Auger picks up that the camel-rider is trying just a bit too hard not to be noticed by your party. As he subtly pulls his cloak around him, Auger sees, beneath it, dusty, pale-blue livery. Upon it, visible for just a moment, are emblazoned the dagger moon and the royal seal of El Harrouch, both of which disappear under the folds of the rider's cloak as he shrugs it closed then focuses his attention on his plate. An imperial messenger from Kalahata. As his gaze flashes back to his companions, Auger sees Varielky locking eyes with Granophyre, whose glance then transfers to Auger. They both have noticed the same thing. Ednyss and Benita are both lost in their own thoughts.

If the messenger has noticed this exchange of glances, his behavior does not betray the fact.

Varielky slowly stands up. She had not finished the food on her plate, but neither does she intend to. She touches Benita's shoulder then marks with her head to follow her. "Come with me for a moment. Help me find the... ah... privy. I think I saw it outside." Varielky isn't one to need someone to accompany her often, but it's not completely out of the ordinary. After all, having someone keep watch that nobody is sneaking behind on you while you do your stuff can be the difference between getting killed from behind or not. She'd usually do it alone, but when there are many people around... it's good to call a friend - strictly Benita, as the only other woman in the group - to her aid.

Of course, that wasn't her intention this time, but she didn't want to alert anyone. She gives Benita a look that would hopefully convey: "Come, no arguing." If she can get Benita out, and the boys get Ednyss with them, they might be out without alerting everyone around. They may not carry weapons... but Varielky suspects the mine isn't completely undefended, waiting for bandits to rob it.

Auger watches Varielky and Benita step away and then nods to Granophyre and Ednyss, hoping they would do the same.

While waiting on them, Auger continues eating for a moment, enjoying the flavor and the meal. Finally he also stands and, smiling, approaches the Messenger, intending to make conversation. Auger does attempt to keep his traveling cloak over his coat as he moves over.

Sleight of Hand (if needed): 25

"A pleasant day for sightseeing sir. What brings you here?" Auger asks as he sits down with him. 

Benita, Granophyre and Ednyss follow Varielky and Auger's lead, calmly standing and heading off in pairs. When Auger sits across from him, the man, in his early 20s, has finished his meal, and his wide eyes flit in circles, apparently looking for an escape from Auger's company as soon as possible.

In answer to the southerner's greeting, he shakily replies, "Delivering the mail." The messenger’s eyes are drawn once again to the two dwarves as they walk away, disappearing around the corner of the exit ramp tunnel.

At that moment, audible only to Auger, a bent, old human woman approaches and coughs in a rough sputter to the messenger, "Mr. Abadolla will see you now," then retreats to the kitchen. The young man seems quite ready to get up and leave Auger to his own devices.

"Ah - I see you have business to attend to. I will not keep you." Auger reaches through his connection to the Dowager, just touching it, in order to let the connection briefly empower his words and perhaps charm the Messenger (DC16 WIS saving throw).

"I was going to ask you about sights to see in the area. My friends and I are really just a few travelers seeing the sights and nothing more. I'll let you get on to your important business here. Good day, sir."

Persuasion (hoping to apply to italicized statement): 19. And the Advantage die if Fey Presence does as hoped: 12.

Auger gets up and leaves the Messenger, heading out to join the others and resume their journey.

At Auger’s words, the man’s eyes, at first evading the warlock’s, are drawn uncontrollably up, and lock with Auger’s arcane gaze, until the young man smiles at the southerner as if at his own father. 

“Seeing… the sights… ” and when Auger stands and takes his leave, the messenger bows amiably. “Be safe, friend, be safe,” he says, with emotion, before himself standing and moving to the far end of the courtyard. Auger, taking one last look before exiting the yard, sees a door open, the messenger step in, and an obese man in djinn-pants and open-collared shirt with a soul patch and a tilted fez on his head standing in the doorway. The manager, presumably.

The man peers at Auger momentarily through slit eyes, then, turning back into the chamber, greets the messenger in an unfriendly and petulant voice, “Why are you here?,” while closing the door behind him. 

Benita has meanwhile made a beeline to the Tawekki and begun unfastening their leads and preparing you all for a quick departure.

Seeing the brief interchange between the messenger and the manager Auger wonders at what is going on here.

Py, can you go and see if you can listen at the door over there? I would like to know if there is anything going on we need to worry about. Perhaps you can learn something about this manager and what he does here. We will be leaving so I will resummon you in about 15 minutes.

Auger quickly joins his companions and begins sorting out his Tawekki in order to leave the area, while Py invisibly flies over to the closed door.

Fifteen minutes later, you are all five on your sandboards, and the mining operation is about to disappear from view behind dunes. You see a few people exiting the ramp in the distance, and then you’re in a depression between high dunes, concealed from view, as Py’s invisible form appears on Auger’s shoulder with a fragrant puff of rosemary from the Feywild.

AUGER:

Auger immediately and loudly calls out to the others, "Py brings a warning! We are being followed! Strewn was recognized!"

Breathing big and slow for a moment to calm himself, Auger continues, still calling to ensure he is heard by all but with more control over his voice. "I'm sorry Granophyre but we are going to have to be careful with who sees you from here on in. Word is out to look for an older dwarf and I am sure the rest of us will soon be identifiable as known companions.

"When we get there we will have to be careful as we re-enter the city with Strewn holding back from actually coming in."

Auger asks Py to fly up 50' and keep a watch behind to see how close their pursuers are.

With Py’s help you learn within another minute or two that your pursuers must have given up as soon as they reached the surface. Apparently, camels and elephants are far too slow to even consider giving chase to your tawekki-pulled conveyances on the blistering sands. 

Auger relays what he learns from Py about the pursuit.

"We are faster than the messenger or any of them it turns out, even at our slower pace. Still the knowledge of where we were and where we were heading will not take long to make it to the city. We must move past Kalahata quickly."

Now on the final leg of your return to Kalahata, it is early in the afternoon, an hour beyond the mining settlement, when the breeze picks up, and you notice dust devils (the naturally formed kind) spinning around in the vicinity at intervals. The gray clouds have also gotten thicker overhead, and as the afternoon progresses, a rainbow forms on the southern horizon just as trouble rears its head to the north. You’d been traveling at an easy pace when you spot a Roc rider circling high above you and to your right, perhaps a mile away. 

“That is something we’d best avoid,” shouts Granophyre. “I hitched a ride on just such a mount, with Kotashin, in my escape from the Poppy Citadel, by magically beguiling the rider!”

You’ve been traversing the peak of a long dune, perfectly visible from a great distance. The ambiance is like this except the sun is much higher. You do not know if you have been spotted, but the slow circle of the enormous raptor is arcing in your direction.

"I believe we should expect an unpleasant welcome. Between the man in the mines and the one up above, it is very possible that they'll have received word of our arrival by then." Varielky looks up, to the Roc rider. "Perhaps we should circle around the city?"

(OOC: As you continue are you trying to stay in the crevices between dunes, slightly slower, or making best possible time? What is Py doing?)

Auger glances around at the trail behind them, trying to see if the marks of their passage are going to show, he also asks Py to do the same.

"If it comes to it I can hide us under an illusion, but from the Roc's perspective, we are just a few Tawekki riders and I think trying to hide ourselves might work against us."

Py, would the marks we leave behind just look strange without us at the head of it, making the trail?

‘The breeze has picked up,’ sends Py, ‘which works in your favor. Within a few minutes there is no sign of your passage.’

"Let's continue normally, then." Varielky decides. "I doubt they'll be looking for a runaway among those approaching the city."

(OOC: stealing a moment to post, but don’t feel obligated to respond right away if you’re in the midst of holiday cheer!)

As you continue along at best speed, Granophyre disappears, magically, an effect you’ve seen him cause before. The roc continues arcing, and flies directly over you, then hangs in midair, paralleling you, for a long moment, its enormous wings flapping slowly, the rider opening a small illusory image before him which he compares against your party, his gaze dwelling on Ednyss. But after a few moments, he pulls up on the reins and flies off deeper into the desert. 

Your eyes on the retreating roc, you do not notice the giant scorpions, each one 15’ long, which have sprung up from the sand, until your tawekki are practically eye to eye with them. 

‘Master!,’ sends Py, and this warning, relayed by Auger, allows you all to pull up and avoid a surprise attack. The scorpions have swarmed out of what looks like a wide funnel of soft sand, the tiny yellow-orange particles sifting slowly downward in an almost liquid swirl. You are situated like so:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gQUICfV5gkfWmvrPeYqo85_MrywSpNiC/view?usp=sharing

It is your turn to act. 

To avoid colliding the scorpion right in front of her, Varielky pulls hard to the right, steering the tawekki in that direction. As her board rotates, by the time she reaches a stop, she's just between two of the scorpions.

["Veleif - Dreygaard - lend me your strength!"] She calls in Dreyen, summoning the sword to her hand while it's already in the motion of slashing downwards on the huge beast, followed by a quick strike sideways to hit the scorpion next to Ednyss.

Move: If possible, Varielky would try to turn the tawekki 90 degrees clockwise, so they face the north while she ends at P-10.
Action: Attack, using Dreygaard. (By the way, I'm not sure whether it is intentional or not that the sword went back to be a +1 sword, and the Lay on Hands decresed to 5 HP, but I'll consider that to be intentional unless you say otherwise. If that's not intentional, add +1 to the attack and damage rolls below.)
Both attacks will use a superiority die for the Menacing Attack manoeuvre, if they hit.

Attack: 17 Damage: 22.
Attack: 13 Damage: 14.

Menacing Attack:
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to frighten the target. You add the superiority die to the attack’s damage roll, and the target must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

Only with Py's warning does Auger react with any ability to stop his Tawekki, sliding almost into the mandibles of one of the Scorpions.

Auger reaches into the Sea of Stars and through it to the mind of the Scorpion directly in front of him. It perceives an attack! A Scorpion behind it is definitely attacking it.

Py, keep an eye out for anything else that may happen upon us. And what is wrong with those sands ahead?