Locations & Shops — Harenaopolis

Harenaopolis is a wealthy desert trade city enclosed by the Harena Mountains, built atop ancient ruins and fed by a central underground spring. Its architecture is sandstone and copper, its streets narrow and shaded by canvas awnings. Since the sandstorm began, most outdoor commerce has retreated indoors. The city smells of dust, spice, and the faint mineral quality of the oasis water.

Districts

The Oasis Quarter

The heart of the city. The natural spring surfaces here as a shallow pool fed by stone channels. Palm trees ring it. Under normal conditions it is the social center of Harenaopolis; during the storm it is quieter than it should be, and the plant life at its edges has begun to look wrong — faintly grey, faintly wrong in a way that is hard to articulate.

The Trade Warrens

The commercial district — narrow streets packed with shops, stalls, and warehouses. Most of the city's day-to-day commerce happens here. During the storm, shutters are up and business is reduced to essentials.

The Crown District

The elevated section of the city, where the royal palace and the wealthiest families' estates sit. More sheltered from the storm than the lower streets. Matrona architectural influence is strongest here.

The Underbelly

The sewer district — access points are scattered across the city, mostly in cellars and basements. The city's maintenance workers know the upper levels well. Nobody goes into the lower levels voluntarily. A faint smell of something wrong has been noted in the last week and officially attributed to storm pressure on the drainage system.

Shops & Establishments

The Dune Market

Type: Open-air bazaar (currently operating under canvas) District: Trade Warrens Owner: No single owner — a rotating collective of stall vendors managed by a market-master named Bessa Kohl, a broad-shouldered Matrona woman who has run the market for fifteen years and takes its current condition personally. What's available: General goods, food staples, clothing, rope, tools, lamp oil, waterskins. Prices are 10–25% above normal due to the supply disruption. Bessa knows everyone who sells here and notices when someone stops showing up. Inventory:

  • Torch, 10 (1sp 2cp)
  • Waterskin (2sp 5cp)
  • Rations, 1 day (6cp)
  • Rope, hempen 50 ft. (1sp 2cp)
  • Lamp oil, flask (2cp)
  • Blanket (6sp)
  • Canvas, 1 sq. yd. (2sp)
  • Common clothes (6sp)
  • Crowbar (2gp 5cp)
  • Backpack (2gp 5cp)
  • Merchant's scale (6sp)
  • Pickaxe (2gp 5cp)
  • Dried meat, 1 lb. (4sp — limited stock, prices still climbing) Atmosphere: Normally chaotic and loud. Currently half-staffed and tense. The vendors who remain are the ones who couldn't afford to close.

Hooks: Bessa has kept her own list of missing persons — longer than the official one. She'll share it with anyone who seems serious about investigating.

The Oasis Hearth

Type: Inn & Tavern District: Oasis Quarter Owner: Davan Mirr, a Matrona man in his sixties, silver-haired and professionally warm. Has run the Hearth for thirty years. Deeply invested in the city's survival because he has nowhere else to go. What's available: Rooms (5sp/night standard, 2gp/night private), meals (1sp–5sp), local wine and strong spirits, information for the price of a drink. The kitchen is still operating — Davan has supplies stockpiled. Inventory:

  • Standard room (5sp/night)
  • Private room (2gp/night)
  • Full board — room and three meals (8sp/day)
  • Stew of the day (1sp)
  • Flatbread, olives, and salt (3cp)
  • Roasted bird with spiced grain (4sp)
  • House wine, cup (2cp)
  • House wine, carafe (8sp)
  • Strong spirits, cup (5cp)
  • Oasis mint tea, pot (3cp) Atmosphere: The social hub of the city's merchant and traveler class. Currently serving as something of an informal crisis shelter — people who can afford it are eating here because it feels more normal than eating alone at home. The fireplace is always lit. Rooms: 8 standard rooms, 3 private rooms, 1 suite (currently occupied by a nervous spice merchant from out of town who cannot leave).

Hooks: Davan overhears everything. He will not share gossip for free, but for anyone who clearly means to help the city, he is a reliable source of ground-level intelligence. He also noticed that Aldren stopped coming in for his usual evening drink about three months ago.

Aldren's Sundries

Type: General goods & gunslingers’ supply District: Trade Warrens Owner: Aldren Voss — see Characters What’s available: Adventuring basics (torches, rope, iron spikes, rations, bedrolls), writing supplies, minor tools, a selection of local medicines — plus a small but well-stocked firearms counter behind the main desk. Aldren is one of only two licensed firearm dealers in the city. Prices are fair. Stock is well-organized. The shop is clean. Inventory: General Stock

  • Torch, 10 (1sp)
  • Rope, hempen 50 ft. (1gp)
  • Iron spikes, 10 (1gp)
  • Rations, 1 day (5cp)
  • Bedroll (1gp)
  • Tinderbox (5sp)
  • Crowbar (2gp)
  • Candle, 10 (1sp)
  • Ink, 1 oz. vial (10gp)
  • Parchment, sheet (1sp)
  • Healer’s kit (5gp)
  • Desert herb poultice (2gp — local remedy; advantage on Medicine checks to treat wounds)

Gunslingers’ Counter — Renaissance

  • Pistol (250gp — 1d10 piercing, range 30/90, Loading; Mastery: Vex)
  • Musket (500gp — 1d12 piercing, range 40/120, Loading, Two-Handed; Mastery: Slow)
  • Blunderbuss (750gp — 1d12 piercing, range 20/60, Heavy, Loading, Two-Handed; Mastery: Scatter)

Gunslingers’ Counter — Industrial Age

  • Parlor Gun (75gp — 2d4 piercing, range 30/120, Firearm, Light, Reload 2; Mastery: Vex)
  • Revolver (125gp — 2d6 piercing, range 30/120, Firearm, Recoil, Reload 6; Mastery: Slow)
  • Hunting Rifle (150gp — 2d6 piercing, range 80/320, Firearm, Reload 4, Two-Handed; Mastery: Sighted)
  • Magnum (600gp — 2d8 piercing, range 30/120, Firearm, Heavy, Recoil, Reload 6; Mastery: Slow — last in stock; won’t restock until the pass reopens)

Ammunition & Accessories

  • Bullets, 10 (3gp)
  • Shot, 10 (1gp — for the Blunderbuss)
  • Firearm cleaning and maintenance kit (10gp)
  • Belt holster, pistol (5gp)
  • Bandolier (5gp)
  • Bullet mold (5gp — for casting shot; requires lead and a fire)
  • Firearm repair (5gp+, 1–2 days — Aldren does this himself, late at night) Atmosphere: Quiet. Aldren is polite and knowledgeable but clearly elsewhere in his mind. Long-time customers say he used to talk more. A locked glass case behind the counter displays the firearms — kept immaculate, the only things in the shop that look recently handled. The shop cat disappeared two months ago. The back of the shop smells faintly of something mineral.

The mineral smell is blood from the basement. Do not read this line aloud.

Hooks: Primary investigation location. The hidden basement entrance is behind a false shelf in the storeroom. Aldren will not bring it up. He will answer questions about the ruins with more specific knowledge than a shopkeeper should have. If pushed on the disappearances, he changes the subject smoothly — he has been deflecting for months and is practiced at it.

The Iron Scale Armory

Type: Weapons & Armor District: Trade Warrens Owner: Gara Ashfen, a large Matrona man who came to the city from the outer settlements fifteen years ago and never left. He forges on-site; the sound of his hammer is one of the constants of the Trade Warrens. What's available: Standard PHB weapons and light/medium armor at normal prices. Custom commissions available (3–7 days, +50% cost). Limited stock of heavy armor — he can order it but supply lines are currently broken. Shield repair is his specialty. Inventory:

  • Dagger (2gp)
  • Handaxe (5gp)
  • Spear (1gp)
  • Mace (5gp)
  • Shortsword (10gp)
  • Longsword (15gp)
  • Shortbow (25gp)
  • Arrows, 20 (1gp)
  • Light crossbow (25gp)
  • Crossbow bolts, 20 (1gp)
  • Leather armor (10gp)
  • Chain shirt (50gp)
  • Shield (10gp)
  • Scale mail (50gp — last set in stock)
  • Shield repair (2gp, 1 day turnaround) Atmosphere: Hot, loud when he is working, and smelling of hot metal and oil. Gara is direct and does not perform friendliness, but he is fair and his work is excellent. He respects people who ask good questions about equipment.

Hooks: Gara has noticed an uptick in people asking about weapons that can be concealed. He does not ask why. He also found, three weeks ago, a smear of something like black sand on the alley wall behind his shop — near the sewer access. He has not told anyone because he does not know who to tell.

The Arcane Shard

Type: Magic items & potions District: Oasis Quarter Owner: Serath, a Tiefling (Chthonic lineage) of indeterminate age who has been in Harenaopolis for at least forty years and claims to have arrived long before that. Speaks slowly, considers everything carefully. What's available: Common magic items (DM discretion), healing potions (50gp), antitoxin (50gp), alchemist's fire (50gp), spell components, scrolls of low-level spells. Serath also deals in information about arcane anomalies — for the right price. Inventory:

  • Potion of Healing (50gp)
  • Antitoxin (50gp)
  • Alchemist's Fire (50gp)
  • Spell component pouch (25gp)
  • Arcane focus, crystal (10gp)
  • Arcane focus, orb (20gp)
  • Cantrip scroll (25gp — Serath selects the spell)
  • 1st-level spell scroll (75gp)
  • 2nd-level spell scroll (150gp — one available)
  • Identify (service, 10gp — takes one hour, Serath asks nothing but remembers everything)
  • Common magic item (100gp+ — DM discretion; Serath will describe what it does but not where it came from) Atmosphere: Dim, cool despite the desert, and filled with objects that are clearly old. Some of them are from the ruins beneath the city, which Serath acknowledges if asked. The air tastes like copper and old stone.

Hooks: Serath has felt the curse on the city before the sandstorm began — they noticed a change in the ambient magical field weeks ago and has been quietly researching it. They will share this with the players if approached correctly, and can identify the necrotic sand as connected to a very old binding ritual. They do not leave the shop and will not explain why.

The Cartographer's Eye

Type: Maps, information, guides District: Crown District (adjacent) Owner: Pell Sandus, a young human man — late twenties, meticulous, academically trained. He came to Harenaopolis specifically to study the ruins and has been here two years. He is running out of money. What's available: Maps of Harenaopolis (1gp), maps of the surrounding mountains (2gp), partial maps of the known ruins (5gp each, 4 available — one per ruin site), guide services to the ruins (10gp/day, he will not go into the lower levels of any ruin). Inventory:

  • City map of Harenaopolis (1gp — standard, sold to anyone)
  • Mountain pass routes map (2gp — includes all four passes, storm conditions noted by hand)
  • Partial ruin site map (5gp each — one per site, 4 available)
  • Pell's annotated working map — city and all four ruin sites combined (12gp — his own work; he will hesitate before selling it)
  • Custom map commission (5gp+, 2–3 days)
  • Guide service to the ruins (10gp/day — Pell accompanies; will not descend into lower ruin levels under any circumstances) Atmosphere: Paper everywhere. Reference books stacked against every wall. A large table in the center covered in a working map of the city and its surroundings, including all four ruin sites marked with his own annotation.

Hooks: Pell knows more about the ruins than almost anyone in the city. He believes the four sites are connected — he just does not know how or why. He will enthusiastically share everything he has found with anyone who seems interested, and he will ask to accompany the party to the ruins (he is not a fighter and will be a liability in combat, but his knowledge is genuinely valuable). He has also been trying to get into the palace archives for two years without success.

The Healing Hands of Gaia

Type: Temple & healing services District: Oasis Quarter Owner/Operator: Matron Selav, a Matrona elder who runs the temple with five younger attendants What's available: Healing services (Cure Wounds cast at standard spell level, 10gp per spell level), Medicine skill services (stabilization, disease treatment), Spare the Dying free of charge, long-term care for the seriously injured. The temple also distributes clean water and basic food to those who cannot pay. Services:

  • Cure Wounds, 1st level (10gp)
  • Cure Wounds, 2nd level (20gp)
  • Cure Wounds, 3rd level (30gp)
  • Spare the Dying (free)
  • Wound treatment — Medicine service (5gp)
  • Disease treatment — Medicine service (5gp; ongoing cases at Selav's discretion)
  • Lesser Restoration (50gp — Selav only; she prioritizes the most serious cases)
  • Long-term care, per day (3gp — includes bed and meals)
  • Clean water, bucket (free — distributed daily while supplies hold)
  • Basic food (free — distributed to those who cannot pay) Atmosphere: Cool, clean, and efficiently organized. The smell of medicinal herbs. Matron Selav is formidably competent and warm in the specific way that comes from having seen everything and decided to keep helping anyway. She expects respect for the space and gets it.

Hooks: Selav has been treating an unusual number of patients in the last three months who present with exhaustion, minor unexplained injuries, and vague gaps in their recent memory — consistent with people who were drugged, restrained, and then released. She attributes it to storm stress. If a player with Medicine proficiency examines her records, the pattern is more suspicious than that. She is also the person the King and Queen consult on matters of communal health, and she has the royal family's trust.

The Buried Lamp

Type: Antiques, curiosities, and recovered artifacts District: Trade Warrens (back street) Owner: Ossav, a gnome of indeterminate ethics. Short, grey-haired, perpetually cheerful about things that should not make someone cheerful. What's available: Artifacts recovered from the ruins (legally ambiguous — the city technically claims all ruin finds, but enforcement is lax), curiosities from across the continent, oddities of unknown provenance. Ossav will buy as well as sell. Prices negotiable on everything. Inventory:

  • Corroded ancient coins, small handful (5sp — decorative, historically interesting)
  • Ancient metalwork fragment (25–100gp — Ossav will describe each; prices vary by piece)
  • Stone tablet with ruin script, partial (15gp)
  • The Whispering Stone (5gp — see Tables)
  • Carved bone desert charm (2gp — provenance unclear)
  • Rusted key of unknown origin (1gp — fits something; Ossav doesn't know what)
  • Vial of pre-storm oasis sand (8gp — collected before the corruption; sold as a curiosity)
  • Foreign coin collection, varied nations (4gp)
  • Pressed sand-flower, framed (3sp)
  • Ossav will buy found artifacts at 40–60% of assessed value, no questions asked Atmosphere: Cramped and deliberately disorganized. Things are not labeled. Ossav knows where everything is and will find anything you describe if you give him a few minutes. The back room is not for customers.

Hooks: Ossav has had a piece of ancient-civilization metalwork on his shelf for six months that makes a faint sound — like something trying to speak at a frequency just below hearing. He has not been able to sell it because everyone who holds it puts it down quickly. He will sell it for 5gp. It is from the ruins and it is connected to the seals, though Ossav does not know this. A party with the right magical knowledge can use it to locate the ruin sites more precisely.

The Sandrunner's Post

Type: Caravan supplies, mounts, and transport services District: City gates (southern entrance) Owner: Feran & Calla Dusk, a Matrona couple who have run supply caravans in the region for twenty years What's available: Camels (75gp purchase, 2gp/day rental), draft horses (50gp purchase, 1gp/day rental), caravan supplies (rations, water barrels, rope, tents), guide services into the mountains (currently suspended due to storm). A notice board of current caravan opportunities is updated when conditions allow. Inventory:

  • Camel, trained (75gp purchase / 2gp per day rental)
  • Draft horse (50gp purchase / 1gp per day rental)
  • Riding saddle (10gp)
  • Pack saddle (5gp)
  • Saddlebags (4gp)
  • Tent, two-person (2gp)
  • Water barrel, 20-gallon (3gp full / 1gp empty)
  • Rations, 5-day desert pack (3gp — dried meat, flatbread, water-preservation herbs)
  • Rope, 100 ft. (2gp)
  • Desert navigation kit — compass, stakes, windbreak cloth (5gp)
  • Guide service into the mountains (currently suspended due to storm) Atmosphere: Smells like animals and leather. Practical and efficient. Feran handles the animals; Calla handles the books and negotiations. Neither has time for prolonged conversation but both are generous with useful information if you ask direct questions.

Hooks: Feran was the one who escorted the players' original caravan in. He knows the mountain passes better than anyone and is quietly tracking which routes are still viable as the storm shifts. He also knows that three supply caravans have simply not arrived in the last six weeks — the official story is that they turned back. He is not sure he believes that.

The Salt & Spice Exchange

Type: Exotic goods, spices, rare ingredients District: Trade Warrens Owner: Nara of the Twin Rivers, a human merchant from a distant coastal nation who has operated her Harenaopolis storefront for eight years. She has a sharp eye, considerable wealth, and no tolerance for wasted time. What's available: Rare spices and herbs (including several with alchemical and spell-component uses), preserved exotic foods, perfumes and incense, foreign cloth and dyes. Prices reflect the current supply crisis — up 30–50% on anything she cannot restock. Inventory:

  • Saffron, 1 oz. (15gp — up 40% from normal)
  • Dried firespice, 1 oz. (8gp — spell component for fire magic; supply running low)
  • Black lotus powder, 1 oz. (25gp — rare sedative, legal; Nara keeps a record of buyers)
  • Mountain salt, 5 lbs. (2gp — supply disrupted, elevated from 8sp)
  • Incense bundle, common (5sp)
  • Incense bundle, ceremonial (3gp — used by the Healing Hands; Selav orders regularly)
  • Perfume, common (5gp)
  • Perfume, exotic (30gp — Nara's personal stock; cannot be restocked)
  • Silk, 1 sq. yd. (10gp)
  • Exotic dye, vial (8gp)
  • Preserved exotic fruit, jar (3gp)
  • Alchemical herb blend (12gp — Nara declines to specify the use; healers buy it without asking either) Atmosphere: Rich with competing scents. Well-organized, well-lit, and clearly the product of someone who takes her business seriously. Nara employs two people who do not speak Common and communicate with her in a language the players almost certainly do not recognize.

Hooks: Nara has been quietly compiling a list of city officials who have been taking meetings they are not disclosing. She does this in every city she operates in as a matter of professional practice. The list currently includes one junior palace official whose recent behavior she finds interesting. She will share this, selectively, if she decides the players can be useful to her.

The Crown of Sand

Type: Jeweler & luxury goods District: Crown District Owner: Vassi Elloran, a Matrona woman of forty who inherited the shop from her mother and has doubled its reputation since What's available: Fine jewelry (50gp–500gp), gem identification and appraisal, custom commissions (2–3 week turnaround under normal conditions), engraving services. Vassi also buys gems and interesting stones at fair market value. Inventory:

  • Copper ring, plain (5gp)
  • Silver ring with desert stone inlay (25gp)
  • Silver earrings, hammered pair (15gp)
  • Gold bracelet (60gp)
  • Gold necklace with pendant (80gp)
  • Raw amethyst, uncut (20gp)
  • Cut topaz (45gp)
  • Cut sapphire (150gp — last one; Vassi is reluctant to part with it)
  • Gem identification and appraisal (5gp per item)
  • Engraving service (2gp per item)
  • Custom commission (50gp+, 2–3 week turnaround — currently delayed)
  • Vassi will buy gems and unusual stones at fair market value Atmosphere: Quiet, elegant, and slightly too cool. Display cases of exceptional work. Vassi is professionally gracious and personally guarded.

Hooks: Vassi appraised several unusual stones for Aldren about five months ago — dark, dense, and faintly warm to the touch. She told him they were not natural gems and were probably from the ruins. He seemed relieved by this answer and bought them back without negotiating. She found the whole interaction strange and remembers it clearly. She will mention it if the subject of Aldren comes up naturally.

The Sewer Warden's Office

Type: City services & infrastructure District: Underbelly access (near the Oasis Quarter) Operator: Chief Warden Emmet Crael, a Matrona man in his fifties who has worked the sewer system for thirty years and knows every tunnel in the upper levels by heart What's available: Sewer access permits (required officially, rarely enforced — 2sp), maps of the official sewer routes (2gp), emergency maintenance services. Emmet also hires day laborers when the system needs clearing. Services:

  • Sewer access permit (2sp — officially required; Emmet rarely asks for it)
  • Official upper-level sewer map (2gp — given free to anyone Emmet decides to trust)
  • Day laborer hire for sewer clearing (5sp per worker, per day)
  • Emergency maintenance call (1gp — response time currently delayed; Emmet's crew is understaffed) Atmosphere: Functional and unglamorous. Emmet's office is a converted pump room. He is gruff, deeply practical, and more observant than he looks.

Hooks: Emmet has noticed three things in the last month that he cannot explain: (1) a section of lower sewer that his crew refuses to enter twice after one encounter they will not describe in detail, (2) a persistent black residue on the stonework near the oldest sections that does not wash off, and (3) a sound — intermittent, deep, like something shifting that weighs more than it should. He has submitted a report to the city. No one has responded. He will tell all of this to anyone who seems like they might actually do something about it, and he will give them a sewer map for free.

See Also