You take several nervous steps over towards the portal labled 'Desert Realm.' An instant before you enter the portal, you remember the notebook Amaryllis gave you. You pull it out of the backpack, and find a thick section that says 'Desert Realm.' You open to the first page, and read.
The Desert Realm is just what it sounds like - a huge, hot desert that stretches into eternity. There is little water, and almost no food. This is one of the Realms that needs the most care and supervision, since someone has to feed the poor beasts that live here. There are wells spaced out every mile for the pleasure of beasts and travelers alike.
A teeming population of beasts lives here, though few can stand the heat. Most choose to leave a semi-peaceful life underground. Each beast has firm territory boundaries that they know by heart. There is plenty of food and water beneath the sands, and life in your territory is most often a peaceful one.
But if you leave your territory? That is a very different story. If a beast treads on another's territory, it will most likely lose at least one body part. Beasts are very protective of their homes. If you need to go from territory to territory, there is a marked path that stretches throughout most of the underground. It is considered a horrible disgrace to attack a traveler on the path.
Those strong and smart enough to brave the heat and famine of The Surface are highly revered, powerful beasts indeed. There are few of these. Most are very elderly Wyrms or Dark Dragons that consider themselves too mighty for a relaxing old age. They demand the highest of respect.
You also see a footnote instructing you to put on the gray suit folded in your pack. Apparently, it'll keep you from getting hot. You slip it on, and jump into the portal.
The portal trip is madness. You find yourself swirling around and around in circles, grasping frantically for some kind of object to hold onto. Soon, however, you are spit out the other end, landing smack in a dune of sand.
You slowly lift your head, and are amazed by what you see. It is a huge expanse of endless sand, marked only by a few burrows and trails leading into the distance. You can clearly see the heat rising off the ground, but, oddly, you feel a bit cool. It must be the grey suit, you realize.
Then, you notice, standing in the center of the flat, lifeless sand, is a signpost. The wood is dark from the continuous heat, but you can still make out the writing on each arrow-shaped sign. They seem to be the names of creatures, so perhaps the signpost is pointing you to their homes! It's worth a shot, you decide, picking a creature and a path to follow.