The Unpleasantness

"The day's trade report if you would, seneshal."
"Yes my lord. You recall the caravan from Grasteaux that set out last week?"
"Yes, and if I recall correctly, those imbeciles planned to take a route through the Unpleasantness."
"That was indeed the case, my lord. However an outlying village claims that two days ago the caravan was seen leaving the area-"
"The entire caravan? Those fools got lucky."
"...and that yesterday a second, identical caravan was also seen, following the same path."
"Oh dear, not again."

For nearly ten millennia the Aurean Empire ruled from its capital of Pashêyôn, a large stone-built city of vaulting arches and mighty walls, surrounded by abundant and fertile farmland.
About a thousand years ago a magical catastrophe, centered on Pashêyôn, uplifted the land almost 4,000 feet, boiled away the rivers, and turned the soil into salt. What was once the bountiful heartland of a mighty empire is now the 1,700 mile wide Aurean Desert. And while life has slowly adapted and returned to the region, the ruins of Pashêyôn stay abandoned. In Clearspring the area is known as the Unpleasantness.
The few hardy people who eke out a meager living in the desert claim that there is an invisible boundary some thirty miles from the ruins. The air grows still, not stirred by even the mightiest sandstorm. Though no clouds cross the sky, the sun throws no shadows. There is a pervasive sense of unease, and the weak-willed have been known to heave and soil themselves. Beasts of burden seem to sense it, and will only enter with strong urgings and whips.
Should one be fool enough to cross the cracked and broken ground deeper into the Unpleasantness, the ruins of Pashêyôn proper come into view. While the magical explosion and geologic uplifting caused the collapse and destruction of many buildings, the stones are untouched by sand, wind, or water. Ancient frescoes retain their color, unbleached by the sun. The bodies of the dead lie undisturbed where they fell, completely desiccated, but otherwise preserved. The timeless nature of the city has lured many treasure hunters and seekers of lore throughout the years, though few have returned. Those who have do not live for long.
The famed magical scholar Ephiastes was one such survivor of the Unpleasantness. Clearly insane, he spent his remaining days ranting, saying such things like the books and scrolls he discovered had been rewritten into a language which hadn't yet been invented, or speaking of specters "only the teeth can see." In his final days he often said that he "had to get back to his body." He died by immersing his head into a tub of sand and inhaling.

Caravans

The city of Clearspring lies about a hundred miles south-east of the Unpleasantness. Fortunately most caravans arrive from the south-west and can thus avoid it. However there is one route which passes around it, and every so often an enterprising (and foolish) caravan captain decides to cut through the ruins, hoping to save the five days it would take to skirt its borders. For reasons unknown, more caravans have left the Unpleasantness than have entered it.

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