Varrid began to discuss the party's encounter with the unfortunate woman, telling Marda about her requests and relaying the circumstances of her death. Marda responded,
"My half-sister Callian, alas I warned her not to run, but she was intent on escaping. She wouldn't listen to my pleas."
"I was planning to offer each of you a telling of their fortunes but now it is clear that a more powerful aide is required," continued Marda. "Callian's requests may seem trivial to you as experienced adventurers, but the city you must travel to holds much treachery. I must cast the Tarokka circle for you."
Ralom queried her as to what the Tarokka was. He also displayed his pierced earlobe and evil eye amulet. Marda ignored the items and continued.
"The Tarokka is an ancient tool, and a delicate one at that. Everything must come into balance first. Please join me in the vardo."
The heroes climbed into the back of the vardo where Marda sat at a table covered with a ragged-edged black cloth. She arranged candles, then a cheap pewter medallion and many other seemingly worthless totems and icons upon the little table. With one bony finger, she drew an invisible circle over her heart. "We begin."
Marda let Varrid cut the Tarokka card deck, after which her withered hands lifted the cards tenderly and dealt a circle of five cards. "Let us turn to the future. Open our eyes to that which awaits, so that by seeing our path more clearly, we will not stumble on it!
The path you tread is a circle of life, of death, of deceit and hope. The one you seek resides in despair, in the land call G'Henna." Her calloused hand revealed the first card.
"This is the focus of your struggles. Ahh, the Darklord. This card depicts a great evil, a powerful figure. It can be only one in G'Henna: Yagno Petrovna, High Priest of Zhakata."
Ralom asked who Zhakata was. Marda explained that he was the most powerful God of G'Henna, the High Priest was the most powerful man in G'Henna. No one disobeys the high priest of Zhakata more than once.
Marda turned over the second card, "This card represents the past. Hmmm? The Necromancer. Dire magic! Perhaps one has trafficked with sorcerous powers." Marda states, "Magic is forbidden in G'Henna, except that practiced by Zhakata's priests. Does Yagno have dealings with forbidden magic?"
Next she turns over card three, "This card is the present. The Donjon! T'is unclear: Does the Priest have a prisoner? Or will he become one? Woe to his captives!"
Card four reveals a Horseman, "Here is a window on the future. He brings destruction. It could be the Darklord's destruction, or another's." Marda said that she had been sensing an impending crisis for months. She feared that it would bring worse, not better.
Finally the fifth card, "This card is the season of Fate, the influence on events. See? The circle closes with the Mists. Everything you see will be obscured. You have the power to shape your own destiny, if only you can perceive the truth!"
Marda turned to Drovic and directed him to draw a card and place it in the center of the circle. Drovic drew forth the five of Coins.
"Here is the key to the future, hidden by smoke and mirrors, hope is a tiny flame. Only the most clever will succeed byt seizing the power of change for their own, however briefly it is theirs to command."
Marda exhales deeply and again makes the gesture of the circle over her heart. As she did so a card fell from the deck onto the table. It was the Traitor. Marda gasped and eyed each of the heroes suspiciously. When Baru asked about the meaning of the card, Marda said the implications are obvious: at some point, the heroes would be betrayed.
Arvien realized that the woman was very frightened at the revelation of the Traitor. Marda was pale and shaken, she sat back and took a quick drink of wine provided by Ralom. Ralom then asked her about the gesture, the circle over her heart.
"That gesture is a sign of those who oppose the High Priest and his theocracy," she replied. "Thank you for your generosity but I must be on my way and so must you. The Mists wait for no one."
She ushered the heroes out of her wagon while Varrid kept asking how to we get to G'Henna?
A puzzled look stole across her face. "You must find the archway, it is the gate to G'Henna."
"But we have only found a ruined archway," countered Varrid.
"The gate you seek is further down and further in," replied Marda as she harnessed Ivan to the wagon and drove away.
The heroes decided to spend the night before traveling onward. It was a quiet and peaceful night, maybe their last such evening? The next day the party traipsed further down the path they were on. After half a day Seglun and Baru spotted an actual archway in the distance. It spanned the path and seemed to be made of stone. Seglun approached and saw that what appeared to be skulls and bones carved into the stone were actual human bones set into a mortar. With impunity Seglun marched through the arch.
The land changed to a bleak and rugged landscape. Dying grasslands and coarse scrub cloaked dusty hills. Behind the party reared a stony mountain ridge, cold and formidable, certainly the group did not cross those cliffs and been unaware of them. In fact there was not even an archway visible.
Ahead lay a walled city. Amid its squat stone buildings reigned a towering temple painted blood red by the setting sun. Even at this distance, its beauty and grandeur dwarfed the other structures.
The city appeared around a mile away, close enough to reach the gates before darkness. There was a simple, worn path to the city.
The city was laid out in a rough oval shape, built spilling off a rocky knoll and steep bluff that dropped down to a river. The towering temple loomed over the city at its heart. The city was subdivided by inner walls and gates in addition to the outer walls, which were about ten feet high as the party approached.
Rising above the barren land were massive walls, eroded and worn frames for the cracked and weathered wooden beams of the gates.
Guards lit lanterns at the party's approach. The glow revealed red arm bands, red hoods, and red ribbons tied to the hafts of the guards' pikes. Two guards stepped forth and raised hands in a command to halt. Four more guards stood by the gates.
"Welcome in the name of the great Yagno Petrovna, high priest and First Servant of great Zhakata. State your names and purpose in Zhukar." He looked surprised to see the heroes.
What followed was a trade of information, heroes names and purpose and in response some information about the city of Zhukar and the land of G'Henna.
The faith of Zhakata requires that visitors shared in the ritual of fasting. Visitors must fast for two days each week, while residents fast for three. Visitors may receive sustenance from the Dole of Zhakata as long as they stay in the city. The Dole is not offered today, but it is offered every other day.
Magic is forbidden. Violations of this law result in imprisonment or confiscation of all property. As dispensation from the Temple is required to waive this restriction. These are hard to obtain. The guards directed the heroes to the Inquisition, the ultimate authorities of order in the city. They hinted that the heroes should be prepared to offer a bribe of at least 1,000 bp to the presiding Inquisitor.
Preaching any other faith is forbidden, absolutely. This restriction is never waived. Casting clerical spells is considered preaching. The guards warned the heroes to be wary visiting the Avenue of the Gods. The Inquisition frowns upon visitations to the abandoned temples to the "false" aspects of Zhakata.
Yagno preaches to the crowds three times each week. At least once each week he transforms a criminal into a mongrelman at the High Altar.
The Inquisition has a list of suspicious persons. Foreigners are automatically on this list. The heroes should expect to be followed or watched.
Trading in food is highly illegal and harshly punished by the Inquisition.
Arvien was fuming, food rationed, how could this be. At least we have the Haversack filled with the precious goods from outside this abhorrent realm. Drovic asked about Inns and the guards said that guesting houses and inns were spread around the residential and business districts. The main residential district was just inside this gate.
Into the city stepped the party, they found the area filled with housing, no windows were visible and most of the houses were one story.
The group found an Inn which had a general gathering area, no food was present though. The innkeeper approached and when Drovic asked about ale, the man brought a dull colored mug. He hefted his own mug and offered Drovic a hearty handshake, uttering "Zhakata's Teeth!" as a toast. This was repeated for each member of the party. The ale was weak and warm. Ralom queried about room prices and was quoted 12 sp for each person per night. He thought this was quite high but accepted the offer.
After some drinking, with no actual buzz being offered by the weak ale, the party headed to their two rooms. Arvien grabbed Seglun's Haversack and stuck her arms and head in fully, she was starving. To her horror, no food was found!!!
DM's Notes: There was no XP for the evenings adventures.
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