They Met at a Tavern 27: Hangin' With the Horde

Who's riding along with the wagon train tonight:

• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Chris: Thorn, dwarf Wizard
• Wayne: dwarf Sea Wolf

Drom was off on a dwarven pout after being teased too much about his camel.

Anyway... The party had conferred with Tuva, the horde's "librarian" regarding possible references to the lost cities of the north. Since it would take the sage time to sort through his "bookmobile" for relevant texts, it was time to chill.

"I know it's around here somewhere..."

The horde had set up camp near some sacred hills in order to inter some honored dead in their fashion. And, among other rituals to honor the moment, a number of sporting and other competitions were held. The party joined in, of course. Bjorr in horsemanship, Pharan, Zanegar, and Kiara in wrestling, and Thorn in lore and tales. All managed to win or tie their respective contests, and came out with a few extra coin to immediately spend...

Prepping for the games

While they were resting after their bouts, they saw a distinguished pair walking among the populace, greeting people. Their importance was hinted at by the substantial guard. He appeared to have been a worthy rider at one time, but who had gone soft with the mantle of leadership. She was a severe beauty, marred only by a healed broken nose. They introduced themselves as Khan Astulfus and Khana Belavrida. As the leaders of the Dekan Khanate, it was their duty to welcome the invited travelers and know their business. 

The party shared their quest. The Khan was pleased that they had made contact with the librarian, as their literacy was a point of pride. After all, he had gifted three of his most treasured books as part of the bride-price when he wed his lovely wife. Likewise, he mentioned their "memory folk" who memorized lore and history for recall. 

Time to do some shopping. Kiara sussed out a pair of dwarves she had seen driving a wagon with a smoking forge. Thori and Nori were tinkerers and craftsmen (craftsdwarves) proud of their skills. They took a look at Kiara's razor chain and wrinkled their noses. That chain is substandard. Give us some coin and we'll smooth those links out. How you use it without getting bound up we'll never know...

Bjorr hunted down the tent of the memory folk. Entering, he was nearly overwhelmed by the powerful... incense. Yeah, incense... Shaking his head, he was greeted by Khojin, who asked if he had information to trade. Bjorr is of royal stock, and was able to share lineage and successions of his line. And threw in some good dirty laundry as a bonus. Khojin, satisfied with the information, shared more on the lost city. Firstly, it was Kimmuria. Names fade and get twisted with time. Its main thoroughfare was lined with craftworks and research, with the intent of seeking knowledge and innovation. She also confirmed the presence of a beacon light on a great iron pole. Kimmuria carried great influence with its knowledge, but its fortunes changed when the world "flipped" and the terrain around the city became harsh and dry. She gave some clues as to crossing the badlands to the north, as well a warning to be cautious, as the badlands twist its animals... 

Thorn sussed out fellow adventurers, assessing their skills, and if they might be headed north as well. He made acquaintance with another wizard, Adolphus, who gifted him a scroll of detect magic. 

The energy and mood of the camp changed, as the internment of the dead was to begin. The khanate did not bury their dead in the ground, but returned them to the spirit world via sky burial. Scaffolds were erected on the hillside and three shrouded bodies lifted up. Chanting and ritual began. Before long flocks of birds clouded the sky, and descended, silently, on the scaffolds. Ravens, vultures, shrikes, jays. The bodies were picked clean, and the flocks departed, as silently as they arrived. The bones were bundled up for unknown purposes.

'sup?

Tuva found the party, and shared a fragmentary city map, as well as images of lamasu that were said to guard the city gates. These were copied with gratitude.

Part is better than none...

Thori and Nori dropped off Kiara's razor chain, now improved with a better-forged chain (allows to reroll one Nat1 per day. It's been an issue...).

Time to saddle up and move out.

The party headed northward through the rolling hills. Once camp was set, it was time to post watches. As happens out here in the wilderness, something wanted to eat a horse. Alerted by panicked horses, Kiara chased down the interlopers, grey-skinned bitey types.

'sup?

Striking with her razor chain, she... rolled a 1. Reroll still missed, but hey, still worth it...

Everyone else was struggling into armor or finding weapons, except Thorn, who was able to leap out of his bedroll and web the damn things. Unfortunately, he lost the spell, but the things were bound up and easily dealt with.

At first light, the party backtracked to the source of the ghouls, a barrow. The entrance slab was easily moved, and they started to explore. Being set upon by skeletons crawling from their coffins, more smashing occurred (except the paladin, who Nat1-ed his sword into a wall). The main vault was soon found, guarded by a Very Large Scary Skeleton (tm). Thorn and Zanegar noped out. It gave the rest some challenge, before also being slain. 

Loot was looted, and the party recovered two magic items: a cowl and a shield. Bjorr is holding on to them. Thorn was able to commit the detect magic spell to his repertoire, and spent some time getting a read on the new goodies. The cowl appears to have some regenerative abilities, and the shield an extra protective quality. Both had negative features, but Thorn was not able to discern them clearly. I'm sure it's nothing of importance...

And with that, the party returned to camp to continue their journey...

DM Notes: 

A better-prepared session, with some world-building and resource-gathering. As I mentioned before, the Khanate has been in the hopper, so was easy to port into the campaign. And how to treat a moving mass of humanity? Well, as a city, of course - with specialists, shops, and personalities throughout. Less dark alleys, though. 

The barrow and encounters were my own random tables, with the barrow randomly selected from the "Barrowmounds of the Lich and Famous." The 'boss' skeleton should have been guard to another, more powerful undead. Something needing magic to hit. Since the PCs are a bit short of magic weapons... or a priest. Heh, next time. 

Treasure all rolled randomly via the GM Companion. 

Well, I better get to cobbling together some wilderness for them to cross. Although I did just pick this up for $5 at an estate sale...