| Most honored Prince! May the Gods sprinkle Your life path with petals, and may a Divine spark lit Your young mind! It is I, Grand Vizier Abu-Bakr, who writes to You in this dire hour. What has taken place here, in the very heart of our Realm, defies everything I hold sacred. Your father - Shapur IV, the lawful King of Samarkand - has disappeared, and your two sisters - Princess Nadine and Princess Ramira - has been confined within the palace. I fear for the life of our King. It has come to my attention that disguised assassins is traveling with the outmost speed towards Your present location. May this letter reach You before they do! I beg You, my Prince - disappear, hide Yourself before it is to late! Many of the devilish schemes behind this plot against the King and the Royal family is unknown to me, but it is with a sad heart I tell the names of the initiators behind the palace coup - Semal Ibn-Akal, High Commander of the Palace Guard; the man who once trained you in the art of war now controls the palace and those who are allowed to pass in and out, and Giafar bin Yahya, First Akhond of the palace and the leader of the Cult of Yaghuth; he keeps the populace and a frightened court at bay, and it is he who keeps your sisters as “guests” in his quarters. The beginning of this seems to be many years in the past, when the Bedouin tribe of Bani Truf and their chief Negel bin Nejd got banned from the Kingdom; it was revealed that they where behind the plunder of several silk caravans. Earlier this year they returned, in company with a new ally - the tribe of Al Nuaim is said to have as many warriors as the desert got sand. Their leader is rumored to have entered a pact with Shaitan himself, causing him to veil his face and keep his identity hidden. These cruel men preyed upon the northern expanses of our Realm for weeks before an army, led by Emir Sembdi Al-Qarshi, rode out to stop them. They met an overwhelming defeat up there in the north, of which little is known. What everybody in the city could witness was, however, how the ravaged cortege of the Emir, with the Emir himself carried on a litter, was slaughtered to the last man - by our own city guards! - right outside the city gates. Our King got hastily and inexplicable ill after this, and was taken care of by Akhond Giafars appointed physicians. He has not been seen since then. Freshly arrived strangers now move about in the palace; with the hard life of the desert marked in their gaunt faces, and without mixing with the court. I fear for the safety of us all. I aim to use the help of a friend outside the palace walls to get the Princesses out of the city; we will take our refuge to an isolated oasis if everything proceed as planned. If this letter reaches You, know that we have an ally in the merchant Bey Mani Al-Taula - the man who in that case contributed to saving Your life. You are the last hope of the Dynasty and of our Realm, and it is with the knowledge of what is happening here i appeal to you - stay away from Samarkand! |
This letter is given to the players before any characters is created. It is their assignment to create and take the role of the prince and his company. This scenario starts in Baghdad, where the prince is studying. The first scene takes place at the home of the mentor of the player character; a influential man who has done what he could to make the stay in Baghdad as pleasant as possible for the young prince. They have gathered at his home to discuss the letter which lie on the table between them. Let them them get an overview of each others opinions before the assassins attack, and the adventure starts for real. The house of their mentor will burn to the ground as a result of this, and he himself will be killed in the flames. There will be nothing left for them in Baghdad, and the next time we meet them they will already have entered the Kingdom of Samarkand. What happens next is shrouded in mist, but things have been set in motion that will have them confront several, if not all, of the vile characters mentioned in the letter of Abu-Bakr.