Ras Tarlaix
Three
hundred years ago, the Yarfu Empire seized an old Heoline fort and
developed it as a link in the trade route. Calling Ras Tarlaix, it
thrived until the empire's fell, when cruel madness drove its people
into the hot wastes. Now those who retrace the steps of the empire's old
routes circumvent Ras Tarlaix, stopping over in the hive of Greyat.
Those
who journey to the place find a ruined adobe hive, with tears in the
walls allowing the sand to reclaim it. Surrounded by eroded pale
mastabas, with empty spaces where a road ran through the hive, passing
from the oasis in the southwest to Gabewan on the road to Faras in the
northeast. Its dare-tower, with abraised stone faces of winged women, is
now the vantage of scoundrels and beasts.
The
hive is home to two rival groups— the giant hound raiders recently
organized under the ironmonger Gurval the Invulnerable, and intruding
gibbering plants controlled by garden ogres. Gurval seeks a magic item,
the Stone of Nimlot, which can raise walls and construct fortifications.
The giant hounds hope this can be used to repair the rents in the
western walls of the hive and cut off gibbering plants from entering.
The ogres seek to gain total unilateral control of the hive and to
eventually reproduce in its humid depths.
Built
into a cliff three hours west of Ras Tarlaix is Greyat. Sleepy and
welcoming, it is troubled by banditry from giant hounds in the direction
of the old ruins, and its king, Nimlot the Sociable, seeks strong-armed
heroes to give his people redress. Other notable people of Greyat
include:
- Karoma the Protective,
a level 2 Vo fighter. Hailing from distant Kernez, she is diligent,
athletic, and baffled by what she deems the urbane charms of even this
rustic place. Seeks adventure. Wears the signatures of Kernez— a helm
with a grimacing face and puffy lizard-scale sleeves. Knows the Kernezen
martial art— on landing a drop attack from above with her mace, enemies
of fewer HD must test morale.
- Harmine,
a Vo woman. Fierce-faced and ancient, she oversees the stable dock and
knows the goods the caravans bring in. Can act as a go-between for
buyers and sellers.
- Daring Ptahmose,
a level 2 Vo magic-user. Languid and matter-of-fact. Mystical and
deadly. Has a scarab tattooed on either cheek. Up for anything. Locals
assume he is much more learned than he is.
- Kaourantina,
a Savadur woman. A morose smith, privately certain that an apocalyptic
scourge from the capital lands will punish Yarfu entire. In the
meantime, happy to accept commissions of metalworking, sculpture, and
other artisan craft. Always planning to move on soon.
- Small-Thinking Tiye,
a Vo man. The nephew of the previous queen, Gwen, and from childhood
excluded and usurped by Nimlot. Unambitious, friendly, and loyal, he is
penniless and disrespected. A good source of rumors and news.
- Extraordinary Teneniu,
a Savadur hashma. A muralist and poet of great skill, they are the only
permanent Savadur resident of Greyat and essentially press-ganged into
priestly duties, forced to perform half-hearted rites and shoddily
resolve disputes. Good person to consult to learn history or appraise
strange items.
d6 Random Encounters
1. Gibbering Plant
2. 1d6 Ogres, Garden
3. 1d6 Desert Bull
4. 2d4 Giant Hounds
5. 3d8 Giant Hounds
6. Gurval and 1d4 Giant Hounds
1. Rampart.
Fortified wall platform jutting over the stable dock to dissuade
climbers. Under the platform, empty urns and despoiled weapon racks.
1-in-6 chance a party entering or leaving the area will be spotted by
the Giant Hounds in the Dare-Tower.
2. Puck fields.
Evidence of lines and marks in the circular playing field, as well as a
raised balcony wall to catch stray pucks. A storage coffer contains a
couple stone pucks, ruined wicker armor, and a pair vibrant red athletic
shoes stamped with golden hoopoe designs. They are boots of travelling and leaping.
3. Vacant mastabas.
Sloped-walled tombs. Each has a secret door, a panel that slides away
when pressed, and one has started to deteriorate, showing the seam of
the passage. Within each mastaba are warrior statues, funeral urns, and
little else.
4. Dare-tower.
Wind-smoothed images of winged women stare east, forming a rest for the
top of the tower. Ten Giant Hounds roost here, leaping from the
scapular balconies float around the roof in the sunrise and sunset.
Otherwise, they mostly sing songs in their own language and tell each
other ghost stories. Doors on the roof lead to the narrow stairs that
lead up to the balconies or down into the klochdi (area 13).
5. Overlooking racing court. The
roof looks down three-ish stories into the racing court (area 24),
encircled by a large painting of an ezizaja serpent. 1-in-6 chance a
party nearing the edge will be spotted by the Giant Hounds in the
Dare-Tower.
6. Western Mastabas.
Resembled the vacant mastabas of area 3. One has a couple small clumps
of hound hair caught in between a couple bricks, betraying the existence
of a (much better hidden) secret door. Pressing on the right stone
accesses the interior, where in addition to bones and stones the giant
hounds have hidden 2000 gp and a +1 horn bow, the fruit of their raiding
efforts.
7. Overlooking Solarium well.
Fading abstract frescos line the well, running straight through the
hive to its bottom level. There are no windows. At the bottom, six
gibbering plants stand waiting.
8. Mastaba birthing-fonts.
Like the east and west mastabas, but gradual stairs lead up to the top
of each tomb where a birthing-font has been laid. Empty and dry, with
solar mosaic designs half-chipped away. Like the other mastabas, each
has a well-hidden secret access point. One mastaba's interior leads down
directly into the Ti Anum (area 18).
9. Barrack-temple.
Filled with moth-eaten brocades. 20 Giant Hounds sleep in wall-niches,
gamble, and at night perform courtship dances. Their priest Onnophris (2
HD) wears Gurval's Ring of Control Humans on a string (the ironmonger
thinks he lost it) and keeps 6 gems worth 200 gp each.
- At
the center of the brocades is an altar, with light from a window
shining down onto it around noon. There Onnophris has constructed a
symbolic cage for the dead sun god. Divine beings will not enter the
cage.
10. Storage and guest area (labyrinth) Signs of disorder and ancient unrest. 1-in-6 chance per character of misstep that triggers an ancient trap.
- Trap (d4):
1. Snare that cuts into ankle (save with talent or take 1 damage and move no faster than a brisk walk until back to full HP)
2. Rockfall (1d6 damage and save with favor or be cut off from party)
3. Shatter a pot of pestilence (save with magical amulets or contract lethal disease)
4. Time-neutered trap now harmless, like releasing a (long-dead) snake or firing an empty quarrel of darts. - Those who search the guest quarters storage magazines have a 1-in-6 chance per person of finding one of the following trinkets:
1. Gilded pig-headed staff (looks amused) (30 gp)
2. Well-worn but sturdy peg loom (5 gp)
3.
Linen-wrapped doctor's kit, including sharp knives, a whetstone, resin
for filling cavities, incense, no anesthetics, a small awl, and copper
hooks, spoons, forceps, saws, and picks. (15 gp)
4. A small stone diagram containing the spell Fast Horse.
5. A painted statuette of a child, carved in marble and jet. (40 gp)
6. A case of spare bowstrings, wax, and spare arrowheads. The case itself, well-preserved and finely lacquered, is worth 10 gp.
11. Lower class district (labyrinth) This maze of tunnels is even more circuitous and indirect than normal. Takes an extra turn to navigate through.
12. Slave arcade.
Resembles a miniature village of hovels in a wide rectangular pit.
Eerie like all empty places that were once homes. Those exploring find
that one hovel seems to sweat. It conceals the ghost of the witch Maelys
the Accessible, a straight-shooter who in life mostly served one
function— the enhancement of beauty. Give up a little blood and she will
mutter and carom and make you an object of possessive attention. Every
point of constitution spent gives 1 charisma. She does nothing for free
ever— never did when she was alive and enslaved, won't now.
13. Klochdi.
Formerly a belltower that surmounted the roof, now built upon. A large,
ancient copper bell waits in the middle of the chamber, surrounded by
carpets and floor-trod tapestries. Stairs lead up to the dare tower
(area 4) or down to the bottom of area 23.
- Approaching
the bell: the carpets have been placed by the Giant Hounds to cover
holes in the floor— the unwary slip through and fall 30 feet, save with
talent to grab the edge at the last second.
- Ringing
the bell: requires something heavy like a hammer. Summons the giant
hounds of the dare-tower (area 4) and garden ogres of the throne room
(area 33).
14. Overlooking racing court.
Windows look down into the empty court. A thin ledge encircles the
windows at this level, and a brave adventurer could shimmy around its
circumference. If attacked or something, they must save with talent or
fall 20 feet to the court below.
15. Civil district (labyrinth)
Place of myriad functions— judgement, punishment, recitation,
memorization, and instruction of specialists. Each turn, explorers have a
1-in-6 chance of encountering the giant ferret that calls this place
home.
- Searching
the district: in the "Hall of Odes", a thin man in foreign threads
(connoting in Crocodole "slutty magus" and a candle-perch visor inspects
an unfamiliar horn instrument. He is Guileless Ramose, friend and
good-time-guy of Gurval. Companionable and well-spoken, he seems amused
with everything like there's a secret you're not in on. The giant ferret
is his, raised from when it was a giant kit. Knows about Gurval, his
deal with the giant hounds, and the threat of the gibbering plants and
garden ogres. Interested in new music, magic items for Gurval, a good
reason for the two of them to move on.
16. Residential district (labyrinth)
Wide main halls that wend up and down at regular intervals. Some
apartments are marked with a simple, almost cartoonish painting of a
smiling ezizaja serpent (Cefu Cruel, painted here as an apotropaic).
17. Overlooking Solarium well. There are no windows on these levels overlooking the well, so it is inaccessible without demolition.
18. Ti Anum.
Once a society headquarters for a club of mothers, now some kind of
apothecary' house. Sunrise murals bleeding through white-wash on the
walls. A hooked pole leans by a water basin, and a workstation fills the
center of the room.
- The
workstation contains several sealed jars— an emetic, something to ease
labor, something to delay labor, something to staunch bleeding,
something for headaches and cramps, something to increase bleeding and
end an early pregnancy. Laid out in the middle of the workstation is a
diagram, half-cast. Touching it causes it to start to glow, and touching
it much more triggers it. This is a spell of confused passage, first
designed to thwart intruder armies. When the party enters a new area,
roll a d20. If this is less than the area they're entering, they come to
the rolled area instead. If it is greater, the spell has no effect. If
the spell ever rolls a repeat of a result it got before, it dissipates.
- In
the cobwebbed ceiling, a trapdoor and a cunningly stowed rope ladder
stand waiting to be unhooked and pulled down. Leads up to a mastaba
birthing font (area 8).
- Inspecting
the murals: they can be restored by anything acidic or abrasive,
showing ancient and shimmering images of the sun being born from the
fertile horizon. Any mothers in the party can also make out an image in
the glare, a negative-space image-on-the-image. It shows a cow-headed
woman holding a dead man, an arrow sticking out of him. Mothers who see
this gain a new power. If targeted with an arrow while empty-handed,
they may make an attack roll, and if it betters the attacker's, they
snatch it out of the air.
19. Stable dock (labyrinth)
Empty stables and Giant Hound nests. 20 Giant Hounds reside in the
center, near the main entrance to the rest of the hive (area 20). Their
foremost joke-teller and manflesh-eater, Hyrgonaphor, wears an
elephant-headed ivory Ring of Fire Resistance and sews 10 gems worth 300
gp each into her fur.
- Climbing to the roof: flat and open. Very hard three-story climb up the bastion to area 1
20. Main entrance. Impressive gate, now open and unguarded. Signs of passage by Giant Hounds.
21. Public area (labyrinth) Religious icons, smiling busts, brickfloor hallways (rather than smooth) to give grip when it's filthy.
- Searching:
careful inspection shows a path of Hound footprints between the main
entrance (area 20) and the barrack-temple access (area 22)
22. Accessing barack-temple.
A liminal underzone, half-storage magazine and half ritual area.
Ceremonial tallhats and slings sit on pedestals arranged in half-circle
around a mural of slingers (the Ten Doctors of Darala). A cocoon of
nail-hung leather hangs from a far corner. Ladders and firepoles lead
down into area 29.
- Approaching
the ceremonial objects: animates three ghosts of Heoline soldiers
(Liulo, Doloptes, and Qumut), cowed into service by Gurval. They
regretfully attack all of Gurval's foes. Stats as gibbering plant, but
cannot leave the area, use slings (1d6 damage), and cannot be hurt by
nonmagical means.
- Leather
cocoon: sleeping place of Gurval. 2-in-6 chance he can be found here.
In addition to a +1 crocodile-shaped dagger and a few throwing sticks,
he has also stashed an iron leash and vial of kohl.
23. Accessing klochdi and throne. A nest of stairs running up to area 13 or down to area 33. In the ceiling, holes covered in patterned fabric can be glimpsed.
24. Racing court.
Large and mostly empty courtyard, the walls dominated by a massive
painting of the winding ezizaja serpent Cefu Cruel, who symbolized waste
and danger but in time became a fond mascot for Ras Tarlaix. Ancient
graffiti crowds under her. The four gates that access the court are
richly decorated:
- West: procession of artisans
- North: procession of soldiers and priests
- East:
a great bell, and figures representing anthropomorphic news— ugly
rumors, snide catastrophe, gentle well-wishes, and so on.
- South: nobles and worthies with fine fruits and relieved expressions
25. Courtly reserve (labyrinth)
Well-preserved and well-decorated halls, often wide and supported by
pillars. Inoperable basins, tile floors, polished local sandstone.
- Exploration
finds the palace complex. Well picked-over for treasure, there is one
valuable remaining— in the antechamber of the queen's quarters, a 9'
tall demonic statue of polished marble holds a clouded 1'-wide orb.
Within, one can just barely make out thirty polished carnelions worth 20
gp each. If the glass is broken, the demon emits a rasping growl and a
curse hangs over Ras Tarlaix. Every time you roll for a random
encounter, roll an additional time and on a 1, the party encounters 2d4
spectral soldiers. 2 HD, wielding slings and clubs, their morale never
fails. They are hostile to all life, but neutral to the gibbering
plants. If the carnelians are brought back and the thief apologizes, the
demon will slowly shrug, call them a cuck, and call off the curse.
26. Pond area.
Serene natural-themed chamber. Most of the plant life is dead and the
pond, fed by clever chutes in the ceiling during the occasional rain, is
half-full, leaking into the flooded district below. Mold and fungus
predominates.
27. Artisan district (labyrinth).
Empty businesses and halls open to the sands of the desert. Here six
garden ogres direct a team of six gibbering dead in searching the
district for treasures. They possess a potion of clairvoyance (in blue
bottle, blotchy silver and gritty, out of season booze after a bender
smell), potion of polymorph self (in ceramic bottle, matte silver and
runny, cherry cola smell), and living-plant Shield +1. The ogres are eager for any deal that weakens the ironmonger or the Giant Hounds, as they have grown possessive of the hive.
28.
Overlooking Solarium well. There are no windows on this level
overlooking the well, so it is inaccessible without demolition.
29. Lower barracks.
Ladders and firepoles leading up to area 22. Faded murals of a bowman
slaying many foes cover the walls. Urns and shelves line the walls, and
the floor is covered in squared, empty pools.
- Murals:
Savadur recognize these scenes as depicting the demigod Ptahmose
wielding the Arrows of Time, which he fired fast they could slay foes in
previous days and undo disaster and loss. A wishful myth.
- Urns:
mostly empty, some with oils and perfumes for the pools. One, sealed
with clay, contains a potion of speed (glowing brown and foul, potted
meat product smell)
- Pools: once bathed warriors. A few have been used recently, and are covered in clumps of giant hound hair.
30. Fortified ostalery. An irregular hall lined with old food stalls. Halfway along is an ornate door covered in peeling red paint.
- The
door: is stuck (hastily sealed with cosmetic glue long ago). It opens
to a brothel besieged by the queen's soldiers during the fall of Ras
Tarlaix. A rumpled carpet leads from the doorway to the skeletal remains
of eight humans. The rest of the chamber is well-furnished.
- The carpet conceals a trapdoor and a 20' pit. The trapdoor can be latched to hold fast.
- The bodies are still covered in finery, jewelry worth a total of 2000 coins.
- In a cabinet, 2000 coins can be found.
31. Flooded district (labyrinth)
The carefully finished adobe of this section which was intended to keep
the water flowing into the pool above instead retains the leaks and
condensation. Water ranges from a couple inches to four feet deep, and
travel is slowed here. Home to a herd of five desert bulls, and random
encounters here are with 1d4 of them.
- Careful
search of the district leads to a submerged chamber now like a wide
well, lit by an oddly glimmering golden bull-head statue looking up from
the bottom of the chamber. Those who dive down the thirty feet and grab
the bull's horns feel that they are offered an accord. If they refuse,
they save with magical amulets or take double strength drain from desert
bulls forever. If they accept, they gain +2 strength, can speak with
desert bulls even if they don't speak Avarin, and all humanoids they
slay have a 1-in-6 chance of rising as desert bulls with the next
sunset.
32. Procession circuit. Patrolled clockwise by four gibbering plants. 3-in-6 chance per Turn to encounter them.
- The murals depict:
- the
Ten Doctors of Darala, soldiers who defended Ras Tarlaix when it was
first constructed. They are notable for their tall hats and use of
slings instead of bows.
- The
oil-weeping Ezizaja Serpent Cefu Cruel, leaving the personifications of
diseases and misfortunes half-eaten (monstrous-looking legs and waists
with a big bite mark cutting off the rest)
- Graffiti drawings of rabbits, stick figures with bows and arrows, and well-endowed giant hounds.
33. Basement throne.
Sitting on the big chair, the remains of mad queen, surrounded by her
six retainers' remains. Four garden ogres camp here, on guard for
movement from the Giant Hounds on the stairs up (into area 23).
- In
combat: the ogres will animate the corpses like puppeteers, striking
with the retainers' bows and the queen's greatsword. There is a 1-in-6
chance per round that an ogre will have the queen throw her ball (see
below)
- The
queen: Im, Ras of Ras Tarlaix. Ordered universal incarceration after
the fall of the empire, and fell in the ensuing chaos. Most of her
wealth was taken by rebels, but she still wears the golden beard of
state (100 gp), the Robes of Darala (+1 MD, cast Deferral with 1 MD 1/day), and the Ball of Sacecas.
The Ball, a good size and weight for a slingstone, is covered in
intersecting bands of dots. Upon striking the floor, it creates walls of
glowing light that prevent ingress or egress from a zone including the
keyed area and all adjacent to it for 24 hours straight. The Ball's
power recharges after one week.
34. Solarium well.
Six gibbering plants on guard outside the armory (area 35), surrounded
by painted murals. Come the noonday sun shining directly onto them, they
are briefly overtaken with religious reluctance.
35. Armory.
In ancient days, a Heoline war temple. Defended from the gibbering
plants by ten Giant Hound barricadiers, led by captain Sacer. Each has
taken up a helmet and sword, but there are also rucksacks, carrying
poles, slingstones, and spears galore. Near the center of the armory is a
curtained, freestanding arch.
- The
arch: ominous, and sometimes seems to burble with distant echoes.
Before it is a basin in a plinth, and if wine or blood fills the basin,
wind blows the curtains open to reveal a great portal of swirling
energy, leading to (Sam Sorensen don't read this part) another temple in
another dungeon, deep beneath the earth and beneath the ruins of a much
greater hive, one overrun by hundreds of Giant Hounds who war with
greater things than simple garden ogres.
36. Temple reserve (labyrinth). Serene, yet crummy. Fine-sculpted fake rocks and reeds.
- Searching:
A grand hall with a row of statues marking out the western edge of the
hive. Also, kept in a random storage magazine is the Stone of Nimlot,
which can cast the spell Raise Wall. It has twelve charges.
- Investigating
the statues: two adjacent statues, one of Saver Heol in his warlike
aspect and one of Ptahmose the Archer. Each reaching back as though to
steady himself on a the wall. This traces out the edges of secret door
that slides up like a garage door to reveal a hidden ostelary (area 37)
37. Secret mastaba ostelary. Ostelary lined with funeral statues and urns, the remains of honored priests and civil heroes. 5,000 gp, a scarab of protection, and twenty +1 slingstones. The ostelary eventually lets out in a rugged mastaba a half-league away, guarded by a mated pair of giant cats.
Gibbering Plant
Decaying
phantasms, the green-veined after-image of the Empire of Yarfu, that
seek to consume the souls of humans. Generally peaceful, waiting for the
poison of the deserts to weaken their prey.
AC 11
HD 4
Attacks 1 x Two-handed sword 2-12
To-Hit +2
Movement 90 (30’)
Saving Throws as fighter
Morale 6
Alignment Bad
Number Appearing 1 (1-3)
Undead:
Make no noise, until they attack. Immune to effects that affect living
creatures (e.g. poison). Immune to mind-affecting or mind-reading spells
(e.g. charm, hold, sleep).
Patience:
Will follow a group until enough gibbering plants arrive to make the
outcome a foregone conclusion. Every 1d3 days in the deserts, scrub, or
holy hills of Yarfu, a Gibbering Plant arrives.
Mines
and machines: Love machinery, mining, gold, and gems. May make foolish
decisions to obtain precious items. War with other creatures over
precious metals.
Ambush: Hide in sand dunes or ruins and burst out when victims pass.
Ogre, Garden
Listless, Decaying Plant that is capable of manipulating corpses. Cautious, and avoid humans unless starving.
AC 9 [10]
HD 2
Attacks 1 x Bite 1
To-Hit +0
Movement 30’ (10’) /180’ (60’) flying
Saving Throws as fighter
Morale 8
Alignment Apathetic
Number Appearing 1-6 (1-100)
Undead:
Make no noise, until they attack. Immune to effects that affect living
creatures (e.g. poison). Immune to mind-affecting or mind-reading spells
(e.g. charm, hold, sleep).
Empathy with maidens: A pure-hearted maiden can communicate with the creature.
Castle: Built into remote or fantastic locations.
Desert Bull
May be playful, but quick to anger. Known to eat their own kind.
AC 16
HD 3
Attacks 1 x Gore 2-5
To-Hit +0
Movement 90 (30’)
Saving Throws as fighter
Morale 6
Alignment Neutral
Number Appearing 1-6 (2-5)
Strength
drain: Victims lose 1 STR per hit. Recovers after 8 turns. If reduced
to 0 STR, the victim becomes another of this creature.
Seep: Can squeeze through small holes and cracks.
Swimming: Excellent swimmers.
Giant Hound
5"
tall humanoids. Clumsy, hairy humanoids who glut themselves on surprise
attacks. Renowned for their xenophobic and avaricious natures. On Yarfu
and in the chasms of Bied, send out raiding parties that then retreat
into labyrinths. The Giant Hounds of Yarfu maintain their own
Bashmohandes, believing that Saver Heol is essentially burned out and
rather than worshipping him or hoping for reincarnation, hold that
eating thinking things absorbs some of the energy he imbued in them.
They orb quest.
AC 10
HD 1/2
Attacks 2 x Bite 1-4
To-Hit -1
Movement 30’ (10’) /180’ (60’) flying
Saving Throws as thief
Morale 6
Alignment Bad
Number Appearing 3-24 (5-40)
Erode wood and metal: Can dissolve wood or metal in one turn.
Erosion: Wood or leather in contact with the creature will be eaten away.
Glide: can sink safely to the ground or fly quickly to hover over the ground at 2x speed.
Gurval
Ironmonger
4. Wears an iron hat, an iron cuirass, pale linen robes, a thick black
beard, sideburns, iron-bead weights, and a wickedly curved sword.
AC 14
HD 4
Attacks 1 x Sword 1d8
To-Hit +3
Saving Throws as Fighter
Morale 8
Alignment Bad
3 MD: Wild Beasts, Illusion, Stone Disease.
Speaks Crocodolean, Pithomen, and Kavatek.
Ironmonger:
with a touch, can sharpen a blade, sense a metal's purity, conjure a
metal glove, or drive a nail. Can cast spells despite wearing a cuirass.
Thanks to iron beads, can reroll a single MD in each spell. Sweat
poisonous to non-ironmongers.
Blood
Eyes: By pressing histongue hard into the roof of his mouth, can push
his second eyes into place. They glow red, and pierce through the
darkness like bulls-eyes, allowing him to see in the dark up to 60'.
They are blinded by mist and fog.
