Gateway To The Great Basin

http://arabicatravel.com/escape-to-the-moroccan-desert

Reaching the Great Basin from the Three Lands* to the South requires passage through very steep and rugged mountain passes. Most of these are secret ways, and unsuitable for passage by large parties and pack animals. Only hearty women and men venture up these steep paths. 

One pass is different: a green, winding valley makes its way through the mountains North to the Great Basin. A chain of oases allows travelers to quench their thirst and rest. This way allows a steady trickle of trade back and forth into the Great Basin, and this is in fact how most Spears reach the Northern lands. 

Art by Miguel Santos
From the Spears of the Dawn Art Pack

Since ancient times, the Southern entrance to this valley has been protected by a walled fortress town. Whether this outpost of the Three Lands is there to keep the people of the South out of the valley, or keep wanderers from the Great Basin out of the Southern lands in unknown. What is clear is that none may pass by this town without paying a toll to the fierce warriors who defend it.

*The Three Lands (which includes the Sixth Kingdom) is the default setting of Kevin Crawford's medieval African pastiche RPG, Spears of the Dawn. This post creates setting intended for use with both Everway and Spears of the Dawn, and was written to comply with  the non-commercial usage guidelines on the Sine-Nomine blog.