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[h1][i]ACT ONE;
THE SANCTUARY[/i][/h1]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/4TsNucb.jpg[/img]
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[url=https://i.imgur.com/TGlwbKz.jpg]Jakeem Kalil[/url] considered himself to be a patient man. After all he had spent months combing through libraries and scriptoriums in search of a single thing, a location to be precise. And before that nearly a year gathering names, historical recordings, and even mythological works. Patience was a virtue that had carried him through this tedious pursuit. Patience that was further tested when he finally found what he was looking for, an ancient ruin nestled in the great desert far north, only to discover it was ridden with traps and dangerous predators. His own men stood no chance in such a place and he knew then he would have to resort to hiring more able help to uncover what he sought within. 

So he had his agents spread word through the inns and brothels across the city of a wealthy pasha seeking able bodied adventurers. Jakeem did not particularly care for wanderers and vagabonds and preferred to rely on his own well trained and loyal men. He supposed he could send a small army into the ruins and secure them, but that carried too many risks he even bothered to consider. Aside from the fact that his men were soldiers and guardians and not treasure hunters. No, he needed a small group of brave and able individuals. 

A week had passed and even as his uncomfortable eagerness grew he kept his forbearance. He knew he had little to worry over, his men had secured the outside of the ruins and set up a fortified camp keeping it safe. He resigned to his lingering angst being the revelation of how close he was, having waited for an opportunity like this for years now. But it seemed that his long wait was now over.

It was mid morning and the brooding pasha sat on his small padded throne in the reception hall of his estate, sipping away at a chalice of spiced wine as his mind swirled in a vortex of thought. The voice of his steward breaking him from his thought trance. 

“Master Kalil…”

“What?” Jakeem asked flatly.

“There are several people here to see you, they look to be mercenaries or the lot.”

Jakeem snapped his finger at a nearby servant who briskly approached as the pasha drained the last of the wine from his cup. The servant departed chalice in hand as the wealthy Calishite sat up properly in his seat. “Have they come together? In a group?” Jakeem queried.

“I do not think so,” the steward shook his head modestly, “they seemed to keep a distance from each other in the courtyard.”

“Send them all in now, together.”

The steward did not question but nodded and scuttled away as Jakeem twisted at his goatee. It was a bit of odd but very welcome luck that several people had all come at once, most likely having just heard the “news” in the last day or two. Regardless of wether or not they were a group, Jakeem knew how to play a crowd and certainly a small bunch of loyal-less vagabonds. Besides no one person could hope to dive into the ruins alone and come out alive, so he imagined it wouldn’t be difficult to convince them to cooperate. 

The great doors of his estate swung open, the guards stepping aside as shadows etched along the marble floor of the reception hall, the newly arrived making their way inside out of the hot Calimshan sun. Jakeem stood from his throne as the heavy doors slammed shut and the guards began filing the length of the wall and taking up positions as was expected of them, especially with such types as these approaching their master. 

“Welcome,” Jakeem annunciated loudly, “I am Jakeem Kalil of the Guild Arcane and I welcome you [i]brave seekers[/i] to my estate. I would ask you tell me who you are, each by self please.”


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