Kythorn 26, 1371 - Mountain stronghold, Addas Babbar and the Colored
Waters Oasis

Kythorn 27, 1371 DR
We continue to travel west through the Desertsmouth mountains. We did not get far yesterday after defeating the ettins, much of the day was lost in simply clearing the bodies from the trail. Once we could get the wagons past the enormous corpses, the caravan continued on. We camped last night after climbing quite a bit higher into the mountains, the temperature seems to be getting a bit cooler this high into the mountains. Though we have traveled even higher into the mountains, we still have not yet reached the summit. I am amazed at just how much larger and "coarser" the mountains are up close and personal. What seems like a short distance from one mornings camp becomes a huge distance winding through the valleys and over ridges and a peak that seemed just over the next ridge is actually a day or two travel away. As we traveled today I noticed that something strange has begun to happen. I am experiencing a certain shortness of breath. It is not much, but in my practice during breaks I have found my exercises feel more strenuous than normal. I shall have to experiment to try to discover the cause of this trouble.

Kythorn 28
The others have begun to notice this strange effect as well. When I mentioned it to Khemed, he simply laughed, commented on the clean fresh air, and cautioned us all to drink plenty of water. Many of us are now experiencing difficulty concentrating and some are even experiencing a marked shortness of breath. Even I find it difficult maintain strenuous activity for lengthy periods of time. And this strange fatigue has also made it difficult to achieve a restful, meditative state. Khemed also warned that we may experience headaches and I noticed Cedar rubbing his forehead this morning while studying his spellbook, as if trying to force himself to concentrate harder.

Darvin pushed the caravan well passed our normal stopping point this afternoon, until the sun was very low on the horizon. We questioned Khemed about this move, since there is so much work to do when camp is set and the daylight is necessary to get things done well. He simply laughed, in that rather irritating manner he has, and said that we would see. And he was right, soon enough we came upon a worked stone bridge running along a cliff face, around a bend and approaching a heavily fortified cave entrance. We had arrived at a heavily fortified Zhentarim outpost. This ancient dwarfhold, once belonging to the Bladebright clan according to Oskar, has since been taken from other invaders by the Zhentarim are heavily fortified. It is a strong position, with a heavy portcullis at the entrance and thick, reinforced doors a ways down the passageway. When we saw the entrance, it was well guarded and arrow slits were obvious along the length of the passage and crude orcish voices could be heard coming from behind the slits. Once inside we were shown around the place a little, the doors let into a huge main hall where several other caravans were already secured for the night. A number of other doors and passages led away from this area and we later learned that the Zhentarim have supplies laid in that could withstand a long siege. Apparently they restock the caravans here in the mountain and exchange troop supplies. They took the banded mail armor from the troopers in our caravan and exchanged it for lighter, non-metal armor - they were very insistent about this exchange. And troops coming from the desert are apparently supplied with heavier armor for travel through the mountains and the dales. We met a new traveling companion, introduced to us by Khemed. Evendur seems companionable and good-natured. He showed us around the way station and has been very informative, giving us lots of good advice for the trip to come. He also warned us about some of the other residents of the waypost - the tieflings. These creatures seem to be half-devils, and Evendur was not sure of their racial stock. On particularly ferocious one that we saw had horns, bat-like wings, a forked tail, cloven hooves for feet, and a wrong sort of smell about him.

Something I shall have to remember to tell Lord Morn when we return is of the interesting combat techniques I saw Vestele drilling the troopers in. They all were armed with shortswords and steel shields and they were practicing moving and fighting in a very close formation, keeping there shields pressed close together. This seems to be a very effective defensive formation and I'm sure it could cause real problems in a mass-combat situation, though I doubt the hit-and-run tactics used by far rangers and other defenders of the dale would suffer much from this technique.

Where was I. Oh yes, after dining in the mess hall, we requisitioned more water skins, tents, and heavy blankets as Evendur had suggested and Xan resupplied on arrows. Evendur also warned us about straying too far from the "caravan grounds," in addition to the tieflings wanderihg about looking for trouble there is also a temple to Cyric further into the complex. While mostly listening to his advice, we did wander a bit - finding a strange room with a throne, lots of crates and some scaffolding set up in the middle. It seemed as if someone had been hauling things up and down the scaffolding, but we could not figure out if there was a magical portal above the scaffolding or just why anyone would be going up and down the scaffolding. More Zhentarim strangeness to ponder.

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The sky was ominously heavy and rain was pouring down on us as we left the Zhent stronghold this morning. Despite these challenges we made good time today, traveling mostly downhill. We seem to be leaving the high altitudes of the mountain behind and even with the rain, everyone seems to be feeling better. The strange effects of traveling through the mountains seem to be behind us.

Kythorn 30
This morning Vestele announced that we would pass through the foothills and into the desert today. She passed out desert hoods to everyone, like the ones that Khemed and everyone were wearing in the Adventurer's Way in Hadreth's Glen, and suggested that we begin wearing them immediately. As we traveled, we came to a vantage point from which we could see our immediate destination - the Anauroch. It is like a sea of sand, stretching out before us for as far as the eye can see. The only green to be seen was the edge of the Border Forest to the northeast. Leaving the foothills behind, we ventured out into the scorching sands. It seems odd just how rapidly the vegetation dies off to be replaced with a solid line of sand.

Evendur has told us that we will reach our first desert oasis today, a place known as Addas Babbar. Having entered the desert sands, I now understand the renovations that were done to the wagons in the mountain way station. The standard wheels were replaced with wider, metal wheels that seem to ride fairly well upon the sand. I would imagine that the narrower wheels that were on the wagons before would've sunk much more deeply into the sands.

Addas Babbar is a city of tents and mud huts built along the edge of a dried river canyon. We arrived during the noon hour, just before the true heat of the day set in. Nothing could have prepared me for the oppressive heat of the desert and I am glad for the protection the elven boots I've taken to wearing offer my feet. I'm not sure that I could stand to go barefoot on the hot desert sands. Several of the Wandsmen have decided 'gone native,' having purchased clothing from the locals here in Addas Babbar. Strangely, they wear quite a bit of black here in the desert, though I would've thought for sure that white cloth would be cooler, black seems to become so hot in the midday sun.

We've also learned, in our brief time here with Evendur, a bit about some of the people and creatures of the desert. In Addas Babbar we have seen mainly two kinds of people, the Bedine who are apparently nomadic humans who wander between the oases in the desert and the D'Tarig a short, compact people who are also supposedly human, rather than dwarven or gnomish as they might seem. The D'Tarig are silent and have their own strange ways and customs, quite different from the Bedine and Evendur has informed us that they are not to be trusted. He has also cautioned us about the hostility of the Bedine but also mentioned that to the Bedine, their word is a sacred, binding oath. And that if you can get a Bedine to give you his word about something that you can believe them - though he warned us to be careful of phrasings that could easily be twisted to their advantage.

On returning to the caravan, it became apparent that Khemed and some of the other men had been enjoying their time in Addas Babbar as well. They returned wearing women's veils - that I doubt they purchased to wear… Khemed seemed a bit surprised that Xan and Cedar had both decided to 'go native' and I must admit I was a bit surprised by Cedar's decision - though he does look good in his black robes. Darvin returned as well, riding a stunning new horse, a breed which I have never seen before. Even Xan seemed stunned by the beauty of the animal. He also introduced our desert guide, a D'Tarig named Mahlab.

This first day of desert travel was difficult indeed, and Khemed and Evendur have warned us that it will get worse. The heat has been exhausting, beating us down throughout the day. After a few hours, I had to walk to allow Prince, my riding dog, a chance to rest a bit. With his thick fur, the heat seems almost more difficult for him than for me. I'll have to make sure that I get plenty of water for him. This evening, Primula unveiled a surprise that she had prepared for us. She used a tarp she had requisitioned from the Zhent stronghold and created a 'bath tub' in her tent and gave us each a chance to cool off, relax and wash off the dust and grit. She has also planned with Cedar, Xan, Kerith and Oskar to make sure that we can all be protected from the heat by spells. I also insisted that Prince be treated the same, even offering to give up my protective spells if necessary so that they could be placed on him. Thankfully, they assured me that it would not be necessary.

Flamerule 1
Late this afternoon we had our first taste of a Bedine ambush. As the caravan was traveling along, a group of archers popped up from behind a sand dune and feathered Cedar with arrows. He was very badly injured. Immediately after shooting at him, the archers fled down the dune and disappeared. Xan sent up Mina to try and find them, only to discover that they were quickly disappearing on horseback into the desert. Vestele cursed and raged a bit, and Khemed offered friendly advice to Cedar, recommending that he make himself look more like a warrior and less like a wizard. Apparently the Bedine have a strong dislike of magic and tend to concentrate their attacks on those that look like wizards. A little later, it was discovered that another of the caravaneers had been shot as well. He was found dead, slumped over in his saddle. Apparently his horse simply continued to follow the caravan. No one knows when he was shot.

Flamerule 2
Colored Waters
Today brought an incredible vista - the Colored Waters Oasis. The oasis is set in a bowl valley at the center of a hill of black sand. The enormous valley is dominated by a huge amber colored rock pillar. From the rim of the bowl, it is a magnificent sight. Brightly colored, scimitar-shaped lakes - emerald green, sapphire blue, turquoise, ruby and silver - radiate out from the central spire. They valley is also the sole source of life and vegetation that we have seen since Addas Babbar. The valley is filled with arid grasses and fig trees - and, we discovered a bit later on, plenty of lions and other creatures.

It looked as if we might have some trouble with some of the lions, they began to move somewhat aggressively towards the caravan and Vestele demanded that Cedar do something about them, though she said she didn't care how he handled it. Thinking quickly, Cedar detonated one of his fire spells above their heads and in front of them, scaring them and chasing them away from the caravan. While this was clever and fixed the problem, Vestele was immediately in Cedar's face demanding to know why he hadn't simply killed the lions. And then it became obvious to me that Cedar's time with Master Wu had not been nearly long enough. He immediately backed away from her challenge and it was necessary for Xan to step in and explain the environmental ramifications had Cedar killed the lions - other predators moving in to eat their remains, etc. He did an admirable job for one who is usually quiet, though I was disappointed that Cedar didn't stand up for himself.

Later I spoke with him, reminding him of Vestele's words and how she had left the decision to his discretion. Really, he should have reminded her that unless she is willing to give direct orders that she should expect people to do things in their own way. And when she simply says to handle something quickly and efficiently, that it will be done so in the way we deem most effective. I'm sure it won't be long before I have words with that woman. Cedar's actions were further justified as we were leaving the oasis when we came across the tracks of a huge dire lion. The tracks were enormous, having come from a cat that must be at least twelve feet long and weigh at least as mush as an ogre.

As I mentioned, we resupplied with water at the oasis and stocked up on the juicy figs and then moved on for the rest of the afternoon. The oasis was simply too dangerous a place, with the large number of lions about, to remain for too long. Thankfully the lions seem more interested in the horses than in Prince, though we would be in tough shape should we lose the horses.