Chapter 1: The Arrival

As you’re finishing up your meal, the guard who escorted you here returns. Behind him walks another short woman. She has auburn hair and wears fine robes of office. The guard pulls a chair over to your table and she hops up onto it, giving you all a smile.

"Hello, there! We get many travelers here in Finderplain, though I confess none have been as strange as you. I am Soukmaster Satla Kivarn. I’m the gnome in charge here. Well, at least I have been for the past two months. At any rate, I’d like to hear about this strange gate you seem to have come through and where you were before that. Maybe I can help you find your feet here? So to speak."

"None of those names ring a bell," Satla says with a shrug. "But strange things have been happening all across Golarion lately. The weather here, in particular, has been erratic. We had a big duststorm blow through just a few days ago. It's probable that the storm cleared away the area around the obelisk enough to reveal that gateway. Now, why it sucked you in and spat you out here, I can't say. But I there's a place nearby where you can find out more.

"The city of Katapesh itself is four days' ride away. It's a huge place full of people and sages from all over the world. Surely somebody there might know about your mysterious arrival. The leaders of the city, the Pactmasters themselves, are even rumored to have come here from a different world entirely."

"There is something, in fact," Satla says with a smirk. "A caravan is leaving tomorrow morning, bound for Katapesh. The road is well-traveled, but there's always the risk of bandits or beasties attempting to interfere. I'd like you to ride with the caravan and protect it from harm. Keep it safe, and you'll get to where you need to go. I believe this arrangement will be mutually beneficial."

Satla smiles widely. "Splendid! Then I'll make the necessary arrangements. You'll leave tomorrow at dawn. Until then, feel free to enjoy our town!" She gives you all a nod before hopping down from the chair and heading out.

It isn't difficult to learn more information about Katapesh this close to the city. Sprawling across a valley of blazing-hot sand, Kataepesh is one of the most incredible and wondrous cities in all of Golarion. The City of Trade is a city of organized chaos where cash is king and commerce is the highest god. In its vast markets—both the legitimate bazaars and the seedier Nightstalls—merchants and buyers of a hundred different kinds mingle with the human majority. They say anything you can imagine is for sale somewhere in Katapesh, if you can find it, and if you can afford it!