From "Adventure Summary and Background:"
The Myrantians were once a powerful people, until they fell from prominence. The Forsaken Wastes are rife with their ruins and ancient sites of power. Many different groups have long been interested in these sites. Amongst these groups are the new allies of Abessios – the followers of Yig.
In one of these long-forgotten Myrantian fortresses resides a band of engineered troglodytes. Known to themselves as the Sand Apophics, these creatures were specifically designed by the ancient Ssanu for living in the desert. When the Ssethregoran Empire fell, the Sand Apophics’ creators abandoned them and left them for dead. However, they did not perish. Rather, they flourished in the desert that they were bred to survive in. For countless centuries, these creatures have lived undisturbed: nations rose and fell, and among those nations was the Myrantian Hegemony. Many years ago, the Sand Apophics discovered an ideal home among the ruins in the Forsaken Wastes, and since then they have lived in one of the most hidden of the ancient bastions of the Myrantians, a place called the Fortress of Secrets.