Lómë -- the Jewel of the Desert; Phineas-- "Ungodly Gains"

[GameMaster]

Under the oppressive sun, young Robert P. Rose finds himself waiting anxiously in the shadows, his heart pounding as the High Priest of Lómë delivered his sermon. He is perhaps better known by his middle name, Phineas, and is a wiry youth with sun-kissed skin and dark eyes that seem to hold secrets beyond their years.The elevated platform where the priest stood allowed the Grand Cleric to be seen and heard by the entire congregation, as they gathered to hear the glorious words of their Almighty God, Malgrathor. 

As you grow older, you find it increasingly difficult to blend into the crowd and pickpocket the unsuspecting worshippers as the High Priest has instructed you to do. You were nearly caught during a recent sermon, and ever since then, you have been extra cautious, to the point of being overly so.

As you wait for the High Priest to collect the day's loot, you find your thoughts drifting to the vivid dreams you often have. Dreams of a world where the oasis is as vast as the desert itself, and you grew up with loving parents who taught you about great crafts that could traverse the Endless Water with ease. They spoke of the histories of ancient and long-forgotten people, but the memories of these dreams are elusive, slipping through your fingers like sand whenever you try to grasp them. The more you focus on them, the more your mind seems to slow, and thinking becomes difficult.

Shaking off the haze, you instead turn your thoughts to the possibility of building a craft that could sail across the Endless Desert or uncovering some history beyond the solitary existence of the people of Lómë.

Your daydreams are abruptly interrupted by the High Priest's harsh voice. "Did you hear me? Hand over the coin, boy!"

You hastily give the priest the stolen coins, your hands trembling slightly. The High Priest counts the loot, his face contorting with anger as he realizes there is less than previous takes, and too many copper coins when he told you to take silvers this day.

"Do I need to take that knife of yours and carve out your eyes?" he spits, his voice venomous. "Perhaps I should carve out that tongue and cut off your fingers, and put you in the market to beg. Maybe you would get more coin that way?"

[Phineas]

"When the people don't have the money, my Lord, what am I to do  ...  steal dust and sand  ...  they are bringing less and less to the sermons and meetings. I have been hearing things, Lord Priest, odd things  ...

[GameMaster]

"You dare speak blasphemy, to me!?  Nevermind a begger, I'll have you given to the Waters!"

He makes as if to strike you, to backhand you, his face hot red rage.  Instead he turns, and seems to allow his shoulders to sag. 

Without turning around, he conitnues, "Double the coin by morning.  Enter their houses as they sleep, if you must.  But know this..."

He spins around again, shoulders straight and a face of stone.  "Should you not deliver double the coin by the first lights of the sun tomorrow, I'll have your meet rot outside these walls in the Endless Desert.  Your words border on Heresy, so your end will be outside of our borders."

Contented with himself, he nods and turns to walk away.

"First Sun's Light!" he exclaims without bothering to turn to address you.

[Phineas]

Watch the area and see that the High Priest does indeed goes to his chambers ...

**thinking**I've got get out of here, that ass is using my talents to fleece the flock but not anymore **

I go to  my room, collect my meager possessions and the coins I had skimmed over the last several weeks (not more than 20 silver total, but I couldn't make High Butthead suspicious), go into town like I'm following his orders.

I head into lowtown and find "my bar", kind of lay low and figure things out quietly ...

[GameMaster]

As you enter the dimly lit room, the pungent smell of rotting fruit overwhelms your senses. This is a place where the lower castes gather, the ones who work hard to keep the crops and livestock alive. Despite what the ruling class may claim, there is a clear caste system in this city, and those who are less fortunate come here to find solace in the cheap, rotting fruit.

You find an empty spot on one of the rickety tables and order a serving of the cheapest fruit they have. It's barely edible, but it's all you can afford. You take a bite and grimace at the sour taste.

Looking around, you see tired faces and exhausted bodies. The people here are the backbone of the city, but they are often overlooked and mistreated. The intoxicating effect of the fruit seems to be the only relief they can find from their grueling existence.

As you finish your meal, you overhear a group of gravediggers discussing a hidden temple deep in the Endless Desert. The temple is rumored to contain treasures beyond imagination, guarded by fierce beasts and deadly traps, but nobody has ever found it. The workers speak in hushed tones, afraid of being overheard.

You've heard the drunken ramblings of such rumors before, more the delusional wishes of people desperate to imagine a better life was out there for them somewhere, because they knew it would never get better for them here.

But something catches your ear...

As the group of workers huddled even closer together in the dimly lit room, their tired faces illuminated by the flickering candlelight, they spoke their intoxicated whispers became even louder.

"I heard it's in the Endless Desert," said one of the workers. "A temple hidden away, filled with treasures beyond our wildest dreams."

"Treasures?" another worker scoffed. "What good is that to us? Even if we could get it back, they'd just take it from us.  Then make us go back and look for more, until one day we just die out there. We ain't neve' gettin' outta this.  We're stuck here for life."

"But don't you see?" the first worker replied. "If we can find the treasure, we can hide it and just spend a little at a time, changing it quiet-like and slow, tellin' people we jus' been savin' our coin. We could definite-like do it smart, and buy slow into a better life for us and our kids."

"'nd for better wives!" another said, and they all burst out in laughter.

[Phineas]

Lean on my table, listen as closely as possible for a direction to or a location of this lost temple  ...  sip slowly on my drink

**this temple could provide some resources to set me up to what I really want to do  ...  plus, I can get out from under theocratic oversight**

🛕🛕🛕🛕🛕

[GameMaster]

Unfortunately, after the final jest the men no longer discuss the adventure, and move on to druken jokes about how terrible their wives are.  At one point, one of the men suggests that they should all swap wives, but another responds that it wouldn't be any improvemnet for any of them, and it seemed they would never recover from their laughter.

[Phineas]

Hmmmm  ...

review in my mind their conversation and try to pick out any possible direction or any clear rumor/info

**ok, well I wonder which direction they were talking about  ...  they're gravediggers and those generally work outside the gates, unless it's high class/grade and those guys definitely weren't diggers for the Church.**

**let's start at the Library and see if I can find any information about this temple, then work my way around the town to the gates, maybe catch a bit of a nap in a niche**

[GameMaster]

As you near the library, you hear a terrified woman screaming, then several men shouting angrily.  The distance still makes it too difficult to hear what is going on, but it's definitely from the direction of the library!  You believe you recognize the voices, though.

Arriving on site, you confirm the commotion is at a roadside shop on the side of the high stone wall of the library-- a well-known clotheir's shop, owned by Rashid and Fatima al-Abbas. Rashid is known throughout the city as a master weaver, and Fatima is an expert dyer, together they run what is perhaps the most successful clothier business for the middle castes in all Lómë.

Now in view, you see someone has turned their shop into a mess.  Clothing is everywhere, and one of the tables is definitely broken.  Something small-- a child!?-- is moving around, struggling underneath the clothing.

You recognize the third voice now as well, Rashid and Fatima's young adult son Tariq.  Instead of following his parents directly in their clothing business, he has essentially expanded their small market empire by opening a jewelry shop adjacent to the main business.  He is animated and most angry, but your attention is drawn to a particular pendant that you haven't seen him wearing before.  In fact, for a long moment it becomes the only thing in the world that is important to you.

You've absolutely seen it before, somewhere... But where?

[Phineas]

As I move towards the commotion being quiet and careful, I focus part of my attention on the pendant, trying to remember where I had seen it.

I snap my fingers

**It looks like some of the segments of the roof ceiling from the library except for that curly-cue at the bottom**

Moving even closer to the commotion, staying in the shadows, try to hear what is being said and see what's under the cloth.

[GameMaster]

Your story continues now in Shadows Uncounted