Shandal

 is a small oasis village south of Ank’Harel made up of 150-200 buildings.

Most notably the village was the childhood home of Shaun Gilmore - sorcerer, merchant and ally to Vox Machina - and his parents, Opesa and Soren Geddmore who still live in his childhood home. After Vox Machina asked for his aid in reaching Marquet to track down a Vestige, Shaun teleported them to Shandal using an old teleportation circle he had placed in his childhood bedroom wardrobe.

Village Description
When Vox Machina asked Gilmore what it was like back home, he responded with, "Hot." His description was quickly confirmed upon their arrival where the sun is bright and the heat is a drastic change from Tal'Dorei.

Immediately after appearing in Gilmore's bedroom, Percy peeked out the window to get a sense of where they were. Under the open window there was sand gathered in a small pile from the wind blowing it inside the house. Outside, the street is simple and the houses are made of fine wood. Nothing is described as being very extravagant. A few palm-like trees grow from the sandy ground among the houses that bear an unknown large fruit. Also placed along two of the buildings are locked troughs of water that could be either from rain or gatherers.

Proximity to Ank'Harel
Shandal is a one day journey south of Ank'Harel. There is no road but there are signs leading citizens there. There are also guides within Shandal that can be hired to take people to the city. Soren states that he hasn't been to Ank'Harel in many years which implies that although small, Shandal is self-sustaining in the sense that citizens do not need to make a trip into the city in order to purchase items necessary for comfortable survival. However, there are the occasional caravans travelling to and from Ank'Harel making Shandal a lively stopping point for travelers or trade compared to other towns.

Citizens
Not much is known of the citizens of Shandal, however we know that Shaun Gilmore grew up here and while he doesn't seem to have a negative perception of the village, he doesn't feel the need to return.

Physcial Description
The general citizen population wear long full-body robes, sometimes with scarves around their neck. None of them appear to be overly wealthy but they aren't overly poor either. The time in the sun is apparent by their darker skin.

Way of Life
As a village of Marquet, Shandal is relaxed, with few ways to overtly offend the entire population other than stealing water. This is apparent by the translucent lids that are chained over the water troughs, discouraging citizens or travelers to help themselves to the water supply. Residents have their own locked and chained well (at least 10 feet deep) on the outside wall of their kitchen where they keep their supply. Instead of the translucent lids though, they are heavy lids made of dried wood.

Based on the Geddmores, Shandal citizens seem to be hospitable, offering food to friends or to friends of their family. They're also kind and grateful towards generosity, bowing in thanks and sometimes greeting.