The Hidden Desert

## Overview

The Hidden Desert is a pocket dimension hidden within the greater Scintali Desert, accessible only through the Pillars of the Madjay. It contains the Pyramid of Amun-Re, amongst other things. The desert itself is older than Bal-Agra, and contains many strange secrets and ruins. Reaching the desert requires almost a week of travel out into the desert, through purple worm territory, and, as such, in eons past the priesthood of Bal-Agra would banish people and objects there deemed to powerful to allow to exist.

The Hidden Desert is subject to time-dilation, of approximately 1:4. That is, if a person spends a day in the hidden desert, four days pass out in the material plane.

The desert is guarded by the Madjay, an ancient desert tribe dedicated to preventing the evils that are trapped in the hidden desert escape.

Teleportation in and out of the desert is impossible, but telepathy and astral projection are not.

## Locations

### B. The Pillars of the Madjay

*Rising up out of the dust, twin pillars of stone stand slanting at odd angles, their surfaces pockmarked and sand-worn. Odd inscriptions are faintly visible in the pockmarked surfaces.*

*Between the pillars is a small path of cobbled sandstone blocks, leading North East. Following the path may require slower travel, as the sand partially obscures the path.*

A DC15 History Check reveals the inscription at the base: ***The Pillars of the Madjay Curse Ye Who Enter Unbidden*.**

Any attempt to go around the pillars forces the characters through area C.

### C. The Sinkholes

These are the areas where the sand is especially fine and shifts easily under weight.

A DC25 Perception Check before entering the zones will reveal the oddity of the sand.

Each character moving over such an area mush make a DC20 reflex save, or start to sink into the sands.

Camels will sink on a roll of 1 thrown on a 1d10, all other animals sink on a roll of 1 on a 1d6. Wagons sink on a roll of 1-2 on a 1d6. The check is made once per hour if the party is moving or once per turn if they are now. Every round a character is sinking, they must make a Athletics or Dexterity check at DC20 to pull themselves out.

Complete submersion takes 6-36 rounds (roll a 1d6), thereafter the character suffocating after a number of rounds equal to his constitution score.

Every round a player is completely submerged, they must make a STR or DEX save at DC25 to pull themselves out.

Saving anything before it disappears beneath the sand forever requires finding a way to stop further sinking, like throwing a rope. Then, combined STR saves of DC15 are needed to pull out small creatures, DC20 for medium, and DC25 for large.

Objects sink to a depth of 11-20 (1d10+10) feet below the surface, with fine sand filling up the hole. Digging to any such depth is impossible, as sand fills the recently excavated hole.

### D. Hills

*Craggy, low hills of broken and baked stone jut upwards at weird angles, casting tortured shadows across themselves.*

Movement rate is half normal in such areas for all persons except dwarves. There is a chance, one per hour, of discovering a cave shelter area large enough for the party, with a DC15 survival check.

### E. Fork in the Trail

*Lying here in the sands, half buried, is a fallen obelisk (a four-sided pillar), its top pointing towards the NorthWest. Carved hieroglyphs are visible on its surface.*

If there has been a storm before now, the path has been obscured, otherwise it will still be visible. The trail seems to form from its southward track into two directions: one to the North East, and the other to the North West.

**Lore**: Deciphering the runes requires a DC20 check, which says

***Here lies the road of kings to the Garden of Razap, whilst there lies the road to Moha-Agra, the holiest of cities.***

*The directional arrows on the obelisk have been weathered away.*

### F. The End of the Trail

*Stretching to the limits of your sight, the yellow mounds of the desert roll with whispering stillness into the distance, baked by the blazing sun. Not a single stone shows through the powdery plane nor a single insect scurries across the surface. All about you, the burning silence of the sand-sea is oppressive and forbidding. No landmark steers your way, except the sun, its track seeming to sink ever closer and hotter towards your own path. The sand-dust billows under your feet and chokes your parched throats.*

***The path ends here.***

### G. The Sunken City of Razap

*The upper half of a statue thrusts up from the dunes of the desert. The noble face is pockmarked and scarred by the ravages of time and sand. The statue seems to be holding a tablet, half buried in the sand, against its chest.*

If the PC’s attempt to uncover the tablet, a person that remains in front of the statue will have their weight to cause a stone in the dome beneath to give way. They sand will suddenly fall through and that person will drop onto and down the side of the sand pile into G1. Thereafter, the sands stop filling in and the characters remaining above may safely approach the hole.

*Suddenly a sharp crack echoes across the dunes. There’s a sudden shift beneath your feet, and sand is thrown into the air. A pause, then the stone beneath* PLAYER’S *feet gives away, and they fall into the ground.*

PLAYER, *you find yourself sliding down a steep mound of sand, traveling approximately 70 feet and taking* 1d6 *points of bludgeoning damage.*

The tablet can be understood with a DC20 Religion or History check, and reads:

*My name is Razap. Look upon the ruins of the great city that surrounds you and despair. Here great magic once was. Now you see only the ruins of Men’s works.*

#### G1. Sunken Dome of Eilish

*You see a 100-foot tall dome of fitted stone above a broken flagstone floor. The entire area slants toward the southeast, and is lit only by the single shaft of light from the hole in the ceiling overhead. Sifted dust and sand have spilled into the vast chamber where the dome has crumbled on the west side. On the east, a darkly stained dome is propped up on top of a crumbling building, still somehow majestic. You have been deposited at the foot of said building.*

Climbing the sand pile unaided can be accomplished with a DC25 ATH/ACR check. 1-14 fails which 15-25 maintains present position Checks on climbing are made three times, once at the bottom, once at the middle, and again at the top. Those failing slide back to the bottom of the pile. The sand pile ends 30 ft short of the entrance hole. Melee conducted on this sand pile will be at disadvantage.

#### G2. Platform of Eilish

*A rubble-strewn platform with leaning pillars supports a crumbling roof. Stained bronze double doors stand closed at the back of the platform*.

The first person to step off the sand pile will be attacked by a giant spider (7 spiders total, CR7).

#### G3. Entry Hallway

*The slanted floor of the dark hallway before you heads North and South. To the south, a partially blocked door lies half-buried in rocks, rubble, and sand.*

If the players wish to remove the rubble, the process will take approximately an hour to accomplish

#### G4. Scroll Room

*A 60 foot square room opens up in front of you. The walls here are lined with racks of bone cases. A statue lies broken on the floor to the south. A carved tablet that it once held lies beside it, the upper and lower portions shattered.*

On the table is an engraved incantation whose remaining part translates roughly as:

*\*\*\*\*\* thus facing the great doors and passing the right hand before them speak:* Sakhr AL Jinmi *\*\*\*\*\* then approach the first and speak “Alhamdulha,” so shall the way be open unto you. Speak yet “Bismilla” \*\*\*\*\* and \*\*\*\*\*\* “Duban” and ye shall be within thy hands’ reach of the greatest of all \*\*\*\*\*.*

#### G5. Meditation Room

*This 60ft square room is entered through an arched door. Sand and dust have spilled into this room from the cracked ceiling above onto a pile on the floor below.*

#### G6. Room of Guardians

*You have entered a 20ft wide hall with a blue curtain draped across it 15 ft. from the doors. All view is blocked by the curtain.*

On a platform around the corner to the back there is a huge bronze lamp. A DC10 investigation check reveals that the players have encountered a similar lamp before- Grimbal’s lamp in the guild.

There are 3 Trap/Tricks that must be passed before reaching the lamp platform. If the treasure seal is broken, the Efreeti will appear. The treasure can not be moved until the Monster is released.

**Trap/Trick 1:** The curtain is in fact a wall of absolute cold. Players failing a dex save (DC20) will take 3d6 points of damage and become instantly frozen, turning a blue color and frosted all over. Those succeeding their saving throws against the curtain will take half damage, but remain active. All implements of the character are frozen to the character and cannot be removed. The character is not dead, and may be revived by making a constitution save (DC20) after a slow thaw. The character can be also defrosted suddenly, by being hit by a flame strike or fireball, for example. Such high intensity fire spells will not harm the frozen characters, just defrost them. The curtain is removed either by speaking the work *“Alhamduhla”* or casting dispel magic, or doing 50 points of fire damage against it.

**Trap/Trick 2:** Upon the removal of the blue wall, a yellow translucent curtain will appear around the corner 15 feet away, between two metal pillars set into the wall. Players contacting the curtain and failing a save, DC25 REF will be stuck by a lightning bolt for 7d6 points of damage. Those succeeding their saving throws take half damage. The curtain is removed by saying *“Bismila”,* by casting a dispel magic spell, or when 200 points of damage have been dealt to the wall. Metal laid touching the two pillars will short circuit the poles and blow the curtain apart.

**Trap/Trick 3:** Upon the removal of the yellow curtain, a red translucent curtain will appear between 15 feet behind the previous. Players contacting the curtain and failing their DC25 Ref save take 8d6 points of damage from a fireball. Succeed halves the damage. The curtain may be removed by speaking *“Duban,”* casting a dispel magic spell, or when 500 points of damage have been dealt to the wall. A cone of cold or other cold-based spells that due a cumulative total of 50 points of damage will destroy the field.

*On the platform a large brass lamp sits, its surface dusty. The lamp seems to be fixed to its platform, standing 3 feet high and 4 feet in diameter. The lid of the lamp is welded shut and the spout is blocked by lead.*

The lamp has no alignment, but does emit a magical aura. Rubbing the lamp will do nothing until the lead seal is removed. If the seal has been removed, and the lamp is removed, read the following:

**Efreeti:** When the party rubs the lamp, read the following:

*The floor begins to shake and sand falls from above in tiny streams onto piles on the floor. You hear a low hardy voice, “Ha! Who awakens and frees me from my prison?: A cone of fire erupts from the lamp and begins to form the outlines of a creature. As the being forms you see a giant with brick red skin, fiery eyes, small horns, and jutting tusks. “Well? Speak!”*

The Efreetu has been captive a long time and, being of a snobbish royalty, is not at all disposed to treat the party kindly. He is, however, in a hurry to get out of this place where he has been kept for over 1000 years and wants to see the world above.

He is bound to perform a service for the PC’s. He will allow one *wish* to be cast, but will attempt to corrupt the wish. After, he will laugh at them and, after informing them of his plans to lay waste to all civilization, will rush out through the opening. He will not fight the characters unless attached.

*So be it. I am duty bound to grant you one wish. But I feel it my duty to also inform you of two things. One, wishes are not all powerful, as you mortals tend to believe. Wish for too much, and it will fail, or worse, be granted, only partially. And two, I am  a proud Efreeti of the highest order and I will make every effort to pervert your wish against you. However, should you allow me to pass, I shall leave you unharmed.*

### H. Remains of a Camel-fry

*All about this area of grey dunes are horse and human tracks. In the center of the area a large smoking mass lies on the sands, still warm from the heat of its dying flame. Bones of camels lie amid the charred remains. A trail of hooves and human feet leads to the northeastern horizon,*

Here is what has been making the smoke in the desert sky. It is the remains of a camel-fry held by the Thune Dervishes some nights ago.

### I. Pool of Tohfet:

*From a distance you see palm trees and shimmering water. The water and palms do no not disappear like a mirage, but remain steady as you approach. The palms offer shade and comfort; the water seems cool and quenching.*

The first “good” aligned character (Lork or Ravi) that looks into the pool will have a vision presented to him from the Pool Eyes. Upon completion of that vision, the entire oasis will disappear, leaving the party refreshed and all the water bags full.

**Whisper to relevant player:**

A set of sultry almond eyes appears in the pool. A watery voice, like the lapping of waves on the shore, echoes in your mind. “Good soul, you have looked upon me, and now I shall answer three questions as truthfully as possible. My answer shall be a “yes” or “no,” each time. Ask now, and be bequeathed knowledge.

*After the questions have been asked, the oasis disappears, blowing away like the desert sands. A quick inspection reveals that all your water bags have been refilled*.

### J. Lands of Bakar

For each hour that a character remains in this area, roll a 1d20- on a 1, they will encounter Amo-Re.

*A solitary man in rags appears over the crest of a hill some 300 feet away. His features are indiscernible as he shuffles through the dust.*

This is the ghost of Amo-Re, last pharaoh of Bal-Agra. He will not notice the party until they are within 60 feet, at which point he will turn and point in the direction of his tomb.

*I am Amo-Re, son of Taosh-re, of the Bal People.*

*You come to my desert bearing my mark. Find my pyramid to be granted power beyond reckoning, treasure beyond imagining*.

### K. The Pyramid of Amun-Re

Read as soon as they are two tiles away from K:

*In the midst of the vast desert sands, the last relic of a dead civilization stands before you. Surrounded by the broken foundations of a once mighty city, the great pyramid itself rises up from the sands, looking barely touched by time. It is 745 square feet at the base and rises to a height of 700 feet. The pyramid’s four surfaces face the points of the compass. Surrounding the pyramid is a wall 5 feet wide and 20 feet tall. A temple structure is attached to the west face of the wal. It is the only existing way through the pyramid's wall. Stairs lead up to a platform in front of the temple’s entrance. Behind the temple, running up the south face of the pyramid, a stairway rises 50 feet up to a platform and an opening into the pyramid.*

### S. The Lost City

*As you travel, you notice that the horizon is dotted with strange structures. As you approach the structures, you can make out that they are ruins of some ancient great city, worn away by sand and time. They have a certain oddity to them that seems impossible to place.*

This was an ancient city constructed by the Illithid and later taken by the Aboleths. Examples of Qualith writing can be found on the walls, and there is a 25% chance that an aboleth can be found lurking in a subterranean pool. If the players succeed on a high enough investigation check, they may find a hidden entrance to these pools, where if there is no aboleth, they can fill their canteens in peace.