Spawned among the dragon bones and cradled in blood, the hatred that drives the fiends has been nurtured for centuries in the bosom of Ashtakala. Rare is the human eye that has gazed upon the demon city, warded as it is by a permanent storm of black sand and obsidian shards that obscures mundane and arcane sight. The Carrion Tribes skulk in the wastes around the city, collecting the abraded corpses of explorers foolish enough to brave the maelstrom. These lucky ones typically meet their ends on the spits and cairn-altars of the degenerate barbarian hordes; the unhappy traveler who chances to penetrate the city of the Lords of Dust is likely to meet a far worse fate.
Lands: The Demon Wastes surrounding Ashtakala are a barren expanse of black sand and obsidian gravel, a ruined land rolling in dark swells littered with scree. To the south and east, the Wastes rise into the mountains. Far to the north, a smoldering volcano range bloodies the horizon with fire.
Getting There: Most mortal travelers to Ashtakala stop in Festering Holt, a tumbledown hodgepodge of dilapidated shacks that passes for a hamlet some 100 miles southwest of the ancient demon city. Here, one sleeps in the notorious Dead Before Morning inn, takes a deep breath upon waking, and prays before setting out to cross the Wastes.
The journey to Festering Holt is long and arduous, with the safest routes by axe and crampon over the Icehorn Mountains (whether approaching overland through the Towering Wood, or by water across Eldeen Bay), or by supernatural guidance through the divine wards of the Labyrinth.
Teleporting into the Demon Wastes is risky, and many wizards have reported powerful interference with such spells. It is commonly believed that the magic that bound many fiends to the Wastes and created the Labyrinth to befuddle their escape attempts also interferes with teleportation magic. Magical travel into Ashtakala itself is impossible because the storm that engulfs it prevents all teleportation and divination (magical and psionic).
Appearance: Ashtakala has existed since the Age of Demons, having been razed and rebuilt countless times over the millennia. Present-day Ashtakala is a sight to behold. Titanic shards of volcanic glass thrust over 1,000 feet into the sky, gleaming like jagged black blades. Wedged between them are undefended walls of dark malachite. Over 50 feet high, they form a misshapen ring around the multitiered city. Although most of Ashtakala’s buildings have collapsed into ruin, many tall towers and indomitable fortresses remain, inhabited by demons and haunted by the ghosts of everything that has perished here since the dawn of civilization. At the heart of the city stands a towering spire of black glass, emerging from which is the fearsome palace of the Lords of Dust. Horrible screams emanate from within the palace at all hours, and colorless ash from the nearby volcano blankets the demon-plagued streets.
A raging storm surrounds Ashtakala, day and night. Reaching the city means passing through a maelstrom of volcanic glass shards capable of shredding a creature to the bone in seconds.
Ashtakalan Storm: This storm has been raging for over a hundred thousand years. It circles the city at a distance of half a mile, and is some 500 feet wide. The jagged volcanic glass driven by the wind deals 6d6 points of slashing damage each round to any exposed creature or object. Moreover, the winds are of windstorm strength (see page 95 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for wind effects), except that the storm’s obsidian shards deal lethal damage (rather than nonlethal) to creatures blown away.
With a DC 30 Survival check, a character can spot a lull in the storm during which it deals only 4d6 points of damage per round. This lull lasts for fifteen minutes.
A control weather spell calms the storm’s winds to severe status and reduces its damage to 2d6 points per round. Should the characters also make a successful DC 30 Survival check while the control weather spell is in effect, the damage is reduced to nothing.