Caravaner's Dream
The desert breaks into low shrubs, slow-crawling rivers, and craggy rock formations shaped into strange inhuman spires. Caravaner's Dream is beautiful in the way a trap is beautiful: the terrain invites you in, the rocks close around you, and something with carnivorous teeth and mottled camouflage drops from a ledge you never thought to check. The locals call it Traveler's Nightmare for exactly this reason.
Snipeteeth are the primary predators, four-legged creatures somewhere between mountain cats and giant lizards, with hard patches of mottled fur over scaly flesh that camouflage perfectly among the rock formations. They hunt by ambush, and the twisting craggy terrain provides more ambush points than a caravan can watch simultaneously. Raider bands and thieves operate on the less occupied roads, making quick work of travelers who take unguided routes.
The area earned its more optimistic name because only the most experienced caravaners understand the correct paths through the formations. They charge heavily for guided passage, sometimes literally an arm and a leg according to local idiom. The best merchants and businesspeople in Deserter were forged on these roads, having learned that survival and commerce are the same skill expressed differently. At the center of the Dream rise the Spires, where the Nuclear Family has established one of its largest footholds in Deserter outside the City of Saints.
Snipeteeth are the primary predators, four-legged creatures somewhere between mountain cats and giant lizards, with hard patches of mottled fur over scaly flesh that camouflage perfectly among the rock formations. They hunt by ambush, and the twisting craggy terrain provides more ambush points than a caravan can watch simultaneously. Raider bands and thieves operate on the less occupied roads, making quick work of travelers who take unguided routes.
The area earned its more optimistic name because only the most experienced caravaners understand the correct paths through the formations. They charge heavily for guided passage, sometimes literally an arm and a leg according to local idiom. The best merchants and businesspeople in Deserter were forged on these roads, having learned that survival and commerce are the same skill expressed differently. At the center of the Dream rise the Spires, where the Nuclear Family has established one of its largest footholds in Deserter outside the City of Saints.
Geography
Caravaner's Dream lies within the Canvas sub-region of Deserter. The terrain transitions from open dunes into low-lying shrubs, slow crawling rivers, and craggy rock formations in strange inhuman shapes. The twisting rock formations provide ideal ambush terrain for both predators and raiders. The Spires, tall perilous rock structures, rise at the center. Only experienced caravaners know the safe routes through the formations.
