Sands of Vishdar: An Arabian Nights D&D 5e Adventure

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On the northern end of the continent of Kar'Dalak lies the jewel of the Shifting Sands, Vishdar. Sitting on the coast of the Bay that shares its name, Vishdar is a thriving maritime trade outpost. Travelers and goods the world over make landfall at Vishdar's vast harbors. Due to the vast trade that it conducts, the city-state has become rich beyond measure and the sultan who controls the wealth of the kingdom is one of the most powerful men in the world. For decades, Kalir V has ruled the kingdom with a gentle touch. But things are changing. The aging ruler has announced that his beautiful daughter Kassima will become Sultana upon his death. But shadows lurk among the city, and dark plots stir within its walls.

You are among many travelers who have made their way to Vishdar, but all is not right. The city has fallen into hard times since you began your journey to the jewel of the Shifting Sands. The beloved sultan has fallen ill and to make matters worse, the princess is nowhere to be seen. Whispers spread of a dark conspiracy within Vishdar, one that will have grave consequences for the fate of both Vishdar and the world...

As normal in the grand coastal desert city of Vishdar, travelers and traders make hustle and bustle throughout the bazaar. Vibrant tents are set up on every corner, shopkeepers shouting deals over the din of the crowd. The smell of spice and the chatter of eager traders selling their wares fill the air.

Wandering journeyers walk into town alongside their camels, seeing the sights and partaking in the atmosphere. Among the travelers are even a few travelers from far afield, some of whom have traveled for many thousands of miles to learn of the exotic knowledge of Kar'Dalak, or to sell their own wares from far and wide.

The sound of drums and lute playing fills the air as entertainers occupy the crowd. Beautiful dancers sway to the rhythm of the music, coins jingling as they are tossed into pots at the dancers' feet by enthralled onlookers.

In the center of the bazaar is a great pillar with boards attached to it, used by many sellers for posting ads for their shops or services. Today, however, a retinue of the sultan's guard is posted by the pillar, a few of them putting up posters for themselves.

One of the guards, a tall half-orc with pallid grey skin and the ornate armor of a guard captain, stands by the pillar along with a short, dark-skinned human woman beside him. The half-orc guard captain eyes the crowd wearily, then glances down at the human woman.

"These poor fools have no idea what has taken place," the guard captain sighs. "To think I have to be the one to tell them the bad news. This is foolishness. All because a young whelp can't do her job correctly!" the guard captain snarls. Another guard, a tanned dwarf with a long black braided beard, pipes up.

"Don't be so hard on her, Captain Amaar," the dwarf chimes in. "It wasn't her fault. None of the princess' guard saw her vanish." Amaar grumbled.

"Yes, Durkhan, but what does it matter?" Amaar mutters angrily. "Once the sultan recovers, he's going to have all our heads for losing his daughter. Most of all Safie, she was the one on duty when the princess disappeared."

"You're just giving her a hard time because she's new blood, you always do this to the recruits," Durkhan pointed out.

"And because her father tried to overthrow His Majesty!" Amaar snapped. "I still don't know why he saw fit to hire the traitor's daughter to our ranks. For all we know she's—"

"Don't even say it!" Durkhan insists. "We're all worried about Princess Kassima. But there's no sense pointing fingers until we have a better lead." The guard captain grumbled.

"Keep putting up those posters. I want everyone in Vishdar to come here and hear what we have to say," Amaar barked.

Oblivious to the guards and their bickering, many travelers and merchants went about their day, unaware of the earth-shattering revelations that were soon to drop...

Edited by AllHailThrall on Nov 14th 2020 at 8:41:21 AM

David observed the wares, muttering to himself as he looked them over, the young wizard pondering the various wares across the market. The sun was bright, the heat was oppressive, but this man had a few tricks up his sleeves to keep cool.

10 GP in his bag, but nothing fully catching his eye, no old tomes, no magic items, nothing. What he needed was more direct access to lost knowledge... and a few more coins in hand.

It didn't take long after arriving in the city for a finely-dressed elf of a foreign disposition to find his way to the marketplace, put down his chest of belongings and stand on top of it to help project his voice.

"Trinkets! Treasures! Mysterious items of grand renown all at reasonable prices!"

With a bit of a gesticulation, the elf jumped down off his chest and popped the latch on the lid expectantly.

"And of course if you cannot afford my wares, I am buying old items at an... acceptable rate."

With a rather slow and dull morning with nothing happening at the tavern/inn, Feli was quite content get outside rather than laze around as they decided to wander through the bazaar, a spring in their step and happily humming.

Granted, it wasn't likely they'd be buying anything yet it never hurt to be curious and see if there was anything new and interesting...with that unfamiliar elf definitely being the former while the slight commotion with the guards sort of being the latter that they'd check out later.

"What sorta trinkets?"

Truth be told, nothing the Captain was saying was anything she hadn't told herself already. She'd had one job, and she blew it. She didn't even have the energy to respond to the jabs against her father. She simply grabbed another poster, nailing it to the board. She glanced at the others, before turning around, putting her back to the pillar and folding her arms behind her back. She didn't expect the Captain to throw her under the bus in his announcement, but she was mentally prepared for it. Well, she thought she was.

She exhaled sharply. What would come would come. Jeers or no, her priority was seeing the princess safely back.

Ifrit pause as she look at the bazaar, for most this was their normal day, their normal life. As for Ifrit life had change just the other day. She was know free to explore the city and maybe even the world. Ifrit shock her head before heading towards her favorite spice merchant. Along the way she made brief stop to watch the guards and other new sights joining the bazaar today.

The markets of Vishdar were probably the last place Junpei expected to visit right after arriving at the city—but hey, a guy had to survive somehow, and he wasn't exactly keen on splurging on an inn when there were fresh pickings just a few steps away.

So today specifically, the young man found himself elbowing through a crowd, making his way painstakingly through the central bazaar.

The day's heat bearing down was already miserable as it was, and he was starting to have a mind to just nick something on impulse as crashing swells of music hung louder and louder over the mob of passerbys and occasional livestock. What he really needed right now was to cool his head back to normal. (Both figuratively and literally, because apparently for the ridiculous layers of monk garments just doing away with his inner robes wasn't enough, and he began to regret that.)
More specifically? Something to distract himself from those feelings, and it wouldn't be the wares the merchants were advertising everywhere around him or cold, hard coin.

Unless foreign currency was edible. Junpei wouldn't bet on it, though, and anyway he was caring less and less about semantics the longer he had to walk in this place. Hierarchy of needs and all that.

And much to his relief, the sea of travellers he'd been hurtling through finally parted.

What it opened up to reveal to him, as it turned out, wasn't anything more unusual than a secluded food stall. There's the ticket. It stood in the midst of the hustle and bustle like an oasis in the dunes, and Junpei scrambled towards it with just as much relief.
He let himself breathe again as he headed over. He'd have to make a mental note to thank the deities for that later.

...Whichever ones they worshipped around here, anyway. Junpei hadn't been paying much attention.

As the mysterious dark elf set up shop in the middle of the bazaar advertising his wares, a few interested patrons began to overlook curiously, standing behind Feli.

One of the shopkeepers, an gentleman in a light blue robe, looked at David with a glint in his eye.

"Ah, I see you come from far yonder. Welcome to Vishdar, jewel of the Shifting Sands. I recognize the inquisitive look in your eye, you are a man of culture. In search of something in particular, young effendi?" the man asked. "I have many things on sale for someone like yourself."

The food stall keeper, a dwarf with a sandy-colored beard, eyed Junpei.

"Admiring my delicacies, traveler?" the dwarf asked. "Spiced lamb... you have not lived until you try it. Only three silver dirhams," he offered. "Or these freshly-harvested dates, five copper fals each."

One of the other guards, a middle-aged dragonborn woman with brassy scales, approached Amaar, Durkhan and Safie.

"With all due respect, sir, why in the name of Re-Horakhty would Safie have anything to do with this? You know how much Her Majesty enjoyed Safie's company. The two were close," the dragonborn pointed out. She then turned to Safie. "I'm sorry, dear. The captain is just worried like the rest of us. We'll find her. I'm sure of it. Just as soon as these posters are up and enough people have offered to help." Amaar nodded, sighing.

"Mirahzad is right. The sooner we find Kassima the sooner my worried old bones are going to be soothed," Amaar admitted. He turned towards one of the other guards. "Are you lot quite ready yet with the posters?!"

"Almost, sir!" Durkhan said firmly, putting up the last of his posters.

"Ah, the best kind my friend! Mysteries and marvels from across the world, obtained from a long and storied career of dashing heroism of course!"

Reaching into the chest, the garishly-dressed Drow plucked a cylindrical tube. A scroll case.

"Oh yes, the Scroll of Fated Deeds. I was wondering where I put that. Upon this scroll is writ the story of that who reads it, a full accounting of their life and adventures should any exist. However, for those unbound from the weave of Fate it shows nothing, for their story is yet to be written."

He sits down on the chest and leans on the tube.

"This is not a thing I am willing to part with, but I suppose for a fair price I can let a conscientious buyer like yourself merely glimpse at the future. But be forewarned, knowing your Fate is a curse. I saw mine and the sheer dread turned my hair white!"

It was a bold-faced lie, the scroll inside that case was blank. He just knew that the kind of dim-witted rube willing to pay the price would also believe that the blankness of the paper meant they were unbound by Fate.

David overhearing these claims, walked over, and stared at the fated tube, "Hm? Really now?"

David smirked at the salesmen, probably a ruse of some sort, to be careful, David casted, "Detect Magic" to see if the claims were true.

Safie looked over at Amaar, nodding, half-heartedly and wordlessly. To be sure, she was, looking objectively at the situation, correct. The Captain was under just as much stress as the rest of them, if not more. The disappearance, coincidentally - or not - timed with the Sultan himself falling ill - it was as if an evil omen hung over the royal family of Vishdar. Stress led to rash decision making, when a more thorough examination of the facts would give a different impression. Sure, she had no alibi, but she also had no motive.

That didn't stop Safie from feeling like the Captain was right. Maybe someone less green could've stopped it. Well, she knew she wasn't involved in the kidnapping, at least, but she still blamed herself for it.

Either way, this was going to help her mental state immensely. She was never one for sitting around when things could be done. She'd rather be out there looking, but, well, she couldn't do it alone. Thus, she was sitting here, waiting for the announcement.

It took a few moments for the half-elf to ponder the salesman's words, wrapping a strand of their hair around a finger.

"So...kind of like a seer, then? Hmmm...~" They gave a slight smile. "I mean, I guess I could ask how much it's cost since finding out and knowing my future would be pretty interesting! ...but at the same time no matter what would come up on that scroll thingy would kind of spoil the surprise, too...~! And you kind of bring up a good point, what if it IS something terrible?" Feli replied...even if they did look like they were still considering it.

Although it did take another few seconds for the half-elf being to notice and politely step to the side so others interested in what the drow was selling could so they could get a better look.

...Yep, it was definitely busier than usual. Although it wasn't all bad as they gave a cheerful wave and smile to Ifrit after catching a glimpse of her out of the corner of their eye.

Yeah no, nothing about this Drow or his box of stuff registered as magical in any way. The salesman was a caster sure but none of his stuff was magic. Of course given the salesman also knew Detect Magic he could kinda tell he was rumbled given the somatics and verbosity going on with the cast.

"Oi, wiz kid move along I'm trying to business here. You're not a guard so don't go poking your nose in things."

With a flourish he put the scroll case back into the chest and stood there glowering as well as he could.

"Perfect. I'll take three." Was he getting ripped off? Probably. Was that too much food? Absolutely not. But did he actually care? Junpei would leave his reaction to answer that for him; almost supersonically slapping a gold piece over the counter. "Two dates too, thanks, man." At that he took the lamb skewers passed to him with no shortage of enthusiasm and set to work on them.

In the middle of munching on his newly-acquired goods, he began to notice a commotion a little ways off. Some drow, it looked like—towering above the milling public's heads and glaring down a cloaked figure in an oversized hat. The animosity was tangible, even from where he was standing.

A heated pricing disagreement, maybe? "...That a normal thing around here?" he wondered around a mouthful of fruit, half to the shopkeeper and half to himself. Eventually he just shrugged.

But whether Junpei liked it or not, it was starting to make him curious.
And once the familiar impulse to wander off instilled itself in him, he knew all too well that he wouldn't be turning back—that was the one feeling he couldn't tear his attention away from, no matter the amount of exotic treats, and it was a fact.

So wander off he did.

Edited by unfortunatezorua on Jun 3rd 2020 at 10:04:39 PM

Ifrite again paused after seeing Feli waving. She know the half-elf, even count the half-elf as a friend. Well as much as she could be stuck helping her father with his shop. Again that change and today Ifrit decide Feli would truly become her friend. She made her way though the crowd to stand by the half-elf.

“There are certainly a lot new faces today”, she said with to Feli as the pair watch the drow.

Then a gleam came to Ifrit’s eyes. A idea had just formed. A idea that if all went well. A bit of fun would be had.

“Watch this”,Ifrit giggled to Feli.

Ifrit focused her attention on a random piece of junk that Orphie was trying to hawk. ” Old to new. New to old. make a small mark appear, Ifrit whisper and made a quick wave of her left hand. Then with a out second pause, [[pink:” Chains that bind and pull. I pull upon you, like you pull upon creation. Pull forth light”, she whisper as she make a tugging motion with her right hand. If all went as planned a small star mark would appear on the piece of junk, then it glow for a couple of seconds before fading out.

She attempting to cast Prestidigition and Thaumaturgy

David did not detect any magic coming from the objects, but he turned his attention towards the nearby robed figure. He stepped away from the salesman and over to the robed figure, curious over what could be hidden in there.

The food shopkeeper grinned at Junpei and happily took the monk's gold coin.

"That will be one gold dinar, very good, many thanks, honored sir! Enjoy!" he called after the hungry monk.

Meanwhile, the robed figure David was approaching was a man covered head to toe in dark grey robes. In many other settings, such a figure would be highly suspicious, but in a land as sun-beaten as Vishdar, many travelers wore full-body robes.

That said, this robed figure stayed mostly still, watching the central pillar where the guard were gathered like a hawk. As David approached the figure, the figure glanced at him with a distrustful gaze. Otherwise the figure did not move. When it was clear that David seemed to want to investigate the figure further, the figure looked at him more directly while also keeping his gaze on the central pillar.

"You're not from around here," the figure told him firmly. "Move along, foreigner. I have nothing to say to you." With that he continued watching the central pillar, and occasionally glaring at David.

Edited by AllHailThrall on Jun 3rd 2020 at 8:53:18 AM

Noticing the sudden manifestation of magic on an item that he himself knew was perfectly ordinary, Orphie jumped on the chance to hawk it for a profit.

"Aha! The mark of the Starborn! It only appears on items destined for people chosen by the stars above themselves, but who among you wishes to accept the gifts of the stars? More importantly, which of you have the coin needed to make it worth my while?"

He laughed and got right back into marketeering.

"Yep~! Wonder what brings them here...~" Feli replied quietly, lost in thought before their eyes lit up. "Guess if they needed to know where to go or what to do 'round this sanctuary of sand, asking a few copper wou- Huh? Watch what?" The half-eye blinked, getting cut off by Ifrit's 'magic show, curiously tilting their head.

Sure, it was kinda impressed but at the same time, a tiny bit disappointed?

Ifrit let out a annoyed sigh, ”That was a bust”.

Ifrit again looked around the bazaar her eye falling on the guards once more.

“They alot of guards and new people. Hopefully the guards are here with good news., she add.

As the crowds continued to move about and conduct their business, the sound of a trumpet sounded through the bazaar.

The crowd turned towards the central pillar, where one of the guards had pulled a horn to his mouth and blowed a fanfare.

"People of Vishdar!" the guard shouted. "On behalf of the Sultan, Guard Captain Amaar al-Zarad has an important announcement!" The guard captain cleared his throat, stepping forward to meet the eyes of the waiting crowd.

"Destiny has not been kind to Vishdar in the past few days," Amaar stated. "His Majesty, Kalir V... has fallen gravely ill." The crowd murmured in concern. "We are doing everything in our power to recover His Majesty's failing health, but our efforts have been fruitless. To make matters worse," Amaar continued, "His daughter Kassima, next in line to the throne as decreed by His Majesty... has mysteriously disappeared." The worried din of the crowd loudened slightly.

Amaar hesitated, looking at the ground and clenching a fist, composing himself before continuing. "Kassima is a precious jewel, especially to the Sultan, and her disappearance has exacerbated His Majesty's ailing state. If she is not found soon... Kalir V may worry himself to death," he explained. "Therefore! By order of His Majesty the sultan, we are asking for assistance. Anyone who has any information about Her Highness's whereabouts is encouraged to aid the kingdom of Vishdar in her safe return. We are offering a grand reward to anyone who locates the princess and brings her back, if she is alive. They will have a royal feast in their honor. We will give a vast monetary compensation. They will be heroes of the realm. And if they so wish it... they will be given a chance at Kassima's hand in marriage."

Amaar's clenched fist began to shake.

"And if she is dead... then Vishdar will stop at nothing to find the perpetrator and exact the fullest extent of the law against them," Amaar said firmly.

The robed figure David was speaking to furrowed his brow, taking a few steps back from the assembled group. Then, at once, he whipped around and began to bolt away from the crowd down a street. A few other robed figures in the same crowd did the same, shoving past a few guards in the area.

"The kingdom grieves in this hour of— what?!" Amaar shouted, noticing the figures running like their lives depended on it. Amaar turned to Safie and the others. "Guards, prove yourself competent and stop them!" he yelled. A few guards began to mobilize, while the civilians, panicked by the sudden distraction, began to scatter.

David seeing the men flee and the guards run decides to cast magic missiles at the lead runner's legs in a attempt to cause him to trip.

Edited by EchoingSilence on Jun 5th 2020 at 4:48:01 AM

When one ran from an announcement by the guards, it wasn't a good look. Especially one on the topic of the Sultan falling ill and the Princess disappearing. Her newfound prudence fallen by the wayside at a chance for information on the Princess' disappearance, Safie was already running before the Guard Captain barked his orders.

She was tempted to yell something cliche like "Stop, in the name of the sultan!" but really, if they were already running from the guard, they weren't going to and her breath was better spent chasing after them.

If they're within movement range, gonna attempt a grapple check.

The Drow perked up at the announcement. A sickly sultan and a missing princess? Vast monetary reward, heroism and a possible marriage into nobility? A chance at an exceptional story to tell when he inevitably had to move on? He was in. And with those mysterious figures fleeing he knew precisely how to get involved.

Grabbing a fairly utilitarian lyre from it's holder strapped to his back he gave a mischievous smile towards the fleeing figures and played a single strum infused with magic.

"Slumber take grasp of you!"

Casting Sleep, centered on a point that encompasses as many of the cloaked figures as possible in it's area of effect.

Junpei looked up from the salesman's display at the sound of more literal fanfare. Admittedly, he didn't know much about the goings-on of the Sultan's rule and his heir's—he'd only just arrived, but rewards? Some good pay in exchange for a little bit of scumhunting (the feast might've attracted him too if they'd made the announcement a few minutes before)? That was something he was definitely familiar with, and he'd decided to take them up on the offer when—

CRASH

"Hey! The hell?!" In a flash, the monk was knocked aside, lurching dangerously backwards as he tripped over himself to regain his balance. The food he'd been holding flew out of his hands, scattering in at least eight different directions—a wild blur shot past him and he just managed to catch the image. Some robed guy...conspicuously booking it right as the public was told about the princess's disappearance.

Oh. Now he got it. Like that wasn't suspicious at all.

Junpei lunged at the figure—"Get back here!"

it's grappling time