— The Aftermath —
Andariel had been defeated, her soul sent back to the fiery hell’s from whence it came… but as they say, Evil never dies, it merely slumbers, and never a truer word could be spoken, for given enough time, Andariel would surely return to walk on Sanctuary, and inflict her anguish once again.
However – In the time that followed this event, the party returned to a heroes welcome, back at the Rogue Encampment… and rightly so, for through their combined efforts of friendship, focused minds, and steel resolves, they were able to rid the land of the evil which corrupted it so heavily.
In honour of the party and their achievement, and with whatever they could spare to use within the limited storage, the remainder of the surviving Rogues threw a grand party which lasted a good 48 hours, and although the times had been hard recently…. for the two days that passed, everything seemed well again.
Take note however, though a victory this may be, Andariel and her devilish army were only a fraction of the evil that threatened Sanctuary, and while small victories where you can get them are great to celebrate, the region is safer yes, but the rest of the world is still at a high risk, as a whole.
After the celebrations had ended, things began to return to normal within the encampment, it was now time to plan and make preparations to move on.
With the roads now cleared and safer to travel along, Warriv started each day to taxi the Rogue scouts back up to the Monastery, a few at a time, and as many as his caravan could handle.
It took a few days doing this, but during their “somewhat” free time, the party were able to continue with various tasks around the encampment, or what was left of it that is.
Ophi – Continued on with her Herbalism lessons with Akara, and eventually learned how to create minor strength potions, and poison antidotes.
Bosa – Also under Akara’s mentoring, managed to gain better knowledge of how to treat open wounds more efficiently.
Rhyker – Worked on his physical prowess even more, and gained a good understanding of how to use Axes more accurately.
Zrin – Tried to charm his way around the camp, helping where he was needed, but overall helping to bolster the spirits of the Rogues even higher with his positive demeanor, reminding them every so often, that they can finally go back to their home and start to rebuild.
Scarlett – Although physically and mentally drained, she managed to spend some time with Charsi like she wanted, and spent a few hours a day working on a special project with her… a project that was very close to Scarlett’s heart.
Fast-forward a couple more days, and eventually the last day in the encampment arrived, it was time to leave – and so the party gathered their things, mounted the cart that was seeing some heavy usage by now, and with the remaining few Rogues, Charsi, and Deckard Cain, they headed across the solid stone bridge which linked the encampment to the wilderness.
– That one bridge that allowed the camp to defend itself so many times from evil.
– That one bridge that gave the party a sense of returning to a place of safety.
– That one bridge… which marked the very moment when this entire journey began, almost 2 full weeks ago.
Following the road, several pass by, and the caravan soon neared the Rogue Monastery, where the remaining Rogues said their goodbyes.
Before leaving however, Charsi handed a rather ornate looking long bow over to Scarlett, and threw her arms around her to give a huge goodbye hug, and kissed her gently on her blushed cheek, before taking a step back and saying…
“Take care of yourself my adopted sister, and thank you for all you have done for us – return to us safely one day for a visit okay? – Hopefully we will have the monastery looking as it used to be by then.”
Charsi smiled sweetly at her and turned away before Scarlett even knew what was going on, slightly startled Scarlett remained sat there holding the bow given to her in one hand, and touching the cheek that was just kissed with her other hand as she watched Charsi back away.
The talented Blacksmith then retreated from the caravan, and followed the rest of her Rogue sisters into their old home and vanished from sight, whilst the rest of the party stayed on the caravan, and were soon moving along the road again, headed for the eastern gate, located just around the far side of the monastery.
As they passed by, they took one last look back at the gate together, breathed a heavy sigh of relief each, almost in unison, then focused their thoughts on the journey ahead.
The cart pulled by Warriv’s two most trained work horses, slowly took off down the winding mountain pass, towards the sandy dunes at the bottom of the tall jagged rocks… to finally stand at the edge of the vast Aranoch desert.
Wasting no time at all, Warriv commanded his horses to press forwards, following the sandy road, into the heated dunes of Aranoch – the day was still young, and there was quite some distance to travel still… Where are the way-points when you need them eh?
When looking out from the caravan, into the open desert, the party could see high wave like dunes of sand, the vast space stretched as far as they could see in all directions, and was almost as big as an ocean of it’s own. The sandy hue, only broken up by the rare sightings of a green cactus here and there, and varying brown or sandstone colours from large formations of rocks, which were found along the roadway.
For the first part of the journey, there seemed to be no signs of other human life, anywhere… Yet, this was the way they were headed.
Looking back from where they had come from, the Rogue’s mountain passage now looked but a mere shadow of itself off in the distance, and eventually even that faded from view as more distance was put between them and the party… this however was only the start of their difficult journey ahead.
The first day soon became a little cooler, as the suns heat began to wane as it gave way to the moon that began to make it’s own ascent into the sky… The party started to feel colder almost instantly, as biting winds would soon pick up, and being tired from the long ride was taking its toll.
Whilst the change in temperature was nice to begin with, they soon noticed the desert has very cold and dark nights, and so decided to find a suitable place near the side of the road to camp for the night, the horses at this point definitely need the additional rest, or they would run the risk of dying from exhaustion before making it to their destination… the port city of Lut Gohlein.
However, as the light dwindled, giving way to the dark of the night, off in the distance a campfire light could be seen by all.
The caravan carrying the party, and supplies for the journey, continued along the path slowly, until the campfire was easily visible as the last of the daylight faded to black.
It was hard to tell at first guess, but sitting next to a lone tent, cooking a meal on the fire-pit, was a womanly figure, huddling closer to the fire for extra warmth.
Warriv, noticed this, pulled the caravan to a quick halt, and parked it off to the side of the road.
He then turned to the party and said… “I never really expected to see another soul on this road, but fortune favours us right now it seems my friends – Whoever that is over there, they already have a fire going, so all we need to do is make camp nearby and offer some help to them – why don’t you go and introduce yourselves, see who they are… and I will sort the tents out”
With that said, the party quickly began to dismount the cart, and moved towards the woman sat quietly in her camp.
The following morning arrives sooner than expected, and with it, the heat once more, Warriv and Deckard are already starting on closing up camp, the party pack up their own things, and mount the caravan once more with their new addition to the party, Morie.
Once more they set off east towards Lut Gohlein, keeping a keen eye on their surroundings more, as the terrain turns less sandy and more rocky, palm trees and dried plants line the road, giving some much welcome shade from the punishing suns rays,
With nothing happening except the party trying to find things to do, we fast forward to the end of another day…
The journey once again takes its toll on everyone as for the second time, the day begins to turn to night… After many hours of talking about the area, the weather, complaining about the heat, the vast quantity of sand in their clothing, and how thirsty they are all the time… the party once more begin to look for a place to camp within the rock lined sea of sand.
Travelling a little further along the road, and somehow as if blessed with amazing luck twice now, Warriv spots another great place to park the caravan as the light in the sky begins to turn from bright blue, to a soft a orange glow…. this time though, it’s right next to an Oasis… Perfect!
As Warriv, parks up again, the party stay ever vigilant, and notice that a few loose stones fall from the large sprawling rocks around the area, but thinking it’s just the wind knocking the stone fragments loose as it tears and bites around the higher areas, or small insignificant creatures of some kind scuttling around, they ignore it and soon find themselves once more in the cold and dark, with only a fire-pit and few lanterns to light up the area they have picked to rest in for the night.
Off to the distance upon a high-rise cliff section, there is a faint light from what looks to be yet another fire-pit, someone else has made camp not far from the party.
The party flee as instructed, and Warriv doesn’t spare the horses this time, he pushes them hard to get Deckard and the party as far away as possible from the fight, while a small group of guards hold back the Lacuni tribe for as a long as they can.
Quickly they travel further east along the road leaving the fight behind, and as soon as they traverse over a hill top, they see from a distance the outer walls of Lut Gohlein, shining like a jewel at night amidst the rock and sand, and to it’s rear the beautiful inner sea glimmering in the moonlight, full of fishing boats and larger trader vessels anchored in the bay, bobbing gently up and down as they connect with each of the ocean waves.
Safety was merely a couple of hours away now, and with a sense of dread, mixed with slight relief, the party carried along by Warriv, and his now extremely tired out horses, manage to make it over that last sand filled hurdle, and pull alongside the great outer wall.
Following the road ahead, they go through the unbarred gates, and into Lut Gohlein.
The daylight was beginning to return to the sky again, as the third day dawns over this lush part of the desert…
As the party pass by the streets of this city, the party can see a huge difference here compared to back in the Rogue Encampment… and they were about to embark on yet another part of their journey, and see just how different this sandy region truly is… and how needed they are here.
They pass by the market area, using the back roads, and then join the main road which runs parallel to the Palace.
Lut Gohlein is owned by a wealthy prince, known as Prince Jerhyn, and when Warriv finally pulls the cart to a complete stop in one corner of the city, the horses just buckle from pure exhaustion, and as they do, a male figure in a blue and white gown, approaches the front of the cart… It’s Prince Jerhyn himself.
Jerhynn explains that he has slipped his guards yet again, and has been wandering freely around town overnight, without any escort, but enough is enough, and it’s time for him to head back to the Palace.