While in Tyr, the party is approached by a dwarf messenger in the marketplace. He hands you a sheet of rolled papyrus, sealed with a wax mark depicting three dragonflies. Inside is written the following :

Greetings from House Shom.
We've sent messengers throughout Tyr to deliver this communication to those of mercenary guise. If you be such, and you wish to earn a great reward, read on.
Desert raiders harass and disrupt our caravans, yet the Revolutionary Council of Tyr will not lift a finger to help. Thus, honest merchants must find aid elsewhere.
The raiders claim that our caravans know the site of a ruined temple called the Face in the Stone. They claim that if we give up the location, their attacks will cease. But we know nothing of the ruin. Moreover, a Shom caravan seeking to find the Face in the Stone never returned.
Our request is this: Find the Face in the Stone, learn the fate of our lost caravan, and provide assistance to any survivors. All we have concerning the ruin's location is a line from an old poem: "Where the devil's horn threads the tunnel in the sky, a stony visage rarely blinks its hollow eye."
Return with your findings to our emporium in Tyr, and you will be heralded as heroes of House Shom.
Regards, Delem Shom

You spoke with the representatives of House Shom, who claim the site's general location is supposedly in the wilderness-a few days' trek northeast of Tyr. However, despite your queries, no one in the city-state seems to know anything more about the precise location of the Face in the Stone, so it's up to all of you to find the location on your own. Having House Shom indebted to you is too good a deal to pass up.

Affiliation : House Shom
Class : Psion
Race : Human

In spite of her age, Recette manages the counter at one of House Shom's market stalls. Having been taken in after her release from slavery, she owes them for her food, housing and continued education. After discovering her psionic abilities, the leaders of House Shom sent her to accompany the party and see how well they handle the situation with the caravan raiders. If she comes back with a report that isn't completely negative, it could mean more work in the future. If she doesn't come back, it means one less mouth to feed.

Affiliation : N/A
Class : Dread Necromancer
Race : Mul

Wearing a horned skull as a mask, the raider lord Yarnath the Skull leads a nameless band of brigands from his crawling citadel, Slither. The citadel is a moving, animate fortress of bone and and rock, from which the mul defiler plots and commands his forces. Yarnath seeks power, and will stop at nothing to get it. When he has shown mercy, a rare thing indeed, he does so only so long as he can call upon those he spared for a favor in the future. And Yarnath always sees such debts paid in full.