Map 2.1:
2. A greenish-blue dweomer surrounds the item. (PCs with an INT above 16 who remain within 5' of the item for more than 10 rounds will become obsessed with the item. Obsessed PCs will attempt to gain control of the item, but will not act out of accordance with their alignment. If an obsessed PC maintains control of the item for 4 days, that PC will begin to have choppy, achronological visions consisting of the following information. See Background 2.2. The visions will continue for as long as the PC maintains control of the item.
Background 2.2:
Me-Shel Al-Shakir stands on the lee side of a giant, rippling dune. Behind him, tracks in the sand lead backward to the summit of the dune and beyond. Al-Shakir holds a hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the raging sun. A dry wind moves up the dune knocking sand into Al-Shakir's grim, sun-hardened face. He pulls the loose end of his turban across his mouth and secures it under a fold of fabric. White robes billowing, Al-Shakir begins to descend the dune.
Al-Shakir moves cautiously through the deserted streets of San Marcos. Until recently, San Marcos was the last Ukkan-held oasis on the desert trade route from San Fernando to Al-Saharwi, a lesser-populated city on the outskirts of the Medianic Kingdom. Out of habit, Al-Shakir glances upward occasionally to navigate by the stars. Tonight he only notices the heat crawling off the low, white buildings. Just beyond the shoulder of a massive, carved-stone likeness of Ukko, the moon dances a slow waltz in the rising heat. Al-Shakir touches a toe on the colossus and a hidden man-sized entrance is revealed. Al-Shakir looks over his shoulder one last time and enters the passageway.
The stink of carrion is enough to make Al-Shakir wretch as he reaches into the recently spilled guts of a desert dwelling basilisk-kin. The torchlight flickers. Al-Shakir leans in close to peer at the contents of the slain reptile's oozing paunch. Soon, he finds his prize among the other odd, undigested items hiding there. PCs will recognize this as the dweomered item they have found. At this point, though, the item does not cast a noticeable aura. Al-Shakir crouches and studies the item for a few moments. Torchlight glints on his finely-honed scimitar as he disappears into the darkness surrounding the area.
Blood runs freely from the outer corners of Al-Shakir's eyes. His mouth is frozen in a silent howl of pain. The front of Al-Shakir's robes are stained crimson. Small pools of blood collect on the agate-decorated floor. Four, giant, desiccated humanoids help Al-Shakir move to a kneeling position. Al-Shakir raises the item above his bowed head in a horrific act of supplication. Suddenly the humanoids' dried, paper-like skin is shredded and blown outwards as a deafening boom fills the area. The bones of the humanoids pile around Al-Shakir. Al-Shakir falls prone on the floor and the item clatters and rolls away from his hemorrhaging head. Al-Shakir looks at the item with bulging eyes. A thread of greenish-blue mist trails from Al-Shakir's mouth to the item.
The obsessed PC will soon begin to see detailed points on a map. See Map 2.1. The map is of a fortified town located well to the north of the Mid-World Sea. Ultimately, the PC will be become aware of a temple in the city at area C3 on the map. The temple houses the other three items of a set that includes the found item. After this point the visions cease and the PC will no longer be obsessed with the item.)
More table items to come!
C. Aaron Aldridge 2013
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