D'eshkar sits in the middle of a blazing hot desert plateau. Is it any wonder that the D'eshkarian paradise is under the Earth in a cool dark place where water is plentiful? They even know where the Gates of Paradise can be found.

Two day's ride to the south of D'eshkar lie the Black Mountains that form the southern edge of the plateau, and there, while out looking for a lost goat, two brothers discovered a great cave. It went back a long distance, and a deep hole in the rear seemed to go down forever, and water could be heard rushing far below. How deep it went could not be determined, even after one brother was butted by the goat and fell in, never to be seen or heard from again. When word of this wonder reached D'eshkar, the priests investigated right away and delared this must be the entrance to Heaven. The city rejoiced.

And so began the custom of bearing the bodies of loved ones across the desert to be ceremoniously cast into the Gates of Paradise along with jewels and coin and other valuable items to make their stay in the after life sweet. And the gods looked upon D'eshkar and were pleased.

Meanwhile... to the south... in the small village of Gershon at the base of the Plateau, a fisherman drew in his nets from the pool by the Waterfalls of Hell and saw to his astonishment that it had a finely crafted silver chalice. He continued to cast his net, and found more items of great worth and beauty, and gave thanks to the Spirits of the waterfall for their blessing. He told no one of his great fortune, but soon word leaked out and others came to fish for wealth. With so many there, it was not long before a peasant found human bones, and now the folk of Gershon faced a dilemma. One of the bracelets caught in a net had the sigil of D'eshkar engraved upon it, so now they knew whence the riches had flowed.They summoned their own priests, and the debate raged for a week.

At long last, they reached a decision.

Larger hole nets would be spread further up to catch the bones. And some priests would be dispatched to D'eshkar to make sure the city continued to send their dead into the hole.

Gershon grew from its wealth and became a great city. The priests were fairly sure the gods were most likely not pleased with Gershon.

They'd worry about that later.