Chapter Four: Oasis

We are going to head back to the dwarf village. Aruna notices a worm-like shape flying in the sky, which is a silk wyrm. It flies with psychic abilities, likes to follow creatures for days until it eventually takes your stuff, or maybe kidnaps you by wrapping you in silk like a spider. It is following us and the next day it attacks us. We use 2 honeys. We kill and eat the silk wyrm. We found four poisoned lirr and butcher them.

We arrive at the dwarf village, which is surrounded by a stone wall. We return the children and ask about trading for transport to Urik. The village appears to have been built on top of ancient ruins, and their roofs are removable. We met an elderly dwarf named Barunas who said she would pay us anything if we can fix their water supply. They have an oasis but recently it sickens them when they drink it. The oasis is less than a day away. We agree to stay for the night, and then they'll give us water to travel out to the oasis to investigate. We leave our hides with the tanner. We buy food and equipment. They feed us cactus fruit. The people of the village are a little wary of visitors.

Vex learns that their city, Kledd, is built on the ruins of Kemalok which was the sun's most favored city, and the reason the sun punished the earth was because the city was destroyed, because they worshipped the sun, and they believe that once the city is restored the world will become lush again. The people here worship the sun. They aren't sure what it means to rebuild the city, but they are still figuring out how to "restore" Kemalok, and that knowledge is lost. The city’s motto is "the sun shines brightly on us every day." The roof flaps can open and close for protection from the elements or dangerous creatures.

The water problems started about a month ago, people who drink from the oasis lose their strength and vitality and waste away. They sometimes recover when they start drinking normal water. They've seen elves around the oasis around the time when the dwarves started getting sick, and tried to talk to them, but the elves drove them off. The thri-kreen druid that watched over the oasis hasn't been seen since the elves arrived. Slavers from Urik use the dwarves' well, and the elves are angry about it because some of the elves have been captured by slavers. The dwarves haven't figured out how to purify the water, and they don't remember anything like this happening before. Sometimes the poisoning kills you immediately, and sometimes it takes up to three days. Barunas gives us each 2 healing potions

While Vex and Aruna are talking with Barunas, the mother of the two kids we rescued, Negrag, hugs us and thanks us for returning her kids. We get four waterskins each to store globes of honey and we rest overnight.

The next day we head out to the oasis which is two hours away. The water is muddy and there is some grass growing around it, also mud flats, two mekilotts (one of them is dead), smaller dead animals, some 50ft tall yipper trees, and a monumental arch with a bridge made of marble, next to it are a bunch of clay pots filled with moldy fruits - probably belonged to the druid - and some of the pots are broken. Near the pots we find a poisonous herb that the elves use to poison water supplies because they are immune to it.

Kriv is attacked by a snake monster that pulls him under the mud.