In the name of the Athasian Survey Project, greetings. I have some important developments to report.

It didn’t take long for the Consortium to provide assistance with guessing the destination of the undead Bodachean expedition, and the destination of their quarry. There are only two notable locations south of the Mud Palace – an isolated and fortified oasis called Last Drink, and the Crimson Monolith.

It was an educated guess, but it was the best lead we had. And if I could see into the area around the Crimson Monolith early enough, then perhaps I could catch a glimpse of the one who stole the Niraani Crystals before they disappeared again.

By chance, one of the psionic historians at the Nexus found the writings of an old student of psychoportation and something called “planeswalking” who had lived and died during the time of the Cleansing Wars. He had developed a method of combining clairvoyance (my own speciality) with control over a dead body across great distances. This technique, poetically named “carriage of essence,” allowed him to possess a dead body for a time. While this required quite an initial expenditure of psionic power, and the side effects were never fully understood, it would allow me to surveil the Crimson Monolith until the Bodachean expedition arrived. But friends, I assure you if I had any other options for investigating where my quarry was heading I would be using them instead.

I reached out with my mind to the area surrounding the tower. While there was no shortage of corpses, looking for a suitable body took some time.

Once I found the body, it was…awkward…manipulating a physical body again. The image I am now showing you was what I saw through the corpse’s eyes, so please forgive me if the clarity of the vision leaves something to be desired. It would seem this lady met her fate within walking distance of the Crimson Monolith. With her corpse under my control, I laid there waiting; the nature of my new state and this new use of the Way meant that fatigue was much less of an issue than it had been in the past.

It is no wonder few living creatures manage to approach this monstrous construction safely. The Endless Dunes are inhospitable enough without the presence of hostile sorcery. The actual purpose of the Monolith has long been debated. Some believe the red stone needle is a powerful artifact, capable of piercing deep into the Gray. Others believe it is some sort of beacon for powerful beings from regions far beyond Athas, and that a sufficiently powerful sorcerer could use it to contact these beings. All agree that the object literally pulses with power, and there have been multiple reports of mysterious otherworldly beings coming and going in and out of the featureless surface of the stone itself.

After my second day waiting, I finally saw a figure approaching the Monolith. I watched them as they walked up and settled themselves within touching distance of the spire.

They seemed to be there for at least a day; long enough that I was able to take my time and carefully move closer without giving myself away so I could get a clearer look at what they were doing. It looked as if the figure was writing something on the face of the Monolith, and then characters were appearing beneath, which he was transcribing onto something on the ground in front of him. All the while, I also kept a lookout towards the north, expecting the undead Bodachean expedition to appear over the dunes at any minute.

After a full day in which the figure did not seem to sleep or even stop, I could see the first sign of the Bodacheans on the horizon. Only moments after, the figure stood up and turned around so I could get a clear look at their face.

My blood ran cold.

It was Margaba.

I had never seen my old handler’s face look like that in all the years I had known him. There was an intensity of madness in his eyes. He clutched the Niraani Crystals to his chest, as their glow oscillating between watery blue and crimson red, lighting up the lower part of his face and amplifying the inhumanity of his expression. He mounted what looked like a flying carpet, and headed east across the desert.

When I withdrew from the woman’s body and returned to the orb, my discovery caused an uproar amongst the Consortium and the Nexus. The leadership were just as shocked by Margaba’s betrayal as I was, while the Veiled Alliance were very concerned as to what could possibly require the combined power of those two conjunction points aligned to the Niraani Crystals. Meanwhile, my friends and colleagues at the Nexus concerned themselves with scrying Margaba’s position and determining his destination.

I, however, had a better idea – I would ask Margaba myself.

Until next we talk, may the moons guide you.

Sources:
* 3.5e Core Dark Sun rulebook
* A special thanks to Dungeon Crawler Audio for providing the image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhOPvbfgWHg