As the last session began, it was late morning on the 18th day of the 1st Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The chill in the morning air was quickly disappearing as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The party was standing in the main courtyard of Fangnor Citadel. A carriage had just arrived to pick them up and take them wherever they would like to go. Newly promoted, Commander Barlor had walked with them to the courtyard though they suspected he would not be leaving with them.
The commander asked to have a private conversation with Douglan where he asked permission to have Maggie join the Vanguard. Barlor had inquired with Maggie about the possibility, and she had been very interested. She told Barlor that he would have to speak with Douglan to get his approval before she could join. Douglan gave his blessing, and Commander Barlor assured him that, with Maggie’s smarts and skills, she would be a lieutenant in no time. With the conversation complete, the party departed Fangnor Citadel and returned to the Stargazer.
Back at the skyship, the party spoke to Captain Merfiz about departing for The Sea of Sand and was told that the crew could have the skyship ready to depart in an hour. Knowing that the Stargazer would be heading to The Sea of Sand, Merfiz warned the party that he could not take the skyship inland once they arrived. He informed them that sandstorms constantly ravaged the area. Storms that would put the Stargazer in grave danger if she were caught in one.
While the crew prepared the ship for departure, Nightingale took the opportunity to search the docks for signs of the local thieves guild. It did not take long. Outside a small tavern called The Seaside, the hidden symbol of a guild gathering place was found. Nightingale entered and struck up a conversation with Wenlow. Nightingale asked Wenlow if he could get a message to Onyx of the Dooms that Nightingale was looking for him. Wenlow stated it would not be easy, but with the proper funds, he might be able to buy the right connections to get to him. Nightingale gave Wenlow five platinum pieces and told him he would check in the next time he was in the City of Alagon. With that, Nightingale returned to the skyship, and the party departed for The Sea of Sand.
During the trip, the party encountered a very unexpected event as Lafferty disappeared from the skyship. A note in Landis’ copy of “Words Yet Spoken” explained that he had made the decision to enter The Void to try to find Enibis and learn more about what was going on inside of The Void. It was an uneasy feeling for the party, but they trusted that Lafferty was doing this for the right reasons.
Early morning on the 20th, the Stargazer arrived in the harbour of Vuland on the southwest coast of the Sea of Sand. The party proceeded to the Sand Whisper Inn, where they spoke with Rohiri, who informed them that Alanis Moonwatcher had been staying at the inn. She suggested that the party return later in the day when the inn’s owner, Athena Silverhand, could tell them more about Alanis’ visit, as they had spent some time together during her stay.
The party next headed to the docks to see what they could find out about The Sea of Sand, Alanis, and the tiefling sisters Alanis had arrived with. The party roamed the docks for several hours and gleaned lots of useful information. They determined that Alanis had hired a guide to return the Zandani sisters to their nomadic family, who sold their merchandise out of the port in Zrey. They visited the only outfitter in the town, The Grit, owned by Karzer Belxis, who told them about Vuland and some of what to expect when travelling in The Sea of Sand.
Toward noon, the party returned to the Sand Whisper to speak with Athena. Athena informed the party that Alanis had hired four guides to take her into the desert to find a place called The Scar. Athena had tried to talk her out of it, but Alanis was determined to go. Athena had not heard from Alanis since she departed almost two weeks ago. Athena did hear that one of the guides, a tiefling named Xarmir Sirthor, was back in Vuland and that he could probably be found down on the docks at a tavern called The Last Stop.
The party headed to The Last Stop, where they met with Xarmir. The guide explained that as they had neared the area where The Scar was to be found, they were attacked by orcs. Orcs that Alanis identified as Iceborn Orcs. Two of the guides were killed, and one was taken prisoner along with Alanis. Xarmir had escaped. He had tried to get to Alanis and the other guide, but there were too many orcs. He told the party that Alanis had made it clear before departing Vuland that she could look after herself, so he left, returning to Vuland. The party hired Xarmir to take them to The Scar to find Alanis, and they departed early the next morning.
The first day of travel through The Sea of Sand was difficult but not dangerous. As warned, the heat of the day was nearly unbearable. The wind and blowing sand were relentless. The journey was every bit as arduous as promised. As the evening approached, the party was both surprised and relieved to find out that they would spend the night in the small village of Blesa, built inside one of the large rocky mesas that dotted the landscape. Inside, Xarmir took the party to The Blackroost Inn where they soon found themselves sitting enjoying a pint of High Sun Ale. It was a very unexpected treat.
As Xarmir and the party enjoyed their ales, Xarmir told the party the story of The Scar. He recounted that the story of The Scar is the story of the tieflings. During the last Gathering, a rift opened into a demon world in the very place where The Scar now sits—a world known as Arcmyth. The tiefling people had been slaves to the demons of this world for longer than they could remember, and they were ready to be free of it. When the rift opened, demons and tieflings streamed into this new world. The demons quickly decided that this was a world for the taking while the tieflings simply ran for their freedom. The area of Emathan they enter is now known as the Sea of Sand, but back then, it was known as Plentiful. The great kingdoms of Plentiful fought back against the demons, but it was clear the only way to win was to close the rift. Three powerful wizards were called to cast a spell upon the rift in an effort to close it. The spell worked, but as the rift slammed shut, an enormous explosion tore across the land, destroying everything in its wake. The land never recovered from the blast. The people of Plentiful that survived moved on as the area turned to desert. This desert became known as The Sea of Sand, the new homeland of the tieflings.