Ameron Encounters

Ameron Desert Encounters

1. Sand Dial: Scorpions, lizards, snakes
2. Gnoll hunter, hyena
3. Ghost Town: Kronos Creek
4. Shokonee Flats
5. Gnoll lair/Bandit camp
6. Bhuka stronghold

Kronos Gulch

By day Kronos Creek appears to be a deserted ghost town in the midst of the Ameron Desert.  An eerie sign warns travelers to keep out of the town.  There is little of value, the main street has the remains of a saloon, jail/sheriff's office.  To the west is a church with an old graveyard.

At night it is quite a different place.  The town appears well kept with all of the buildings intact and occupied.  The saloon has a group of revelers who are eager to welcome strangers into their company.  The people refuse to go outside however and will not go outside under pain of death claiming there are monsters outside or that the darkness is haunted.  There are no rooms to rent the rooms are all occupied.

Someone with true seeing will see an overlapping of nearly identical images.

There is a group of ghouls living in the graveyard who are anxious to eat the flesh of any strangers visiting the place.

This town exists simultaneously in two timelines one of which is caught in a time loop.  During the day the deserted town continues to age and decay as a ghost town but during the nighttime, the former inhabitants continually repeat the same evening.

The Great Sand Dial

Amidst the drifting dunes of the Ameron Desert is a huge structure known as the great Sand Dial.  Huge slabs of rock are standing upright in a great circle.  There is a towering spire in the center of the circle.  At one time there were a total of twelve slabs.  Seen from a distance and above it is clear that these form a great sun dial.  It is not known whether some ancient race constructed this or if they were sent back from a distant future.  The slabs are polished stone and covered with complex runes that are etched into the surface with great detail.  Several of the slabs are now missing, some have been broken up and hauled away.  There are also newer scrawls on stone in some feral primitive language as well as reddish brown stains.  The slabs are refreshingly cool and seem not to absorb heat from the sun despite their dark gray color.  Spending much time around them gives one a sense of dread and seems to drain ones energy.

Desert Ruins

The young woman regains consciousness with the sun already climbing into the sky.  The desert sands are already soaking up the heat.  In the distance she notices an anomaly.  A great broad slab of stone pointing into the sky.  It casts a long shadow across the dunes.  The shade it provides could be a life saver in this vast desert.  She starts making her way towards the stone.  It does not seem to be a natural structure.  It is shaped by intelligence and placed with care.  As she approaches she notices a second slab in the distance, then another.  Some have  fallen down or are broken.  In some cases there is only a hole where a slab used to be.  They form a circle, twelve great slabs in a huge circle.  In the center is a huge spire.  She suddenly recognizes what this structure imagining looking at it from a great distance.  It is a sun dial.