The Salt Geysers

Within the Quasielemental Plane of Salt lies a Magma pocket that has created a beautiful, yet deadly, effect on the plane. The arid plains of Salt are broken by a vast depression where Magma once exerted its violent, explosive influence upon the leeching crystalline plane. The memories of the explosive Magma vortex still remain in the terrain of this area of Salt, creating a scar that may never fade.

Cones of cooled magma rise from the crystalline plane. Each cone spews forth gouts of liquid salt, much like a volcano shoots forth molten rock. The eruptions are as amazing as any volcano and, with the right lighting, the liquid salt crystals glitter beautifully as they fly through the dry air. However, the fluid salt is still just as leeching as the rest of the plane. Worse, it is incredibly hot. It sucks away water and burns into the flesh of living creatures. Even the salt mephits of the plane avoid the molten salt, for fear of the heat burning through their crusty flesh.

There is more danger around the salt geysers, though. The liquid salt flows down the sides of the earthen cones, running in rivers and collecting in pools. The depressed wasteland that hosts the geysers is full of lagoons of liquid salt that look like the rest of the dry landscape. The pools are almost invisible, a danger to any travelers on foot. The unwary explorer will find himself suddenly plunging into a deep pit of hot liquid salt, desiccated by the leeching salt and burned by the intense heat all at once. Not a very pretty death, unless you’re a tanar’ri.

ChantSpeaking of tanar’ri, the chant from the salt mephits is that some tanar’ri and tieflings are often seen skulking about in the geyser region, collecting the molten salt in magic containers. More than one berk who’s heard about this says the tanar’ri are sent by Graz’zt. They say that’s how the archdemon keeps his river of salt flowing through his three layers. Many cutters say that’s just screed, though. Why would a blood as powerful as Graz’zt need to import liquid salt?