[Stomoxys]

In the morning, I discussed how to proceed with Nuur-Karif and Wolfram. Grogg was disinterested, focusing on their needlework. Nuur-Karif was worryingly nonchalant about the prospect of another storm, even though the last one had torn down houses and would have sent our wagon flying. I suggested we deliver the cube to The Homeland and Wolfram wanted to know more about the cube. Nuur-Karif was even less interested than Grogg. Initially, Wolfram wanted it delivered to the Azura priests, preferably after consulting with the leaders of their order. They also wanted to know who where the owners of the cube, which is quite unclear. I am sure the Azura would claim they are, but they themselves said the cubes are older than their order and they do not know how to make them. Considering that they have been involved in every cataclysm the mammals know about, according to Gromann, this is probably for the best. When told that mages from both the Salt Guild and Academy in the Cities of the Prince, as well as some criminal organization related to The Company was involved in the cube scheme, Wolfram soured on the idea of taking the cube there. I reassured them by pointing out that you are also a priest of Amna, which seemed to help, and changed the topic to more immediate problems. There could be a devastating storm coming, we were traveling towards a city most likely under siege and there was a wraith out there releasing demons from their prisons. According to the map, there was a stone circle between us and Ur, and the crypt should be nearby. The stone circle should probably be our first destination and from there we could hopefully learn more about what was going on. About halfway into the desert, there should be a travelers station where we might find water, but it would most likely be abandoned and we should find some shade to shelter from Ajaw during the heat of day. In the evening, we could approach the station carefully and travel on from there, but I should scout ahead when we get closer to Ur. When the sun started climbing in the sky, we spotted a huge standing rock that had clearly provided shelter for travelers before us. The wagon was manoeuvred off the road and behind the rock and the others made themselves comfortable in the shade. I climbed the rock to get an overview of the landscape and in the distance I could see some structures that appeared to be buildings. With a full waterskin, I set off to investigate. The lack of water makes Ajaw quite uncomfortable here in the desert, but the mammals, except Nujan, seem to suffer even worse.

It was not possible to see the structures from the road, but I proceeded carefully, looking both ahead and behind me. After about three quarters of an hour, I found a sign that claimed the road ahead was dangerous, signed by Aldera. Judging from the tracks, the sign had been placed there by a single rider coming from the direction of Ur and then returned the same way. There had been little to no traffic since. I continued eastwards and after another quarter of an hour, I spotted the structures. It was indeed a run down, two-storey building with an attached shed. Across the road, someone had placed two large carts and chained them together and a sign said closed. While it would be possible to get the wagon around the improvised barricade, it would take considerable time and effort. There were no immediate signs of life, but I took a wide path around the building and thought I spotted some movement in a window. Finding a shaded cranny between two boulders, I lay down to observe and there were definitely someone inside. However, unless the building had a large basement, there could not be more than two or three inside. I also noticed two barrels in the shed, possibly with water. If the inhabitants of the shack were hostile, I would want reinforcements, so I started on my way back. About halfway back to the wagon, I spotted a rider coming towards me and dove behind an outcropping of rock. The rider did not spot me and I got a good look at them. They appeared to be some kind of soldier, but there were no obvious insignia and, while they kept a good pace, they did not appear to be in a great hurry. The only unusual thing about them were the horse's hooves, which were wrapped in bags to reduce both the noise and the tracks they made. I considered shooting them in the back in case they had spotted the wagon, but decided it was more likely they were Aldera than Larma and a missing rider would presumably cause some suspicion either way. Back by the wagons, I studied the tracks and it did not seem the rider had noticed the wagon behind the rock. At least they hadn't stopped or changed their pace.

Worryingly, the others hadn't noticed the rider either. I almost miss Lunari's keen eyes and ears. It was decided that we should wait until evening, as originally planned, and then surround the shack in case the inhabitants were hostile. Nujan wanted to scout ahead as well, mostly out of boredom I suspect, and I went with them. It appears they have not realized we are heading towards a hostile army of elves that torture their captives and enslave their spirits and Nujan's recklessness could reveal our position. The gravity of the situation seems lost on Wolfram and Grogg as well, but that is to be expected. When we reached the buildings, we could see the horse of the rider I had spotted earlier drinking from one of the barrels. The rider themselves soon appeared from the shack, mounted the horse and rode off towards east. We did not observe any other movement and Nujan soon got bored and we returned to the wagon.