Lair of the Sand Stalkers (part II)

Preparation Chamber (#16/31; #75/365)

"You have entered some sort of plant-harvesting chamber. A large crack in the ceiling illuminates a vast array of potted desert cacti of various types, being tended to carefully by a Sand Stalker with a watering can, who moves slowly among the plants, allocating steady drips of aquatic sustenance. They look up at your entrance and emit a guttural bark: 'Who in all the Pits are you?'"

Contents: This room is used by the Sand Stalkers to grow various kinds of cacti for food and venom to smear on their weapons. The gardener will not attack if treated politely, and may sell cacti to the Heroes at the prices listed below. However, if attacked, the Sand Stalker will utter a yodelling cry, summoning 2-4 of its kin from the Dozing Chamber (see above).

The cacti (and their potential prices) comprise the following:

• 2 Hurscht cacti (see The Titan Herbal, pp. 40-41) 10GP per cacti
  
• 7 Barbthorn cacti (see The Titan Herbal, p. 21) 1GP per cacti (Sand Stalkers are immune to its poison)
• 9 Green Spikeball cacti (see The Titan Herbal, p. 38) 2 GP per cacti
• 6 Xhoss cacti: This is a large segmented, lobe-shaped cacti with pink or purple flowers. The Sand Stalkers extract fluid from this cacti to create the sleeping venom for their weapons. Anyone who eats a Xhoss cacti must Test their Luck or fall asleep for 1-6 hours. Not for sale.
  
• 1 Spiked Flesh-Eating Kakti (see The Titan Herbal, p. 63). Currently dormant, but if the Sand Stalker gardener is slain, it will begin creating illusions in the hope of trapping victims on its long spines. Not for sale.
  

Next to the cacti is a workbench upon which are various gardening implements (trowels, spades, forks, watering cans, etc), piles of soil, and 3 vials containing Xhoss extract (see below for effects).

Stats:

1 SAND STALKER: SKILL 8, STAMINA 7, Sword, Light Armour (leather scraps)

The Sand Stalker has 1-6GP, a tin watering can, and a vial of Xhoss poison. This is made from a type of upland desert cacti, and can be smeared onto a bladed or pointed weapon. Anyone wounded by such a weapon must immediately Test their LUCK or be rendered unconscious for 10-60 minutes. It lasts for one battle only.

Shrine to the Sand God (II) (#17/31; #76/365)

"The floor of this small chamber is covered in sand; coarse, orange, and heaped here and there in ripples and miniature dunes. At the far end of the chamber is what looks like a simple altar; a plinth of stone upon which rests a bare alabaster goblet. The walls are covered in scrawled charcoal graffiti, depicting camel-headed creatures supplicating whirlwinds by making various offerings."

Contents: This is a simple shrine to Assamarra, the Djaratian God of the Desert, who is also highly revered by the Sand Stalkers. Anyone who places a pinch of sand into the goblet on the altar and murmurs the appropriate words of religious respect will be blessed by Assamarra; the next time they venture into the desert they may ignore the first major hardship they face (this could range from heatstroke, sunstroke, or a lack of water, to a major sandstorm or the attack of a Giant Sandworm). 

Anyone foolish enough to touch or take the goblet will summon the shrine's guardian, a SAND DEVIL, which will attack immediately, unless one of the Heroes is a Desert Elf or Nomad Sufi and can placate it accordingly.

Stats:

1 SAND DEVIL, SKILL 10, STAMINA 7, Attacks: 1, Sandstorm (as per Large Claw), All hits only cause the Sand Devil 1 STAMINA damage, but water splashed on it will kill it instantly. (see Out of the Pit, p. 99-100)

The alabaster goblet is worth 20GP.

Sand Stalker Leader's Lair (#18/31; #77/365)

"This chamber appears to be a combination of storeroom and living chamber. Piles of weapons, armour and other objects are heaped along the walls, while one area has a simple straw pallet and a large chest next to it. At a table in the centre of the chamber sits a very large camel-faced Sand Stalker, attaching arrowheads to heaps of sorted arrow-shafts. They look up at your approach, and growl 'Yes?' in a deep voice."

Contents: This is the lair of Q'sar Quickbolt, the herd-chief of the band of Sand Stalkers. Q'sar is a surprisingly conscientious leader who is currently recycling arrowheads onto new shafts for the herd's next raid (he has around 100 arrows, of which half have been finished). He will attack if attacked or treated rudely, yodelling loudly to summon any Sand Stalkers who are nearby (including 1-3 as wandering monsters), but is also happy to trade for information and items if the price is right.

Scattered around the room are various things taken from captured adventurers, travellers, and the like, including:

• 2 leather cuirasses
• 1 leather hauberk
• 1 chainmail hauberk
• 3 small shields
• 1 large shield
• 4 swords
• 2 spears
• 1 polearm
• 3 backpacks
• 4 waterskins
• 1 lantern
• 1 coil of rope

Q'sar is happy to sell this to polite Heroes at half the regular prices listed for a village settlement.

The chest is the warchest for the entire Sand Stalker band. It is locked and trapped; Q'sar's key opens the chest but does not disarm the trap, which is an electric shock trap (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 36). Inside the chest is:

• a sack of 42GP
• a wooden whistle
• a bottle of Zaragillia's Clearsight wine (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 55)
• 1 dried bunch of Shaggle herbs (see The Titan Herbal, p. 61)
• a big scarlet Bloodstone (worth 30GP)
  
• a Witherwell Potion (see The Titan Herbal, p. 10)

Stats:

Q'sar Quickbolt, SAND STALKER herd-chief: SKILL 10, STAMINA 12, Longbow or Spear (Poison-tipped: Test your LUCK or unconscious for 10-60 minutes), Light Armour (leather scraps). 

Has 3-18GP in change, a key for the Sand-Stalker warchest, a Brass Scorpion Brooch (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 122), and a vial of Xhoss poison. This is made from a type of upland desert cacti, and can be smeared onto a bladed or pointed weapon. Anyone wounded by such a weapon must immediately Test their LUCK or be rendered unconscious for 10-60 minutes. It lasts for one battle only.