The Nomads in the Desert
- Main Page; Travellers In Thieves World
Encounter with the Nomads[edit]
As the three early risers digest their breakfast Chan hears the telltales signs of a camp beginning to stir below. The animals below begin to get agitated as they are woken up. You hear the sounds of yurts being dismantled and packed up. Like before the roughly thirty bipeds all appear covered head to toe in robes. No voices can be heard from below at this distance. At their current pace it looks like the camp will be packed and ready to move withing the next hour or so.
Looking out at the surroundings you see a mixture of hard rock outcroppings worn by the wind and shifting sand desert. There is a complete absence of vegetation beyond the immediate confines of the oasis. There is no obvious trail or path indicating where the occupants came from or where they might be headed. As you get closer you can discern the makeup of the group a little more clearly. All of the occupants are covered completely in robes leaving only the eyes visible. Some are clearly female and others seem very likely to be children. A small robed child tending to the horses is the first to see you. You see some gesticulating but hear no voices as the rest of the group are alerted to your presence. The overall reaction from the natives is muted. After a little delay three robed figures begin walking your way. The remainder of the camp continues to pack up and get things ready to move on.
The two nomads look at you nodding and pantomiming your gestures however they do not actually lift their sleeves to show their skin. The one on the left is roughly six feet tall and is not obviously overweight. The one on the right is approximately five and a half feet tall. It is hard to get a read on their exact body types underneath their robes. The shorter one look over your wares and exchange glances with the taller one. Intricate hand gestures between them seem to be the way they communicate between each other. The shorter one makes motions to indicate he would like to touch and handle the wares. Max nods and hands one to to him. The one examining them seems to be nodding to you and the taller one indicating they like the quality of your goods. The taller one nods back then looks to the far off one.
The far off one walks to the ridge and examines the area. The distant nomad and the taller nomad exchanges hand gestures and you get a feeling there is some confusion between them. The distant nomad returns to the trade station and the three sign talk among themselves. Between pantomimes and scrawled maps in the sand they seem to be showing a route to the city to the south. Eventually you get the idea they are willing to trade for you to get you out of the desert but they want to see more goods. It occurs to your group they think you are lost in the desert.
