KHAZUUL

Freki nods and says, "Let's see what happen ..."

He walks towards the gate and knocks on its large wooden pales, holding the wooden lotus so it's clearly visible.

Freki discovers a hefty iron ring, giving it a solid thump. A voice echoes down from the watchtower, demanding to know your purpose. You mention Dario's lotus tokens, and they lower a wooden bucket on a rope, instructing you to deposit them. The bucket ascends, and after a damp interval, a small gate door swings open.A towering Northman, as tall as they come though lean for his size, awaits you. Adorned in light armor with a brace of daggers strapped to his chest, he growls "About damn time we got some fresh help!" Gesturing to enter, he demands "Get in."

The compound within is large yet oddly vacant, capable of housing a hundred with ease. Only about two dozen or so linger near canopied fire pits. Their attention turns to your arrival, accompanied by shouts of "Fresh meat!" and "Someone else for latrine duty for a change!"

The uproarious laughter ignites a chorus of barks from a kennel at the far edge of the fort. Near that, a corral houses a handful of Anzus, one of them a deep black, adorned with intricately embellished tack catching glimmers of silver in the flickering firelight.

One man stands out - he sits alone, and has a grim look on his face. He is garbed in all black, and is smoking a long pipe.

Also, you can't help but notice two men are bound to a pole, exposed to the rain, stripped bare. Dangling from their restraints, they sway, bloodied and limp. An armored figure, amid fits of laughter, mercilessly strikes them with clenched fists.

Tunny gives you little time to take in the scene, and leads you to a tent where he begins a crash course in being a Black Skull. The experience is most exemplified by what the Black Skulls are willing to pay for and fight for. In addition to the agreed-upon five gold per day, he says the following will get you a bonus payout:

◈ Each head of a Beastman or Dreadwing: 5 gold
◈ Each Black Lotus plant: 35 gold
◈ A relic of The Old Empire: 35 gold
◈ The skull of Grimjaws: 100 gold
He states that each Black Skull abides by a code. It's an understanding that when one Black Skull calls, others answer, even in the face of insurmountable odds. "We're the most dreaded Hunters in the jungle because everyone knows we stand united, and we never back down."

Otherwise, you're expected to feed yourselves and make camp back at base, where there will be additional chores for you to do.

"What can ye do? Speak up now, or you'll be cleaning the latrines."

Cutwell had the creeping feeling that they had chosen the wrong side in whatever competition took place down here.

The most dreaded hunters of them all could scarcely fill half a tea shop back on the wall. He wanted to make some remark about how it might be better to alter the bit about insurmountable odds, given how few there seemed to be left as a result, but he kept his jaw firmly shut.

"Bit of this, bit if that, don’t I? There’s my work there, if you’re wanting a look." he says, pointing to Freki’s shaven head.

"That, and I’ll stitch you good, if needs be! I’ve been known to cut bits away, ain’t I? If needs be, that is."

Freki nods to the foreman as he enters, a fellow northerner ... I wonder if he's adapted to the heat yet.

Surveying the base camp, he thinks, For the impressive size on the outside, the number of personnel on the inside is certainly underwhelming, which is a bit worrying after having heard about the gang wars. He's curious about the man in black sitting alone. Given the strict code, you'd hope to see camaraderie, not loners. Also, the sight of the prisoners is a reality check that life is brutal here. He's going to need to be careful if he wants to survive.

The sound of barking from the kennels is a welcome feeling though. Freki says to Tully, "I have experience working with animals, particularly canines. I've never worked with these giant lizards before," he nods to the corral, "but I'm interested to learn, by trial and error if necessary, so if you need help tending the animals, I'm your man."

Thorn wonders if they will ever see those Lotus carvings again as they are hoisted up in the bucket by the Northman. He's not about to argue though, because as the gate is opened, a very large man is revealed standing on the other side. The somewhat friendly welcome puts him at ease but the sight of the prisoners being flogged does not.

The barks, the animals, the strange man in black, he takes it all in.

"I'm a good fighter, adept with a sword and strong as an ox. You need a guard, I'm your man." He said this with a confidence he didn't feel. The camp wasn't quite what he expected but what did he expect after all with a name like the Black Skulls?

"Who is the man in black? He looks a little put-out, and what did those fellows being flogged do?" Thorn hoped he wasn't being too nosey.

We’re here to hunt for treasure, to slay monsters! To explore ruins! We’ll sooner loot this place before your eyes than clean shitholes! Sow says in her head, keeping quiet while the others answer. Her eyes and ears are taking in the sights and sounds… and she likes none of what she sees and hears.

After their tall host answers Thorn, the girl finally manages, with her scabby voice, "plants and herbs and such."

You find an unoccupied wooden platform to set up your tents and tarps above the mud, and put out your things to dry by a fire pit, especially your boots. The rains continue, make a thunderous drumming as it pelts the canopies that mutes the noises of the jungle. Despite the rain, there is no chill in the night air; in fact, all the dampness has made it uncomfortably muggy. As you are setting up camp, you overhear conversation from a pair of nearby Black Skull Hunters. The two young, Gurkish Hunters look like they might be brother and sister. You gather their names are Saffron and Samir; Saffron is a mousy young woman with a sword that looks too big for her, and Samir is a moody young man who seems to smolder anger. They are talking about some encounter she had in the jungle. Their voices goes low, but the rain abruptly abates, and you can still hear them.


"I saw it with my own eyes" Saffron says in a sweet voice that sounds too gentle for this place. "He had something growing out of him. He was trying to cut it off, but he passed out."

"The jungle plays tricks on your mind," Samir responds, dismissively. "Pay it no heed. What did he have on him?"

"He had a book with writing I did not know. I thought it might be a relic, so I hid his pack in the shambles of a lightning-struck tree. North of here, around four or five miles."

"Did you cut his throat?"

"I ... I couldn't do it."

"Bah! What if we try to sell his book, and he returns? He'll know you stole it! Why don't you ever you think? "

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. We'll just have to wait, make sure he's dead. Then we'll retrieve the pack."

"Samir, I just want to go home..."

"There is no more home for us, Saffron."

The rains pick up and their voices are once again muffled. They turn in for the night not long after.

Morning comes, and you rise, having slept adequately. Yet, the weather has taken a more sinister turn. Winds tear through the canopies, threatening to snatch your tents from the sturdy log platforms. Rain pelts you at a near-horizontal angle. Lightning slashes across the storm-black sky, followed by thunder so immediate and resonant it reverberates in your bones.The foreman arrives, inspecting the camp with a crazed smile on his face. "Welcome to Khazuul!" he bellows at you, at the top of his lungs. "Fucking fine day for getting rich, ain't it?"

The black Anzu and Ruin Sage are no longer here, but prisoners remain tied to the pole. The other Hunters are suiting up for a hard day's work.

It's not so bad then to be tasked with teaching swordsmanship. Thorn looked forward to it if the constant rain would ever halt. His ears prick up at what Tunny said about a Ruin Sage for he crossed paths with a Ruin Sage from Kir Sabal. This Ruin Sage saw promise in Thorn, and promised sanctuary and lodgings at Kir Sabal if he ever was to visit. Thorn decided to talk to talk to the sage in the morning and see if this one knew him.

It was a boon to find a platform to camp on. It beat laying on soaked ground but rations were low. Soon they'd have to be replenished. He slept well but was disappointed the next morning when he awoke and found the Ruin Sage gone. The conversation between Saffron and Samir had swirled that had swirled around in his mind before he fell asleep came back to him.

To the others he said before the foreman arrived, "Did you hear those two gabbing last night about a man who had something growing out of him? He was trying to cut it off, but he passed out, they said. They also mentioned a relic. We could find that relic before they do."

The group is not in the camp a matter of hours before Sow is second-guessing their decision to sign up with the Black Skulls. These are not good people, and she will not spend her days cleaning latrines. Still, the girl is used to the outdoors and the elements, so the wet doesn't bother her overmuch yet.

In the morning, over a cold, hardtack meal, she looks at the others, bedraggled as she chews. She raises an eyebrow at Thorn. "Aye. Or do we invite those two," she indicates where they saw and heard Saffron and Samir, "to our exploration today? Help them instead? Seems we will have need of allies here."

She quiets down when Tunny arrives. She does not like the man, and avoids eye contact with him, making busy at some task to keep away from him. When near one of her fellows, she quietly says, "Ask him if there is a known ruin nearby, one not fully plundered, or some place that's known to grown rare herbs and the like."

"Are we expected to go out into the jungle in this, do you reckon?" Cutwell asks, half incredulous. "Only, we ain’t got it mapped out in our heads yet, have we? They’d be throwing away good men like that. And women, mind."

When the Foreman comes to their small campsite, he asks the same question of him, though he words it with more mild curiosity than indignance.

Freki's makeshift tent of netting, rope and leaves barely makes it through the night and only because the platform provided a stable structure to tied down to and the walls of the fort kept the worst of the wind at bay. However, he's the first one up in the morning as the storm picks up, as it starts to pull leaves off the netting and let rain in.

While the others are still asleep he familiarizes himself with the kennels and the animals inside and wonders what the policy is for taking them on a hunt.

Joining the others for breakfast, a mix of nuts, grains and rock-hard bits of dried fruits that becomes more of a lukewarm porridge before the end because of the rain, he agrees with Sow, "Yeah, might be worth joining forces if they're interested ... although we need to be careful of the boy ... I wouldn't trust him at my back let alone to keep his Black Skull oath, at least until we learn a bit more about him."

When Tunny arrives, he asks, "Is there a particular place that the black lotus grow, or can you find them throughout Khazuul?"

"Also, what's the policy on the animals? Can I take any with me on a hunt? Not today, I want to get to know them a bit better first, but they could be useful companions in the jungle."

Freki's early morning inspection of the kennels reveals four big hunting dogs, all healthy. They respond to the Freki's animal charms well.

When you ask, Tunny explains they are his, but he lends them out to trusted lieutenants on longer missions, like to the swamp. Otherwise, he uses them to hunt for food, but also to track down Dreadwings that encroach on his territory, and the occasional traitor.

"Does the rain ever stop?" Thorn asks, mildly annoyed despite the man saying it's good for hunting. "Five or six miles north you say for the forward camp. Anything left of it?"

It occurs to Thorn that north was the direction Samir and Saffron mentioned to find their supposed relic. He wonders how much of a detour it would be to do both. Go north and beat the pair to the relic and then head northeast to the swampy camp or whatever was left of it. He wasn't in favor of joining them.