(Let's investigate)
Together with Paoll and a party of five armed marines, you row ashore in the ship’s longboat. With weapons drawn, you and your search party sift through the ruins of Khadro’s encampment but find few items of any practical value. There are several tracks which have been made by the creatures you glimpsed earlier, but they all lead away into the surrounding jungle and you can no longer detect their presence.
Mindful of the risk you are taking simply by being here on the island, away from the ship, you signal to the men to return to the longboat. As you are descending the beach, you trip accidentally upon something half-buried in the black sand. Closer inspection reveals it to be a fist-sized ball of iron that has been crafted into the shape of a human skull. (If you wish to keep this Iron Skull, record it on your Action Chart as a Special Item which you carry in the pocket of your tunic.)
(I take it)
On returning to the ship, you and your party clamber aboard and the longboat is quickly hoisted back onto the main deck. Captain Raker is keen to get the ship underway and he commands his crew to unfurl every square inch of canvas to catch the prevailing winds. Within minutes of your return, The Pride of Sommerlund is once again back on course, forging a swift passage south through the Bukimi Channel.
Upon emerging from the Bukimi Channel, The Pride of Sommerlund is caught by a strong northeasterly wind which propels her swiftly towards the Vassagonian coast. For two days and nights she rides the scudding waves, her speedy passage more than making up for any time lost in the Lakuri Isles. Then, late on the third day, the lookout catches his first glimpse of Barrakeesh. Excitedly the crew gather on deck to stare at the golden domes and towers of the city which glimmer like orbs of burnished gold in the glow of the setting sun. In fading light, Paoll brings the ship silently into the great curve of Barrakeesh harbour and moors her at the end of a vacant quay. Few eyes notice another trade ship, but one pair takes a special interest. They belong to Lord-lieutenant Fernant, the Sommlending envoy to this rich, desert realm. When finally the ship is docked and the gangplank is lowered to the quayside, he is waiting there to greet your arrival.
Fernant is a tall man in his mid-forties, clean-shaven, and of slim and athletic build. His face has characteristics which are unmistakably Sommlending, yet his skin is richly tanned from the many years he has spent in this sun-drenched land. After a brief talk with Captain Raker to confirm that the ship will be ready to sail tomorrow at noon, he offers you the hospitality of his house in the city. After nearly a month at sea, you gladly welcome the chance to bathe in a proper bath and sleep in a proper bed.
Fernant’s house is only a short distance from the harbour. It is a large, two-storey dwelling with a flat roof and a walled garden that smells sweetly of picanda and larnuma fruit. After a luxurious bath and a feast fit for a king, Fernant tells you something about the changes which have occurred in Vassagonia since the demise of its hated ruler—Zakhan Kimah—who, during the Darklands War, allied himself and his reluctant nation to the Darklords of Helgedad.
‘Shoualli is the new Zakhan now,’ says Fernant, as he peels the skin from a ripe larnuma and slices it neatly in two with a pearl-handled dagger. ‘He is an honourable and intelligent man. He has brought peace back to this land through trade. Its enemies, who once swore to destroy Vassagonia, now come and barter their wares in the rich markets of Barrakeesh and Bisutan.’ Later during the evening, talk turns to the details of your mission. Fernant is unaware of its true purpose; all he knows is that he is to offer you every assistance to ensure your swift and safe passage to Elzian. When you tell him that you are not at liberty to discuss your mission fully, he nods sympathetically and vows he will refrain from ever mentioning the subject again.
Shortly before midnight there is a knock at the front door of Fernant’s house. He signals to one of his servants to go and answer it and you comment that it is an uncommonly late hour for someone to be paying him a visit. ‘Quite so,’ he says, ‘but this is a visitor I’ve been expecting. It’s someone I’d especially like you to meet.’
Fernant’s servant returns to the room with a beautiful young woman by his side. She is dressed in the simple brown robes of a peasant girl, yet her long black tresses and smooth olive complexion indicate that she is of high-born ancestry. For a moment she holds you with her deep brown eyes and you sense at once that she is as intelligent as she is beautiful.
‘This is Oriah,’ says Fernant, rising from his seat. ‘Welcome, my dear. You are among friends here.’ The young woman offers him her elegant hand and he kisses it lightly before turning to face you. ‘I have promised her safe passage to Bisutan aboard The Pride of Sommerlund. I trust you do not object?’ he says.
At first you are wary of permitting a stranger to join the ship. She is a very attractive young woman, and her company would certainly be appreciated during the long voyage south, but the agents of Naar have been known to adopt many guises to further their evil aims. Fernant, sensing your reticence, attempts to persuade you by explaining the predicament in which Oriah has been placed through no fault of her own.
You learn that Oriah is the daughter of Khazullo—the Funtal of Fio Fadali—a rich, powerful, and very ruthless man. He has pledged his daughter’s hand in marriage to Sesketera, the ruler of the city-state of Ghol-Tabras in northern Shadaki. Sesketera is a cruel and brutal suitor, and Oriah will be sure to spend the rest of her life as little more than his slave if the marriage takes place as her father has planned. Her father is deaf to her wishes; his only concern is for the political union of the two cities. His daughter’s happiness means nothing to him when compared to the riches and power he will gain from a marriage to the House of Sesketera.
Oriah has run away from her father’s palace in Fio Fadali and she has sought refuge in Barrakeesh. But agents in the employ of her father and Sesketera have traced her to the capital and now she must flee once more. Fernant, moved by the plight of this brave young woman, has pledged to help her reach Bisutan where trusted friends will smuggle her to safety in neighbouring Kakush.
Having heard her story and satisfied yourself that she poses no threat to your mission, you agree to allow her to travel with you to Bisutan aboard The Pride of Sommerlund. Oriah and Fernant thank you for your compassion, and the Lord-lieutenant suggests that perhaps it is time to retire for the night. He has his servant take Oriah to an adjoining chamber, and he offers you the use of a room upstairs. It is a very warm and humid night and you decide that perhaps it would be more comfortable if you were to sleep outside on the roof. Fernant has his servant bring you a mattress upon which you settle down to sleep under the desert stars.
( I do not know Astrology)