:: Random Location—Benchford, Grassland Thorp ::

Waves of heat rise up from the plain, taking entire clouds worth of moisture with them. It is stifling to say the least. The trail leads straight over a short but cavernous crack in the ground, spanned at the narrowest pinch by a bridge of stone. The height is daunting, but the trip to the other side is a brief one.

The thorp begins almost immediately on the other side of the chasm, a prominent selling-house advertising "ravine tours" on a sign that swings from the porch. This house, though old, is well lit and clean. The rest of the thorp, however, is positively ancient by comparison. As you emerge into the center of the place you see a crude stone bench—dew-dappled and moss-covered—surrounded by a circular garden with flowers of cobalt blue.

By necessity, each of the few dwellings that circle the bench is also tasked for selling the goods and services of those who live there. The trail continues on the other side of the bench, between "Frida's Belladonnas" and "Benchford General Goods", and out into the wide world once again. From that direction also comes the bleating of sheep, followed quickly by the sheep themselves, led by one shepherd and trailed by another.

:: Random Location—Shrine Rest, Trading Post on the Open Sea ::

You know how if you want the freshest seafood there is, you go all the way down to the docks to that one restaurant that actually sits over the water and the cook scoops up the fish right out of the sea? Yeah, Shrine Rest is that place, but for landlubber stuff. And they mostly sell to sea-folk.

The place is on an island just off the coast and it's run by mermaids. Sorry, Sirens. (They don't like it when you call them mermaids; there's men-folk, too.) Built by a pair of carpenters named Maiara and Aputsiaq. Sisters. That was decades ago, though, so they're well past their good working years. They got the brilliant idea for the place from that one restaurant on the docks, except they made it for sea-folk who wanted to get a taste of the shore life. Tale's worth a listen if you got a sec. Yeah? Good, listen up...