Vosgadh

A blistering, infernal heat shimmers and boils atop the roiling desert dunes, biting at the scorched skin of any Adventurer - or Poet - foolish and hardy enough to trek in search of Vosgadh.

The grit-stung eye scans near and far, awaiting that singular, sudden pull upon the air; like a brass dragon’s awakening yawn unfurling a tide of terrifying stillness before the eruption of an unforgiving storm of riotous sands.

For it is, indeed, such a storm you must seek, dear Traveller; that which some would call the Wrath of Zuskabar.

An immense, rasping pillar of pirouetting sand whose tail pulls death itself from the earth, as its zenith cracks at the heavens hundreds of feet above.

It is with this you must keep pace, dear Traveller, and pursue until nightfall until the moon leans most high; for there shall you watch in wonder and awe as that vast cacophony of wind and silica tumbles as though a curtain torn from the desert night, revealing thereafter the sparkling Oasis of Vosgadh, where the famous Kata Scrolls may be found.

Oh, but a mere 16 breaths should pass, an eager caravan poised to begin its deadly sprint! Each rider tense and terrified awaits the signal, and then out they roar and scatter!

For to be caught betwixt that place and the elsewhere - as the storm winds erupt once more - shall be as a cactus flower plucked, tossed to the winds and the stars, and thereafter ne’er seen no more.

Within that concave oasis, however, the winds are forever silent; a strange arcana wrought by the old gods, some say; an endless stillness to match their omnipotent wisdoms.

Life within Vosgadh is incessant, hurried, and in sharp and perpetual motion. This movement is echoed in the handful of permanent homes found here; hollowed abdomens of gargantuan desert-scorpions; domed and half dug into the rock and sand, encircled with high piled, rope-netted and closely guarded crates and bundled barrels awaiting caravans and carts.

For here in the Vosgadh rare and extraordinary items come and go with ease; raw materials and components prized by mages and scholars, spirits and salves awaited by healers many days abroad, despicable delights and precious pleasures over which kingdoms have squabbled … and been brought to their knees …

All for the delights of Vosgadh.

Sights, Sounds & smells
Sights Sounds Smells
 * Sand
 * Stone piles covered in burning incense and oils
 * Tents of heavy, variously coloured fabrics
 * Giant-Scorpion abdomens, hollowed & converted into shelters
 * Stalls, large rugs, tables, & tents covered in various wares
 * Merchants - some exhausted, others elated.
 * Vague & distant whistling of the Vosgadh winds
 * Coin, measures & scales
 * Laughter, haggling, debating, arguing
 * Recitations of poets & bards
 * Grunts & yawns of camels, donkeys, horses, & pack-beasts
 * Incense & rare oils
 * Sweet charcoal smoke
 * Mint & warming spices
 * Honeyed wine
 * Rich & heady Swrana Root

Local Economy
A bustling, dynamic hub of mercantile opportunities and endeavour, where coin of all manner, credit and exchange, barter and haggling, deals and bargains struck, altogether greases the sandy wheels of the incessant trade undertook within Vosgadh.

Information, rumour and news from afar is exchanged almost as frenetically as goods and items.

Imports
Fresh produce - fruits and vegetables - are highly desired by those who reside here permanently, as nothing grows naturally within the storm. Any produce still carrying the scent of the earth and of the vine are a most welcome relief from the salted, dried and pickled fare usually on offer here.

One other unexpected import that would certainly catch the eye of the alert Adventurer is the number of Poets and Bards that seem to loiter anxiously, seemingly ignoring the mercantile endeavours entirely in favour of mutterings and pacings.

Some say they come to audition for the High Clans, hoping to secure patronage. Others whisper that their hopes lay only in catching a glimpse of the great Kata Scrolls, coveting their blessed inspirations above all else.

Exports
There are some who believe that a bottle of the air captured within the boundaries of Vosgadh carries strange properties prized far and wide in the world beyond, and that such a substance is guaranteed to fetch a high price with mages and arcane adepts.

In truth, what is being exported is “Swrana Dust”; a crystalline pollen-like substance, lighter than air, collected from the flowers of the Swrana Root that grows upon the unusual homes found here.

The clear, syrupy nectar extracted from the root is also sought after as something of a refreshing elixir; one that soothes the troubled mind and calms the restless spirit.

Charcoal from the merchant-campfires is also highly prized by artisans near and far, as it is said to be of the highest quality, and imbued with unusual properties.

Most of all, some would argue, it is the stories and tales brought and exchanged here; the poetical sagas, and great rhetorical exchanges had between the High Clans, and those recorded in the Katas.

Any Bard who can convince a Tavern Keeper in the Far Beyonds of their visitations to Vosgadh is sure of the best seat by the fire, and an endless pitcher of ale; or so they say.

Lodgings & Shelter
Permanent residents make use of giant scorpion-like abdomens; long dead, hollowed and sand-blasted clean.

These structures, the bone being somewhat sponge-like in hollowness rather than completely solid, hold the warmth of the day during the nighttime hours, whilst allowing air to flow during the day to keep the home cool.

Temporary residents, such as merchants and travellers, camp within, or beneath, their caravan carts, often encircling make-shift hearths dug into deep pits that are tended to over decades by those who come and go.

Hierarchy & Political Structure
There are two dynasties astride the social strata here; the Tarun-Mar and Clan Baknay. The latter is the Keeper of Hosts, responsible for ensuring the proper decorum and protocol of those Merchants who pass through Vosgadh.

The Tarun-Mar, as the Keeper of Sands, are responsible for maintaining the holy-sands and the many shrines that emanate such powers necessary to hold the storm about Vosgadh.

Both groups hold one another in quiet regard, with only the most perceptive ever detecting even the faintest drop of wariness and sliver of suspicion between them, as they perform all manner of ceremonial duties to maintain all many complex formalities and high traditions they deem most sacred and officious.

Culture
There is a high regard for speaking one’s mind without speaking plainly in Vosgadh; something requiring a great deal of skill, wisdom and training. Truths are spoken in parable and metaphor, or in strange and cryptic monologues that baffle all but the insightful few.

The greatest bards and poets often seek out Vosgadh as something of a final test of their vocabulary, skills and talents, others still to simply catch a sight of the Great Kata Scrolls; legendary scripts of great linguistic power housed in enormous brass coated skulls.

The Scrolls - epic incantations and folios of such power and delight written upon dragon skin in glistening, bioluminescent inks - document age old contests of poetry and oratory held here in the strange sands.

Among them are a few tomes that attest to how, should a bard expire within the buffeting storm walls of Vosgadh whilst in the thralls of their Muse, their soul shall be taken up, thereafter, by the arcane power of the Scrolls and given everlasting life amongst the Gods of song and fire-honeyed wine and music.

Adventure Hooks

 * Rhuivial & Thrinian are looking to steal a number of the Kata Scrolls, and may invite the Player Characters to partner up in their attempt or, at the very least, to aid them with some distraction whilst they commit their thievery and ensuing escape.
 * A number of Merchants have entered into a grave quarrel, and the Party - being world-wise Adventurers - are invited by Hezakrane Dawnhold to mediate the dispute.
 * Any Bard(s) amongst your Adventuring Party may wish to partake in one of the fiery exchanges of poetry and rhetoric. Encourage your Bard to think of it as something akin to a battle rap or a “roast”, and to go head to head with all manner of fablist-foes in order to win the favour of Treos Begtohar, Keeper of Hosts, and to be written into the sacred pages of the Kata Scrolls.
 * Hezakrane Dawnhold is seeking someone to take his position. He is ready for death’s final embrace, still haunted with guilt of what occurred in the desert, and wishing only to depart his mortal coil once and for all. Treos Begtohar, however, is rumoured to hold the key to his eternal life and will not surrender it easily.
 * Kertir Vardatha, the Flame Keeper, has aspirations to usurp both Host and Sand Keepers, and is awaiting the arrival of a number of Mercenaries who will come disguised as Merchants and Traders.

Random Encounter

 * 1) Stolen Kata Scrolls have somehow made their way into the Party’s satchel(s).
 * 2) The Party are accused of laughing at a verse from a poet practising nearby. “Let me see you do better!” shouts the offended Bard.
 * 3) Several Giant-Scorpions have burrowed beneath Vosgadh, and are attacking people as they sleep.
 * 4) Two Merchants argue bitterly over an item - one believes it rare and precious, the other a trinket of little value, and produced en-masse. They pull the Party in to settle the debate.
 * 5) A desperate Bard, sensing their hopes of seeing the Kata Scrolls are fading, points out the Party as being their Patrons.
 * 6) Several of the Tarun-Mar’s shrines are ablaze.
 * 7) A Bard appears to be afflicted by a terrible rhyming curse. If the last word in every sentence uttered does not rhyme, they will explode, infecting others with the bizarre malady.
 * 8) A number of masked invaders have somehow apparated into Vosgadh, intent on stealing the Kata Scrolls.