I often write boxed text for new in-game locations. I find it easier to think through the sights, smells, and other sensations during GM prep and write them out, rather than improv’ing when I’m trying to write a game. Here’s one such location.
The merchants unbundle food and firewood from one of the carts. Risa and Reece leave to collect tinder and kindling off of the scrub that dots the shadier sides of the canyon.
Risa magically coaxes flames up from the loose teepee fire, and soon it catches the small logs. Food seems limited to things that will survive the heat of the desert–vegetables and dried beans cooked into a spiced soup, and flour mixed into a rough bread.
The Penders ladle out soup into your mess kits. As they remove the pot and pan from the stove, the fire flickers across the canyon walls and embers swirl up into the dark night. From this angle, the half moon is barely visible above the canyon, hiding behind a cloud illuminated by its light.
Koma and Ichiro go over the next day’s plans, drawing a rough map out in the dirt and pausing after each step for questions or confirmation.
“We’ll set out a bit later in the morning, following the canyon south from here.”
“That should shield us from the worst of the heat, and keep us hidden from view, assuming the sandship pirates have some sort of lookout.”
“We’ll leave the canyon behind by late afternoon, when the sun is not so harsh.”
“If we push on hard enough, we can get about halfway to the edge of the desert by the time we stop for the night.”
“Breaking camp early in the morning puts us at the edge of the desert before the heat of the day, and into Narakanai by early afternoon.”
“If we get diverted, there are a few rock outcroppings or oases we might be able to reach, but they aren’t close. We would likely be adding at least a day to our journey, as we would either be traveling parallel to the edge of the desert, or heading deeper into it.”