# The Road of Burning _The Longest March to Nud Dezadh_ --- ### Overview The **Road of Burning Horizons** is one of the most infamous routes in all of [[Karudasos]], stretching more than **800 miles eastward** across lands both cursed and enchanted. To the **south**, the blasted expanse known as the **Pits of the Hells** yawns wide—an arid, broken land riddled with savage tribes, hellish rumors, and scorchwinds that carry whispers of fiends. To the **north**, the wall of green known as the **Ketaca Forest** rises in contrast, a primal domain where fey, elves, and stranger things move unseen among its twilight boughs. For centuries, travelers have called this the “Only Path,” for there is no other way to reach the sprawling city of **Nud Dezadh**—the great eastern gate of trade, knowledge, and survival. But the journey is a trial by fire: long, dangerous, and fraught with encounters that can break even the most hardened company. --- ### The Land Itself - **The Road:** A cracked, ancient roadway of dark stone, older than memory. Some say it was laid in the first age by giants or titans. Its slabs are etched with strange runes worn smooth by centuries. In places, the road disappears beneath sand, roots, or shattered stone, forcing travelers into detours. - **Climate:** The sun here is merciless. The heat shimmers on the stones, beating down so harshly that one might mistake it for the Nine Hells themselves. Nights bring little relief, for the wind carries the dry chill of distant mountains and the sulfurous stench of the southern wastes. - **Atmosphere:** Travelers often report a **weight of dread**, as though unseen eyes are always upon them. The southern horizon glows faintly at night with a hellish red haze; the northern forest sings with alien whispers and phantom lights. --- ### To the South – The Pits of the Hells A desolate wasteland of cracked stone valleys, ashen plains, and jagged spikes of obsidian. - **Savage Tribes:** Nomadic bands of humans—scarred, painted, and half-mad from the heat—raid the road at night. They wield bone weapons, crude steel, and the occasional fiendish relic scavenged from ancient battlefields. - **Rumors of Fiends:** Some claim to have seen horned figures walking the horizon, or shadows that move against the sun. Whether true or not, the fear is enough to keep most to the road’s center. - **Hellstorms:** Sudden, scalding winds sweep from the south, carrying sulfur, ash, and sparks of fire. To be caught in one is to risk burning lungs, seared flesh, and madness from the whispered voices they carry. --- ### To the North – The Ketaca Forest A vast wall of ancient green, shadowed and enchanted. - **Elves of Ketaca:** Fierce and reclusive, the elves of this wood are said to be more savage than civilized. They brook no trespass and will shadow those who stray too near. - **Fey Influence:** Strange lights, trickster voices, and shifting paths lure wanderers into the undergrowth. Many do not return. Some emerge days later with no memory of the lost time. - **Predators:** Beasts of unusual size prowl the edges of the forest—owlbears, giant wolves, and horned serpents with eyes that shine in starlight. --- ### Hazards of the Road - **Length of the March:** At 800 miles, the road takes nearly a month on horseback or wagon, and far longer on foot. Food, water, and rest must be carefully rationed. - **Banditry & Raids:** Both southern savages and northern outcasts prey upon travelers, sometimes even in coalition. - **Crumbling Bridges & Ravines:** Old stone crossings collapse under weight, forcing dangerous treks across ravines where winged predators wait. --- ### Sights Along the Way 1. **The Black Spikes:** Jagged stone pillars that thrust skyward along the southern edge, some said to be the remains of chained titans. 2. **Whispering Pools:** Pools of stagnant water near the forest edge. Drink from them, and voices of the dead fill your dreams. 3. **The Ashen Watchtower:** A half-ruined tower overlooking the Pits, once manned by an order of paladins, now haunted by something that stalks its upper floors. 4. **The Singing Stones:** Clusters of boulders along the road that hum in the wind. Elves treat them as sacred markers; others fear them as signs of old fey magic. --- ### Encounters & Dangers - **Fiendish Rumors:** - Minor demons slipping across cracks in the world. - Cultists disguised as beggars, offering cursed charms. - **Savage Raiders:** - Human warbands from the Pits, painted in blood and ash. - Packs of feral hounds they breed for hunts. - **Forest Dwellers:** - Ambushes by Ketaca elves with poisoned arrows. - Fey spirits demanding tribute or riddles to pass. - **Natural Hazards:** - Hellstorms (DC saves vs. fire, exhaustion, madness). - Collapsing bridges (Acrobatics/Athletics to survive). - Wandering monsters drawn to the road: manticores, wyverns, or displaced giants. --- ### Tone of the Journey The road is more than a path—it is a crucible. The heat, the fear, and the constant sense of being hemmed between two hostile worlds grind down travelers. Companions snap at one another, nights feel unsafe, and every shadow stirs suspicion. To walk this road is to **earn the right** to reach Nud Dezadh alive.