In the Shadows of Zamboula

8/16/2019 In the Shadows of Zamboula

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In the SHADOWS of ZAMBOULA

by Iron-chef

Here is the *insanely* detailed set-up to my first Conan game, which takes a group of

Meadow Shemite mercenaries to Zamboula, oining up with some Hyrkanian nomads

along the way! "aturally, as is my nature, I o#er-prepared! It$s a bit of a railroad, withlittle up to the player$s choice to decide until they arri#e in Zamboula! It does capture the

episodic nature of Conan, IM%, howe#er, and gi#es a good intro to the maor

geographical features of Shem and the adacent lands! &lus, it forces the players in aspecific direction so there$s no messy stumbling about in the beginning!

'his campaign assumes se#eral things ha#e happened( 'he )oggites +arfari ha#e

re#olted and fled the city and are now disrupting trade around Zamboula! ing )e.digerdof 'uran has ordered the Satrap of Zamboula, His /0cellency, 1ehungir han, to

eliminate the )oggite trade menace! 'he han has thus sent forth word to the surrounding

lands that he is hiring a huge mercenary force, and is paying well with )e.digerd$s coin!

'here is more to it than that, howe#er!!! to be re#ealed later!

'H/ 2%3+ '% 45%2)I"'2%(

)ou sit in your father6s house with your cousin, 'alouf, getting drunk, as he relates the

story of his misad#entures to the north!

7Still planning to seek your fame in oth, cousin89 'alouf says, draining his drinking

ack and wringing the o#erspill from his blue-black beard with a wry grin! 7:ell, I#e ust

come back from there, and there is no work to be had among our famed archers to thenorth! ing Strabonus demands only the finest, the magnificent bastard, but what can you

e0pect8 He steals away our best and brightest! Some say tis but a ruse to keep Shemweak, others to keep them from going to his enemies in horaa or hauran! Me, I sayit6s to keep his unruly barons on their toes, and mayhap to make ci#il war; Mark my

words, Shemite feathers will fly and decorate many a baron6s backside, come that day!

3fter, oth will march against its former satellites, consolidate its grip, and then therewill be war, real war, and real profit to be made by the Sons of Shem!9

73s for me, I6m bound for i#ory domed Zamboula---if you can belie#e that, and uick

as if their name was Set himself; :hy don6t you oin me8 )ou could stand to get out and


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stretch your legs a bit and see the world! Might gi#e you the e0perience you need to get

the nod from the othians! 3t any rate, I6m off with /nosh and /lohar, 4il.em and

4omer to seek our fortune in the east! May 3nu speed our feet; If my offer doesn6t temptyou, cousin, I6ll wish you well, and see you when I return to /ruk a rich man with a

plump wife and fine 3kbitanan steel strapped to my belt! Ishtar keep you!9

'alouf makes the obligatory gesture associated with the religious phrase, rises unsteadily

to his feet, and grins drunkenly as you rise and catch his arm, which he clasps with

#igour! 7So, cousin; :e rise as one; 'is a good omen! )ou6ll oin me, then8 /0cellent;Come= we must sacrifice a bull to 3nu to bring us luck crossing the desert!9

3fter learning from your cousin, 'alouf, that there was no work to be had e0cept for

hard-bitten #eterans among the Shemitish archers of ing Strabonus of oth, you statedyour intention to follow him into Zamboula! 3long the way, you stopped in 3kbitana to

press your face against the display of fine 3kbitanan steel in longing, knowing you could

not afford it, and picked up a do.en more would-be ad#enturers down on their luck! 3ll

#owed they would return with wealth enough to buy up an entire army6s worth of suchnear-magical steel when their ad#enture was done and the )oggite thorn was pulled from

the paw of Zamboula!

&assing the Mountains of ?ire, 'alouf leans o#er to you and laughs, 7'he mountains be

not so acti#e as the last time I passed this way as a boy! I take it for a good sign! I wasright to sacrifice the biggest and strongest bull our coin could buy! 3nu speeds our

ourney and keeps us safe from heat and flame;9

2eacting to your ine#itable >uestion, your cousin responds, 7South8 )ou don6t want to gothere! 4hastly desert as far as the eye can see, haunted pyramids, and worse! If you can

get past the Ilbars hillmen, I hear there are e#en kingdoms ruled by black men---ush, I

think they call it, and---Ishtar preser#e us---they are cannibals;9 'alouf spits and makesthe Shemite sign of warding e#il, then continues, 78"o= you don6t want to go down there,

cousin! 'o the southwest lies Stygia, with all her foul sorcery---poison for the soul---

filthy Set worshipping fiends, one and all! 'o the southeast, the sla#er city ofhawarism---ne#er share a cup with a hawarasami, cousin, or you6ll wake up in a

coffle come morning! "o= there6s no profit in going south;


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them, don6t die like men; I hear they can li#e fore#er, with their demons and ghouls!9 3t

this point, one of the mercenaries in your band suggested the bar man6s wife might be ust

such a wart-faced ghoul for scaring the life out of him when she poked her head out ofthe kitchen! :ith that, you, your cousins, friends, and all, were forcibly eected from the

premises, ne#er to return!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@I"S/2' 3") 3++I'I%"35 &CS or "&Cs oining the party in the ta#ern( 3s fellow

ad#enturers who are ourneying to Zamboula in search of employ in the Satrap$s forces!

?or e0ample, IMC, I had two down on their luck Hyrkanian nomads other &Cs offer toguide the Shemites across the desert! 'he nomads witnessed the dice cheating and insult

hurling in the ta#ern and warn the Shemites they will need their help, as the nomad is

related to the Zuagir chief and will come seekng #engeance with friends as soon as they

depart 3khlat! &lus, the Shemites ha#e no desert e0perience or Sur#i#al skill, and may getlost, if not ambushed first!!! 'he Hyrkanians say they can confuse any trackers so to a#oid

the Zuagir or bandits hoping to trail them for an easy looting in the desert!

'he Hyrkanians backstory( 'heir tribe was slaughtered by another, and only a fewescaped! 'hese two are brothers, and the younger brother killed the enemy war chief,

stealing his badge of office, an ornate ewelled 3kbitanan dagger! 'hey had to fleeHyrkania because the war chief$s four brothers #owed re#enge and must possess the

dagger to rule their tribe, so the two brothers are being hunted down; 'his gi#es them a

cool origin and gruesome fate to look forward to if they don$t keep mo#ing!

Here is also where I let the party purchase or barter for e>uipment, with many 3ppraise

and


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)oggites were dri#en from the city itself! "ow, you learned the problem was much worse

than you had been led to belie#e! 3pparently, the )oggites were sla#es from far-off

+arfar, in the mythical uipment, little intelligence on

the nature and ways of the enemy, and perpetual insults were the order of the day(

7:hy e#eryone knows Hyrkanian bowmen are better than those of Shem; 3re you truly

so stupid as to belie#e yoursel#es our betters8 'en lashes for that braggart;9

7My family owns many Shemite sla#e girls! I would wager you are as worthless as them

in a fight! I only pray you fools don6t run yammering like old women when the battle is

oined;9

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

* I"S/2' SH%&&I"4, C32%ESI"4 3"+ :/"CHI"4 I" Z3M


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canyon, which turned out to be a dead end! %nce the )oggites had had their fill of the rest

of your company, they followed you into the canyons, black eyes gleaming greedily

behind green turbans! 'he sons of )og would feast well this day;

* 2E" M3SS uickly surrounded and disarmed

you! )ou recogni.ed the sore loser from the ta#ern in 3khlat among them! His smile waswarmed not by feelings of brotherhood, but of re#enge; 'he nomad e0plained(

7:e came upon you city-bred ackal-spawn ust in time, it seems; :e are no friends toyou of the western meadows, nor are we allies to )oggote de#ils;9 He spits emphatically

at the name of his enemy! 7:e of the Zuagir are the true Sons of Shem, li#ing as our

ancestors did, taking what we want and going where we will!


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the )oggite scum, but no Shemite can abandon another to so cruel a fate! 3nd the way

that wine-soaked Zamboulan fop abandoned you, as I6#e seen him to do to others before,

I found it in my heart to take pity on you, such as you are!9

7


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collapsed by your head, thrashed, and lay still!

3 strange man appeared, though he paid no notice to you! He wore odd green garmentsembroidered with gold and a headdress of alternating hori.ontal bands of green and gold,

fastened together across his brow by a rearing serpent of gold! His skin was dusky with a

hue you had not seen before= his eyes piercing, his face #ulpine, but not unhandsomelyso, only dangerous! His mo#ements were smooth, predatory, his bearing regal as he went

up to the great cat, ignoring you completely, to inspect his pri.e! He turned his head and

called out something o#er his shoulder in triumph! 'he language was completely alien toyour ears, and you thought you knew most of the neighboring kingdom6s tongues! 'he

strange dark man was answered by a female, in the same tongue, her bemusement

apparent e#en through her incomprehensible words! 'he man stood up, seeming annoyed!

3 brief argument ensued, but tones stayed friendly as near as you could tell! 'he man,responding to another male #oice from beyond your field of #ision, suddenly looked

down at you, then at the totem! Startled, he leapt away, cursing prodigiously! ?emale

laughter followed him, ser#ing to make him angry for appearing foolish in front of the

woman, whome#er she was!

Cautiously, the man #entured closer as two huge blacks stripped to the waist cameforward and dragged the cat away! 'he man towered o#er you in contempt, hands on his

hips imperiously, frowning! He tried to hold con#erse with you in a new language, but

you did not know it either! 'his displeased the man further! He looked about to kick youin your ribs when the woman appeared! She was of the same race as the man, and similar

enough of feature to be his kin! Her beauty was e0otic! Her dress, if anything, was e#en

more elaborate and out of place than the man6s! She smiled, but it felt mocking, not born

of true friendship! 'he smile ne#er touched her eyes, which, like her brother6s, were hardand black of pupil, though you thought it a trick of the light at the time!

7)ou!!! are Shemite, yes89 she knelt down by your side and spoke >uietly! She ga#e yousome little water, enough to wet your lips and choke out a reply! 7How came you by this

fate89 )ou answered, truthfully, and she nodded! 'he man seemed to be following the

con#ersation now, but was not interested! He kept looking at the setting sun withimpatience! She wa#ed him away with a few words in their nati#e language! She laughed

at the worried look in your eye, and put a cool, soft hand on your forehead to reassure

you! 7My brother is &shat-/mun! He mistook you for lepers, then for Iranistanni!9 She

laughed again, shaking her head, and then by way of e0planation( 7'he Iranistanni arerare this far north! I am hafra-Zati, sister to &shat-/mun! :e are nobles of House "afir

in Stygia!9

7Stygians;9 cursed one of your sur#i#ors, 7we are doomed;


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)ou reassured her such was not your wish, though you would gladly meet death when

your time was up, and would not bewail your fate if she were to lea#e you here to rot, for

such is the not the way of the Sons of Shem; JIndeed, it is not! I did not mean to gi#e!!!offense! If you would be free, you ha#e but to ask! 3gainst my brother6s wishes, I would

e#en go so far as to allow you to camp with us tonight, and share our food and water!

'hat is!!! if you are not afraid!9

)ou #igorously assured her by all your gods that the Sons of Shem feared no woman,

Stygian or not! She nodded, and rising, turned away, calling out to her party! 7?ree them,9she said, this time for your benefit by speaking in her strangely accented Shemite,

7tonight, they are honored guests of House "afir!9 3 curse went up from her brother, the

man she had named &shat-/mun, and he stalked o#er to you, murder in his eyes! 'hey

held some few heated words in their tongue, then he departed once more, glaring daggersat you as he went! 'he two huge blacks came o#er and cut your bonds, eyeing you

suspiciously, though they said not one word betwee them!

7Mutes,9 hafra-Zati e0plained, 7'he ushites make far better sla#es than their cousins,the +arfari! uipment!

7&shat-/mun thinks you are too troublesome and may slit out throats if we take you in,

for he says you look more like bandits than warriors! :hen we came upon you, we werehunting a wonderful golden leopard for sport! :e of Stygia---or at least of the ruling

caste,9 she >uickly corrected herself, 7---know a great deal of archery, perhaps almost as

much as the Shemites or Hyrkanians! 3rchery has long fascinated my brother and I, andwe were contesting to see whose bow would bring the beast down!9

)ou remembered that there were two arrows each with different colored featherssticking out from the leopard, either of which could ha#e been the killing blow!

7'6was my arrow brought the leopard down, but my brother contests the fact! "ormally, I

would be sorely #e0ed at such unchi#alrous beha#ior, but in light of your sorry state, I


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ha#e conceded the point to my brother, and admitted t6was his arrow killed the beast!

"ow he cannot refuse my re>uest to free you or welcome you into our camp,9 she

winked, 7but t6will not stop him complaining about it, the great glory-hogging oaf;9

3ny thoughts if any you had of waylaying the Stygian siblings was >uashed when you

saw how many armed Stygians they had, all fresh and watching you like hawks, not tomention the two huge blacks with tulwars that constantly bodyguarded them! +espite the

display of might, their hospitality was not lacking, and you were soon disco#ered that the

two were sorcerers! 'his re#elation went o#er poorly among the sur#i#ors, some of whomrepeated that you would ha#e all been better off being eaten by the )oggites! )our hosts

smiled knowingly at the insult, ha#ing seen many such reactions before in their tra#els!

7I will not deny that sorcery has an e#il reputation among barbarians,9 &shat-/mun said,7only in the truly ad#anced ci#ili.ations of Stygia, endhya and distant hitai, is our art

accepted and embraced!9 )ou could instantly read the minds of the sur#i#ors, as they

marked those countries down in their minds as places best a#oided! 'he wi.ard

continued, unperturbed, and seeming to enoy the fear radiating from his guests!7Howe#er, you ha#e nothing!!! to fear!!! from us! Had we wished it, you would be

roasting in the eternal fires of 3rallu now, o#er some demon-god6s spit, or lost in theunfathomable gulfs of the %uter +ark, where all manner of nightmares form, flow!!! and

hunger!9

hafra-Zati smirked at this last, a deliberate reference to the )oggites and the fate they

spared you from, and now boldly challenged they could return you to, only a thousand

times worse, with a wa#e of their hands, if they wished! 'he words had the desired effect

on your men, who shifted uncomfortably and cast their ga.e down, muttering and makingwarding signs!

7My sister and I are done with Zamboula= the sorcerers we went there to find ha#e fled toZamora, taking their secrets with them! :e are now bound for )e.ud, and its spider-

haunted towers of mystery! :e go there to discuss matters of!!! mutual importance

between the high priest of Zath and our master in Stygia! I hear the temple6s dancing girlsare a sight not to be missed, a rare and wondrous beauty out of all those fit for men to

udge in this world!9 Here he paused for effect= mention of beautiful dancing girls had the

predictable effect of renewing their guest6s flagging #igor, almost making them forget

about the giant spiders and hideous sacrifices said to be seen daily in the Zathian templesof )e.ud! 7?rom there, if our sorcerous >uarry continues to elude us, we will go to hunt

man-ape in the northeastern e.ankians, for I hear they are fierce and possessed of a

singular cunning! 'hey should pro#ide e0cellent sport, and I would pay handsomely ifone were to be captured ali#e!!! for training! I would not be entirely a#erse to you bra#e

men!!! accompanying us on our e0pedition!9

'his offer caused immediate discussion, greed warring with a natural a#ersion to

remaining in the presence of these strange folk for so long! "o man of his right mind was

an0ious to see sorcery, nor fight subhuman degenerates---each famous for possessing the

strength of ten men---on their home ground! 'he Stygian grew bored by the bickering and


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stood up! He made some arcane gesture and seemed to grow larger, more imposing, as the

shadows in the tent deepened! His eyes bla.ed! 7'he ser#ants of Set do not suffer fools

gladly;9 &shat-/mun spat, in a #oice that resembled a thousand hissing serpents! 7)ouha#e offended me by refusing my re>uest! 'omorrow, there will be a contest between us

to satisfy my honor! I am both master archer and master of magic= I wish to pit my talents

against one of your number, for I would see if Shemitish archery is stronger than myown! I ha#e a Shemitish bow purchased ust for such a display= it, and twenty arrows, are

a gift to he who agrees to the contest! :ho among you dares meet the challenge of &shat-

/mun89

hafra-Zati said nothing, but stood and smiled at you, and this time the smile held in her

eyes!

7'here will be another reward, regardless of the outcome,9 the sorcerer continued, after

recei#ing a less than subtle nudge in the ribs from his sister, 7!!!ust so you do not think

me an ungrateful host! If I am bested, I will agree to take you to Shahpur, in southern

'uran, so you do not die upon the desert! I would see my guests li#e to spread tales ofStygian!!! hospitality among the unbelie#ing! It means but a day or two out of our greater

ourney, and there you may pro#ision and disport yoursel#es as you see fit, though Idoubt you will recei#e much for those loin cloths you wear from the merchants in the

ba.aar! 'he Shemetish bow, howe#er, might bring the lot of you ust enough to get by on

for a few days until you find work!9

)our men began murmuring disagreeably at this sudden reali.ation that they would be

abandoned so rudely in a foreign land! 7If you were to agree to accompany us so far as

3renun, then we might---9 and here brother and sister e0changed meaningful glances,7---see fit to re-e>uip you, at least in some small capacity! 'he alternati#e, should you

refuse, is of course less pleasant, but you seem like stout young lads and will no doubt

find suitable employment as!!! Shahpurian laborers or mine workers should you escapethe sla#e gang coffles!9

'he men discussed their options heatedly! 7I won6t end up in chains;9 7:e6ll all end upchained on an altar if we stay with this Set worshippers;9 7I6ll take my chances in

Shahpur;9 73renun is not so far, and we can always find honorable work guarding

cara#ans, after we deli#er these sorcerers to their destination;9 7'hey only want us along

in case the e.ankian hillmen attack in numbers= don6t want to dirty their Stygian shortswords on filthy tribesmen; 'hat way, the losses will be ours;9

Here$s the ne0t installment of optional encounter

5%/, S')4I3" S')5/ &32'

'he party proceeds to 3renun, in Zamora, perhaps being ambushed en route bye.ankian hillmen to keep things li#ely, where the Stygians stop to meet with the

sorcerer-priest )ara in the /lephant 'ower! 'he Stygians are true to their word, and allow

the &Cs to depart, or remain in their ser#ice, putting them up at an inn with their troops!

/ither way, the 4M then has the option of running 'he /lephant 'ower scenario located


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at http(hyboria!0oth!netad#enturesinde0!htm or some other of his choosing! If the &Cs

are disco#ered to ha#e been in#ol#ed in any funny business at )ara$s 'ower, the Stygians

will be forced to kill them, unless )ara himself was destroyed the Stygians will demandany sorcerous booty stolen from )ara$s 'ower!

+uring this stay in 3renun, hafra-Zati will again send for the &C who intrigued her inthe desert to warm her bed! ?ailure to answer the summons makes her brother happy, but

will make her a mortal enemy of the character, and she will try to arrange his messy death

if that takes down the rest of the &Cs, that$s fine with her! 3nswering the summons hasthe re#erse effect it is her brother, &sat-/mun, who becomes the mortal enemy with the

same deadly agenda! Said messy death will be deferred until during the man-ape

e0pedition, if the &Cs remain unsuspecting in the Stygians employ= otherwise, assassins

may be hired to Asoften them upA before the Stygians attack in earnest! If either Stygian isthreatened, hurt or killed by the &Cs, their sibling becomes enraged and comes to their

sibling$s defense or to a#enge them! 'here is really no way to win in this situation, but

cle#er &Cs may find a way, if they can eliminate their mortal enemy without the sibling

finding out!

'he Stygians remain in consultation with )ara on some pri#ate mystical matters betweenthe


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hand of Ishtar fa#ors them so hea#ily that to strike against them would be blasphemy!

Shemite tradition demands that #ictors of a fabulous battle deser#e to sa#or that #ictory,

at least for K hours actual times #ary, but K hrs! is uni#ersally agreed upon as theminimum by east and west, and should not be molested or hindered by any Shemite,

friend or foe! 'he Shemite &Cs should take it that the Zuagir will not mo#e against them

for at least K hours!

'he ne0t day, smart &Cs those who wish to return to Zamboula, anyway will collect up

to BLK )oggite ears from the battlefield! 'hese ears are worth cp ! sp apiece payableas bounty from the Satrap!

:hen the &Cs mo#e back toward Zamboula, they disco#er twenty-fi#e slain 'uranian

light ca#alry bodies picked clean of loot, worked o#er by sca#engers and riddled witharrows! 'he arrows are Zuagir! 'he bodies are all known as troops loyal to 1elal 3gha,

but who were "%' present at the )oggite battle! %ne of these men :3S present, as part

of 1elal$s command group! He has had his stomach cut open and his entrails stuffed into

his mouth= his face has been painted with the symbol of Ishtar! It is the mark of a traitor,informer or betrayer! 'hese slain 'uranians look as if they were setting up an ambush

facing the )oggote battle when they were ambushed!

'racks indicate that a group of horsemen appro0imating the number of 1elal$s command

group rode this way and peaceably met this second group of horsemen, then rode forZamboula! Camel tracks approach this area, then double back into Zuagir territory before

becoming untraceable!

'he Zuagir, out of respect for the di#ine fa#or Ishtar has shown the &Cs, ha#e taken outthis ambush party left by 1elal han to slay any sur#i#ors of the battle! 'he Zuagir

consider their duty to Ishtar$s chosen of the moment the &Cs paid in full, and will still

try to kill the &Cs if they come upon them again, but will be more cautious afterwitnessing their battle against the )oggites!

3t the /agle 4ates of Zamboula, the &Cs are busy checking in with the gate guards whenthey notice a retainer of 1elal 3gha hanging about, chatting up a red silk girl harlot! He

sudenly notices the &Cs, turns ashen, and umps up onhis horse, racing toward the

military base! 'he &Cs doubtless gi#e chase! 'he retainer umps off his horse, runs into

the auditorium where 1elal is speaking to a batch of fresh new foreign mercenary recruitssame speech he ga#e the &Cs! 3s the &Cs enter the auditorium, they see the retainer

whispering into 1elal$s ear at the podium! 'hey both look up, ashen-faced, as the &Cs

enter!

'2E'H %2 C%"S/NE/"C/S

1elal 3gha is too stunned to speak!

%&'I%" B(

If the &Cs accuse 1elal of cowardice and treachery, he will counter-charge them with the

same, and order them arrested! 1elal, as you may recall, is related to the Satrap by


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marriage! 'he &Cs will be o#erwhelmed by 1elal and his retainers, but if things go badly,

1elal will call out a reward to bring the foreign mercenaries into the fight! 'he &Cs will

end up in the Satrap$s dungeon, awaiting e0ecution! 'heir story will fall on deaf ears, possibly making them suspect the Satrap is in cahoots with 1elal! 'he &Cs will be #isited

by


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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

In the Shadows of Zambo!a"

%&'I%" (

If the &Cs instead lie about 1elal$s cowardice and treachery, praising his bra#ery, or saying

they couldn$t see his position and are glad he sur#i#ed, then 1elal looks relie#ed andresumes his pre#ious arrogant demeanor! He in#ites them into his office, where,

surrounded by his hea#ily armed retainers, he informs them that their Aear bountyA will

be paid in full the ne0t day by the base paymaster= they can pick it up then! 'he Satrapwill be informed of their bra#ery and doubtless rewarded handsomely 1elal knows the

"&Cs with the party are out talking up their part in the battle to the troops and mercs

outside, making a co#er-up>uickie assassination of the party impossible! In the

meantime, they are dismissed and free to carouse as they will!

'he party will find many mercs and troops eager to buy them drinks in order to hear their

tale, and trulls will flock to be with the Aheroes of the canyon of doomA, possibly offering

freebies or discounts to snare them if they are handsome as well as bra#e! 'he &Cs shoulduse the opportunity to gather information on 1elal and the situation in Zamboula= they

should ha#e a bonus to do so as they are popular at the moment, and people friendlierthan normal!

43'H/2 I"?%2M3'I%" CH/CS+C D

B! 1elal 3gha is seeing an Iranistanni courtesan, a rare beauty named Sosanna, who is

being kept e0clusi#e to him in a apartment on the Street of 1ades in the 2ed 5ight

+istrict! He sees her twice a week with only a few bodyguards, as he must be morediscreet than other men, as his wife has the ear of the Satrap!

! 1elal 3gha recei#es sword lessons from Master halid at his weapon school on theStreet of Clashing 3rms e#ery other day! 1elal is reputed to be an e0cellent pupil!

+C BB! Se#eral other foreign mercenary bands led by 1elal 3gha were lost in battle recently to

the )oggites with only 1elal sur#i#ing, though they are counted as #ictories!

! 3 thief was badly mauled by leopards trying to break into 1elal$s estate two days agowhile he was absent at the battle! 'he thief was later found dead from his wounds in an

alley some distance away, though the thief$s wounds seemed e#en greater and more

sa#age than could ha#e been caused by the great cats, almost as if he was torn apart!


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opposed both by the Zamboulan nobility of old Stygian blood and the temple of

Hannuman! Hafir has brought his famed architect, 4ombuk the


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4ombuk 'he


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lie peacefully, but >uite dead, in the kitchen around the fire( 3 mother, two teenage

daughters and a young son! %ptionally, the 4M can allow one of the daughters the guilty

party to be breathing shallowly! 3 Heal check +C D will pre#ent her from dying!!! Shewas seduced by the promise of easy money and being taken away for marriage by her

employer6s middleman whom she thinks is her employer, and is only out to rob 1elal, not

murder him! 5ea#ing her as is is e#en crueller than letting her die of poison, her fantasy unspoiled and her body unmarked by the torturer6s tools!

I"'/2I%2 4E32+S( F 'uranian light ca#alry soldier and a lieutenant soldier K arealways on duty inside the house during the day! 3t night, the captain soldier , and his

sergeant soldier F guard 1elal6s family, while two troops soldier patrol the rest of the

house, two guard the front entryway, and two more stand watch o#er 4ombuk6s room!

I"'/2I%2 +%%2S( Interior doors are standard, e0cept for the much sturdier doors in

the section of the house where 1elal and his family make their bedrooms!

2an 1elal$s /state tonight! 'ook the whole session; 'hey nearly all died, but got theirre#enge! 'he only thing that sa#ed them from massi#e casualties was rotating in fresh

troops to the front lines and some bad rolls on my part not that I didn$t roll like the de#ilhimself the rest of the time, but they got #ery lucky in all the right places---the Hand of

Ishtar caresses them once more;!

'hey deli#ered the head of 4ombuk and his temple plans to


20/20

'he &Cs had it in mind to run for the Stygian border, the one place no one in their right

mind would run to, but ga#e that up as madness! 'hey wanted to run home to /ruk in

Shem, but that was the most likely place their enemies woud think to look for them, sonow they are high-tailing it toward Zamora, gi#ing 'uran a wide berth for ob#ious

reasons! 'hey hate 'uranians now after only a month in Zamboula, hahaha;

"e0t session will open with them being poisoned! &erhaps I will ha#e

Documents

In the Shadows of Zamboula