From the desert village of El'Jazira, Sheik Abd el'Salam's voice rang
out, "Citizens of Achaea, we beg your help! A pit of quicksand has
appeared in our village and swallowed up my beloved son! I must have him
back, and I am offering a reward from my personal collection for anyone
who can save him!"

Whether motivated by altruism, greed, or lust for adventure, many
flocked to the clearing before the great tent where the Sheik standing,
quite upset. Some adventurers wandered to the south near the other
tents, only to find a huge pit of quicksand. Not only that, but as soon
as they stepped into it, they began sinking. Some were sucked entirely
underground!

Although the sands below the desert floor tried to suffocate the
would-be rescuers, they managed to survive long enough that they were
able to find a crack in the rocky ground beneath the sands. Through the
crack, they found a nexus of lava tubes formed from ancient volcanic
activity. Pacing back and forth in that chamber was none other than the
son of the Sheik, Ahmed el'Salam.

The dishevelled Ahmed spoke with the adventurers and contemplated ways
to stop the quicksand from forming. The cause was quite apparent from
here: a lava tube carrying high pressure water had burst open, allowing
water to shoot in a stream out into the sands above to create quicksand.

Adventurers began trying to obstruct the tube, only to be dismayed when
whatever items they placed within it were washed quickly away by the
swiftly flowing water. They brainstormed on various other ways to seal
the tube or otherwise stop the flow of water. Eventually, Imyrr Rousseau
thought to contact the mhuns of Moghedu, recognising them as master
workers of stone. The Great Mhunna authorised a sale of a small pouch of
special hardening mixture which Imyrr purchased and used to seal the
leak in the lava halting the quicksand threat in El'Jazira.

Asteroth Drakor, an Apostate of Mhaldor, invited Ahmed to follow him out
of the lava tubes through a portal to meet back with the Sheik. When
Ahmed emerged from the portal, however, he found himself in Mhaldor, and
simply walked back to his home.

There, Ahmed pointed out Imyrr as the one who had successfully sealed
the tube. The Sheik rewarded him with twenty thousand gold, repaying him
for what he had paid to the Mhunna plus rewarding him three times that
amount for blessing him thrice with his son's rescue, his son's health,
and the safety of the village.

He then called for Asteroth to come. For his part in the rescue of the
Sheik's son, Asteroth was presented with a pendant that was created for
the Sheik long ago by a master jeweller, a valuable and beautiful piece
of adornment magically attuned with a small part of the Sheik's own life
force. However, as soon as Asteroth left with the gift, he began to
slaughter the denizens of El'Jazira, perhaps in retaliation for unkind
remarks Ahmed had made about Mhaldor regarding his brief time there.

The Sheik was outraged and told Imyrr that he was sorry for not giving
the pendant to him. Imyrr attempted to buy the pendant back from
Asteroth, but the price that was asked was beyond reason. As Asteroth
continued to slaughter the El'Jazirans, the adventurers around the Sheik
sought for ways to regain the pendant. Imyrr suggested that perhaps some
sort of charm or ritual could return it.

The group went to see Niven, the holy Imam of El'Jazira, and the Sheik
asked the Imam if he could help them perform a ritual that would summon
the pendant back through its attunement to the Sheik's life force. The
Imam asked for his prayer beads that he had lost in the desert to be
found before he could begin. Imyrr found them in the eastern desert and
returned them. Manuella Stormcrow brought some candles to help aid in
the ritual, and they were then ready to begin.

Niven positioned the Sheik in the centre of the burning candles and
kneeled before him, allowing the smoke from the candles to gather above
the Sheik. The Imam reached out with his mind's eye and saw that the
Sheik's life force was connected by a thin thread to an object within
Mhaldor. As Niven focused on the object, a ghostly image of the pendant
appeared within the smoke above the Sheik. When the moment was right,
Niven leapt up and took the ghostly image, thrusting it into the chest
of the Sheik. A bright light flashed over Mhaldor and a stream of
crackling golden energy arced into the tent. When the Imam removed his
hand, the pendant was pinned safely to the Sheik's robes.

Asteroth, furious that his prize had been taken back, gathered a group
of fellow Mhaldorians and led them to El'Jazira. Those around the Sheik
(Delphinus, Carmell, Laorir, Altarius, Kirrh, Manuella, and others)
attempted to convince he and the Imam to leave El'Jazira for the time
being for their own safety, but they refused to leave their home.
Finally, they did convince the Sheik to follow them to the underground
chamber of the lava tubes. The Mhaldorian party, including Van, Rameus,
Daloc, Wess, and Talkaze, were able to breach their hideout however, and
a heated battle ensued. Many were slain on both sides, but the
Mhaldorians were triumphant in the end, managing to slay the Sheik.
Imyrr, however, escaped safely with the pendant.

Penned by my hand on the 15th of Mayan, in the year 406 AF.