Shalilas, city of the genie

The trader Veklen knows the route, but will guard this secret. They need help though, taking brightglass through the desert. Kajhar is a dusty land, but not a dead one. Great scorpions and lizards lie under the sand. Afield is the cactus desert, a beautiful but deadly place.

Near the tail of the Great Dune lies the city of genie, Shalilas. The human trader keeps it a secret, but the genie care little if they are found. The gates are living, possessed by sometimes lackadaisical genie. In times of need however, those gate genie respond instantly and resolutely.

The most need for traders lie in the small human population. They all know each other, and most are Wishmakers, paid to request simple wishes. Wishmaking is not lucrative; they each have other reasons for being here, and make a living in other crafts.

Desert City by Sam Denmark

At the outskirts of the city lie mounds of shattered clay and slag metal, the cast-off remnants of genie who moved up in the city or died trying. Living in the refuse are the lowest of genie, poor souls wearing broken scraps as their body. Even those unfortunate denizens know they can rely on Mother Neres, long-standing guardian with an unusually sturdy body of charred oak. She speaks rarely, and spends her time protecting the slums rather than leading the city.

Most genie in the city will inhabit bodies like human-sized dolls of clay or ceramic, or metals such as steel or iron, or even zinc when possible. Very rare bodies will be made from even lighter materials, like glass or rare metals. Heavier bodies are also uncommon, but more as a matter of practicality than expense. It is more common to see a genie in a body that cannot move, such as a pot, lamp, or other artisanal item, with an attendant or companion to carry them.

Fashion covers an eclectic and varied range, as one might expect from the wide variety of possible bodies. The most important traits for genie clothes are convenience and versatility, as the vessel can always be changed for more long-term appearances. In that vein, there's also something of a trend for genies to alter their vessels, bolting on additional parts or carving away small portions. The right shops can offer strange and unique piercings or other strange changes to the bodies of mortal visitors.

From anywhere in the city, and some ways beyond, one can see its metaphorical center. It is the Green Palace, a gleaming tower of glass holding the city’s greatest elders. Perhaps the most powerful, though not the oldest, is Prinim Veshisk, a massive genie in fine glass. He enjoys his unwieldy, fragile vessel, and forcing slaves to maneuver him. The newest councilor is Toril Syaran, who suspects Prinim may have destroyed a rival on the council, and wishes to expand trade with the mortal world.

The city also relies on the Incense Mines, an ancient buried forest from which all manner of aromas have been gleaned. These scents and the colored flame they produce give the genie incredible sensations, be they euphoric, inflaming, or subduing. At the markets, one can buy such things as stonesmoke cones, fire-dripping sticks, and spiritwalk powder. A hopeless addict to the stonesmoke, Dalifer has spent much time wandering the desert looking for anything to pawn, and if given incense will tell visitors of some of the stranger things out there.

Incense Knight by Hwa Min Jung

Most genie outside the city have been lost for ages, found buried in ancient ruins with little memory of where they originated. Only a few have left the city or been kidnapped, and most end up finding their way to Shalilas eventually. There are only two ways for a genie to truly die, without arcane intervention. Either by the decay of the vessel, to a point of complete incoherence, or by failing to transfer to a new vessel when they may leave their present place. The worst wrongdoers are imprisoned by building a pit like a well, lined with stone and filled with sand to bury the criminal.

Perhaps the largest gathering of genie outside the city are at the sandstone fortress of the Smoke-fist Warriors, an order of veshkin mercenaries who ritualistically burn one of their arms to let a genie inhabit it, granting increased strength and an uncanny ability to fight with two weapons at once. The genie Ryula lives secretly within their order, inhabiting a burnt corpse of unknown origin.

Walking the streets of Shalilas

1. A young genie approaches carrying shards of pottery, looking frightened. He says his master’s vessel has been shattered, and he needs you to buy him a new one quickly.

2. A commotion from the gates as a genie rushes into the city, asking for aid in rescuing their fellow’s vessel, a vase which has been captured by bandits in the desert.

3. Prinim’s procession (or another vainglorious councilor) fills the street, forcing commoners and visitors aside at risk of violence.

4. A player’s finest weapon catches the eye of a Talmar Fineshadow, a genie adventurer who just returned from the Labyrinth of Glass with plenty of gold and a new obsidian vessel. Talmar wants to buy the weapon, and seemingly won’t take no for an answer.

5. The group is approached by a genie carrying an empty vessel, handing them a few coins and telling them to make a wish.

6. A human notices the group and rushes over, offering to sell them snacks. Fruit on a stick, peeled and covered in spicy powder, they are more expensive since human food is uncommon here.

Incense

1. Stonesmoke cone: a strangely vivid grey incense that produces deep black smoke, and a rich, salty scent. The namesake smoke is rigid, flowing upward regardless of wind or touch, and feels like shifting stone.

2. Dripfire stick: particularly long sticks of incense that produce a dim orange flame that does not rise or flicker, rather dribbling down from the end. The scent is sweet and spicy, sharp but fading quickly. The flames are not mere liquid, as indeed they weigh nothing

3. Astral powder: incense dust that creates a strange, misty smoke, wafting and waving in unfelt winds. The scent is slightly minty and makes one feel energized but calm. The sensation is like being outside of one’s body, and it is said that an excessive amount can draw out the soul.

4. Harmony coil: usually sold in a spiral shape along with instructions on how to light it. The smell is woody with a floral note, and can vary slightly depending on the type, usually enhancing introspection and self-discovery. It is unique for being ignited by sounds, of particular tone and patterns based on the shape of the incense, despite always being the same material. The common spiral is lit with a low whistle.

5. Midnight pellets: small beads of blue incense that smell tangy and a bit sour when lit, giving mild feelings of energy and preventing all sleep as long as it burns. On a moonless night, the pellets will burn like tiny stars.

6. Iris oil: debatable as incense, this fluid always seems to be watching, and when burning releases colorful smoke that leaves afterimages and increases sensitivity of body, mind, and spirit. Some say it simply makes people more suggestible.

Gold pot by Sandesh Tuladhar

Dalifer’s trade

1. A giant made of flame, unnaturally tall and gaunt, striding the desert a short distance to the south. It’s been seen twice, each time at midweek, heading the same direction and leaving a trail of glass footprints.
2. In the cactus jungle, full of prickling trees and scorpion monkeys, a spiralling pit of carved stone that leads to unknown depths.
3. A gigantic carapaced serpent, coiled and gleaming in the sun. Dalifer ran before realizing that it hadn’t been moving.
4. Black sand amid the desert, laid out in a perfectly symmetrical pattern with no one around to have done it. The wind hasn’t picked up since it was spotted, so it may still be there.
5. Bandits lost in reverie at night, singing and dancing around a fire. They were burning stolen incense, but there were simply too many.
6. Flipped upside down, a huge statue of a head. Very detailed face and square structure that wouldn't roll on its own. No other parts in view.

Directly connected to the previous post, and also part of the GLOG community city challenge! Other participants include:

• A Tale of Two Cities courtesy of the Mad Queen's Court
• Qasira, a City on the shores of the Seas of Sand thanks to Caput Caprae
• Districts of Meatropolis from A Blasted, Cratered Land
• Map: Johannesburg Administrative Subdistrict 7 via (perhaps fittingly) The Mad Cartographer
  

Killers, competitors, and pursuers

Hunters of Blades

The greatest of warriors can only live in a river of blood. They must cut their way through any who would stand in their path, and must cut away all who approach in challenge. So it is for they who hold the Final Knife, a powerful dagger which can pierce any target, feed on blood, and sustain its bearer. To a Hunter of Blades, this bearer is known as the Quarry, the mightiest among them and also the target of their order. They seek to slay the Quarry and take their weapon, by any means possible. There are many hunters, and only one Final Knife, though within the order are a number of artifacts in their own right, each possessing that same preternatural ability to sever. Any who pursue Shekull, the current Quarry, may call themselves a Hunter of Blades, but only those who have killed and claimed one of these artifacts is a true contender.

Blood Armor by Alexander J

Honor Bearers

The stronger a foe you face, and the greater of their strengths you strike against, the more honorable your contest. Long ago, the Mail of Honor was rent, each ring of the invincible chainmail separated and scattered far across the realm by means unknown and unimaginable. Each of those rings holds a tiny fraction of the mail's incredible power, but those who have gathered them cannot wear it until the day they unite them all. There is only one way to do this, they have found; through fair duels. The Honor Bearers have long known not to kill their fellows, as the links they hold will only flee and become lost once more. When two knights challenge each other however, they find themselves encircled in golden flames, and wielding similar weapons. The flames serve to bar escape or interlopers into the fight, and the weapons do no harm save for taking a link from whoever's flesh they first strike, and granting it to the victor. One can enter into this order by either finding a Link of Honor in the wilderness, or by convincing a knight to duel them despite yet bearing no links. It is said that whoever finally wears the Mail of Honor will become truly invincible and unstoppable, but they have contested for decades and none are closer to success than years more of victory.

Duel of the Fates by Zezhou Chen

Pursuants

Speak no oath unless it may be the last thing you say. There is power to be had if one seeks an old Appellant and slays them, power to be drunk from their clay skulls and eventually bled back into the Hungering Well when the slayer becomes and Appellant themselves. The well's Pursuants each have taken up a cause, and proven themselves worthy of its gift by defeating one of those half-living hosts, the remains of another who has fulfilled their own final duty to themselves, in doing so giving up that self to the means of another. The worth of those who aspire to quest must be challenged, for the failures leave the well's power to trickle out unattended, into the world beyond it. Perhaps once the well itself was some god, spirit, or knight, driven by its own willful purpose, driven eventually to seek power and become an eternal cycle of purpose, power, and exploitation. Now there is no means by which it can be gleaned whether this was ever true, or even if it still is seeking out some hidden goal.

Noble Lord by Dominik Mayer

Slime Saviors

Late in the night, a small but finely-specialized slime creature slips into the mouth of a party member. It is a mild parasite, which causes compulsions. It carries the knowledge of the slime queen's eggs that were stolen and are in the town of Vergum, and a request that the party recover them.

The target makes a will save when they awake. If they fail, life feels pointless and dreary unless they are actively working toward saving the eggs, and they will gain no exp until the eggs are back in the queen's care. On a success, the target knows of the eggs and the slime's plight, and will know of the desperation of the queen.

Vergum is a minor town most notable for its beekeepers and honey exports. Lately the town has had a growing problem of monstrous slime, attacking a few beehives and consuming the honey. Luckily for them, very recently a lazy baker named Dentch returned to town with a sack of delicious slime eggs, after setting out in the night. He claimed to have journeyed into the lair of the slime and slayed them all, capturing the eggs for a feast. When the party arrives in town, preparations for the feast are underway.

If Dentch is interrogated, he will admit that he snuck into the slime nest wearing a cloak soaked in vinegar to mask his scent, and stole the eggs while the slime were resting. He will insist that they should be dead, because he threw powdered lye and fled as soon as they begun to stir.

When the party brings the eggs back to the slime queen, she can grant them one of two specialized slime organisms. One can replace a missing limb, acting in that limb's place with the additional ability of being able to stretch up to five meters outside of combat. The other can restore one wound each week, so long as it is fed at least one ration per day or about a rabbit's worth of living flesh.

The eggs are actually tiny slime creatures, too small to even move. If they are fed enough, they can quite quickly grow large enough to make their own way back to the nest, which will cause quite a commotion in the small town.