<div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/RTbHrvo.png)</div><br/>The journey from Katapesh has been a long one of many days, first following the River Scorpius before turning westward up the Pale River.  The small caravan, headed by an aspiring merchant princess, Almah Rovshki, has steadily made its way towards the the long abandoned town of Kelmarane to clear it of bandits and reopen it to the world at large once again.  It is an endeavour supported and partially funded by the secretive Pactmasters of Katapesh, who have a vested interest in seeing the restoration of the town so that trade with Osirion can begin again.<br/><br/>Along with five other personal appointees, they have assigned Malik to Almah's personal coterie to provide his skills to aid in her mission.  Unlike the other four, Malik need not necessarily answer to Almah's majordomo, Garavel, as he has been recruited as a wilderness expert in his own right, though any instructions given by the majordomo should not be dismissed lightly as the man has high favour with both Almah and the Pactmasters.<br/><br/>The only other in a similar position to Malik is Father Zastoran, an ageing priest of Nethys, who intends to help people settle into a new life in Kelmarane, though it is also equally likely the man wishes to the faith of Sarenrae.  Almah also takes counsel from her personal fortuneteller, a mysterious Vudrani woman named Vilama, whom she keeps close at all times, and who interacts little with the rest of the caravan.<br/><br/>To supplement this small core, Almah has also hired a handful of mercenaries as well as a couple of additional hands who serve as teamsters for the wagon and caretakers of the livestock that is being brought along.  Finally, the services of a man named Dashki has also been employed to provide his expertise on gnolls, which tend to plague the mountainous regions near Kelmarane.<br/><br/>Now, almost half a day's march from their destination, Almah calls for camp to be pitched close to an old landmark called the Sultan's Claw – an ancient dessicated tree, whose main branches make it look like a gigantic blackened skeletal hand thrust up from the desert sands.  Grateful for the chance to stretch out and empty the sand from their boots, the group begins to set up the encampment in the gathering dusk of night.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Feel free to introduce Malik a little bit, and what he will do for the next half hour before night falls.<br/><br/>Almah and Garavel share a large tent which is at the center of the encampment, and the tent of her fortuneteller sits just adjacent.  The four personal guard have their smaller single-person tents nearby; they are a stoic group, each engrossed in their own thoughts as they keep an eye out for trouble.  The mercenaries have pitched their camp a little further away, tending to stick around their own campfire where they can tell jokes and complain about life in general.  Most of the others, including Father Zastoran, remain in the wagon or stretch out on the sands around it, whilst performing their daily activities.<br/><br/>The Caravan (https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Em-0vuGvQ5VUMHlvSQPPlOFnqCzZY3v-vjwqJgejso/edit).<br/><br/>Most of the terrain is sandy and almost flat, with the exception of a dune or three and a few scattered rocks and boulders.  The Pale Mountains can be seen to the north, and somewhere in a valley ahead lies the ruined settlement of Kelmarane, as yet unseen.  The desert opens out into the east and south and west.