"Cloud City. It hovers above the steam cloud, made buoyant by the gusts of hot air. It's a fantastic feat of engineering." —Doctor John Smith
The Steam Cloud is an unexplained anomaly - it floats around the continent of Ashan, casting a mysterious shadow. The cloud itself is thick enough as to be opaque, and consists of water vapour at a very high temperature. The sustained existence of this cloud seems to defy all logical explanation, and those who have ventured into it have either never returned, or turned tail and ran before things got too difficult.
Due to the extreme conditions within the steam cloud, airships must be properly outfitted before venturing inside. Extreme measures must be taken, as the atmosphere will stall engines, dissolve materials, and roast people alive. Unsurprisingly, it is rumored that within the cloud lie immense riches, untouched by the hands of civilized races for generations. Many believe that at the heart of the cloud is a mysterious airship, the origins of which are from another plane, or a lost civilization.
Under the former king's orders, a small base of operations was erected, constructed out of a flotilla of airships kept aloft by the heat that the cloud emanates. Alchemists, Wizards, and Artificers were encouraged to board the flotilla and study the steam cloud, and have been offered handsome reward for making their way to the wealth inside, and claiming it for the King. Their efforts have as of yet been in vain.
