A Bridge over the River Matt

There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
 
The Bandolier Brethren rolled back into the nearby city of Dusty Dunes where they were reunited with the Scouting Bandoliers Trainees. They indicated they had discovered a pair of Pyramids, one further North than the other. The closer one had been claimed by a Sultan, with whom they had been unable to gain an audience.
 
The Bandolier Brethren decided to investigate the Sultanate of Peshimi first, chartering a land boat to hasten the trip. They sold the various goods they had accumulated, raised Ilnig from the dead, and outfitted themselves for the journey ahead while explaining what had happened after his noble sacrifice. Ilnig was offered the choice to either take over control of the mines from Elon-Musk Silverbeard, or to join the party in their next trip to the sultanate of Peshimi.
 
One of the bandolier brethren was put in charge of safekeeping Hug-hug, Ilnig decided to join them. The bandolier brethren would be following the group in the meantime on the trip to the sultanate. They intended to create a base for their operations in the region, whether that be wrested from the control of the Sultan was yet to be seen.
 
The rumors of Gith Yanki in the region continued to spread, and after the group had resupplied, they made their way through the desert to the Sultanate of Peshimi. They took a land boat to Tetron, then onwards to the Sultanate. In order to save money they would definitely need to eventually buy or acquire their own boat at some point.
 
Midway through the journey, a Sandstorm forced a detour! The captain was ill-prepared for such an event, and had over-booked the travel arrangements and was not travelling at top speed as a result. Some damages occured, and repairs were necessary: But would not be possible until after the sandstorm had passed.
 
Some of the passengers panicked, others remained calm. The quarters below decks were quite cramped. A few days later, the sandstorm subsided and the ruins of a settlement were visible. Korric decided to start an argument with the second cousin of the Sultan. The Bandolier Brethren and Hug Hug stayed on the boat to assist in excavation as well as protecting the vessel and its occupants. The remainder of the party wandered into the ruins which had recently been uncovered.
 
Apparently the area had once been home to a mining operation, in the distant past. Almost as if it was a mining operation set up around a crater, an impact point perhaps? The ninja attempted to search for recent tracks, and was unsuccessful. Of the adobe buildings, several were full of nothing but sand.

One building had a few doors intact, but was guarded by a trio of sandy zombies. Dangerous foes indeed. . .but quickly cut down. A trio of doors awaited the adventurers, and eventually all three were opened. The first contained 200 kegs of lamp oil. The second containers a mobile filter to sift through earth for precious materials. The third contained an office, and a pair of shadows, which immediately attacked.
 
Once the shadows were dispatched, there were records of the metal “Kheferu” being mined in the nearby crater. This non-natural material definitely was not from this plane, and was described as Scarlet in color and effective at piercing the hides of earth aligned creatures. Nearly 50 pounds had been collected, and stored in the smelter room vault. In the last days of the settlement, every miner was missing and the doors smashed. Apparently the threat was coming from some sort of monstrosities dwelling under, or in the sands. The leader sealed herself in the vault during her final days.
 
The next room appeared to be the smelting room, which in fact contained the vault. The gentleman entered first, not noticing the group of Sand-folk waiting to ambush the group. In short order they were cut down, and the last door remained: Beckoning for them to open the vault door. So they did open it! Inside was a set of crates, the huddled corpse of a human in heavy wraps, as well as a Greater Shadow. The fight that followed was brutal, with Korric being almost completely drained of strength.
 
The ledgers of the last few days indicated that the Asheratis had been changed by the stardust, and that she had given away her magical blade and all the remaining ingots. Her scabbard was what remained with her corpse. Where could it be? Perhaps a tunnel, or the crater? At any rate, the wreck of a sand boat was found nearby with the parts they needed to repair their current land-locked vessel.
 
They would rest and prepare again, before they went after the sword and the ore, or they could in fact leave the mysteries behind and repair the boat leaving the settlement to the sands. Which would they choose? And what was happening on the boat with the cramped quarters?