While it may be argued that any caravan coming from the west leaves the Shdus Desert and enters Shdustu proper two or three days prior to its arrival at Gudishgul Fortress, this fortification has long claimed pride of place in the lexicon of merchants and travelers as the gateway to the region. A most welcome entrance it is, for it represents a critical point of supply after the long privation of the desert crossing. Food and fodder stockpiled here make continuation possible which would otherwise demand that caravaneers slaughter some of their beasts for meat before proceeding onward. Its establishment, an act of careful consideration by wise scholars from many centuries past, eliminates the need for such desperate measures and greatly facilitates the overland trade.

Those ancients, the Sairn reader may take pride to learn, were soldiers of the empire. Though the first iteration of the fortress was built in the legendary times of the Kurnair Dynasty, it was restored and expanded to its current form by the armies of Turan the First, and for nineteen years hosted the most distant garrison force ever sustained by the empire. Several times it was attacked by those who though to steal the work of our people for themselves and who doubted the power of the distant emperor as nothing but lies and illusions, but all such assaults failed. Even now the fortress stands, vital and strong, the only structure in Shdustu raised by imperial hands. Though it must be noted that the harsh environment means the walls and structures have been repaired many times and modified to the changing needs of modern commerce. The foundations, however, remain, as stone endures.

Such origins can be observed easily, as the fortress walls follow the stacked triangle formulation – a central triangular ward surrounded by three equally sized and angled expanded counterparts linked to the common faces – that was the preeminent design method in that time. It has since acquired an additional circular outer wall to accommodate expanded usage, and this was produced in the Nikkad style using packed earth. The imperial origin keep, by contrast, was made of mason-laid stone painstakingly quarried in the desert. The outer wall rises to three meters in height, with six equally spaced gates, but the inner ward's defenses reach seven meters high and double that in defensive towers placed at the intersection points. There is only a single gate, blocked by iron bars from a mine whose location is now lost.

The fortress is a terribly busy place, and the space within the walls is cluttered with buildings and warehouses spaced such that travelers are forced to pitch their tents outside for lack of accommodation. Facilities of all kinds needed to support trade abound. From the stabling and husbandry of animals, to the production of tools, to the assessment of commodity value, the acquisition of provisions, the hiring of mercenaries, and more, all can be accomplished here. Such is the considerable status of the fortress that many caravans from the Foothills will proceed no further, they simply conduct their trade in the great market within the outer wall, re-provision, and then commence their return journey as soon as their camels are sufficiently well-rested so as to proceed. Such a move greatly compromises potential profits, for the prices available at the fortress severely disadvantage any who make purchases there, whether they came across the desert or from deep within Shdustu, but such distant trade remains greatly valuable, and the swift turnaround is necessary to enable a merchant to cross the wastes of the Shdus multiple times in a given year.

As a matter of official reckoning the fortress is under the control and protection of the khagan of Sunshtasgus, but as a practical matter such ownership is represented only through the presence of an old and lame overseer who sits in the central compound and extracts endless gifts on behalf of his nomad master. Proper management of the fortress' resources and the wealth it generates falls to a consortium of merchants, one with no formal imprimatur but that is immediately obvious to all visitors. These traders control and manage the four deep wells that supply the fortress with water. Those stone cylinders descend a great distance down into the darkness before reaching moisture and skilled masons of the Stonesplitter Guild remain on site permanently to insure nothing threatens their continued operation as without water the fortress would be rapidly abandoned. These and other mercenaries stand ready to defend the fortress should it be attacked, but with no other nearby water source it is functionally proof against any siege and too remote to be attacked by storm. To overcome the defenses could only be achieved through great treachery, or perhaps wizardry.

The merchants consider maintenance of the fortress essential to their enterprises and all pool together a tithe of their profits for the purpose. This expense is passed onto travelers, effectively becoming a toll, and even the Dragon Expedition, though not properly engaged in any trade, was obligated to pay. In return, the merchants were willing to make available considerable information regarding conditions in the interior of Shdustu, though doubtless they sent their own messages onward revealing the unexpected presence of an imperial mission. Every traveling merchant, as is well known, is also an informal spy, and in this divided land they may serve many masters at once, foreign and domestic. Even the secrets of their own kind are considered readily purchasable, and the traders eagerly informed on each other in order to secure our purser's business.

Beyond the supplies essential to the traveler, the fortress' bazaar makes available almost any imaginable product for purchase, though prices are very dear. To those who are not familiar with the halls of the rich and who have had no chance to lay eyes upon their luxuries, a visit here will surely make up the lack. Rarities such a silk, spices, dyes, gemstones, musk, and more that almost never appear in the common markets of the empire were openly on offer for base coin. Imperial goods exported to this place such as beeswax, cheese, linen, and most of all silver find excellent value here. For my part I was impressed by the fine vellum sold by several merchants of an ideal size and thickness to produce quality maps. Slaves, though a common sight in much of Shdustu, if somewhat less numerous than in the cities of the Core Provinces, are among the few commodities rarely found here. It seems too many have tried to escape only to perish in the desert, sometimes to the loss of those who attempt to pursue them as well. Prostitutes, by contrast, represent nearly the entirety of the resident female population. Few are associated with the single formal pleasure house, instead pitching private tents under the guard of which merchant whose favor they have obtained. They do a brisk business, but quality is poor, for the coin needed to relocate to a more pleasant settlement means only desperate women choose this isolated place.

The majority of the merchants and caravaneers are not natives of Shdustu, but rather foreigners, a trait that remains common among the craftsmen and mercenaries as well, with many of these being former caravaneers themselves who have simply adopted a slightly more permanent residence. The Kharal, being a nomadic people who measure wealth in livestock rather than coinage or goods and almost universally lack literacy, are poorly suited to the demands of the mercantile path. The Nikkad hold among their number many cunning bargainers and devious con artists, but as a people they are little given to traveling and prefer to hold fast to their homes. Instead, the fortress holds representatives of the peoples of a dozen lands and more, with a true melange of languages spoken within the walls. Though Kharal is the most common conversational tongue of Shdustu, among the trading class Nikkad has achieved dominance due to its superiority in the conduct of commerce.

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Gudishgul is well supplied not only with women for hire, but most other well-known vices. Gambling, spirits, and hashish can all be had for those with coin or goods. The sudden availability of these to those who have just spent a month of privation crossing the desert or somewhat less in empty steppe, produces a most volatile environment. The merchants, aware of this, confine the offering of such dangers to cheaply made tents pitched beyond the walls where nothing valuable can be broken by the nightly brawls or the loud inebriates of the dark hours disturb their sleep in the inner compounds. Such circumstances afflicted the Dragon Expedition as much as any other, for only the senior officers and mystics were allowed to lodge within the fortress proper.

The expedition's presence caused a considerable stir. A fast rider left within hours of our arrival to alert the Khagan to the unexpected presence of imperial authorities in the lands of the Kharal. The khagan's representative tried to induce Erun to remain about the fortress until an answer could come back from the Khagan, but the expedition leader refused this after consultation only with his servant Yomat. That professional spy seems to have made the determination based on information whispered by merchants deep within their cups. A fateful choice, this decision, and yet in truth hardly a choice at all. The khagan was, as I learned later, then much distant, attending the coming of age festivities of his youngest son, and even with the very swift courier system used by the Kharal any answer would have required at least a month's delay. Based on purser Tomad's records of expenses for just the three days the expedition spent at the fortress, a month of idleness would have seriously drained all stocks of silver and trade goods and represented a considerable impairment to the expedition's ability to continue onward. A rapid turnaround, by contrast, allowed Master Lam to conduct trading on the expedition's behalf and thereby bring in additional funds to sustain our travels.

Despite its short duration, the stopover at Gudishgul entailed considerable turnover in the expedition's membership. This is a common feature of such transfers. Many of the caravaneers and the entire Stone Irons mercenary contingent left service at this point, electing to sign up instead with merchants returning to the empire. The caravaneers were easily replaced by those who had come from the Shdustu interior, most of whom had been born in the Foothill Kingdom, and this change increased the ease of communication with the local population. A pair of camel drivers who'd been born in the fortress itself were the only notable addition to this group. Though of mixed heritage they spoke sufficient Sairn to communicate with the officers without needing a translator, but this presented the first twinges of a integration issue that would grow more pronounced over time.

Finding new mercenaries proved somewhat more challenging. The plan, made all the way back in Crisremon, had been to rely on members of the Silversheen Mercenary Company for martial needs throughout Shdustu, this group being famed for their skill and loyalty and known even in the empire. It is even rumored that they are the descendants of the original imperial garrison from centuries past, though I am dubious as to such a pedigree. The claims of great quality, by contrast, where quite well-sourced. Unfortunately, such renowned fighters are eternally in high demand, and though the expedition had sufficient funds to source a premium contract for long-term service, there were simply no members of the corps to be found at Gudishgul that summer. Their purser, who maintained a permanent office in the fortress, explained that all Silversheens in southern Shdustu had been hired by a merchant consortium to ride south to the Shumum Sea to suppress an uprising among the Rutar there which imperiled the critical harvest of the sea's products, especially salt. Upon the advice of this individual and in council with several veterans of the garrison Erun agreed to hire twenty-five soldiers of a modest group called the Greencloaks, who hailed from a patch of forest and scrub abutting that southern sea. This unit was led by a lieutenant named Houseid Abtrin, who in a curious arrangement almost everyone found unusual, traveled on campaign with his wife Estiqin. This woman served the mercenaries as purser and quartermaster, and through her presence arranged the entire group as a single legal household, and among the small tribe from which they traced their origins it is apparently traditional for the master's wife to control household finances so this arrangement served well. These men were of solid build, courageous, and well-disciplined, but they spoke their own peculiar language, sharing nothing in common with the expedition's members save Kharal, and often only a few phrases of that. Mistress Estiqin, by far the most accomplished linguist among them, was obligated to conduct translation between them and our officers. This represented a rather cumbersome solution, one that all suspected would only grow more troubling going forward.

As a major intersection of trade routes that presents considerable practical independence, Gudishgul is a source of more than simple goods and services. Great quantities of information and scholarship pass through this place and can be obtained by the curious and those willing to pay. Such things as the knowledge of distant lands, the changing needs and economic priorities of the kingdoms, the current political contentions in Shdustu, and much more fall from the lips and letters of those present. Merchants, and those welcomed to their tables to share cups of the light dandelion wine their class favors while playing through endless rounds of table games may learn much simply through participation. The tables board, which in Shdustu changes only in decorative gloss from that known in the Core Provinces, travels very easily and is favored by merchants over the bone and dice rolling games favored by soldiers and porters. Most who have spent time in the social halls of the Core Provinces, or well beyond, will be familiar with it. Popular games in Shdustu are slightly varied in method, but these differences are swiftly grasped. The most common is a race game with three piece types, the rider, runner, and raider, known as 'Ramble.'

Merchants rarely bet more than trivial sums on play, but the real prize of such contests is the chance to earn favor and answered questions via either victory or, sometimes more effective, honorable defeat. Murad proved a most terrible player, and in doing so unraveled much of the inner workings of the empire's finances to the ears of these sharp and shifty men. Thankfully, their networks were blocked by the heights of the Shdrast Range from taking much advantage. For my part, I am a passable player, sufficiently capable to lose closely most often, and by exchanging sketches of the dragon was able to hear many tales of the sightings of the creature in the distant regions of Shdustu. Of all the members of our company it was Olon, the Master Apothecary, who proved to be devastating in his movement of pieces across the board. While this had little value in the fortress, elsewhere in Shdustu he gambled his way to a great plunder of herb lore, medical supplies, and even poisons to the point that others learned to leave the table upon his arrival. A useful reminder that while the man possessed many odious habits, he nevertheless possessed the prodigious talents necessary to reach the rank of master in a most challenging field of study.

Learning from the merchants that sightings of the dragons concentrated far to the north, possibly as far as the Dumunshtu Mountains where the Bahab dwell, Erun made plans for the expedition to conduct a lengthy journey to seek this creature through frost and snow. It would not be a simple process and demanded the traverse of much of this vast landscape. Despite this, the imperial command was not to be denied, and the merchants could source claims that, while questionable after having crossed a great distance and many lips, suggested that the dragon remained active. It had been sighted several times in winter and late spring storms.

The expedition would therefore continue.