The Caves of the Dust Walkers (23.23)
Not far from the mysterious ruined city in 22.25, there lies a rocky hillock where the earth is ochre brown and nothing grows save pampas grass and poppies. This hill is riddled with caves, where dwell a tribe of stunted, dark-skinned gnomes. Scholars may refer to them as 'desert gnomes', but the name they give to themselves is Dust Walkers.
The society of the Dust Walkers is secretive and complex, but it is known that they value moral turpitude and blamelessness above all else. To signify this they adorn themselves with white paint, representing purity. Repentance is unknown to the Dust Walkers; the stain of a sin committed can never truly be washed away.
The Dust Walkers know the secret of preparing a strong hallucinogenic brew from the poppies that grow near their home. Its effect is to make any imagined or visualised event have a real somatic effect upon the imbiber. Thus, a person under the influence of this drug can be slain by an illusionary sword or trampled by an imaginary horse. The drug is of course much prized by illusionists, but the Dust Walkers jealously guard the secrets of its manufacture.
The purpose to which they create this brew is to use it in a rite of passage ritual; all Dust Walkers must undergo this when they come of age, and again if they are challenging for the position of chieftain. After drinking the preparation, the gnome who is to be tested will take a pilgrimage to the ruins in 22.25, there to drink from the bone-white fountain. The combined effect of the two drugs is to make the subject suffer an incredibly harrowing experience for each of their great guilts. Those who have anything less than a spotless conscience are unlikely to survive the ordeal.
The Dust Walkers are suspicious of outsiders and will most likely seek to capture them and subject them to the trial of the fountain. Those who pass the test are considered worthy of respect, and can expect aid and friendship from the desert gnomes in future.
Hooks:
- Who's willing to pay money for the recipe of that brew? And how would you get your hands on it?
- Are there any outsiders who have passed the test and established good relations with the gnomes?
- Are all the chieftains of the tribe pure and righteous? Or is there a way to circumvent the trial?
- Do the Dust Walkers know anything about the ruined city and its people?
Not far from the mysterious ruined city in 22.25, there lies a rocky hillock where the earth is ochre brown and nothing grows save pampas grass and poppies. This hill is riddled with caves, where dwell a tribe of stunted, dark-skinned gnomes. Scholars may refer to them as 'desert gnomes', but the name they give to themselves is Dust Walkers.
The society of the Dust Walkers is secretive and complex, but it is known that they value moral turpitude and blamelessness above all else. To signify this they adorn themselves with white paint, representing purity. Repentance is unknown to the Dust Walkers; the stain of a sin committed can never truly be washed away.
The Dust Walkers know the secret of preparing a strong hallucinogenic brew from the poppies that grow near their home. Its effect is to make any imagined or visualised event have a real somatic effect upon the imbiber. Thus, a person under the influence of this drug can be slain by an illusionary sword or trampled by an imaginary horse. The drug is of course much prized by illusionists, but the Dust Walkers jealously guard the secrets of its manufacture.
The purpose to which they create this brew is to use it in a rite of passage ritual; all Dust Walkers must undergo this when they come of age, and again if they are challenging for the position of chieftain. After drinking the preparation, the gnome who is to be tested will take a pilgrimage to the ruins in 22.25, there to drink from the bone-white fountain. The combined effect of the two drugs is to make the subject suffer an incredibly harrowing experience for each of their great guilts. Those who have anything less than a spotless conscience are unlikely to survive the ordeal.
The Dust Walkers are suspicious of outsiders and will most likely seek to capture them and subject them to the trial of the fountain. Those who pass the test are considered worthy of respect, and can expect aid and friendship from the desert gnomes in future.
Hooks:
- Who's willing to pay money for the recipe of that brew? And how would you get your hands on it?
- Are there any outsiders who have passed the test and established good relations with the gnomes?
- Are all the chieftains of the tribe pure and righteous? Or is there a way to circumvent the trial?
- Do the Dust Walkers know anything about the ruined city and its people?
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