The Reluctant Bride
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Author: Alan Jones
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8306/index.html
System: AD&D 2nd Edition
Type: Scenario
Category: Fantasy
Requirements: 4-6 PCs of Level 4-6

Graphic: Map 2
Graphic: Map 1

Introduction
A page from the office of taxation presents the PCs with a letter while they are resting in their residence in the foreign quarter of the city. “I Naseem send greetings to you this day. I require guards to escort my daughter from this fair city to Abbashan, where she will be married. After your recent heroic deeds I would humbly request that you carry out this journey for which you will be reimbursed handsomely. If you agree, please meet me at my residence this evening after sundown where we can discuss details. Naseem al-Mahood, Secretary to the treasury.” Assuming the PCs attend the meeting, they will be greeted by the Secretary and entertained lavishly before retiring to the veranda to discuss business. If the PCs try to discuss business before this the Secretary will look shocked but unsurpassed by the PCs lack of social graces. The secretary wants you to act as a guard for a caravan carrying his daughter to the city of Abbashan where she is to be married to a minister of state. It is an arranged marriage, neither of the parties have ever met. The PC will be offered 250gp each for the mission but is prepared to haggle up to 1000gp each, in fact he will be disappointed if the PCs fail to haggle, a sign of lack of worth. Once a price is agreed he will instruct the PCs to be ready to depart two days hence an hour before dawn from the courtyard of his house.

The Adventure Description
The Journey
Wandering Encounters
During the day there is a 1 in 3 chance of an encounter, a 1 in 6 chance during the night. If there is an encounter, roll a 1d20 on the table below.

Dice Roll (2d6) Day Night (At Oasis)

• 1-6 Flame Salamander x 3 20 Nomads (Friendly)
• 7-8 Giant Rattlesnake x 3 Vampire
• 9-12 Camels x 6 Ghoul x 2
• 13-14 Thoul x 5 Hydra (5 heads)
• 15-18 Sprite x 7 Lone Fighter (NG)
• 19-20 Zombie x 6 Merchant Caravan x 19

The DM can chose to ignore or hand pick these wandering encounters they can be a way to draw the PCs into ignoring the problems with Seema. The merchants and other human encounters may also be a good source of rumours and/or adventure hooks.

Day 1
The caravan heads out east-south-east from Ylaruam. At first through lush irrigated fields and stands of date palms but soon you pass into deep sand shaped by the wind into curving dunes. The caravan consists of the PCs, a guide, the Seema (in a canopied howdah), four of her maids and two other guards. All our mounted on sturdy camels. You make good but monotonous progress through the desert with the sun beating down all day. Towards evening the guide stops the caravan at a small oasis where he instructs you to drink and fill waterskins before he allows the camels to drink. The maids set up Seema’s tent and shield her from prying eyes as she moves from camel to tent. The two guards stand beside the tent opening preventing any bar the maids entering. The guards (Ismail & Mohammed) refuse to answer questions or even talk to any of the PCs. The guide, Ramus, is a little more talkative, interested in what is going on in the world outside and the adventures the PCs have had. Perceptive PCs may notice he is slightly distracted and is trying to lull the PCs into trusting him. There is no evil intent though. Night 1 At night the temperature falls swiftly. If any PCs stand guard there is a 1 in 6 chance of hearing crying from Seema’s tent. All of the guards & maids will deny hearing anything however.

Day 2
You break camp before dawn and continue eastwards through the dunes. Just when you think it can get no hotter, the sand gives way to bare rocks near dawn. The heat hits you from above and below like a blacksmith’s forge. It is a relief to return to the soft sands. Mirages shimmer in the heat haze but towards evening one becomes more solid and you halt at another small oasis.

Night 2
At night the temperature falls swiftly. If any PCs stand guard there is a 1 in 6 chance of hearing crying from Seema’s tent. All of the guards & maids will deny hearing anything however.

Day 3
You continue the monotonous trek through the seemingly endless dunes which seem to harbour no signs of life. At the crest of the dunes there is a 25% chance for a human, 50% chance for an elf to spot the half buried ruins of a ancient city to the north.

Night 4
All is quiet until dawn when a scream from one of the maids awakes everyone in the camp. “She’s gone, something has taken her!” The guards will let you into the tent, where the scantily clad maids cover themselves and point to huge rents in the back of the tent where large claws have torn the thin silk. If the PCs question the maids, none saw or heard anything. PCs with the Deception skill can make a check on the rents. If successful they will know that the rents were made with a knife. Emerging from the tents the guards tell you that Ramus has also been taken. They point out the signs of a struggle near his tent and blood stains on the sand. “It’s the city. It is a bad place.” Moans Ismail. “The spirits of the sands have taken them.” If questioned the guards will talk of powerful spirits who chased away the inhabitants of Kabar many generations ago and now occupy the city. It is not unknown for caravans to lose animals or people to the spirits from time to time. If asked for its location they point to the NW but refuse to come with you. They will stay here and protect the maids until your return. They will wait one day and one more night but then will move on assuming you have been killed or captured by the spirits.

The Lost City Of Kabar.
The PCs will find the city quite easily if they follow the pointed directions of the guards. After an hour or so of walking through the desert the PCs arrive at the city. Time has left it mostly buried under the dunes but with the remains of several buildings still visible. The centre is marked by an area of coarse grasses and a few dead palms. Around this is an area of large hummocks and a few mud brick buildings, some are badly ruined. The lost city is now the home of a small group of Sis’thik, savage, lizard like humanoids along with some of their Xytar mounts.

Building A - The Pasha’s Palace

This building appears to have been the Pasha’s palace. In places the fine black and pink granite facing slabs are still in place. The slabs are covered with sand blurred hieroglyphs. Two headless statues flank the ten foot wide doorway, the doors themselves have long since turned to powder while the bonze hinges still remain. If the PCs enter the passage then the headless statues will attack with their fists.

Main Audience Chamber (1)
This room is dominated by the huge serpentinite throne at the western end of the room which squats upon a raised plinth. A pair of shallow steps are shrouded in sand. The room is lined with pink and black granite. The flaking ceiling is painted in dark blue and is speckled with silver stars. Two tall thin windows in the north wall let in light and sand. A flight of stairs leading to an upper storey is in the north east corner of the room There are two tall stone doors in the south wall, one near the east the other near the west end of the room. Seated on the throne, its red tongue tasting your fear in the air is a large, green lizard like creature. As you are spotted the lizard stands and lisps “Get these infidels, don’t let these pretty dainties escape.” At this seven other lizard like creatures emerge from the shadows at the eastern end of the room.

Private Reception Room (2)
This square room may once have been the private reception room of the Pasha. Now it is the home of one of the lizard man. From the strange totems carved from soft stone and wood this may be the home of the tribe’s shaman. A bed mage of dried grass is in the south east corner. Rising from the bed (unless combat lasted several rounds in room 1) is the shaman. Hidden beneath the bed is a storage area in which the Sis’thik have hidden much of their treasure. 2 500cn platinum ingots worth 1000gp each.

Bath Chamber (3)
The former bath chamber has a deep bath lined with marble imported at great expense from southern Thyatis. Once smooth it is now chipped and stained. The bottom of the pool is covered with coarse grass and is occupied by six of the lizard like creatures. They make pitiful hissing sounds as you approach. These are male Sis’thiks who are non-combatants.

Entrance Corridor (4)
This 10’ wide corridor is lined with walls of dark grey basalt. Carved into the sombre stone are images from the daily life of the Pashas of Kabar. Harvests, hunts, births and deaths are all represented in carvings of fine quality. A pair of iron bound slate doors stand at the north end of the corridor. Carved onto the doors is the likeness of a young man with an ornate head-dress. The remains of gilding remain in a few crevices. If any one checks they will notice that there is no build up of sand in the corridor.

Pasha’s Bedchamber (5)
The Pasha’s bedchamber and dressing room is dominated by a huge marble bed and a range of low cupboards. The cupboards are empty except for a few fragments of rich cloth. The bed is covered with rich fabrics (similar to those found in markets throughout the Emirates) which have been ripped and stained.

Building B - The Stables
Two large double doors made from purple-grey slate testify to the former importance of this building. Its mud brick shell has almost been totally overwhelmed by the encroaching sand which is banked up against the north wall by the prevailing winds. Inside the stables are ten stalls now occupied by four, eight foot long lizard like creatures with yellow hides. Their backs are a mottled red and orange pattern. At the end of their six legs are sharp claws while their long snouts are filled with savage, curved teeth.. Tending the beasts are two guards, tall, green skinned lizard like creatures. It is possible that the Sis’thik are surprised by the PCs.

Building C - Temple To Al-Kalim
The temple is a plain rectangular edifice with a 70’ slim tower at it’s NE corner. The tower is capped with a circular room and a pointed, conical roof, which glints in the sun.

The Hall (1)
This room takes up almost all of the whole of the ground floor of the temple. It is completely plain and like the outside, devoid of any decoration. The southern half of the building has collapsed in on itself forming a pile of rubble partly covered by the drifting sands. Light enters through the three tall, slender windows in the north wall, fragments of clear glass still cling tenuously at the edges. A small room in the north east contains a iron ladder that leads upwards into the ceiling.

The Minaret Top (2)
After 60’ of hard climbing you push open a stone trapdoor and emerge into a 20’ diameter room with 8 tall thin windows that run from floor to ceiling. From here you have a stunning view of the ruined city and to the south west, the oasis where your caravan awaits your return. The walls are charred and have a glassy sheen. Set into the floor is a brass cube some 6” per side, it will take a wish to extract it from the floor. Two turns after the PCs arrive in the tower a pillar of flame builds from the cube, crackling loudly and emitting a huge amount of heat, a fire elemental.

Building D - A Shop
A small open fronted shop flanked on either side by other similar buildings that are even more ruined. There is nothing of interest inside. The only clue to its purpose is a large bread oven in the rear of the building.

Building E - Private House
A small private dwelling, for people of quality as the mud bricks are still faced with stone in parts. Stairs lead up the side of the house onto a flat roof.

Living Room (1)
The main living room is dominated by large hearth in the wall opposite the door. The floor has a covering of sand. No footprints in the sand. An arched doorway leads north.

Bedroom (2)
The bedroom has a large stone sleeping platform some two feet high filling most of the floor space. Built into the platform are cupboards, the wooden doors have long ago succumbed to insects and inside there is nothing more than a few scraps of fabric and crumbly sticks of firewood.

Flat Roof (3)
The roof has a low parapet around it’s perimeter and was probably used for sleeping during the warm summer nights. If PC’s look around from the roof there is a 66% chance that they spot something large scuttling about on the flat roof of building F.

Building F - Private House
A small private dwelling, for people of quality as the mud bricks are still faced with stone in parts. Stairs lead up the side of the house onto a flat roof.

Living Room (1)
The main living room is dominated by large hearth in the wall opposite the door. The floor has a covering of sand. No footprints in the sand, but anyone with the tracking skill can tell that someone has tried to hide tracks leading towards the hearth. Others have a 25% chance of noticing them. An arched doorway leads north.

Secret Chamber (1b)
The stone floor of the heath lifts up revealing Seema and Ramus huddling on a pile of rugs and silks. See ‘The Bride is Found’

Bedroom (2)
The bedroom has a large stone sleeping platform some two feet high filling most of the floor space. Built into the platform are cupboards, the wooden doors have long ago succumbed to insects and inside there is nothing more than a few scraps of fabric and crumbly sticks of firewood. Near the back of the space beneath the platform is an iron coffer. The coffer contains 2000 sp and a scimitar +2 wrapped in an oiled cloth.

Flat Roof (3)
The roof has a low parapet around it’s perimeter and was probably used for sleeping during the warm summer nights. Sunning itself on the roof is a giant scorpion.

The Bride Is Found

Seema and Ramas look pleadingly at you as you peer down into their hiding place. “Don’t take me to Abbashan. I love Ramas not that horrid old man my father wants me to marry.” Seema begs. “My tribe will be here in a day.” Continues Ramas, “They will take us far from here, no stain will be upon your honour if you let us go.”

The PC’s allow the lovers to escape

• Seema gives the PC’s her earrings. They are valuable, 1000gp, but if they try to sell them in the Emirates any reputable jeweller will recognise them as the possession of an important person and call the city guard.
• It is possible that the PC’s (25% chance, 75% for those with the disguise or deception skill) notice that one of the maids looks very similar to Seema and with the aid of the other maids, who were in on the escape, she can be made to look even more like her former mistress. The disguise will fool the minister who is delighted and gives the PCs a ruby as a sign of his happiness.

The PCs force Seema to go with them

• Ramas will fight to the death with the PCs even against suicidal odds. (F2, AC 8, 10hp, Scimitar).
• Seema will reluctantly go with the PCs but on arrival will throw herself to her death from a window. The minister will cry vengeance on the PCs when one of the maids tells the tale. “One of you will die before this year ends. None of you will find happiness and you will lose that what you value most.” He will then have the city guard hound the PCs out of the city.

The PCs fail to find Seema

• It is possible that they try the disguise option.
• If they admit defeat to the minister, he will assume that they killed Seema but there is not enough evidence for him to do anything but run them out of Abbashan. They will find it hard to get work anywhere in the Emirates.

Appendix 1 - Monster Statistics

Location	Num.	Monster	AC	Thac0	Max HP	Move & Distance 1	Attack 1	Attack 2	Attack 3	SvAs	Mor	EXP
A	2	Granite Golem	-2	11	28,35	60	Fist 2d10	Fist 2d10		F8	12	5150
A1	1	Sis’thik Queen	4	12	27	90	Scimitar 1d8+3			F2	10	650
A1	7	Sis’thik	5	16	14,21,21,19,19,25,16	90	Claw 1d6	Claw 1d6	Bite 1d3	F2	10	50
A2	1	Sis’thik Shaman	5	16	25	90	Claw 1d6	Claw 1d6	Bite 1d3, Light, CLW	C3	10	100
B	2	Sis’thik	5	16	14,21	90	Claw 1d6	Claw 1d6	Bite 1d3	F2	10	50
B	4	Xytar	3	14	26,17,26,25	120	Bite 1d6	Breath 1d12		F2	8	400
F3	1	Giant Scorpion	2	16	18	150	Claw 1d10	Claw 1d10	Sting 1d4 + Poison	F2	11	125
C2	1	Fire Elemental	0	9	37	120	Touch 2d8			F12	10	1250

Appendix 2 - Treasure

Location	Treasure Description	GP Value
A2	2 500cn Platinum Ingots	2000
F2	2000 sp	200
F2	Scimitar	0
F1b	Seema’s Earings	1000
TOTAL		3200

Appendix 3 - Story & Role Playing Bonuses

• Allow Seema and Ramas to escape 1000xp
• Disguise a maid 1000xp
• Tell the story in a dramatic and thrilling manner 500xp