Spyros’ Splendiferous Sundries is a small, independent caravan that brings a carnival-like spectacle to every settlement they visit. Spyros’ Sundries, as it is often known, travels with a motley and ever-changing assortment of performers and teamsters, though there is a small core of regulars who rarely leave the caravan. The carnival’s attractions currently includes:

• Trained beetle races
• Weapons juggling and acrobatics courtesy of the Nibenese twins Borey and Chantrea Phan
• Psionically animated glass sculptures made from heated sand
• A puppet theater featuring two different plays: a mythological tale about the creation of Athas by the Dragon, and a romantic comedy featuring the sorcerer-monarchs Nibenay and Lalali-Puy
• Arm and full-body wrestling
• Non-lethal gladiatorial matches featuring blunted weapons and local challengers
• Shadow plays crafted via De’Raan’s ability to manipulate or create light, shadows, and sounds, and Spyros’ abilities as a storyteller
• A chess-like game in which the pieces are psionic Harbingers, played on a mindscape

The caravan itself consists largely of several inix equipped with howdahs, pack kanks, and crodlu-mounted outriders. Its size fluctuates, but always includes at least two inix, and sometimes includes as many as five. Security-conscious, the caravan’s head scout Ehmid always ensures at least ten guards accompany the caravan even at its smallest, and has fielded a small army of forty guards when the caravan was at its largest. Such guards either act as scouts while mounted on crodlu or ride in a howdah while manning a fixed crossbow.

NPCs:

Spyros the Splendiferous: A gregarious and handsome half-elf, Spyros serves as the public face of the caravan. While customers and fellow merchants often assume he is simply a flamboyant dune trader and the owner/operator of the carnival, “Spyros” is actually a cover identity of Ilophar Umena, an infamous and highly skilled assassin. Uninterested in dealing with customers himself, Ehmid allows Ilophar to serve as the ‘face’ of the caravan in exchange for a small cut of his assassination fees. For his part, Ilophar enjoys using the caravan as a pretext for his movements and actions, and cannot imagine a better way to conceal his true identity.

Ehmid Rursk: A taciturn half-elven ranger, Ehmid serves as the caravan’s chief scout and commander in the field, making all of the non-commercial decisions for Spyros’ Sundries. The middle-aged half-elf is a master at reading the weather and trail signs, navigating through the wilderness, and defending convoys from raiders and beasts alike. Though none but he and Spyros know it, Ehmid is the true owner of the caravan; he simply allows Spyros to act as the leader to avoid dealing with others. Quiet and brooding, Ehmid long ago lost his wife and two children in an attack on their village. He returned too late to save his family or the other villagers, but did arrive in time to deal with the attackers. Once he had killed the raiders, Ehmid buried his family, scavenged the village and raiders for all remaining goods and animals, and left for the nearest city, forming his first trade caravan. The Splendiferous Sundries grew out of the long series of trade caravans that followed.

Ysabel the Crodlu: Ehmid’s favorite crodlu and the only creature on Athas that he treats kindly, Ysabel has been with the half-elf since his first caravan. Ysabel is nearly as large as a war crodlu and often seems surprisingly intelligent for a mount. Ehmid prefers to fight with a lance when astride Ysabel, but trusts his mount’s instincts enough to allow her free rein when attacking with a bow.

Nahut the Savage Storm: A capable and sometimes terrifyingly savage human warrior, Nahut is well-versed in wilderness lore. Nahut survived the destruction of her family’s ex-slave village as a girl, left to live on her own for years in the wilderness. When she did finally seek out civilization, Nahut found she was ill-suited to life in a city or village. Instead, Nahut travels as a guard on caravans, traversing the wastes and only occasionally interacting with so-called “city dwellers.” Despite maintaining that she does not need others to survive, Nahut feels a confusing impulse to stay with Spyros’ Sundries, viewing Ehmid as a kindred soul who requires her assistance - whether he knows it or not. Nahut’s preferred weapon is one she crafted herself: a hardened heartpick-like point fitted with obsidian blades along the inner and outer edges of the pick-end, all mounted on the end of a giant snake rib - a weapon with which she is quite lethal.

De’Raan: Wrinkled and gray-haired, De’Raan is likely the oldest elf anyone those who meet him has ever seen. Wearing the brown robes of a tribeless elf, De’Raan’s name literally means “not an elf” in Elven. When he grew too old to run with his tribe anymore, De’Raan simply walked out into the desert to die, but his stubbornness and mastery of the Way kept him alive long enough to encounter Spyros’ caravan. Traveling with half-elves disgusts the old psion’s sensibilities, but not nearly as much as his own inability to run like a ‘true elf.’ De’Raan’s relentless bitterness fades to a kind of wry sarcasm only when dispensing wisdom or instructing others in the use of the Way.

Laqip of Nibenay: Seemingly the kind of rough blade-for-hire so commonly found working as a caravan guard, ‘Laqip’ works hard to be unremarkable. A human male who claims to be from “here and there”, Laqip is actually Hanto Guldubru, a Nibenese noble in disguise. Hanto was once betrothed to the young noblewoman Nifush Ergildu, and even though theirs was to be an arranged marriage, Hanto was deeply in love with Nifush; when he discovered she had taken a lover, however, he confronted the other man. His rival was killed in the resulting scuffle, and Hanto went on the run, joining a series of caravans as a guard and staying far from Nibenay. Hanto has finally settled into Spyros’ Splendiferous Sundries under the dead man’s name and pretending to be a guard of moderate experience.

Hamaza the Half-Giant: A young half-giant boy, Hamaza is already far taller than everyone else in the caravan. With his ever-growing strength and reach, Hamaza handles much of the setup for the caravan’s carnivals, easily lifting two or three times as much as any grown man. Spyros and crew first met Hamaza when they ran across a group of slavers in the deep wastes. The slavers claimed to have accosted a small group of half-giants traveling between city-states and enslaved the survivors, with only the boy Hamaza now being left to sell off. Ehmid set to wordlessly attacking the slavers upon hearing this, slaughtering them to a man and taking the boy in; Hamaza has been with the caravan ever since. As with most half-giants, Hamaza quickly began to emulate a leader figure - in this case, Emhid. He even tries to mimic the head scout’s trail-reading skills…so far, to no avail.

Introductions:

A party might be introduced to the caravan in any number of ways, including the following:

• As guards: The PCs are hired on as guards by Ehmid, who is looking to better defend the caravan after the addition of several more travelers and their wagons.
• As passengers: The party has joined the caravan en route to a particular location (perhaps as paying passengers) because only Emhid can safely guide them to a particular location.
• As rescuers: The caravan runs across the PCs in the wastes while the party is in need of assistance (injured, dangerously low on supplies, under attack by gith, etc).
• As spectators: The PCs attend or otherwise learn about Spyros’ Splendiferous Sundries while both groups are in the same small village.
• As strangers in the wilderness: While in the wastes between settlements, the party stumbles across the caravan while it is in need (broken axel, injured draft animal, lost most of its guards in a previous attack, etc.)

Adventure Hooks:

A Giant Problem: Tales begin to spread regarding a marauding band of undead said to be assaulting caravans and travelers in the area. Worse yet, the undead seem to be led by a giant skinless hulk. If the PCs question the survivors, they might even learn that the undead leader seems to be asking about a half-giant boy named Hamaza…

Animal Instincts: Ehmid’s crodlu Ysabel has been restless and difficult for days, but the half-elf is at a loss as to explain why. Does Ysabel perhaps sense something is amiss with one of the caravan’s newest members? Or has the female crodlu simply taken a liking to another mount in the caravan and is now experiencing the urge to nest?

Heartstrings and Pursestrings: During a show in a small village, a man surreptitiously approaches Spyros. After what appears to be a quiet but heated argument, the other man leaves Spyros fuming by himself. The next morning, Spyros reaches out to the PCs and requests they drop a package off with the man, a package that sounds suspiciously like it’s full of silver coins when jostled. Though neither will tell them of their history together, the man - one Dhruv - is a former companion of Ilophar and is threatening to expose “Spyros” unless he gets paid off. The question is, has Spyros sent the PCs to deliver a blackmail payment, or to quietly eliminate the blackmailer?

Home Sweet Home: The caravan sets up for the night amid a series of worn-down ruins, grateful for the scant shelter from the night’s bone-chilling winds. However, as they enter the ruins, Nahut experiences a startling sense of déjà vu, a feeling which only subsides when she realizes that she is standing in the ruins of her old village! As the night wears on, the ghosts of Nahut’s past begin to haunt her, but are they simply memories or unquiet spirits? Do the PCs need to calm the female warrior down, or do they need to lay angry undead to rest?

New Friends, Old Friends: One night, after taking a number of new travelers into the caravan, a series of angry shouts erupt from around one of the campfires. The outburst sees the normally quiet guard Laqip stomping off in a huff and the newly-joined woman Malis of Nibenay left confused and hurt. If questioned by the PCs, Malis claims that she had simply heard that a man with a Nibenese accent named Laqip was part of the caravan, and that she approached him to see if he was her childhood friend of the same name. But when she asked, Laqip lost his temper and shouted at her - a seemingly odd reaction for a complete stranger. Who is this Malis, was she really just childhood friends with Laqip, and if so, why did he respond so poorly to her inquiries?

Shadow of an Elf: De’Raan is often sullen and disagreeable, but when the elves of the Wind Stalkers tribe join the caravan in a small trade village, the old elven psion withdraws completely. As soon as the elves arrive, De’Raan retreats to his tent, even refusing to do his part in the caravan’s performances or come out to eat. Is the sullen old elf simply ashamed to be seen around so-called ‘true elves,’ or has he finally come face to face with his former tribemates? De’Raan isn’t telling, but the question becomes more than just idle gossip when, after days of sequestering himself in his tent, a shadowy assailant begins attacking elves and half-elves in the village, sometimes even passing through physical barriers to mentally assault them. Can the PCs solve the crimes before an angry mob stones De’Raan for committing them? Has the old elf been actively attacking those who cause him shame, has he been doing so subconsciously, or is another culprit to blame?

You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Blade: Ehmid has recently started teaching Hamaza wilderness lore and basic fighting techniques, but is also looking to train the young half-giant in the use of larger weapons that take advantage of his greater size and strength. However, as he lacks experience in making such large weapons, and the caravan has not visited a settlement large enough to carry giant-sized weapons in some time, Ehmid is at a loss regarding how to begin. The caravan’s head scout approaches the PCs and inquires if they have experience making heavy weapons that are large enough for a half-giant to wield properly, or if they know of somewhere to procure such weapons.