The Thin Blue Matt

There was magic in this world once, but they stole it all away.
 
The passage to the ship was relatively uneventful, and they salvaged all that they could from the ruins of the shattered boat. The Bandolier Bravo Brothers told the Alpha team about the attack, and the Lamia’s corpse was recovered for alchemical study
 
There were many discussions between the crew members as they travelled towards the Sultan’s territory. Strength discussions among the Half-orcs, talk about the latest exploits of corporations in the Ash Lands, Alchemical concoctions between the alchemists, ‘Traveling Secretary’ discussions of ‘special techniques’, and more. A few of them decided to join the Bandolier brethren, as temporary members; a few did their best to ignore their companions and await their arrival. The sultan’s cousin stewed in increasing disgust and boredom as he was confined to a small cabin in the ships lower decks.
 
The Bandolier Brethren discussed what to do about approaching the Sultan’s city-state: Diplomatic, Aggressive, Passive, etc. Ultimately: they decided to send in a team of the Ninja and the dwarven rogue to gather some information, while the rest of the group attempted to enter nonchalantly. As nonchalantly as they could.
 
They stopped at the adjacent hamlet of Lez’zl’ick, two day’s travel from Barlizzar while their advance team travelled forward on the big boat.
 
Barlizzar
Tagè and Gamon were on the boat when it arrived at the docks of Barlizzar. They were met by a troop of hippogriff mounted guards, and the cousin of the Sultan was very unhappy that the Bandolier brethren had “all gotten off” at the adjacent hamlet, preventing him from engaging in the summary execution of those who he did not care for. Then he indicated the dwarf was ‘one of them!’ and needed to be arrested. His tirade was lengthy, and not very favorable towards the brethren. The captain went over the manifests with the royal guard, and the two infiltrated the City. The smallest tavern, where the rendezvous was to take place was called “The Swayback Camel”: a pockmarked crumbling wall surrounded it, and a smell of stale beer and unwashed bodies emanated strongly.
 
A bustling bazaar offered ample opportunity for both trade and information gathering, traders were glad for the increased business in town and out of it due to the rumors of the pyramid, tales of ‘yellow skinned foreigners’ attempting to get into the good graces of the sultan, the difficulties of actual negotiations with the Sultan. Annoyance with the second cousin ran rampant, perhaps due to his abrasive personality. Rumors of the ‘Yellow skinned folks’ whispering in the ears of the Sultan were perhaps the most troublesome of all!
 
Tage approached a guard directly looking to make an appointment with the Sultan. A brief demonstration of his Ninja tricks was met with mild interest. He attempted to glean some information about the sultan, but this low level guard was not really in the loop. He made the appointment in three days time, for “Brotherhood”. He indicated for them to send word to the Swayback Camel.
 
Back at the Swayback, Tage rented a common room for four days, and the innkeeper did his best not to laugh at his claims of an ‘imminent royal missive’. He definitely did laugh, at his attempt of skill demonstration, followed by a failure at saving face of intimidation. All in all, just the sort of clientele they were used to in the Swayback Camel. Later in the evening, a burly fellow sat between Gamon and Tage.
 
The Hippogriff riders and ‘fairly reasonable policies’ had kept the family of the Sultans in power for quite a while. The cities underbelly had a firm hold on the slave trade, and was quite resistant to anyone muscling in. Fortunately, the Bandolier Brothers were not especially in the slave business. He kept on eye on the administration building, but didn’t see anything noteworthy. They awaited the arrival of the other brothers.
 
They arrived without issue, not exactly sneaking into town in a pair of large wagons, amidst a larger caravan. A patrol of Hippogriffs was inspecting the arriving wagons. Fortunately, John Jean-Jon had planted a distractionary wagon further ahead in case of need for such an event. The guards probed Yuttosk about his presence, and he indicated he was just travelling with the trading group, offering various goods for sale. Koric attempted to show off his sword to the guards, who threatened to ‘Peacebond’ it. Rize was quite mad, at the suggestion.
 
They successfully entered without making a scene. Tage filled them in with his gathered information, and they prepared for their meeting. The bartender passed on a message, which Koric decided to show off to everyone who might happen to be looking.
 
The Sultan would be happy to meet “Brotherhood” tomorrow, at two in the afternoon.
 
John sold quite a bit of his fantastic hair tonic; in addition to his marvelous hair remover: making a good deal of coin as well as spreading the good name of the Bandolier Brethren. Tage used the power of the Everstone to determine who had robbed him of his spending money the previous day, and much to his chagrin learned that he had already spent it on food and other luxuries. Thy’Lek was enjoying the comforts of a quartet of lovely desert ladies. Makin’ it rain as he ran the train.
 
The rest of the night passed, and the time of the Royal Audience approached. The Beta brothers were instructed to remain in the rooms at the Swayback Camel, and the Alpha Brethren approached the palace gates. Tage did not recognize anyone from the Slavers group outside the palace, but one of the officials attending the Sultan appeared to be ‘in the know’. The Sultan was sitting on an enormous litter, silks and massive pillows galore. His cousin was lurking in a corner, attempting to appear imperious and intimidate all of the audience goers that day.
 
The cousins ‘stories’ were quickly dispelled, with a few choice words from the brothers. The sultan was quickly charmed to the side of the brethren. Their tales of previous pyramid exploring exploits as well as the reference of the renowned Hochan Dynasty scholar with whom they’d sold the remnants of ancient relics. A gift of Crimson Cobra Pesh was offered to the sultan, for his testers to try before he did of course. He indicated that the previous group had simply no manners: no gifts presented, no sensible contracts sought, etcetera.
 
He insisted that they stay that evening for a feast, and to discuss further business matters. The group was to wander the palace gardens and be ‘entertained’ until later. The administrator indicated for the guards to depart while the group discussed ‘urgent business’. Poor Yuttosk was mostly ignored by the attendants, nothing he wasn’t used to though.
 
Thy’Lek was offered various slaves for sale, and he partook: much to the disgust of Yuttosk. It was revealed that a different force was currently inhabiting the pyramid, and that the Yellow Skinned folks were interested in them. Rumors of the Gith Yanki infiltrating and placing themselves in seats of power around the world are troublesome ones indeed.
 
 
The sultanate was once a bit larger, but that much area was hard to control due to the lack of magic. Only the military force of the Hippogriff corps was what kept the Sultan secure in his place. The Network of the underground group Tage had contacted was a little further spread out than just the Dunes, but indicated that they had become more of a group of Splinter Cells since magic communication was essentially nil. Zorath was an enforcer, while Thurnace was the higher up contact in the royal courts.
 
The Banquet was attended by the Sultan (Ahmed Bahren), his entourage, and many others as well as a Gith Yanki Vizier and his Gith Yanki guards: who were keeping a vigilant eye on the Brethren. Cry’sth’sl’lin was his name, though the Sultan seemed unable to pronounce it.
 
He was quite curious about the Bandolier Brethren, especially once he noticed the ‘Stolen Equipment’ on Koric and Yuttosk. The Gith Yanki and Sultan clashed words a bit, but it was all smoothed over with a little chatter from the brethren. A fresh set of eyes would be just what was needed to solve the problems. Discussion of just what way they’d get to the pyramids (flown in by hippogriff, land train, but ultimately a land boat was probably the method they’d use, switching to camels as they got closer to the pyramids.)
 
The goal of course was to purge the interlopers, bring back the wealth within, and receive a percentage of the wealth. The sultan offered a special Royal Writ, which would offer privileges as well as executive power over the interlopers within the lost pyramid. The Gith Yanki suggested a small escort to ‘ensure they arrived safely’, the brothers graciously accepted. Tage did his best to antagonize the Gith, quite successfully.
 
In the morning, they would launch their expedition: the brothers set off for a thorough rest before they embarked. Some of them got significantly more sleep than others. Rumors of the execution of a certain obnoxious cousin were the last juicy tidbits they heard on their way out of town, on their hired Landboat: The Earthen Fist.