tarkhan bey
Mongoose
Hey guys,I have some time today so I thought that I'd share another of my home brew plots with you all. The last one I posted was a long time ago but if anyone is interested you can look it up under "The Moon Gods Isle".
Anyway, this contains background and spoilers.
Five days to the southeast of Zamboula,where the dunes of the Kharamun give way to the foothills of the Ilbars mountains, lies the Turanian frontier outpost known as Fort Yammuz.
Originally,it was an oasis frequented by local Zuagir clans until the Turanians built a fort there and denied them access.
It lies on the caravan route which crosses the pass of Kushaf on its way from Iranistan to the City of Zamboula. As such, the tariff is expensive to water livestock here and is used to pay the garrison and its patrols.
Given that the fort's walls are high and strong and that it has a garrison of some two hundred men,the local Zuagirs have never made any serious attempt to contest the Turanian hold upon the oasis.
Instead, they loot and plunder caravans on the road and attack any soldiers who are foolish enough to leave the fort in small groups.
The garrison of the fort are typical Turanian horsemen,divided equally between lancers and horse archers. At any given time there are at least a hundred of these men on garrison duty to hold the fort for King Yezdigerd.
The other hundred are known as the Zamboula patrol whose task is to guard caravans on the journey to the northwest. Both these tasks are rotated amongst the troopers of the garrison.
Caravan's that arrive at Fort Yammuz are instructed to camp outside the walls. There they are to wait until the patrol is ready to depart for Zamboula. Often there are as many as a half dozen caravans that cross the Kharamun together and under escort by the Zamboula patrol.
Any caravan that arrives at Yammuz after the departure of the patrol may have to wait up to 12 days before the next escort can be arranged. Those who are unwilling or unable to wait may proceed but without the protection of the Turanians.
Whether escorted or not, each caravan is required to pay a tariff to the Satraps coffers. This tariff ranges from merely unreasonable to mildly extortionate.
As well as the troopers who garrison the fort there are also several dozen non combatant residents of the fortress. These are the civilians who provide for the garrison's many and varied needs.
Two days after the last patrol left on escort duty a further caravan has arrived at Yammuz carrying several cargoes of Iranistani silks and Gazan wines. With them are a mysterious Kothian and his Zuagir slave girl.
Upon admittance to the fort the Kothian demands to be taken to the Commander. Strangely enough,his request is acceded to. Neither are seen again until the following morning but the watch is doubled upon the walls,as is the guard upon the officers quarters.
The following morning twenty men are selected to escort the Caravan and the mysterious visitors to Zamboula. The escort will be led by Kerim Bey,the adjutant to Malikhum Agha who commands the post.
The caravan sets out.
Three days to the north of the Fort is a region of the desert that the local Zuagirs avoid,believing it to be haunted. They know that a ruined city of the ancient Stygians lies within and that any living soul who ventures there is doomed.
The city was never a city of the living, but was in fact a necropolis where rows of statues stood guard over the temples and tombs of the Giant Kings who ruled this area before the coming of the Khari.
Mighty sorceries were unleashed upon the invaders by the shaven headed priests who guarded this place and hundreds of slaves died upon the altar of Anubis,God of the dead, to fuel them with magical energy.
Finally a great ritual went awry and the city itself was drowned in the sands of the Kharamun instead of the advancing Khari hosts.
Fearing the place, the Khari bypassed it and proceeded on to the river Styx. The necopolis was eventually forgotten,lost beneath the desert sands.
It was rediscovered several decades ago by a band of Zuagirs. Having been soundly defeated in battle by the advancing hordes of Turan they fled into a sandstorm to escape their pursuers. When the storm abated they found themselves in what appeared to be a tomb or temple complex newly revealed by the winds of the desert.
Being superstitious by nature they elected not to investigate or to disturb the ruins in any way. The Turanians were,however, still in the vicinity and so they overcame their fears and decided to spend the night hidden in the ruins.
That night their dreams were strange and terrifying, they dreamt of men sacrificed upon the black altar of a jackal headed god and of souls reborn in the form of jackals. Those who could not sleep found themselves jumping at shadows and shuddering to the cries of night scavengers. As the first redness of dawn appeared in the east they found that a vast horde of jackals,hundreds strong had gathered in the ruins. Surely this was evil sorcery at work, they thought as the creatures attacked them with unexpected ferocity.
As the sun finally rose above the walls of the complex the last of the jackals was slain,but at what a cost. A single Zuagir survived to flee into the desert where he was found,his mind blasted by what he had witnessed,by Zuagirs of an allied clan.
Since that day the Zuagirs avoid the area and believe it to be haunted by demonic ghost jackals. They do not even speak of the place for fear of drawing its evil to their camp fires.
Several months ago a group of fugitive Darfari slaves took up residence in the necropolis. Having escaped their masters in Zamboula they were attempting to make their way home but were forced to flee deep into the desert to avoid patrols.
By sheer chance they found the place and discovered that there was still a usable well within the priests quarters of the complex. Within the temple they discovered the altar of Anubis and the great statue of the god that stands upon it. They have not encountered any of the ghost jackals because their deaths in battle with the Zuagirs all those years ago released their souls to the afterlife denied them by the Giant Kings sorceries.
The Darfari leader, a Witchdoctor named Dahab believes that this is a representation of Yog,the devourer in the wastes and his convinced his fellows likewise.
Instead of attempting to return home,these Yoggite cultists prowl the caravan road in the dead of night stealing away livestock and kidnapping victims to sacrifice upon their new altar before consuming their flesh. They intend to make this their new home and have kidnapped several female slaves from passing caravans to breed with.
The caravan road passes within a days journey of the ruins.
The Kothian is Diomedes Azamat, a kidnapper and spy in the employ of Jungir Khan,the Satrap of Zamboula.
The girl is Jamila, the youngest daughter of Sheikh Muleh Al Jafari of the Jafari Zuagirs and reputed to be the apple of his eye.
For years now the Jafari have been been causing mischief along the caravan route from Zamboula to Iranistan. Despite his best attempts the Satrap has been unable to lure their wily old Sheikh to battle.
Word has reached Zamboula of a planned alliance between the clans of the Jafari and those of their traditional rivals,the Hamadi. The alliance is to be sealed by the wedding of Jamila to the eldest son of the Sheikh
of the Hamadi. This must not be allowed to happen.
Azamats task was to infiltrate the camp of the Jafari and to kidnap the girl. He was then to bring her to Zamboula where she would be held hostage against the good behaviour of the Jafari's.
The plan went well and Azamat managed to successfully kidnap the girl. He chose to bring her to nearby Fort Yammuz instead of attempting to take her directly to Zamboula.
This has of course greatly upset the commander at the fort who insists that the Spy and his prisoner must leave for Zamboula as soon as possible.He, Malikhum Agha, will provide what escort he can though it will not be large.
If the Zuagir believe that the girl is in the fort they will storm the walls and kill all within to retrieve her. He simply does not have the men to hold the walls and provide a suitable escort as the Zamboula patrol is not due back for another nine days.
Ok guys,thats the background laid out. I will try later today to post the stats for the main NPC's and the story atc for the adventure itself.
Hope you enjoy. Will appreciate any comments.
Anyway, this contains background and spoilers.
Five days to the southeast of Zamboula,where the dunes of the Kharamun give way to the foothills of the Ilbars mountains, lies the Turanian frontier outpost known as Fort Yammuz.
Originally,it was an oasis frequented by local Zuagir clans until the Turanians built a fort there and denied them access.
It lies on the caravan route which crosses the pass of Kushaf on its way from Iranistan to the City of Zamboula. As such, the tariff is expensive to water livestock here and is used to pay the garrison and its patrols.
Given that the fort's walls are high and strong and that it has a garrison of some two hundred men,the local Zuagirs have never made any serious attempt to contest the Turanian hold upon the oasis.
Instead, they loot and plunder caravans on the road and attack any soldiers who are foolish enough to leave the fort in small groups.
The garrison of the fort are typical Turanian horsemen,divided equally between lancers and horse archers. At any given time there are at least a hundred of these men on garrison duty to hold the fort for King Yezdigerd.
The other hundred are known as the Zamboula patrol whose task is to guard caravans on the journey to the northwest. Both these tasks are rotated amongst the troopers of the garrison.
Caravan's that arrive at Fort Yammuz are instructed to camp outside the walls. There they are to wait until the patrol is ready to depart for Zamboula. Often there are as many as a half dozen caravans that cross the Kharamun together and under escort by the Zamboula patrol.
Any caravan that arrives at Yammuz after the departure of the patrol may have to wait up to 12 days before the next escort can be arranged. Those who are unwilling or unable to wait may proceed but without the protection of the Turanians.
Whether escorted or not, each caravan is required to pay a tariff to the Satraps coffers. This tariff ranges from merely unreasonable to mildly extortionate.
As well as the troopers who garrison the fort there are also several dozen non combatant residents of the fortress. These are the civilians who provide for the garrison's many and varied needs.
Two days after the last patrol left on escort duty a further caravan has arrived at Yammuz carrying several cargoes of Iranistani silks and Gazan wines. With them are a mysterious Kothian and his Zuagir slave girl.
Upon admittance to the fort the Kothian demands to be taken to the Commander. Strangely enough,his request is acceded to. Neither are seen again until the following morning but the watch is doubled upon the walls,as is the guard upon the officers quarters.
The following morning twenty men are selected to escort the Caravan and the mysterious visitors to Zamboula. The escort will be led by Kerim Bey,the adjutant to Malikhum Agha who commands the post.
The caravan sets out.
Three days to the north of the Fort is a region of the desert that the local Zuagirs avoid,believing it to be haunted. They know that a ruined city of the ancient Stygians lies within and that any living soul who ventures there is doomed.
The city was never a city of the living, but was in fact a necropolis where rows of statues stood guard over the temples and tombs of the Giant Kings who ruled this area before the coming of the Khari.
Mighty sorceries were unleashed upon the invaders by the shaven headed priests who guarded this place and hundreds of slaves died upon the altar of Anubis,God of the dead, to fuel them with magical energy.
Finally a great ritual went awry and the city itself was drowned in the sands of the Kharamun instead of the advancing Khari hosts.
Fearing the place, the Khari bypassed it and proceeded on to the river Styx. The necopolis was eventually forgotten,lost beneath the desert sands.
It was rediscovered several decades ago by a band of Zuagirs. Having been soundly defeated in battle by the advancing hordes of Turan they fled into a sandstorm to escape their pursuers. When the storm abated they found themselves in what appeared to be a tomb or temple complex newly revealed by the winds of the desert.
Being superstitious by nature they elected not to investigate or to disturb the ruins in any way. The Turanians were,however, still in the vicinity and so they overcame their fears and decided to spend the night hidden in the ruins.
That night their dreams were strange and terrifying, they dreamt of men sacrificed upon the black altar of a jackal headed god and of souls reborn in the form of jackals. Those who could not sleep found themselves jumping at shadows and shuddering to the cries of night scavengers. As the first redness of dawn appeared in the east they found that a vast horde of jackals,hundreds strong had gathered in the ruins. Surely this was evil sorcery at work, they thought as the creatures attacked them with unexpected ferocity.
As the sun finally rose above the walls of the complex the last of the jackals was slain,but at what a cost. A single Zuagir survived to flee into the desert where he was found,his mind blasted by what he had witnessed,by Zuagirs of an allied clan.
Since that day the Zuagirs avoid the area and believe it to be haunted by demonic ghost jackals. They do not even speak of the place for fear of drawing its evil to their camp fires.
Several months ago a group of fugitive Darfari slaves took up residence in the necropolis. Having escaped their masters in Zamboula they were attempting to make their way home but were forced to flee deep into the desert to avoid patrols.
By sheer chance they found the place and discovered that there was still a usable well within the priests quarters of the complex. Within the temple they discovered the altar of Anubis and the great statue of the god that stands upon it. They have not encountered any of the ghost jackals because their deaths in battle with the Zuagirs all those years ago released their souls to the afterlife denied them by the Giant Kings sorceries.
The Darfari leader, a Witchdoctor named Dahab believes that this is a representation of Yog,the devourer in the wastes and his convinced his fellows likewise.
Instead of attempting to return home,these Yoggite cultists prowl the caravan road in the dead of night stealing away livestock and kidnapping victims to sacrifice upon their new altar before consuming their flesh. They intend to make this their new home and have kidnapped several female slaves from passing caravans to breed with.
The caravan road passes within a days journey of the ruins.
The Kothian is Diomedes Azamat, a kidnapper and spy in the employ of Jungir Khan,the Satrap of Zamboula.
The girl is Jamila, the youngest daughter of Sheikh Muleh Al Jafari of the Jafari Zuagirs and reputed to be the apple of his eye.
For years now the Jafari have been been causing mischief along the caravan route from Zamboula to Iranistan. Despite his best attempts the Satrap has been unable to lure their wily old Sheikh to battle.
Word has reached Zamboula of a planned alliance between the clans of the Jafari and those of their traditional rivals,the Hamadi. The alliance is to be sealed by the wedding of Jamila to the eldest son of the Sheikh
of the Hamadi. This must not be allowed to happen.
Azamats task was to infiltrate the camp of the Jafari and to kidnap the girl. He was then to bring her to Zamboula where she would be held hostage against the good behaviour of the Jafari's.
The plan went well and Azamat managed to successfully kidnap the girl. He chose to bring her to nearby Fort Yammuz instead of attempting to take her directly to Zamboula.
This has of course greatly upset the commander at the fort who insists that the Spy and his prisoner must leave for Zamboula as soon as possible.He, Malikhum Agha, will provide what escort he can though it will not be large.
If the Zuagir believe that the girl is in the fort they will storm the walls and kill all within to retrieve her. He simply does not have the men to hold the walls and provide a suitable escort as the Zamboula patrol is not due back for another nine days.
Ok guys,thats the background laid out. I will try later today to post the stats for the main NPC's and the story atc for the adventure itself.
Hope you enjoy. Will appreciate any comments.