just being a basic cloak. Toshi decides to put it on. It is a "Nomad's Mirage Cloak." It absorbs light. As long as you are in bright light, you can do a stealth check to hide.
We eventually see tents in the distance as we continue traveling. It doesn't appear that there is any life at these tents. They seem to be abandoned. As we get closer, there is dried blood on the sand. We find a single dead hobgoblin. [[Samara Threnodae (Tom)|Samara]] uses her forensic acumen to determine the cause of death. It appears to have been stabbed in the front. The insignia on the tents is like two "V's" in a diamond formation. [[Laramie Sarnoff (Luke)|Laramie]] finds a map pinned down to a table. There is a red X out in the desert to our East that is labeled "[[Zephyris]]". There is also another X labeled "Ancient Weathered Tablet." We decide to go out and check it out. We pack up the tents.
[[Samara Threnodae (Tom)|Samara]] hears something else on the wind:
To find help, find the well.
On our travels to the markings on the map, we climb a tower that reveals much of the map. There is a well-settled town we can see from a distance.
[[Laramie Sarnoff (Luke)|Laramie]] and [[Samara Threnodae (Tom)|Samara]] notice that in one of the towers there is a large gemstone inset in one of the rooms. It is in a metal cage. [[Avel]] comes up to Laramie and says that we need to steal the gem. She says it is one of the lost orbs of the lakes. It is an old artifact of the [[Circle of The Reawakened Barren]]. [[Laramie Sarnoff (Luke)|Laramie]] promises [[Avel]] that we will come back for it after going to the [[Zephyris]] marking on the map.
As we exit the mountain towers, we see some hobgoblins in the distance. They are riding velociraptors with a war cart. We decide to look threatening but not hostile. One hobgoblin approaches us. He lets us know we are in sandstorm legion territory. We ask about the other group of hobgoblins, they are the [[Flamebrand Clan]] (also known as ). They let us pass but tell us to steer clear of the settlement to the south-west.
As we continue traveling, we come across a piece of the train. Maybe it was from when bits were flown off?