Durath Kreel

UP: Sonoma

Groups of adventurers venturing into the great desert (called the Y�Nah Teb by locals) north of Papua have been sending reports of a strange, newly discovered resident to these inhospitable lands. Dressed in dusty rags, he goes by the name of Saul, although the locals have dubbed him 'Saul the Mad' for his constant rantings.

These rantings he will share with any who care to listen and offer a bottle of ale. On one of Saul's recent and more frequent trips to Papua, I was able to take him to the side and hear his story firsthand.

It seems that before his self-imposed hermitage in the Y'Nah Teb, Saul was a lecturer for the Lycaeum, specializing in Brittanian Lore. He tells of many months spent exploring the ruins in the great desert north of Papua, and how one night a vision came to him in his sleep.

In the vision, a man dressed in the garb of the nomads that once roamed the Lost Lands told Saul the story of his tribe, and how they once ruled the lush grasslands that extended across the Y'Nah Teb. And he told of a race of great wyrms that came one day and razed the land, transforming it into the harsh desert that it is today.

The stranger in Saul�s vision then told him of how he might cast a great spell to break the curse cast by the wyrms, and transform the Y'Nah Teb back to the lush grasslands of its former self.

So touched was Saul by the stranger's story that he made it his life's work to gather the reagents for this spell, and has spent the past fifteen years in the desert searching for these materials. A search, it would seem, that is drawing to a close. For Saul confided in me that he is, even now, preparing to cast the spell that would transform the desert into a vibrant grassland once again.