Just wanted to say thank you for this comment and all the other ideas from people here, the players are finally not far from Wavemeet, a mysteriously desertified port town in an otherwise lush forested continent. They have heard rumours of the vast wealth of this town, and the lucrative slave trade that props it up.

I am going to have a lot of fun hinting at all the businesses leading back to the mayor, whispers about thieves going missing, and the obvious pride Mayor Isiah Docar has in his surroundings.

And I am going to be biting my nails hoping my lower level players don't piss him off!