The Trail Beneath Two Suns
The Trail Beneath Two Suns
“The Order has two days. The desert has less.”
— Hook · Pursuit, expedition, and desert investigation
“Sera Venn spreads a scorched route map across the table and points north, where three Order carts vanished into the red desert. The column has a two-day head start, but one of its drivers fled back carrying a warning: whatever the Order is taking to The Factory must arrive before the fixed sun brightens again. If you leave now, you may catch them before the desert closes over their tracks.”
— Hook · Pursuit, expedition, and desert investigation
At the northern gate of The Black Station, Sera Venn waits beside a half-loaded crawler. The vehicle's water tanks are intact, but its navigation plates have been removed and replaced with a strip of white metal stamped with an unfamiliar seal. Beyond the gate, the red desert is empty except for distant dust and the faint glint of something moving beneath the fixed sun.
Sera Venn
Sera Venn approaches the party after learning they are capable travelers. She offers transport for the first leg, a share of recovered salvage, and a direct warning that the Order is more dangerous when it appears disorganized.
Rumours
d5 · table- 01A patrol went north with empty cages and returned with one cage covered in insulation cloth.
- 02Angels Well is not dry, but anyone who drinks from it dreams of a second sun beneath the ground.
- 03The Factory receives shipments that are never listed on caravan manifests.
- 04The Chitinikk buy old military fungus filters even when they have no use for them.
- 05The Order marks safe routes with white metal because painted signs vanish in the storms.
If the Order reaches The Factory with the guidance core, it can locate a hidden living asset before the party understands what is happening. If the party fails to catch the column, neutral desert communities may be blamed for the pursuit and the route north may be sealed.
Background Lore
The red desert north of The Black Station was once crossed by military supply convoys serving installations now half buried beneath dunes. When the second sun dims, old metal structures contract with sharp reports, buried power cells wake, and the desert temperature can fall within minutes. The Order has used this region for generations as a controlled corridor, leaving behind caches, false trail markers, and settlements that know better than to ask where the patrols travel.
The Order has taken a sealed piece of pre-apocalyptic equipment north toward The Factory. Sera Venn believes the cargo is valuable enough to explain why the Order abandoned supplies and forced neutral travelers off the route. The party must follow the trail across a hostile desert, survive patrols and predators, and reach the cargo before the Order disappears into The Factory's security perimeter.
