Chapter One: Wagon

We arrived a day ago in Urik when we heard a commotion that was a group of elves attacking the city. We got involved somehow, and we got knocked out, and now we're waking up in a wagon. The six of us wake up to find ourselves shacked to the walls and floor. We make introductions:

- Xa'oc (Thri-kreen) got into the fight looking for lunch, because elves are tasty. He got taken out by the elves.

- Tenneth (unassuming tanned Human) and Montivagus (Elf with a bow) dive into the fray trying to attack whoever the elves were attacking

- Vex (Human) was just trying to find lunch in the market and was knocked out by a toppled market stall, and she hasn't even had lunch

- Kriv (Dray), with ink-stained hands, was with Xa'oc and would have preferred to stay out of the fight, and went in just to extract Xa'oc, and got knocked out by Tenneth

- Aruna (Mul) tried to sneak out of the fray when the fight started

We can't see outside the wagon, but we know it's moving, and we don't have any equipment. Some of us break out of our restraints when we hear a commotion outside, followed by an explosion, and we hear "the Juradia elves are not slaves, release them or we will take the city!"

A guard bursts into the wagon and says, "Okay, listen, those elves will kill you, so here are your weapons, if you fight with us we will free you.”  Kriv knows that these elves are troublemakers who are against Urik.  The guard unshackles us and points to the door at the back of the wagon that has our equipment.

We emerge to find that we've been in a massive wagon, crewed by humans, that was being pulled by a couple of mekilotts that have been detached and running away, and we are surrounded by 30 elves who are trying to fight off the humans. We all run away from the fight, and we are not pursued by the elves, and we see nothing but sand in all directions. We try to get to higher ground and watch to see what happens with the fight. The wagon catches on fire, and the elves leave, and four guards are pursued by elves.

We search the wreckage, find five human skeletons, a wooden cash box lined with steel, 25 copper, 25 silver, and a bone case with a weird map. Everyone gets 4 silver and 5 copper. Xa’oc immediately hands his share to Kriv. We determine that the map depicts Urik in the NE, and Kled is a dwarven city.

We try to follow the trail from the wagon back towards Urik, but we didn't find any additional water or food. We find enough water to last one person half a day, which we all share. We each need 1 gallon a day, except for Xa’oc who can survive on one gallon a week, and a waterskin holds 1/2 a gallon.

It's getting hot out. After four hours of travel we come across two figures slowly walking in the same direction as us, probably humans, might be wearing metal armour. They are a couple of guards, and Montivagus throws a dagger at one of them and misses, and Kriv convinces them to walk away. The guards don't wear any identifying ensignia, and they claim to not be from Urik, and they imply that they are slavers, at which point Montivagus fires an arrow at them and hits. The guards charge Montivagus and a fight breaks out. We kill them and search them. We find 4 copper, 3 gallons of water, and 2 chain shirts. Xa'oc begins eating one of them.

We continue walking and at 10pm we discover a small pond surrounded by a thorny bush, which Tenneth knows can be used to make a healing tea out of its thorns, and also that the thorns are poisonous, and Tenneth collects some thorns. Vex confronts Montivagus and demands to know if he's willing to co-operate with the rest of the group. Montivagus nominates Kriv to be our leader. Kriv makes two rules: we communicate before attacking anything, and, if we make a deal we keep the deal.

Vex tries to use telekinesis to plunge the coin box into the water, it doesn't break the surface, and it is sticky when she lifts it back up. Kriv heals Montivagus. We continue following the tracks, walking overnight and resting during the day, with Xa'oc keeping watch. Xa'oc sees something creeping up on us: a lirr, a large reptile that vaguely resembles a lion, with whispy plumage, a long sleek body, fine snake-like tails, and a web-like membrane around its neck and tail. It starts glowing red, yellow, and orange and extends its webbing, then it attacks Xa'oc. When it roars, it sounds like a weird echo instead of the sound a natural creature should be able to make, and this knocks out Xa'oc, and Vex doesn't think it was a psionic attack. We kill it. Normally these things hunt in packs and the rest of them attack when they hear the roar. We skin and butcher the beast.