Arisphistaneles tells the group he needs them to retrieve another piece of the amulet. They are to escort Rhotan Vor to an old forgotten (and possibly fake) treasure trove in the Canyon of Guthay.

As they are leaving the estate an elven woman pulls Arannis aside and asks him to deliver a message to the elven chief at Silver Springs. He agrees but no one in the party asks him about the encounter.

The next day the adventurers meet up with Rhotan and he explains that they will head toward Silver Springs and that he wishes the party to scout a full day ahead of his skiffs.

The party makes its way through the harsh desert staying on course and avoiding dangerous inhabitants of Athas. As they approach a small oasis Aram notices movement in the dunes ahead.

They cautiously move toward the oasis, when suddenly raiders with crimson sashes jump from behind shrubs and boulders. Being on-guard the party is not surprised. Clay remembers hearing about the Crimson Raiders in Alturak and wonders if this is them.

Meldrick instantly lowers his head and charges one of the assailants. His horns gash the warrior. Arannis slides the same fighter by Meldrick who takes a swing with his long sword hitting again.

Otiril follows Meldrick into the fray but his attacks miss. Aram summons an elemental who misses one of the fighters too.

A dwarf steps from behind some rocks and heals one of the fighters. The small figure Aram noticed moving through the dunes appears and misses him with a psionic attack.

One of the three warriors steps up to Otiril and thrusts his gouge into him. The weapon grabs onto Otiril as he howls in pain. Clay rushes in hitting the third warrior. Meldrick continues to slash at the warrior he has engaged and after a few cuts finishes him off.

Arannis and Otiril team up on one of the other warriors but have a hard time hitting him. Each miss, Otiril shifts closer to the dwarven priest hoping to get a chance to drop the spellcaster.

Aram’s elemental pounds one of the warriors and drops to the hot sand. The halfing wilder misses Aram again as the dwarf strikes Otiril as he comes closer.

Meldrick runs to Otiril’s aid and kills one of the two fighters attacking him. Otiril then concentrates on the dwarf who meets a swift death.

Only the halfing psion remains and he manages to strike with a psionic attack on Aram. But it is his last as Otiril, the elemental and Meldrick converge on him. Meldrick deals the killing blow as Clay collects the scarves from the corpses.

He also finds two healing potion fruits and 80 gp. And although the oasis is small and muddy the party welcomes the water and rests for the night.

DM Notes:
Again the adventure opened with a skill challenge and I found it difficult to run. I know some DMs run them with out the players ever knowing they are in a skill challenge. I tried harder not to announce the skill challenge or the skills necessary for beating it. Trying to get the players to just tell me what they wanted to do and adapting on-the-fly. It went ok but was not smooth by any means.