Introduction
Silk Road Secrets
(Samarkand to Lop Nor)
by C.Henshaw
For many days, you have been trudging across the torso of the world - through the cradle of civilization in old Babylonia and Chaldea, across the great Black Desert of Khurasan, and now into the Transoxanian territory of the Khan of Samarkand. Thousands of miles of paved road, dirt track, unmarked desert navigable only by the stars, mountain path and river bank have finally brought you here - to the city of a man who summoned you to arrive on this day, at this very hour.
You are known as Beghram of Tokharia, born 25 years ago in the secluded Hindu Kush, and exiled from said homeland at the age of fifteen. In actual fact you are Beghram of Nowhere, due to complicated tribal intrigues and foriegn influences on the politics of Tokharia. In the intervening decade you have become skilled at seeking occupation in the mercenarial and protection trades, ultimately in search not of fortune (although, if successful, that would be an inevitable side-effect), not even your honour (that also will come) - but for restitution with your homeland, your tribe, and your scattered family.
You left a lucrative position as head bodyguard of a Persian diplomat stationed in Damascus - the promised rewards for this as-yet-unexplained mission in Transoxania far surpassing any career you may have squandered by leaving your post. By horse, by camel, and on foot you wasted no time getting to these gates, which stand in front of you wide open, beckoning you to come, enter and begin.
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