Painted Desert

The Curse of the Crimson Throne

Part 17: Into The Cinderlands, part 1

The Cinderlands - a vast stretch of barren, rocky land, baked dry by the relentless sun. No shade, no water, very little life. A desolate place to travel. But travel we did. Somewhere in this vast desert were the Shoanti barbarians, whom we had to talk to about Kazavon, the being that had taken over Queen Ileosa.

We had one lead to start us in the right direction. One of the tribes, known as the Skoan-Quah, was settled in an area called the Kallow Mounds - an ancestral burial site for the Shoanti tribes. We also knew that Thousand Bones - the Shoanti ambassador whom we had helped retrieve his grandson's body - was a member of the Skoan-Quah, and would be at the Kallow Mounds when we got there.

We were met with suspicion as we arrived. We were classed as Tshamek, which means foreigner. We encountered a young barbarian named Krojun, who hated all Tshamek, and he challenged Reg to a peculiar tug-of-war. The match was a draw, but Krojun left the tribe distinctly unimpressed with us.

We also met Thousand Bones, and he greeted us warmly. When we told him that we needed to know about Kazavon and the events surrounding him, we were informed that the only people who were allowed to tell of the history of the Shoanti were the Sun Shamans. Unfortunately, the only tribe in the area to have sun shamans were the Sklar-Quah, and they would certainly not tell their history to Tshamek. Then how were we to find out what we needed to know to save Korvosa? The Skoan-Quah chieftan had an idea...

Many years ago, a member of the Sklar-Quah was banished from his tribe for killing his brother. Determined to return to them, he said that he would return reborn, and that his past sins would be forgotten. The barbarian went out into the desert and encountered a creature known as Cindermaw, and he was promptly eaten by it. However, he emerged from it and returned to the tribe. The Sklar-Quah agreed that he had been reborn, and so was welcomed back. We were told that the only way the Sklar-Quah would accept us was if we reenacted this story. However, this wasn't going to be simple. We needed to find a Truthspeaker - a man who has never told a lie and is respected by all other tribes. The Lyrune-Quah had one, and they were due to meet at an ancient temple soon. However, we couldn't just walk into the Lyrune-Quah camp and ask to borrow their Truthspeaker (that would have been far too easy). We had to first receive a magical mark that would command respect from the tribe.

So, our task was to first head to a ruin known as the Acropolis of the Thrallkeeper, where an ancient relic would give as the magical mark we required. We then had to travel to the Temple of the Moon, to where the Lyrune-Quah would be, show them the mark, and then borrow their Truthspeaker. Then we had to head out into the desert, find Cindermaw, and one of us get eaten by him but emerge from the creature unharmed. Finally, we then had to find the Sklar-Quah, let the Truthspeaker tell them that we had reenacted the legend, so that they would tell us the information we wanted. We were going to be in this accursed place for quite a while.

The next morning, our barbarian escort lead us out into the desert towards the Acropolis. On the way we discovered we were being followed. Through magical means, we realised it was Krojun and his men, following us from a distance. When approached, he and his men just rode away. We also encountered Shoanti heads on poles, with crossbow bolts in their eyes. Our escorts told us of a person known simply as the Cinderlander, who killed lone Shoanti for no known reason.

After a few days, we arrived at the Acropolis. We got their just in the nick of time, as a huge black cloud tinted with lightning and fire was swiftly approaching. Our ranger recognised it as an emberstorm - a particularly dangerous storm that appeared only in the Cinderlands. Hastily we made our way inside.

To our surprise, we were not the only ones there. Firstly, we had a close encounter with a pair of Red Mantis assassins. They were easy to deal with. We then met a priest of Zon-Kuthon by the name of Sial. He told us that his colleague, Laori (that strangely cheerful woman who helped us find the painter, Salvatore), had told his organisation about us, and that we shared a mutual goal. We both wanted the Fangs of Kazavon removed from Queen Ileosa, and that he had been ordered to follow us and maybe form some sort of alliance. Reg was not happy with this, so Sial said he would just follow us, not get in the way, and would offer us assistance if we needed it.

So, we explored the ruins and found a relic shaped like a globe depicting our world. Adam and Kemar succumbed to its magic, and they were both given the magical mark that we needed. Now it was on to the Temple of the Moon and the acquisition of a Truthspeaker...