Session 7: Sands of Betrayal
Session 7: Sands of Betrayal
Read aloud
Heat shimmer turns the dune line into something almost liquid, and the caravan tracks you have followed for two days finally, unmistakably, turn to face you. At Jasmine Gard, Lirael Sandwind asks you to intercept a Verulana caravan before it reaches Sultan’s Gate by sunset tomorrow. Its guarded crate holds the sixth shard, and Azkhar’s agents are waiting to collect it.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Track the stolen shard convoy before it reaches Sultan’s Gate.
- 2Recover Mórgath’s Shard before Azkhar’s agents collect it.
- 3Choose what becomes of Azruk and the people caught in his contract.
- 4Win a lasting alliance with the Genasi caravan.Optional
The clock
Azkhar’s agents are due at Sultan’s Gate by sunset tomorrow. Each major delay can cost the party time and allow the caravan to reach the handoff point.
Scenes
- 0:00The Offer at Jasmine Gard
- 0:45Two Days of Tracks
- 1:45The Convoy Turns
- 3:15The Camp in the Hollow
Cast
- Lirael SandwindQuestgiver and ally
- Azruk SablehandAntagonist and mercenary leader
- Sahir of the Blue VeilWitness and potential ally
- Kethra Flint-EyeWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
At Jasmine Gard, wind skates grit across the stone and the air tastes of hot dust and crushed herbs. Lirael Sandwind traces a route in the sand with one gloved finger, then taps the line where it bends toward Sultan’s Gate. A guarded caravan has stolen the sixth shard, she says, and Azkhar’s agents will meet it there by sunset tomorrow. She offers safe passage through Sandsultan territory if you intercept the train and return the crate intact. Beyond the garden walls, the caravan tracks cut across the waste, and the heat haze wavers above them.
How Lirael Sandwind asks
Lirael Sandwind meets the party at Jasmine Gard with a map scratched into sand and a direct offer: recover the crate intact, and she will secure safe passage through Sandsultan territory.
Rumours
Scenes
about 4.5 hours0:00
45 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Offer at Jasmine Gard
Jasmine Gard, where wind carries hot dust through the garden’s shade and Lirael marks the caravan’s route in sand.
Lirael explains the theft, the deadline, and the bargain. Establish the party’s route, water supplies, and approach to recovering the crate intact.
NextWhen the party commits, Lirael points them toward the tracks beyond the garden, and the open dunes draw them out into the glare.
0:45
60 min
skill
2. Two Days of Tracks
The Ash-Dune Waste, where heat shimmer blurs the horizon and the wind repeatedly softens the caravan’s prints.
The party follows the caravan tracks through shifting dunes. A Wisdom (Survival) check keeps the trail; use a specific complication if the pace needs a change or the roll fails.
NextThe trail crests one last dune, then drops toward a moving line of wagons where the storm begins to thicken.
1:45
90 min
combat
3. The Convoy Turns
A wagon train crossing a narrow dune pass, with pack animals, stacked cargo, and a sandstorm sweeping across the track.
Run the convoy ambush as a mobile confrontation. The storm limits sight beyond 30 feet, and the party can try to disable guards, reach the crate, or call out to Azruk. Any character may attempt the specified social appeal once before or during the fight.
The Convoy AmbushNextAs the storm thins, the caravan’s scattered survivors point toward a sheltered hollow where Genasi outriders have made camp.
3:15
60 min
social
4. The Camp in the Hollow
A sheltered hollow with blue-veiled tents and cookfires, where the Genasi caravan watches the party approach through the smoke.
Give the party space to question witnesses, decide what to do with Azruk, and learn that the Genasi caravan can become an ally. The party can earn cooperation with a Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Intimidation) check, or a credible act of good faith.
The Smugglers’ CampNextWith the crate secured or contested and the camp’s answer given, the party chooses whether to return to Lirael, free Azruk to seek aid, or pursue the next shard lead.
Behind it
What people believe
A Verulana caravan carrying a stolen shard is racing toward Sultan’s Gate, where Azkhar’s agents will collect it by sunset tomorrow.
Lirael Sandwind has asked the party to intercept the caravan and recover the crate intact in exchange for safe passage through Sandsultan territory. The caravan’s leader is Azruk Sablehand, a former Verulana guard turned mercenary, and some of his hired muscle are Goroth mercenaries. A Genasi caravan may offer an opportunity to secure allies in the Ash-Dune Waste.
Background
In the Ash-Dune Waste, a guarded Verulana caravan has taken Mórgath’s Shard and is carrying it toward Sultan’s Gate.
Its leader, Azruk Sablehand, is a disgraced former guard working for Azkhar’s agents because the pay could keep his ailing sister alive. The shard’s influence feeds despair and sabotage, while the caravan’s hired Goroth mercenaries bring old Clan loyalties and wounds into the party’s path.
The stakes
If the party does not recover the crate before sunset tomorrow, Azkhar’s agents leave Sultan’s Gate with Mórgath’s Shard.
If the party secures the Genasi caravan’s trust, their desert network can support future efforts against Azkhar. The way the party treats Azruk may save or endanger his sister’s chance of care.
Encounters
2The Convoy Ambush
Combat with a social off-ramp
A narrow track between high dunes, scattered cargo, tethered pack animals, and a sandstorm that blurs sight and muffles sound.
Foes
Sand-Warped Guards from Appendix B
Goroth mercenaries
Azruk Sablehand
ComplicationA sandstorm imposes disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight beyond 30 feet. The moving caravan and shifting dunes provide intermittent cover. Use the custom Sand-Warped Guard and shard-empowered sand magic as presented in Appendix B; do not treat those names as standard monster stat blocks.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, reduce the number of guards and Goroth mercenaries. For a larger or more optimized party, add a second wave of guards or make the storm more restrictive. Keep Azruk’s surrender option available regardless of difficulty.
The Smugglers’ Camp
Social
A sheltered hollow between dunes, with blue-veiled tents, low cooking fires, tethered mounts, and a narrow approach watched by outriders.
ComplicationThe caravan believes the party may be working for the Sultanate or the mercenaries. A successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Intimidation) check secures cooperation. On a failure, the caravan does not attack, but refuses to guide the party or share its water until given a reason to trust them.
ScalingFor a shorter session, Sahir accepts a clear demonstration of good faith without a check. For a more difficult social scene, require the party to address both the caravan’s safety and the fate of the recovered shard.
Cast
4Lirael Sandwind
QuestgiverQuestgiver and ally, a resourceful Verulana scout who meets the party at Jasmine Gard.
WantsSecure the shard and prevent Azkhar’s agents from taking it. She wants to build a lasting alliance with the party, not merely hire them for one job.
“Intercept them before Sultan’s Gate. Bring back the crate intact, and I’ll see that the Sandsultans remember who stood with them.”
Azruk Sablehand
Antagonist and mercenary leader, a former Verulana guard who leads the theft.
WantsGet paid enough to fund his sister’s treatment. He is committed to the job, but not to Azkhar’s cause, and he is listening for proof the party understands what he is protecting.
“You think I chose this? My sister is running out of time, and this was the first offer big enough to matter.”
Sahir of the Blue Veil
Witness and potential ally, a Genasi caravan elder whose people know the desert routes.
WantsProtect the caravan and its people while avoiding needless bloodshed. They distrust the Sultanate’s officials and may cooperate if the party treats the caravan as more than a target.
“The dunes take what they’re owed. Keep your hands off the crate and nobody needs to bleed.”
Kethra Flint-Eye
Wildcard, a Goroth mercenary who recognizes the party’s Barbarian, or another character with ties to the Clans.
WantsSurvive the contract and keep Clan history from being used to shame or control them. Their response to a former Goroth connection depends on the party’s approach.
“The old warband marks are still there. You can walk away from the Clans, but the sand remembers.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
Mórgath’s Shard, Corruption and Decay. Custom shard boon: once per long rest, as an action, touch an unattended object to instantly age or corrode it. Its influence can compel the bearer to sabotage nearby progress on a failed save.
On a win
The party recovers Mórgath’s Shard before Azkhar’s agents can collect it.
If they win the Genasi caravan’s trust, Lirael recognizes them as allies of the Verulana Sandsultans and pledges desert-safe passage, scouts, and caravan support against Azkhar. The shard’s bearer gains its custom boon: once per long rest, as an action, they can touch an unattended object and instantly age or corrode it, such as rotting a rope, rusting a lock, or spoiling stored food. Its influence remains dangerous: on a failed save, the bearer feels compelled to undermine or sabotage the nearest thing going well, whether or not they want to.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to intercept the convoy before the handoff.
- Azkhar’s agents collect the shard at Sultan’s Gate by sunset tomorrow. They escape with it, and the party must pursue them or find another lead to continue the shard hunt.
- The crate is broken during combat, a chase, or an attempted forced opening.
- The crate is damaged or opened under dangerous conditions. The party still recovers Mórgath’s Shard, but its influence becomes more immediately disruptive, and the party must decide who will secure it.
- The party coerces, endangers, or alienates Sahir’s people at the camp.
- The Genasi caravan refuses an alliance. Lirael still recognizes the party’s effort, but they receive no desert-safe passage, scouts, or caravan support against Azkhar.
Complications (d6)
- 1A wall of blowing sand erases the freshest tracks. The party can recover the trail with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check; on a failure, they lose an hour and the convoy gains distance.
- 2A camel breaks from its traces, dragging a water cask toward a steep dune. Securing the cask preserves the caravan’s supplies; ignoring it costs the party or their allies one day’s worth of water.
- 3A shard-empowered guard sends a ribbon of sand across the trail as a warning. The party can approach openly or attempt to circle the convoy, but either choice alerts its scouts.
- 4A Genasi outrider mistakes the party for Sultanate pursuers. A calm explanation and a successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check earns a guide; failure costs time and raises the caravan’s suspicion.
- 5The shard’s influence sours a sealed ration bundle. Anyone who handles it feels a sudden urge to spoil or undermine something nearby; a character who recognizes the influence can secure the shard’s crate before the impulse spreads.
- 6A Goroth mercenary calls the party’s Barbarian by an old warband name and demands a response. A direct, personal answer may open a path to talk, but a threat or insult makes the mercenaries brace for a fight.
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