Burning Sands

From Jade Tower

A multi-session and complicated adventure that started in Velora, moved to Hotempa and culminated in the Temple of Eternal Stars, this was one of the touchstone adventures of the campaign, and introduced Baelwren SummerStorm to the Companions of the Rising Sun.

Intro

The introductory phase of this adventure is detailed in the Intro flowchart .

Auction

It started off with an auction, at which was rumored to be sold some gear belonging to the Blood Fists, whom the party believed responsible for an attack on them during the affair of the Wreck of the Venerable Drake. The Companions purchased a set of tack, which, among other things, included two books - a copy of Red Day Dawning, and the Librera. It had belonged to Salah Abdul Rashid, the sorcerer of the Blood Fists that attacked the Companions.

Books

Folded inside Red Day Dawning was a letter , which described the Companions and their next mission in great detail, and also instructed the bearer to retrieve the Breath of the Four Winds and the Heart of the Endless Sea by whatever means required.

Tucked inside the Librera was a chart , which appeared to detail someone's attempts to figure out the composition and organization of the Blood Fists. The chart was, however, damaged, and much appeared to be in code. However, one name was given in the notes.

Finally, scrawled inside the cover of the Librera was a prayer of some sort, titled the Litany of the Blood Fists .

Combined, these two items seem to indicate that one Thurbold Vec, in Velora, was worth investigating.

Velora

Traveling to their hometown, Velora, the Companions discovered that Vec had purchased the Carriage House, a local stable and outfitter's. Proceeding with haste, they discovered that the location had been abandoned, but left with traps for the Companions. Once the traps had been disabled, they discovered a second letter , this one signed by Thurbold's hand and instructing the bearer to eliminate the Companions and retrieve the Breath, and then meet Thurbold in Hotempa.

The Companions naturally decided to proceed to Hotempa, the last of the civilized cities, in hopes of finding out just why they kept being attacked, and what was so important about the amulets they carried.

Desert Roads

Venturing into the desert was a first for all the Companions. Though most of the journey was uneventful, they did have one memorable encounter with the Lonely Roads Band - a group of traveling undead bards, which nearly ensnared them with their mystical music and drained them of all life.

Hotempa

Hotempa

Hotempa is a largish city in the desert, last true civilized location before the empty waste. It is full of rumors, lies, backstabbing, and innuendo - a web of cross-information and complexity. Who knew what, and what they would tell the party is detailed in the Information Web and the Information Key , which are themselves keyed to the Hotempa Map (see the Hotempa page for more detail)

Hotempa is also the location wherein Kimo FallenLeaf entered an underground fight club, and Regina ip Sunglimmer made some money betting.

Temple of Eternal Stars

This was a large complex, filled with traps, encounters, and information. WORK IN PROGRESS