Desert of Desolation VIII

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person
Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff
Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone
Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family

Campaign Narrative
The party has arrived in style at the famed Oasis of the White Palm. This is what they see as they fly towards it:

They have a good view of the overall layout from their flying reed boats, so I highlighted points of possible interest:
1: The whole area is almost a mile across, with dense vegetation shading to scrub and scattered palm trees further away.
2: The main nomad camp.
3: The waters of the oasis itself. Eight guards with drawn scimitars stand guard here at all times.
4: A single white palm.
5: An old monumental statue of some kind, half buried in sand.
6: A burned area that used to be a camp.
7: A monolith, 25' high. Think Cleopatra's needle, only not so tall.
8: The Sandvoyagers' Compound.

Hassan, the soldier they saved from the aftermath of an attack by the Fire Lord, guides them across the oasis and suggests that they land near the main camp of his people. Their arrival causes quite a stir - after all, it isn't every day that you get to to see two flying boats carrying people from cultures you have never seen before. Anyway, after landing at the area to the northwest of the white palm itself, Hassan tells them to make themselves comfortable while he goes off to make his report to the Sheikh. He returns an hour or so later with a dinner invitation from the Sheikh himself.

The four characters can make themselves presentable when they try, especially Sir Blanque and Destiny; Bomilcar is from a similar culture to this one, while Marion does her best. She still exudes danger, but that can't really be helped - she just does. Something to do with all those knives, concealed or otherwise. 

This is a detailed map of the main camp of the Sheikh (there is also one for the Sandvoyagers' compound if needed. There is a lot of detail in this module, and this part in particular lends itself to being played as a mini-sandbox, if you'll pardon the pun.

The camp is almost 1,000' across. It is surrounded by two bands of cloth, concentric ellipses of green at 50' distance from the tents, and red at 30'. As they approach the main entry point, the characters notice that there seem to be no bugs or insect life anywhere inside the area marked out by the green strip, while the red one gives off a distinctive, dark smell almost reminiscent of some sort of fiery fuel. All weapons are checked in at the main entrance to the area, which has four guards along with two dogs. Main points of interests in the encampment are as follows:
A: The Sheikh's tent.
B: Clerical tent.
C: First Son's tent.
D: Second son's tent.
The leftmost half of the camp contains more lavish tents, presumably for the officers, higher-ups and families; the area to the right is more cramped, and has the air of a barracks.

A flunkey conducts the great heroes fawningly to the Sheikh's tent; it is guarded by four especially taciturn desert warriors. Bomilcar reckons there will be at least another two of the capable men sleeping somewhere - they'll be the night shift; at least, that's how his people operate, and this lot look as though they know what they are doing.

The Sheikh's tent is suitably opulent. The main central area leading to the exit is where the entertaining takes place. Moving around it in anti-clockwise direction, flaps lead from it to: sleeping quarters for the Sheikh's personal attendants; the women's quarters; the Sheikh's own sleeping chamber; a storage and food preparation area; and the guards' quarters. This is one of a pack of battlemaps for the whole mega-module that can be found on Drivethru. Maybe the artist thought that mapping absolutely everything would be a good idea; after all, with a D&D group, there is no telling what might happen - they could end up fighting in here. Murder hobos. Anyway, items like this can always be re-skinned for other purposes...

Dinner is a suitably grand affair. Two of the Sheikh's personal attendants serve everyone, ably helped by two of his wives/concubines - certainly those who are currently most in favour. As well as the four players and the soldier they saved (as special guests), present are Sheikh Kassim Arslan himself; his twin sons Hassan and Korus; and Nadron Ilanus, chief advisor to the Sheikh and High Priest of Ainu, the One God. As is usual with such events, eating and pleasantries come first, with business due later - the players already have some familiarity with similar customs. Eventually the Sheikh belches politely, a signal for the food to be cleared away and the real discussion to begin. Sheikh Kassim gestures towards his chief advisor.

Nadron Ilanus: "Yes, well, thank you, O great one. The report provided by the only survivor of those attacked by the great efreet, Hassan, confirms a longstanding tradition amongst our people." He nods to the party in thanks for saving the man's life, acknowledging the impassive soldier Hassan. "Legend says that a terrible Fire Lord will return, the very same imprisoned 1,000 years ago by the great Martek himself. A group of unknown heroes will quest in search of Martek's five Star Gems; once found, those can be used to summon his Sphere of Power so that the Efreet Lord can be vanquished once and for all. He is called Khalitharius."

Hassan leans forward, a gleam in his eye: "And are these the heroes so long ago foretold?" He gestures towards the players.

Korus sneers in reply: "Perhaps, but they need to prove their mettle in battle."

Destiny is rather put out by this: "You will not know this yet, because we flew faster than any horseman could travel, but we have already broken the curse on the Pyramid of Amun-Re and restored the River Athis."

Nadron realises the subtle implications of this reminder of the power of these strange westerners, amply demonstrated by the means of their arrival: "Yes, well, the people of the times of the Pharaohs were heathens, worshippers of many gods. I just hope that the Evil One, Set, does not become aware of these developments." He watches Destiny keenly, probably aware that there is more to this blonde women than somehow meets the eye. She realises this in turn, and lets her disguise drop momentarily, just for him.

Nadron points at Destiny: "Aiee! This one cannot be trusted!"

Sir Blanque intervenes: "Yes, we know that. However, there are more powers involved here, and as a group we each represent several of them so that a balance of interests is served."

Nadron mutters some more; he clearly is disturbed by the levels of power he can detect emanating from Destiny. Of course, he doesn't know about her Melnibonean heritage. Even though he does not understand the full implications of the inhuman features she momentarily revealed, he is intelligent and educated enough to understand that much more is going on here than is easily apparent.

The Sheikh brings everything to a close: "Whatever the truth of the legends of Martek and Khalitharius, we have problems of our own. The destined betrothed of my elder son vanished around the same time as this fire lord re-emerged. We have a dynastic crisis on our hands, and the two must be linked. Your arrival here is fortuitous, my friends, because as neutral observers you may be best placed to unravel this skein of events."

With that, the evening is at an end; clearly the characters are supposed to think over a possible alliance with these people. As they leave, Marion has a quiet word with one of the Sheikh's two favourites. This particular one seemed very attentive to the conversation throughout, and Marion thinks she knows more than meets the eye. She is right. Sothal quickly fills her in on the tensions within the camp, something that is building to a head even without the added complexity of Khalitharius and the players. "There is a power struggle developing, and I am convinced it involves someone close to my beloved Sheikh. There are wheels with wheels here, plots within plots, and he is too honourable to see them." She hurries off to her duties.

"Well, that was interesting," says Marion, when the four arrive back at their reed boats. "I think someone is going to use Khalitharius as cover for a coup d'etat." Bomilcar agrees. "I know I remained silent throughout the meal, and to some extent I was just trying to keep out of it. But I did notice some sort of undercurrent, as though words were not being said, and by more than one of the people present tonight. These people remind me of my own, and I am sensitive to this sort of thing."

"Perhaps a late evening stroll around the oasis is called for, then, " says Sir Blanque, tooling up and checking his equipment. "It's just as well we didn't mention that we know there is a Temple of Set around here somewhere - and that it contains one of the Star Gems."