Desert Storm I: The Crown of Civilization

The Osmad Desert is known as the Crown of Civilization because it is a testament to civilization's willpower to survive in the harshest of climates. Home of one of the longest lasting nation of the Fantastical Era, the Osmad Desert is something of a fantasy to those from the outside. It's a harsh land full of sandy maelstroms, hostile creatures, and extreme heat, yet at its heart is a rich and prosperous civilization that has lasted for over 1000 years. 
The year is 1437 and the nations of the Veridian Continent are enjoying a state of peace. The Prince of the Veridian Empire and the Princess of the Osmad Sultanate are having a wedding very soon in a few weeks.

Plot points/Scenes

A caravan from the north has just arrived at the Emerald Pass. After a brief stop to gather supplies, they are ready to embark on the week-long journey to Bekilk - their destination. The caravan consists of about a dozen or so people, most of them merchants or hired guards but also some travelers looking for safety in numbers. They have traveled for a few days now, some having joined midway through the journey, but the town of Pavv and the Emerald Pass are the last stops before they enter the Osmad Desert.
The players are a part of this caravan and are heading into the desert with it for whatever reason that may be. Perhaps they are the hired escorts to the caravan, paid to see them reach the destination safely. Perhaps they seek something or someone in the desert, and have tagged along for the journey. Perhaps they are on the run from their past, and this caravan was their ticket to freedom. Whatever their reasons, they have decided to stick with this group and continue on the journey south.

The Journey Begins

Once the caravan is ready to embark, they'll head out south through the Emerald Pass and into the Osmad Desert. Read the following:

With the final preparations completed, the caravan is ready to begin the week long trek through the Osmad Desert. The gates of the Emerald Pass open before you, and beyond you see the mountains around you level out into a vast, dry, sandy expanse of nothingness. Within hours of the journey's start, you feel the dry, searing heat bearing down upon you.

The caravan only travels in the early morning and late afternoon, where the temperature is bearable for travel. They are still able to travel for the full 8 hours a day, only its split up to make use of the best times for travel. Otherwise, everyone and the non-native beasts pulling the caravan will become exhausted faster. The supplies are sufficient for the journey, and include lots of water and dried meats and fruits - enough to comfortably sustain everyone for the week journey and a few extra days just in case.
After a day or of travel in the Osmad, a violent sandstorm will occur, forcing the caravan to find shelter. In the chaos, the caravan splits up and heads off in different directions. Due to the storm, visibility is reduced to almost nothing, and the caravan will quickly fade from sight. Sooner or later, the party will find themselves separated from the caravan, and will have to find their own way alone. Thankfully, a small settlement can barely be seen nearby before the storm obscures all vision. The settlement, which the locals refer to as "Wahum," is a seemingly quaint little village, fit with a few houses, a mini oasis, and an inn. By the time the players arrive at the village, the sandstorm would be raging intensely, but oddly enough, it seems to almost disappear entirely within the village. The inhabitants, which number only to about 100 or so are modest and friendly and absolutely insist that the party rest as much as they want. The local inn only has a single room vacancy, but the room is large enough to accommodate a party of any size. However, it appears that no one else from the caravan has made it here. The storm will continue for the rest of the day, so most likely, the party will have to stay at the inn for the night.
When morning comes, the sandstorm will have passed, and the party is free to exit the inn... only to find that outside their room is nothing but desert! The entire town seemingly has vanished, including their room once they exit! No sign of any building, people, the caravan, or even the mini oasis that was near the town exists. The truth is that the town never existed. The entire thing, every person, every building, every object, was part of a mirage created by the desert. Everything within the mirage looks, feels, and functions as it would if it were real. The buildings provide shelter, food and water provide sustenance, and so forth. Any physical items taken from the illusion cease to exist outside it, however any befits from the illusion persist (eating within the illusion satisfies your hunger even after the illusion, a rest taken in the illusion makes you feel rested, etc.).
The location of the party when the mirage disappears is not the same place they were before. Any effort to search for the caravan is futile, but with a bit of travel, the party should eventually reach the village of Messan, a small oasis village a few days northeast of Bekilk. Messan shares an uncanny resemblance to the village of Wahum, but Messan is in fact a real village. Messan has simple lodging and a small market for supplies, which will likely come in handy, as off in the distance, yet another sandstorm can be seen approaching.

The Storm Approaches

The sandstorm hits overnight, while the players are taking their long rest. Indoors, the party is sheltered from the storm. Though when they awaken, another surprise awaits them. The town still exists, though it's eerily quiet. Some piles of sand seem to have made it inside from the previous night's storm. The inn is empty - no patrons, not even the innkeep is present. Other than that, the inn seems like it did the day before. Investigating the piles of sand, however, reveals the grim truth. Within the piles of sand, personal belongings can be found, such as clothes, jewelry, coin purses, and so forth. The people of the village were thanos snapped disintegrated overnight! The piles of sand used to be people, but everything - their flesh and bone - reduced to nothing but dust and sand.
Just outside, there is movement and sounds. As the party leaves the inn, the following scene unfolds:

The village is empty - it appears the rest of the villagers shared the same fate as those within the inn - with the exception of a few figures gathered together. The first figure you notice is a slender dragonborn, with saturated blue scales and a silver spot around his left eye. he wears an elegant, if not a bit old-fashioned golden robe over armor. In front of him is a human, presumably one of the villagers, but frozen in a state of stasis. The dragonborn performs some incantation and places his hand on the human's forehead and says: "Return to dust!"
Within moments, the human's flesh begins to rot and decay, as if hundreds of years of age and rot begin to take place in a matter of seconds. The flesh dries up and crumbles away, revealing the skeleton, which also begins to blacken and crumble into a pile of dust where the individual once stood. A cheer erupts from an audience of kobolds. "We are done here," says the dragonborn, "Our master shall be pleased by our progress. Finish up here and return to Ryna." And with that, the dragonborn conjures a swirl of dust and sand around him - when it settles, he is gone, leaving the kobolds behind to loot what remains.

The dragonborn is Ghesh Bahar, a servant of an unknown threat to the people of the Osmad, and he appears to have an army of kobolds at his command. While he absconds from the crime scene, his kobolds remain and will attack on sight, though they aren't expecting anyone left in the town. The Kobold Inventor has in his possession a brass lamp that dates back to the Ibzians. Perhaps someone in the city could identify it for what it is.

The Gem on the Crown of Civilization

Once the party engages or evades the kobolds and leave the town, it's another day or so before they reach Bekilk, which they can get to by following the road south. Bekilk is a major city and should be the place to go to find answers for what the party experienced. It was also their original destination - perhaps any survivors from the caravan have made it already.

As you crest a hill, you gaze upon your destination: a massive and magnificent city in the desert, built next to a huge and lush oasis. Towering minarets and bright cloth decorate the inside of the city, which compliment the natural brown, sandy colors of its buildings with lush blue, green, purple, orange, and red. From where you stand, one structure stands above the rest: on a plateau in the city's heart rests a grand white and gold palace with four white and gold spires that lords over the city.
Bekilk, the Gem on the Crown of Civilization that is the Osmad Desert, awaits your arrival.

The city's gates are open and regular traffic passes through daily, so entering the city should not be a problem. Four guards are stationed on the ground at the gate and keep an eye out for suspicious individuals or cargo entering and exiting the city, while maybe a dozen more guards are in the vicinity on the walls. As the party approaches, a guard at the gate will politely welcome them and ask their business within the city. The guards are fairly knowledgeable about the city, and will encourage newcomers or travelers to seek out the Emerald Bazaar if they need supplies. If the party informs the guards about the disappearance of Wahum or the events at Messan, the guards direct the party to seek out Captain Jeremiah Kabir and give directions as appropriate.
Captain Kabir can be found in a guard office between the Tensor League and the Temple of the Dawnfather. He is a busy man but he can make time to see some concerned adventurers. When told about Wahum, he will look confused and say that, to his knowledge, no such settlement exists. When told about Messan, he will appear shocked yet skeptical, since an entire town turning to dust seems far-fetched. Still, Kabir figures there must be some truth to the party's story, and so he will assure them he will send someone to the village to look into it. In the meantime he has some tasks for the party while he verifies their claim. He suggests:

• "If you're staying for a while, I recommend you check out the Emerald Bazaar. It'll have everything you need."
• "You can probably find a buyer for that lamp at the Emerald Bazaar."
• "I'd be careful if you head out west of the city. We have reports of bandits on the roads to Turri."
• "Many visitors come to see the Dawnbreak Oasis. If you have time, make sure to check it out. Though be careful as we have heard rumors of an abnormally large crocodile sighting in the area."

Plot type

Introduction

Related Locations

• The Osmad Desert