Desert Queendom

"Asham is where Sir Ortega went to find a Magic Key. When we reached the town, the only thing to note was the belly dancers. The townsfolk do confirm that Ortega was here but left before finding the key. Apparently, he could simply rip locked doors off the hinges. Who was this man? I let others carry his tale, so I know little about him. But not even Tryton can rip apart doors, so we must continue to the kingdom of Isis, located in the desert to the south.

Far, far to the southwest is an oasis. On the otherside is the town of Isis. Because of the journey's length, we arrived at night. There was a man who could never sleep, but we had no way of helping him. We decided to visit the castle anyway and found a star bracelet hidden in its depths. It was guarded by a kind ghost who rewarded us with our honesty. I thought about lying, but Arusu wouldn't let me. I should follow my leader's advice more. This was also where we had our first contact with Baramos. He used one of the nation's many cats to mock us and suggest we return home. Our enemy is aware of us. In the morning, we met with the Queen. She told us of the Pyramid to the north that is said to house the Magic Key. It's a place filled with traps and puzzles. She also suggested the kids know a nursery rhyme which may be a clue to reaching it.

Across the sands we went, and we reached the iconic wonder. It was only six floors, but it felt larger.
The first floor was filled with pitfalls that took us to the basement.
That place had an anti magic field that prevented any spells from being used.
The second floor was a narrow hallway that gave us minor claustrophobia.
The third floor was where the nursery rhyme played into it. In each of the bottom corners are four switches, two on each side of a pedestal. Arusu has an amazing memory, or a strange magical spell, and figured out what it all meant. When we wrote it down, it made a lot of sense. Pressing the buttons in the proper form opened the way forward. Beyond the gate we cleared was the key we were looking for. But there was more to this place up top.
The fourth floor contained the graves of former Isis leaders and their treasures. It felt like grave robbing, but we promised to use the spoils for the sake of the world. We did beat the mummies in combat, so I consider it acceptable.
The fifth floor had a fancy dress no one could don. Above that was the exit to the top of the Pyramid. The anti magic field affected the top, so we were unable to Return away. I really should have made a mental note about the view, but I was too tired. Throughout the dungeon, many of the chests were empty. But those were the good ones. Many others were fake mimics that pushed us beyond our limits. Even Kandar would have had troubles against them. We felt like even a single attack from then could kill us, but we managed to clear the place out. Sadly, it wasn't worth it. Never fight a mimic.

With the Magic Key in hand, we did some castle treasury raiding. The guard in Aliahan "turned the other cheek," but we had to sneak into Isis'. The Queen helped us out, so we considered this a part of her deal. Hopefully, her kingdom understands.

We used a bit of downtime trying to figure out our next move. During it, we played some Pachisi. Arusu is the greatest to ever run the board. Cordy also read a joke book, so she fancies herself a comedian now. And being the tank has really changed Tryton's state of mind. He's no longer the lazy lunk he once was, and he's really getting into the valiant role. The dwarf, Nordy, refuses to let anyone go east of Asham. But he's friends with the Portuga King, so we used our new key to get past that blockade."