Omarop Highlands and Valley
The Omarop Highlands are a rocky terrain of plateaus, grassland patches, and jagged rock. They lie a 1 to 3 days journey away from Omarop Cove depending on if you have transportation or not. Donkeys and low wagons fare better than Horses and proper caravans. The highlands are dotted with very small pockets of farmers, bandits, and an Indigenous nomadic band known as the Basara.
If the heroes land in the Highlands, there will be enough time to have a guard-posted long rest if needed. The team can regroup and recover under the cover of night, though they should stay away from any burning remains. A rain will start up that will put out the fire naturally over time and at least contain it. By morning the crash has attracted the Basara who watch from a far, and a bandit group known as The Stalkers.
The stalkers: A group of bandits with no particular magic inclination but mean blades and short tempers. They see the crash as a way to glean some riches from the dead. Even melted gold is still valuable. They are headed by their captain, Amiel “Gnasher” Groveton. He is ruthless and will only be swayed from profit by the idea of more profit but is likely to stab the hand offering it. Any discussion with Gnasher has to by run through a filter as he deceives as a standard. Insight (DC 10) will reveal that he is not straightforward about just about anything; even his name is a lie. If an accord is made without violence, Gnasher will leave with The Stalkers for no less than 50 gp and not so idle threats. Coming to an agreement with them puts the heroes in bad standings with the Basara, who are overseeing the interaction.
The Basara:It is a group of scouts that arrive and watch over the survivors in the grasslands until morning. If The Stalkers are defeated or shooed away the Basara will offer healing and care for the passengers while the heroes go to Omarop Cove to get help for them. The main face of the scouts is Triti, a young archer with a hawk eye. She can give/sell some basic goods to the heroes depending on their disposition.
If the Basara are unimpressed by the Heroes actions with the Stalkers, they will hold up the heroes and aim to get the rest of the survivors safely into the city. Three scouts will stay back to fight/contain the heroes after they rain death on the Stalkers.
The Basara have made it their mission over the years to bring an end to the bandit presence in the Highlands. It is easier said than done, as one bandit crew is replaced with another. They generally try to trap and ambush the bandits to reduce the numbers lost. If the heroes struggle to fight the bandits they will intervene to help with a volley of arrows.
The Basara are peaceful for the most part, staying to the Highlands as their homeland. They trade gems for goods that they needed outside of the Highlands. Food-wise they are self-sufficient but there are some forms of technology and textiles that they do trade for. They are slow to welcome people into their band proper so it is considered to be a great honour to be invited. They will, however, help the lost and wounded travellers in the area get to the safety of the city or direct them back to the right paths. Most of the Basara are followers of the Goddess Xotle, Queen of the Highlands and Hearth. Xotle is actually theorized to be a fey Lord or Lady that once dwelt in the Highlands and is generally not acknowledged as a diety outside of the Basara.
Triti is an accomplished archer and a diplomat of sorts for the band. As a scout, she is often one of the first to make contact with strangers and takes a fairly pragmatic view on intervening in the lives of others. She still has a very strong streak of good will and will put herself in harms way if she feels the need to, all to protect another. Once the survivors have been led to safety Triti will either release the heroes or consider them allies.
During the group’s journey to Omarop Cove there will need to be three separate rolls for random encounter. On a roll of 10 or less there is an encounter rolled off the random wilderness encounters list. Otherwise, most of the journey is made under rainy conditions that does render the terrain a bit slippery and treacherous. Along the way the group comes across the broken plank and rope bridge that can be navigated with acrobatics checks (DC 15)or each broken plank mended with a certain spell. The jump over will prove to be too hard for some survivors if the civilians have come along for the journey and so they will need some help getting over.
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