Resolution

The group, Mezmer [Shane], Cooper [Ian], Miriam [ Jeff], Wonton [Darryl], Gazala [Richard] and Fleur [Steven] were stuck in the oasis with young Karima, the only tragic survivor of the doomed al-Hussain family.

Bernard [Jamie] on the stretcher, suddenly woke up. Dr Jacob and Mario collapsed, both marmalading.

There was an invisible barrier surrounding the rectangular compound that no one could pass, and they were trying to work out how to escape.

They all decided to search the entire place very thoroughly. The whole family, except Karima, were dead now, so it wasn't as if anyone was going to stop them.

Cooper went for a paddle inside the central tiled pool, which was filthy with sewerage and thick slime. He discovered, by touch, in the exact centre (the water was waist-deep here), that there was a raised pentagram shape, about the size of a car wheel.

In one of the cupboards, in the dilapidated bedroom, Wonton found an old crumpled piece of paper. It had some strange symbols on it, which looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs. Mezmer said they were  mythos symbols. With that in mind, Wonton was pretty sure that he knew how to voice the phonemes associated with each symbol. He held onto that for now.

Miriam found a rusty little kerosene stove, and she managed to get it running; there was plenty of petrol. So, she could boil the filthy pool water and at least get them all something potable to drink.

Mezmer attempts
a Sanctify

Wonton argued the case for Mezmer to cast to Sanctify on Karima, even though he knew it could kill her (it was not really designed for use on living souls), but this was resisted by the less evil among the group.

So, Wonton suggested that Karima should go and stand in the centre of the pool, on the pentagram. Karima was happy to comply. Nothing happened.

Then Mezmer tried a Sanctify on the snake head. No result.

Then a Sanctify was performed on the ram head. Again, no effect.

Then Mezmer went back and did the goat head again with another Sanctify. And that did nothing except make it glow again. Each use of this ritual takes an hour, so that used up most of the night.

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Morning arrived. 

Mezmer finally decided to do a Sanctify on Karima, even though this might kill her or him. She refused, so Cooper grabbed her and managed to hold her down. Then Mezmer did his little dance and did the ritual on her. Karima thrashed and bucked about, and Cooper needed help to hold her down; Gazala and Miriam helped.  When the hour had passed, and the ritual completed, she screamed and passed out, unconscious and bleeding from her nose and tear ducts.

But ... the barriers were still intact.

Karima was still breathing, so they waited. After an hour and a bit, she sat up, a bit miffed.

Wonton took out the scroll he had found during the night, and read the hieroglyphs pronouncing the phonemes as best he could. There was a brief silence, and then suddenly, all four heads exploded simultaneously.

Immediately, Karima stood up and ran out through the entrance archway.

The party made a half-arsed attempt to follow; the barrier was gone for them too. But as soon as Karima got a few paces outside, she turned into a smear, which rocketed skywards and vanished. 

They looked around. Already the sewerage in the centre of the pool was starting to clear. It looked like fresh water was coming in through the centre jets.

About an hour later, the streak in the sky returned, and a female figure descended with a clap of thunder. It was Karima, but she was now glowing and fiery. She told them that she was a jiniri, a female jinn, imprisoned in the oasis by the cursed heads. And that she would grant a boon, as a reward, to one of the group.

Karima

They decided randomly, and Mezmer was, appropriately, the benefactor.

He chose Mythos Invisibility, hoping to get what Umar had. 

She smiled, and taught him a little rhyme.

When all around intend me woe,

To shoot and stab and fight.

I pucker up my little mouth,

And vanish from their sight !

After she had gone, Mezmer tried the rhyme. It made him invisible, yes, but only him, not his clothes. It lasted as long as he concentrated, but no more than an hour.

Later that afternoon, Abdul (their driver) arrived with the truck. He had been rescued by a passing car, and managed to get to a diesel station.

They stayed the night in the oasis.

Légion Étrangère fort

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In the morning, the oasis pool was practically clear.

They continued on their original mission to the Légion Étrangère fort. This trip only took a few hours of driving. A dusty side road left the main road and headed to an adobe fort, in the middle of the wastes.

A Capitane le Beau greeted them. He assigned all the males in the party to the fort barracks, to share with the rest of the company soldiers (about 120).  Gazala, Miriam and Fleur, being the only women there, were given le Beau's office; quite the gentleman was he.

They did remember to ask about the Germans of the other night, but Le Beau reported that none of the night sentries reported seeing anything. The desert road headed south, so he guessed they continued down there. But he would make a report in the next set of dispatches. The telephone line here was knocked by the sandstorm.

That night, in the barracks, china-man Wonton, stood out like a sore thumb. He was groped and molested and harangued by the other soldiers, but he stood resolute and maintained his ground with a knife.

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Next morning.

Dr Jacob and Nurse Fleur were assigned to work in the infirmary.

The whole party did rifle, and pistol training. And that afternoon did sub-machine gun and grenade work.

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The next morning, two platoons of soldiers, including the party, were sent on a three-day hike into the desert.  They were commanded by Sous-Lieutenant Mâchoire, Adjudant-Chef Garnier, and Sergent-Chef Branleur.