The Tyrant's Desert

In my lone journey across the Desert, and from the tales of other survivors that I have studied, I believe myself to be the world's most learned scholar on what we humans call the "Sands Beyond Ilvenlor".

From Ilvenlor in the southeast, two paths lay before you:North or South

To the North you will come through a mountain pass before reaching the Northeastern Desert, noted by it's central mountain ranges that the Dawii once called home. That is, the race's former home. Dark Wizard of the Dawii cast his spell and unleashed unspeakable horrors into this reality, forcing the Dawii to flee with whatever possessions they had on them at the time. The majority made a long trek south through Ilvenlor and beyond. Not a proud moment. Many of the race's grizzled Old Guard turn the younglings into New Guard, and whatever race they end up next to at the bar usually has to pay for repeated drinks in order to shut them up for at least a few seconds while they down drink. Their seething hatred for the majority of magics is justified, leading them to pursue and engineer more non-magical means of destruction.

Dodging the Horrors of Falzzannar and the claimed city of Farak-Zilfen isn't the greatest challenge in the world, as they are usually too preoccupied trying to figure out their own existence to notice you. What is a challenge is if the party is hunted by one of the tribes that have sworn allegiance to Falzzannar. Beasts, Demons, and even Humans pledge their loyalty, and will often form small warbands that wage guerilla war between the mining cities and Ilvenlor. I'll get into the Miner Cities at some point, don't you worry.

What's important is to tell you why anyone crosses the desert in the first place. To the South are the Greenskins, vile racist beings that will enslave those they don't kill outright. The mountains to the east and around the bowl are filled with particularly savage human tribes and ogre tribes that have zero qualm about eating you for supper. Traveling the desert is easier, as the terrors within have a logic that can be reasoned with.

So, yea, the Southern paths have the Green Mob to deal with. The good news is that your likelihood of running into them is extremely rare, as they don't care much for crossing the desert. Bad news is that when you run into them, it's not just a few, but a tidal wave of green that offers you zero hope of escape. I've only gotten stories from two Ilves about that. One lucky to escape a caravan on a rested horse who still had to kill four greens and who's Soulstone landed close enough to Ilvenlor to successfully be resurrected. The other was a part of the Ill-fated procession of the 4th Ilven King. Funny culture those Ilves. Every Ilf knows plenty of others who survived contact with the Greenskins, but that usually involved knowing when there was the danger and fleeing.

That leads me back to your earlier question: Why travel across a desert? Well, it's the treasure that the Miner Towns on the North Rim of the desert hold. The Ilvenlorii will pay hefty dividends for retrieval of the Inertstones that the Miner Towns produce. And if you're too stupid to take up that offer, and smuggle some back to Fort Aegis, you'll live the rest of your life in decadence. That's assuming you can make it back there in one piece and with Inertstone intact. The Ilves use the stones to fashion new Ilves, funny how their race works. They can also craft you a Soulstone, which will absorb your soul and allow you to be reborn again, albeit how long after your death is a mystery. Assuming the Soulstone makes it's way back to Ilvenlor, and in a timely enough manner that you get to see your loved ones again, and not your Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandkids, if the line survived you not being there.

Yea, surviving the desert... I forgot to mention the most important part.

Each of the Minor Towns has some sort of magical person, sage, witch, druid, etc. Just someone you have to pay and typically in an unusual way. Out into the desert, the Immaculate Guard of the Ilvenlorii will often block and turn back travelers headed on one of the four major routes. If you disobey the advice of the magic-people or Immaculate Guard and continue on your way, there's a very likely chance that you run into the Tollmen.

Somewhere between an undead meanace and demon are the Tyrant's Tollmen: Singular beings who stalk the desert. Be approached by one means that you and your party will have to pay the toll: Everyone must give up something that they hold most dear. For say, an Artist, they will have to give a hand. For a family man, the soul of their firstborn. For a greedy soul, any wealth that belongs to them. For a pious soul, a virtue. Refusal by any member of the party will result in the forfeit of the entire party. Everyone is killed by the legion of undead that are summoned. The body parts are reused for more soldiers, their souls incorporated into an amalgamation, and a worst fate still for those souls that can persevere through those trials; Service.