Chapter 5: TRAVERSING THE WASTELANDS A rid Khitus faces extraordinary changes and challenges in the face of wanton plunder Central to its decline is the theft of water on an epic scale Vital rainfall passes whole regions by, swept away from the southern lands by witchcraft Seas drain away in magical whirlpools that seemingly lead nowhere Depleted rivers and streams trickle to mud and eventual dust among their banks The sun beats down on rock and sand instead of its former rich earth, grasslands, and crops For now, the northern hemisphere and equatorial regions remain mostly untouched, but dark, arid days lie ahead for them, too In the southlands, the destruction has reached crisis levels, leaving once-fertile lands virtually uninhabitable Who or what is behind this plundering of Khitan waters? Rumors abound and none say for certain, though many dare to point accusatorial fingers at the Black Fortress and its foul agents the Bev al-Khim Regardless of cause or blame, can the evaporation be stopped, reversed, or even slowed? For now, adventurers must contend with the newly parched lands of the southern reaches, where desperation meets savagery beneath a white-hot sun Natural Geography & Terrain To the uninitiated, a desert is a desert In practice, crossing these lands and surviving their rigors depends upon some understanding of the variance among different arid landscapes One’s life often depends upon it Dunes Endless mountains of soft sand, these are the deserts of romantic tales and what most northerners think of when they hear of a desert In windswept places, dunes pile high like enormous hills, restricting the extent of vision, but elsewhere they remain relatively flat The soft, shift100 ing sands make improvements difficult: roads and tracks are easily blown over and lost; fields and structures get inexorably buried beneath sliding or blowing grit Save for creatures whose wide feet are adapted to sand, walking is especially difficult, slowing any pace to half of normal, and fatigue builds more quickly, forcing numerous halts Sand shoes for both men and animals are common among those who travel the dunes; their simple construction attaches to shoes or feet to spread one’s weight out over a broader area Such devices allow three-quarters of normal speed, but are especially awkward when the terrain changes (which happens often in the wastelands) or during battle Thus, easily donned or discarded sand shoes are favored over sturdier constructs Areas of exposed rock can make passage through the dunes easier, but these come and go sometimes daily among the shifting sands Where jagged stretches of stones peek up permanently above the dunes, there are many warrens and caves ideal for ambushes or shelter alike Few caves remain completely unoccupied here, though, and danger lurks in their darkness as often as salvation Boulder Fields Vast plains littered with boulders are now common in the arid wastes Basalt and granite rocks darken sunbaked earth with uneven fields of black, brown, and umber Boulder fields tend to be fairly flat, so visibility is far, though there are exposed rocky areas here, too, that offer some cover and variation Travel can be as difficult as upon the dunes, if not more so In many cases, wheeled carts and wagons cannot traverse the stonestrewn surface at all without risking damage or destruction for the attempt Men and animals crossing these fields suffer bruised shins and twisted ankles, where the footing is loose and narrow between stones barely wide enough to allow a sure step Tiny but dangerous creatures—snakes and scorpions, ready to strike at passersby—abound here, easily hidden among the labyrinth of fist- to melon-sized stones