Atlas of Athas

Grand Compendium Volume I

Grand Compendium
Volume 1
Atlas of Athas

Contents
Overview................................. 2
Terrain...................................... 5
Locations............................... 21
Settlements............................ 74
Beyond the Tyr Region...... 194
Celestial Bodies................... 254
Distances.............................. 257
Index.................................... 260

Credits

Created By: Overlord1024

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Wizards of the Coast

v0.5 02/03/2023
 Overview
Overview
Athas is a desert-sun-scorched and wind-scoured,
parched and endless.
From the first moments of dawn until the last twinkling
of dusk, the crimson sun shimmers in the olive-tinged sky
like a fiery puddle of blood. It climbs toward its zenith
and the temperature rises relentlessly: 100 degrees by
midmorning, 110 at noon, 130 sometimes even 150 by
late afternoon.
A man cannot drink fast enough to replenish the fluids
he loses. As the days drag on, he feels sick and feeble.
If he does not have enough water, he grows too weak to
move. His mouth becomes dry and bitter, his lips, tongue,
and throat grow swollen. Before long, his blood is thick
and gummy. His heart must work hard to circulate it.
Finally his system overheats, leaving him dead and alone
in the sands.
The wind does little to help matters. As hot as a
forges breath, it blows up sandstorms that last 50 days
at a stretch, speeding the evaporation of water from skin
2
and soil alike. A storm can darken the sky at high noon,
carrying so much sand that it reduces visibility to a pace.
Breezes on Athas are suffocating and dust-laden, caking
everything they touch with yellow-orange silt, spoiling food,
and filling a man’s eyes with pasty mud. Even still days
are perilous. Columns of superheated air can rush upward
in terrific whirlwinds, carrying dust, plants, and men to
great heights-then suddenly dying away and leaving their
reluctant passengers to fall to a horrible death.
As dangerous as it is, the wind is merely an inconvenience
when compared to the greatest danger of Athas – the lack
of water. In most places, it rains no more than once a
year. In some places it only rains once in ten years, and
the only available water lies in brackish, mineral-crusted
oasis ponds. Aside from a handful of streams that trickle
less than fifty miles before drying up, there is not a single
river on the planet-though I have crossed plenty of ancient
bridges and know that rivers were once common. What
the world was like in those days, I cannot imagine.
I have already noted what the lack of water can mean
to a thirsty man, but the dry climate affects Athas in
other ways. It allows the sun to shine down unreflected on
the barren ground, which is why it grows so hot during
the day.
At night, the low humidity has the opposite effect. The
days heat escapes into the sky, plunging the temperature
to 40 degrees or less-and in the mountains, even to zero.
As far as I can tell, all parts of Athas share the
blazing sun, the dangerous winds, and the lack of water.
Nothing I have seen in my own explorations or heard
from the hundreds of travelers I have interviewed points
to any other conclusion. Athas is an endless wasteland,
spotted by tiny oases of fecundity, inhabited by brutal
predators. It is, for all intents and purposes, a land of
mortal desolation.
Though the picture I have painted so far is of a stark
and rugged land, I do not mean to say that Athas is
dreary or monotonous. To the contrary, it has a majestic
and stark beauty. When first light casts its emerald hues
over the Sea of Silt, or when sunset spreads its bloody
stain over the Ringing Mountains, there is a certain feral
beauty that stirs the untamed heart in all of us. It is a
call to take up spear and net, to flee the city, to go and
see what lurks out in the barrenness.

Themes
The world of the Dark Sun setting is unique in several
ways. Athas is not a place of shining knights and robed
wizards, of deep forests and divine pantheons. To venture
over the sands of Athas is to enter a world of savagery
and splendor that draws on different traditions of fantasy
and storytelling. Simple survival beneath the deep red sun
is often its own adventure.
Newcomers to Athas have much to learn about the
world, its people, and its monsters, but the following eight
characteristics encapsulate the most important features of
the Dark Sun campaign setting.
The World is a Desert
Athas is a hot, arid planet covered with endless seas
of dunes, lifeless salt flats, stony wastes, rocky bad lands,
thorny scrublands, and worse. From the first moments of
dawn, the crimson sun beats down from an olive tinged
3
Overview
sky. The wind is like the blast of a furnace, offering no
relief from the oppressive heat. Dust and sand borne on
the breeze coat everything with yellow-orange silt.
In this forbidding world, cities and villages exist only in
a few oases or verdant plains. Some places don’t see rain
for years at a time, and even in fertile regions, rain is little
more than a humid mist that falls during a few weeks
each year before giving way to long months of heat and
drought. The world beyond these islands of civilization
is a wasteland roamed by nomads, raiders, and hungry
monsters.
Athas was not always a desert, and the parched
landscape is dotted with the crumbling ruins of a planet
that once was rich with rivers and seas. Ancient bridges
over dry watercourses and empty stone quays that face
seas of sand tell the tale of a world that is no more.
The World is Savage
Life on Athas is brutal and short. Bloodthirsty raiders,
greedy slavers, and hordes of inhuman savages over run
 Overview
the deserts and wastelands. The cities are little better; each
chokes in the grip of an ageless tyrant. The institution of
slavery is widespread on Athas, and many unfortunates
spend their lives in chains, toiling for brutal taskmasters.
Every year hundreds of slaves, perhaps thousands, are
sent to their deaths in bloody arena spectacles. Charity,
compassion, kindness – these qualities exist, but they are
rare and precious. Only a fool hopes for such riches.
Metal is Scarce
Most arms and armor are made of bone, stone, wood,
and other such materials. Mail or plate armor exists only
in the treasuries of the sorcerer-kings. Steel blades are
almost priceless, weapons that many heroes never see
during their lifetimes.
Arcane Magic Defiles the World
The reckless use of arcane magic during ancient wars
reduced Athas to a wasteland. To cast an arcane spell,
one must gather power from the living world nearby.
Plants wither to black ash, crippling pain wracks animals
and people, and the soil is sterilized; nothing can grow
in that spot again. It is possible to cast spells with care,
preserving the world and avoiding any more damage to it,
but defiling offers more power than preserving. As a result,
sorcerers, wizards, and other wielders of arcane magic are
reviled and persecuted across Athas regardless of whether
they preserve or defile. Only the most powerful spellcasters
can wield arcane might without fear of reprisal.
Sorcerer-kings Rule the City-states
Terrible defilers of immense power rule all but one of
the city-states. These mighty spelicasters have held their
thrones for centuries; no one alive remembers a time before
the sorcerer-kings. Some claim to be gods, and some claim
to serve gods. Some are brutal oppressors, where others
are more subtle in their tyranny. The sorcerer-kings govern
through priesthoods or bureaucracies of greedy, ambitious
templars, spellcasters who can call upon the kings’ powers.
Only in the city-state of Tyr does a glimmer of freedom
beckon, and powerful forces already conspire to extinguish
it.
4
The Gods are Silent
Long ago, when the planet was green, the brutal might
of the primordials overcame the gods. Today, Athas is a
world without deities. There are no clerics, no paladins,
and no prophets or religious orders. Old shrines and
crumbling temples lie amid the ancient ruins, testimony
to a time when the gods spoke to the people of Athas.
Nothing is heard now but the sighing of the desert wind.
In the absence of divine influence, other powers have
come to prominence in the world. Psionic power is well
known and widely practiced on Athas; even unintelligent
desert monsters can have deadly psionic abilities. Shamans
and druids call upon the primal powers of the world,
which are often sculpted by the influence of elemental
power.
Fierce Monsters Roam the World
The desert planet has its own deadly ecology. Athas
has no cattle, swine, or horses; instead, people tend flocks
of erdlus, ride on kanks or crodlus, and draw wagons with
mixes and mekillots. Wild creatures such as lions, bears,
and wolves are nonexistent. In their place are terrors such
as the id fiend, the baazrag, and the tembo. Perhaps
the harsh environment of Athas breeds creatures tough
and vicious enough to survive it, or maybe the touch
of ancient sorcery poisoned the wellsprings of life and
inflicted monster after monster on the dying world. Either
way, the deserts are peril ous, and only a fool or a lunatic
travels them alone.
Races Aren’t What You Expect
Typical fantasy stereotypes don’t apply to Athasian
heroes. In many settings, elves are wise, benevolent forest
dwellers who guard their homelands from intrusions of evil.
On Athas, elves are a nomadic race of herders, raiders,
peddlers, and thieves. Halflings aren’t amiable riverfolk;
they’re xenophobic headhunters and cannibals who hunt
and kill trespassers in their mountain forests. Half-giants
are brutal mercenaries who serve as elite guards and
enforcers for the sorcerer kings and their templars in many
city-states.
 Terrain
Sandy Wastes Terrain
Sandy wastes are open deserts consisting of vast
expanses of yellow sand piled into dunes of odd shapes
and sizes. The most common types of dunes have been
named by travelers for the things they resemble. When
a strong, steady wind from one direction heaps the sand
into “mountains” as high as 750 feet, they are called
mekillot dunes. Moderate winds from one direction create
sharp, evenly spaced ridges of sand with crests between 50
and 100 feet high, and these are called wave dunes. The
mekillot dunes are difficult to cross, but the wave dunes
of mile after mile of regularly spaced dunes have been
known to drive some to impatient frenzies.
Crescent dunes form where the sand doesn't completely
cover the ground. They result from a steady wind blowing
more readily over the dune's low tips than its high center.
Travelers can almost always find a way around these
dunes instead of having to climb over them. The most
interesting piles of sand are star dunes. These twisted
masses have tentacle-like ridges extending in all directions.
5
They form in areas where the winds from different
directions meet, causing the dune's radial arms to twist
back on themselves. Star dunes are called the traveler's
friend, because they change shape slowly and seldom
move far, thus making them excellent landmarks in an
otherwise indistinguishable terrain.
Wave dunes are the product of moderate winds which
blow steadily from one direction. They look like an oasis
pond on a windy day, with sharp, evenly spaced ridges of
sand. The crests of these dunes are only between fifty and
a hundred feet high. They are not difficult to cross, but
the regularity of their spacing has been known to drive
impatient muls into a killing frenzy.
In any dune region, the traveler occasionally hears a
vibrant booming echoing across the sands. This muffled
thunder usually continues for five minutes or more, and
can be so loud that you must shout to make yourself
heard. Druids and clerics explain this roaring by saying
that it is caused by avalanches of sand tumbling down the
steep slip-faces of the dunes. Personally, I think the elven
explanation is more likely: the booming is caused by the
 Terrain
tolling bells of an ancient city that the dunes have buried.
Of course, not all sand lies in dunes. Where there is
no wind, it may form a yellow plain, as level as a salt
flat and seemingly as endless as the Sea of Silt. Similarly,
it is heaped in great fan-shaped hills at the base of the
Ringing Mountains, where it spills out of the canyons
running out of the high country.
Whether flat plains or piled dunes, traveling through
sand is hard work. It requires great stamina, long periods
of rest, and ample supplies of food and water. The wind
can also present another hazard: sandstorms. Sometimes
the wind howls with such ferocity that it drowns out the
sound of a screaming mul and stirs up so much sand that
visibility drops to a few precious feet. Travelers must stop
and wait out sandstorms or risk getting lost or separated
from their companions.
Flora and Fauna
Plants are few and far between in the sandy wastes, for
they must fight a constant losing battle with the wind as
it works to bury them beneath a fine layer of sand. Still,
there are occasional clumps of tough grass, wiry stems
of ocotillo, and scrawny sprays of salt brush. Most of
these plants are harmless, if not nutritious, but be careful
before allowing your mounts to graze on anything with a
purple hue – such plants often drive mekillots and inix
into murderous rages. Kanks don't seem to be affected
by these plants, however, I have no idea what the purple
plants would do to a man who eats them.
As in the stony barrens, you will find most forms of
animals in the sandy wastes. The anakore seems to be
particularly common here.
Stony Barrens
Stony barrens are the most common terrain type in
the Tablelands. These barrens consist of large sheets of
exposed bedrock, mostly orange-red sandstone. Exposed to
the wind and sun, the barrens are littered with stones of
all sizes, from tiny pebbles to massive boulders. A thick
layer of red dirt covers some areas, and in places drifts
of orange sand and yellow dust pile at least waist high.
Except on roads and well-worn paths, the loose rocks
make for treacherous footing. Humans and demihumans
6
can move at only half their normal walking speeds over
the loose rocks. Mounts can move at their normal walking
speeds, but can’t be pushed to faster rates off the paths
in the stony barrens. Wagons suffer the worst fate, for
the loose stones pulverize even the sturdiest wheels in a
matter of miles.
Flora and Fauna
For every rock in the stony barrens, there are a dozen
thorns. Cactus grows everywhere and in every conceivable
shape: squat spheres covered by long yellow needles,
twisted masses of ground-hugging tubes, tall spine-covered
barrels rising as high as twenty feet-even in tangled masses
with tree-like limbs. Many of these cacti are sources of
both food and water, provided you are willing to work
your way past their thorns.
If you are not familiar with a particular cactus, however,
it is best not to attempt eating it or stealing water from
it. Some cacti have mobile needles that will work their
way deep into your flesh, not stopping until they reach
your heart or another vital organ. The meat or fluid of
other cacti is toxic, and there are even a few that shoot
poisoned needles at any animal passing near them.
The fauna of the stony barrens is varied. Here, you
will find most of the animals of Athas: wild erdlus,
mekillots, inix, etc. Of course, there is also an abundance
of predators: braxat, tembo, belgoi, and the like.
Rocky Badlands
Rocky badlands are labyrinths of narrow, twisting
canyons that wind through regions of high ground. Walls
of crumbling rock form cliffs that border the canyons,
while the hilltops consist of knife-sharp ridges that separate
one canyon from the next. Oases are prevalent in the
badlands, making this terrain type a natural haven for
hermits, raiding tribes, and creatures of every description.
Travel through the badlands is easy as far as movement
is concerned. However, travel can only be accomplished
along the canyon bottoms, which means travelers must
follow the winding paths to wherever they lead. Scaling
the sheer cliffs, especially with cargo, is next to impossible.
Add to this the fact that every turn can hide a new
danger, and the badlands quickly become less appealing

to those who need to cross them.
Rocky badlands often surround mountains, as shown
on the Tyr Region map. Most of these peaks are nothing
more than pinnacles of stone that rise above the nearby
hills, but occasionally a true mountain climbs thousands
of feet above the twisting canyons. The mountains usually
provide plenty of places to find food and water, but
they also attract creatures powerful enough to claim these
places as their own.
Flora and Fauna
The gulches of the rocky badlands are often covered
with diminutive trees bearing tiny silver, gold, or purple
leaves. There is also an abundance of low-lying brush with
serrated, silver-white leaves, as well as spherical gray-yellow
bushes with thorny stems standing as tall as a man. The
twigs of the trees make excellent grazing for any reptile,
7
Terrain
but kanks die within a few days of eating even a mouthful
of these twigs. Don't let anything eat the serrated leaves
of the low-lying brush, as the sharp leaves slice up the
intestines of whatever eats them.
As throughout most of the Tablelands, nearly any kind
of beast can be found in the rocky badlands, but tembo,
belgoi, and silk wyrms are especially common.
Salt Flats
The salt flats are just what the name implies: immense
plains of salt-crusted ground. Salt flats are generally level
and packed as hard as stone, so traveling over them is
fast and easy. However, forage for pack animals and prey
for hunters is all but nonexistent. Those traveling through
a salt-flat are well advised to take along enough food for
themselves and their beasts.
 Terrain

They should also carry an ample supply of drinking
water. Although there are oases in the salt flats, the water
is usually so bitter and salty that it is undrinkable. In
some cases, water can be found that seems safe to drink,
but is tainted with a slow-acting poison.
Flora and Fauna
There is a shocking lack of plant and animal life found
on salt flats. Here and there a traveler might find a hearty
weed or dwarf cactus, but by and large these foul regions
are wholly lifeless.
Salt Marshes
Salt marshes and shallow, ephemeral lakes can form in
and near salt flats, dust sinks, and sandy wastes. Most
are only a mile or two across, but a few – such as the
Salt Meres or the Maze of Draj – extend for as much
as hundreds of miles. The water, too salty or alkaline to
sustain life, is undrinkable. Many salt marshes dry out
completely in the months of High Sun, and some remain
dry year-round if the following Lowsun comes and goes
without rain.
A salt marsh contains low grasses, reeds, or brush.
Ankle-deep channels of briny water encrusted with caked
salt wind through the marsh, sometimes opening out
into large, shallow lakes. Here and there, tough stands of
scrub or the occasional tree stand above the grasses. Few
creatures can digest the tough vegetation, but the marshes
buzz with tiny insects that can drive a traveler half mad.
are often attracted to these areas when first learning their
black art, practicing new spells, or trying to find a safe
refuge.
Given the destructive pressure of these two forces, it
is a wonder that there are any scrub plains at all in the
Tablelands. Most of the remaining tracts still exist only
because they are watched over by druids. When they realize
that a Defiler has entered their territory, these druids do
everything in their power to drive him from the area or kill
him – usually the latter.
The druids treat herders more kindly, simply keeping
a close eye on the herding tribes and their flocks. If the
herders try to take their flocks into a pasture in danger of
being overgrazed, or if they stay in the same place too long,
the druids will subtly guide the herders away by summoning
a ferocious creature or a plague of insects.
Travel in the scrub plains is generally quick and easy.
Sometimes travelers inadvertently anger a local druid or
attract the attention of some kind of predator, but usually
trips through the tracts of brown-green grass are uneventful.
Travelers do have to watch out for gith, however, and other
wild creatures appear more frequently in these relatively
fertile areas.

Scrub Plains
Scrub plains are small tracts of dusty land dotted with
clumps of grass, thorny bushes, and occasionally even
spindly trees. These tracts are relatively scarce in the
Tablelands. Because the scrub provides the best forage
available, herders tend to overgraze these plains, stripping
the land of all foliage and reducing it to a sandy waste
or stony barren.
What the herders do not inadvertently destroy, Defilers
often annihilate. Although the scrub plains are not lush
by any standard, they contain more vegetation per acre
than most other Athasian terrain. Because of this, Defilers

8

Flora and Fauna
The scrub plains are covered with sporadic clumps of
brown-green grass, thorny hedges, and tall, wispy trees
with drooping branches and long, spear-shaped leaves.
Occasionally, when a rain has fallen in an area within the
last thirty to sixty days, an entire field will be covered with
wildflowers and leafy green plants. Generally speaking,
most of the plants in the scrub plains are safe for both
humans and beasts, but halflings and dwarves should
avoid eating anything with purple spots (unless they are
fond of terrible stomach aches and feverish deliriums).
As in the rest of the Tablelands, nearly any beast can
be found in the scrub plains – though with much greater
frequency. Jozhal and gith can be an exceptional problem
here.
Dust Sinks
Windblown dust, ash, and silt accumulate in depressions
to form dust sinks or silt basins. The largest known example
is the Sea of Silt, but smaller sinks exist in almost any
low-lying terrain. Even a light wind stirs the dust into
billowing clouds. On calm days, a dust sink appears to be
a smooth plain of pale gray or dun powder. Appearances
are deceptive. The dust is too light to support a traveler's
weight, but it is thick enough to suffocate anyone who
falls in. Sometimes, the ground beneath the powder is
uneven, concealing a dangerous drop. One misstep, and
a traveler can disappear beneath the dust.
Large bodies of silt often extend like the rivers of old
into more solid terrain, following narrow channels called
estuaries. Many estuaries of silt are shallow enough for
human-sized travelers to wade with care. Very tall creatures
such as giants can navigate correspondingly deeper silt; a
giant can wade through silt 10 feet deep without difficulty.
Many large sinks and estuaries are sprinkled with
islands of high ground, isolated from the “mainland” by
stretches of dust of varying depths. Some of these islands
are rocky protrusions just large enough to accommodate
a giant or two, and others can support an entire village.
Miles of silt have sheltered many islands over the years
from the touch of defiling magic, and those islands remain
surprisingly verdant.
9
Terrain
Flora and Fauna
Except for the lack of silt horrors, most creatures and
geographical features of the Silt Sea can be found in a
typical dust sink.
Boulder Fields
Boulder fields consist of broken, jagged rock. Some are
old lava flows long since cooled, and others are valleys
choked with rock slides or slopes of scree. They usually
lie near mountains, and most are no larger than a few
miles across. Boulder fields are formidable obstacles since
they lack water, vegetation, and shade, and if travelers do
not have sturdy boots or sandals, the sharp rocks can cut
their feet to ribbons. Deep gulches and crevices crisscross
boulder fields, offering plenty of hiding places.
Mountains
Low ranges such as the Mekillot Mountains, the
Stormclaw Mountains, and the Black Spine Mountains
dot the Tyr Region. They are daunting obstacles. Their
bare, rocky peaks – sometimes as tall as 6,000 feet –
offer little water or shelter to make the climb worthwhile.
After a daytime temperature of well over 100 degrees,
temperatures at night can plunge near the freezing
point. Most of the exposed rock crumble under the twin
hammers of heat and cold, so great slopes of broken rock
and frequent rock slides make for arduous travel.
Mountain vales, on the other hand, often are watered
and filled with heavy scrub, cacti, or sparse forest. Little
of the land is suitable for cultivation, but savages and
monsters such as half-giants, gith, and kirres make their
homes in vales. Large networks of caverns lie under most
of the low mountain ranges, home to all sorts of strange
creatures that prefer to hide from the sun.
A truly awesome mountain range marks the western
border of the Tyr Region the Ringing Mountains, whose
highest peaks reach 20,000 feet or more. Some of these
peaks have thin but permanent snowcaps.
Foothills
Foothills are steep inclines at the base of the mountain
range, rising on either side of the sand heaps that wash
 Terrain
down from the canyons. Foothills resemble the rocky
badlands of the Tablelands, for they are filled with
twisting canyons interspersed with steep ridges of higher
ground. Vegetation and animal life is the same, as are the
characteristics of the land. There are differences, however.
The ridges between the canyons tend to be higher, and
their summits are rounded and expansive instead of sharp
and narrow. The closer one gets to the mountain range,
the more dramatic the foothills become. The canyons
plunge deeper, the cliffs grow steeper, and the hills rise
higher.
The bottom of the ravines make for the easiest travel,
especially along dry creek beds. Boulder fields and steep
walls of stone sometimes intrude in these otherwise flat
areas, but the paths are usually clear. Travelers should
take heed if the sky suddenly darkens and a rare rainstorm
appears, for the ravines can be washed out by a wall
10
of water. Flash floods occur frequently in these foothill
ravines, draining rainfall from the higher elevations in
violent fashion.
The ridge tops of the foothills are easy to navigate and
lead toward the spines of the mountains. Of course, not
everyone is comfortable walking out in the open along the
edge of a precipice that may plunge hundreds or even
thousands of feet into an abyss.
Canyons
Canyons wind through the foothills and cut deep into
the heart of the mountains. Their floors have a slight
but steady incline that eventually leads to higher ground.
Every 20 to 40 miles, the regularity of the foothills is
broken by a major canyon between one and five miles
wide. Sand washed down from the mountains fills the

first few miles of each canyon, sometimes for a distance
as great as ten miles. Water gets trapped beneath the
sand, providing sustenance to copses of small trees, fields
of grass or flowers, and hedges of thorny bushes. These
sandy plots makes good grazing land, so they tend to
attract herders.
Deeper in the canyons, the sandy washes give way to
stony barrens littered with boulders of all shapes and
sizes. There is more vegetation here than in similar terrain
types, for the high canyon walls provide shelter from the
sun, and water runs down from the mountains on a
fairly regular cycle. The ample vegetation supports a large
population of grazing animals which, in turn, attracts
numerous predators. A common yet dangerous form of
vegetation found here is the dagger plant. A mild poison
coats its long, sharp leaves-some that are as sharp as
polished obsidian.
As the canyon floors rise, a steep field of packed
boulders replaces the stony barrens. The only way to
cross the boulder fields is to jump from rock to rock.
Travelers quickly learn that these boulders are precariously
balanced, and any false step can tip a stone and send a
body tumbling into a mass of sharp-edged rocks. If even
one boulder shifts, others above it may be dislodged in
an avalanche of crushing stone.
Mudflats
Little open water remains on the surface of Athas;
most is buried underground. In a few places, water seeps
upward, saturating the land to create mudflats. Most
common near or in dust sinks (especially the shallows of
the Sea of Silt), mudflats hide beneath the churning dust,
revealed only when the winds clear an area and expose
the soupy mess to the air. Uncovered mudflats usually
dry out in short order, leaving behind hard, cracked clay
that might or might not be solid enough to support a
traveler's weight.
A few mudflats manage to survive, sometimes through
cultivation and sometimes by happenstance. These areas
are lush with vegetation, including desert grasses, thorny
bushes, and small trees. Where mudflats stand in silt
basins, low islands of dense vegetation rise above the
dust. These mudflats are rarely large; most measure only a
11
Terrain
few hundred feet across. Tangled underbrush and mucky
ground make traveling through these areas difficult but
not impossible. In general, mudflats offer little to travelers;
there isn't much standing water, and dangerous predators
hunt creatures that subsist on the greenery.
Sea of Silt
To the untrained eye, the silt is an endless plain
of desolation, lifeless and deadly. Yet this is only an
illusion, a distortion of the truth. The silt possesses its
characteristic formations and moods, just as landforms
anywhere do. The experienced silt traveler faces an ever-
changing terrain as diverse as that of the Tablelands or
the Ringing Mountains.
Silt is not found in the boundaries of the Sea alone.
Many inland dust sinks and silt basins, as well as the
great silt estuaries, are found near the borders of the sea
or within a few days' march. The dust that fills them
is carried across the intervening lands in the course of
great storms out on the Sea, and it fills the lower-lying
areas. The dust basins surrounding Bodach and the Mud
Palace were created in this fashion.
Conversely, the Sea of Silt is not composed exclusively
of silt. Rocky islands rise from the dust, dotting the
surface of the sea with firm land. Bare patches of stone
can be found here and there, places where the earth is
scoured flat by the endless winds-places where the silt
never accumulates. In other areas, sharp crags pierce the
blanket of dust like spears buried in sand. Lastly, of
course, there are countless mud flats scattered across the
pearly silt.
The Silt
What is the Sea of Silt? Where did it come from?
One need only see the ruins of the ancients that litter its
shores to realize that Athas was not always the arid waste
it is today. Some people believe the Sea was once filled
with water, so much water that one could stand on the
shore and not see the other side.
The silt itself is a grayish powder, like very fine and dry
dust. It runs through the fingers like water, leaving not
a trace on one's hands. The slightest trace of moisture
causes it to stick and clump; it can cake the eyes, nose,
 Terrain
and throat in seconds. Breathing the airborne silt slowly
lines the lungs with powder and chokes the life from even
a giant.
Like water, silt has a devilish ability to find its way into
everything. A traveler walking along the borders of the
Sea of Silt on a windy day finds boots, packs, and even
pockets filling with gray dust. Most of the time it is merely
annoying-but contamination of a canteen or food supplies
is a sore blow to the wayfarer on short rations.
Silt is denser than air, but far less than water. Stories
tell of inventors who tried to copy the hulled, wheelless
vehicles the ancients used to travel through water. The silt
is so light, and of so little substance, that even the most
carefully built boat sank through the dust to rest on the
bottom. Others tried to strap great baskets to their feet,
hoping that these could support their weight over the silt.
They were no more successful.
Water sinks rapidly through the silt. A gallon of water
thrown into shallow silt leaves a foot-wide muddy shaft
through the dust down to the rock below. This rapidly fills
over and collapses, but some sages observing this effect
have speculated that a sufficient amount of water, such as
one good rain, could pound the entire Sea into a single
12
mud flat. Of course, the terrible heat of the sun would
soon dry the mud back into silt.
The Gray Death
Silt travelers must be forewarned of the Gray Death:
suffocation from windborne dust while wading or flying
above the silt (or even traveling near its borders) on windy
days. The lungs and the throat slowly clog with dust,
and unprotected characters traveling in these conditions
suffer as if they were Drowning. Breathing through a thin,
fine cloth is adequate protection for most humans and
humanlike creatures. The cloth must be kept damp and
clean, which consumes 1/2 gallon of water per day.
Wind and Weather
The endless flat expanse of the Sea of Silt allows
terrifying winds to develop across its empty scope. It is
a rare day when the Sea is still. Most of the time, it is
whipped into a blinding, pearly haze by the fierce winds
that sweep across the dust.
On very windy days, the top layer of the silt is actually
carried away and borne into the atmosphere. Dust can
hang in the air for many hours, and sometimes even days,
after a major storm. Depending on the depth of the silt
and the power of the wind, this stripped layer can be
anywhere from a few inches to dozens of feet thick. In
many places a large storm can strip shallow silt right down
to the bedrock and carry a blanket of silt over lands that
are not normally covered. The borders of the sea are thus
fluid and shift with the wind. Eventually, the wind always
replaces what it has taken away, and the Sea returns to
its normal limits.
Beneath this top layer lies the wave silt. This behaves
like any body of water, forming waves when agitated.
Running snakewise before the wind, the endless rise and
fall of the gray dust can become hypnotic. Unlike water,
the dust is too light to ever break or fall, and if the wind
should suddenly die, the silt is left frozen in endless
rippling dunes. They are deceptively solid to the eye, but
are no more dense than other silt.
Underneath the wave silt is the deep silt. This layer lies
so far down (40-50' deep) that it is almost never disturbed
by the surface weather. Even the most knowledgeable
 Terrain

sages can only guess at conditions in the deep silt.
Presumably it is lightless and airless, and some amount
of silt compression most likely takes place. What creatures
make their homes here, or what secrets the deep silt hides,
no one knows.
Wind Day Visibility Night Visibility
None By # of moons
Light 500 By # of moons
Moderate 100 By # of moons
Strong 50 50
Storm 10 10
Sirocco 10 10
Movement in the Silt
The Sea of Silt is one of the most formidable barriers to
travel on the world of Athas. Aside from the difficulty of
simple movement across the dust, the weather is extremely
hostile. Rare are the days when a traveler can find the
Sea still enough to attempt a crossing. Also, the Sea is
full of dangerous predators that view anything moving as a
possible meal. Even giants hesitate before wading silt they
do not know, and many refuse to try a crossing without
a companion.
There are few good ways to cross silt. The best way
is to befriend a powerful wizard and have him or her
teleport one to a destination. Unfortunately, the few
mages capable of this rarely care to be bothered with
such a mundane goal. Other methods of travel include
wading, flying, magic, and the silt skimmer. Each has its
advantages as well as its disadvantages.
Wading
The simplest method, wading, is available to everyone
and is cheap. Unfortunately, it is risky in the extreme,
slow, and limited in range. Any character can wade in
silt up to three-quarters of his height in depth, chest-high
for humans and demihumans. Characters who push this
to chin-deep run an excellent chance of stepping into a
bottom irregularity and immersing their heads in the dust.
Wading through silt is hard work and typically waders
move at a third of what they would on land.
On windy days, the blowing dust makes breathing
nearly impossible if one's head is close to the surface of
the silt; beyond that, it is almost impossible to maintain
any bearings. In general, the wind must be light or less
to allow a wading creature to move. Giants, who are
strong and practiced waders, may wade in moderate wind
conditions.
Wading through silt over one's head
A traveller has several options. First, have someone
who is taller carry them. A half-giant could carry one
human-sized person with no problem and possibly several
in a basket or similar harness. A full-blooded giant could
carry at least two human-sized characters and even six or
eight with some preparation. One or two half-giants could
be carried instead of human passengers. Friendly giants
might be persuaded to carry passengers for free; however,
most giants expect compensation for their effort.
Second, find a path formed on a layer of compressed
silt. Compressible silt only exists in silt of less than 40-50'
feet deep and is never higher than half the depth of the
silt – For example, the safe layer of a region of silt 20'
deep is never closer to the surface than 10' and could
possibly be within a foot of the bottom. The best way
to take advantage of this phenomenon is to find a place
where people have already formed trails and to stay on
them.
Only a small amount of the shallow silt enjoys the right
conditions of bottom contour to be compressible, but the
only way to find out whether a specific location in the silt
supports a walkable layer is to test it with a man's weight.
Flying
Flying involves the use of a trained airborne mount,
a glider, a fly spell, or a magical device such as a fruit
of flying or a carpet of flying. This is considered by
many to be the best method of traveling through the
regions; movement is fast, dangerous silt creatures can be
avoided, and silt can be crossed regardless of its depth.
Unfortunately, nothing is ever quite as easy as it looks.

13
 Terrain
Riding a flying mount
The most common airborne mounts are pterrax,
dragonnels, rocs, and air elementals. Of these, only air
elementals are not instinctively afraid of flying over silt.
Flying over silt becomes easier for the avian creature with
time.
The mounts mentioned above are all very strong fliers
and can literally fly all day without rest. A lesser elemental
can carry a halfling, a standard elemental a human, and a
greater elemental several humans or one half-giant.
Eventually, even the strongest flyer needs a place to rest.
One of the chief disadvantages in flying a roc on an over-
silt journey lies in the difficulty of feeding and watering
the beast when it finally lands.
Gliders
An excellent short-range solution, but still perilous.
Cliff-gliders drop 20' for each 120 yards they travel
forward. Obviously, gliders rarely cross more than two
or three miles of silt. Some glider pilots claim they have
encountered bizarre drafts of warm wind that actually
allow them to climb, forfeiting their forward progress to
regain height. Gliders are rare and are seldom sold by the
craftsmen who build them.
A flying spell
Another good short-range option, though flying travellers
are advised to keep an eye out for rocs and cloud rays,
though.
Magical devices
The best method of flying by far. The most accessible
is a fruit of flying. Other magical means of flight include
winged boots, broom of flying, carpet of flying, cloak of
the bat, rug of welcome, and wings of flying. The most
prized of these items have no limitations; they can remain
airborne for days, crossing unbelievable distances.
Magical or Psionic Movement
Other magical means include personal levitation,
levitation of a platform or raft, or travel spells and powers
14
that do not actually confer the power of flight. Levitating
creatures have two options: drift at the mercy of the wind
in the air, or walk across the surface of the silt. Using
levitation to walk across the dust allows the character to
move as though crossing plains, using normal overland
movement. A powerful wizard may be able to levitate
a raft large enough to hold several people and make it
permanent; in this case the platform must be either sailed
or poled. Poling a raft only works in silt less than 20'
deep. Sailing only works when there is wind present, and
under those conditions the Sea of Silt rapidly becomes
uncrossable by any means. Poled vessels can only cover
one mile every two hours; if supplemented with a sail, the
speed doubles.
Silt Skimmer
Silt skimmers are among the safest methods for crossing
silt, but they are limited. A large and lightly built wagon,
the typical silt skimmer has four wheels that are 25' in
diameter. These wheels come to a sharp edge and are
hollow in the center. Skimmer slaves climb the never-
ending stairs inside the wheel to provide motive power,
and skimmers also use large sails when the wind is
favorable. Silt skimmers can travel six to eight miles a day
and can carry a load of two tons. However, they cannot
cross silt deeper than 15'.
Estuaries
Estuaries are long, narrow arms of the Silt Sea that
extend inland. Estuaries have all the characteristics of
the sea itself, cutting into the Tablelands and forming
considerable barriers to overland travel. While humans
and demihumans have as much trouble traversing these
inlets as they do the sea itself, estuaries often serve as
passageways for giants and other creatures that inhabit
the Silt Sea.
Silt Shoals
Silt shoals serve as paths through the Sea of Silt-if one is
skilled, knowledgeable, or brave enough to navigate these
unseen roads. In most cases, silt shoals are compressed
sand bars or solid rocks lying beneath the surface of the
 Terrain

silt. In others, they are buried walls of stone or the roofs of

ancient buildings that once stood tall and proud beneath
the crimson sun. Silt skimmers can travel along these
shoals, provided their captains have accurate charts or
the means for determining routes through the dusty basin.
Even the best charts can fail if a sudden storm springs up
or the wind forces a skimmer off the precarious path and
into the deeper silt.

Rocky Islands
In ancient days, before the Sea of Silt was filled with
dust, these stony outcroppings were great ranges of hills or
highlands. The island of Waverly is an excellent example
of one of these old highlands. Other rocky islands seemed
to have been more recently formed by volcanic activity;
Lake Island is one of these. Rocky islands offer the traveler
one of the few safe havens to be found in the silt.
Some rocky islands are blessed with an abundance of
clear, cold water fed by deep springs within their strong
roots. Others are dry and lifeless. Islands possessing natural
springs are in great Demand – it is almost inconceivable
that one might stumble across one that did not support a
giant clan or some other fierce predator. creatures. Monsters such as gaj, id fiends, crystal spiders,
Little vegetation grows on most rocky islands, even if they thrax, bhaergala, rhaumbusun, and giant lizards or beetles
do have plenty of water. Many are far too mountainous, plague these isolated islands.
with steep slopes of barren stone. Those few areas that are On occasion, powerful flying predators such as rocs,
level rarely possess any topsoil, as most is carried away by wyverns, or cloud rays might be found with a nest or den
the terrible winds that scour the Sea of Silt. Some more on the highest peaks of such an island. None of these
sheltered islands, or those of considerable size, are an creatures are disposed to regard intruders as anything
exception to this general rule and support a remarkable except an easy meal. Some islands of the deep silt are
amount of life. For example, the hills ringing the island inhabited by tribes of silt runners or aarakocra. Again, the
of Waverly protect the region of scrub plain that lies in infrequent intruder is generally considered an easy way to
the isle's center. supplement their normal diets.
Islands that are within wading distance of the mainland
are often chosen as homes by giant clans of all types. Bare Stone
Very rarely, a tribe of gith might claim one as a camp.
Regions of the shallow silt where the dust has been
Most giants like to keep large herds of erdlu and goats,
stripped down to the bedrock by the hellish winds of the
but dislike actively cultivating the ground. An island
Sea, patches of bare stone are rare. They never appear in
occupied by a giant clan will seldom be plagued by many
the deep silt regions, but can occasionally be found near
large predators; the giants protect their herds well.
the shoreline.
Islands that are in the deep silt are far more likely
Patches of bare stone are usually short-lived, lasting
to be found in a wild state. Because the only creatures
only a day or a week before a shift in the wind buries
that can reach such an island are either winged or silt
them again. Because they are covered with silt most of
predators, the islands are rarely populated by intelligent

15
 Terrain
the time, the bare stone regions are usually devoid of any
terrestrial vegetation or animals. There is a fair amount
of evidence that some bare stone regions are more likely
to be uncovered than others (or are more prone to being
stripped of their protective silt).
On very rare occasions, an area of bare stone will reveal
a ruin of the ancients that had been covered by the silt.
In some cases these structures have not been looted to the
degree that more accessible locations have been despoiled.
A few very lucky travelers have reaped rich rewards from
the ruins found in the silt-most notably, weapons of steel
and hoards of treasure.
Commonly, the bare stone region will take the form of
a hillock or low rise in the floor of the Silt Sea. Far too
low to remain permanently free of the dust, these small
knolls are more likely to be uncovered, albeit briefly, than
the lower-lying regions of the dust basin.
A patch of bare stone in the silt sea is usually safe.
The creatures of the silt cannot reach too far from their
protective cover, and the terrestrial predators of the
tablelands do not range out into the silt. The chief dangers
come from airborne predators or the sudden return of the
silt as the wind changes. In a few short hours a blanket of
dust 10' thick can once again blanket the open ground,
burying the unfortunate visitor.
Stark Crags
Jutting through a blanket of dust hundreds of feet thick,
the sheer pinnacles of rock that pierce the silt are one
of the most dramatic sights of Athas. No gentle slopes
ring these stone monoliths; there is only a wall of rock
rising from the gray dust to claw at the sky with broken,
weathered fingers.
Most crags are found in the deep silt, because a small
mountain or steep hill in the shallow silt tends to form
a rocky island instead of a true crag. They may just
manage to pierce the silt, rising a bare 10-20' above
the surrounding dust; or they may soar majestically for
hundreds of feet. It seems likely that in many places in
the deep silt, the lesser crags are occasionally revealed or
buried by the vagaries of the silt.
The stark crags of the Sea tend to be rather forbidding
to the terrestrial traveler. A sheer cliff hundreds of feet
high is a daunting barrier. Fortunately, the upper surfaces
16
of the crags are often weathered to the point of providing
a considerable area of relatively level ground on which
a flier can rest. Of course, some crags are inhabited by
creatures that hunt through flying, and few of these care
to have their homes and nests invaded.
Generally, the crags are without a source of water or
food. Some possess natural springs high on their flanks
that trickle water down their dusty sides, but these are
often inaccessible to any but the most daring climber. A
very few large crags are weathered sufficiently to support
a few meagre acres of scrub on their crumbling crowns.
Mudflats
The Sea of Silt is dotted with small areas of teeming life
known as mud flats. In these small islands of vegetation,
some water seeps up from a forgotten spring or stream
beneath the silt and forms a verdant patch in the middle
of the choking dust. Most mud flats range from 50 to
500 yards in diameter. Some are far larger, stretching for
miles. It is believed by some that these giant mud flats
are the last dying remnants of the seas or lakes that once
occupied the basin now filled by the silt.
Mud flats can only occur in the shallow silt (50' or
less). A steady flow of water into the silt above a spring
causes the silt to collapse into thin, gray mud. The damp
area slowly expands to the largest area its water supply
can keep moist. The fierce heat of the sun bakes the drier
outlying areas into a crust as hard as stone, but the center
of the flat often remains wet and muddy.
Mud flats are generally morasses of dust and mire,
ranging from a foot or two to 20' in depth. The mud itself
varies greatly in its density. In the center of the largest
mud flats, where small lakes of open water still exist, the
surrounding mud is so thin and watery that a man sinks
as swiftly and as surely as if he had set foot in the silt. In
smaller mud flats, the water is barely sufficient to prevent
the formation of silt, and a man's feet might only sink a
few inches. Many flats become dried out by the sun and
form hard, brittle crusts on which a man may walk as
though on hard stone. But if a crust should break, the
traveler could easily be left floundering in dust and mud
waist- or chest-deep.
The combination of a source of water (however small
and polluted) and a lack of silt makes most mud flats

some of the most heavily vegetative areas left on Athas.
Many plants flourish in the wet dust, from tangled patches
of thorny bramble to low, impenetrable mangrove copses.
Life is harsh and savage in the mud flats of the Silt Sea;
the scrub plants and wild grasses are often protected
by razor-sharp leaves and spines. Carnivorous plants,
especially dew fronds, often infest mud flats.
Worse than the dangerous vegetation of a mud flat are
the powerful carnivores that frequently make their homes
in the mud flats. The dreaded kluzd is perhaps the most
well known of the mud-flat predators, but many other
dangerous creatures can be found here. Great flocks of
carnivorous bats often roost in the dense foliage of a mud
flat, and numerous insectoid monsters such as centipedes,
scorpions, and giant beetles abound in the mud flats.
Dangerous avian hunters such as wyverns often nest in
the mud.
If neither the plants nor the animal predators of a
mud flat do not make a meal out of the unwary traveler,
the small insect life of a mud flat will. The flats are
virtually crawling with biting, blood-sucking flies and
gnats of all descriptions. They swarm around any soft-
skinned creature such as a man in numbers so great
that the victim is driven mad by the bugs. Ears, eyes,
and nostrils are constantly attacked. Dozens of gnats are
swallowed or inhaled. The only methods of driving off
the noxious insects are completely covering the body or
burning various woody plants to create a pungent smoke
unpleasant to the vicious insects.
All things considered, mud flats are areas best avoided.
The only good thing that can be said about them is that
a traveler can usually set foot on one without sinking and
suffocating in the silt.
Lava Sea
Travelers encountering the Ring are hard-pressed to
recognize distinctive features. Despite this apparent
uniformity, the lava sea possesses as many moods as
any mundane ocean. Varying densities, temperatures, and
levels of activity each carry particular dangers.
Density
This varies from near-solid stone to thin, fast-flowing
17
Terrain
liquid rock. Most stretches of magma are thick enough to
support the weight of a human sized creature. The rare,
yellow-hot lava cannot. Travelers walking the Ring of Fire
with powerful magical protection must detour around thin
lava.
Temperature
Surfaces vary from cold crusts that would not even singe
exposed flesh to superheated lava that glows bright yellow.
Most magma is in the cool red to hot red range, which
is quite sufficient to burn a human to ashes. The hottest
regions can set a human afire a hundred yards away.
Activity
Vast areas simply seethe slowly, forming unbroken plains
of red-hot stone. Other regions are a stunning display of
natural power and energy, with lava fountains hurling tons
of rock hundreds of feet in the air. The most dangerous
active regions are the dormant ones; no one wants to be
surprised by a sudden eruption of a new fountain where
none was suspected.
Generally, creatures of the Elemental Plane of Fire tend
to prefer the hottest, most liquid magma they can find.
Creatures of the Elemental Plane of Earth and terrestrial
fire creatures such as fire drakes or fire lizards, prefer
cooler lava.
No water or vegetation is ever found on the rock spires
and barren islands. The heat is too great, and firestorms
regularly scour them clean. Despite this destitution, the
spires can save the life of a flier in need of rest or a
traveler fleeing a magma creature.
Blackwash
A blackwash occurs when silt blown in from the sea
covers a tar pit with a layer of dust, making it look like
a natural patch of ground. Many travelers have fallen
through blackwashes, so named for the black tar that
splashes up when a victim vanishes into one.
Because hot air from the boiling tar must escape,
blackwashes will always have small vents breaking through
the layer of silt. The vents look like tiny ant mounds,
though the air above them is hazy due to the escaping
heat.
 Terrain
Grotto
Many streams once wound their way through the
Giustenal region, at least if the number of dark and
twisting grottoes are any indication. Literally thousands of
miles of deep and shallow crevices crisscross the wastes.
Creatures small and large make their homes in these
places, and it is even rumored that a belgoi settlement is
located in one of the largest.
Jagged Plains
Nothing in the Giustenal region compares to being
forced to cross the dreaded jagged plains. In these desolate
areas, fierce winds have blown free mica or quartz particles
across the crusty ground like sharpening stones. This
causes deep ruts and jagged protrusions that decimate
wheeled vehicles or the feet of most riding animals (except
mekillots and other large beasts that grind the rock to
dust). Careful steps may be taken over a jagged plain,
but travel time is reduced to a crawl. Even slowly picking
one's way through the jagged plains is a dangerous and
agonizing experience.
The jagged plains are always a dark red in color, here
and there mixed with the thorny stalks of a tenacious
plant somehow eking a living from a pocket of trapped
soil. Sand pockets are also common, and the light colored
stuff forms brilliant bands in stark contrast to the crimson
ash around it.
Jagged plains are usually no more than a square mile
in area.
Magma Forests
Occasionally a traveler will come across huge columns
of smooth rock jutting up to 15 feet into the air, with
bases twice as wide as a large man. Some say that these
features are evidence of a volcanic eruption that buried
this region in the past. Others say the Dragon breathed
molten lava on a village that would not pay a tribute.
All of the trees around it were covered in the stuff, while
everything else vanished in the lethal inferno.
Whatever the case, the magma forests were formed
when certain trees resistant to intense heat were literally
covered by magma. Though most of the tree burned, the
18
water-filled trunks lasted long enough to mold the molten
stuff around them. This eventually cooled and hardened
into thick, jagged columns, but time and the wind have
worn them smooth.
The magma trees are crimson in color, with dark
and light swirls mixed throughout. The wind or some
creature has caused a few to shatter. The trees break into
shards much like a ceramic vase. Occasionally a section
will break without cracking the rest of the tree, forming a
portal to the hollow space inside.
Flake Drifts
Rough, volcanic rock is exposed in places where the
wind frequently sweeps the sand or silt residue away. In
some places, the wind eventually breaks off small flakes
of the light rock, and these can gather into flake drifts.
Usually, flake drifts are only a few feet wide and as
high as a human's waist. There are a few places, however,
where the land has cracked and formed a natural trap
long enough and high enough to gather huge amounts
of blowing debris. One such place is called the Shifting
Slope, and can be found about five miles southwest of
Giustenal. Shifting Slope is over a mile long and more
than 15 feet high, though there is at least one opening
known as Ghodan's Gap (named for the dwarf brothers
who often use it). This gap is just wide enough to let a
wagon pass.
Tar Pits
The Giustenal region is home to a number of bubbling,
smoking tar pits. A great forest once covered these shoals,
though it was buried in volcanic lava in the distant past.
The intense heat caused the woodland to burn beneath
the crusting magma, which formed massive tar pits. Over
time, earthquakes and the build-up of gases broke the
crust, and tar shoots were able to erupt in some places.
Some say, however, that when the sorcerer-kings gathered
in Giustenal to perform the bloody task of murdering
Dregoth, the raw fury of their combined attack literally set
the land ablaze. The tar pits then erupted like black boils
on diseased skin. The Veiled Alliance believes there is
some truth to this otherwise fanciful legend. Their theory
is that the defiling nature of the sorcerer 's spells turned

the living land to ash. Then, with little power left for their
vile magic, the land burst with the foul blackness of the
smoking tar. This legend may have some validity, for tar
pits found in other places aren't nearly as hot and don't
give off the same greasy smoke.
Whatever the truth is, all who have visited the area
know that the tar pits are the Giustenal region's most
terrible and treacherous menace. But the people of Athas
are resourceful if nothing else, and the deadly tar has
found its uses in everyday life. The stuff is hot enough to
boil the flesh from a human in seconds but can easily be
scooped up in containers made of glass or obsidian. Tar
is good for waterproofing wineskins and creating torches.
Gathering the material is dangerous for two reasons.
First, the crust around a tar pit tends to be brittle, and
many curious individuals have fallen through into hot
goo. The second danger of the tar pits comes from the
malicious creatures that can live beneath the gooey surface.
Hideous things lurk just below the bubbling blackness
and they often try to pull unsuspecting victims to a quick
and painful doom. The Sky Singers have dubbed these
horrible beasts pit snatchers.
19
Terrain
The pits found near Giustenal are much hotter than
those found elsewhere.
Dead Forest
Once verdant jungles like the Forest Ridge, the dead
forests were slain by wind and the ashfall of the Valley.
That some still stand is evidence that the Valley was not
always a wasteland. The forests consist of charred gray
trunks and dead trees of all kinds. Every year, a few more
fall to the ravages of the Great Ash Storm. Half the trees
of any forest region still stand as bare white skeletons.
The floor of the forests are treacherous, for several
inches or feet of acrid ash cover the ground. Soft loam
lies beneath the ash. It sometimes hides sharp branches
and deadfalls, and it is easy for a traveler to stumble into
these.
The dead forests, despite the name, are the most
populous outer lands. The trees will never regrow, but
in many places small and sturdy shrubs grow through
the ash, fed by tiny springs in the deep ravines and dells
of the ruined woods. This relative abundance of food
 Terrain
and water makes the dead forests dangerous, for powerful
predators can survive here.
Most dead forests support mundane life, such as insects
and rodents and grazers. Many small carnivores have
perished because of the competition, leaving wyverns
and so-ut as the most commonly encountered predators.
Intelligent creatures usually avoid the dead forests because
of the high number of dangerous creatures, but outlanders
and giants mount occasional hunting expeditions into the
ash-choked woods.
Smoking Land
Regions of cooling lava flows and hot volcanic vents are
common in the outer regions of the Valley. The proximity
of the Ring of Fire contributes to the already catastrophic
conditions of the Valley of Dust and Fire, and extreme
volcanic activity is common.
The smoking lands take several different forms, most
commonly a stony barren with scattered vents Lava Plains
and mud pits. The land trembles from time to time, and
geysers of hot ash and burning gases are routine. Despite
the physical danger of the smoking land, tough weeds
and brambles survive in its tormented soil. These scarce
plants in turn support a small animal population among
the mud pits and scalding vents.
Travel in the smoking lands is possible, but hazardous.
A wayfarer unaccustomed to the dangers can stumble
dangerously. For instance:
● A mud geyser splatters scalding mud over the
characters.
A hidden vent emits scorching fumes.
● Apparently solid ground conceals a pit of boiling
mud.
● Noxious mist sweeps over party, causing blindness
and nausea.
● A tremor opens a fissure beneath the characters.
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Most creatures find the smoking lands too desolate and
dangerous to live in. However, these regions of blasted
earth support scrawny brambles and tough shrubs. Animals
such as erdlu, goats, jarbos, and jankx survive here, but
large carnivores are rare; the ruined lands simply cannot
support them. Most caves or fissures of the smoking lands
are vents for such geological activity as geysers or toxic
gas eruptions. The smoking lands offer no shelter for the
traveler.
Lava Plains
Black, featureless fields of frozen rock, many lava plains
are only a few dozen years old, formed by nearby volcanic
activity. No plants can survive in this waterless desert of
solid rock-and without plants, few animals survive.
Unlike the Ring of Fire or other stretches of molten
magma, the lava plains have long since cooled and ceased
their relentless flow. They cover the ground in a blanket
of dense black stone anywhere from 8-30' deep. In a few
places a strong natural spring can force its way to the
surface, but these are simply buried anew. In other places
volcanic vents spew poisonous gas.
The lava plains are difficult to cross on foot. Though
generally flat and level, they are crisscrossed with deep
fissures. The ground itself is hard, sharp, and unforgiving;
travelers must proceed with caution or risk shredding their
feet on the jagged stone.
Lava plains are often riddled with subterranean pipes or
tunnels within the rock. These lead back to the volcano
whose fury spawned the black plains. It is thought that
these tunnels serve as conduits for fresh lava during
subsequent eruptions.
Given the near-total lack of food and water, there is
little to recommend a lava plain. However, most flows do
possess one redeeming quality-they are free of dangerous
animals. No carnivore hunts such empty land. However,
be wary of flying creatures. On the flat expanse of lava,
a roc or wyvern is the last thing a traveler wants to see.
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TheLocations
Tablelands
“Beyond Tyr, who knows what we'll meet? Maybe
earthquakes, scouring sand squalls, monstrous
abominations, attacks by violent raiders... sure you're up
for the trip?”
- Shahin, dune trader
Stretching from the foothills of the Ringing Mountains
to the Great Ivory Plain and from the Lost Oasis to
the Dragon's Bowl, the Tablelands are a vast territory of
sand, stone, and scrub plains. The picturesque mesas and
buttes for which the region is named jut from the plains
or rise like broken ramparts from the badlands, painted
in broad striations of orange, yellow, and ocher. These
ancient lands, inhabited by a wide variety of almost all
the speaking peoples of Athas, hold dusty trading posts,
hidden villages, and crumbling ruins. When city-dwelling
Athasians think of deserts and desert people, they usually
picture the Tablelands and its denizens. In fact, some city
residents use the term “Tablelands” to describe everything
between the Ringing Mountains and the Sea of Silt.
Two city-states dominate the Tablelands: Tyr and Urik.
Tyr claims the broad central belt, and Urik's influence
extends over the northern portion. With the death of
King Kalak of Tyr, the old rivalry has taken on a new
complexion. Tyr's revolutionaries dream of spreading their
uprising to new cities, while Hamanu of Urik plots to
seize Tyr's iron mines and extend his control all the way
to Tyr's walls. However, there is a difference between what
each city claims and what it truly controls. Outside a
narrow belt of patrols and outposts ringing the two cities,
the only laws a traveler need worry about are the laws
of the desert: Trust no one, guard your water, and watch
where you step.
The Tablelands around Tyr hide a number of intriguing
sites, including plantations of Tyr's nobles, client villages,
raider camps, old ruins, and lairs of dangerous monsters.
Trade routes snake eastward from Tyr, leading to the
cities of Balic, Gulg, and Urik. Great mekillot-drawn
argosies creak slowly along these well-traveled paths, but
the roads are far from safe.
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Dragon Horns
An ominous pair of crags rising above the rocky
badlands south of Tyr, the Dragon Horns serve as the lair
of a vicious gnoll tribe that calls itself the Dragon Horde.
The tribe has no connection with the Dragon, but its
appropriation of the terrifying creature's name enhances
its gruesome reputation. The leader of the Horde is a wily
old war chief named Tuarg Broken-Fang.
Tuarg and the gnolls have taken swift advantage
of the confusion following the fall of Tyr's sorcerer-king.
Their raids have grown bolder and bolder as the city fails
to respond to their forays. Tyr grapples with too much
internal turmoil to police its outlying plantations and
mines. Scenting opportunity, Tuarg has sent runners to
other gnoll tribes, summoning them to join the Dragon
Horde. When next the gnolls strike, they mean to scour
clean everything outside the city walls.
Great Alluvial Sand Wastes
A wide belt of dunes stretches hundreds of miles
from Urik all the way south past Altaruk, paralleling the
Ringing Mountains. Over the ages, sand washed from
the mouths of mountain canyons has accumulated into
a vast desert known as the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes.
This region walls off Tyr and the foothills of the Ringing
Mountains from the rest of the Tablelands (and the Tyr
Region in general). Although the terrain is difficult to
travel, it is not especially harsh, and tiny wells and oases
lie scattered across its golden expanse.
Slither, the Crawling Citadel
A century ago, a mul defiler named Yarnath used
a powerful ritual to create a crawling citadel of bone
in the wastes south of Tyr. However, the ritual took an
unexpected turn, and Yarnath drained his own life as
well as those of the slaves he intended to sacrifice. He
passed into undeath and became a powerful lich.
Despite the unforeseen sacrifice, Yarnath's ritual
succeeded in animating the fortified palace of Slither
to serve as his roving citadel. Slither is built from the
gargantuan skeletons of seven mekillot dirks bound
together by beams of fused bone. Turrets and sharp spires
 Locations
of bone rise crookedly from the dirk-shell structure, which
slowly crawls across sand wastes, scrub plains, salt flats,
and ridged foothills with equal facility.
Yarnath leads a band of raiders who primarily target
trade caravans on the way to Altaruk or the Silver Spring
Oasis. The lich's marauders hide their citadel a quarter-
day's journey from wherever they set their ambushes, so
no one realizes the secret of their mobile encampment.
The raiders bear snake-skull tattoos, and Yarnath has
established a network of spies and agents from Ledopolus
to Silver Spring.
Vault of House Madar
The merchant dynasty of House Madar fell to the
machinations of House Tsalaxa a hundred years ago,
but Tsalaxa's victory was incomplete. The last Madars
concealed a goodly part of their wealth in a hidden
redoubt before Tsalaxa's assassins slew all who knew the
secret of its resting place.
Supposedly, the vault is somewhere in the sandy wastes
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east of Tyr. Its entrance is said to resemble a natural,
wind-carved portico set flush in the shadowed face of
a canyon wall. Inside, a hidden entrance opens into a
labyrinth of tunnels containing the treasury vault of House
Madar. Undead (apparently consisting of buried Madar
ancestors and servitors), constructs, traps, and wards guard
the place. Despite the elaborate traps and real wealth
stored here, the tomb could be false – a ploy meant to
distract notice from the true and as yet undiscovered vault
of House Madar.
Lost Oasis
Possibly unique on Athas, the so-called Lost Oasis
features a natural geyser that periodically shoots scalding
water to the surface. Despite its high mineral content, the
steaming water nourishes a grove of trees, perhaps with the
help of the thri-kreen druid Durwadala, who claims Lost
Oasis as her home.
Travelers who are allowed by Durwadala to enter
Lost Oasis never see her, and those she determines to

be enemies of life (such as defilers, aberrant creatures,
and templars) are slain. How she manages this feat is a
mystery. Either Durwadala is especially powerful or, as has
been reported by raiders, the druid is linked to the geyser
in some way, using it to ambush intruders with blasts of
scalding water.
Ringing Mountains
The mighty Ringing Mountains, the greatest mountains
known on Athas, form the western border of the Tyr
Region. The highest peaks in the range reach more than
20,000 feet in elevation, and even the lowest passes
are a good 12,000 feet above the lowlands. Despite the
brutal heat and aridity of the deserts below, a glimmer of
snow and ice clings to the highest spires, visible from a
hundred miles away. The high vales are home to reclusive
monasteries, isolated clans of mountain herders, tribes of
fierce half-giant and tarek raiders, and a wide variety of
dangerous predators such as rocs, kirres, and braxats. No
sorcerer-kings have tried to conquer the rich Forest Ridge
that crowns the mountains, and for good reason. The
cold and the thin air are brutal on soldiers, the passes
are impossible for heavy wagons and lowland draft beasts,
and the forest is protected from defiling by the ancient
primal wards of the halflings.
Despite these daunting obstacles to invaders, the
Ringing Mountains are thinly settled. Halflings, and those
who trade with them, use secret roads and hidden passes
to reach the lowlands. Vicious raiding tribes of half-giants
and other warlike races lurk in the wild fastnesses of the
peaks. And, as in most of Athas, monster-haunted ruins
lie scattered through the mountains, tempting explorers to
try their luck.
The Ringing Mountains are much steeper on their
eastern face. On the western side, the great plateau of the
Forest Ridge climbs slowly to its lofty height, but to the
east, the peaks rise almost vertically from the Tablelands,
fronted by a narrow and precipitous range of foothills a
few miles in width. The mountains confront travelers with
great walls of riven rock, tortuous footpaths, and sheer
cliffs that prevent passage.
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Traveling
The best way to get from one side of the mountains to
the other is by walking. Riding animals can cover many
miles up into the canyons that twist their way into the
range, but eventually a boulder field or rocky escarpment
will make it dangerous to remain mounted. Eventually, a
traveler must dismount and rely on his own two feet.
Walking through the mountains is even more exhausting
than plodding through the desert. It’s impossible to travel
in a straight line because obstacles intrude that must
be avoided. Cliffs, high peaks, deep crevices, rock slides,
and other barriers require travelers to constantly change
direction. Add to this the fact that for every mile a
traveler journeys horizontally, he has hiked hundreds of
feet vertically.
The paths aren’t all solid and stable. Loose stones and
crumbling cliffsides can cause footing to slip, plunging a
traveler down the mountain. If such a fall doesn’t kill the
traveler, the resulting injury probably will. Creatures of all
sorts roam the craggy peaks, and desperate raiders wait in
ambush around every other bend. At night, the mountain
air becomes extremely cold, dropping well below freezing
in the highest elevations. Travelers unaccustomed to such
rapid temperature changes could freeze to death before
the blazing sun rises at dawn.
Travelers need to beware one final danger. The thin
air produces a weariness of both body and spirit. Elves
and half-giants are particularly susceptible to this malady,
which manifests as a desire to rest more than anything
else. Those affected by it even forget to eat and drink as
the lethargy overtakes them.
Encounters in the Ringing Mountains
The most important element travelers must deal with is
the environment itself, for the mountains and forests are
unlike almost any other location on Athas.
Ruins can be found in the most peculiar places, while
other areas-like canyons and gulches, for instance – seem to
have avoided the taint of the ancients. Either the ancients
never settled in these areas or the centuries of flash floods
have washed away all evidence of their existence. On
the other hand, crumbling towers, abandoned keeps, and
forgotten castles dot the ridges of the foothills. Often, these
ruins sit atop strategic locations, like knolls overlooking
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canyon entrances. Some ruins remain empty to this day,
while others serve as the strongholds of powerful raider
chiefs or the lairs of monster tribes. In the deepest parts of
these ruins, ancient treasures may still be found, including
bits of metal, psionic artifacts, and arcane texts that refuse
to succumb to the effects of time.
Ancient mines and other subterranean tunnels spiral
through the mountains and foothills. Low ceilings and
narrow walls make walking through the tunnels all but
impossible for creatures larger than dwarves and halflings.
The mines dating back to the Green Age were constructed
by dwarves or the now-extinct gnomes, while older tunnels
were the work of the ancient halfling nature-masters. These
latter excavations can be distinguished by the organic
feel of the passages, for they seem to have been shaped
through growth rather than fashioned by tools. Smooth
walls of vibrantly colored porous stone mark these halfling
tunnels, some of which lead to underground cities shaped
from the same growing stone. Some of these tunnels were
used by the people of the Green Age, serving as psionic
highways that provided quick transport from one side of
the mountains to the other.
Time has made many of these mines and tunnels
unstable. They can collapse unexpectedly, trapping
explorers or even crushing them beneath tons of falling
rock. Water fills some of the mines. Every so often a pool
of stagnant water burns like acid or dissolves flesh clear
to the bone. Explosive gases hang in the air in a few
mines, causing tunnels to burst into flames at the slightest
touch of torch light. Even the weakest quakes can cause
extensive damage to the ancient systems.
Intelligent beings can be encountered throughout the
Ringing Mountains, but travelers must be constantly
ready to fight or flee. Few of the mountain inhabitants
that travelers meet will be friendly, with the exception
of the herders tending their animals in the canyon sand
washes. Most others are hiding or hunting, so they should
be avoided.
Travelers may discover trading posts hidden in the
canyon passes, especially since a few of the merchant
houses have begun to seek routes to the lands beyond the
mountains in recent months. Of course, the locations of
outposts are jealously guarded, so travelers not affiliated
with an outpost’s ruling house shouldn’t expect a warm
welcome. However, if the new trade routes develop as
26
anticipated, more than one outpost should grow into a
full-fledged fort or even a trade village before too long.
Gith wait in ambush throughout the mountain region,
while the forest is the domain of savage halflings. Gith
hate most other humanoid races, attacking travelers on
sight with murderous and plunderous intentions.
Halflings, on the other hand, see travelers as potential
meals. They stalk travelers, waiting for opportunities to
spring ambushes. Halflings always attempt to capture their
prey alive so that they can present them to their chiefs.
The most savage tribes eat prisoners while they’re still
alive and kicking. More civilized halflings at least kill their
food before consuming it. Even a halfling among a group
of captured travelers is no guarantee of better treatment.
Savage halflings assume that their unfortunate brother
was a prisoner that they have freed from bondage. “Freed”
halflings are invited to join the tribe that “liberated” them
or presented with gifts and left to decide their own course
through the world.
Echoless Caverns
Decades ago, a human named Mulmehr discovered a
particularly old series of tunnels through the mountains
and claimed them for himself. Mulmehr, a scion of the
Shahram noble family in Tyr, spent years and much of
his resources modifying the tunnels to use them in a
psionic ritual. He completed his preparations, attempted
the ritual, and apparently failed. Many of the tunnels
collapsed, and Mulmehr was never seen in Tyr again.
Whatever the nature of the ritual, the tunnels have
since gained a reputation as an evil place that drains
all sound from visitors – as well as their willpower and
volition. No one can say what lies at the heart of the
Echoless Caverns, where Mulmehr scribed the ritual circle,
because no one has reached that area and returned to
tell the story.
Mausoleum of Shiivarm
In the middle of a deep cleft in the mountains north
of Tyr stands the ruin of a white palace surrounded by
golden-brown savanna. Its towers are carved with images
of strange beasts that no longer exist on Athas – great,
long-nosed creatures with tusks and flaplike ears – and
 Locations

its central dome gleams with polished copper. The word

“Shiivarm” is written across the palace gates in the ancient
Barazhad script of the elemental powers, but no one
alive today knows who or what Shiivarm was, or whether
the structure is truly a mausoleum. Demons haunt the
vicinity, falling upon travelers whose curiosity draws them
too close.

Mount Narran
The steep slopes of this dark peak are sometimes visible
from the walls of Tyr, especially when witch lights play
within its gaping mouths. Tunnels, tombs, and long-looted
ruins riddle the mountain's lower reaches. On a plateau
near the summit stand the crumbled walls of an ancient
githyanki outpost. Today, the only inhabitants of the ruins,
the tunnels, and the winding stairs beneath are gith that
hunt the Ringing Mountains, ambushing sources of food.
The warrens below Mount Narran contain thousands
more fierce gith. It is said that they revere an old statue
hidden far below the surface, where they carry out savage
rites of blood and sacrifice.

Ruins of the Ringing Mountains

Crumbling towers, abandoned keeps, and forgotten
castles dot the ridges, foothills, and clifftops of the Ringing
Mountains. Many ruins are in strategic locations, such
as on a knoll overlooking a canyon entrance. Some are
empty, and others host monster or raider tribes.
Aside from these visible ruins, ancient mines and
subterranean tunnels spiral through the mountains and Screaming Ravine
foothills. These underground passages are prone to cave
A natural cave mouth in the southern range of the
ins, noxious gas, and dark creatures that make their homes
Ringing Mountains opens onto a shaft that leads down
away from the crimson sun. Some of the mines date back
into a series of mine tunnels and small chambers. A
to the Green Age or earlier. The oldest excavations have
ravine of uncharted depth bisects many of the crumbling
smooth, brightly colored walls, and sometimes they lead
tunnels and chambers. Bloodcurdling screams occasionally
to underground ruins of peculiar, domelike cities.
echo up from the dark.
A narrow switchback path leads down one wall of
All the ruins of the Ringing Mountains hold out
the ravine toward its nadir. Since the chasm has not been
the possibility of treasure, perhaps still recoverable after
explored in full, no one knows what lies at the bottom.
hundreds or thousands of years of neglect. The riches
include bits of metal, psionic artifacts, and tomes imbued
with arcane resilience.

27
 Locations
The Ivory Triangle
“I strangled my owner with the leather rope that fettered
me, and fled into the desert without food, water, or weapon.
I nearly died. The Triangle is a hard land, and I may die
yet. But I promise you that I'll die free.”
- Tol Thamar, escaped mul slave
Lying in the center of the Tyr Region, the Ivory Triangle
is a crossroads and a wasteland. Most of the area is
desolate, home only to monsters and desert raiders, but it
sits astride the trade routes from the cities of Raam and
Draj in the north to rich Balic in the south. Every day,
gigantic mekillot-drawn argosies and fleet footed kank or
crodlu pack trains make their way across the blistering
salt flats. The rival city-states of Gulg and Nibenay are
found in the Ivory Triangle; they lie in a narrow verdant
strip along its northern edge at either end of the Crescent
Forest – one of the last lowland forests on Athas. The
sorcerer-queen Lalali-Puy rules as a goddess over the
forest city of Gulg, and the sorcerer-king Nibenay, also
known as the Shadow King, holds dominion over the
ancient metropolis that bears his name.
The Ivory Triangle consists of the Great Ivory Plain
and the surrounding lands. It extends from the North
Fork of the Estuary of the Forked Tongue to the ruins
of Giustenal on the Bay of Maray in the northeast and
the Salt Meres in the southeast. Outside the verdant
belt supporting the Crescent Forest and the city-states
of Gulg and Nibenay, only a handful of small villages
and outposts are scattered over this vast area. Most are
forts manned by garrisons hired to protect mines caravan
stops, or other resources from raiding bands and monsters,
and to repair any facilities that are damaged by storms.
Battlefields and wrecked sites dot the landscape as well
– some recent, others so old that no one remembers who
fought there or why. In addition, the Triangle holds raider
tribes, slave villages, haunted ruins, and other mysterious
locales.
The dominant feature of the Ivory Triangle is the Great
Ivory Plain, a salt flat stretching for hundreds of miles.
Although the fiat is nearly uninhabitable, it offers travelers
28
a smooth, level passage from one end of the Triangle to
the other. Dune traders and nomadic tribes skirt out onto
the flat to make good time, but they stay close to the
edges so they can take shelter in the surrounding terrain
when the sun hammers down on the glistening white
plain.
Beastbarrens
At the eastern end of the Great Ivory Plain lies a bleak
region known to nearby nomads as the Beastbarrens. Few
people have reason to come this way, and those who do
rarely linger long before retreating, for the Beastbarrens
is a cursed land. Here, an unknown, baleful power warps
desert predators into freakish monstrosities; they sprout
extra limbs, their hands or paws grow into dagger like
claws, scaly armor covers their skin, and worse. New
terrors wander out of the Beastbarrens every few days
or weeks to fall on caravans and outposts in the eastern
reaches of the Ivory Triangle.
The Broken Butte
A maze like system of canyons and ravines gouges the
flanks of this great hill of black stone on the edge of the
Beastbarrens. Broken Butte is home to a large tribe of
minotaurs known to have an appetite for raw flesh. The
savage minotaurs seek to drive travelers into the canyons,
then harry the victims until they are thoroughly lost – at
which point the beasts descend upon the victims and
devour them. The tribe sends its fiercest warriors into the
wastes to undergo physical transformations, viewing the
changes suffered by the champions as the marks of a mad
god's favor.
Pristine Tower
Standing alone in the heart of the Beastbarrens, the
Pristine Tower is an astonishingly old relic of ages past.
Only the sorcerer-kings and precious few other Athasians
realize its true history. Most people know only that the
tower is a structure of pure alabaster stone rising out of
the desert that has somehow resisted being swallowed by
the sand. Sages and experienced travelers also know not
to approach the Pristine Tower, for it is guarded still, and

a gruesome fate befalls those who come too close. Worse
yet, creatures that sustain physical wounds within a few
miles of the tower fall prey to the transformative plague
that fills the Beastbarrens with loathsome monstrosities.
The Windbreak Mountains
The Windbreak Mountains mark the northwestern base
of the Ivory Triangle region. This high mountain range
juts abruptly from the sandy wastes at the edge of the
Tablelands on its northwestern windward) side. These
mountains are called the Windbreak Mountains because
they protect the Ivory Triangle region from the prevailing
west winds blowing off the Tablelands, out to the Sea of
Silt.
Travelers approaching the mountains through the sandy
wastes first see them as a gray-brown haze on the horizon.
Some claim to be able to see the peaks from as far off
as Silver Spring. The canyons of the rocky badlands that
abut the Windbreak Mountains are neither as long nor
as twisted as those found at the edge of the Ringing
Mountains. A day's journey through the badlands will
usually bring a traveler to the base of the mountains.
Unfortunately, travel from this point forward is
virtually impossible. The windward face of the mountains
forms a nearly unscalable barrier. It looks more like the
edge of some enormous broken mesa than a mountain
range. Over the centuries, the wind and sand have worn
away at the rock, making it slippery-smooth and relatively
free of crevices and protuberances.
The canyon floors on the windward side are littered
with rock and dust worn from the mountain face. Most
of the pieces are pebbles, but some of the fallen boulders
are twice the height of a man. Worse, these canyons are
often filled with sand which has drifted into the region
over the centuries. It is not uncommon to find sand
dunes five times the height of a man piled against the
mountainside. Often this sand has been piled to unstable
heights by the wind. These drifts will collapse at the
slightest disturbance. Some travelers in the region describe
hearing a loud rushing sound, like the wind in your ears.
If this sound is very loud, flee – you may well be facing
a sand slide.
A typical avalanche will not travel far, only perhaps twice
the height of the dune. They are dangerous, however, and
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travelers caught in the dunes are likely to be buried so
deep in the sand that their bodies will never be recovered.
Above the dunes, the mountains are dry and stony,
with bare. windswept peaks vanishing upward in the
haze. These slopes are nearly unscalable. They offer few
footholds, and the gusty wind from the west can hurl a
climber off the mountains and to his death.
A climber who somehow manages to scale the lower
slopes will likely suffer the mysterious ennui which travelers
suffer in the Ringing Mountains. The air gets colder, and
unless the climber is careful, he or she will just sit down
and freeze to death.
Fortunately, there is little need to climb these mountains.
Most caravans travel around them to the south, along
the Verdant Belt, or on the eastern side through the
Blackspine Gap. Moreover, the Bremil Pass lies roughly
in the center of the range, and provides access to the rocky
badlands along the northern edge of the Crescent Forest.
The canyons of this region run east to west, making this
a natural alternate route to the city of Nibenay.
On the leeward side (away from the wind), the slopes
are much gentler. Long ridges, like buttresses on ancient
temples, provide easy climbing to the higher slopes of the
mountain. The Crescent Forest extends about halfway
up the slopes on the southern half of the range. Above
the treeline the mountains retain much of the barren,
windswept conditions seen on the windward side of the
range. Where the Forest covers the slope, the ground is
covered with a loamy soil held to the mountainside by
moss and grass.
The northern leg of the mountains does not run directly
against the forest. Enough dry, hot wind blows through
the Bremil Pass to create a band of rocky badlands north
of the forest, and even to thin the forest along its border.
Flora and Fauna
The Windbreak Mountains appear barren and empty
to the casual observer, yet even here life clings to the
land. Cacti and desert flowers are scattered throughout the
foothills. The serrated-leaf bush called silverknife, common
to badlands all over the Tyr region, can be found in the
foothills, as can the tall. thorny gray-yellow bushes known
as wanderer's staff. The mountains themselves are almost
barren. although here and there small flowers and mosses
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cling to life even in this dry, windswept place.
The very highest slopes, however, are not dry, but rather
seem constantly damp. It is the runoff from these slopes
that waters the Crescent Forest and the Verdant Belt.
The streams tend to run down only on the leeward side.
Wherever these clear and cold mountain streams can be
found, there are mountain trees and shrubs in abundance.
The foothills hold a variety of animal life: fire lizards,
rasclinn, tagsters, id fiends, cha'thrang, and packs of
zhackals can be found here. There are herds of erdland
here, but z'tal are the common omnivores at the bottom
of the food chain. The more cunning predators of the
region can cull out a few of these timid lizards from their
herd without starting a stampede.
In the mountains, on the other hand, animal life is much
more scarce. There are carnivores, to be sure, although
they prey on each other as much as on the erdland
herds that wander the middle slopes. Id fiends, mountain
lions, and giant scorpions are the most prevalent of the
carnivores, but bulettes and even an occasional earth
drake may be encountered here. The highest slopes are
the province of winged creatures or those with exceptional
climbing ability: rocs, aarakocra, dragonnels, and giant
spiders.
Travel
Traveling in the foothills can be done by any normal
means. There is a well-marked trail through the Bremil
Pass which is wide enough and level enough to permit
a mekillot wagon to pass. The rough surrounding terrain,
however, makes the Bremil Pass an ideal place to ambush
a caravan. For this reason, few merchant houses use this
route. Kanks, crodlu, and foot travel provide the best
means of finding a direct route through the canyons of
these rocky badlands.
Traveling east and west with the direction of the canyons
is airy easy, while traveling north and south requires
crossing the walls between canyons. A human traveler
can go perhaps eight miles in a day east-west through
these canyons, by the time you account for following the
twisting canyons instead of traveling in a straight line. By
comparison, a north-south traveler can go perhaps our
miles in that same time.
In the mountains themselves, the best choices are to
30
travel by foot or kank. While crodlu have the stamina
to climb the steep slopes, they are not as sure-footed as
kanks, particularly if they are carrying any kind of burden.
Travelers with destinations in the high mountains have
at times brought crodlu for pack animals, and have then
been forced to slaughter and eat them when the going
got too rough. This is one consideration that may make
crodlu preferable to kanks for inexperienced travelers.
Travel in the mountains is extremely slow. There are
no clear pathways to reach most high destinations. The
traveler is relegated to slowly inching across the stone.
Crodlu and kank can also maneuver slowly through this
region, although there is no way for them to pull a vehicle.
An unencumbered human can travel but three miles per
day in the mountains, and bad weather or an accident
can easily halve that.
The availability of water is much more a question of
which side of the range one is on, rather than altitude.
The windward side is dry, with very little water available
anywhere. A careful search on the leeward side, however,
may yield one of a number of clear mountain streams.
Food is similarly distributed: plant life is much more
abundant on the leeward side, while a traveler on the
windward side may end up in battle with a carnivore to
determine who shall dine on the other.
Inhabitants
The Windbreak Mountains are not heavily populated.
Few humans and demi-humans bother trying to survive
in the barren mountains when the Verdant Belt is just
below. Nevertheless, there are a few races which make
their homes here.
The aarakocra have extensive nesting areas in the
higher regions of the mountains. These creatures nest on
inaccessible mountain peaks, keeping them safe from all
but other winged predators. They have a terrible time with
rots, however, which have come to view aarakocra nests
in the same way a woodpecker views an ant-riddled tree.
The foothills harbor other intelligent creatures. In
addition to the small slave bands which hide in the many
caves and canyons here, there are three intelligent races
which inhabit the rocky barren foothills.
The first are the slig. These hairless humanoids live
in small clans, generally inhabiting a cave or narrow

canyon. They lay traps in nearby canyons by lining pits
with sharpened stones and poisonous snakes. These traps
are checked once or twice a week, and creatures caught
in the traps are hauled up and brought back to the slig
home to be eaten.
The slig participate in some trade, particularly with well
guarded merchant caravans and a few of the outlying
villages. They purchase weapons and other manufactured
goods, trading the hides of fire lizards and other creatures
they have captured in their pits. They sell captured
humans and demihumans into slavery.
There are also a number of b'rohg living in the canyons.
These bestial creatures wander the canyons in small
bands, attacking any creature they think they can kill.
They kill for food, and are just as willing to dine on
human or demihuman as erdland. They fight with the
slig who occasionally lay traps for the B'rohg and sell the
captives as gladiators.
In addition to the roving bands, a few b'rohg who have
actually escaped from the gladiatorial pits of Nibenay
roam the rocky badlands. While they are no more
articulate than their free cousins, and while they do not
band together as the other b'rohg do, these creatures
can be quite dangerous. Unlike the primitive tools of
the b'rohg hunter-gatherer bands, they often have real
weapons and armor.
The deadliest of the intelligent races residing in the
badlands are the scrab. These highly intelligent insectoid
creatures are not common in the badlands, but they
make up for their numbers with their dangerous psionic
abilities and their cunning minds. The less intelligent
races who live in the badlands avoid the diminutive scrab
as much as possible although they do occasionally pay
tribute to the creatures. The slig and b'rohg will stake
captured elves to the ground near a scrab nest as a way of
appeasing their deadly neighbors. The scrab seem to have
an insatiable appetite for the suffering of elves. The slig
will always consider an elf's value on the slave market and
as a meal before making such a gesture. The b'rohg, who
picked up the habit by watching the slig, do not really
understand this very well and are likely to bring any tall
humanoid to the scrabs.
31
Locations
The Crescent Forest
The Crescent Forest lies along the southeastern edge
of the Windbreak Mountains. This thickly forested zone
is the most fertile and well-watered area in the Ivory
Triangle.
The forest receives more water than any other section
of the Ivory Triangle. Most of this is runoff from the
Windbreak Mountains; the few clouds which pass through
the Ringing Mountains release their rain when they hit
this high mountain wall, and the water quickly runs down
into the forest. This water is supplemented by a number
of natural springs scattered throughout the forest.
The increased water does not make up for the intolerable
heat which oppresses even this fertile zone. The forest is
a little cooler than the surrounding desert, so that those
within it require less water.
History
The Crescent Forest maintains a precarious existence
huddled against the slopes of the Windbreak Mountains.
The forest is thickest in the south and center, and has
thinned considerably in the north because of logging in
Nibenay, the hot winds blowing through Bremil Pass,
and the gradually decreasing rainfall throughout the Tyr
region. Nevertheless, it seems that the forest – at least for
now – is holding its own.
At one time, the Crescent Forest may have extended
the entire length of the Verdant Belt, but no one can
say with any certainty. The recent history of the forest
has been the story of the centuries old rivalry between
Nibenay and Gulg. The hunting culture of Gulg has
put it at odds with Nibenay's heavy logging industry.
Currently, the judaga head-hunters of Gulg have managed
to keep Nibenay's lumber camps limited to the northern
end of the forest. The lumberers worry that unless they
are able to range more freely into the south, they may
be forced to thin the northern end of the forest to a
dangerous degree.
Flora and Fauna
The plant life of the Crescent Forest has adapted well
to this heat. Many of the segmented conifers that are
found in the Forest Ridge are also found in the Crescent
 Locations

Forest. However, the enormous palm fronds which blanket

the Forest Ridge are much less common here.
The fanna trees are tall and thin, with a dense network
of leaves and branches only at the very top to catch the
sunlight. The leaves are narrow even when open, and fold
to thin slivers in the heat of midday. Beneath the canopy
of thin leaves lies a scattered patchwork of smaller brush
of a variety of species.
The soil is loamy and soft, and often carpeted with
a blue-green moss called berill. This moss retains water
and holds the soil together. In open clearings during the
season of high sun, berill dries to a thin shell which
crackles when stepped upon; in this state it is edible (with
a flavor like dried tea leaves).
There are many species of plants found only within the
Crescent Forest, so far as anyone of the Tyr region knows.
Travelers can find a number of wild fruits and nuts
within the Crescent Forest. Welela plants provide a long,
thin, prickly gourd whose meat is flavorful and contains a
fair amount of water. Welela plants are cultivated outside
of Gulg, but they can also be found throughout the
Crescent Forest. Geja, on the other hand, is a soft-skinned
fruit which is only ripe for a few days each year, and most
of its fruit quickly falls prey to insects. If it can be picked
and eaten fresh however, it is sweet and delicate. Geja
can be dried in the sun, in much the same way one can
dry dates. Geja retains much of its sweetness when dried.
The kola nut, which is heavily cultivated by the slaves of
Gulg, is ground into a fine powder which, when steeped
in water, creates a tasty beverage which stimulates the
mind and wards off sleep.
The blue agafari tree is among the most striking of
the plants in the Crescent Forest. Its spreading branches
provide shade and shelter in the forest; indeed, the palace
of the oba Lalali-Puy in Gulg rests upon the limbs of
a huge agafari. Its wood is nearly as hard as bronze
and makes excellent weapons and shields. In Nibenay,
its straight limbs are sharpened and used as lances for
the Shadow King's half-giant army. Agafari nuts are
edible and its leaves may be used for ticking. The tree is
incredibly hardy and its wide trunk can be hollowed out
without killing the tree.
The only hazard one might encounter when traveling
among agafari trees lies in the bloodvines which live on
their bark. These vines are as thick as a man's finger and

32

tightly root themselves to the bark of a tree. Sometimes
they can coil themselves around the base of a tree,
completely obscuring the trunk. In addition to being a
physical nuisance, these vines can inject their roots into
anything living which touches them. This causes intense
pain and, if the contact is prolonged, even death. The
slaves of Gulg spend much of their time keeping the
bloodvines off the agafari trees in the city. The bloodvines
are so common on agafari trees that some believe they
are actually part of the tree, rather than a parasite living
on it. A more aggressive carnivorous vine is the strangling
vine, which can be found in the more remote areas of the
Crescent Forest. These plants are found draped between
several trees, usually over a footpath or trail. The vine lays
motionless until suitable prey passes beneath it. The vine
then drops to its victim, buries its thorns deep the victim's
neck, and then strangles the victim by yanking them off
their feet, kicking and screaming. Travelers should also
beware of the giant sundew, which is a creature with the
appearance of a mound of ropes covered with gray-green
tar. This plant can cast its tendrils several feet, burning
its victim with an acidic touch.
The forest is also home to the carnivorous plants
found across the Tablelands. Blossomkiller, dew fronds,
poisonweed, and zombie plants can all be found in the
Crescent Forest. While none of these are common, travelers
should be aware of the dangers which they present.
The fauna of the Crescent Forest is as varied as
the plant life. There are a number of large carnivores,
including crystal spiders, tembo, zhackal, and even the
occasional gaj.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the wildlife within
the Crescent Forest is the wide variety of birds. There are
hundreds of species, each brightly plumed and with its
own distinctive call. Some birds in the Crescent Forest,
like the yellow-plumed rhoss, can be trained to mimic the
speech of humans. The red and green kvale, can actually
recall melodies that it hears. Many of the children's songs
of Gulg imitate the call and response of the kvale.
The lumber camps of Nibenay have recently reported
sighting a behir in the forest. It will not be the first time
that the woodcutters have had to deal with a predator
whose territory they have encroached upon. Based upon
description, it seems that the beast must have made its
home in the Crescent Forest for centuries. The woodsmen
33
Locations
have heard that behir have devastating psionic abilities.
Templars assure them that a behir's low intelligence would
not allow it to use such abilities very effectively. Some
templars have suggested that the sightings may just be the
result of a druid causing trouble.
Travel
Travel through the Crescent Forest is easiest by foot
or by crodlu. Mekillots and inix are unable to penetrate
the denser portions of the woods, and there are no
roads through the forest (except to the logging camps of
Nibenay). An unencumbered human can travel eight
miles in a day through the Crescent Forest. Crodlu can
also be ridden through the forest, but not as rapidly as a
man can travel on foot: a normal human riding a crodlu
can travel only four miles a day through the Crescent
Forest.
Travelers should have no difficulty finding water in the
forest, and even a moderate knowledge of the plants in
the forest or a modicum of hunting skill should assure
plenty of food for a small party. Large groups (more than
20 individuals) should bring at least some of their own
food, as such a large group can easily scare off all the
game in an area.
City-states
Two of the city-states of Athas depend on the Crescent
Forest for their survival. The city-state of Gulg actually
lies within the forest and depends upon the forest to
support its hunting and foraging, while much of the
economy of Nibenay depends upon the lumber they
extract from the northern end of the forest. There is a
fair amount of human and demihuman traffic through the
forest from these cities. Gulg's slaves range far into the
forest to gather nuts and berries. The judaga head-hunters
stalk prey throughout the forest and occasionally return to
Gulg with the head of a Nibenay woodsman. Parties of
half-giants commanded by Nibenay's wife-templars patrol
the outer reaches of their city's interests. More than once
tensions have increased to the point of war.
Temple of the Eye
Beyond the bounds of Nibenay's farthest logging camps
sits a crumbling, vine-choked ruin, a former temple of a
 Locations
forgotten dark god. The image of an enormous, hideous
eye is carved into the wall above the black stone altar.
Nibenese templars tend the temple day and night, slaying
anyone who happens upon the site, but they never enter
the unexplored catacombs belowground. Well guarded
slave laborers spend their days chiseling stone carvings
from the temple's ancient walls, and teams of bearers ferry
the carvings back to the Naggaramakam, the dominion of
the Shadow King. To what purpose Nibenay puts these
carvings, none can say.
Druids of the Crescent Forest
There are roughly 15 druids guarding various features of
the Crescent Forest. but unlike their desert counterparts
these druids have banded together into a simple hierarchy
underneath the druid Brazin. While the druids are not
formally obligated to obey Brazin, he acts as a coordinator
for their efforts and as a source of information about
travelers through the wood. In time of crisis, Brazin
becomes an active leader. Unless there is an emergency,
however, he limits his efforts to pointing out problems and
to advising his fellow druids on how to solve them.
The heart of druidic power in the Crescent Forest is a
grove of trees of life nestled deep in the forest. This grove
predates any living druid, but legends tell of a powerful
druid who founded the grove when the Crescent Forest
still stretched wide across the Tyr region. In truth the grove
was created by Lalali-Puy, the oba of Gulg, as a reservoir
of magical power for use by her defilers in an advance on
Nibenay. This grove contains 50 of the precious trees and
is tended by an Athasian treant. This treant was created
by the first druid the oba had coerced into tending her
grove. The spirit of the land of the water of the aquifer
which supports the Crescent Forest was bound into a tree
of life to create this guardian. The water of the aquifer
has been slowly depleting since then. The treant has
been living in this grove for over 1,000 years, and it is
specifically tasked by the oba with protecting it from any
danger that invades. Some druids believe that it is the
mystical influence of this treant that has maintained the
spring water which allows the forest to survive.
Brazin tells the younger druids that any druid who adds
a tree to the grove becomes a spirit of the land upon his
or her death; moreover, that druid gains contact with all
34
of the other spirits in the Forest and can call upon them
in time of need. Brazin made up the story to inspire his
young acolytes, but the tale is gaining credence among
the entire druidic community. Of the living druids, only
Brazin has added to the grove.
Brazin: Brazin has lived in the Crescent Forest almost
continuously for the last 20 years. He has spent much of
his time observing the forest and becoming familiar with
it. Brazin believes that the forest, unique as it is within
the Tyr region, is crucial to the life of the entire region.
He has consistently demonstrated his love for the forest.
Shortly after discovering the oba's grove, Brazin was
visited by the forest goddess herself. She chose not to kill
the druid outright, and in her characteristically cunning
manner turned the druid into a puppet of the crown.
Over a series of several discussions which took place
over the period of a year, the oba convinced the druid that
their goals were complementary. She convinced Brazin
that Gulg's interests were best served by maintaining the
balance within the forest. The city was a community of
hunters and gatherers. Nibenay's logging, however, was
a threat to both Gulg's future and to the forest itself.
She did not mention that it was Gulg's judaga who had
hunted the kirre to extinction within the Crescent Forest.
Brazin found himself forming one of the most unlikely
alliances on Athas. Lalali-Puy advised Brazin to form
the hierarchy of druids in order to better advance their
interests, rather than operating independently and less
effectively. She also encouraged him to range more broadly
and take a more direct hand in druidic activity across
the forest. She sealed their arrangement by insisting that
Brazin add a tree of life to her grove.
The oba believes that she is creating a specialist
military unit that will serve her in a final confrontation
with Nibenay and will not compete with her for resources.
Brazin's druids can also serve the sorcerer-queen as an
intelligence network, providing information to Brazin on
Nibenay's activity within the Crescent Forest. The oba
will allow the druids to operate in the forest as long as
they continue to serve her interests. She keeps a careful
eye to their numbers and their ability to be certain that
they do not become unmanageably powerful.
Brazin does not suspect the oba's motives beyond what
she has explained to him. However, he cannot bring

himself to reveal the truth of his pact with the queen
to his fellow druids. To ally with a defiler, let alone the
savage oba of Gulg, would be considered sedition by the
druids of the Crescent Forest.
Brazin's guarded land is the aquifer that supports life
within the Crescent Forest. As a result, his span of control
is both broader and more limited than his fellow druids
within the forest. Brazin has, at the encouragement of the
oba, become a sort of custodian to the entire forest. He
gets along well with the other druids, and he has taken
a very broad view of his responsibility to the guardian
lands. Thus, while one could argue that the Nibenay
lumber camps are no threat to the aquifer, Brazin is able
to justify his involvement by arguing that the fair use of
the aquifer is being denied by overlogging. As a result, he
makes the loggers (and the consequences of their actions)
his business. Brazin does not realize that much of the
difficulty he has had slowing the decline of the aquifer is
attributable to the fact that its spirit of the land is bound
into the Athasian treant, which he reveres. Someday the
druid may be forced to kill the treant to save the aquifer.
35
Locations
Brazin spends much of his time in the shape of
a rhoss, as this shape affords him the mobility of a bird
but allows him to speak with travelers and fellow druids
without changing shape.
Witchgrove
In the deepest part of the Crescent Forest lies a stretch
of forest that appears to be alive. Strange eyes watch from
the undergrowth, and the trees seem malignantly aware.
Here in this wood, called the Witchgrove by those who
encounter it, the Lands Within the Wind lie near to
Athas. When travelers blunder into the area, strange,
hateful fey creatures fall upon them and sometimes spirit
them away.
The Verdant Belt
The Verdant Belt is a fertile zone lying between the
thick Crescent Forest and the barren Great Ivory Plain. It
is filled with springs, grasslands, and groves of trees. It is
the Verdant Belt which holds the farms and homesteads
 Locations
of the client villages of Gulg and Nibenay, and which
acts as the trade route between these two hostile cities.
The Verdant Belt starts at the northern end of the
Crescent Forest, near the city of Nibenay. It continues
southwestward past the city of Gulg, then turns west,
extending in a gentle curve to the south until it almost
reaches the Estuary of the Forked Tongue. For much of
its length it is surrounded by scrub plains, although it is
partially bounded on its northern edge by the Crescent
Forest and the foothills of the Windbreak Mountains.
The narrow band of scrub plains represents a reduction
in arable land as one travels further away from the water
sources of the Verdant Belt.
Flora and Fauna
The Verdant Belt is the most lush area of the Tyr
Region outside the Crescent Forest and the forests of
the Ringing Mountains. The ground is covered with tall,
luxuriant grasses, and sections of the region are dotted
with smaller wood and thick copses of trees. Water in this
region comes from springs as well as streams that carry
runoff water through the Crescent Forest and out into
the Tablelands. These streams eventually pool into bogs,
creating oasislike areas within the Belt.
The vegetation thins somewhat as the Belt leaves the
protection of the Windbreak Mountains. The southern
half of the Verdant Belt is made up almost entirely of
high grassland, well watered by a series of runoff streams
from the Windbreak Mountains.
While the number of animal species living in
the Verdant Belt does not approach the variety in the
Crescent Forest, there are still many animals who reside
here. First and most common are the herd animals: erdlu,
erdland, and z'tal. Kip are discouraged in the Verdant
Belt because their rooting can destroy whole groves of
trees.) Large hives of kank are also raised in the Verdant
Belt.
There is considerable conflict between the herders
(who must move regularly to avoid overgrazing) and the
farmers (who are bound to the land for their survival).
The herders feel that the farmers are taking too much
from the land and that their claim to ownership interferes
with the herders' natural rights. The farmers, on the other
hand, see the herders as stealing the life from the land
36
without putting anything back. At times these conflicts
turn violent, particularly when the herders are not citizens
of a city-state, or when herders from one city encounter
farmers from another.
Wild herds also wander the Verdant Belt. These herds
shy away from the inhabited portions of the Belt, but more
than one farmer has had to drive a herd of kip out of
his field. Jankz communities also build their underground
colonies in the drier portions of the belt, generally far
from human habitation.
Despite the herding and farming, the Verdant Belt is not
entirely tame. The bogs at the ends of the runoff streams
attract bog waders to the region. Braxat and b'rohg hunt
the wandering herds, making little distinction between the
wild herds, the tended herds, and the livestock of farmers.
The southernmost portions of the Belt suffer from the
depredations of giants from the islands in the Forked
Tongue Estuary. Giants wade over to the Belt to hunt
and attack caravans. Travelers should beware.
Travel
The Verdant Belt is one of the most well-traveled
portions of the Ivory Triangle region. A major caravan
route runs along the length of the Belt from Gulg to the
Forked Tongue Estuary, then turns north toward Altaruk.
A stretch of this road, beginning just south of the Crescent
Forest and running all the way to the Forked Tongue
Estuary, is paved with ancient stone bricks, providing a
smooth surface for wagons and riders. The stone road,
referred to as the Road of Roshott, actually continues
all the way into the Estuary and beneath the silt; but
caravans turn off a few miles from the shore to avoid
attracting the attention of the giants on nearby islands.
Even a slow mekillot wagon can travel nearly 18 miles a
day along this fine road. No one knows who built this
road – it certainly does not seem like a civic project of
the oba.
The stone road through the verdant belt is one of
the most pleasant caravan journeys in the Tablelands. It
enjoys a number of water sources and many villages. The
road is patrolled by soldiers from the various merchant
houses and less frequently by templar bands from Gulg.
However, the region closest to the Estuary is not well
protected.

In addition to the main road, there is a network of less
well-protected and less well-constructed trails. Trails run
from the road to farms and villages. While not made of
the superior stone of the main caravan road, traveling
along these trails is much faster than going overland.
There is a solid network of trails running between Gulg
and Nibenay.
The Verdant Belt represents the largest stretch of arable
soil in the Tablelands. This natural wealth, as well as its
central location, makes the area one of the most attractive
routes for traders. The southern end of the belt also offers
one of the few verdant regions not under the direct sway
of one of the city-states. This makes Fort Kalvis of the
merchant house Tsalaxa the center of trade and security
for the homesteaders who have built their lives here.
While templar patrols are fairly heavy in the region
between Nibenay and Gulg, protection usually only comes
at the request of a client village leader. Templars are often
called upon to drive off bandits and elven raiders. The
templars are sometimes slow to respond to requests for
help, so even the weakest bandits have learned that they
may remain a few weeks with impunity before moving on.
For those who must travel to the uncivilized portions
of the Belt (or those who wish to avoid the attention of
templars and law-abiding citizens), travel overland in the
Belt is possible, but comparatively slow. There are many
small valleys, groves of trees, streams, and other barriers
which prevent easy progress, but it is still much quicker
to travel through any portion of the Belt than it would be
to cross the sandy wastes or rocky badlands in the more
isolated portions of the Ivory Triangle region.
Throughout the Verdant Belt, water is generally
available. Much of it is run into irrigation channels for
crops. There is enough water available that a small group
of travelers
can usually find some water, except in the hottest part
of the high sun season when the runoff streams dry up.
During this time travelers are advised to bring their own
water or be prepared to buy water at local farms.
Food is scarce. Farmers of the region are not tolerant
of travelers who pillage their crops and are likely to meet
a lone traveler with cudgel and spear. Larger groups will
be reported to the templars as bandits. Most farmers are
willing to sell a small portion of their crops to travelers,
but unless the traveler is a templar or a member of
37
Locations
a recognized merchant house, the farmers are likely to
be suspicious. Templars have the right to demand food,
water, and lodging from any client village or farm. The
cost of the goods consumed is just considered a part of
the host's normal burden of taxes.
Inhabitants
The Verdant Belt is one of the most heavily populated
regions outside the city-states themselves. Hundreds of
farms dot the landscape, all providing their crops to
their city-states and merchant caravans. Herders move
thousands of animals across the Belt, taking them to feed
the people of the cities. Templars march the length and
breadth of the Belt, keeping the peace and enforcing the
will of their rulers.
The Belt is actually divided into three inhabited regions.
The northern portion (running from Nibenay halfway to
Gulg) consists of client villages of the Shadow King. The
people of these villages are subservient to the templars,
who (with such a small area to patrol) are a very visible
force among the Nibenay client villages.
This is the most developed of the three regions,
with almost no territory remaining that has not been
converted into farms or restricted grazeland. Slave escapes
in this region are common, and the templars responsible
for guarding the roads use trained cilops to hunt down
escaped slaves.
The central portion (centered roughly at the city of
Gulg) represents the portion controlled by the oba Lalali-
Puy. This region is much less thoroughly settled and
much of it is still untouched wilderness. The hunters of
Gulg can often be encountered stalking the grasslands
here. The area is less heavily patrolled by Gulg's templars,
in part because the inhabitants are more loyal to the
oba than the Shadow King's farmers and herders are to
him. Templars do patrol the area, however; here they are
viewed less as oppressors than as guardians, but they have
much the same authority here as Nibenay's wives do in
the most dominated village of his lands.
The border between these first two regions is constantly
in dispute. According to Gulg, the border stands at the
Verehan Mud Run. Nibenay, however, claims a zone
20 miles wide on the southern side of the river. Farmers
in the disputed zone find themselves alternatively beset
 Locations
by templars from Nibenay and templars from Gulg.
Each demands a portion of the farm's output, as the
farm is presumed to be part of the domains of both
sorcerer-kings. The result is inevitable: the farmer is
unable to pay one templar or the other. The family is
enslaved for failure to pay taxes and a new subject is
given responsibility for the farm. This cycle has become
so common in this border zone that most farmers
consider being sent here punishment for acts of disloyalty
to the templars.
The third portion of the Verdant Belt runs from the
edge of Gulg's area of control, down to the Forked Tongue
Estuary. This area is outside the control of the city-
states and is inhabited by slave tribes, raiders, nomads,
and small frontier villages. The communities here do not
benefit from the protection extended to the client villages
of the city-states and merchant houses. For this reason,
each community must provide for its own security. This
can either take the form of a citizen's militia or a hired
band of mercenaries.
Some bandits hire themselves out to villages to provide
protection one week and then loot the village the next.
Trustworthy mercenaries are a precious commodity in
the southern end of the Verdant Belt. Communities are
willing to pay well for security. Some villages demand that
such mercenaries make a long term investment in the
community by taking a mate in the village.
Fort Kalvis of House Tsalaxa is the most secure site
in the southern end of the Verdant Belt. Surrounding
communities often take refuge in the shelter of the fortress
in times of difficulty. While not humanitarian by any
means, House Tsalaxa recognizes that the key to power
in any relationship is dependency, and they are more than
happy to let the villages depend upon them for security.
This has already paid off in favorable trade agreements
with the small towns.
All three regions of the Belt suffer from the attacks
of raiders. The fertile lands provide many havens for
raiders and ex-slaves. Templars and bounty hunters are
constantly searching for renegades throughout these lands.
A number of smaller slave tribes also wander this area,
but the templar patrols are aggressive enough (and the
slave tribes poorly enough led) that most fleeing slaves are
recaptured within a matter of weeks.
In addition to human raiders, hunting bands of
38
thri-kreen also wander this area. These hunters are so
efficient, however, that even at a distance they trouble the
sorcererkings. The oba Lalali-Puy has put up a bounty of
100 cp for the heads of thri-kreen raiders. The hunters of
Gulg relish the challenge of tracking the mantis warriors
and this new policy has led to the deaths of not a few
citizen thri-kreen whose heads have been turned in for
ransom. The few thri-kreen have protested this policy to
the templars, but to no avail.
Battlefields
The history of the Verdant Belt is not a peaceful one.
There have been a number of battles between the forces
of Gulg and Nibenay. The centuries-old conflict between
the hunting culture of Gulg and the expansive lumber
industry in Nibenay has set the two cities at odds over
the precious resources of the Crescent Forest. Both have
had their share of victories, and the rivalry between the
two city-states continues to this day. This section lists
a few of the major battles that have occurred in recent
history and shows where they occurred on the map of the
region.
1. The Battle of Red Moon Hunt – Year Unknown
In Nibenay this incident is referred to as the
Lumbercamp Massacre. The story may or may not be
apocryphal, but the tale is able to inflame the righteous
indignation of the citizens in both cities. According to
the tale, Gulg was celebrating a traditional rite of the
Red Moon Hunt. On these nights, Gulg's prisons are
emptied into the Crescent Forest. Would-be nobles give
chase to the fugitives, and those returning with the heads
of their quarry are admitted into the ranks of the nobility.
Prisoners who survive the night are considered free.
On such a night, a young hunter tracked his prey into
the camp of some Nibenay woodsmen. The young man
took the heads of six woodcutters and a fugitive from Gulg.
One woodsman escaped to alert Nibenay's templars, who
assembled squads of half-giants and spellcasters and swept
deep into the forest. The following morning, only 10 of
the 30 hunters returned alive. In the version told in
Gulg, Gab-al, a young thief who had been released into
the forest as a fugitive the night before, returned to the
bramble wall of the forest city bearing the heads of two

of Nibenay's wives on a spear. The oba granted him his
freedom and elevated him to the circle of nobility.
In Nibenay, the hero of the story is a young templar
named Althera. According to their version, the young
woman rallied the fleeing prisoners of Gulg to capture the
oba's hunters. They say that with their help she caught all
30. She then turned 20 over to the prisoners to be killed
and told the remaining 10 to return to Gulg and tell the
oba what they had seen.
2. The Clearing War – Year of Dragon's Slumber,
184th King's Age
Historically, the armies of the oba fought at tremendous
advantage in the Crescent Forest while the Shadow King's
army have demonstrated a mastery of combat in the open
fields of the Verdant Belt. One battle did, however, result
in a devastating victory for Nibenay deep within the
Crescent Forest.
A forester from Nibenay had uncovered a buried ruin in
the forest and led the Shadow King's templars to the site.
The templars began an excavation of the site, but began
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Locations
to suffer from intermittent attacks by Gulg's hunters. The
king sent a force of 1,500 soldiers to secure the site and
protect his servants from further attack. The huge force
which the king had sent raised the oba's curiosity about
their activity in the forest. The soldiers of Nibenay woke
one morning to find themselves surrounded by 5,000
warriors from Gulg.
The commander of the oba's army announced that she
would extend safe passage to Nibenay's citizens if they
left the site immediately. After several hours a reply of
acceptance came and the forces of Nibenay prepared to
return to their city. The line of soldiers left the protection
of the encampment and were still passing through the
enemy line when the Gulg warriors let loose their spears.
Only 150 footmen returned to Nibenay to report the
slaughter.
The Shadow King himself emerged from his palace
to lead an army of 2,000 soldiers and templars into the
woods. By the break of dawn 3,000 of Gulgs hunters lay
dead in the ruins. Nibenay then raised the dead warriors
of Gulg and led the undead force against the survivors
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of the oba's army. The hunters fled back to Gulg. The
devastation wrought by the defiling magic of the Shadow
King destroyed a swath of forest more than a mile across.
This clearing remained ashen for centuries and has only
in the past few decades begun to take seed. It is not
known if anything of value was excavated from the ruins,
but the site was abandoned by Nibenay's templars several
months after the battle.
3. Battle of the Stones – Year of the Mountain's
Contemplation, 189th King's Age
This battle began with a raid by two dozen giants from
the Estuary of the Forked Tongue upon some of the
villages and herders in the southern portion of the Verdant
Belt. The people called upon Gulg to defend them, and
the oba, seeing a chance to increase her influence in the
south, sent a body of 200 troops including a force of
skilled judaga) to defend the southern farms. These forces
had no experience fighting giants and had been trained
to combat the armies of Nibenay.
The bestial creatures which had been raiding the
southern farms were made up of unorganized clans from
the islands in the estuary. Equal numbers of powerful
beast-headed giants and their humanoid cousins crossed
the silt to meet the forces of Gulg. The giants did not
fight using the structured formations of the Nibenay army,
but instead literally waded into the Gulg forces (the
tallest of which barely reached their knees) and flailed
about with their huge clubs, each blow killing two or three
Gulg soldiers. The judaga were virtually helpless in the
open fields where the army met the giants, their naturally
stealthy attacks and movement being useless in the light
of day, and within an hour and a half of the original
Gulg force lay on the battlefield. The army retreated
having slain only two of the invading giants.
The giants could have continued forward unchecked, as
there was no way for organized word to get back to Gulg
about the rout before the giants themselves would have
arrived. For whatever reason, however, the giants quickly
tired of raiding and waded back to their islands. While
Gulg's military was not seriously damaged by such a
small loss of troops, their prestige in the south was badly
diminished.
4. The Greshak Uprising – Year of Ral's Reverance,
40
189th King's Age
This battle began as a slave uprising in the farming
village of Greshak, on the eastern border of the lands
claimed by Nibenay. The templars moved in quickly to
try to douse the fires of rebellion, but before the uprising
could be suppressed it had spread to a half-dozen villages.
Nearly 200 slaves had to be executed to restore order,
and to this day the region is a hotbed of dissidence inside
Nibenay's borders.
5. The Fence War – Year of Priest's Fury, 190th
King's Age
This recent regional conflict was entirely within the
confines of Gulg, and it reflects a tension between herders
and farmers in the Verdant Belt that continues to this
day.
The conflict began when herders striving to move
their beasts to new grazing lands began pulling up farm
fences to allow their herds to move more easily. Farmers,
enraged at the destruction of their property, began arming
themselves and their slaves to defend their fields.
A number of minor conflicts ended in the deaths of size
hard to imagine. It is said that the Dragon's Bowl could
herders in some instances, farmers in others. Tensions
increased and the local templars were not able to settle
the matter. The templars responsible for collecting taxes
from the farmers considered the herders to be interfering
with the legitimate business of the city-state. Templars
assigned to the herders felt the same way about the
farmers. Before long, templars were embroiled on both
sides of the conflict, and the sound of templar magic was
added to the clash of bone weapons in the conflict.
In one of her few. trips outside her palace, the oba
Lalali-Puy intervened directly in the Fence War. She
cut off all magic from templars embroiled in either side,
and ordered all concerned to return to their tasks. She
directed the confiscation of certain farms and herds she
judged to have been especially culpable in the matter.
She also enslaved those responsible for the violence. In
her wisdom, the confiscated farms were then transformed
into a herding corridor, allowing the herders to pass
through the farming region. The oba ordered that no farm
be built to block the herder's path, and that the herders
never again move their herds across the farms.
The oba's draconian solution removed the immediate

need for violence, but satisfied neither side. Both groups
considered themselves to have been wrongfully judged at
fault. Tensions remain high in the region, and it may only
be a matter of time before violence breaks out again.
The Great Ivory Plain
Ancient dwarven sagas tell of the heroes Jo'orsh and
Sa'ram traveling past the Great Lake of Salt in the region
of what is today the Great Ivory Plain. While the claim
may seem preposterous, the complete absence of ancient
structures across the empty plain may lend some credence
to the story.
The Great Ivory Plain is an enormous salt flat, one of
the largest terrain features in the Tyr region. Extending
from the dwarven village of North Ledopolus in the south
to the Blackspine Mountains in the north, the Plain
extends some 110 miles in its longest axis. At its narrowest
point (from the foothills of the Mekillot Mountains to the
edge of the silt estuaries near the ruined city of Bodach)
it is a mere five miles across.
Travelers who have never seen the Plain may find its
sheer size hard to imagine. It is said that the Dragon's
Bowl could be placed inside the southern lobe of the
Plain without touching its edge at any point. A journey
from North Ledopolus to Nibenay (which runs the length
of the Plain) is the same distance as a trip from Nibenay
to Raam, Urik to Raam, or from Tyr to the oasis of
Grak's Pool.
The region is characterized by the single unbroken
plain of salt, sand, and silt which gives the area its name.
Approaching the Plain, travelers first notice the blinding
distant glare of the sun reflecting off the salt flat. They
will then notice a sudden depletion in the scrub. Ahead,
the dirt gives way to a featureless white plain virtually
devoid of plant life. Nowhere in the Tyr region is there
a stretch of land as lifeless and harsh as the Great Ivory
Plain.
Most of the Plain is a hard crust of sand and silt with
just enough salt to prevent virtually anything from growing.
It is difficult to dig through this crust, but occasionally
tenacious dwarves have managed to drill a deep well, only
to find the water brackish and undrinkable. No oasis
offers water to the thirsty traveler in the Great Ivory Plain
and no date grove offers food. It is said that the glare from
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Locations
the salt flats will blind a traveler in a matter of hours, and
that those who die here do not decay, but instead shrivel
and mummify, perfectly preserved by the salt.
The region is not totally featureless, however. Ridges
and strangely shaped rock formations dot the landscape.
Some of these take the rough form of huge figures, and
the nomads of the Plain believe it to be an ancient race
of giants magically transformed into salt and stone. In the
deepest portion of the Plain, these formations are huge,
sometimes extending 40 feet into the air and 30 to 50
feet on a side. Some contend that these are the buildings
of this ancient kingdom, transformed to stone along with
the people.
There are also occasional stony regions where rocks
extend up through the sand crust, exposed to the constant
wind of the Plain. These outcroppings often mark water
sources and can also provide safe havens for travelers,
offering both safety from the salt zombies and shade from
the merciless sun. They are not common, however, and
more than one traveler across the plain has had to spend
a day exposed.
The Great Ivory Plain is among the most inhospitable
areas of the Tyr region. There is almost no rainfall.
and what little falls rapidly seeps through the ground or
evaporates.
Flora and Fauna
As might well be understood, this barren landscape
supports little life. The Great Ivory Plain is virtually
devoid of plant life, although few in cacti struggle to
survive, clinging to stony outcroppings out of reach of
the moisture-leaching salt. Insects of all sizes (from tiny
sand mites to giant ants, hornets, and huge scorpions)
can be found in the Plain; many of these burrow deep
under the salt to find moisture or range out into the more
fertile regions. The cilops, the bizarre hunter insect that
is often used by templars to track fugitives, is native to
the Great Ivory Plain. Lizards (including id fiends and
basilisks) also survive here, dining on the giant insects or
on the small snakes found in the rocks. Earth drakes can
occasionally be mistaken for rock outcroppings in this
area. These patient creatures may wait many days for a
meal, and they are a particular danger to travelers who
use the rocks as safe havens during the day.
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Almost no warm-blooded creatures can be found in the

central portions of the Plain. There is not enough life to
support such creatures, as they must feed too frequently
to survive in this barren land. At the edges, however, one
can find the occasional b'rohg or erdland herd. Most of
these creatures do not survive in the Great Ivory Plain for
long, and they either return to more fertile climes or die
in the heat of midday.
Another hazard of travel on the salt flats are the flying
predators. Such wide and clear lines of sight usually afford
travelers a chance to evade many earth bound carnivores.
Flying creatures who make their homes well beyond the
borders of the salt flats can spot a group of travelers from
miles away and descend for the kill. The salt flats offer
few places to hide.
Wyverns, giant wasps, and even cloud rays will fly out
across the Great Ivory Plain in search of prey. Groups
traveling near the inland silt basins around Bodach
should also keep an eye out for razorwings. They present
a problem indeed.
Truly, the most fearsome creatures on the Great Ivory
Plain are the megapedes. These 150-foot-long creatures
often burrow through the ground, only surfacing to feed on
unwary travelers. When close to the surface, a megapede's
path can be detected by the splintering and cracking of
the salt cover.
Oftentimes one will approach a victim out in the
open and begin its attack by unleashing its powerful
psionic abilities. In the face of this beast's fierce claws really are.
and poisonous bite, most merchant caravans will abandon
their cargo and return for the salvage later, if they survive. Travel
One last class of creature that wanders the Ivory Plain The Great Ivory Plain is not a very hospitable region
deserves special mention. The Ivory Plain is home to in which to travel. The heat of the sun is reflected off
unintelligent undead – skeletons, zombies, animated of the white salt, making this one of the hottest zones in
animal skeletons, monster skeletons, and zombies created the Tyr region. Moreover, the salt leeches moisture out
from b'rohg and even giants. These creatures wander the of everything in the area, so travelers must consume more
Plain, attacking any living creature. water than usual. This unbearable heat makes traveling at
Some believe that these creatures wandered here from night the preferred mode of travel within the region.
the ruins of Bodach, while the nomads believe that those As with other terrain, however, traveling at night requires
who die of thirst in the Great Ivory Plain return as that some form of shelter be adopted during the day. Rock
zombies, adding to the undead population of the region. outcroppings are the best shelter, as they both protect the
Zombies in the Great Ivory Plain survive much longer character from the sun and raise him above the level of
than those in other parts of Athas. Their flesh mummifies the biting, dying sand. Tents, particularly those with full
rather than rotting, extending their useful life but making floors, may also be used, but they are avoided by the
it very difficult to tell how old these particular zombies

42

nomads, who believe that the rhythmic sounds of driving
a tent spike attracts predators.
On the other hand, travel across the Great Ivory
Plain is swift. The salt can generally support any type of
transportation, from foot to mekillot wagon. Moreover, the
plains are so smooth that there is little need to detour
around terrain features, nor to slow progress for hills and
slopes. A human can travel 24 miles in a night while a
mekillot wagon can achieve 3 miles per day.
Another advantage to traveling across the Great Ivory
Plain is the wide open space. It is highly unlikely that any
travelers will be surprised by marauding predators during
the day. Except for the distorting shimmer of the heat in
the air, there is virtually nothing to block the limits of
vision.
The most common mode of travel is kank, as the hardy
beasts can survive for a few days without food or water,
and at the speed they are able to achieve on the salt flats,
that is usually enough to make the journey. Inix require
too much forage to make any but the shortest trips across
the Plain. Mekillot are slow enough and stubborn enough
that they expose travelers to too much danger in crossing
the plain. Some caravans drive mekillot wagons across the
plain, but these are generally shorter journeys. One route
for mekillot wagons runs east from Nibenay to Fort Inix;
this exposes the mekillots to only one day's travel across
the plain, but brings caravans dangerously close to the
gith horde of the Blackspine Mountains.
Perhaps the most unusual form of vehicle in the Great
Ivory Plain is the dwarven wind wagon, a small wagon with
large wheels and a tarpaulin attached to a vertical spar, to
act as a sail. These bizarre vehicles use the power of the
wind to move them across the broad flat plain, requiring
neither mekillot nor inix. They move most swiftly with
the wind, but are able to travel in almost any direction
(save directly into the wind) by skillful manipulation of
the wagon's sail. Given the normal wind speed in the
Great Ivory Plain, a wind wagon with a tail wind can
travel as fast as a man can run. Moreover, the wind
wagon can run night and day without stopping, although
the driver must rest. These vehicles are not popular, as
they leave the traveler to the mercy of the wind; one or
two calm days and the wind wagon may well run out of
food and water. Nevertheless, a few hardy explorers use
them regularly to shorten journeys across the Plain and
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Locations
to move certain cargo too swiftly to be caught by desert
raiders. See the wind wagon driving proficiency below for
more information.
Getting water in the Great Ivory Plain is virtually
impossible. There are no open bodies of water within
the Plain, and any surface groundwater is brackish and
undrinkable, but pockets of drinkable water can be found
on rock outcroppings. Nomads carry long hollow poles
which they use to drive through the salt cake into the
water below; the water is then drawn up (as through a
straw) and drunk.
Food is less difficult to find if you can hunt, although
few of the creatures which inhabit the Great Ivory Plain
are edible. A lone traveler may be able to make a meal
of cacti and snake, but these meager resources are unable
to support a group of any size. Travelers in the Great
Ivory Plain are advised to bring an adequate food supply;
kank honey is recommended, as it provides not only food
but water as well.
One hazard that can interfere with travel in the Great
Ivory Plain is the salt storms which blast across the barren
ground. These storms carry particles of salt encrusted
sand that burn the skin.
Inhabitants
The Great Ivory Plain is among the least populated
portions of the Tyr region, much less the Ivory Triangle.
Few beings are hardy enough or foolish enough to try to
survive here for more than a few days. Escaped slaves who
flee into this barren wasteland either die, are recaptured,
or (if they are lucky) make their way to one of the slave
tribes which wander the lands on the far side of the Plain.
Nevertheless, there are some more or less permanent
residents of the region. Certain nomadic raiding tribes
have bases deep within the Great Ivory Plain, supported
by kank hives maintained in the stony barrens of the
Mekillot Mountains. These tribes use the Great Ivory
Plain's impassibility as a cover for their activities, trusting
the isolation of the region to protect them from reprisals
by merchant houses and templars.
There are also intelligent creatures found in the Great
Ivory Plain who are not a regular part of Athasian
society. Packs of thri-kreen range across the salt flats
in search of prey. Solitary t'chowb can occasionally be
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encountered. These brutal little creatures often retreat
here after having successfully drained the intelligence of
their victims. Travelers may also occasionally also run
into a solitary tohr-kreen. These thoughtful mantis nobles
can be found ranging far into the uninhabited recesses of
the wastelands. While somewhat reserved, these powerful
but gentle creatures seem to have an insatiable thirst for
knowledge.
Bodach
One of the grandest ancient ruins on Athas, Bodach lies
amid the maze of salt marshes, dry sinks, and silt basins
known as the Salt Meres. From miles away, its towers can
be seen rising above the reeds. Long ago, Bodach was a
city of great magicians, and mighty arcane secrets still wait
to be discovered in its wreck age. However, few treasure-
hunters dare to explore the impressive ruins. A terrible
fate befell the city in the days of the Cleansing Wars, and
now it is haunted by thousands of skeletons, zombies, and
worse. The undead emerge each night at sunset in a vast
horde to scour the surrounding countryside for living prey.
The Mekillot Mountains
The Mekillot Mountains are an old, low-lying range in
the center of the Great Ivory Plain. Like the creatures that
are the mountains' namesake, the Mekillot Mountains
are long, wide ridges, looking very much like a line of
gargantuan mekillots. Some say that the mountain range
was once a chain of islands in the center of a water-filled
lake, but few believe such stories these days.
The mountain range is stratified into three concentric
types of terrain. The outer zone is a ring of stony barrens
which represent the outermost foothills of the range. These
barrens stand on a rise marking the geologic foundation
of the mountain range. The barrens are windswept and
are often innundated with saltstorms from the surrounding
salt flats.
Moreover, there are low-lying areas and caves within
the badlands that are lined with salt. A number are the
sites of salt mines, although most of these are abandoned.
Indeed, it is just such a cavern that now houses the slave
city of Salt View.
Inside the ring of barrens lies a long band of rocky
44
badlands. This band covers the entire interior space of
the range, with the mountains themselves rising at either
end. Like other rocky badlands, there are many canyons,
caverns, and pillars of stone in this region.
Within the rocky badlands are the two mountain
clusters. The northern cluster, known as the Greater
Mekillots, are higher while the southern cluster-the Lesser
Mekillots – consists of a number of smaller peaks. The
highest of the Greater Mekillots is perhaps 3,000 feet,
while the lowest of the Lesser Mekillots still stands over
1,500 feet. While these mountains are not as tall as
others in the region, they are quite long and bulky. Each
mountain is actually a ridge some 5 to 7 miles long and
1 to 2 miles wide. There are perhaps a dozen major
mountains in each group, running through some 15 miles
of mountain ridges, before descending into rocky badlands
again. Even the highest of these peaks does not cause the
nausea or dizziness one associates with scaling the Forest
Ridge or the Windbreak Mountains.
The gap between the Greater and Lesser Mekillots
is known as the Gaj, apparently because the gap is
not unlike the space opened in a mekillot line when a
predator lands among them. The area is not, however, well
known for a large population of the insectoid predators.
Like the remainder of the Great Ivory Plain, this area
gets little rainfall. However, without the salt flats to absorb
the water, there are a number of wells and underground
springs in this region that make water available to travelers.
Also, the darker stones of the rocky badlands diminish
the heat slightly, so a traveler in these mountains suffers
no more from the heat than one does elsewhere on Athas.
Flora and Fauna
The Mekillot Mountains are a haven to many creatures
who would find life on the Great Ivory Plain unpleasant.
There are a number of flowering desert trees, cacti, and
even a form of prickly pear. Small desert flowers dot the
badlands in the season of sun ascending, and various
forms of climbing vines are scattered across the badlands.
The mekillots are essentially an island of life in the
barren sea of the Great Ivory Plain.
The animal life is similarly diverse. Herds of erdland
and hives of wild kank wander the lower sections of the
mountains, grazing on the grasses and flowering plants

found there. Predators of the region include giant lizards,
leopards, tigones, and bulettes, who roam the mountains.
Many of these creatures would be very dangerous in the
nearby Verdant Belt, but the barrier of the Great Ivory
Plain keeps them in the Mekillot Mountain region.
The Mekillot Mountains are occupied by a number of
dwarf banshees. There are reputed to be as many as 40
of these fell creatures somewhere in this mountain range.
Scholars in Nibenay speculate that there may have been
some major dwarf project in the mountains centuries
ago, and that the dwarf banshees were devoted to it as
their focus. No one has ever returned with reports of a
dwarven fortress in the mountains, but if it is infested with
banshees, it isn't likely that they would.
Travel
The stony barrens and rocky badlands of the Mekillot
Mountains are fairly easy to navigate. Mekillots have
difficulty pulling wagons in some of the badlands, but
any of the usual Athasian beasts of burden may be used
freely in these areas.
The mountains are another story. While these slopes
are not as steep as those in the Windbreak Mountains,
they still require nimble climbers. Inix or crodlu may be
used freely. except to reach a few extremely precarious
places. Obviously, mekillots are too large to navigate the
mountain trails, but a caravan trail does run from South
Ledopolus, along the stony barrens on the southern side
of the mountains, to regions beyond.
Finding water in this region requires a good deal of
attention. A seasoned traveler may be able to find a
spring or pool somewhere in the hills, but a careful traveler
should carry enough water to make their trip. Water on
the upper slopes is extremely scarce.
Food, however, is available, if not plentiful. A traveler
planning an extended stay should plan on hunting for at
least some meals, but nearly any area has enough edible
nuts and berries to support a few people for a day or two.
Travelers should watch out for the prentel plant, whose
bright red berries taste sweet but produce illness (and
even death).
Temperatures on the upper slopes are a bit cooler than
elsewhere in the region. A traveler needs only 2/3 of the
usual amount of water when spending an entire day on
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Locations
the upper slopes of the Mekillot Mountains.
Inhabitants
There is a surprising population of creatures within the
Mekillot Mountains. Each community is relatively isolated,
as the terrain does not lend itself well to established
trading, but in general each group is aware of the nature,
condition, and disposition of its nearest neighbors.
The largest single enclave in the Mekillot Mountains
is the slave village of Salt View. The village is located on
the eastern face of the Greater Mekillots, in a salt mine
near the edge of the rocky badlands. Its inhabitants have
established trade with many of the client villages outside
the Great Ivory Plain, and they have even made some
overtures to the more friendly groups within the Mekillot
Mountains. Salt View's jongleurs, in addition to providing
entertainment for these isolated groups, act as the rumor
and gossip network and as facilitators of trade.
There are a number of other slave tribes in the region,
although none are as securely established as Salt View:
Perhaps a half-dozen slave bands roam the Mekillot
Mountains, generally on the western face. These tribes
use the cover of the Great Ivory Plain to keep them
safe from the templars of Gulg and Nibenay, and to
cover their movements when they raid villages in the
Verdant Belt. None of these slave groups are particularly
powerful, and there tends to be a constant turnover in
their composition, size, and leadership.
The upper slopes of the Lesser Mekillots are inhabited
by a diffuse community of cyclopskin. These creatures
live a solitary existence herding erdlu for food. There
are about a dozen clans of cyclopskin within the range,
and while they do cooperate on occasion, there is little
contact between them (except for their traditional annual
markets). Even within a clan the cyclopskin spend much
of their time in solitude, tending their herds.
The Greater Mekillots, on the other hand, are inhabited
by a number of ettin. These evil creatures raid the slave
tribes and nomads of the region, stealing anything they
can get their enormous hands on. They view the slave
bands, erdland herds, and travelers equally: as sources of
food or fodder.
 Locations
Echoing Mine
Nestled in a valley in the Mekillot Mountains, this
ancient silver mine might hold untapped riches. Many
expeditions have sought to reopen the Echoing Mine, but
all have discovered to their cost how the place earned
its name. Hook horrors, grimlocks, and other light-hating
subterranean monsters infest the tunnel system. The
mysterious clicks that echo through the mine are the
rapid, high pitched sounds these creatures use to navigate
and communicate.
The Blackspine Mountains
The Blackspine Mountains lie to the north of the Ivory
Triangle, east of the Windbreak Mountains. The main
spine of this mountain range runs roughly east from the
Blackspine Gap toward the ruined city of Giustinal. A
number of minor branches spread to the northeast and
south, forming a natural barrier to travel in all directions.
Some say that the mountain range shows the natural
shape of a gith, its arms outstretched in battle, its tail
forming the spine of the range.
The mountains are surrounded by rocky badlands,
and these extend for over 10 miles from the mountains
themselves. Travel through this region is rare, but the few
travelers who have visited here describe the badlands as
filled with twisting canyons, many of which are box canyons
with only one way in or out. This is particularly true in
the south, where the hot, dry winds of the Great Ivory
Plain have worn the stone into magnificent monuments.
There is a large badlands region between the two
northeast arms of the mountain range. This region, known
as the Valley of Trevain, is among the most treacherous
and isolated terrains in the entire Tyr region. The terrain
is so treacherous that travelers traditionally come down
to Nibenay and across the northern tip of the Great
Ivory Plain to the Welcome Oasis rather than trying to
traverse this difficult land. These lands are also reputed
to be haunted.
The peaks of the Blackspine Mountains are a dark
gray granite with few footholds to support a climber. The
spires of these mountains tower above the Mekillot range,
but they are not quite as high as those found in the
Windbreak Mountains. Travelers in this range suffer
46
the dizziness and ennui common to Ringing Mountains
only on the tallest peaks of this range. The badlands
that surround these mountains slope upward as if the
Blackspine Mountains had thrust up violently from
beneath the ground in the distant past.
On occasion one can still find places where the
jagged edge of the badlands is split with the force of the
protruding granite.
The Blackspine Mountain region receives considerably
less rain than the Windbreak Mountains, but it is
not entirely desert. Some moisture passes north of the
Windbreak Mountains, watering the western slopes of this
range. Winds are fairly strong, particularly in the highest
peaks, and there is a constant threat of dust storms in this
region due to the large amount of rock dust the wind has
etched from the mountain faces.
Flora and Fauna
Like much of Athas, the Blackspine Mountains region
is fairly arid. There are occasional patches of scrub plains
protected from the constant wind by the twists and turns
of the badlands, but by and large the Blackspine is a
barren place.
Most of the creatures that live in the mountains survive
on the erdlu herds found here. While the herds spend
little time on the barren granite slopes, they can be found
in small herds throughout the rocky badlands. Rasclinn,
tagsters, and so-ut occupy many of the canyons, making
any journey into the Blackspines potentially deadly.
The western foothills, which get most of the rainfall in
Inhabitants this region, are an exception to the barren
condition of most of the Blackspine range. While not as
lush as the Crescent Forest, portions of the Blackspine
Gap are as fertile as the Verdant Belt itself. However,
unlike the Belt, most of this area is uncultivated and
there are many carnivores that threaten the life of any
traveler in the region.
The most common creatures in the area are z'tal and
jankz, which live in wild herds in the western foothills.
Predators include braxat, id fiends, and gaj.
Travel
The rocky badlands which comprise most of the
Blackspine region are easily traversed, if one is willing

to risk getting lost in the labyrinth of box canyons and
ravines. The canyon bottoms are relatively flat (although
often filled with rock dust – occasionally to dangerous
depths), and there are a number of surface passes through
the foothills.
Traveling up the granite mountains is very difficult. No
mount can climb on these granite slopes, and climbers
are slowed to an absolute crawl because there are almost
no footholds.
Water and food are easy to find on the western slopes,
but become more difficult the higher you go into the
mountains. Any expedition onto the actual granite faces
should bring provisions. There is no reliable source of
water or food in these high mountain regions.
Inhabitants
By far the most important inhabitants of the Blackspine
Mountains are the many tribes of gith known as the
Gith Horde. These vicious raiders have long been the
bane of the region, with at least 5,000 gith living in
scattered tribes throughout the region. Historically these
gith were divided into over a hundred warring tribes of
25-50 members each, which ensured that they were little
threat outside the Blackspine Mountains.
Recently, things have changed. A powerful new leader
has arisen among the gith and is slowly unifying the gith
tribes into a potent and threatening raiding force. Major
gith raids have already begun to fall on client villages
in the northern reaches of Nibenay, particularly on the
eastern side of the Welcome Oasis. Indeed, the fort at the
Welcome Oasis was attacked by a raiding party of nearly
200 gith, and only the combined force of every psionicist
and warrior in the oasis managed to drive them away.
This new leader, who is known as Blackspear, has gained
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Locations
control of about half of the gith tribes in the Blackspine
Mountain region. According to rumor, Blackspear is
a very talented psionicist (as are all gith leaders) who
uses his powers not just in combat, but to ensure the
loyalty of his followers. The templars of Nibenay and
the merchant houses that serve the client villages have
become concerned with the gith attacks, but thus far there
is little they can do. Unfortunately, gith raids have now
begun in Blackspine Gap, taking a number of merchant
caravans on the Nibenay-Raam road. Whether these
attacks are also being made by followers of Blackspear or
whether these gith are raiding closer to Nibenay because
they have been forced out of their usual territory is not
yet clear.
Where the gith prosper, few other intelligent beings
can survive. However, numerous travelers have reported
encountering bands of the mysterious kenku – half-human,
half-bird creatures which attack by stealth. These creatures
are known to conceal themselves in human society, but
the repeated encounters in the wilderness indicates that
there may be a large enclave of the creatures somewhere in
the Blackspine Mountains. The scholars of Nibenay have
analyzed the reports of the survivors, and they surmise that
the kenku are somewhere in the north-western portion of
the range, but it is impossible to pinpoint their location.
In addition to the kenku, belgoi have been encountered
in this region. These vicious cannibals have been appearing
in increasing numbers in the Blackspine Gap. Nibenay
templars destroy them whenever they are encountered, but
there are still many threatening the caravans of the region.
As with the gith raids in the Gap, Nibenay scholars
speculate that the increased gith activity has forced the
belgoi out of the mountains.
 Locations
Estuary of the Forked
Tongue
“I've known giants to move the shoal markers, hoping
that a silt skimmer might strand herself in deep silt. Then
they'll kill you and eat you, or they'll charge you half your
cargo to pull you out of the silt. Not sure which is worse.”
- Nimora Hestian, Balican skimmer captain
A great arm of the Sea of Silt that nearly slices through
the Tyr Region, the Estuary of the Forked Tongue is home
to dozens of small villages, trading posts, and nomad
camps. This inlet reaches well over four hundred miles
from the isle of Waverly at its mouth to the trading town
of Altaruk at the head of its northern arm; the city-state
of Balic sits near the midpoint of the Forked Tongue.
48
The estuary serves as a trade route for silt schooners out
of Balic, and many of the villages and tribes here fall
under the influence of Balican merchant houses.
Life along the estuary is more or less free of the
oppression of the sorcerer-kings, but it is hardly easy.
Marauding giants, deadly predators, dust storms, and
desperate bandits make the Forked Tongue as dangerous
as any other place on Athas. Savage raiding tribes roam
the outskirts of the region and sometimes attack small,
weakly defended villages and outposts. For this reason,
most Forked Tongue settlements are protected by strong
walls and determined warriors.
Throughout most of the estuary, a belt of shallows
lies beneath the silt, hugging the shoreline. Usually, the
shallows are a few hundred yards wide, but in some spots
they extend for miles out from the shore, providing hidden
paths across narrows or to distant islands. These shallows
are too deep for human-sized travelers to wade, but silt
skimmers and giants can manage them easily enough.
Most skimmer captains take on paying passengers, but

they rarely stop anywhere except well-known villages and
trading posts. After all, a skimmer is a rich prize, and the
best defense is to keep moving and remain in silt that is
too deep for most raiders to cross.
At Balic, the estuary splits into two great arms – the
North Fork and the South Fork. The North Fork is larger
and more heavily populated, its shores dotted with tiny
villages and outposts.
Giant Holds
Many giants inhabit the isles of the estuary. Some
are friendly, but most giants regard smaller folk as easy
pickings and waylay travelers at every chance. Hill giants,
stone giants, and beast giants are the most common of
their kind found along the Forked Tongue. The different
kinds get along well enough if a strong leader is present,
but they fall to bickering and feuding otherwise.
Giant holds might be cave complexes, ruined towns, or
clusters of large, crude mud huts, and they are usually
surrounded by thorny brush walls that form palisades. A
typical hold is home to three to twelve giants; monstrous
vassals such as brohgs, half-giants, minotaurs, or ogres;
beasts kept as pets; and a handful of miserable thralls
(usually dwarves, elves, or humans). Chiefs of giant holds
take titles such as “king” or “lord” and levy tribute from
nearby tribes or settlements of lesser races.
Dragon's Plate
This narrow island consists of a single range of high,
steep mountains. The north face sees a lot of rainfall
by Athasian standards, and thin streams cascade down
the slopes to form mudflats in the dust. Balic maintains
several small, well-protected forts on the western end of
the island to guard against the giants of the Dragon's
Palate, but these outposts are often attacked. A beast
giant known as the Skull Wearer is the most powerful of
the island's chieftains. He makes his home in an ancient
minotaur stronghold known as Marrowgate, which lies in
the mountains near the center of the island. The Skull
Wearer is said to be possessed by the ghosts of the skulls
that hang around his neck, and he wields dangerous
magical powers.
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Locations
Mountains of the Teeth
A low range of dry, knife-edged peaks, the Mountains
of the Teeth are home to hostile tribes of tareks and
minotaurs. The mountains also hide several mysterious,
ancient monasteries – the strongholds of rakshasa princes.
Ranging out from these isolated retreats, rakshasa spies
roam the Tyr Region, secretly plotting to turn the sorcerer-
kings against one another and enslave the city-states.
Siren's Song
Siren’s Song, an island in the Small Fork, doesn’t
contain a giant clan. In fact, no one knows what lives
on the island, but those who travel nearby often hear
a haunting song. The song is magical in nature, and
those who hear it find themselves compelled to follow it
to its source – even though that means drowning in the
silt around the island. Legends proclaim that an ancient
sorceress is trapped on the island, and the song is her call
for help. The less fanciful insist that it’s only the cry of a
foul creature. Whatever the source of the song, its melody
is as lethal as a wixit’s sting.
Waverly
In the center of the large isle of Waverly is an ancient
city of the same name that fell during the wars of the Red
Age. The battles depopulated the city, but its high stone
walls and gates remain stout and whole after thousands
of years. The central plaza features a grand fountain of
marble fashioned in the likeness of a creature that has the
body of a female human and a snakelike tail; the fountain
still sprays water into the air in a shimmering arc. Old
waterways crisscross Waverly, feeding a fertile scrub plain.
Dozens of sailing ships lie half buried in a harbor at the
shore of the silt; their wooden hulls and decks became
petrified long ago.
Except for flocks of wild erdlus and hives of
wild kanks, the island appears deserted. But according
to legend, a staggering hoard of silver lies buried in a
treasure vault somewhere beneath the city.
 Locations
The Road of Kings
“Road of Kings? Road of slaves, perhaps. The high and
mighty sorcerer-kings squabble like jhakars worrying at a
carcass, throwing away armies with all the care of spoiled
children. Such are kings on Athas.”
- Alon, House M'ke trader
Far to the north, beyond the Great Alluvial Sand
Wastes and crowning the punishing barrens of the
Tablelands, stretches the Road of Kings, a war-torn,
shattered land defined by the ambitious sorcerer-kings
who vie for dominance in the region. Three city-states
dominate the Road of Kings, each straddling the ancient
routes. Quarrelsome and greedy, they frequently war with
one another, as scorched battlefields and countless bones
testify in the haunted lands between them.
In the west, one finds mighty Urik, a proud and
powerful city-state whose armies have no match among
the Seven Cities. Traveling east, past the Dragon's Bowl,
one comes to the troubled city of Raam, beset by strife
and famine. Beyond tragic Raam, far to the east, stands
proud Draj. Blessed with abundant fields, Draj supplies
food to other cities, transporting grains and hemp to
far-flung markets while its bloodthirsty warriors scour the
wilds for captives to sacrifice on their king's altar. In the
empty stretches between Urik, Raam, and Draj, caravan
routes, herder trails, and ancient highways link the three
city-states together.
The region takes its name from the ancient Road of
Kings, the route stretching from Urik across the stony
barrens to Raam and extending eastward to Draj and
beyond. The region is bustling and active, crowded with
caravans, travelers, and skirmishing armies.
Much like the other regions, the Road of Kings is
dotted with tiny desert villages, mining camps, nomadic
tribes, and trade outposts. Most such camps or posts are
tent cities surrounded by crude walls formed from stacked
stone, bones, and brush. Others are built atop hidden
wells. Dune traders wander the trails meandering through
the barrens, swapping goods and rumors with the folk
of the desert. Life in the arid wasteland is hard but not
50
impossible. Travelers in this region are rarely more than a
few miles from shelter, water, and food. The only question
is whether the desert denizens will bargain to share their
resources or defend them from intruders.
The Road of Kings is plagued by bandits, raiders,
hungry savages such as ssurrans or gith, vicious marauders
such as belgoi and braxats, and all sorts of desert predators.
These creatures usually give the city-states a wide berth,
but they pose a threat to travelers who go more than a
few days' journey from civilization.
Bitter Well
Who controls water, controls life. The few oases
scattered across the wastes were discovered long ago and
remain in the hands of those strong enough to keep them.
Prospectors mount forays into the wilderness, scouring the
land for new water sources, for any such find can make a
prince of a pauper. For a long time, travelers approaching
the Narrows east of Draj had heard running water, but
no one could track down the source – not until three
years ago, when dwarf prospectors set themselves the task
of finding it. They uncovered a small spring of cold, clean
water emerging from under the rock mantle.
The dwarves constructed a makeshift encampment and
set out to improve their well, believing they could sell the
water to caravans bound for Draj or Eldaarich in the far
north. It didn't take long for the dwarves to discover that
the water was in short supply, and that a single caravan
could drink it down to a trickle that would take a week
or more to recover. In fact, the water isn't even enough
to support the community that has grown up around it –
hence the name Bitter Well.
The Narrows
After Draj, a trade road travels east, following the land's
contours until it passes through Bitter Well. For many,
this distant outpost marks the world's end, since few dare
travel the ancient road farther for fear of the Narrows.
Aptly named, the Narrows is a stony strand between
the natural Maze of Draj to the north and the yawning
Sea of Silt to the south. Each year, the silt encroaches
a little more, threatening to swallow the ancient highway
one day. Giants plague the area, wading through the dust
 Locations

sinks to snatch caravans from the roads. The wreckage

of splintered wagons litters the Narrows, testifying to the
giants' incredible appetites.

Dragon's Bowl
A rumpled range of low mountains and highlands in the
stony plains between Raam and Urik conceals a natural
marvel: the Dragon's Bowl, a great cliff-walled crater more
than seventy miles wide. The view from its rim is awe-
inspiring, and nothing else in the Tyr Region matches its
size and scope. The Dragon's Bowl is an obstacle akin
to the Ringing Mountains; sheer cliffs between 1,000
and 2,000 feet in height isolate its floor from the world
outside. Only a handful of precarious trails descend the
cliffs. The site takes its name from legends describing how
the Dragon tore free from the world and left behind the
deep crater to mark its birth.
The Dragon's Bowl has a strange stillness, as if the
Lost Samarthia
world holds its breath, awaiting the creature's return. The Legends speak of a lost city somewhere in the Dragon's
feeling intensifies at the bottom, where one finds a mix Bowl – a fantastic hidden place known as Samarthia.
of rocky debris and hills covering the middle to southern According to varying stories, Samarthia is a buried ancient
reaches. Large herds of game animals and predators thrive citadel filled with the sorcerous science that prevailed in
in the Bowl, untroubled by the pres ence of people. the civilizations of those ancient days, or a city of genie-
kind or rakshasas concealed by mirage. Many treasure-
seekers searching for Lost Samarthia have disappeared in
Lake Pit the area, never to be heard from again.
To the north, the Dragon's Bowl slopes down toward
a verdant belt surrounding a pristine lake. Lake Pit, one
ofthe largest bodies of water in the Tyr Region, teems
The Gauntlets
with fish and wildlife. The lake's isolation contributes to Two rugged mountain ranges form the Gauntlets in the
its unspoiled character, but the area also lies under the east, just beyond Raam. The range to the north – the
protection of a powerful druid, the aged mul Enola. He Left Gauntlet, as one looks eastward from Raam – is
allies with wrathful elementals that tolerate no trespass in considerably older and more weathered than the southerly
these guarded lands. range. Sandstorms have reduced the Left Gauntlet to
rounded domes, split and cracked by great fissures.
Enola, Guardian of the Lake: A vigilant guardian mul Raam mined these peaks for generations, extracting silver
druid named Enola protects Lake Pit. Eighty years old, he and gemstones before the mines played out. Now the
is vigorous and hale. Some who have met him believe he abandoned shafts house tarek tribes that prey on small
was once a gladiator slave, and his scorn for the city-states caravans bound for Draj, along with a slave tribe known
supports this theory Enola is served by powerful elemental as Krikik's Pack.
spirits, and he tries to drive off or kill intruders who come The steep southern mountains of the Right Gauntlet
to plunder or settle the Dragon's Bowl. The druid usually have proved hardier, forming a barrier against the Sea of
spares innocent travelers, but he keeps a close eye on Silt and preventing its encroachment inland. Many old
them, and he asks trespassers to leave only once. gypsum quarries that provided alabaster for the statues and

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 Locations
facades of Raam dot their lower slopes. Tribes of hejkins
and troglodytes have all but driven out the stonecutters.
Broken Lands
Far to the north of Raam, the Ringing Mountains
begin to draw away to the west, slowly marching off into
a faint brown smudge flickering in the heat mirages. The
landscape gives way to rocky badlands, littered with sharp
stones and pebbles, whose broken escarpments and low
peaks are hewn into odd shapes by the relentless dust
storms that blow across the region. All manner of terrible
creatures infest the twisting canyons and blind defiles of
this jagged, unforgiving area. No villages or trade posts
lie in the savage wilderness; the Broken Lands mark the
northern bounds of the Tyr Region.
Dry Marsh
The city-state of Draj rises out of the southwest portion
of a region of salt marshes, scrub plains, dust sinks, and
mudflats known as the Dry Marsh. Great stands of saw-
edged grasses and dryreeds sighing in the wind dot the
dusty marsh bed, forming a natural labyrinth known as
the Maze of Draj. Skilled Draji workers venture deep
into the maze, sometimes on stilts, to cut huge bundles
of reeds that can be fashioned into floor mats and light
walls by the city's weavers. In addition, Draji hunters and
trappers take an assortment of small game here. Escaped
slaves hide in the Dry Marsh, eking out a precarious
living and avoiding the hungry monsters in the area.
Plain of Singing Skulls
Near the middle of the Maze of Draj is a low mesa
whose edges are studded with nearly a hundred stone
obelisks, each decorated with skulls. The skulls have been
filled with mortar and drilled such that winds blowing
through the menhirs produce an awful moaning. Draji
hunters and reed-gatherers avoid the mesa because a large
and fierce tribe of belgoi long ago claimed these lands
from whoever raised the obelisks. Some believe that the
ruin of an ancient city lies somewhere nearby, and that
the belgoi protect the fabulous treasure it must contain.
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The Smoking Crown
An ominous range of volcanic peaks rising in a ringlike
formation north of Urik, the Smoking Crown is a dangerous
land, barely habitable. The peaks belch plumes of steam,
ash, and cinders that rain down over everything. Lava
sometimes streams from the fissures in the slopes, spilling
in fiery rivers down the mountainsides. Other fissures vent
steam that scalds flesh or colorless, poisonous gases that
kill without warning. Despite the danger, slaves excavate
the mountains for obsidian and pumice. The quarries are
hellish places to work, with unbearable temperatures and
jagged black glass on all sides.
City of the Fire King
Miners tell of glimpsing dizzying ramparts and sinister
gates through the clouds of steam and ash that fill the
blasted plateau at the heart of the Smoking Crown. The
citadels reported by the miners are said to be the homes
of fearsome fire giants, fire titans, and salamanders that
waylay workers who venture into the Crown.
Lake of Golden Dreams
At the foot of the Smoking Crown lies a strange
wonderland of odd rock formations, boiling pools, and
bubbling mud, eventually giving way to a steaming lake
several miles wide. The Lake of Golden Dreams is the
most visited location in this area, for the vapors rising from
the scalding water are said to grant visions. Mystics, seers,
and lunatics make their homes along the lake's shore,
rotting their minds by sampling the unhealthy mists. In
addition, the lake might conceal a submerged city. Where
the blistering water is not too deep or cloudy, one can
see remnants of old walls on the bottom, with dark cave
mouths leading deeper into the earth.
Those who inhale the steam of the Lake of Golden
Dreams experience visions. Many are meaningless
hallucinations, but enough true visions are had to lend
credence to the tales about the lake. Any living character
who spends an hour on the shores may experience a
vision but will be exerted afterwards.
 Locations

Hinterlands
The Empty Plains
When most people in the Tyr Region speak of “the
hinterlands,” they are referring to the Empty Plains, a
hundred-mile-wide shelf of largely uninhabited barrens
and scrubland that runs from the thinning forests and
foothills of the Ringing Mountains' western slopes to
the top of the Jagged Cliffs. The yellow-green scrubland,
broken by the occasional outcropping of weathered rock,
is home to herds of wild erdlus and mekillots, kank
armies, and hungry desert predators. Ruins lie scattered
through the plains, but apparently, the region was lightly
populated even in ancient times; the remnants here are
small in size and few in number.
A few primitive tribes of hunters – mostly elves,
humans, and half-giants – follow the herds, along with
thri-kreen packs and bands of ravenous gnolls. However,
vast stretches of these plains are deserted, and travelers
might go months without meeting anyone.

Dragon's Crown Mountains

Rising out of the relatively flat terrain of the Empty Plains,
the Dragon's Crown is a U-shaped range of mountains a
hundred miles west of the Ringing Mountains. According
to legend, the unusual peaks burst up out of the plains
at the same moment that the Dragon came into being.

The Chaksa
This ancient shrine sacred to the kreen of the Tyr
Region lies near the southernmost edge of the Dragon's
Crown. Once, the Chaksa resembled a perfectly sculpted
thri-kreen head, replete with enormous, multifaceted jewels
for eyes.
The Chak'sa is the last remnant of an ancient thri-
kreen nation. Though no thri-kreen knows its true history,
it was built about two thousand years ago by a nation
that included thri-kreen and humans. The Chak'sa honors
both beings who led that nation, a powerful kreen and an
avangion. What happened to end the nation's prominence
is something of a mystery, but it probably came into
conflict with the sorcerer-kings and the Dragon of Tyr.
Thri-kreen who view the Chak'sa feel a fascination for

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it. Around the base of a dias before the Chak'sa is

inscribed with a message in an ancient kreen dialect; it
says "When the age of the Great One is come, make ye a
joyous light." Stepping on the dias caused bearns of light
to shoot from the eyes, hundreds of feet, to shift around
like searchlights sweeping the sky. These were intended
as signals to alert others to the presence of the avangion
at the Chak'sa. The inscription was left so that if an
avangion visited the Chak'sa, the lights would alert others
and call them to this location. This is no longer the case.

Dasaraches
Within the sheltering bowl of the Dragon's Crown is a
rare sight on Athas: a small but lush woodland known as
the Silent Forest. Its dangerous predators and poisonous
plants keep most travelers away. At the center of the wood,
on an island in the middle of a muddy lake, sits a ruined
fortress called Dasaraches. This ancient palace is home to
a menacing cabal of psionicists who call themselves the
Order. Uninvited guests are likely to have their memories
erased and find themselves under a compulsion to return
home by the swiftest route.

The Jagged Cliffs

The Empty Plains come to an end at the Jagged Cliffs,
a confusing maze of gradually steepening escarpments and
winding canyons following the shore of a long-vanished
sea. Over the course of thirty or forty miles, the land
descends to the rolling plains of the Crimson Savanna,
which lie two miles lower than the Empty Plains to
the east. In their middle elevations, the cliffs are almost
vertical, posing a nearly impassable barrier to travel from
east to west. In the gentler and more well-watered canyons
and hanging valleys in the northward stretch of the cliffs,
strange vertical forests cling to the sheer slopes and narrow
ledges. Tribes of halflings inhabit some of these forests,
building their villages directly from the cliff faces. Their
technology is more primitive than that of the city-states,
but the halfling culture of the lagged Cliffs is rich, vibrant,
and old. Like their kin in the Forest Ridge, these halflings
are a proud and isolationist people who do not appreciate
outsiders wandering through their lands.

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Forest Ridge
“Paradise on top of the world, my left foot! Are you
such a fool that you believe every slave rumor you hear?
If it were true, don't you think we'd all be living there
instead of in this dusty pit?”
- Dura Mandic, Tyrian glass crafter
Rumors and reports filter across the Tablelands, whispers
about a vast and untamed wilderness beyond the Ringing
Mountains where rain falls every day and trees grow so
tall and thick that the sun struggles to shine through the
canopy. Most Athasians doubt that such a fantastical
place could exist on their dying world, but exist it does.
Beneath the mighty peaks of the Ringing Mountains is
the Forest Ridge, a region unlike any other on Athas. It
is a wild, verdant land of dense jungles choked with vines,
bracken, brambles, and countless species of animals and
plants. Here one can find a glimpse of the world as it
should have Been.
But for all its abundance, wonder, and plentiful water,
the Forest Ridge is no haven. The dim light shining
through the tangled boughs does little to reveal the dangers
lurking in the shadows, hidden behind beautiful colors.
Competition in the jungle is fierce, and the denizens must
adapt or be devoured. Deadly predators both animals and
plants camouflage themselves in a hundred ways in the
dense canopy and undergrowth.
Like much of the rest of Athas, the Forest Ridge is filled
with ruins. Dizzying mountain roads, mighty colossi, and
hidden citadels carved by ancient hands lie unexplored
in the jungles, remnants of a long-lost halfling civilization.
The Forest Ridge is more properly described as a great
plateau or highland. Most of the region lies at an elevation
approaching 10,000 feet, and the air is 30 to 40 degrees
cooler than in the lowlands of the Tyr Region. The
Ringing Mountains intercept the prevailing westerly winds
and the little moisture they carry. As a traveler climbs
from the Tablelands through the passes of the mountain
range, walls of clouds bunch up behind the peaks ahead,
and the rumble of thunder echoes in the distance. Farther
west, the ridge steadily descends thousands of feet to meet
55
Locations
the scrub plains of the Western Hinterlands, and the
climate grows progressively hotter and drier until the trees
finally give out.
Forest Colossi
The Forest Ridge's eastern marches are protected by a
chain of colossi half buried in the jungle, great statues
that anchor an ancient primal ward against defiling magic.
Halfling shamans say that their ancestors created the
ward to safeguard their homeland from the ravages of the
Cleansing Wars, and that to this day the defiler kings of
the lowlands cannot defeat it. If the ward still functions,
it does not appear to prevent typical defiling magic from
working. However, defilers in the Forest Ridge often find
that the jungle turns against them. Savage predators,
carnivorous plants, and deadly snares beset those who use
defiling magic in the Forest Ridge.
Crystal Forest
The trees and plants in this section of the Forest Ridge
were transmuted to translucent mineral centuries ago as
a side effect of a battle between an arcane defiler and a
druid. In the years since, many of the tallest trees have
fallen and shattered, creating a field of razor-sharp crystal
spikes across the few square miles of this lifeless zone.
Creatures made of conglomerate mineral shards stalk the
Crystal Forest and some times venture beyond its edge,
searching for prey. At the center of the region stands an
obsidian plateau that hosts a ruined cliff dwelling. Ghost
winds and spirits howl about the plateau, and ancient
magic wards yet burn. Those who stand atop the plateau
find their flesh slowly hardening to lifeless mineral and
must flee before the change becomes complete.
Temple of the Sky Serpent
The top five or six “steps” of a great pyramid rise out
of the jungle here; most of the structure remains buried
beneath the forest floor. The pyramid is usually sealed
tight, but persistent explorers occasionally bypass its magic
wards and gain entry. Invariably, they report a maze of
stone tunnels that seems to go on forever, opening onto
empty chamber after empty chamber. But when the two
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moons of Athas align in

a certain way above the
pyramid's apex, the sealed
entrances gape wide,
issuing forth green light
and hypnotic music. At
such times, yuan-ti priests
emerge from the Temple
of the Sky Serpent to
practice abominable rites
atop their shrine, and
yuan-ti war parties range
far into the surrounding
jungle.

Kol-tukulg
A plume of ash swirls
over Kol-Tukulg, a
dramatic volcano in the
Forest Ridge. At most
times, the mountain is
quiet, but now and then,
the cloud of ash and
smoke pouring from its
apex swells alarmingly.
When this occurs, nearby
halfling tribes mount an
expedition to the summit
and throw several living
sacrifices into the caldera.
They believe that this
method is the only way
to quiet Kol-Tukulg of
the Fiery Tread, a terrible
elemental creature that
lairs in the fiery caverns
of the volcano that
bears its name. Ancient
wards of primal magic
trap the mighty being in
the mountain, but the
defenses have weakened
over the centuries, and the
elemental grows restive.

56

Sea of Silt
“The slightest breeze stirs up a silvery pall of dust that
clings to the surface like a fog. It becomes impossible
to tell where the silt-laden air ends and the dustbed
begins. When the wind blows more strongly, as it often
does, the Sea of Silt becomes a boiling cloud of dust,
the edges tinged with crimson sunlight. On such a day,
a traveler near the sea cannot see more than a few feet
in any direction. The dust coats his clothes, his face, the
inside of his nose, and even his lungs. He cannot see
the ground or the sky, and when he walks, his feet drag
through inches of thick silt. He grows disoriented, and it
becomes an easy matter for him to wander into the sea
and disappear forever.”
- The Wanderer's Journal
The Sea of Silt is a great dust sink that extends for
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles eastward from the
shores of the Tyr Region. Long ago it was a great sea of
water, vast and deep, but now the shore slopes down to
meet what looks like an endless plain of gray dust. On a
calm day, it seems that one could walk out onto the plain
as if it were fine sand, but the silt is too light to support
a human's weight and too deep to wade for any distance.
The Sea of Silt is an impossible barrier to travel, passable
only along its margins by silt skimmers or waders that
remain in shallow dust.
In addition to natural hazards, those who brave the sea
must contend with the monstrous creatures that dwell
in and around the silt. Tentacled silt horrors prowl the
deeps, and giants roam the shallows, walking on secret
roads only they know. Even the islands in the Sea of Silt
offer as much peril as safe haven. Their isolated locations
make them ideal hideouts for unscrupulous types who
don't want their activities to be observed, and the austerity
of life on the islands turns many inhabitants to savagery.
Like the Ringing Mountains to the west and the
Southern Wastes to the south, the Sea of Silt forms one
of the borders of the Tyr Region. For most people, the
sea effectively marks the end of the world; no traveler
has crossed its emptiness and returned to tell the tale.
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Locations
Attempts to circumnavigate the silt are likewise perilous
– far to the north, a traveler faces impassable fjords and
chains of active volcanoes that bar the way. To the south,
the traveler ventures into desolate regions of salt flats and
sandy wastes, bereft of life or shelter. In that direction, the
sea appears to continue for thousands of miles without
narrowing or coming to an end. It is a daunting barrier,
to say the least.
The Sea of Silt is a curious phenomenon. Once an
ocean, it is now filled with fine gray powder as dry as sun-
parched bone. No one can explain why the silt persists
instead of blowing away or slowly compacting into a firm
gray plain – it's not natural for dust to behave in such
a manner. Many Athasians assume that some dreadful
magic transformed the seas to dust long ago, and they're
not far from the mark. The Sea of Silt is a vast elemental
intrusion into Athas, a region in which a great elemental
power has subtly altered natural law, balancing air, earth,
and water in a deviant fashion. In the Sea of Silt, dust
coalesces and refuses to compact under its own weight. It
remains light enough to rise in a wind-whipped haze that
can cover nearby lands with fine gray grit, yet it trickles
back down in time to rejoin the larger sea. Even if the silt
blows into dust sinks many miles away, it retains these
strange properties.
Much of the Sea of Silt remains unexplored and
unknown due to its sheer inaccessibility. Except for a few
well-charted shoals, the largest silt skimmer can venture
only a mile or two from shore. (Anyone who wants to
venture farther out needs a means of flying or levitating.)
Worse yet, long voyages up or down the coast offer little
profit. Most of the reachable islands and mudflats are
largely barren, and as far as anyone knows nothing but
blasted wasteland, possibly teeming with flesh-eating
monsters, awaits the bolder travelers.
Experienced silt travelers know that the greatest danger
of the sea is not monsters, raiders, or drowning it is the
insidious “disease” known as the Gray Death. When the
hot, dry sirocco rises, it kicks up the top layer of fine gray
powder and holds it aloft in a vast cloud. As creatures
breathe this airborne dust, the moisture in their lungs and
throat causes the silt to clump; a human can suffocate in
a matter of hours. The surest protection against the Gray
Death is to cover one's mouth and nose with a wet piece
of silk or similar fine cloth.
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Denizens of the Silt Sea
The silt has some indigenous plant life outside the mud
flats. In regions of shallow silt (10' or less) the olom-reed
flourishes. This hardy plant roots in the solid bottom of
the silt basin and reaches up through the dust blanket to
the sun. Its stem is strong and flexible, with a tassel of soft
rushes at its top. Travellers welcome sight of the olom-reed
because stands of hundreds of reeds may conceal a small
spring or mud flat.
Another plant, driftweed, is more common in the deep
silt. This rootless network of thin, brittle branches is so
light that it actually floats on the silt; it is one of the
few substances able to do so. Driftweed is often carried
58
hundreds of miles from the Sea by the worst dust storms.
Despite the difficulty of survival in the silt, the basin
is not uninhabited. Many creatures have adapted to life
in the dust-flyers, floaters, and burrowers that can move
in or over the silt. For them, the silt is not death; it is
instead their home, their refuge from the predators of the
tablelands, and their hunting ground.
The creatures of the silt include countless varieties of
small insects, bats, floaters, razorwings, and the different
species of silt horrors. The small insects include dust beetles,
mud wasps, tsek-flies, and silt spiders – all fascinating
creatures and well adapted to their environment, but of
little concern to the silt traveler. Floaters and razorwings
are far more dangerous, often attacking humans near the

sea. They are true silt creatures, perfectly adapted to their
environment.
Many dangerous creatures use the silt as concealment
as they stalk their prey. Some, like the silt horrors, can
sense the vibrations or disturbances of the silt from a
great range. Others rely on psionic detection of their
prey. Sighted creatures such as humans or giants are at
a great disadvantage in fighting off the attacks of the silt
predators-the dust is impervious to any kind of vision, and
a creature buried even a few inches cannot be detected
by most humans.
Hunting groups of black horrors range far across the
shallows in their pursuit of prey, and the larger white, gray,
and brown horrors are feared by all silt travelers. But in
the deep silt, there are creatures from which even the
silt-horrors flee. The mighty sink worms and silt drakes
command the respect of the most powerful silt horror.
And the dreaded silt-vortex fears nothing that lives.
Three different types of giants live in the isles of
the shallow silt: desert, plains, and beasthead. In general,
the desert giants prefer rocky isles; the plains giants live
on scrub isles. Beasthead giants are found on any kind of
island. Usually only one variety of giant lives on a given
island, although Lake Island and Waverly support several
different giant clans.
Giants have a bad reputation in other parts of the Tyr
region, but they are really not all bad. Just like humans
and most other races, there are good and evil giants.
Many isolated giants delight in company – provided the
visitor does not invade without permission. The exceptions
to this are the beasthead giants, who tend to be far crueler
and less hospitable than their cousins.
Human and dwarf villages lie along the shore or on
isles just offshore. These hardy folk have devised means
of crossing the shallow silt and often operate ferries across
the silt estuaries or conduct trade up and down the coast.
The mud flats and rocky tors dotting the silt also
provide homes for one of the greatest dangers of the
Sea: airborne predators. A few rare rocs and cloud rays
have, over the course of generations, overcome their fear
of flying over the open silt and now range far across the
dusty plain, seeking prey. A full-grown roc can capture
creatures as large as a young sink worm and carry them
off as a meal. Some travelers have encountered powerful
roc-riders far out in the deep silt. They believe there may
59
Locations
be a hidden village in the center of the Sea, far beyond
the knowledge of sages.
Lake Island
Most islands in the Sea of Silt are little more than
jumbled boulders that fight a losing battle against
the abrasive winds. Larger, more protected islands can
withstand erosion and might sustain life. Lake Island is
among the bigger landmasses in the sea. A mountainous
spine forms a wall that shields against the storms blowing
out of the deep silt; the largest peak is a dormant volcano.
A large, clear lake lies within the caldera, and steam curls
up from its pristine waters, warmed by the volcano's fiery
spirits.
Trickling streams from the caldera nourish the thriving
flora that blankets Lake Island's western slopes. In the
lowlands, a traveler can find wild kanks, erdlus, and other
herd animals. In addition, small settlements cluster around
oases; Lake Island is home to warring giant clans, thri-
kreen, dwarves, and others. Minotaur traders help sustain
the few outposts, and gith raiders emerge from below
the mountains to drag prisoners to an unknown fate in
stinking subterranean grottoes.
The Mountains of the Sun
Rising from the central Sea of Silt a few hundred miles
east of the isle of Waverly, the Mountains of the Sun
are a mighty range that is slowly dying. The fierce storms
of the deep silt have been weathering the mountains for
thousands of years, and with each day a little more of
their substance is broken apart by the heat of the sun
and the cold of the night, to be carried away by the
endless winds. The scale of this change is beyond human
comprehension; only a few inches of dirt and rock might
be lost in the lifetime of a man.
The Mountains of the Sun are very old and no longer
possess the jagged edges and sheer cliffs of younger ranges
such as the Ringing Mountains. The softer rock has all
been worn away, and only the rounded domes of granite
that once composed the mountains' hearts are left today.
The individual peaks range from 200-3,000' high and
are often separated by broad tracts of deep silt. Each
mountain is anywhere from one to ten miles across and
 Locations
rises one to eight miles from its neighbors. From the
highest peaks in the center of the range, it is barely
possible to see the ash storm surrounding the Valley of
Dust and Fire.
There are few sources of water in the mountains and
fewer foliated regions. Some of the older mountains
support a few acres of sparse scrub along their leeward
shores. Most are barren.
The wildlife of the Mountains of the Sun is unusual.
Thousands of years of isolation from the mainland have
weeded out all but a few tough species. Those peaks
that support life are the lairs of powerful avians such as
wyverns, dragonnels, or rocs. A few hardy goats and erdlu
still survive on some of the larger peaks. The dominant
predators are a bewildering variety of spiders, including
huge, giant, and phase species.
Scattered groups of intelligent beings inhabit the
Mountains of the Sun. A few small clans of aarakocra
live in the high peaks, and underground degenerate
tribes of hej-kin guard most of the hidden water supplies.
Surprisingly, a few small clans of feral dwarves inhabit
the mountains as well. The dwarves and the hej-kin are
the last remnants of large populations that migrated to
this area before the Silt Sea became impassable. A dying
breed of less than 100, the dwarves here are cannibals
and wretched savages who constantly war with the spiders
and the hej-kin. Needless to say, the dwarves are not
doing very well. It is a testament to their innate toughness
that they are even there at all.
The hej-kin and spiders attack anything foolish enough
to cross their paths. The dwarves, regrettably, are not
much different. They have never known anything but a
world full of enemies. The dwarves of the Mountains of
the Sun may be ignorant savages, but they possess a lot
of unusual oral legends concerning the days before the
Dragon. Unfortunately, they firmly believe the rest of the
world to be uninhabitable silt.
The Road of Fire
The place's name is a misnomer, since no actual roads
span this chain of volcanic islands in the Sea of Silt.
Some sages believe the Road of Fire to be a mighty arm
of the Ringing Mountains flung out into the sea, but
others think the volcanic isles are a new range, rising
60
slowly out of the silt. Although several dozen smaller
peaks are counted among the Road of Fire, the bulk
of the archipelago consists of three islands: Dhuurghaz,
Avegdaar, and Morghaz – Furyfire, Hellglow, and
Dawnfire in the common tongue.
Dhuurghaz
The largest island in the Road of Fire, Dhuurghaz
is a broad plateau of volcanic rock that is mostly flat
except for a range of steep, rocky cliffs along the southern
shore. The center of the island is a deep pit, from which
emanates the hellish red glow of magma far below. This
volcano connects to the elemental plane of fire, and
elemental beings emerge from the depths, seeking to burn
anything they can find. Beasthead giants of the Khal-Ish-
Thaas tribe dwell in the southern highlands of Dhuurghaz,
traveling a slow, nomadic circuit up and down the coast.
Few people know of the existence of the volcanic
archipelago. Giants of the northern portions of the Silt
Sea (Lake Island and farther north) have heard of it, and
the people of Ket know of the islands as well. In Draj, the
volcanic isles are only a distant rumor. Violent eruptions
along the Road of Fire sometimes cause ashfalls in the
city.
Avegdaar
Smaller and more mountainous than Dhuurghaz,
Avegdaar is home to nomadic bands of desert giants.
The clans of Avegdaar raid out of necessity, since their
island cannot support even the meager herds raised by
the giants of Dhuurghaz. Avegdaar is also home to a
large population of fire drakes. These creatures attack
the raiding clans, but only when their own hunting is
particularly bad – even fire drakes can't stand up to a
dozen angry giants.
Morghaz
Unlike its sister islands, Morghaz has no active volcanoes
and is surprisingly verdant. Scrub brush covers much of
the land, and here and there stand small copses of forest.
A small tribe could live here easily, yet the island is
uninhabited. The Khal-Ish-Thaas tribe and the clans of
Avegdaar avoid Morghaz, believing it to be haunted, and
they are correct. A shattered keep on the southeastern

tip of the island was the home of an ancient order of
preservers. The former leader of the order, a powerful
ghost named Haakar, still lingers in the ruins.
Haakar: Haakar is a free-willed undead spirit, similar
to a spectre but far more powerful. Haakar is bound
to the island of Dawnfire and cannot leave. There are
several hundred desiccated skeletons in the courtyards
and rubble of the ruins.
Haakar is an ancient wizard, the master of the mage
society whose fortress this was. He and his brothers fought
against the rise of the defilers, but were destroyed in
the terrible wars that swept Athas in the ancient days.
Haakar's strength of will survived the death of his body,
and he guards the ancient fortress to this day. Powerful
magic and dangerous knowledge are still hidden within
the ruins, and Haakar ensures that word of the ruins'
existence never leaves the island of Dawnfire.
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Locations
Rowom
Rising out of the dust like the shattered fang of an
enormous beast, Roqom appears only at the peak of
midday on the hottest days of the year. This sharp,
jagged spire of basalt lies in the wilderness beyond the
Beastbarrens, but according to legend, it appears wherever
its master can work the greatest mischief. The master
of Roqom is Fajjayad, a great rakshasa prince, and he
occasionally uses magical sendings to lure silt sailors and
travelers to his black palace – especially travelers who
have a desperate need of some sort. Fajjayad claims to
be able to provide for any such needs in exchange for
services to be rendered within 1,001 days.
The rakshasa is unfailingly polite and candid. If asked,
he freely admits that the task he sets is likely to be
difficult, even deadly, and that his “clients” might die
while attempting it. However, Fajjayad assures them that
“the laws” (a term he does not define) forbid him from
setting a task that is impossible or whose outcome is
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certain death. For his magic to work, the task must have
an element of chance and uncertainty. Still, if any group
has ever profited from Fajjayad's bargain, its tale is not
known.
Shault
The Isle of Shault lies east of Lake Island, far out
in the Sea of Silt. Frequently hidden by blowing dust
and virtually inaccessible by silt skimmer, Shault holds
a secret: a thriving lowland forest. Except for a range of
small mountains along the southern edge, the entire island
is thickly forested with bizarre, exotic, and sometimes
dangerous trees, the likes of which have been forgotten
by the rest of Athas. Shault's fertility stems partially from
its geography (the forest is protected on three sides by
tall cliffs that block the searing winds from the silt, and
numerous springs feed up from below the surface) and
partially from the primal magic of the half-giant druid
Mearedes, who protects the island.
If visitors can persuade Mearedes that they mean no
harm, she and her three apprentices tolerate the intruders.
62
However, the druids' hospitality comes at a price. The half-
giant is determined to ensure that knowledge of Shault's
existence and location does not spread, lest unscrupulous
types plunder the island. She insists that all visitors be
subject to a ritual that compels them never to speak of the
isle. Mearedes and her apprentices attack all who refuse,
with full intent to kill; she does not revel in violence, but
she considers the preservation of Shault more important
than any individual life. In addition to her apprentices,
Mearedes can call on some forty giants of varying kinds
at need, all of them fiercely loyal to the druid.
In the heart of Shault's jungle, far from Mearedes and
the homesteads of the giants, an ancient city has been
ravaged by the march of time. The press of the jungle has
torn down chunks of the walls and collapsed buildings as
the greenery grows over the stone.
Neither Mearedes nor the giants of Shault know who
built the city or why; the murals and carvings that survive
display script in an unknown language. Since the island
receives few visitors and the druids avoid the ruins, its
vaults and tombs remain undisturbed. Mearedes doesn't
mind if adventurers explore the city – assuming that they

prove cooperative enough for her to tolerate their presence
at all – but she warns them that dangerous beasts lair
within the ruins.
Mearedes: Mearedes is the guardian of the island of
Shault. She is a weather beaten human of 60 who enjoys
the physical condition and health of someone half her
age. She understands how precious Shault is, and she has
spent her life nurturing the isle. The island was slowly
dying before she came to it; now it is strong and green
again. Mearedes is a friend to the giants of the island,
who are happy to help her in her task. If anyone threatens
her, dozens of giants leap to her defense. They call her
“little grandmother” and treat her like a member of their
clan.
Vanishing Lake
One of the largest bodies of water in the Tyr Region,
Vanishing Lake is a vast mudflat south and east of the
Estuary of the Forked Tongue. It stretches more than
twenty miles in length and five in width. The precise size
is difficult to judge, for the silty muck that surrounds the
lake is easily mistaken for more of the mudflat. Extended
periods of drought cause the lake to evaporate, which
means that during the months of High Sun there is
less water and more mud. Eventually the open water
disappears entirely, and the lake seems to vanish, leaving
behind a thin, watery mire. When the sun beats less
fiercely during the months of Sun Descending, the water's
source wells up once more, and the lake becomes obvious
to the eye again. Old silt sailors claim that the periods
of open water grow shorter and farther apart as the years
pass. Someday the lake might disappear and never return.
Vanishing Lake is home to one or more aggressive water
drakes, and silt runners, floating mantles, cha'thrangs, and
other dangerous creatures live in tjie surrounding mudflat.
The area is protected by a powerful, ancient druid known
as the Old One. Most folk never encounter him, although
occasionally a lost traveler, half dead from thirst and
sun sickness, claims to have been set on the right path
and given a waterskin by a mysterious old druid who
disappeared into the silt.
The Old One: The Old One is among the most
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Locations
powerful druids in the Tyr region. Born nearly 100 years
ago as a peasant villager in a distant city-state, he left the
civilized world and took up the study of nature. In time he
came to the Silt Archipelago and inherited the guarded
lands from the ancient druid who preceded him. For more
than 70 years he has guarded the fragile Archipelago
against the careless abuses of intelligent creatures and the
ruin of defilers. The time is coming when the Old One
will lay down his guardianship and select another to carry
on the never-ending fight.
The Old One knows of the Valley of Dust and Fire,
having traveled there once on his journeys. He counsels
against visiting it, especially the Dragon's sanctum in the
center of the city. But he may impart his knowledge to
those that help him.
The Verdant Isle
Stories shared in taverns from Tyr to Cromlin tell of a
lush island in the middle of the Sea of Silt. According to
the tales, the island is home to a secret city-state ruled by
a benevolent monarch and ringed by wide lakes of cool,
pristine water. Supposedly, this city is a paradise, and if
a traveler is lucky enough (or has the right map, which
many hucksters just happen to have for sale), he or she
can find the Verdant Isle and live in idle luxury. Sages
speculate that the rumor might refer to the island of Ebe,
a wealthy and prosperous kingdom during the Green Age.
Others dismiss the Verdant Isle as a mirage that lures the
foolhardy far out into the sea, where they drown in silt.
The wildest tales maintain that the city, a mighty citadel
concealed in a valley of dust and fire, is the hidden
retreat of the Dragon.
The God in the Dust
The Sea of Silt is home to a dormant beast of great
elemental power known as the Dust Kraken, Ul-Athra,
or the Mouths of Thirst. It is said that the fearsome silt
horrors that hunt in the sea are the spawn of Ul-Athra.
Did the creature come to Athas during the Red Age and
turn the original sea to dust? Was it a native of the sea,
changed along with the water by defiling magic? No one
knows. Over the centuries, a number of elemental cults
have risen to worship the Dust Kraken, seeking to rouse
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the beast from its slumber and use its power against their
enemies. These cults perform strange rites in the name
of their god. Sometimes, those especially favored by Ul-
Athra's dreaming awareness are rewarded with secrets of
powerful elemental magic or vile rituals that summon and
bind lesser avatars of the Dust Kraken.
The Isle of Ash
This volcanic isle smokes and smolders constantly.
Although it rarely erupts in lava flows, the volcano
produces enormous amounts of ash, which coat its cinder
cone several feet deep. The island usually lies beneath
a pall of airborne ash, and this may cover surrounding
regions downwind in Moderate or greater wind conditions.
The column of hot ash and smoke rising from the cone
is visible 40-50 miles away, if the wind permits. Ashfall
can occur as far as Draj. There is no water and no life
on the Isle of Ash.
On rare occasions, the volcano produces a superheated
mass of volcanic gases, ash, and dust. This creates a lethal
mixture that blankets the island. This kind of eruption is
preceded by many warning signs for days beforehand, so
an alert and fast-moving party can escape the area.
Isle of Bones
A cluster of several closely grouped stark crags rising
from the deep silt, the Isle of Bones is a barren and
forbidding place. Each crag rises 400-800' above the silt
and is 100-1,000 yards from its nearest neighbor. The silt
between the crags is several hundred feet deep. There are
11 crags, and four are large enough to support vegetation
on their crowns.
The Isle of Bones gains its name from the broken
skeletons littering the steep shoulders of the crags. These
are the remains of the prey of the isle's chief predators, a
large tribe of aarakocra. The bird-men are exceptionally
fierce and strong and range for miles over the silt in
search of food. Many of the skeletons of the Isle of Bones
are human or elf.
The aarakocra tribe numbers 80 and inhabits the four
largest peaks. The natural caves and vegetation of the
crags make for excellent lairs. An exceptionally savage
and degenerate tribe, the aarakocra prey on any travelers
64
who come within their clutches. They are frequently
encountered as far as 30 miles away and prefer to hunt
in parties of 6 to 12.
The aarakocra of the Isle of Bones prefer to attack
with swooping volleys of javelins, but occasionally try to
capture human or demihuman victims for torture back at
their lair. For this the bird-men drop weighted nets over
fleeing prey. Four aarakocra can carry a netted human by
the trailing ropes of the net. The hapless victim endures
vicious abuse before being thrown from the top of the
crag.
The isle is also home to many carnivorous bats of
the large and giant varieties. The aarakocra are diurnal
creatures and the bats rarely trouble them.
The Black Isle
A forbidding place with sheer cliffs of black basalt, the
Black Isle is known to only a few travelers of the deep
silt. It rises almost vertically from the surrounding dust,
ringed by unbroken cliffs 500-1,000' high. The upper
surface of this remote and desolate island is covered by a
thick, impenetrable jungle. The forest is not visible from
the surface of the silt below.
The jungle is filled with deadly plants of all kinds.
Strangling vines, poisonweed, blossomkillers, and dew
fronds are found here in unnatural numbers. The
prevalence of carnivorous plants has kept the animal
population down to a few varieties of insects and birds.
The center of the Black Isle holds a deep, still lake of
dark water. Nearly half a mile across, the lake seems to
be fed by some deep, hidden spring. A few quiet streams
wind away through the jungle to trickle over the cliffs. The
water possesses a dark and powerful enchantment: once a
person has drunk from the lake, any other water becomes
deadly poison.
Along the shores of the lake stands a rambling palace of
pristine bone and ivory. Silent obsidian golems eternally
guard the palace. This island was once the retreat of
either a powerful wizard or psionicist who died in another
land and never returned to his secret fortress. The Dragon
has investigated the island at length and discovered the
properties of its lake and jungle. The Dragon lets it
remain unspoiled as a lure for careless travelers of the
deep silt.

Tarelon
A legendary city of the silt, Tarelon lies on a buried
highland that is sometimes revealed as bare stone. The
winds that scour this region of the Sea of Silt create a
shifting border region of shallow dust. The exact area
revealed by the winds seems to change every day; travelers
who have visited Tarelon report that they could not find
it a second time.
Tarelon seems to have been a large city, but not so
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great as Waverly or Bodach. Like Arkhold, many of
its buildings are permanently buried beneath the silt,
and others are sometimes revealed. One great ancient
temple stands at the center of the ruinedcity, carved with
powerful and mystical symbols. It was once dedicated to
the deities of the elemental plane of earth.
Despite its appearance and reputation as a haunted
city, Tarelon is inhabited. The ruins conceal a small slave
tribe, the Silt Raiders.
 Locations
The Ring of Fire
“It is written in the Book of Urik that the Sea of Silt
was once an ocean of water called the Sunrise Sea. In the
middle of this fabled sea a great island lay green and fair,
in the days before the founding of Urik. No one knows
what happened , but some great calamity overtook the
green isle, for the Book of Urik tells of the boiling of the
Sunrise Sea and the Rain of Ash over the seven cities.”
- From the Scroll of Kelaimos,
in the Library of the Oba of Gulg
The center of the Valley of Dust and Fire contains a
seething sea of lava, the Ring of Fire. Enclosing the island
of the City of Doom, the Ring is 150 miles from north
to south and 100 miles from east to west. It is the largest
caldera of open magma in the known world and the
principal cause of the devastation of the Valley.
The Ring of Fire is an awesome spectacle, a boiling
river of red, glowing molten rock that swirls and seethes
continuously. In some places, hardy spires of dense stone
pierce the lava sea to stretch like black fingers at the red
sky. In other places, lava eddies drain in endless, slow-
moving whirlpools, only to reemerge as violent fountains of
magma hundreds of feet high. Black cliffs of basalt tower
along the shoreline.
Only the Dragon knows whether the Ring of Fire
preceded the City of Doom in its center, or vice versa.
Regardless of whether the city was placed here first or
the ring was made around the city, the Ring forms an
impassable barrier to all but winged creatures. The isle of
Ur Draxa is 30 miles from the shores of the outer valley.
Even strong fliers think twice about crossing open lava.
The Ring is impassable by teleportation or extra-
dimensional travel, including dimension walking,
etherealness, or plane shifting. This property probably
results from the Dragon's awful magic. The only practical
options remaining are flight or the Gate of Doom, and
the gate is closed to enemies of the Dragon.
The Lava
The seething lava's fierce heat can be felt miles away,
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and its hellish glow eternally illuminates the shore of
the outer valley and the city beyond. Day and night are
meaningless here.
At first glance, the Ring of Fire seems a monolithic
barrier. However, rocky crags and spires rise up from
the blanket of magma. The lava varies greatly; in some
places, it has cooled to a black crust that is actually safe
to walk on, provided one can tolerate the intense heat of
the air. Elsewhere, fountains spray molten rock as swift
and liquid as water. The awful forces at work create and
destroy these features constantly – no stretch of lava ever
remains the same.
The Ring creates its own weather patterns. Its intense
heat powers the Great Ash Storm. Local hot or cool spots
of the lava have intense effects on the air masses above
them. The hellish winds of the Valley begin here; a gale of
scorching* air always blasts up into the Great Ash Storm.
The dust funnels of the outer valley cannot form here; the
rising drafts of heated air prevent the descent of cyclones.
However, the ring has its own cyclones – firestorms that
spin away from eddying masses of superheated air and
rage across the lava.
The superheated air above the lava is free of ash or silt;
the visibility is very good here, compared to other regions
of the Valley. A character standing on a cliff overlooking
the ring can make out the walls of Ur Draxa on the
opposite shore.
Denizens of the Ring
Few creatures are at home in the inferno: fire drakes,
fire lizards, fire minions, and various forms of fire and
earth elementals. Even these shun the place, because there
are few sources of food within the lava sea. All in all, the
Ring of Fire may be one of the safest places in the Valley.
Some strange creatures from the Para-Elemental Plane
of Magma occasionally pass into the Ring through hidden
portals – creatures resembling common Athasian monsters,
but in elemental form. Fire scorpions and earth beetles
seem to be common.
Two other creatures of the Ring, fire drakes and fire
lizards, make their lairs in the rocky spires or islands,
emerging to hunt over the lava and to ravage the shores
of the Valley. They are always hostile.
Finally, among the inhabitants of the Ring are the

Dragon Warriors. Their Iron Citadel perches on a rock
outcropping in the lava sea, reachable only by air. From
this secure fortress they fly out over the entire valley, and
occasionally through the Great Ash Storm to the Silt Sea
beyond.
The Dragon's Causeway
A series of stepping-stone islands leading from the
Gate of Doom to the island of Ur Draxa, the Dragon's
Causeway is connected in some mystic way to the Gate
of Doom The islands are nearly uniform in size and
appearance. Each is 100' square, and rises about 40' out
of the magma with sheer, vertical sides. The islands are
placed every mile, and there are 16 of them altogether.
The islands of the causeway are in fact the markers
or supports for the mystical conduit that spans the ring,
connecting the two halves of the Gate of Doom. They
radiate powerful magic of the alteration and conjuration
schools. Fliers may be tempted to use the islands as
resting points in a crossing of the Ring of Fire, but that
would be dangerous – the islands are guarded, and it is
perilous to be on one of them when the Gate of Doom
is used.
Each island of the Dragon's Causeway is guarded
by four magma golems. These creatures stand as silent
statues along the edges of the block and immediately
attack anyone who scales the island or lands on its upper
surface. The golems are not affected by use of the Gate
of Doom.
The Maelstrom
A vast whirlpool of molten lava, this eddy is more
than two miles wide. At its heart there is a portal to
the Elemental Plane of Fire. This portal opens into a
vast air pocket within the elemental plane that drains
magma away from the Ring of Fire. This loss is more
than balanced by other portals that bring magma into
the lava sea.
The maelstrom is a spectacular sight, a playground for
various elementals and creatures of fire. Not all of these
creatures are malign, but friendly fire elementals can be
just as deadly as hostile ones. Many elementals of this
area take the form of elemental monsters, like magma
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beetles and fire scorpions. These creatures behave like
their Athasian counterparts.
Other eddies similar to the maelstrom exist in different
areas of the ring. Most are temporary, lasting only a few
weeks at the longest. Others migrate from area to area,
moving a mile or two a day as they slowly spin. Fliers
should avoid flying over the eddies; the open portals
to the elemental planes may endanger any traveler who
comes near.
Sith
This island in the lava sea is the home of the most
powerful group of outlanders in the Valley. The hunters
and raiders of the Clan of the Fire Scorpion, safe from the
dangerous predators of the outer Valley, use cliff gliders
to cross the mile of lava from their home island to the
mainland.
The island of Sith is unique in that a small natural
spring still exists in a deep cavern. With this precious
resource the Fire Scorpions carefully raise feeble crops in
the sheltered ravines of their island. However, the island
cannot support the entire tribe, and the Fire Scorpions
must rely heavily on forays into the outer Valley. The
clan numbers 60 altogether.
The island itself, about five miles square, has sheer and
rocky slopes. Canyons wind back into its interior, hiding
the small fields and bare scrub of the island. The Fire
Scorpions maintain a keen lookout constantly, and pass
warnings to hide when a Dragon Warrior patrol appears.
They use cliff gliders only to cross the open magma; once
they reach the outer valley, they hide the gliders and
proceed on foot.
The Fire Scorpions are led by Guerdra, a powerful elven
fighter and psionicist. She established the clan over 80
years ago and has twice survived its near-extermination. A
wily leader, she has difficulty controlling her overconfident
clansmen, who have forgotten the power of their enemies.
Guerdra is preparing to move the Scorpions to prevent
the raid she knows is coming soon, but the cliff pilots
of her clan oppose the move, and she has yet to find a
suitable lair.
The Fire Scorpions hide from intruders and avoid
contact until Guerdra is alerted. She then decides
whether to attack, greet, or avoid the strangers. The Fire
 Locations

Scorpions avoid powerful characters, but may attack those

who appear weak to gain their belongings and weapons.
Guerdra is very objective and cruelly pragmatic about
running the clan; she views weak members as a threat
to the clan's survival and drives out or kills the old and
helpless when they become a burden to the clan.
The Fire Scorpions are hunted by the Dragon Warriors
of the Iron Citadel. So far, the Scorpions have avoided
detection. The Dragon Warriors will seek the assistance
of Ur Draxa's viziers or templars and then locate the
hidden camp. When that time comes, the Fire Scorpions
will perish entirely. Guerdra may befriend PCs who fight
the Dragon Warriors, defend clan members from them,
or offer a way to secure her leadership of the clan. She
can tell her allies a great deal about the Iron Citadel, the
outer wall of Ur Draxa, and the leaders of the city.

Guerdra: Guerdra was born in the Valley of Dust and

Fire as an outlander. She has lived as a hunted person all
her life, and is the consummate survivor. No matter what
happens, she continues fighting. Twice her clan has been
raided and destroyed, but each time she has used the
few left alive to form an even stronger band. A powerful
Guerdra now quietly struggles to retain leadership.
psionicist and deadly fighter, Guerdra has the respect, if
Torthan, a charismatic young warrior who leads the clan's
not the love, of the Fire Scorpions.
cliff pilots, has boldly challenged her, defying her edicts
As leader, Guerdra is only interested in her own survival.
and openly seeking allies among other clansmen. Guerdra
Weak members hurt the clan's chances for surviving –
regrets the loss of a fine fighter, but plans on killing him
and therefore her own. Though pragmatic, Guerdra is
to retain command.
hardly single minded or stupid. She carefully weighs every
matter to determine what gain or threat it poses.

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The Valley of Dust and The Great Ash Storm

Like a vast wall of dust, the Great Ash Storm eternally
Fire hangs over the heart of the Sea of Silt. Almost 180 miles
in diameter, it towers ten miles into the sky. On a clear
day (a rare occurrence in the Silt Sea) it can be seen
“In the heart of the Silt Sea is an endless storm, a
from 200 miles away. The storm appears as a roiling wall
howling demon of dust and wind that shrieks its rage for
of dust that stretches out of sight to either side and into
all eternity in the lands unknown. It is the child of the
the sky.
Dark Sun, a savage and hungry thing that will one day
The storm has an alarming tendency to expand or
consume all Athas. It is the Great Ash Storm.”
shrink suddenly as winds fluctuate. Minor variances can
send the wall of dust surging outward several miles in only
- An old elven camp tale
moments. Anyone within five miles of the storm may be
engulfed in a sudden surge.
Fewer than a dozen travelers have looked on the Valley
Within the Great Ash Storm, wind velocity reaches 100
of Dust and Fire and returned to tell the tale. Buried
miles per hour. Sudden eddies and gusts can reach wind
beneath a choking cloud of ash and silt, the Valley is
speeds of almost twice that. Flying in these conditions is
the Dragon's realm. Hellish winds, strong enough to flay
impossible for all but the most powerful creatures. Even
the skin from a traveler, scour the land bare. The heat
fliers of this size and strength find that the powerful gusts
is incredible, trapped beneath the endless clouds of dust.
buffet them like sparrows in a tornado.
The sun is never more than an angry red eye in the
Visibility drops to five yards, hearing is almost impossible
brown haze overhead, and nights are impenetrably dark.
above the roaring of the wind, and any breathing creature
The borders of the Valley of Dust and Fire shift with
begins to suffer the Gray Death unless it can protect its
the winds every day. The Ring of Fire, a vast sea of
lungs and throat from the choking dust. Worse still, the
seething lava inside the Valley, surrounds the City of
wind-driven dust scours creatures for damage equal to
Doom. The terrible heat and hellish glow of the burning
their base Armor Class -4. Adjustments to Armor Class
rock can be detected 20 miles away. The heat of the Ring
for shields, magic, or dexterity do not count against this
of Fire powers the Great Ash Storm that rages over the
Damage.
Valley.
The clouds of dust also generate barrages of lightning.
The outer lands of the Valley are largely uninhabited-
Sheet lightning constantly flickers and dances in the
few creatures can withstand its fierce climate. Those that
clouds, which are tinted a brilliant red by the thick
can survive in this environment are, without exception,
airborne dust. Flying creatures may be threatened by a
monsters of terrible power. Characters approaching over
strike. Damage is 10d6 per bolt, but a saving throw vs.
the Silt Sea must first find the Great Ash Storm. Once
death magic means that the bolt missed entirely. Creatures
they have pierced its dusty walls, they confront 20-30
on the ground are in less danger, though a successful save
miles of the most desolate terrain in the burning world:
does not negate damage but inflicts half damage instead.
the Ring of Fire. Worse, the ring forms a psionic and
The Great Ash Storm extends ten miles into the
magical barrier to ethereal, dimension walking, and
Valley, existing in this form only over the silt. At the
phasing characters. No traveler can cross the Ring of Fire
storm's outer borders, the Silt Sea is 2,000' deep, but
by these means.
within it the silt is slowly stripped away. Ten miles inside
Only the strongest and most resourceful adventurers
the shifting borders, the silt has been stripped down to
can cross the Ring of Fire and enter the City of Doom.
bare rock. Here the storm weakens into a hollow dome of
The Dragon itself watches over the Valley of Dust and
winds. Past the ten-mile shell of the Great Ash Storm,
Fire-let interlopers be warned.
travel becomes much easier.

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Beneath the Storm
Over the barren rock of the Valley, the Great Ash
Storm rises away from the ground by about a mile or so.
In this bubble of relative calm, the winds rarely reach
more than 70-80 miles per hour, and lightning strikes are
far less common. Flight is usually possible, although still
dangerous. Gray Death conditions and scouring damage
do not occur.
The Valley of Dust and Fire is not without its own
perils, though. The heat of the Ring of Fire, trapped
beneath the storm, greatly intensifies the heat of the day.
Powerful creatures roam the blasted hills and smoking
plains, searching for prey. Lastly, the ash storm overhead
occasionally descends to ground level in the form of a
massive dust funnel or cyclone.
The Valley is a terrible thing to behold. Its floor is a
shattered, broken tangle of rock and ash. Fierce winds
sweep stinging clouds of hot ash and silt through the
winding canyons. Great columns of ash descend from
the broiling red storm overhead, weaving slowly over the
Valley and destroying everything in their path. Scarlet
lightning flares constantly. By day, the blasted scenery is
70
revealed in a reddish-brown haze of tremendous heat. By
night, only the flashes of lightning and the hellish glow of
the Ring of Fire bring light.
Few mortals can look on these lands and remain
unmoved.
Denizens of the Valley
Despite the utter hostility of the Valley, a few creatures
dwell here, most notably the Dragon King. The Dragon
spends about half its time beyond the Ring of Fire, within
the walls of Ur Draxa; the rest of the time it roams the
deserts and tablelands of the outside world. In the Valley
it occasionally patrols the outer lands to hunt ka'ardani
(the outlanders) or destroy a dangerous monster before it
poses a threat.
The Dragon's servants also police the Valley. The
Dragon Warriors of the Iron Citadel overfly the outer lands
routinely, searching for any intrusion. Parties of slaves are
sometimes sent from Ur Draxa to mine obsidian or other
minerals. The few criminals and riffraff of the City who
are not slain out of hand are exiled to these broken lands
to become outlanders – a fate worse than death.

Powerful monsters wander the Valley, including
fire drakes, earth drakes, megapedes, nightmare beasts, so-
ut, crystal spiders, behir, bulettes, remorhaz, wyverns, and
a few giants and braxat. In some cases, only one or two
members of a species live in the Valley; it seems plausible
that the Dragon keeps this region stocked with dangerous
monsters.
Even given the near-total lack of vegetation or water,
a few social creatures maintain basic agriculture in some
favorable places. Giants, braxat, and outlanders all gather
in nomadic tribes that carefully seed as many areas as they
can. It makes no sense to live in one place when, despite
all your efforts, your crops will be destroyed anyway. The
fights for scant water and food supplies are terrible.
Encounters in the Valley
The Valley of Dust and Fire is extremely hostile in
both climate and inhabitants. Any non- or semi-intelligent
hunter almost certainly attacks anything remotely
resembling prey out of sheer hunger. The subjects of the
Dragon King who occasionally journey into the outer
valley, such as Dragon Warriors or slave expeditions, are
under standing orders to capture any intelligent creature
they encounter. The few creatures of the valley who live
outside the Dragon's rule (braxat, giants, pterrans, and
outlanders) are hunted by natural predators as well as
expeditions from the Dragon King. They usually regard a
stranger as an enemy or a meal.
The trip across the valley floor is dangerous and
memorable. This area contains lethal monsters such as
earth and fire drakes, braxat, flailers, cha'thrang, tembos,
so-ut, wyverns, beasthead giants, id fiends, kirre, phase
spiders, giant scorpions, death watch beetles, and even
nightmare beasts.
Raiding parties of outlanders attack visitors for their
food or weapons. Dragon Warriors, always mounted on
domesticated rocs, often try to capture or kill the intruders.
The Tortured Hills
A region of rocky badlands so blasted and broken that
it stands out even in the Valley, the Tortured Hills stand
in the northeastern corner of the Valley of Dust and Fire.
The proximity of the Ring of Fire causes much geological
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action in this area of the Valley – hot mud geysers and
mineral springs are common, and in some places the
shattered terrain overlies the seething magma below by
only a few dozen yards.
The Tortured Hills are razor-sharp ridges and tors of
barren stone. Deep gulches between the hills are filled
with boulders, rubble, thorny plants, and tough scrub
grasses. Treat this extreme terrain as Mountains for
overland movement. Water is relatively easy to find, but
often the springs are contaminated by minerals.
The Tortured Hills are almost lush by the standards of
the rest of the Valley, despite the extreme ruggedness and
impassibility of the terrain. Several clans of outlanders live
in caverns or sheltered canyons within the Tortured Hills,
but the chief residents are the braxat. A very powerful
chieftain has managed to gather the chaotic creatures
under his rule, extracting promises of cooperation and
fealty from each of the small family groups that wander
the Tortured Hills. As many as a dozen powerful braxat
may unite for raids in this area.
The Tortured Hills are home to tough, agile goats
skilled in climbing the sheer precipices; bats, carnivorous
and fruit-eating; spiders, from mundane to giant and
phase varieties; scorpions of all sizes; gaj; silk wyrms; id
fiends; tembo; spider cacti; centipedes; and earth and fire
drakes. A remote tribe of pterrans also inhabits the hills,
soaring over the broken terrain on pterraxes.
Shard Flats
Scattered along the western periphery of the Valley,
the Shard Flats are a chain of salt flats. Before the
destruction of the Valley, the Shard Flats were volcanic
mineral lakes; with the desiccation of Athas, the potent
mix of contaminants in the water became a hard crust
of mineral salts. Unlike most salt flats, the Shard Flats
consist of black, needle-sharp crystals capable of piercing
even a thri-kreen.
Fortunately, the shards are very brittle, and a traveler
can carefully kick a path clear by sweeping his feet from
side to side. On the bright side, few animals set foot
on the Shard Flats. However, the flats are completely
waterless. The black crystals absorb heat and effectively
raise the temperature on the flats one category above the
temperature of the surrounding areas, to a maximum of
 Locations
Inferno temperatures.
Though the Shard Flats lack terrestrial predators, they
are no place to encounter an airborne carnivore such as
a roc or wyvern.
On rare occasions parties of giants or outlanders cross
the Shard Flats as a shortcut, but most intelligent beings
prefer to simply walk around.
The Gate of Doom
Located on the Ring of Fire due west of the City of
Doom, the Gate of Doom is a towering archway of black,
seamless granite. It stands nearly 130' tall, and is 60' wide.
Its surface is carved with huge mystical runes of terrible
power. The archway can be seen from several miles away
if weather permits.
The gate is the Dragon's personal monument, warning
sign, and means of transport to and from its realm. It
contains a magical gate of enormous size and power
that spans the Ring of Fire. This is the only means of
extradimensional travel that can span the lava sea, and
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it only works by the will of the Dragon. A matching gate
exists on the opposite The Basalt Plain shore of the Ring
of Fire. Armies can cross the Ring of Fire with a step if
the Dragon so wills it.
The Gate of Doom is quite capable of discerning
between friend and foe. To invoke the power of the gate,
a traveler must either be with the Dragon when it uses
the magical The Dead Forest device or know a magical
command word. Only the Dragon knows the entire set of
command words, and the word differs for each individual
who uses the Gate of Doom. No matter where the Dragon
is on Athas, it can close or open the Gate by a mere
act of will. Usually, the Gate is set to allow servitors of
Dragon Warrior, vizier, or templar rank to pass, along
with anyone accompanying them.
The Gate of Doom is guarded by 13 obsidian golems
who are programmed to obey the orders of the gate. They
normally stand motionless in alcoves in the inner passage
of the archway.

The Basalt Plain
A lava plain of enormous size, this deserted region
remains volcanically active, and in many places molten
lava still flows only a few dozen feet below the surface.
The Basalt Plain is completely without water, food,
or shelter. Its location at the southern edge of the Ring
of Fire prevents travelers from detouring around it, and
so denizens of the valley cross the Basalt Plain only if
necessary. The lack of cover makes this a bad place to
be caught by airborne predators or treacherous weather.
An unusual property of the Basalt Plain is its affinity
for dust funnels. The winds that circle the Valley of Dust
and Fire tend to swirl and eddy here, and the Great Ash
Storm often descends to blanket the ground.
The Dead Forest
Although several regions of dead forest terrain exist
within the Valley of Dust and Fire, the Dead Forest is
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the largest and best known of these. Extending 50 miles
along the shores of the Ring of Fire, the forest occupies a
range of rolling hills and highlands 20 miles wide. Many
of the desiccated trees have been knocked flat by some
ancient cataclysm – entire hillsides are littered with the
wreckage of the once-beautiful forest.
The Dead Forest is rich in water and food. Numerous
trickling streams force their way through the dust and
ash. Small, hardy shrubs and grasses are growing back
to replace the ancient forest with scrubland. A frail food
chain of insects, small grazers, and burrowers supports
larger carnivores such as wyverns, so-ut, kirre, cha'thrang,
spiders, and scorpions. The wealth of animal life attracts
intelligent hunters such as giants, braxat, and expeditions
from the City of Doom.
Several large tribes of outlanders live in the Dead
Forest, claiming territory and viciously defending it. Other
residents include beasthead giants. The Dead Forest has
few good caves or defensible lairs, and competition for
them is exceptionally fierce.
 Settlements
Settlements
The Tablelands
City-state of Balic
The City of Sails. The democratic city of Balic rests
on the shores of the Silt Sea, making it an essential trade
stop for merchants from all over the world. This city of
sailors and senators espouses the values of freedom, justice,
and collaborative rule…. but First Citizen Andropinis has
handily won every election for the past two thousand
years, laying bare the truth of the city for all to consider.
More details can be found in the city-states book.
City-state of Kalidnay
Kalid-Ma, lord of Kalidnay, was once one of the most
powerful sorcerer-kings in the world. In his hubris, he
sought to take on the power of the Dragon, but instead,
he and his city were drawn into the Grey – the shadowy
realm of the dead. None have returned that are grasped
by the dread realm of the Scarab King. More details can
be found in the city-states book.
City-state of Tyr
The Free City. The City of Iron. Recently Tyr became
the first city in two thousand years to strike down its
sorcerer-king, the tyrant Kalak. A rebellion comprised
of nobles, gladiators, and the esoteric Veiled Alliance
brought freedom to the city, freeing their slaves and
forming a council to guide the path of the city. The
newly crowned King Tithian, former high templar, allows
the council a free hand as the city struggles to find its
place in the modern world. More details can be found in
the city-states book.
Altaruk
The Balican merchant dynasties of Wavir, Rees, and
Tomblador sponsor this fortified town of about two
thousand souls astride the trade route that connects Balic
with Tyr. Desperate raiders wait in ambush in the stony
barrens and rocky badlands that surround the village, but
Altaruk's well-paid mercenaries drive off any bandits they
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find lurking within half a day's travel of the town's gates.
This protection is not free to travelers. All who want
to enter Altaruk must pay a toll of 1 gp per visitor
(including each beast of burden). But for those inside the
15-foot-high walls, Altaruk offers stables, room and board,
trade opportunities between merchant houses, and gossip
from all corners of the Tablelands. Only the largest and
fiercest raiding tribes would consider attacking Altaruk,
but rumor has it that giants of the Estuary of the Forked
Tongue are gathering to strike at the town. It's happened
before.
The village is governed by a Balican noble named
Arisphistaneles. In his role as master of the town, he deals
with traders in a stern but fair manner. Arisphistaneles
also has a secret role in Altaruk – he heads a local cell of
the Veiled Alliance, which maintains contact with cells in
the neighboring cities. Many an Alliance plot has been
hatched in the cellars of Altaruk.
Birk Suntouched: This wide-eyed dwarf wanders
the village and makes his living by begging. He constantly
mumbles nonsense regarding Kalak's “secret prophecy.”
Most locals believe he's a harmless loon, but Birk
Suntouched is actually a member of the Veiled Alliance
who has been tasked by Arisphistaneles to lure out any
secret members of the True – a conspiracy of Kalak's
followers – who might be skulking about in Altaruk.
Freedom
For decades Tyr's slaves whispered about a hidden
village called Freedom that welcomed anyone who escaped
from bondage. Unlike many slave tales, this one is true –
Freedom exists, hidden in a remote crater in the foothills
between Tyr and Urik. The village's former slaves raid
to support themselves; however, with Kalak's fall and the
liberation of Tyr's slaves, the village elders are pursuing a
new path: trade, or at least trade with Tyr.
From their hidden refuge, the ex-slaves have sent
trade delegations to Tyr, presenting themselves as House
Lirr, a new minor merchant house. The delegations are
led by Bartras, a male human who once worked as a slave
for House Vordon. Bartras rose as high in the house as
a slave could before he fled with a purse of stolen gold,
and he fears he would be recognized in Tyr. Therefore,
Bartras travels in disguise, wearing the long black robes

and hood of a desert ascetic. He usually lets his assistant
Fathalia speak for the so-called House Lirr.
In addition to raiders trying to turn over a new leaf,
Freedom is home to ex-slaves who hold grudges against
their former masters. A group calling itself the Winds of
Vengeance secretly hires bounty hunters and assassins
to eliminate the slavers. Unfortunately for travelers in
the region, the hired killers (who travel in small groups
disguised as dune traders) do not discriminate when
it comes to lopping off slaver heads. If they can save
themselves a bit of work by killing a stranger who can pass
for their intended target, they will.
The Iron Mines of Tyr
The iron mines of Tyr are the largest of their type in
the Tablelands. The presence of the ore was one of the
principal reasons Tyr was established only two days' travel
from the mine. Death has always been associated with
the mines. Miners die from unexpected cave-ins and the
natural hazards of the mines. Still others die from the
“hej-kin's curse”.
The “curse” takes one to three men a month. A worker
who felt fine the day before may suddenly feel weakened.
Some days or weeks later, he might suddenly keel over
dead, a victim of the alleged curse. Miners believe ancient
hej-kins cursed the caverns, but the truth lies locked
within the stone itself.
Unknown to the workers, the ore is of an arsenide type.
The narrow eighth-of-an-inch red vein is surrounded by
strata of poisonous arsenic deposits. The arsenic penetrates
through all the workers' cuts caused by working with rock
and stone. Undetectable, arsenic builds up in the body
until achieving lethal dosage. A mine worker must make
a successful saving throw vs. poison once per month or
feel the poison's effects. If the saving throw is failed, the
victim loses a hit point per turn until death occurs. A
slow poison spell delays the effect, while neutralize poison
negates the poison. A select few of the templars have
guessed the ore's peril, but keep it a secret under penalty
of death. Hiring priests to cure the afflicted men would
prove much too costly, and would reveal the problem to
all. Life is cheap on Athas, iron is not. Regardless of the
danger, the red ore represents Tyr's lifeblood as the city's
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most important trading commodity.
Recently, Urik sought to take advantage of the chaos
following Kalak's death and seize the mines, but Urik's
armies were repelled by the gladiator hero, Rikus, and
his warriors. Although closed for a brief time, the mines
have reopened and are functioning normally again. The
temporary closure of this important Tyrian asset nearly
bankrupted the already-troubled city.
Hej-kin raids have plagued the mines. The subterranean
race dwells throughout the natural catacombs that riddle
the foothills and nearby mountains. The hej-kin consider
the ground sacred and mount sporadic attack against
those who defile their homelands. Some speculate the
opening of the mine was once a hej-kin cavern home,
although this remains largely unproven.
The mine gouges the foothills of the Ringing Mountains
north and west of Tyr like an open wound. A single narrow
mountain road accesses the fortified site. Three guard
outposts border the road at half-mile intervals from the
mines. Each outpost consists of a small pair of buildings:
One set against the mountainside, the other perilously
close to the exposed drop. Bramble weed walls surround
each outpost while the trunk of a stout brambletree blocks
the road at waist height. The trunk lies in an L-shaped
slot fitted into each of the two buildings. A combined
strength of at least 40 is needed to lift the massive tree
trunk from its resting place. As one approaches the mines,
each guard post contains twice as many guards as the last.
The smaller, first station maintains 10 guards and two
“runners”. All the guards are armed with metal weapons.
Passing the third gate reveals the mining compound. The
camp occupies a plateau shelf 550 feet wide by 1,000 feet
long. The mountainside rises 500 feet above the plateau,
providing a natural barrier against attack. Opposite the
mountainside loom sharp precipices, dropping thousands
of feet to the valley floor below. The mines' gaping mouth
faces the compound 's gates. The entrance rises 30 feet
high, spans 65 feet at the base, and is cut in the shape of
a dark hemisphere against the vertical rock face.
To the right of the opening is a series of large cages,
designed to hold erdlu, kank, and heavy crodlu. Erdlu
occasionally pull small carts, but serve primarily as a food
source. Kanks are teamed in twos and fours to pull ore
carts. They are used extensively in the mines, especially
in areas where the tunnel height slopes to under five
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76

feet. The honey globules produced by the kanks provide
additional foodstuffs for the compound. Heavy crodlu pull
the large ore carts.
Beside the animal pens are a series of bunkhouses,
originally designed to hold slaves, now modified to house
paid workers. A row of covered pits, closest to the road on
the right, were once used as holding cells for disobedient
slaves. They now confine the more dangerous criminals
who are sent to the mines as punishment. To the
immediate left of the camp's entrance stands the opulent,
two-story residence of the templars who still oversee the
daily operations of the mines. Each templar is assigned
25 guards, and remains responsible for their actions. The
guards share compartmentalized sleeping quarters on
the ground floor, while the templars reside in the lavish
apartments located on the second story.
A large building to the left is used for the storage and
preparation of food. Positioned between this building and
the precipice are a huge fire pit and cooking kilns. Cooks
prepare meals for the entire camp, templars and workers
alike. The ore house stands closer to the center of the
compound. This massive, thick walled, square building
stores smelted bars of iron until they are transported to
the city. It is constantly guarded on all sides, especially
the roof. The smelter stands to its left, towards the mines.
Fires burn in the smelter day and night, separating the
iron ore from the red rock. Spent tailings (useless rock)
are then discarded down the mountainside, creating an
immense rubble field that sprawls 1,000 feet down the
steep slope. Deep rutted paths connect the ore smelter to
the mines' entrance. Carts holding raw ore rest in these
ruts as they await the smelter. There are two sizes of carts:
The large carts carry a half ton of ore and the small carts
hold 500 pounds of rock.
The templars who run the mine hire four types of
workers: guards, haulers, carriers, and miners. The guards'
duties are straightforward – they keep tempers from flaring
between workers, monitor all who come and go in the
complex, and protect the templars. Their chief duty,
however, is safeguarding the mines and the ore. There are
never fewer than 200 guards at the mines at any time.
This is a well paying but difficult job, as no amount of
bribery can secure a position as guard; they are strictly
hand-picked by Borger, Minister of Mines.
Haulers work with the various beasts, bringing cartload
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after cartload of raw ore from deep within the mountains.
It is their job to work the creatures tirelessly and maintain
a steady flow of raw materials to the smelters. Because of
the expertise needed for the job a hauler can expect to
receive up to a silver a week for his work.
Carriers have the backbreaking task of bringing the
ore-bearing rocks to the carts of the haulers. They collect
loose ore into coarse, woven bags of giants' hair to be
carried or dragged to the ore carts. This job is often
assigned to criminals serving out sentences in the mines.
The pay for non-criminals is two ceramic bits a day plus
room and board.
Miners perform the dangerous job of loosening the
ore from the reddish rocks. Few of the veins are large or
easy to mine. Most appear as eighth-of-an-inch narrow
bands in the rock. Newer excavations are always the
most dangerous. As the miners delve deeper into the
ore vein, the composition of the overhanging rock can
change. Problems occur when the rock above the ore is
softer than the surrounding stone. This formation will not
support its own weight, and frequently collapses, causing
cave-ins. Miners receive extra compensation for working
in the newer digs. Tyrian miners prefer picks, hammers, or
large two-person gouges for their work. Miners who work
the new digs receive up to five ceramic bits a day, while
other miners receive one to three bits per day.
When sufficient ore has been smelted, the mining
templars send word to Tyr, and a heavily armed Royal
Caravan travels to the mines to retrieve the ingots. No one
has ever successfully raided a Royal Caravan transporting
iron. Fear of Kalak's retribution helped prevent raids in
the past. At the present time, under the reign of Tithian,
the caravan's guard will be even more formidable due to
the Tyrian king's lack of spellcasting abilities.
Grak’s Pool
Midway between Altaruk and Ledopolus stands a
mud-brick fortress built over a natural spring. Because
surface water is rare anywhere on Athas, Grak’s Pool is a
welcome stop for travelers. Grak, a half-elf warrior of some
renown, commands a band of mercenaries based here. He
allows visitors to set up camp around the outskirts of his
fortress, but his water is not free. He charges travelers 5
cp per drink and 20 cp per bath.
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Below the fortress and the spring, a foundation of older
ruins extends beneath the stony barrens of the surrounding
landscape. Grak and his mercenaries have explored only a
portion of these tangled, echo ing tunnels. Spine-chilling
roars sometimes echo up from the deep passages below
Grak’s Pool. Their awful resonance has been sufficient
to keep the mercenaries from venturing too far beneath
the fortress.
Seer Nafoun: Mafoun is a badly scarred dray who
camps perpetually outside the fortress of Grak’s Pool. He
offers prophecies and readings for the cost of a drink in
the fortress. Mafoun belongs to a secret cult called the
Children of the Dragon. The Children believe that the
Dragon of Tyr will redeem Athas if it receives enough
sacrifices. The world’s failure is that, so far, too few lives
have been given to the Dragon for it to achieve its
ultimate end.
Kled
The dwarven settlement of KIed controls an obsidian
mine in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. The
village is built on the location of a Green Age dwarven
citadel called Kemolak. The dwarves of Kled believe
they are descended directly from the kings of Kemolak,
although they keep this claim from outside ears lest they
anger a sorcerer-king in their presumption. From time to
time, miners unearth portions of the ruins of the “city
of dwarf kings.” Most of the finds are enigmatic wall
remnants or bits of flagged flooring heavily inscribed with
angular runes. However, every so often the workers recover
a crumbling relic of ancient Kemolak.
Of late, Kled has been troubled by a series of raids
targeting trade caravans bound for Tyr. A number of
dwarves have been killed by mysterious attackers.
Walis
Site of the only gold mine known to exist on Athas,
Walis is a tiny village atop a high spire of rock within
a canyon in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains.
A massive cargo bucket let up and down by slaves in
a crankhouse tower controls access to the community.
Walls is a client village under the control of the city-
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state of Balic and administered by House Tomblador. In
addition to Tomblador’s outpost in Walis, two templars
of the sorcerer-king Andropinis and a small detachment
of legionaries keep an eye on the village. The Balican
templars allow Tomblador agents to do as they wish.
The gold mine lies at the canyon’s throat. Each day
a working party of village slaves is let down from the
crankhouse and escorted to the mine under the sharp eyes
of overseers. The miners produce only a pittance of gold,
but it’s enough to sustain the operation.
Suspicion greets the few visitors who come to Walis.
Those whose stories check out can stay in the Yellow
House, a hostelry and stable maintained at the spire’s
foot.
Kra-Hnur
Home to an aggressive tribe of half-giant raiders, the
hold of Kra-Hnur lies in a hanging valley about halfway
between Tyr and Walis. Crude stone fortifications
barricade the path leading up from the valley to the
stronghold. The half-giants keep large flocks of goats and
erdlus in the high pastures behind their walls, along with
several hundred thralls of other races – captives taken in
raids on the lowlands.
The leader of the tribe, a huge, one-eyed half giant war
chief known as the Great Kra, is far more clever than his
brutish appearance would suggest. The Great Kra spent
his youth serving in the royal guard of King Kalak of Tyr,
and when he returned home, he seized control of his tribe.
He despises humans, elves, and other “weaklings,” and he
personally leads his warriors on raids. The Kra-Hnurdha
tribe primarily strikes at caravans on the Trade Road and
isolated villages and outposts in the Tablelands. However,
with the recent chaos in Tyr, the Great Kra has turned
his eye on the client villages clustering within the city’s
verdant belt.
Gunginwald
In the middle of the Ringing Mountains, in that stony,
rugged district just north of Tyr, lies a shrine of the earth
elementals. Those who travel over the mountains have
often found it a safe refuge from the beasts that lurk in
those craggy peaks, and the guardian who lives at the

shrine seems content to provide defense for all those in
need.
The guardian's name is Horth Araxis, an earth cleric
whose wandering days have come to an end. He can still
scale mountains, but long journeys tire him, and have
for years. A fit man, his years are betrayed by the dirty
wrinkles of his face and the graying of his beard. His eyes
are black and beady, and his skin is the color of desert
sand. A brown robe covers the tough mekillot armor that
has served him well over the years. His weapon is a large
maul topped by a hammer like stone of obsidian.
The shrine sits just off a little side trail in the mountains
north of Tyr. Beasts of burden and large beings may not
fit through the entrance.
1. Menhirs: Four great menhirs border the circular
niche in the walls of the cliff. They are unornamented,
but characters should get the feeling that they are being
watched. If Horth is attacked, the menhirs will turn into
four giant, stone golems.
2. The Shrine: The shrine itself is the area bordered
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by the menhirs. The ground is soft and extremely fertile,
and always covered with the greenest grass most travelers
have ever seen.
3. The Waterfall: A constant stream of fresh, pure
water slides down from the cliff face and over the edge.
Canteens and water skins may be filled here, but larger
containers cannot fit through the slim, recessed entrance.
4. Horth's Cave: This cave is Horth's home. There is
little here except a bed of soft clay, some pottery, and a
few trinkets of gold, silver, and gemstones lying about. The
precious metals are worth anywhere from 1-100 sp, and
Horth might trade these to a party for something he finds
useful or entertaining.
Horth Araxis: The earth shrine was prepared by
another long before Horth was born. Nevertheless, he has
found his home here. Horth listens for cries for help, and
investigates them immediately. Unless those in trouble
are blatantly evil or are defilers, he dashes to the rescue.
Afterwards, he'll heal their wounds and invite the travelers
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to his cave for food and water, and to tell them long,
exciting stories about the wonderful powers of earth.
If he is attacked, Horth can activate four menhir/golems
that were presented to him by an old preserver-friend,
these he will use in a fight to the death.
Silver Spring Oasis
A fortified caravanserai stands at the oasis along the
trade route between Tyr and Urik. This roadside inn is a
preferred stop for many house merchants and dune traders.
Its faded, worn walls have greeted travelers for more than
a century with flickering lanterns lit just after nightfall,
snippets of exotic song, and the clamor of excited trade.
Silver Spring Oasis is a great walled square, with the
central courtyard open to the elements. The inner wall of
the courtyard is riddled with doors that lead to sleeping
chambers, a common room, food stores, stables, and vaults
where dune traders can safeguard their merchandise. The
courtyard also contains the eponymous “Silver Spring,” a
central well that yields cloudy, foul-tasting water. (Whoever
named the well apparently did so a long time ago, when
the water was fresh, or the name might be a joke.) Still,
the water is safe for people and mounts to drink, and
when properly filtered, it becomes suitable for the famous
“silver baths” that only the wealthiest traders can afford.
Carts and stalls of minor merchants fill the courtyard
around the well.
The proprietors are a tribe of elves called the Silver
Hands. Unlike others of their kind, the elves are not
nomadic herders or raiders; they have run Silver Spring
Oasis for several generations. The current leader of the
tribe and head of the caravanserai is Chief Toramund,
who greets all newcomers, settles all conflicts, and oversees
orderly trade. Those who violate the inn's primary rule (do
not steal from another visitor) are ejected through the gate
without their trade items, belongings, or clothing.
Silver Spring Oasis
A lush field of tart-smelling ash-brush fills the area
around the oasis. The brush is dun-colored and thorny,
and burnt-orange rocks jut from the scrub plains. The
elven compound – a looming fortress of stone blocks
rising above the barrens – can be seen from the road.
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When travelers approach to within bowshot of the walls,
elf guards call out the rules of the compound: “Two
silver pieces each to water here and rest in relative safety.
Pay or turn back.” Then an elf appears from a hidden
entrance to collect the fees. The gates will not open until
payment is received, and most violence is returned in
kind by the bow-wielding guards upon the walls.
Inside, the small pond is full of brown, bad-tasting
water. Around it wait the elven tents, full of goods to
trade and deals to be struck. If a traveler is careful and
keeps his wits about him, he might even come away with a
worthwhile item and most of his money. The descriptions
below are keyed to the accompanying map of the oasis.
1. Warrior Tents: The fighters and multiclassed warriors
charged with defending the compound live in these long
tents. The warriors follow strict schedules so that there are
always guards atop the walls. If trouble occurs, all of the
warriors can be assembled within minutes. All warriors
carry longbows, a quiver of arrows, and a long sword made
of bone or stone.
2. Defilers' Tent: Toramund provides this tent for
the use of whatever defiler he recruits. It also serves as
the living quarters for the three low-level elf defilers that
were born into the tribe. These elves dislike the idea that
Toramund seeks wizard talent from outsiders, but they
also know that they do not possess the power their chief
requires. They continue to hope that the next mage to
come to the Silver Hands will agree to tutor them in the
higher arcane arts. Until then, they continue the long
process of self-study. They are constantly on the lookout
for travelers who might be wizards, for they are eager to
increase their store of spells, arcane texts, and magical
items through whatever means are necessary.
3. Chief's Palace and Common Living Tent: This
huge tent serves as Toramund's personal living area and
court, and as the common living area for the rest of the
tribe. Toramund and his personal guards live here in a
portion of the tent blocked off by flowing curtains. The
larger common area houses the tribe's children and those
elves who have no other place to sleep. Sometimes the
common area is cleared so that Toramund can hold
court or entertain important visitors. Toramund's private
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collection of silver and treasures is stored here, under the
watchful eye of his daughter Torami.
4. Oasis Market: The tents of the oasis market are
filled with cheap, gaudy goods that carry hefty price tags.
All items have been “improved” with decorative elements
to justify prices three times more expensive than those
offered elsewhere – improvements include a few extra
stitches here, a few more beads there, etc. Common goods
of all descriptions can usually be found here, as can a few
“exotic” items that are often only slightly altered common
goods. For example, a battered bone sword might be
engraved with a few meaningless runes and hawked as the
legendary weapon of Colwyn of Bodach. The elves also
sell spell components, and every so often a real treasure
shows up in the market. But in order for a genuine
treasure to escape Toramund's private collection, it must
be so obscure or disguised as to appear to have little or
no true worth.
5. Travelers' Camp: The Silver Hands provide space
within their compound for travelers to make camp. This
area is treated as an outdoor inn. For an additional silver
piece (or something of equivalent value), the elves provide
a sleeping mat, a small camp site, and a fire pit. Those
travelers who take advantage of the elves' hospitality
are bothered by peddlers and wandering entertainers
throughout their stay. They must also beware of elf thieves
who regularly prey upon the campers. The thieves do
not steal so much from a single person as to be readily
noticed, but they often take possession of a valuable item
or two.
6. Camp Supplies: This tent holds all the supplies for
the travelers' camp. Visitors pay their silver here to receive
sleeping mats and kindling from the elves on duty. The
tent also has a small cooking fire to prepare meals (which
cost twice as much as the fare at city inns), and it stocks
wine and ale for those visitors inclined to drink something
other than foul water.
7. Tent of Delights: Elf entertainers sing and dance
for audiences in this tavern/show hall. The drinks are
strong and often as foul-tasting as the water outside, but
the singers and dancers are good. Most cannot compare
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to the entertainers found among the Sky Singers, for
example, but a few come quite close. Friendly customers
who can afford to pay may avail themselves of elven
company during their stay in the compound.
8. Provisions: Traveling supplies may be purchased
from the elves in this tent. The items are costly, but
all are of good quality. They stock no magical items. If
visitors anger or insult the Silver Hands, the provisions
they purchase might be laced with some type of poison.
Occasionally, the elves will poison a particularly wealthy
visitor with a deadly but slow-acting brew. Then they will
follow after in order to loot the visitor's dead body once
it falls to the ground.
9. Warrior Leaders: Basettu, the protector of the wall,
and his warrior lieutenants share this tent. Their personal
belongings are stored here, and this is where they come
to sleep and relax. The accommodations are less spartan
than the warriors' tents, but not nearly as opulent as the
chief's living area. Four leaders live here, in addition to
Basettu.
10. Living Tents: These tents serve as living areas for
other members of the tribe who do not live in the warrior
tents or in the common tent. These are elves who desire a
bit more privacy and have been granted it by Toramund.
Traders, successful thieves, and a few of the more popular
entertainers live here.
11. Animal Pen: The elves maintain this facility to
keep and tend animals brought in by visitors. The small
number of kanks that the tribe keeps are also corralled
here. The two silver piece fee must be paid for all animals
brought to the compound that wish to partake of the
water of the oasis. If an animal's owner decides to spend
any amount of time in the compound, then the animal
must be left in the pen. The fee for using the pen is one
silver piece. Mekillots are not permitted in the compound,
but water may be brought to these creatures outside the
walls if the normal fee is paid.
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The Free
Slaves everywhere whisper the name of the Free in
reverent tones once lavished upon the sorcerer-kings. Every
day the legend spreads and the tales grow taller with each
retelling. That is the nature of legends.
The truth is that the Free is the same as a hundred
similar raiding tribes operating in the Athasian wilderness.
Yes, they sometimes help slaves escape to freedom, but
only as an afterthought. The city-state spoken of in
legends, where every slave lives free, is nothing more than
a fortified village hidden within a deep crater.
The Free believe that all slaves deserve to live in
freedom. They follow this credo as long as doing so does
not threaten their own freedom. They are a wild bunch,
but they refrain from acts of true evil. From the tales I
have heard, the Free attack only those who keep slaves –
merchant caravans, slaver wagons, client villages, and even
the cultivated fields around the city-states. There has not
been a single story of the Free plundering from another
slave tribe or a village that does not keep slaves.
The tribe contains over 500 members, who live together
in a fortified village far from other settlements. They
believe that the good of the group is paramount over all
other concerns. All members share equally in supplies,
and any slaves freed by their raiding parties are invited to
join, if they so desire.
The tribesfolk see themselves engaged in a war to keep
the freedom they have worked hard to preserve. Anyone
who threatens that freedom is considered an enemy of the
tribe. Slaves, as prisoners of the enemy, are considered
allies to be helped, if such help does not put the tribe
at risk.

Organization
Bartras, an ex-soldier slave, leads the Free. He considers
the post a temporary evil, for no slave should be placed
above another. He promises to abolish his position once
all slaves are free. As leader, Bartras has reluctantly
organized the tribe along military lines, recognizing that
the struggle to remain free is a war between masters and
slaves. Eight generals serve as his council of war. These
men and women have been selected from all classes
and races of slaves to offer advice and to keep Bartras

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informed of events within their spheres of influence.
Below the generals, a major presides over the Hidden
Village. In addition to administering to the village's daily
needs of decision making and dispute settling, the major
oversees the village's defenses and assigns work details to
maintain and expand the settlement as needed.
Raiding parties are led by captains and consist of as few
as six members or as many as several hundred, depending
on the target of the raid.
Operations and Means of Existence
Everything the Free does revolves around maintaining
freedom. They engage in raids to procure supplies, free
slaves to swell their ranks, and attack client villages to
strike back in some way at the masters who once held
them in shackles. These raids are usually aimed at slave-
keeping facilities: merchant house outposts or caravans,
city-state work detail, or client villages. In addition to
gaining needed supplies, the raiders also seek to free any
slaves they encounter while on such missions, as long as
doing so does not put their own members at risk.
The Hidden Village maintains small herds of carru and
tends an oasis. What it cannot make for itself or acquire
through raids, the village obtains by trading with other
communities. It sends out caravans belonging to fictitious
merchant houses to engage in trade with legitimate villages
and outposts.
While planning a raid, the tribe watches for
opportunities to free slaves. This may be as simple as
sneaking into a work detail and persuading the slaves to
revolt, thus providing a diversion under which to launch
a raid. However, it may be as difficult as actually setting
an ambush and overpowering guards. If a raid goes as
planned, then any slaves attached to the plundered area
are released.
Many circumstances can arise to cut short the slaves'
new-found freedom. The slaves may refuse to cooperate
with the raiders; they may be afraid to leave their familiar
surroundings for the unknown desert. Even if they do
follow the Free, weariness, fear, or lack of supplies may
later turn the slaves against their saviors. The raiders
will at the very least provide what food and water they
can spare and give the freed slaves directions to a safe
location, such as an oasis. If the slaves are cooperative,
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they may be offered a chance to join the Free.
Origin
Bartras grew up as a play slave in the house of a Balic
patrician. The slave child learned much at the side of
his master/playmate, participating in almost all of the
lessons assigned to the patrician's son. When Bartras
was nine years old, it was decided that he would serve as
a soldier slave in the patrician's personal army. He was
given over to the patrician's sergeant-at-arms to begin his
military training. Bartras excelled at armed and unarmed
combat, easily besting larger, stronger foes. He gained
an appreciation for strategy and planning, paying extra
attention to lessons concerning military tactics.
As Bartras came of age, he took his place among the
best and highest ranking soldier slaves in his patrician's
militia. But Bartras was not content. Why should slaves
have to settle at best for near equality and at worst for
status as property to be used and abused as an owner
pleased? There had to be more for Bartras, and for slaves
throughout Athas. Something was missing, and the hole it
left within the young soldier slave burned like his throat
did when he was thirsty.
Years went by, and Bartras served the patrician's family
well. His undefined desires never interfered with his
duties or his loyalty. They just left him feeling hollow and
incomplete.
Disaster struck while Bartras was accompanying his
one-time playmate into the patrician's fields outside of
Balic's protective walls. The noble's son was making a
routine check of his family's holdings, and Bartras and
his soldier slaves were along to protect him. The raiders
struck without warning, ambushing the small party as
it traveled the path toward the olive orchards. When
the painfully quick skirmish ended, the soldiers and the
noble's son were dead. Bartras alone survived, though
unconsciousness and bloody wounds made the raiders
believe that he also was dead.
Bartras had a choice to make when he regained
consciousness. He could return to Balic and explain to
his patrician why he had failed to protect the noble 's
son, or he could walk away into the desert and disappear.
Either choice seemed to end in death, as far as the young
man could see, but at least in the desert he could die

free. Bartras struck out into the wastes.
In the desert, death did not find the ex-slave. Instead,
he wandered alone and soon discovered that the hollow
feeling within him had been filled. It was freedom that he
had craved, and now that he could go where he chose to
go, do what he wanted to do, he felt almost complete. In
the desert, it was more than just his body that Bartras let
wander. He also freed his mind, letting it explore inner
thoughts that he once shied away from. He realized that
freedom was a constant battle, waged against the masters
of Athas who took pleasure in enslaving the masses.
It took several years, but he eventually gathered enough
followers (every one of them is an escaped slave) to start
his own tribe. The Free was born in the heat of the desert,
and it quickly blossomed in a shower of raids against
slaveholders everywhere.
Location and Defenses
The Hidden Village lies at the bottom of a crater within
the foothills above the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes, lost
somewhere between Tyr and Urik in the shadow of the
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Ringing Mountains. I cannot be more specific than that,
for I have pledged to keep every tribe I write about as
protected as I can.
Its hidden location and the surrounding countryside
offer the village much protection, but the village is not
without its own defenses. Every member of the tribe, from
the young to the old, takes part in exercises designed
to teach the ex-slaves to work together for the common
defense. Specific locations and fortifications are under the
command of experienced military personnel, either ex-
soldiers or gladiators, who direct the non-military-oriented
members of the community in matters of defense.
Scouts from the village constantly roam the land for
miles around, serving as first-line defenders (with orders
to act only against small groups) and to sound the alarm
should danger approach too closely.
In addition to the crater itself, with its natural wall that
rises some 30 feet over the crater floor, a sturdy brick wall
surrounds the village, rising to a height of ten feet and
mounted with battlements to protect the defenders. Gates
in the wall can be closed and barred. Within the walls,
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the village has been designed to offer fall back positions
and hiding places for the defenders, while frustrating any
attackers with its maze of low walls and ambush vantage
points. If attackers do manage to break through the walls,
they will have to fight for every foot of ground they gain
once inside.
The village itself is built upon a raised platform of
baked mud, making attacks against it very difficult. Not
only must attackers drop down into the deep crater or
navigate the narrow ramp that is the sole accessway, but
once at the bottom they face the raised platform and the
village walls. If any attackers get this close to the village,
they will find themselves facing concentrated attacks from
the defenders' higher positions.
The Hidden Village is a thriving community of ex-
slaves working together to create a home. The building the
village is proudest of is the Free Arena. Modelled after
the gladiatorial arenas of the citystates but constructed
on a much smaller scale, the Free Arena is an open-
air amphitheater in which tribe members can gather
to discuss important topics and reach group decisions.
While Bartras and his generals are not yet ready to give
up their positions as leaders of the community, they have
nonetheless begun to turn some community decisions over
to the Arena.
In the Arena, anyone who wants to voice an opinion
can do so without fear of reprisal or retribution. Issues
can be debated, and everyone participates in the decision-
making process.
The village also boasts a respectable barter market
where members of the community trade their skills and
wares, a large artisan section full of all kinds of craft shops
and studios, and a growing residential section where the
children of the Free can grow up to be whatever they
choose – with or without the permission of the owners or
the sorcerer-kings.
Relations with Others
The Free trade with almost anyone. The community
routinely sends caravans to villages and outposts. These
caravans pretend to be from some far-away or non-existent
merchant house. Other than this bit of deception, they
trade fairly, making shrewd deals and cutting tough
bargains with the best merchants and traders in Athas.
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The only folk the Free refuse to deal with fairly are
those who regularly engage in slave trade or who work
directly for the sorcerer-kings. The Free might visit such
an outpost or merchant camp in the dead of night to
spirit away slaves, but they will never even pretend to
conduct business with such groups. Of course, they avoid
the city-states as much as possible, with the rare exception
of conducting a raid on the surrounding fields.
Joining the Tribe
As with most slave tribes, only ex-slaves may apply for
membership with the Free. All races and most classes
are welcome, as long as the applicant can prove he was
a slave. Proving servitude can be difficult, especially for
those slaves from households that do not use branding.
When physical proof cannot be offered, the Free look
to attitude, skills, origin to determine the applicant's
worthiness. If the slave in question was freed as part
of a raid by the tribe, he has the best chance of being
accepted. Defilers are the main exception to the Free's
welcoming attitude. No wizard who practices the defiling
arts is welcome among the Free.
Still, desire to join and status as a slave does not
guarantee full tribal rights. A period of initiation must
be undertaken, lasting no less than three months and
no more than a year. During this period, the applicant
is assigned to a raiding team. He must demonstrate his
thirst for and love of freedom by helping the tribe wage its
war against owners and by freeing other slaves when the
opportunity presents itself. If he can perform some special
service or heroic feat while undergoing his initiation, he
assures his selection as a member of the tribe.
Any member who acts against the tribe or who fails
to prove himself during initiation is put to death, for the
location of the Hidden Village is too important to entrust
to those cast out from the tribe.
Personalities
Bartas: Bartras, a human fighter, served as a play slave
to a noble's son and then as a soldier slave in the noble
's militia before he found his freedom. He has spent his
time as an ex-slave establishing the tribe called the Free.
As leader of the Free, Bartras employs his followers as
soldiers in a war against slave owners. He sees the struggle
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to remain free and to live in the wilderness away from the
city-states as a war against both nature and the owners.
Each successful raid provides another day of freedom and
thus is considered a small victory in his ongoing war.
His ability to lead comes from his military traintraining,
charismatic orations, and his hands-on approach to
tackling problems. With the help of his wild talent,
Bartras can easily distract caravan guards so that a raid
can go off without a hitch. He loves freedom and wishes
to see all slaves free. Every group of raiders from his tribe
has standing orders to set slaves free as long as doing so
does not endanger the welfare of the tribe.
ceramic pieces while wandering a village in the guise of
a merchant from some fictitious house on the other side
of the Tyr region.
1. Crater Wall Ramp: This narrow ramp made of
sun-baked mud provides access to the crater in which the
Free have constructed their village.
2. The Main Gate: A narrow ramp leads up to the
village, which has been built upon a platform of sun-
baked mud. The gate opens upon the village proper and
faces the Free Arena.

Drog: Drog, a dwarf who once served as a soldier slave 3. The Free Arena: This amphitheater, modelled after
in Tyr, serves as the major (the governor) of the Hidden the gladiatorial arenas of the city-states, serves as a meeting
Village. He is a strict but fair administrator with a knack hall and gathering center where news can be shared and
for bureaucratic routine. Under his care, the settlement community matters can be debated and decided upon.
has grown from a tiny camp at the bottom of a huge
crater to a thriving village. He is constantly evaluating his 4. The Corridor of Gates: A narrow corridor divided
actions to make sure he is not imitating the methods of by three gates separates the main village from the herd
the masters in the city-states. pen. These gates can be sealed to protect the village from
Drog definitely does not like the position he has been invaders.
placed in, but he understands why he was chosen. He
was one of Bartras's first followers, and hehas an eye for 5. The Herd Pen: Herds of carru and a few flocks of
detail that makes him a natural administrator. However, kitsus are kept in this part of the village. The animals
he believes that the position stinks of owner, or worse, of are permitted to graze in the brush surrounding the oasis
templar, and he longs for the day when Bartras abolishes every day, coming and going by the herd gate.
all positions of command. Of course, total freedom scares
him as well. It frightens his lawful, ordered tendencies with 6. The Herd Gate: A narrow ramp and a sturdy gate
visions of uncontrolled chaos. Sometimes he wonders if provide access from the herd pen to the surrounding
that is what they are striving for. Then he remembers his grazing fields.
time as a slave, and such thoughts flee before his own
desire to remain free. 7. The Oasis: This oasis provides water for the entire
village.
Selanu: Selanu once served as an artist slave in the
templar court of Balic. Her specialty had been bone
carving, but she developed a few additional skills to help
her get around the court unseen. Her fledgling thieving
talents found full expression under the tutelage of another
artist slave who once made a living as a rogue (before his
talents earned him a place as a slave).
After gaining her freedom due to the efforts of the Free,
Selanu asked to join the tribe. She now puts her talents
to work as a raider and as a thief when she is assigned to
a trade caravan. She enjoys stealing additional goods and

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Black Sand Raiders
All tales told about the Black Sand Raiders are told
in whispers, as if speaking too loudly about these terrible
marauders will attract their foul attention. They have
become creatures of legend, much as the Free have. But
unlike the tales of the Free, the legends concerning the
Black Sand tribe are dark and evil.
Most tales center around the tribe’s leader, Zeburon,
who wears an iron helm, iron gloves, and a breechcloth
over otherwise bare flesh. The man – if man he is – is
capable of the same atrocities attributed to the sorcerer-
kings, though on a smaller scale. His cruelty, ruthlessness,
and greed set the agenda for his followers as he leads
them on increasingly violent raids from the Siren’s Song
to the Dragon’s Bowl. In even quieter voices, people speak
of Zeburon’s wizard. This powerful defiler apparently
communes with undead creatures, further tainting the
Black Sand Raiders’ already stained souls.
Zeburon rides at the head of a tribe 100 strong. Rumors
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say that the number of raiders never changes, neither
increasing nor decreasing. When a tribe member dies,
he is immediately replaced with another escaped slave.
Despite the claim that there are 100 raiders in the tribe,
no report has ever placed more than 30 of them in a
single raiding party.
The Black Sand Raiders are the epitome of evil for
those living outside the walls of the city-states. These
raiders stop at nothing to take what they want, and they
seem to revel in death and destruction. Their chaotic
evil tendencies are barely contained by Zeburon and his
defiler wizard, but they are given plenty of opportunities
to indulge those tendencies during raiding.
Organization
Zeburon rules the Black Sand Raiders, quite literally,
with an iron fist. He rules through power and fear,
easily putting down any challengers to his rule. For the
most part, as long as he continues to lead the slaves
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on successful raids, Zeburon will continue to command
them. He claims the title of warlord, though most of his
conquests seem to be over the weak and poorly defended.
He has yet to take on any well-protected caravans or
operate near a city-state.
The raiders are organized on a strictly military rank
system. However, ranks are not earned by hard workers
and good leaders. Instead, the powerful move up in
authority and position by eliminating those above them.
If you can defeat your challenger in battle (whether it is
a fair fight or not), then you can keep your rank. If not, a
new officer is initiated with the blood of his predecessor.
Zeburon selects his personal bodyguards from among his
top officers. Rumors persist that these guards must first
submit themselves to the defiler’s magic before they can
assume their new posts.
The defiler, called Fevil in most accounts I heard, plays
a major role in the life of the tribe. He is more than
just chief council to Zeburon. He is the dark soul that
permeates the Black Sand Raiders, conjuring visions of
conquest to drive the marauders into a battle-frenzied
state. His word is law in the camp, for the tribe members
fear him as much as or more than they fear Zeburon. Few
want to draw the dark wizard's attention, for he sometimes
enlists raiders to “assist” him in foul ceremonies.
The rankings determine when a raider can take his
share of the spoils. Like a pride of lions after a kill, the
high-ranking raiders take their fill before those below them
choose. The newest or weakest among the raiders select
last, which usually motivates them to work their way up
as soon as possible.
Operations and Means of Existence
The Black Sand Raiders have two methods of operation:
they go on raids to acquire wealth and supplies, and they
go on raids to satisfy their primal urges to cause pain
and spill blood. They have a simple outlook on life.
Whatever they need or want is theirs for the taking, they
believe. It is theirs by right of strength, and more, by right
of retribution. Zeburon speaks of what Athas owes his
raiders for the years they suffered as slaves. Every raid
the Black Sand tribe undertakes is an attack against the
nobles and templars who once lorded over them. They
do not care that innocents and other slaves suffer in their
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raids as well.
The raiders' technique is simple. They pick a target
they can overwhelm and pounce on it. The Black Sand
marauders have been known to attack outposts and small
villages, moderately-sized caravans, and even other raiding
tribes. The raiders ride kanks and strike swiftly once
they have selected a target. There is no planning or style
evident in their actions. They simply attack and kill, then
they take whatever they can carry and disappear back into
the wilderness. They try not to leave any survivors, though
in the confusion of their attacks, a few lucky individuals
sometimes escape.
Zeburon's raiders operate almost exclusively in the
Tablelands. They have been known to hit targets as far
north as the Dragon's Bowl and as far south as Siren's
Song. They rarely travel into the Great Ivory Plain, but
there have been tales of them striking caravans cutting
across the sand wastes en route to Tyr.
When not raiding for spoils, the marauders attack for
the sheer pleasure of defeating and killing a weaker enemy.
They have also been known to engage in hunts, where
they allow those they have captured a chance to escape.
As long as the captives can keep ahead of the raiders,
they can stay alive. Once the raiders catch up with them,
death comes slowly and with as much pain as Zeburon
and his followers can coax out of the victims.
Every story I have gathered speaks of Zeburon personally
leading every raid. He travels with a party of 30 mounted
warriors, and sometimes his defiler accompanies him. They
must make a fearsome sight, riding kanks and wearing
black cloaks and hoods. How they stand the heat is
beyond me, but that only adds to the tribe's supernatural
trappings. Zeburon and his followers fancy themselves as
avenging spirits, but I see them as nothing more than
murderous thugs.
Origin
Here the legend really takes a bizarre turn. The origin
of the Black Sand Raiders traces back many years to
when a gladiator named Zeburon escaped from Urik. In
the arena, Zeburon learned to kill in order to survive.
He took that lesson to the extreme while wandering the
Tablelands, killing everyone he came upon. His blood-
stained trail finally led him to an island of black sand in

the middle of otherwise barren terrain. The black sand
shimmered evilly in the morning sun, beckoning the one-
time slave forward. He accepted the invitation.
Zeburon found that the black sand surrounded the
ruins of an ancient city. Some buildings jutted from the
sand, exposing partially intact structures of strange design
and unfathomable purpose. A pool of water lay hidden
amid the ruins, and Zeburon drank deeply to quench his
thirst. When he stood up, he noticed a figure watching
him from the shadowed opening of a crumbled tower.
The gladiator moved to deal with this intruder as he had
dealt with the others he had met in his travels, but he
was stopped in his tracks by arcane words and the tingle
of magic.
Zeburon could do nothing but listen to the figure that
stepped out to greet him. “I am Fevil,” the defiler said with
an evil grimace. “I have been waiting for you to arrive.”
Zeburon listened as the defiler told him of his visions of
power and conquest. With Zeburon to command their
army and Fevil to commune with the ancient undead
of the ruined city, there was nothing they could not
accomplish. After a time, Zeburon became intrigued by
the wizard's words. He accepted the proposal.
To prove his worth, however, Fevil demanded that
Zeburon survive a simple test. The defiler explained
that if the gladiator could enter the chambers below the
crumbled tower and emerge alive, then he was worthy to
lead the soon-to-be born Black Sand Raiders.
What Zeburon encountered beneath the tower, no one
knows. According to the story I was told, he was down
there for a full day and a full night while Fevil waited
above. When he finally emerged from the shadow-filled
doorway, Zeburon was wearing the iron helm and gauntlets
that have become his trademark.
It was only a matter of time before Zeburon attracted
a group of followers. He appealed to the barbaric and
unscrupulous elements, cajoling them with promises of
unlimited wealth and unending excitement. Thus was the
tribe of the Black Sand Raiders born.
Location and Defenses
The Black Sand Raiders make their camp in the ruins
of an ancient city, rumored to be located somewhere
in the vicinity of Silver Spring in the area called the
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Tablelands. The ruins rest within a pool of black sand,
from which the tribe takes its name. Their camp is said
to be a jumble of tents stretched between the ruins, but
some of the more privileged raiders make their homes
within the shattered and collapsing structures.
A number of factors work to protect the camp, though
few of them have anything to do with the tribe. Most
travelers have heard tales of the Black Sand Raiders, so
any who come upon an area of black sand tend to leave
the area immediately. Those who haven't heard of the
raiders still tend to avoid the area, for black sand hints at
things beyond the natural world.
The camp maintains a semblance of defenses, most of
which take the form of patrols. Patrols have two purposes.
The first is to guard the camp's perimeter and provide
ample warning of any threats from outside. The second
is to guard the camp's interior, for occasionally something
decidedly unfriendly emerges from the caverns below the
ruins. Often, the defiler can herd these nightmares back
into the depths. The patrols have been established for
those times when he cannot turn them back, as well as to
protect the tribe until he can be located.
Otherwise, it seems the Black Sand camp does not
concern itself with defenses. There are no sturdy walls
to hide behind, no formal militia to turn to. Instead,
every raider protects himself until Zeburon calls them all
together. That is the way in the camp of the Black Sand.
The Ruins
Most of the strange, ancient buildings have crumbled
into piles of rocks or have been totally buried in fine,
black sand. Those structures that jut out of the sand and
offer some protection from the elements are used by the
ranking members of the tribe. One small building remains
almost completely intact, and Zeburon uses this as his
personal quarters. The partially crumbled tower that leads
to the caverns below has become the defiler's domain;
there is no one who cares to challenge him for the space.
The caverns under the ruins seem to go on forever.
Only a small section of them have been mapped and
explored by Fevil and Zeburon. Sometimes they send a
party of raiders into the depths to find ancient treasures
or to conduct some foul experiment for the defiler. Other
times, the caverns are used to test new members or to
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serve as punishment for those who have angered Zeburon.
In either case, those who descend into the depths must
be prepared to deal with the denizens that wander the
dark passages and haunt the strangely-designed chambers.
Relations with Others
Zeburon considers everyone who is not a part of his
tribe to be an enemy. He conducts his affairs as though
he was still fighting in the gladiatorial arenas, following
the law of kill or be killed. Every other tribe exists for only
one purpose – to provide for the needs of Zeburon and
the Black Sand Raiders. For this reason, few settlements
have any formal agreements with the raiders. Instead, most
simply hope that the Black Sand tribe never comes to
call on them.
The Black Sand tribe's nearest neighbors keep a watchful
eye for signs of the marauders. Altaruk, for example, has
not been directly attacked by the raiders, but a few of
their caravans have fallen. Altaruk is a powerful deterrent
to the marauders, and Zeburon hates the client village
with all his dark heart. On more than one occasion,
Zeburon has had to call off his raiders because of the
appearance of a heavily armed escort from Altaruk.
Despite the size of its army and the strength of its walls,
Altaruk is regularly destroyed by giants from the Forked
Tongue Estuary. Zeburon watches for these attacks, for
while the village is being rebuilt his raiders have free reign
over the area.
Silver Springs, on the other hand, cannot hope to hold
back Zeburon's raiders (or at least the elven chief whose
tribe settled here believes this to be the case). He opens
his oasis to the raiders whenever they wish to use it,
suffering under the humiliation and pain they cause in
return for his life. One day Zeburon may kill the elves and
loot the storehouse of silver that supposedly lies hidden
here. Until then, he and his followers will continue to use
it as a resting stop.
Joining the Tribe
Zeburon constantly seeks new members for the Black
Sand Raiders. The lifestyle they lead and the methods
used for determining the tribe's hierarchy make life
among the lower ranks exceedingly short. However, the
fact that they instantly attack anyone who wanders into
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their domain makes finding new members rather difficult.
Zeburon leaves the recruitment of new members to Fevil.
The defiler has an uncanny knack for knowing when the
tribe will need new blood, and he magically searches for
suitable prospects. Sometimes the defiler even leads a
raid on slave market caravans for the express purpose of
acquiring fresh slaves.
When the defiler extends an invitation to a slave, the
slave must agree to join the tribe on the spot. Even a
moment's hesitation brings swift death from the defiler
or his raiders. There have been rare instances of slaves
actually coming to the raiders in order to join them. At
least one small slave tribe merged with the Black Sand
camp in order to survive, but mostly the defiler goes out
to find his own recruits. Of course, certain prisoners are
sometimes brought back to the camp for entertainment
purposes or to give to the undead in the caverns below
the ruins. Once in a great while a recruit is found among
these wretches.
Only slaves may join the Black Sand tribe, and only
warriors usually survive the rigors of testing. Tests of
loyalty, courage, and strength vary, but usually include a
trip into the caverns beneath the Black Sand ruins. If the
potential recruit can make it out of the depths alive, he
is granted full status as a member of the raiding tribe. If
he manages to emerge with some bit of treasure from the
past, he may be offered a position of power in the camp's
hierarchy. If he does not emerge, then the defiler wishes
the denizens of the deep a happy meal and sends in the
next potential member.
Personalities
Zeburon: Zeburon became leader of the Black Sand
Raiders in much the same way as all of its members
joined the tribe: he survived the tests of the caverns
beneath the Black Sand ruins. While he is the leader
of the tribe, which he rules through the strength of his
iron-gloved fists, he follows the advice of the defiler, Fevil.
The ex-gladiator approaches all situations from the
perspective of the arena. Everything is a game, but a
deadly game. The winner of the game lives to fight again,
while the loser simply dies. He sees all opponents in these
terms, believing that if he does not kill them first, they
will surely kill him. He rules the raiders in the same way.

If any of his followers question his orders, he swiftly kills
them and asks if anyone else cares to disagree.
Zeburon does not talk about his encounters beneath
the ruins, but he proudly wears the trophies he won in
the depths. The iron helm covers his entire head. His eyes
sparkle malevolently from within the shadows of the thin,
menacing slit that cuts across the helm's front. Strange
designs etched into its sides mark it as something from
another age. The designs may be magical in nature, but
so far there have been no special powers attributed to the
helm or its matching gloves. The gloves are iron gauntlets
that fit snugly over Zeburon's hands. He wears no other
armor or clothing, save a breechcloth, sandals, and a short
black cloak. He wields a sword of sharpened bone.
The ex-gladiator is quite mad, but that does not hamper
his ability to lead. Of course, he leads his tribe down his
own dark paths of madness. He craves battle and has a
fierce blood lust that must constantly be sated. He hates
all those who are not slaves, for they turned him into
what he has become. He hates all slaves, for that was
what he learned in the arena. Consequently, Zeburon
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hates everyone and everything. Someday that hatred will
consume him, but until then he satisfies some of his foul
urges through the actions of the Black Sand Raiders.
Fevil: Fevil has his own agenda, which Zeburon and
his raiders unwittingly help him to follow. He lets the
ex-gladiator think he is in command, for the slaves would
never agree to follow a wizard. What the defiler needs the
slaves for has yet to be determined, and he refuses to give
any hints to those who may one day oppose him.
The defiler stumbled upon the ruins within the pool
of black sand long before Zeburon arrived. He knew that
unlimited power awaited him in the caverns beneath the
ruins, but he was unable to explore very much of the
depths. While his personal power was great, the foul
denizens of the deep could overpower him if they attacked
in force. So he bided his time, studying the areas that
were open to him.
There are those who claim that Fevil communes with
one or more of the creatures living beneath the ruins.
Some say he gets his powers from a far reaching evil out
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of Athas's past. Others say that his powers come from
the records the ancients left behind. The wizard will not
comment either way.
Fevil is a short, plump man with graying hair and an
unkempt beard. He is as cruel and evil as Zeburon, but
much more cunning and calculating. While Zeburon acts
on instinct and in response to his own madness, Fevil acts
according to a carefully laid out plan. When the details
of that plan are finally revealed, the defiler's true nature
will also be revealed. However, by that time it may be
too late.
Lokee: Lokee is a halfling in whom Fevil recruited into
the Black Sand Raiders. He was part of a captured group
of slaves bound for the city-state of Nibenay. Because of
the behavior of halflings in captivity, Lokee was scheduled
to be sold directly to the gladiatorial arena where his
death could bring a few laughs to the crowds. When
Fevil and his raiders attacked the caravan and freed the
halfling, he eagerly agreed to undergo whatever test the
wizard decreed. From what he could see, the Black Sand
Raiders was the kind of tribe he wanted to join.
The halfling refuses to discuss his past, other than
to say he is no longer welcome in the Forest Ridge.
Some speculate he may have done the unforgivable-eaten
halfling flesh.
Now Lokee ranks as one of the most privileged members
of the tribe. His cruelty, fighting skills, and evil personality
make him the equal of most of the camp's officers. In fact,
Lokee has served Zeburon faithfully for more than a year
now. Few of the other officers can make such a claim.
The halfling warrior especially likes engaging in hunts,
for they remind him of his youth spent in the western
forests. Sometimes Zeburon even lets him keep one of his
catches so that he may satisfy his craving for intelligent
flesh.
While Lokee follows Zeburon's orders without question,
he much prefers the company of the defiler. He can only
learn so much about killing and plundering from the ex-
gladiator, while he is sure that the defiler can teach him
how to be truly evil.
Er'Thork: Er'Thork is an ancient undead creature
known as a raaig. This incorporeal spirit haunts the
chambers beneath the Black Sand camp, still paying
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homage to dark gods that no longer exist on Athas.
The raaig has allowed the defiler Fevil to form an
uneasy alliance with it, thus providing the creature with a
pawn in the living world. It grants the defiler some hints
of the magic of the ancients, but only enough to keep him
interested. Someday Er'Thork hopes to steal the defiler's
body, though it knows that the evil wizard has plans of
his own.
Er'Thork can be damaged only by weapons forged from
iron. In addition, the raaig can use death gaze at will
against its opponents to drain their intellect and is able
to control lesser undead.
1. Fevil's Tower: This partially crumbled tower serves
as the defiler's personal domain. Within the ancient walls
he works his foul magic. The tower also serves as one of
the entrances into the chambers below.
2. Zeburon's Dwelling: This ruined building of
unknown purpose now serves as the personal dwelling
and headquarters of Zeburon, leader of the Black Sand
Raiders. Leering creatures out of nightmares decorate the
outer walls of the structure in bas reliefs and statues.
3. Prisoner Tent: Any prisoners taken in a raid are
kept in this tent until needed. Prisoners include slaves
who may be allowed to join the tribe, nobles taken for
ransom, and sacrifices to be used by the defiler to appease
the undead beneath the ruins.
4. Weaponsmith's Tent: While the tribe does not
make any of its own weapons or armor, they do need to
keep what they take in good repair until new items can be
acquired. The weaponsmith, an ex-slave who learned his
skill in an artisan camp in Raam, is charged with keeping
the raiders' weapons sharp and strong from raid to raid.
5. Treasure Tent: All treasure taken in raids, from
money to weapons to textiles, is stored in this tent.
6. Cooking Tent: Food for the camp is prepared and
served here over great cooking fires.
7. Tent of the Elite: Zeburon's personal guards make
their home in this large, spacious, wellappointed tent.

8. Ruins: These crumbling, almost completely buried
ruins are covered with fine black sand. Not even the defiler
can guess at the original purpose of these buildings, but
many of them contain secret entrances to the chambers
beneath the camp.
1. Tower Basement: A spiral staircase leads from Fevil's
tower into this large basement chamber. The chamber is
constructed from stone as black as the sand that covers
the ruins above.
2. Ancient Crypts: This roughly carved chamber has
a dirt floor. A film of black sand covers the hard-packed
dirt. Stone crypts fill the chamber. Some ancient artifacts
can be found in and around these crypts, but those who
seek them must overcome the skeletons that guard this
place of the dead.
3. Ancient Crypts: Like chambers 2 and 5, this
chamber houses a few stone crypts. Unlike the others,
these crypts have all been broken into and looted.
4. Passage Cavern: This cavern connects to a series of
tunnels that lead to similar chambers beneath the other
ruins. The tunnels also lead to entrances to the surface.
The iron door that rests partially open is covered with
arcane icons from the ancient world.
5. Ancient Crypts: This roughly carved chamber has
a dirt floor. A film of black sand covers the hard-packed
dirt. Stone crypts fill the chamber. Some ancient artifacts
can be found in and around these crypts, but those who
seek them must overcome the zombies that guard this
place of the dead. A passage in the northern wall leads
to the chambers beneath the other ruins and entrances
to the surface.
6. Well Chamber: An ancient well, long-since dried
out, rests in the northwestern corner of this chamber. The
well leads to unexplored levels farther below the ground.
7. Bone Chamber: This natural chamber, complete
with irregular columns of rock that stretch from floor to
ceiling, has a carpet of ancient bones. Some of the bones
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have crumbled to dust, while others stick up white and
shiny from the powder-covered ground.
8. Ancient Altar: This ancient temple has rows of
stone benches set before a black altar. The altar, obviously
dedicated to some ancient god of
evil, is decorated with nightmare carvings of creatures
that no longer walk the surface of Athas.
9. Fountain Chamber: A fountain fills the western half
of this chamber. The fountain features a large obsidian
bowl. Black water spills from the gaping, tooth-filled maw
of a nightmare creature with evil wings sculpted from a
single piece of obsidian. The water seems to have no
source or drain, yet it never ceases, nor does it spill out
of the bowl. Drinking the water has killed many of the
initiates Zeburon has sent down here, but their bodies
have been dragged away by the walking undead.
10. Rubble-Strewn Room: Various items can be found
in the heaps of rubble scattered about this room, including
objects made of metal. Some are broken, some whole. A
few are even thought to be magical.
11. Rubble-Strewn Room: See 10 above, but note that
a secret door is located in the southern wall.
12. Treasure Chamber: This large natural chamber
is littered with ancient treasures collected by Er'Thork,
a raaig that lords over these ancient ruins. A forking
passage leads to the ruins and entrances to the surface.
13. Throne Room: Great pillars line the walls of this
throne room, and a great throne rests along the southern
wall. Tattered tapestries hang on the walls, but whatever
images once adorned them have long-since faded. The
throne is the regular haunt of Er'Thork, the raaig that
rules these ancient chambers. A secret door leads to stairs
that drop deeper into the bowels of Athas.
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Sortar’s Army
One tribe takes this idea of war to a more literal
level, actually seeing its purpose as one of waging war
against the city-states. This tribe calls itself Sortar’s Army,
and it operates along the caravan trails from out of the
mountains around Altaruk.
Organized along strict military lines, Sortar’s Army
is a ruthless, battle-crazed band of raiders. Fierce and
destructive, Sortar’s warriors sweep across the desert like a
wild wind, ripping their intended targets apart with all the
rage and ferociousness of a sudden sand storm. For all of
their fierceness and berserk tendencies, this tribe directs
its anger and aggression at the city-states and the caravans
carrying goods between them. They tend to leave other
villages and small parties of travelers alone, unless these
groups do something to incur Sortar’s wrath.
Each member of this tribe bears tattoos that mark him
as part of Sortar’s Army. These tattoos cover the face of
each member, cutting dark diagonal slashes from forehead
to neck. In addition, each member wears a shard of
obsidian on his left ear.
The tribe consists of over 70 members. They travel
the caravan trails atop fast-moving kanks, waiting for city-
state wagons. When they find a caravan, they attack
quickly and with little regard for their own safety. Stories
a bound of Sortar’s Army taking on larger, better armed
opponents-and winning.
To other slaves, much of Sortar's excessive violence can
be forgiven, for it is directed at the citystates and others
who keep slaves. The tribe is one step removed from
the vile evil of the Black Sand Raiders, and often the
atrocities attributed to one were done by the other. The
big difference is that the Raiders attack everyone with wild
abandon, while Sortar's Army is engaged in a war against
the citystates. Of course, as in any war, innocents suffer
along with the enemy, but Sortar does not go out of his
way to slice up slave villages or to kill lone travelers for
the amusement of his band.
Organization
Sortar, a human fighter, serves as leader and warlord of
the tribe. His leadership is based upon his deadly combat
skills and the vision he has brought to his followers. He
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promises them the wealth of the sorcerer-kings and the
blood of the owners. So far, he has made good on these
promises. He gained his skills working as a soldier slave
in Balic, fighting against raiding giants out of the Forked
Tongue Estuary.
As warlord of the tribe, Sortar has a grim determination
akin to a dwarf's focus. He sees his purpose in life as being
the great enemy of the city-states, and he has instilled
this purpose in his followers. The tribe does not raid to
survive (though that is how it gains the supplies it needs
to continue its war); it raids to strike back at the masters
who once imprisoned them in the shackles of slavery.
Two of Sortar's chief lieutenants are a half-elf called
Derrim and a mul called Porgo. Derrim serves as Sortar's
second in command and is never far from the warlord's
side. Porgo commands the scouting parties that search
for caravans or other potential targets. Once a target is
identified, part of the scouting party remains near it to
track its course, while another part goes to gather the tribe.
An ex-templar from Nibenay serves as one of Sortar's
main advisors, even sitting in on councils of war. A
number of wizards also work with the tribe. All of these
wizards are preservers; the power they provide often means
the difference between victory and defeat for Sortar's
Army.
By its very nature, the tribe is a warlike, barbaric lot.
Battles settle every argument. Surprisingly, though, few
of these battles are to the death. Sortar provides enough
outlets for the shedding of blood with his constant state of
war that the tribe members are content to settle their own
differences in wrestling and brawls rather than with the
sharp point of a sword. Even positions within the tribe are
determined through contests of strength and skill, though
Sortar has been known to overturn the outcomes of some
battles to promote those he feels will do a better job.
Operations and Means of Existence
Sortar and his band wage war against the citystates
of Athas that perpetuate the practice of slavery. They
do this by attacking and plundering the caravans that
travel the roads between the citystates. Sortar believes that
everything within a citystate caravan was bought or built
with the sweat and blood of slaves. As such, it is only
right that Sortar and his army of ex-slaves be the ones to

liberate those goods from the clutches of the templars and
nobles, who only exist to grow fat on the labor and pain
of the enthralled masses.
The tribe constantly has small scouting units ranging
along the known caravan trails. Their job is to find a
suitable target, determine that it is in fact a caravan
bound for or coming from one of the citystates, then send
messengers to gather the rest of the tribe. A few scouts
remain to follow the caravan and to direct the rest of the
tribe to it when they arrive.
The warriors of Sortar's Army ride swift-moving kanks.
It falls to the scouts who selected a target to determine
its strength and defenses and to come up with a plan of
battle. These plans are usually simple affairs based upon
the territory the caravan is riding through and the number
of guards protecting it. If ambush sites are available,
Sortar's Army makes use of cover and strikes when the
caravan is least expecting it. If the caravan rides through
open desert, the tribal warriors use a surround-and-charge
tactic that cuts off escape and enables the full strength of
their army to be brought to bear.
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If the caravan carries slaves, Sortar's tribe attempts to
set them free. Otherwise, they leave no survivors to tell
of their battle prowess. The tribe is careful not to attack
travelers who do not carry the spoils of nobles or templars
with them. They have no wish to kill innocent ex-slaves,
duped freemen, or villagers from settlements that do not
practice slavery. They are quick to slaughter nobles and
templars when they find them, however.
Sortar's Army operates throughout the Tyr region, though
it concentrates its efforts around the central Tablelands.
Besides attacking city-state caravans, the tribe has been
known to sweep down upon city-state client villages and
outposts, and it has even made minor raids into the forest
surrounding Gulg and Nibenay. It does not limit its
targets to only the weak. Sortar's Army has been known to
take on heavily guarded caravans and well-fortified client
villages, using a combination of surprise, lightning-like
strikes, and magic to gain the upper hand.
Everything the tribe needs to survive comes from the
caravans it raids. However, this is only a secondary benefit
for the tribe. Its main purpose is to strike out in any way
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that will hurt the templars and nobles. If the tribe also
gains food, water, and supplies as a result of its efforts, so
much the better.
Make no mistake – Sortar's Army is a bloodthirsty
band of berserkers. However, they direct most of their
deadly impulses toward the agents of the city-states, which
makes them much less of a menace to the other slave
tribes of the Tablelands than the Black Sand Raiders.
Origin
Sortar grew up as a slave in Balic, enduring the same
hardships as other slaves. He suffered ritual beatings, was
forced to work until he collapsed from exhaustion, and
put up with every humiliation a master may visit upon
a slave. This was the life he was born to, and he knew
no other.
In Balic, every freeman and slave must spend time in
the militia. The militia helps the regular army patrol the
mud flats around Balic, watching for signs of approaching
giants who regularly raid the area. When Sortar's turn
came to join the militia, he discovered his love of battle.
Sortar had a knack for combat and took to his training
well. Even his commanding officer was impressed, and
when the slave's shift in the militia came to an end, he
was reassigned to the standing slave army.
As a soldier slave, Sortar learned everything his masters
would teach him. He learned unarmed combat. He
learned to fight with a variety of weapons. And he learned
strategy and concepts of waging war that few other slaves
could ever imagine on their own. One of his teachers, a
templar called Gebiz, took a particular fancy to the young
slave. This is not to say he liked Sortar or treated him
well. What he did do was fill the youth's head with tales
of long-past wars and his own theories on how to destroy
the other city-states. The templar loved to talk, and Sortar
obliged him by listening. And by learning.
One day Gebiz told Sortar about a slave revolt in one
of Balic's client villages. He described the bloody coup
in graphic detail, for he knew the young slave appreciated
such things. What he did not know was that this story
would stay with Sortar for the rest of his life. In the story,
Gebiz described how the foolish slaves tried to overpower
the templar overseers so that they could escape into the
wilderness. A few templars fell before the savage attack,
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but in the end the slaves died for their trouble. Sortar did
not see these slaves as foolhardy, though. He saw them
as brave, and he decided that someday he would avenge
their deaths by striking back at the templars and nobles
who enslaved them. Perhaps, he thought, he could even
find a way to hurt the sorcerer-kings.
Of all his duties as a soldier slave, Sortar most loved
the patrols into the mud flats. He was developing a lust
for battle, and whenever a giant happened ashore he
rushed to engage it in combat. Soon he was among the
best warriors Balic could field, and Gebiz took credit for
the youth's development. On one patrol, Sortar saw his
opportunity to escape. The patrol was surprised by a gang
of giants coming out of a silt-filled channel. As the patrol
moved to engage the giants, Sortar buried his sword in
the templar's back. Gebiz, his eyes wide with surprise,
died before he could cast a single spell. Sortar left the
rest of his companions to their battle as he struck out for
the west.
His time alone in the desert helped Sortar formulate
his plans for the future. He knew that when he killed the
templar, he had declared war upon the city-states. All he
needed now was an army to wage that war with. He joined
up with a tribe of slaves that made a living by raiding
travelers approaching Grak's Pool. Within a matter of
weeks, he was ready to challenge the half-elf leader for
command of the tribe. Sortar's superior fighting prowess
easily won him the job of tribe leader. With that victory
was born the tribe that would one day become Sortar's
Army.
The first order of business for the new leader was to
stabilize his tribe and make it prosper. This was done by
engaging in a series of daring raids that netted big profit
with little loss of life. Then he began to outline his ideas
for waging war against their former masters, inflaming his
followers with visions of templar and noble blood. More
members were added to the tribe, and a secure location
for their base of operations was found in the mountains
around Altaruk.
Location and Defenses
Sortar's Army makes its camp in the mountains around
Altaruk. The craggy mountain peaks serve as the camp's
first line of defense. The trails up the mountain can be

treacherous on their own, but the tribe has added pit
falls, rock slides, and other obstacles to discourage visitors.
Within the shattered crater of one of the mountain tops,
the tribe's home is an island surrounded by a pool of
bubbling lava. Because of the protection offered by the
crater and the lava pool, the tribe has not erected walls or
permanent buildings. The tribe uses huge tents for shelter.
Each tent houses over a dozen warriors, depending on it
size. The largest tents can comfortably shelter as many as
40 tribe members.
A series of stone bridges connects the island to the
crater wall. The innermost bridge can be pulled onto the
island to cut off access from the far side of the lava pool.
This is done as a defensive measure, and only as a last
resort, for the ex-slaves do not relish being trapped in the
middle of the bubbling lava.
To prevent such dire measures from being taken,
the tribe maintains constant patrols in the surrounding
mountains. If any sign of danger shows itself, the tribe is
mobilized for battle. The warriors know all of the passages
leading up to their island home, and they can sweep
down the narrow passages quickly to engage and encircle
any threat.
The passages nearest the top of the lava crater are
further protected by two catapults. Aimed down the
narrow approaches, these weapons can rain rocks and
rubble upon enemy forces, crushing them before they can
bring large numbers to bear in the confined, canyon-like
trails.
Relations with Others
Sortar's Army treats everyone associated with city-states
as its enemies. This includes templars, nobles, client
villages, outposts, and even merchants who sell to the city-
states. These folk suffer swift and violent attacks if they
cross the tribe's path.
The tribe has an uneasy truce with the village of
Altaruk. Though the village is a regular stop for caravans
coming from and going to the city-states, its connection
with the Veiled Alliance makes it a sometime friend to
slaves. Though the tribe has not attacked the village itself,
it does often prey upon the caravans approaching and
leaving the village's heavily fortified walls.
Sortar's Army also has an understanding with the
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mercenaries guarding Grab's Pool. As long as the tribe is
allowed to use the facilities (which they readily pay for) it
leaves the mud-brick fortress in peace.
Other slave tribes, villages, and travelers are usually
safe from Sortar's wrath, unless they somehow reveal
themselves as agents of the city-states. The two exceptions
to this are the Black Sand Raiders and Weriik's Stalkers.
Sortar considers Werrik and her band to be as bad or
worse than the templars and nobles, and he has declared
the slavers to be his tribe's mortal enemies. Sortar has
sworn to destroy any member of Werrik's band whoever
crosses his path. As for the Black Sand Raiders, Sortar
sees them as dangerous thieves and murderers who kill
indiscriminately. He does not mind when they destroy
those connected with the city-states, but he does take
exception to their preying on other slaves.
Joining the Tribe
Sortar needs a large army to eventually take his war
directly to the sorcerer-kings. More than likely, he will
never be able to field an army large enough or powerful
enough to march on a city-state. That does not stop him
from trying, however.
Whenever the tribe comes across captive slaves, the
first priority is to free them. Freed slaves are immediately
given the option to join Sortar's Army. If they agree, they
must undergo a few tests of battle skill and loyalty. If they
refuse, they are given whatever supplies the tribe can spare
and sent on their way. Those who agree to the tests either
become full members of the tribe or die trying.
All of Sortar's tests are geared toward determining if an
ex-slave is worthy and skilled enough to join his growing
army. The tests are difficult and dangerous, often involving
battling desert creatures, attempting risky quests, or even
pitting combat skills against his chief lieutenants.
Personalities
Sortar: Sortar was born a slave in the city-state of Balic.
His knack for combat techniques earned him a place as
a soldier slave, and it was during this period of his life
that he came to understand the mission he was destined
to undertake. Tales of slave revolts in the client villages
inspired him to eventually seek his own freedom. Shortly
thereafter, he began gathering a tribe of followers to serve
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as his army against the city-states.
Some call Sortar's quest a fool's dream – but they do
not call it that when he is close enough to hear. The
huge and powerfully built human has dedicated himself
and his tribe to a war they cannot hope to win. Sortar's
Army has made its main course of action to battle and
destroy whatever belongs to the templars and nobles. This
includes caravans, client villages, and outposts across the
Tyr region.
The warlord has become very close to the extemplar
named Caletta. Some say they are even in love – or at
least that he is. But while he has become very fond of her
and even loves her in his own way, there is little room in
his life for a true commitment, other than the one he has
already made to his private little war.
Sortar is obsessed with his war. His love for combat and
his hatred of the templars and nobles have combined to
drive him to attempt reckless, heroic, and often crazy feats
that no sane man would try. As a result, he is respected
and loved by his followers, and a little feared.
Derrim: Derrim joined the tribe shortly after Sortar
became leader. He liked the idea of waging war against
their former masters, even if he takes a more realistic
view of their chances than does Sortar. Derrim believes
that they have little chance of doing anything more than
bloodying the figurative noses of the citystates, but he is
more than willing to contribute his share to the war effort.
The half-elf ranger never actually served time as a slave,
though he was captured by slavers and bound for the
markets of Urik when Sortar and his tribe set him free.
He was attracted to Sortar's ideals, even though he was
less-than-enamored of his methods. He quickly worked
his way into a chief lieutenant spot in the tribe. Now he
sees his post as a voice of reason and moderation to stem
Sortar's more violent tendencies.
The half-elf uses his ranger skills to best advantage,
finding water for the tribe, tracking caravans, and doing a
host of other tasks. He also serves as one of Sortar's chief
advisors, rarely leaving the leader's side for more than a
few days at a time. He does not get along with the mul,
Porgo, for the gladiator wants Sortar to give in to the
tendencies Derrim tries to control. He also has little trust
for the ex-templar from Nibenay, but he attributes that
more to her past position than to her recent actions.
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Derrim stands slightly shorter than six feet, has a slim
but muscular build, and has a wild mane of light brown
hair. He wields an obsidian bastard sword and wears a
suit of carru leather armor.
Porgo: Porgo was a member of the tribe that eventually
became Sortar's Army. He was present when Sortar joined
the tribe, and he witnessed the ridiculously short battle
in which Sortar took over leadership. He decided that
any human who could fight that well deserved a chance
to be leader, and he has served as one of Sortar's chief
lieutenants and advisors ever since.
The mul once fought in the arena of Tyr, back before
the sorcerer-king was killed and the city fell into chaos.
He found freedom as many slaves do – strictly by luck
and accident. His early days of freedom taught him that
gladiatorial skills and strength of arms would get him only
so far in the harsh wilderness of Athas. When the mul
finally joined up with a tribe of ex-slaves, he sought out
anyone with knowledge of survival and wilderness skills.
His obsession with learning these skills turned Porgo into
not only a better warrior, but a true scout.
The mul operates as commander of the scouting patrols.
His scouts seek out targets to raid and then lead the
tribe straight to them. Porgo's combat experience also
enables him to size up each opponent, spot strengths and
weaknesses, and determine the best method of attack. In
many cases, Sortar turns command of the warriors over to
Porgo so that he may best implement his tactics.
One thing Porgo learned as a gladiator was how to kill.
He even developed a taste for shedding blood that he
now satisfies by killing templars, nobles, and heir agents.
He does not get along with Derrim, for the half-elf ranger
tries to curb the mul's desire to kill and destroy. Porgo
feels the half-elf doesn't understand that the only way to
win Sortar's war is to kill the owners before they can kill
you.
Caletta: Caletta was once one of Nibenay's templars.
She served her master well in his walled sub-city, even
submitting to his occasional carnal desires. Her love of evil
was surpassed only by her love of power; serving Nibenay
provided her with plenty of power and the opportunity to
use it for evil. She reveled in physical power, commanding
large numbers of lesser templars and slaves. She also

reveled in priestly power, using all of the energy that
Nibenay provided with wild abandon. She thought her
course in life was set, but then everything changed.
A minor misunderstanding (at least from Caletta's point
of view) led to a major mistake as far as the sorcerer-
king was concerned. Caletta's slaves brought back only a
dozen agafari trees from the Crescent Forest instead of
the score Nibenay had demanded. For their mistake, the
entire slave work detail was slain. Calette, as the templar
overseer in charge of the detail, suffered a worse fate.
She was stripped of her templar powers and station, then
assigned to another work detail bound for the forest. She
was made a slave.
Caletta learned to hate the sorcerer-king and her sister
templars over the two years she spent as a slave. Every day
she toiled in the forest, cutting down trees and hauling
wood. Every night she returned to the city-state where
a crowded slave pen and a barely life-sustaining meal
waited for her. She contemplated ways to get back at them
all, but every dream ended when the gate on the pen
slammed shut behind her.
One day while laboring in the forest, an opportunity
for escape presented itself. Caletta took it greedily. Her
chance to leave slavery behind came when a thri-kreen
hunting pack appeared in the forest. The mantis warriors
decided to prey upon the slaves and their templar guards.
In the heat of battle, Caletta ran. The only thing she took
with her (besides the clothes on her back) was a gythka
from a fallen thri-kreen. She has used the polearm with
the wicked blades as her personal weapon ever since, in
tribute to the thri-kreen who inadvertently helped her gain
freedom.
In the wilderness, the combat training she received in
her first years as a templar came back to serve her.
Without clerical magic to aid her, she had to rely on
her own combat skills to protect her. While survival was
her major concern, Caletta allowed the dreams of revenge
against Nibenay and his templars to once again occupy
her thoughts. She would later find realization of these
dreams-at least in some small part – as a member of
Sortar's Army.
Caletta's one-time status as a templar made it hard for
her to find a place outside of the city-states, but she knew
that the only place for her within the walls of civilization
was in the slave pens – or worse. When she thought all
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of her options were used up, Caletta met Sortar's tribe.
It was by the grace of the powerful warlord that Caletta
found acceptance in the tribe. Now the two are lovers, at
least in the physical sense, though many say she is simply
using Sortar's feelings to achieve her own ends. To some
extent that is true, but she also feels a special bond to
the man that goes beyond her personal schemes – and
that bothers her.
Gammeg: Gammeg is one of four preservers currently
working with Sortar's slave tribe. Like others of his ilk,
Gammeg uses magic in concert with the environment. He
came to the tribe in order to use his magic freely and to
find a place and a people to call his own. Though the
tribe treats him and the other mages with some suspicion,
they have also come to accept the preservers and even
appreciate the help they provide during combat.
Gammeg learned magic as an apprentice to a member
of the Veiled Alliance in the city-state of Gulg. He knew
it was illegal to practice magic in the city-states, but
Gammeg didn't care. He found happiness in magic that
he could not find in life, for Gammeg was a slave. He
toiled in the forest outside the city, gathering wild fruits
and nuts for the benefit of the oba, Gulg's sorcerer queen.
On certain days, when conditions were right and he wasn't
under close observation, Gammeg's contact materialized
out of the forest to conduct brief lessons. This went on
for a number of years, but progress under these conditions
was painfully slow.
The day finally came when Gammeg could stand it
no longer. He petitioned his contact to help him escape
so that he could learn more about the preserver 's art.
Surprisingly, the contact agreed. It took many more weeks
before the contact proclaimed it was time. Then, almost
without warning, the preserver who had been teaching him
cast spells that confused the other slaves and distracted
the guards and templar overseers. Gammeg was never
sure, but he thought his contact must have had unseen
help from elsewhere in the forest. Before he could change
his mind or even gape at the spectacular display of magic,
the preserver led Gammeg out of the forest and away
from Gulg.
He was taken to Altaruk, where another powerful wizard
continued his training. During this time, Gammeg learned
about magic and how to use it without harming the
Settlements

environment, and he learned about the Veiled Alliance.

He also heard of a slave tribe called Sortar's Army that
was operating out of the nearby mountains. Gammeg was
told that when he was ready, he would be sent to join that
tribe, for the Alliance was interested in its leader and the
activities he involved his tribe in.
To join the tribe, Gammeg first had to come before
them as a slave – something he hadn't been for many
years. He reluctantly allowed himself to be captured by a
slaver caravan on its way from Altaruk to Gulg for a slave
auction. He hoped he had learned enough to set himself
free if Sortar's Army didn't do it for him, for he had no
intention of returning to his old city-state in the back of
a slave wagon. A day out from Altaruk, a band of raiders
attacked the caravan. True to the stories Gammeg had
heard, the raiders freed the slaves and offered invitations
to any who wanted to join their benefactors. The tattoos
on their faces marked them as part of Sortar's Army, and
Gammeg readily agreed.
To this day, the preserver has never admitted his
connection to the Veiled Alliance to Sortar or even to
the other mages. In fact, he has had precious little contact
with the Alliance since joining the slave tribe. Someday
he may be approached with orders to invite Sortar to
merge his forces with the Alliance. He feels that such a
day would be to both parties ' benefit.

104

1. Crater Wall: The top of a mountain, shattered
by an ancient volcanic explosion, serves as the hidden
location of Sortar’s camp. The crater wall hides what lies
within from the eyes of those passing below. It also makes
a perfect position for scouts and lookouts from the tribe.
2. Lava Pool: This bubbling pool of lava surrounds
an island of solid rock. The tribe makes its camp on the
island.
3. Stone Bridge: A series of stone bridges leads from
the island to the crater wall. The bridge closest to the
island can be pulled in to cut off access in times of dire
emergency.
4. Sortar’s Tent: The largest tent on the island houses
Sortar, his chief advisors, and his personal troop of
warriors. Important meetings are held within this tent, as
105
Settlements
well as joyous celebrations and councils of war.
5. Warrior’s Tent: This tent shelters over 20 of Sortar’s
more experienced warriors.
6. Porgo’s Tent: Porgo and his scouts call this tent
home. The mul and 15 of his best scouts share this
shelter, when they are not out looking for a target to raid.
7. Warrior’s Tent: This tent shelters nearly 20 of the
tribe’s soldiers.
8. Warrior’s Tent: This tent shelters nearly 20 of the
tribe’s soldiers.
9. Supply Tent: Supplies taken in raids are stored in
these small tents.
 Settlements
The Ivory Triangle
City-state of Gulg
The Forest City, ruled by the “Oba,” the forest goddess,
a sorcerer-queen named Lalala-li Puy. The only city-
state to exist in a lush forest, the people of Gulg are
utterly devoted to their queen for the blessings of the
forest. They live in deference to the bountiful food their
homeland provides, even as they quake in fear of the
jungle's enormous predators, the world's feral spirits, and
the queen's masked templars. More details can be found
in the city-states book.
City-state of Nibenay
The City of Spires. The Shadow City. Ruled by a
sorcerer-king of the same name, Nibenay is an ancient
place of secrets, sycophants, and sabotage. Noble houses
wage war against one another to gain the favor of the
mysterious king, while Nibenay's templar wives keep the
city in working order for festival after festival. More details
can be found in the city-states book.
Cromlin
Originally a trading post created by House Shorn, the
village of Cromlin has prospered despite the decline in
its founder's fortunes. The silt sailors of Cromlin have
charted hidden paths through the treacherous dust of the
Bay of Maray, giving them easy access to the villages on
the bay's northern shores. Light cargoes bound for Raam
or Draj (or heading southward to Nibenay) can go by silt
skimmer, shaving weeks of time from the normal journey.
As one of House Shom's last profitable outposts, the
authorities here tend to turn a blind eye to the shady
practices of anyone who remains to do business with
them. Elf merchants from the Sky Singer tribe, nomads,
and other traders such as those from Tenpug's Band
all bring their wares to Cromlin. Stealing from Shom's
emporiums brings harsh punishment, as does raiding a
caravan heading to or from the village, but it's fair game
to rob unaffiliated travelers or attack caravans that pass
through the Black Spine Mountains. These lax laws make
Cromlin a haven for smugglers, slavers, pirates, and elves
106
– rogues and scoundrels of all sorts call the place home.
The prices are extremely inflated, for a tenth of all
earnings must be given to Shom's Master Trader, Hurdll
Crost. Of course, reported earnings are considerably less
than actual earnings. Crost realizes and ignores this
discrepancy, as it helps lure business opportunities to the
village. If a trader's reported earnings are too low, or if
a merchant has gotten on Crost's bad side, then Crost's
overseers will audit the offender's transactions for several
week to collect Shom's share.
The people living in Cromlin are a strange mix of exiles
and folk too untamable to live under the dominion of
the sorcerer-kings. Cromlinites dress much like the other
people of the Tyr region, though they have developed
one habit peculiar to Cromlin. To protect themselves
from the thick, choking dust of the nearby Silt Sea, the
locals always wear scarves over their noses and mouths.
To remove a scarf while outside is a sign that you have
been grievously insulted. To apologize, the offending party
is expected to remove his scarf and give it to the insulted
party.
The principal source of entertainment in Cromlin is
the inn known as the Dirty Lizard. Jaksot Han, a thickset
mul of middle years, owns the place. Han is a former silt
pirate, and his common room attracts a similar clientele.
Bar brawls occur daily at the Lizard, and according
to commonly held wisdom, a patron isn't considered a
regular until he's been through a fracas.
Silt Pirates
Cromlin serves as a harbor for a small number of silt
pirates. These seedy individuals utilize silt skimmers to
ambush other vessels plying the Silt Shoals. The pirate's
base is hidden in a large cavern to the west of the village,
though many of them spend time in Cromlin gathering
information on upcoming voyages.
The pirates are the one scourge Hurdll has committed
himself to destroying, for they are a serious drain on the
village's economy. Recently, the flagship of the Shom silt
fleet, Firewind, has been modified to carry more soldiers
and ballista ports. Adventurers in need of money can
sign on for five silver pieces a day if they demonstrate
combat skills.

Personalities
Hurdll Crost: Master Trader of House Shorm in
Cromlin.
Captain Gaff: Firewind's captain is the human warrior
Gaff. He commands the complete respect and loyalty of
his able crew. He fights with an enchanted bone long
sword that was a gift from elves of the Sky Singers tribe.
Garreth Brodden: As the House M'ke representative,
Garreth respects Crost and the employees of House
Shom, and he engages in no activity that would anger the
village's controlling merchant house. At least not openly.
What he gets away with in secret is simply seen as good
business.
Passk: A dwarven former silt pirate, Passk and his
crew once plundered the silt shoals in the silt skimmer
Silt Slicer. Then disaster struck. The Caller in Darkness
of Giustenal urged his first mate to kill the rest of his
crew while they slept. The dwarf awoke just in time to
save himself, though his first mate leaped overboard in
an effort to reach Giustenal. Passk's focus became clear
that fateful night. He has to kill the Caller. His skimmer
was damaged in his escape, however, and no crew will
join him. He fears that he will never be able to complete
his focus and is doomed to become a banshee, so he has
taken to hiding his fears at the bottom of a tankard of ale.
1. Silt Piers: Unique to Cromlin are a series of tall
piers that extend out over the silt. These 20-foot tall
structures allow giant silt skimmers to unload their goods
and personnel quickly and easily. The timbers used
to construct the piers come from the great trees of the
Crescent Forest. The wood's natural tenacity keeps the
piers standing in the face of frequent silt storms.
Most of the piers are owned by private citizens who
charge two silver pieces per day to harbor a skimmer. At
the base of each pier is a small shack with a simple cot,
table, and chair. Someone is always present to collect
berthing fees, no matter when a skimmer arrives.
At any given time there are up to 6 skimmers docked
here. These independent vessels serve smaller trading
interests, transporting goods to the piers located along the
107
Settlements
north and south shores of the silt estuary. Most of these
skimmers are relatively small, with crews of four plus their
captains.
2. Pier of House Shom: One pier is dedicated
exclusively to House Shom and its trading partners. There
are always at least two guards here, who remain constantly
on alert due to Cromlin's rowdy inhabitants. A huge
skimmer, one of the largest in the Tyr region, is the
Firewind. It can be found here whenever it isn't crossing
the silt shoals.
3. Warehouse: House Shom stores its goods here. Only
the Master Trader has unrestricted access, and he keeps
a detailed inventory of what's inside. Many believe that
Crost uses the information as part of an elaborate money-
making scheme. There are always two sentry patrols, each
consisting of three guards, on the warehouse grounds.
5. Homes: The homes built by the citizens of Cromlin
vary from crude mud structures to elaborate constructions
of stone and wood. Most of the people who live here are
fairly hardy individuals, though there is a disproportionate
number of elves (many of whom were exiled from local
tribes). There are no street patrols in the village, so visitors
who venture into the darker alleyways had best bring their
own protection.
6. The Dirty Lizard: This large tavern is Cromlin's
center of entertainment. The silt pirate Jaksot Han
decided to go into a safer line of work after losing his
right eye in a raid. Opening the Dirty Lizard wasn't a
good choice. Fights and drunken arguments break out
constantly, and the skimmers who frequent the place are
quick to test the abilities of newcomers.
From midday on, there are always as many as 40
skimmers, merchants, thieves, con artists, or free citizens
on hand, drinking the thick, fermented kank-honey-mead
the Dirty Lizard is known for.
7. Marketplace: This is where the various merchants
are allowed to set up their booths from sunup to sun-
down. Master Trader Hurdll Crost takes 10% of whatever
crosses the vendors' counters once per week, so a 10%
markup over usual prices should be expected.
Settlements

108

Most anything can be found here, including components
for spellcasting and the occasional magical fruit or rarer
item. Though these illegal items aren't displayed openly,
a few elf vendors stock them. Crost only enforces the
sorcerer-king prohibitions against magic when he has other
reasons for doing so.
The fence that surrounds the marketplace is constructed
of stacked stones. The well in the southeast corner of the
lot is controlled by House Shom soldiers. Water is sold
at the standard price.
8. Lodge: Master Trader Hurdll Crost and his 11
overseers and officers live in this complex. At least half
of their time is spent indoors in an attempt to escape the
choking dust of the nearby sea. As is typical with House
Shom, each man's room is lavishly decorated and far
larger than necessary.
A short walkway extends out over the marketplace.
Crost and his overseers frequently view the merchants
below from here. There is always at least one guard posted
here to watch for trouble or fighting in the marketplace.
9. Barracks: The common soldiery of House Shom
dwells here. Crost keeps 30 soldiers on the payroll at all
times.
10. Passk's Shack: This dilapidated shack is the home
of a former silt pirate named Passk.
109
Settlements
Ghodan Tar Mine
Recently, two enterprising dwarves have turned tar mining
into a profitable business. Durex and Haltham Ghodan,
brothers and free citizens from Raam, first encountered
a tar pit on a trip to the House Shom trading village
of Cromlin. They quickly realized the potential of tar
business, and took building materials and 20 slaves (both
crafters and laborers) to a large pit about two miles due
south of Cromlin. Now they have a thriving enterprise.
They use the tar to weatherproof a variety of useful and
necessary items that they produce in the craft shops they
set up next to the tar pit.
The Sky Singers and other local traders provide bladders
or leather that the Ghodan brothers' crafters fashion into
valuable wineskins, crew-size water containers, sandproofed
armor, sails for silt skimmers, and anything else that needs
to be sealed against the elements.
Twice a month, a Ghodan caravan travels to Cromlin
to sell their weatherproof wares to House Shom. These
caravans have become frequent targets of bandits, raiders,
and even gith (who value the goods for their intrinsic
value more than for what they could fetch at market). The
caravan leaders try to vary their exact routes from time to
time to throw off the raiders, but the trip is a short one
and there is little room for deviation. For this reason, the
route is considered extremely dangerous, and guards will
be well paid for escorting the trains through safely.
 Settlements
Salt View
The village was originally founded as a raider’s hideaway
by a band of ex-slaves from the Raam region. Led by
Xaynon, a mul ex-gladiator, this village makes its living
raiding and performing plays for the villages and cities of
the Ivory Triangle region.
To enter the village of Salt View is to enter a place of
contrasts. Moving about among its people, you will see
life in a slave tribe from a number of different angles.
The villagers are an unruly lot of ex-slaves from all races.
They partake in most of the normal activities associated
with the slave tribes – they raid caravans, they stay alert
for slave hunters, and they live every moment of freedom
as if it were their last. In addition, the people of Salt
View have a true love of the arts. They are especially
enamored of storytelling, which they have taken to new
levels in arenas they call theaters. Here, instead of a
single storyteller weaving a tale for an audience, a whole
group of storytellers acts out the tale from beginning to
end. I must tell you, to watch such a performance is to
be whisked away to another time!
In Salt View, the wild, boisterous raiders enjoy performing
for audiences. While the permanent theaters in Salt View
are used to hone their skills, they send traveling theaters
out to villages, caravan camps, and oases to perform for
others. This new concept has apparently appealed to
many, for I understand that the village supplements its
livelihood with the proceeds these traveling theaters bring
in. The two plays (that is what they call these multiple
storyteller performances) I watched were exhilarating and
quite enjoyable.
Salt View is a fairly sizable village of more than 500
people. Representatives of all races constantly walk the
busy streets, enjoying lives that are no longer controlled
by the whims and desires of uncaring masters. While
humans and dwarves account for a large part of the
population, quite a number of elves have taken up
residence specifically to perform in the theaters. There are
also a few muls in the village, including the tribe’s leader.
On my visit, I even saw a thri-kreen and a couple of half-
giants wandering around.
With such a diversity of individuals, there is no single
dominating trait at work in Salt View. The closest the
entire group comes to a unified outlook can be seen
110
in the chaotic nature of the village itself. People come
and go without rhyme or reason, and most spurn serious
work in favor of having a good time. This is not to say
that the people of Salt View are lazy, for when the need
arises they band together to accomplish the job at hand.
But the orderly schedules kept by other slave tribes like
Tenpug’s Band remind the people of Salt View too much
of their past lives as slaves. When work must be done, it
is. When a job can wait, the people fill the streets with
drink, song, and dance.
Salt View, although a raiding tribe, should not be
confused with the likes of the Black Sand Raiders. Salt
View raiders rarely injure or kill those they ambush. They
want the carried goods and supplies, not the blood of the
caravan’s protectors. Once they subdue a caravan and
take what they can carry, they thank their victims with
a theatrical flourish and ride back into the Great Ivory
Plain.
The village gets its water from a mountain stream that
pools within the cavern. There are no fields of crops to
harvest, no herds of animals to watch over. There is a
marketplace where the goods and supplies taken in raids
are displayed. Members of the tribe take turns distributing
stolen food and other items as fairly as possible among
the entire population.
The rest of the village is a haphazard grouping of
dwellings and taverns – the inhabitants of Salt View love
their taverns – built around the large theater district and
the small artisan camp. Some theaters are simply raised
platforms set before open ground where audiences can sit,
the entire area covered by a tent. Others, like the artist
arena, is built of stone and shaped like a gladiatorial
arena. Most other buildings, including the dwellings, are
either thatched huts, brick boxes, or large tents.
Organization
Salt View is led by Xaynon, a mul ex-gladiator from
the city of Raam, and his advisor, the preserver Arya.
This leadership is not one of a dictatorial ruler; Xaynon
is much more of a father-figure than a real chieftain of
the slaves.
The population is divided into a number of classes.
While in theory each member of the tribe has the same
political power, in practice there is a clear (if informal)

hierarchy of leadership.
At the top of this hierarchy is Xaynon himself. Xaynon
feels that the less the ex-slaves are directly governed, the
better that government will be. In times of emergency,
however, he quickly assumes the mantle of leadership. His
authority is ultimately based upon his strength and fighting
ability and those ex-slaves who he sees as jeopardizing the
interests of the community in an emergency, may find
themselves quickly dispatched at the end of Xaynon’s
sword.
Arya, a preserver, serves as Xaynon’s closest advisor.
Some villagers are uncomfortable with the wizard.
Consequently, she does not necessarily lead raids or give
orders to other villagers. It is clear, however, that she has
more direct influence on Xaynon’s rule than any other
tribe member. Xaynon makes few important decisions
without consulting Arya.
The raid commanders report to Xaynon. These people
are Xaynon’s trusted lieutenants, and speak (within limits)
in Xaynon’s own voice. In raids, the raid commanders
have military control over their people, and a raider who
would publicly challenge his commander’s judgment in
Salt View will obey without question under the pressure
of a raid. In times of emergency, the commanders act
as rallying points for the populace, and their orders are
unquestioned.
While raiding parties were originally assembled on an
ad-hoc basis, over time, certain commanders began to
request the same raiders for their missions. These groups
also associated together socially and became the basis of
informal political factions and cliques.
Raiders report formally to the raid commanders only
during actually raiding operations. Most raiders have
some military skills, either from being in the slave-armies
or gladiatorial ranks of the city-states or by virtue of the
training they have received in Salt View. In the rough-
and-tumble existence of Salt View, where disputes are
settled as often by blades as any other way, fighting
prowess is an important measure of status.
A growing political faction in Salt View is represented
by the artisans and craftsmen of the village. Fort Fyra has
provided a viable market for their work and the additional
revenue generated by the artisans is strengthening Fyra’s
political hand. Many of the artisans are at best indifferent
warriors, and their skills have benefited Salt View only
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Settlements
indirectly in the past. The distribution of goods had always
been the responsibility of the raiders. Naturally, beyond
the allocation of food and water, such distributions have
not always been equitable. The artisans solidly support
Fyra’s efforts to move Salt View’s operations away from
raiding.
While every tribe member generally has some raiding
and performing ability, the dedicated actors of Salt View
command a significant amount of influence within the
community. The first troupes of Salt View performers who
travelled across the Ivory Triangle region were considered
both a source of ancillary income for the community and
an intelligence network for the raiders. The performers
make up an unpredictable political faction within the
village. Popular performers can often rally villagers with
compelling oratory, creating mobs that are difficult for
even Xaynon to control. Fortunately, the performers, on
the whole, do not have a vested interest in the outcome
of the current struggle between the raiders and the traders.
There will be plenty of opportunities for the actors to
perform regardless of the means by which the community
survives. Consequently, leaders of opposing factions often
lobby popular actors for support. The actors are, as a
rule, easily flattered and while articulate, are not nearly as
bright as they think they are.
The lowest status members of the Salt View community
are the refugees. These include those who are undergoing
the trial period and those who have been admitted to the
tribe, but whose skills are not vital to Salt View’s survival.
While these people are given food, water, and shelter,
they are not influential in the political debates. Most in
this class try to gain fighting prowess or performing skill,
so that they will be respected by the more established
inhabitants of Salt View.
Operation and Means of Existence
Salt View survives on the strength of three industries,
which combined provide sufficient support to allow Salt
View to prosper. Raiding has traditionally been Salt
View’s core means of acquiring resources. The performing
troupes have supplemented the village’s income as well as
provided valuable information regarding caravan activity.
Lastly, Fort Fyra has begun to introduce the benefits of
legitimate trade to the small village. The village does not
 Settlements
maintain farms or raise herds of animals. Hunting and
gathering, while practiced, serve to supplement the tribe’s
primary source of revenues.
Since Salt View’s founding, the goods from raiding have
been distributed evenly among the village’s population,
with rarer goods going to those with the greatest influence.
However, while this system worked well when Salt View
had 200 inhabitants, the village has grown too large for
this to satisfy everyone.
Thus, there is a substantial trade economy which
operates after the official “fair” disbursement. This is
primarily barter, with artisans adding their own works
to the goods which come from caravans. There is some
currency (primarily coming from the artisan troupes and
the salt miners of Fort Fyra); coinage from Gulg and
Nibenay is most common, but there are even a few coins
from far-off Balic.
The slaves of Salt View are skilled raiders, and have
often been able to capture (or at least threaten) caravans
with many more troops and weapons. They are masters
112
of subtle strategies to slow caravans and force them to
abandon valuable cargo. Raiders from Salt View try to
keep their plundering as bloodless as possible. They see
cargo bound for the city-states as fair compensation for
the years they spent as slaves to the sorcerer-kings. They
have no desire to hurt anyone or see any of their fellows
hurt in turn. They will defend themselves and even kill
stubborn mercenaries if necessary, but always as a last
resort.
As Salt View has become more securely established,
its raiding bands have traveled further afield. Salt View
raiders (or those claiming to be from Salt View) have
been encountered on the trade route between Gulg and
Altaruk, on the road between Nibenay and Raam, and
even in the village of North Ledopolus. The raids are
causing prices of many goods in the area to rise. This
is hitting the small client-villages of Gulg and Nibenay
particularly hard, as they do not have the capital required
to pay the higher prices. They are willing, however, to pay
for the heads of dead raiders.

While Xaynon’s band has always been strict about
killing victims only in self-defense, many other raiders in
the area are less concerned with the survival of their prey.
More than one caravan near the Crescent Forest has been
lost entirely to other slave tribes. The merchant houses
have no way of distinguishing between raiding parties and
any retaliation is likely to be targeted at Salt View. Unless
Xaynon can somehow drive off the competing slave tribes,
Salt View could be in danger.
The second major industry is the theater. The actors
and singers of Salt View present plays throughout the
Ivory Triangle. These troupes of artists travel throughout
the area as wandering freemen, with no hint that they are
really from Salt View. They supplement the earnings from
their plays with an occasional theft (usually from the local
templar or noble). They also gather information about
caravan routes and planned dates for the raiders.
Initially, the performing troupes were an escape; an
opportunity for the tribe to forget about the difficulties of
their fugitive life. Over time, however, the actors began to
take touring companies out on the road. The plays have
become more and more profitable, and their legitimate
visits to traders, villages, and cities allow them to acquire
some items (such as spices) which are too difficult to
stumble onto in a caravan raid.
The acting troupes from Salt View never put on shows
for nobles or templars, and they have been known to
refuse even the invitation of Nibenay’s sorcerer-king (who
thought he was hiring a group of freemen). To perform for
these people would be akin to once again donning the
shackles of slavery, no matter how much wealth may be
offered. They may satirize these classes in their plays, but
they will not perform for them.
The third and final industry is the salt-mine and artisan
market supported by Fort Fyra. Most salt-miners live at
or near Fort Fyra, rather than in Salt View proper, but
their revenue (when the salt business makes a profit) goes
to support Salt View. The artisans have increased their
production in order to sell goods through the merchant
fort.
Origin
Xaynon and his original tribe of raiders grew tired of the
nomadic life they were leading. They wanted more than
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Settlements
just the freedom of the trail. They wanted the freedom to
establish homes and raise families. They wanted the safety
and security that only a fortified village could provide
them. When his tribe set foot upon the eastern face of the
Mekillot Mountains and found the abandoned salt mine,
Xaynon knew that they had found their home.
Xaynon had been a gladiator, regularly fighting for his
life in the arena in Raam. When the mul finally found
freedom, he imagined that his days of fighting were over.
He was wrong, for he soon found himself fighting the
leader of the slave tribe he joined for command of the
group. His victory began a new chapter in this tribe’s
existence. First, the mul led them away from Raam, taking
his tribe southwest in search of plunder and adventure.
Second, he changed the tribe’s habit of killing those they
stole from. There was no need to bring more death to
this dying world, he told them. He also gave them more
freedom to determine their fates. When they needed a
leader, he was there. When they did not, he let them
make their own decisions.
More ex-slaves joined Xaynon’s tribe as it traveled
around the perimeter of the Sea of Silt, past the Dragon’s
Bowl, and south toward the Great Ivory Plain. Besides
the soldiers and gladiators that flocked to Xaynon’s side,
he attracted a large following of artists. Perhaps this was
because he enjoyed the arts, and even fancied himself
something of an artist. He loved to tell stories and dance,
and he could listen to sculptors and painters talk for
hours about the techniques of their craft.
In the Mekillot Mountains, he ordered his tribe to halt.
The time of travel was over, he decided, at least as far as
he was concerned. Anyone who wanted to continue on
was free to go. Those who wanted to stay would have to
help him build the village he always dreamed of living in.
That was how Xaynon and his tribe came to build Salt
View within the caves of the mountains.
The portion of Xaynon’s original band that stayed to
help him numbered around 200, including both warriors
and artisans-and a few who were both. The artisans saw
the cavernous salt mine as an opportunity to build a
city of their dreams; Xaynon’s warriors saw it as a shelter
secure from the reprisals of the city-states. The salt mine
hid the village from the prying eyes of Templars, and its
only entrances were narrow tunnels which could easily be
sealed should the village’s location somehow be revealed.
 Settlements
Further, the ready supply of stone discarded around
the mine provided all the materials needed to build a
defensive wall within the cavern itself.
The warriors raided caravans for the other materials
needed to make the cavern livable; the artisans used these
materials to build the small village filled with theaters,
taverns, and artisan’s workrooms. One ex-slave had wanted
to mount torches on the walls of the cavern surrounding
the village. “Toward what end?” asked Xaynon. “So you
can have a better view of the salt?” With this joke
Xaynon had coined the name of their newly constructed
home.
Not long after the first dwellings were built and the
perimeter wall was constructed, a few artists who had
shared stories and poems with Xaynon asked if they
could build an arena. The ex-gladiator was aghast at the
suggestion and in his anger he almost struck the man who
suggested such a thing. But they quickly explained that
they wanted this arena to serve as a showcase for the arts,
not for bloody entertainment. So Xaynon agreed and Salt
View’s first theater was built.
During the caravan raids, Xaynon’s band sometimes
freed slaves. Those slaves who seemed to have the spirit
and talent were given a choice: make your own way
among the desert, or join Xaynon’s band. Preference was
given to slaves who were skilled warriors or artisans; the
village had little need for laborers and bearers.
Slaves who had turned them down (or even those who
had never been asked) began to spread the word of
Xaynon’s band and the mysterious village of Salt View.
Soon the raiders were encountering lone ex-slaves (or
even small groups) who were interested in joining with
Salt View.
The new slaves quickly began to outnumber Xaynon’s
original band. Salt View, which had been constructed as
a lovely village for 200, was becoming an overcrowded
village of 400. Furthermore, some of the new members
were of a violent temperament, and the ills of the city-
states were beginning to develop in this village of hope.
Xaynon stepped in to reestablish his leadership. He
executed the most severe troublemakers and established
the main law of Salt View: no one in Salt View shall
limit the freedom of another, unless the survival of Salt
View is at stake. As the leaders of Salt View, Xaynon
and his raiding commanders are the arbiters of when Salt
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View’s survival warrants the loss of some freedom. Finally,
he established the trial period system which determines
who will and will not be accepted into the community.
Xaynon’s law did not result in a utopia. The ex-slaves
had too varied a background (and too great a desire
for freedom) to work together in perfect harmony. The
village’s layout quickly deviated from the idealized plans
of the original artisans, as more and more people added
their own touches to the village design. Disputes arose,
settled by violence as often as reasoned debate.
Since that time, the village has continued to grow. Over
500 people of all races now inhabit the village, and the
artisans work feverishly to extend the facilities to support
them all. Raids have increased to support the increasing
population. With the raids comes more notoriety and
more recruits.
Location and Defenses
The village of Salt View lies within a huge cavern
with great salt pillars supporting its ceiling. The cavern
is concealed against the eastern face of the Mekillot
Mountains, and can be accessed only through a circuitous
series of high passes, winding trails, and tunnels. These
trails are laid out to confuse any pursuers looking for the
village, and they are defended by deadfalls, rock slides,
and guards to ensure no one gets in uninvited.
The village itself occupies only a sixth of the interior of
the cavern, and is laid out in a rough hexagonal shape.
The walls are 8 feet high and constructed of rough-hewn
stones mortared together with a salt paste. While this
mortar is not as strong as that defending the walls of
the city-states, it has held up fairly well. The wall is wide
enough to allow a man to walk along the top. Under
siege, ladders would be laid against the inner wall to allow
the warriors of Salt View to repel attackers.
Every inhabitant of Salt View is given some training
with weapons. At any one time, at least half the raiders are
in the village, providing a garrison of 150 trained warriors.
Xaynon’s raiders have made an extra effort to collect the
weapons from the caravans they have captured, and the
market section of the village has a near inexhaustible
supply of melee weapons, bows, and arrows.
If the cavern is attacked, deadfalls within the tunnels
can be dropped to seal the invaders out. A secondary

tunnel is blocked by a makeshift rock wall; this tunnel
is intended as an escape route if the other tunnels are
collapsed.
Relations with Others
As Salt View grows, it becomes more integrated with
the Ivory Triangle region. While Xaynon would like to
keep Salt View totally independent (except for raiding
caravans), in practice some connections have developed.
First, Salt View is the primary means of support for Fort
Fyra. The trade from the fort has also begun to create
indirect relationships between Salt View and some of the
merchant houses that conduct caravans through the area.
Second, Salt View has begun trading with some of the
client villages in the Verdant Belt. This trade began as
a side activity of the traveling performing troupes, who
use the smaller villages as shakedown performances before
taking their shows to the larger markets. They have taken
the opportunity to exchange the currency their shows
bring for useful goods. This activity bolsters the Fort
Fyra faction’s contention that legitimate trade is the only
course that Salt View should pursue.
Salt View’s nearest neighbor, the dwarven village of
North Ledopolus, refuses to have anything to do with
the slave tribe. They consider the raiders a threat to their
caravans, as evidenced by the amount of cargo that never
reaches its destination.
The merchant houses that regularly trade with Gulg
and Nibenay are familiar with Salt View and its
practices. Many order their caravan drivers to simply give
up part of their cargo as tribute to the raiders, in effect
purchasing free passage through the Great Ivory Plain and
its surrounding environs. Others try all kinds of things
to deter the raiders – varying their caravan schedules,
traveling at night, adding extra guards, employing powerful
psionicists and mages, even sending out decoy caravans
carrying worthless cargo to occupy the raiders while the
true caravan takes another route. Sometimes these ploys
work, but more often than not the raiders get their share
of goods to distribute at Salt View’s market.
Third, Salt View’s acting troupes are now a sufficiently
common sight that they are themselves subject to raiding.
Most slave-tribe raiders receive a terrible shock when they
discover that the defenseless troupe of actors is actually
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comprised of battle-hardened warriors. Nevertheless, the
troupes are earning enough to make them a tempting
target to more aggressive groups (such as the elven raiders).
Moreover, other raiding activities threaten the economic
lifeline which the performers represent. The advance of
the gith hordes from the Blackspine Mountains in the
north and the corresponding forays of giants from Ledo
Island in the south have begun to pinch at Salt View’s
lifeline to the economy of the city-states.
Thus far, Xaynon and his lieutenants have done nothing
except advise the troupes to use caution. However, if the
raids continue to intensify, he may have no choice but
to guard the troupes like a caravan, or abandon them
altogether.
Not all Salt View’s relationships are positive. Gulg and
Nibenay have forbidden trade with the raiders, and the
dwarves of North Ledopolus despise the ex-slaves. The
merchant houses do not particularly like the raids, but as
Salt View has shown some restraint (and low propensity
to kill merchants) they view the raids as a cost of business,
and raise prices accordingly. To preserve its reputation
for raiding without murder, Salt View raiders often find
themselves in conflict with other raiders (particularly the
Swiftwing elves) who work the same territory as Salt View’s
raiders.
Joining the Tribe
All new inhabitants of Salt View must undergo a trial
period before being accepted as full members of the
community. Before the trial period begins, any potential
inhabitant of Salt View is warned of the details. Xaynon
does not relish the occasional refusal he must make, as he
feels there has been enough death in his life, so he gives
a prospect the maximum opportunity to turn away before
drastic measures must be taken.
A potential member of the Salt View community is
usually found as part of a raid, or by a traveling acting
troupe. When freed, a potential candidate is told that
they may be able to join the community of Salt View.
The basics of how the society operates are sketched out,
but the location of the village is kept secret at this stage.
The new prospect is then warned that there is a trial
period, and that those who are judged not to fit into the
community are not permitted to survive. The prospect is
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then asked if they are willing to try.
If the prospect declines, then he or she is let free, and
no more is said. There are no hard feelings, and more
than once someone who turned down an opportunity to
join the tribe later came back to find some representatives
and petition to join.
If the prospect accepts, they are taken to the village.
When the prospect reaches the village, he or she is
assisted in finding a place to live and assigned duties in
the village. Any task is allowed to the prospect, and tasks
are chosen for them in the same way as any permanent
resident.
The prospect is permitted to remain in Salt View for up
to three months before a judgment is passed. Particularly
heroic or heinous acts will accelerate this time. If, at the
end of the trial period, the prospect has demonstrated
an ability to get along in Salt View, and has shown
skills which the community needs or can use, he or she
is accepted as a permanent inhabitant of Salt View. If,
on the other hand, the prospect has shown himself to
be violent, cowardly, untrustworthy, or unwilling to fit in,
Xaynon denies the petition, and the now-failed prospect
is taken to the Sea of Silt to die.
Personalities
Xaynon: Xaynon was a crowd favorite at the gladiatorial
arena in Raam. Whenever the powerful mul was scheduled
to appear, wagering increased. Xaynon had never lost a
match, and this fact inspired the crowds to bet heavily
– both for and against him. When the young mul made
his first appearance in the arena, he enjoyed the cheers of
the crowd. When he won the day, the cheers serenaded
him. But with each victory he won, another gladiator died,
and the cheers turned to wails of sorrow in his mind. The
cheers haunted him, conjuring images of every human,
dwarf, and mul he killed. Finally, he decided that he had
had enough of this bloody entertainment.
Xaynon urged the other gladiators in his pen to rise
up against the guards watching over them. Many died on
both sides of the conflict that day, but in the end the mul
and a handful of his fellows had escaped. The ex-slaves
fled into the wilderness around Raam, eventually joining
up with a raiding tribe. It wasn’t long before Xaynon
challenged the raider’s leader for control of the tribe. Like
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every battle he had ever fought, he won that one, too.
Now his tribe is firmly established in the Mekillot
Mountains, living in a village called Salt View. Xaynon
leads by example and by granting his people the freedom
to do as they choose. This freedom is appreciated and
cherished, but they always turn to the mul for advice,
leadership, and protection.
Xaynon loves all expressions of art, and artists and
artisans find a special place in his tribe. He especially
loves the artist arena, where he can watch fine performances
and give some of his own. The mul enjoys acting in
comedies best of all, and the cheers that rise up when he
takes the stage have almost made him forget the bloody
memories of his past. Almost.
Arya: Arya is a tall woman with striking features and
long, dark blond hair. She is of indeterminate age, and
her slightly exotic eyes hint at the half-elven heritage she
never talks about. In fact, Arya never talks about her past
at all, except to admit she once served as a slave in a
city-state far from the Tyr region.
The woman joined Xaynon shortly after he took
command of the tribe. She literally appeared out of the
ruins of Yaramuke and offered her services to the mul.
While the rest of his tribe failed to hide their fears and
suspicions, Xaynon took the woman at her word. She
became his chief advisor and a powerful ally to the tribe.
Arya is now such a fixture at the beloved mul’s side
that long-time tribe members have come to accept her, if
not trust her. Newer members still find the thought of a
wizard with such influence very disturbing, but they are
careful not to voice their apprehension in earshot of either
the woman or Xaynon.
One thing that has eased feelings over the years is
that Arya practices a non-destructive art. She does not
engage in the practices of the defilers, but works a balance
between nature and magic. Some have even suggested
that she is a member of the Veiled Alliance, but no one
knows for sure. What they do know is that Arya uses her
art for the benefit of Salt View, and for that she finds
tolerance and an uneasy acceptance.
Vandrellen: Vandrellen escaped from Raam with
Xaynon after a short stint as a gladiator. When the elf
was taken as a slave, he refused to bend to the templars’

will. Vandrellen’s lack of cooperation quickly landed him
in the arena, where it was decided that if he could
not serve a useful function he would at least provide
some entertainment in a gladiatorial bout. His speed and
fighting skills surprised everyone, though, and Vandrellen
won his first two matches. His next scheduled bout was
against Xaynon, but the two escaped before they were
forced to determine who was better.
The hearty and unpredictable elf decided to stay with
Xaynon. He told the mul that he could not leave before
he satisfied his curiosity about which of them would have
won their match. Now, years later, Vandrellen remains at
Xaynon’s side as a valued member of Salt View.
Vandrellen serves as a raiding party leader, employing
his skills as a ranger and warrior to best advantage. Like
many ex-slaves, the elf does not reveal much about his
past. Sometimes he gets a far-away look in his golden
eyes, and at those moments Xaynon wonders how much
longer his friend will remain with the village. Someday, he
believes, the elf will announce he is returning to his own
people. On that day, Xaynon will wish him well and try
not to show his sadness.
Like many of Salt View’s inhabitants, Vandrellen loves
to perform on stage. He is an accomplished actor, easily
moving from one role to another with a skill that makes
many of the other actors jealous. He seems to have no
favorite type of role, for he approaches every kind of play
with equal relish.
Kilay: Perhaps the most accomplished playwright
working in Salt View is the bard, Kilay. Kilay is short
for a human, barely taller than a dwarf, but the plays
he creates for the theaters of Salt View are wonderful
to behold. He has tried his hand at all types of stories,
but a few stand out as particularly fine. His comedy,
The Halfling Comes to Dinner, stands out as a work of
comedic genius. His drama, The Last Slave in Yaramuke,
brings tears to the eyes of every audience, even if they
have seen it before.
The bard also performs from time to time, usually
preferring musicals to heavy dramatic roles. His voice has
been called the most beautiful sound in Salt View, and
many a fair maiden has swooned to Kilay’s songs.
Kilay came to Salt View after its reputation for fine
theater had spread. When he heard tales of a local form
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Settlements
of entertainment that took storytelling to new heights, he
knew he had to find out if it was true. While his claim
to being a slave has never been substantiated (and most
believe he never was), the bard made a fine showing
during his period of testing. When Xaynon heard Kilay
sing, he immediately agreed to let him join the tribe.
The bard does his share of tribal work. He goes on
raids, travels with the acting troupes, and even has been
known to pitch in when the wall needs repairs. But his
true love is creating stories for the actors to perform, and
few others can match the power of his creations.
Korsk: Not all the gladiators and soldier-slaves who
founded Salt View are pleased with the idea of becoming
a simple trading village known for its performing troupes.
Many would rather abandon the village’s dead weight in
the desert – or better yet, use the actors as fodder and
throw them at caravan guards – and return to the raiding
lifestyle they know and understand. Korsk, a dwarf who
fought with Xaynon in Raam’s arena, is the most vocal
member of this faction. He is secretly arranging an attack
by Nibenese slavers that will carry off many of Salt View’s
“useless” citizens when he and his raiders are safely away
from the village.
Veeshte: Veeshte is a Templar of the Shadow King.
She is masquerading as an escaped slave, and is
attempting to infiltrate Salt View. She has been accepted
as a prospective villager, but is not yet through her time
of trials. She has kept her magical and psionic abilities
hidden, and most believe her to be an ex-seraglio-slave.
Her aim is to get out of the village as soon as possible
and return to Nibenay with the location of Salt View.
She feels that this information is the key to her rapid
promotion in the ranks of the Templars.
Xaynon admires Veeshte’s confident bearing and is
somewhat taken with her charismatic personality. Arya is
suspicious of Veeshte, but Xaynon dismisses her concerns
as jealousy. Unfortunately, Salt View has never found a
psionicist to help verify the claims of prospective tribe
members, and it is unlikely that Xaynon will discover
Veeshte’s deception.
Having to treat these slaves as equals irritates her,
and sometimes that irritation shows through, but she has
shown tremendous enthusiasm for joining a raiding party.
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Xaynon will not approve this until she has had sufficient
training, but that time is soon approaching. Veeshte is
waiting for that opportunity to sneak off back to Nibenay.
Should she escape, the information she carries could
mean the end of Salt View.
Wheetan: Wheetan is the current darling of the
playwrights of Salt View. Recently escaped from Nibenay,
Wheetan is working in Salt View as a magical enhancer
of plays. He uses his magic from behind the scenes to
allow playwrights to present more spectacular effects.
Wheetan is very shy, and refuses to work visibly on
stage. However, the playwrights have found a number of
uses of his magical talents. The above spell list is the one
selected for Kilay’s play “The Mul’s Escape”; for other
plays he is able to select a different variety of spells.
Unfortunately, Wheetan is not powerful enough to
sustain more than one performance a night. Moreover, as
magic is banned in the city-states and their villages, none
of the plays which use Wheetan’s talents can be shown
outside of Salt View. Nevertheless, the people of Salt
View have begun to appreciate Wheetan’s talents.
Most other mages in Salt View, notably Xavnon’s
lieutenant Ayla, disdain Wheetan’s work, saying that
magic is not a tool for entertainment. The shy young
mage does not mind; he receives so much praise from
the theatrical community that he is unconcerned with the
opinions of the other mages.
1. The Theater Arena: This large amphitheater is the
center of public life in Salt View. It consists of a number
of concentric squares dug into the floor of the cavern;
each square is topped by a series of wooden planks that
are used as seats. The central square, which occupies
about half of the area of the theater overall, is raised to
provide a platform for performers. This is theater-in-the-
round; there are no wings or other areas for actors to use
to leave the stage. Instead, they access the stage by passing
through the audience.
Kilay, the master playwright of Salt View, has been
pushing to have a framework constructed over the stage,
so that magical flight and other special effects can be
included in his plays. Thus far he has not convinced
enough of the building artisans to take time away from
their work for this project.
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2. Residential Area: The residential quarters are the
most unruly portion of Salt View. While originally these
sections were laid out in a series of spoke-like roads
running from the Theater Arena to the outer wall, the
rapid growth of Salt View’s population has demolished
any hope of an orderly development. Buildings abut one
another haphazardly, and more than once Xaynon has
had to be called in to resolve a dispute over rights of way.
(One case involved a homebuilder who had inadvertently
sealed off the last access to more than 30 existing homes.
Before the case could be resolved, the foundation and
walls of the house had been constructed. Xaynon’s
solution was to require the owner of the new building to
provide a public corridor through the center of his home.)
Individual residences grow in stages in these areas.
Initially, a new prospective inhabitant stakes out an
unoccupied section of the residential district and
pitches a temporary structure or large tent there. After
the inhabitant as passed the trial period and has been
confirmed as a permanent resident, he builds himself a
hut of stones with a hatch roof. Village artisans are ready
to assist homebuilders and bricks may be cut from the
cavern walls, and thus provide an inexpensive and ready
source of building materials. Not all the huts even have
roofs. The only benefit they bring is to reduce the sounds
of revelers when a homesteader is trying to sleep.
The residential area is also home to a number of
taverns. The taverns in these sections are quieter than
those in the theater district, with families and friends
gathering to eat, drink, and have a pleasant evening.
Popular taverns include The Oba’s (primarily a dining
tavern specializing in Gulg cuisine) and the Salty Mug
(run by Velin, a dwarf who brews his own ale).
3. Marketplace and Artisan Camp: This section of
the city is used to distribute the goods taken from caravans
by the raiders. Food and water are distributed as fairly
as possible. Rarer items are distributed in a manner that
best serves the interests of the person distributing them.
Each member of the raiding parties in turn takes on the
task of distributing goods. Xaynon perceives this as the
most equitable solution. The people who are risking their
lives for the community should have some say in how the
fruits of their labor are distributed. He will sometimes
intervene, however, if a dispute arises. After distribution
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there is usually quite a bit of bartering. Artisans usually
introduce their goods into this aftermarket as well.
Excess goods (when there are any) are stored here. This
section of the village is also used as an armory, holding
a storehouse of weapons capable of arming nearly 1,000
warriors.
The artisan camp is brightly lit with torches at any
hour, as it contains the workshops and studios of the
artisan class. Now that Fort Fyra has created a viable
outlet for their work, the craftsmen in this area can be
found laboring day and night.
4. Theater District: This section of the city is home to
many smaller theaters. Nearly 40 theaters can be found in
this section, with varying layouts, stage sizes, and audience
capacities. It is here that the traveling troupes and new
plays are given a chance to develop and become ready
or performance.
Many of the theaters were constructed for a single play,
and have unusual stage shapes or other features. Others
with more traditional structure are used regularly. Perhaps
a dozen of these theaters are in use at any one time,
with half of those being occupied by artisans who are
building sets. Dancers and singers can be seen everywhere,
practicing in rehearsal halls and taverns throughout the
district.
Particularly popular theaters include the Orpheum (a
flat-stage theater with a structure designed to amplify the
voice of anyone on stage), Templar’s Hall (a theater in
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the round specializing in satirical plays about the templars
and the sorcerer-kings), and the Kilay (the theater of
choice of Salt View’s chief playwright).
The theater district is also the site of Salt View’s more
lively taverns. Each of the two-dozen taverns in this district
offers some kind of entertainment, generally musicians or
singers, to go with the broy. More famous (or infamous)
places include the Whistler’s Rest (a musician’s tavern
where on any given evening you may hear the finest
musicians in Salt View) and the Wild Ride (a tavern
catering to returning raiders).
5. Residential Area: Like Area 2 above.
6. Cavern Pool: A thin stream of water runs from the
top of the cavern to a pool against the rock wall. Since
much of the cavern is filled with salt deposits, the water
has a salty taste. Still, it does not contain so much salt
that it is unhealthy to drink, and the village uses it to
supplement its supply of water (gained in raids against
caravans and other villages).
7. Blocked Tunnel: This tunnel serves as an escape
route should the main tunnels be unavailable. The rocks
blocking the tunnel can be moved aside quickly to
provide access.

Fort Fyra
Fort Fyra is the sole trading fortress of House Fyra.
This small outpost is little more than a trading post at
which those interested in trading for salt can meet with
the merchants of the house. Most of the house staff
and workers are employed in the slow. dangerous work
of mining salt, so few house members are available to
assemble traditional trade caravans. As a result, House
Fyra is almost totally dependent on other houses’ caravans
willingness to trade with them.
House Fyra is also a symbol of the hypocrisy of the
city-states. When Salt View first began to grow into a
stable village. the oba Lalali-Puy and the Shadow King
barred any house which traded in their cities from trading
with this center of raiding activity. It serves no merchant’s
interest to trade with raiders. However, as Salt View began
to show some promise as a legitimate trade partner, House
Wavir of Balic ignored the ban. The houses based in
Gulg and Nibenay obeyed the edict until Fort Fyra
was established. The merchant houses who trade with
Salt View through Fort Fyra maintain the polite fiction
that the two are entirely separate entities. While House
Wavir has been most forward thinking in their efforts to
lead the ex-slaves away from their dependency of raiding,
some other houses will trade with Fyra to the extent that
it serves their own interests, and to the extent that it will
protect their caravans from attack by the ex-slaves. The
rulers of Nibenay and Gulg have authorized trade with
Fort Fyra at the discretion of their Templars.
History
In the early days before the founding of the village of
Salt View, Xaynon’s band roamed the Ivory Triangle
region, raiding caravans and struggling to survive. After
a raid, Xaynon’s band fled into the desert in several
directions to confuse pursuers. After such raids, Xaynon
had established a number of rallying points where his
forces could regroup and distribute their booty. Fort Fyra
began as such a rallying point.
Over time, Xaynon’s band erected crude fortifications in
the rock cleft, so that they could battle pursuers if necessary.
In those days, however, this site was not distinguished
from a dozen others with similar characteristics.
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That changed when Xaynon’s raiders decided to settle
into village life. At that time, they located the salt mine
where the village of Salt View was constructed. This
fortification was the closest to that site.
Xaynon decided to upgrade the fortress, so that soldiers
who sought to follow Salt View raiders back to the village
would instead be directed to this fortress. He assigned the
dwarf Fyra, one of his trusted lieutenants, guardianship
of the fortress, and posted 300 warriors, all ex-slaves, to
defend it.
Fyra discovered that a fortress in the desert was a
magnet for travelers. Customs of the region require that
any caravan be given water and salt, unless he is a
blood enemy. To avoid the ire of the caravans (which
already sought the people of Salt View for their raiding),
Fyra abided by the custom. When the traders asked the
purpose of this fortress, he announced that the fortress was
Fort Fyra, first outpost of his “merchant house”, House
Fyra.
The visitors seemed to understand immediately. They
praised the baffled dwarf’s foresight in being the first
trader to commit himself to controlling the salt trade. Fyra
quickly learned that salts, as well as being used to season
foods and preserve meats, is also used to produce textile
dyes, soap, glass, and pottery in addition to preserving
leather hides.
Xaynon thought Fyra’s explanation of the fortress’
purpose was inspired. Not only did the story of salt trade
make an excellent cover for the fortress, it was a terrific
premise for the village of Salt View to establish a false
front of legitimacy in order to work its way out from under
the trade ban. He assigned a portion of the raiding goods
to pay those who worked to mine the salt.
The Fort Today
House Fyra is beginning to do well but is facing difficulty
at Salt View. While refined salt is a valuable commodity,
mining and processing the salt is an expensive process.
In the early days, gatherers could simply walk to exposed
deposits, collecting the large lumps of salt which lay near
the surface. Over the years this has become impractical,
as the surface salt near the fortress has all been collected,
and a mine must now actually be dug to find veins of
salt. Fyra has begun the construction of a new salt mine
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near the fortress. This mine will reduce the cost of the salt,
but requires a considerable investment to get it started.
Moreover, mining salt is extremely hard work, and the ex-
slaves of Salt View command high wages for their labor.
Xaynon is not prepared to make the investment necessary
to ensure Fort Fyra’s longterm production capability.
Ragstol Wavir, the master trader of Outpost 19, has
spent a significant amount of time counseling Fyra and
encouraging the artisans of Salt View. He has convinced
Fyra that the population of Salt View will continue to
increase and that the raiding activity will have to increase
to support the community. If this happens, there is certain
to be retribution from the merchant houses or the city-
states. Even if Salt View escapes their enemies, they will
drive off all the caravans in the area, and will no longer
be able to find the goods to steal. The tribe, Ragstol
argues, should stop the raids and channel all of their
resources into legitimate trade. In this way the income of
the community will grow with the addition of productive
members. They will be able to freely buy the specific
supplies they need rather than hoping to find something
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useful among their loot. Lastly, they will be able to ensure
that their children are not hunted, but rather sought as
trading partners and allies. Fyra believes in this vision
and is struggling to gain support for the mine among the
factions of Salt View.
Xaynon is not interested in the salt trade. The ex-
gladiator has no natural inclination toward such activities
and he is uncomfortable with how such a change would
realign the power structure within the village. Rather
than support the construction of the mine, Xaynon has
gradually reduced the amount of goods allocated to the
project. He contends that House Fyra should support
itself.
The artisans of Salt View, however, have rallied to Fyra’s
side. For the first time, they have found a market for the
goods that they manufacture. They are using the revenue
from their sales to help invest in the mine. Xaynon is
not pleased with this development, but he has allowed it
to continue.
As more and more people become aware of the
fortress, the number of caravans which visit the outpost

increases. This allows Fyra to sell more salt, trading for
necessities for Salt View and cash to pay the workers. It
is now something of an open secret that “House Fyra” is
associated with the village of Salt View, but no official
notice has been taken of their relationship.
Thus, House Fyra is at a turning point. Should the
mine become established, the House will have enough
stability to survive without Xaynon’s support. If internal
dissension should prevent the mine from opening, then
the house will fall.
The Garrison
The fortress’s occupants are all ex-slaves. They are
divided into three major groups: traders, soldiers, and
salt-workers.
Traders represent the “public face” of the house to
caravans and to the people of Salt View. While ultimate
leadership of House Fyra rests in Fyra himself, day-to-
day operations are managed by a “master trader” who is
selected by a democratic vote. A majority vote confirms
an individual to the post as master trader; their term lasts
two years. The master trader appoints a cadre of assistants
and officers who comprise the “traders” of the house. The
exact number of traders in House Fyra varies from master
trader to master trader, but generally hovers around 30.
Master traders select their assistants for a variety of
reasons, including talent, skill, or mere political favoritism.
Major decisions are resolved by a vote of the traders in
an effort to keep those who supported the master trader in
his camp. Their constantly shifting votes place the House
in constant turmoil, as political alliances shift and the
direction of the House changes. Fyra had been working
to keep the house on a consistent course, but his eroding
relationship with Xaynon has weakened his popularity,
and there is talk of ousting him by election-something
that until now had never been considered. Some have
proposed that another be assigned Fyra’s role, while others
think the position should be abolished and all decisions
made by the master trader and his staff. Only the lack of
a strong challenger and cohesion among the ranks keep
Fyra in place.
The soldiers who occupy Fort Fyra are independent of
the house, but provide protection to house activities as
part of their “cover”. While 300 warriors are assigned to
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the fort, in practice no more than 75 are ever there at
any one time. Others are guarding salt-workers, escorting
nearby caravans, or simply “on leave” at Salt View. It
would be impractical for the fortress to support such a
huge contingent of soldiers at all times; in time of trouble,
however, all 300 are posted to the fortress, and the traders
and salt-workers are sent to Salt View. Soldiers receive
votes like any other “member” of the house, and there
are always a number of senior military officers among the
ranks of the traders.
The salt-workers are both the most and least powerful
group in House Fyra. More than 200 people are involved
in the gathering and refining of salt. This makes them a
powerful voting block. However, they are rarely available
to participate in the political battles. They labor in the
refinery, turning the huge millstone to grind the salt. They
work in the mine, excavating tunnels through solid salt.
As a result, there are rarely more than 40 salt-gatherers in
the fortress at any one time.
Fyra is the sole coordinator for the artisans of Salt View
at the fort. With Ragstol’s advice places orders for certain
quantities of various items from the craftsmen.
Personalities
Fyra: Fyra is a dwarf, born into slavery and trained as
a gladiator. He spent over 75 years in the gladiatorial
arena, and never lost a fight. Like Xaynon, he did not
enjoy the many deaths he caused and because of his
race and his dour manner, he had never become a crowd
favorite. When Xaynon urged the other gladiators in his
pen to break free, Fyra was the first by his side. It was
the combined strength of the mul and the dwarf which
pulled the door to their pen off of its hinges, beginning
the rebellion which would find them both alive and free.
Fyra traveled with Xaynon’s band for all the years of
wandering. He was Xaynon’s constant companion, and
the two ex-slaves saved one another’s lives many times.
This bond of friendship caused Xaynon to put Fyra in
charge of the fortress now known as Fort Fyra. Now at
132, he is just beginning to feel his age. While Fyra
first took this on as just another assignment, the growth
of House Fyra and his vision of a prosperous and free
community has become his focus.
It is this single-minded determination to make House
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Fyra succeed that has caused the recent friction between
Fyra and Xaynon. Xaynon sees the salt merchant stratagem
only as a minor cover to their fortress. Fyra sees the
success of a salt trade as central to Salt View’s (and his
own) very survival. Fyra chafes at the lack of support and
resources Xaynon offers, while Xaynon cannot understand
why his old friend has invested so much in a whim.
Xaynon is happy with the way things are in the village.
In spite of his claim that leadership has been thrust
upon him and should be democratic, he cannot help but
feel pride in what he has accomplished. In a village of
merchants strength and fighting prowess might not count
for as much.
None (except other dwarves) recognize what has
happened to Fyra. Most believe that Fyra’s continual
efforts to expand House Fyra is a result of his spending
too much time with the master trader of Outpost 19. The
raiders of Salt View feel Xaynon is excessively lenient
toward his old friend. They do not like the idea of the
village artisans usurping their control over village affairs.
Even Xaynon does not realize that the fate of Fyra’s soul
hangs in the balance. As is typical of dwarves, Fyra has
not bothered to inform anyone, so the impasse continues.
Melestan Eltrabel: Melestan Eltrabel is an up-and-
coming member of House Fyra, perhaps due to his
exceptional number of wild talents. Initially assigned to
guard duty at the garrison, he has spent much of his
time traveling with the salt-workers, protecting them from
creatures and bandits. He is well liked by most everyone
in the fortress, and is viewed as one of the most capable
members of the garrison. He holds the rank of trader, but
has not affected the manners of the merchants who pass
through the gates of the fort.
While Melestan has no ambition to lead, others in
Fort Fyra feel he may be a potential challenger for Fyra’s
position. They encourage him to take more and more
responsibility, and lavish praise on him in hopes of
convincing him to pursue the position.
The effort seems to be working. Melestan has become
more forward with his own opinions in trader council
(although many of those opinions were fed to him by
“close advisors” from the various groups), and has even
directly challenged Fyra’s authority in a few areas.
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Lestria: Lestria first met with Xaynon’s band before
the founding of Salt View. The druid had resided in
this area for years before Fort Fyra was founded, serving
as a protector of the region. When it became apparent
that Xaynon was founding a permanent base here, Lestria
contacted him to determine his intent.
Periodically the druid and the raiders crossed paths; in
each case the result was a careful avoidance of hostilities
on both sides. Over the years, the druid became less aloof
toward Xaynon and Fyra although no one would ever
describe Lestria as friendly.
Lestria’s guarded land includes Fort Fyra, but not Salt
View itself. As a result, she is virtually unknown in
the slave village. Even in Fort Fyra, she is a mysterious
figure. She has been friendly to the fort, and has even
allowed the mine to be established, but has placed some
restrictions on how the mine is constructed which are
slowing construction. Even Fyra knows better than to
challenge the druid on this; her magical abilities could
destroy the entire fortress.
There is little danger of Lestria becoming involved in
the impending political disputes. She has shown absolutely
no interest in the affairs of the community beyond the
extent to which they affect the surroundings.
1. Walls: These 15-foot walls protect the salt mill
and the garrison in the event of an attack. The gates
are generally left open, and the walls manned only by
lookouts. In time of attack, however, the walls provide
cover for more than 100 soldiers.
The fortress is not large enough to support the full
complement of people who live here. In case of an attack,
the full garrison could be brought inside the walls, but
would run out of supplies in a few days. The intent is for
the fortress to hold until reinforcements can be brought
from Salt View.
In addition to the soldiers, Fyra has devised a unique
way stone fragments have been hauled from the mine
entrance: Fyra has bundled the sharpest of these in sacks
with ground salt; these are poured down upon attackers
climbing the wall. The stone shards cut the attacker’s
skin and the salt causes such pain that the attacker is
essentially out of the fight.

2. Soldier’s Hall: This administrative building is the
marshaling point for each shift of soldiers. Fyra maintains
an office here, as does the watch commander. Aside from
the change of shift, this building is relatively idle.
3. Salt Mill: This building houses the huge salt mill
which is the source of House Fyra’s trade. The salt
mill is made of two stone wheels, one laying flat and
the other rolled in circles atop the first and around its
circumference. Rock salt is laid on the lower millstone
and crushed by the upper stone until it is a fine powder;
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it is then transferred to sacks in which the salt is stored.
The millstone is moved by manual labor. Six muls must
work the millstone at all times; getting the mill started
and stopped is difficult, so it is generally run constantly.
Each mul can work a shift of approximately 10 hours
before tiring. There are always at least three muls actually
pushing the millstone. Those not driving the millstone
are sweeping the finely-crushed salt (which makes its way
to the outermost part of the mill) into channels which
lead to the sacks. This task is somewhat dangerous. The
miller, Praxtra, is skilled at knowing just how much salt
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the mill can handle at any one time. Visitors to the mill
are sometimes startled by the sudden smash as he uses his
hammer to crush a particularly large crystal into millable
size.
The mill is also used as a trading hall, since salt
is House Fyra’s primary export. It is only moderately
satisfactory, as the constant sound of the millstone makes
conversation difficult. Fyra has discussed constructing a
true Trader’s Hall, but thus far no work has begun.
4. Salt Silo: This 20-foot silo contains the accumulated
rock-salt brought in by the salt-gatherers. The salt is kept
here until it is milled. Generally, the silo is about half-
full; this varies by the amount of salt gathered recently
and the efficiency of the mill.
Fyra has condemned traitors or others who threatened
Fort Fyra to death in the silo. The condemned are hurled
in from above, and allowed to die of thirst, the moisture
in their bodies leached out by the salt. By the time
the bodies make their way out at the base, they are
mummified. While this punishment has only rarely been
implemented, it is a memorable threat. Praxtra, the salt
miller, has decried the practice, saying that it spoils the
salt.
5. Well: This well has stood for many years, and was
one of the things that attracted Xaynon and his band
to this site. The well is deep, but water can be found
in it year round. As a result, Fyra has seen no need to
construct a cistern.
6. Residences: This area is dotted with various homes
for the fortress garrison. These range from tattered tents
to strong mud-brick buildings, and are distributed in an
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unruly pattern. There are footpaths running between the
buildings, but most of the “streets” in this section are
toonarrow even for a small wagon. The tents and temporary
buildings are constantly appearing, disappearing and
moving as the population evolves, which makes finding
anything in this section a bewildering task.
The area is roughly divided into quarters, based on the
preferences of the inhabitants. The soldiers in the garrison
occupy much of the eastern zone, while the northern part
contains the homes of many traders. The western zone
is primarily the province of the miners, while the rest of
the residential area is a mix of mill workers and artisans.
7. Mine: This is the entrance to the new salt mine. To
date, most of the work has been expended in breaking
through the stone which surrounds the salt deposit. For
all his desire to establish a salt mine, Fyra would have
been unable to locate the rich deposit which lies under
the stone without the help of the druid Lestria.
According to Lestria’s information, the miners are
almost through the stone cap. If all is as she says, beyond
lies a huge deposit of high quality salt. Since no salt has
yet been uncovered more factions are pushing to abandon
the mine attempt.
At Fyra’s direction, the miners have constructed a small
breastwork in front of the entrance to the mine. The
breastwork is a low wall, 4 to 5 feet high, made of loose
rock excavated from the mine. This fortification is not
designed to withstand a prolonged assault; it is intended
to buy time until the garrison in the fortress can counter-
attack. The breastworks are manned by five soldiers from
the fortress during daylight hours; these soldiers are there
to repel any attackers, and to assist the miners in the
event of an emergency.

Tenpug’s Band
One of the more unusual and creative slave tribes I
have heard of is a small group called Tenpug’s Band. The
tribe is made up of artist and artisan slaves who have
put their collective talents to good use. As they have few
skilled warriors among them, and no other survival skills
worth mentioning, the tribe has come up with another
way to survive.
Tenpug’s Band sends its members to small villages and
caravan camps where they masquerade as freemen and
sell their services. They take on work repairing wagons
and tools, entertaining with stories, and even producing
works of art if anyone is interested in such things. The
wages these “freemen” earn is brought back to the tribe
for distribution to all.
About 200 artist and artisan slaves make up Tenpug’s
Band. Of these, only a dozen are skilled with weapons.
Organization
Tenpug’s Band has a very loose structure. The leader
of the tribe is a one-armed mul named Tenpug whose
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experience as a gladiator (before he lost his arm) made
him a natural leader. It was his idea to survive by selling
talents instead of raiding. He continues to lead and make
the final decisions concerning the welfare of the tribe.
The other positions of note are the keeper of the wages
and the keeper of supplies. These two tribe members work
together to use the money brought in to purchase the
supplies the tribe needs to survive. As this is the primary
means for the tribe to get food and water, these positions
are very important.
There are other important members of the tribe who
constantly confer with Tenpug, but there is no strict
hierarchy of ranks or stations. If someone has an idea,
he presents it to the tribe. If the tribe likes the idea, it is
used. If the tribe does not like it, it is shelved.
Operations and Means of Existence
Tenpug’s Band assigns every member of the tribe a
number of one-week periods to earn wages during the
coming year. When a member’s time arrives, that member
must leave the camp and head for a village or caravan
camp. Pretending to be a freeman, the tribe member
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offers his particular talents for sale. He remains with the
village or camp for as long as there is wage-paying work to
be had or until his week (15 days) is up. Then he gathers
his earnings and returns to the tribe until his turn again
comes up.
Sometimes a tribe member is sent out with a sack full
of finely crafted pottery or some other goods made by the
tribe. In addition to offering his talents for sale, the tribe
member seeks buyers for the goods he carries.
The tribe never sends out more than half of its number
at any given time. The rest remain behind to protect
the camp, make goods to sell, or repair tents and tools.
Whenever necessary, the tribe sends out a small caravan
to purchase supplies. They use at least three different
nearby settlements for this purpose, never going to the
same one twice in a row. Again, the caravan pretends to
be from a freemen village that needs to supplement its
own stocks by purchasing supplies.
Origin
Tenpug’s Band started as a small group of traveling
craftsmen who earned food, water, and shelter by
performing small tasks for their hosts. The first members
were all artisan slaves from Nibenay. The story, at least
the way I heard it, went like this.
During a particularly hard time in Nibenay, slaves
from all classes were forced into labor details to gather
wood from the Crescent Forest. One detail was made up
of artisan slaves, including the one-armed mul named
Tenpug. After a hard day of work, the slaves finished
loading up their carts with wood and made ready to
return to the city. They were barely on the path back
when warriors from Gulg ambushed their small party. The
warriors killed the guards and scattered the frightened
slaves.
The slaves gathered in the forest and looked to Old
Gralth for guidance. The ancient dwarf, who had slaved
away for Nibenay longer than any of the other slaves
could remember, told them to run into the desert. “You
are free men now,” Gralth told them, “For the warriors of
Gulg have broken the bonds that held you.’’
The slaves all began to talk at once, asking questions
and seeking to postpone the inevitable. Finally, Tenpug
asked, “How can we survive without our masters? What
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can we do?’’
Angry, Gralth turned on the mul with a snarl. For
a moment, he looked more like a gladiator than a
weaponsmith. “You can do what you’ve always done!’’
Gralth shouted. “You each have skills that most freemen
would die for. Combine your talents, pool your resources,
and sell them to the highest bidder! But don’t do it like
slaves. Do it like free merchants.’’
Gralth and Tenpug talked through the night, setting
forth the ideas that would be used by these exslaves to
survive. When they finished talking, the dwarf bid them
farewell and turned back toward Nibenay. When Tenpug
asked where he was going, Gralth said that he still had a
focus to finish. He did not want to end up wandering the
wastes as a banshee after he died. That was the last time
any of them ever saw the old dwarf.
Eventually, the band found a secure spot to set up a
permanent camp. Once they no longer had to move from
place to place, the band could concentrate on finding
work and making money.
Location and Defenses
Tenpug’s Band has established a camp within the half-
buried ruins of an ancient temple. The temple is located
some 50 miles northeast of Nibenay, near the shore of
the Sea of Silt. The blowing sand has covered much of
the ruins, offering protection from passing travelers. The
fearsome statues that protect the temple entrance serve
to frighten away all but the most desperate or ruthless
raiders. Those who do try to force their way in can usually
be scared off by a few blasts from the ghost horns. (These
instruments were specially made by Tenpug’s craftsmen to
produce eerie, otherworldly noises.)
The partially buried temple is built on a massive scale,
as though the original occupants were giants. The ceilings
are 40 feet high, and the entire structure is made from
fitted stones. It must be from the time of the ancients, but
no spirits walk its huge halls.
Within the abandoned temple, which has been
remarkably well preserved, the band has set up tents
between massive pillars that are as large as trees from
the Crescent Forest. Few items have been found within
the temple, and Tenpug has been reluctant to look for
secret caches. So far, the ancient gods have tolerated

their presence. He does not want to do anything to upset
that. In fact, Tenpug has taken to placing a share of
the goods they make and the money they earn on the
massive altar as an offering to the ancient gods. He hopes
this appeasement will keep his band welcome within the
ancient halls.
Temple
The temple that Tenpug and his band occupy dates
back to the Time of Magic. Originally, the temple was
dedicated to a forgotten god worshipped by the followers of
Taraskir, a beast-headed giant who once ruled Giustenal
before Dregoth arrived and slaughtered them. The statues
were representations of Taraskir’s Lion Guard, his elite
warriors. Later, after Dregoth killed Taraskir, much of
Giustenal’s remaining demihuman population (and some
of the humans, too) began to worship Taraskir as a god.
This ended shortly after the fall of Giustenal, and the
temple was lost to the sand and silt until Tenpug’s Band
came across it a few years back.
As most of Giustenal’s ruins are decorated with dragons,
none of the members of Tenpug’s Band have connected
the temple to the ancient city. The only clues to the
temple’s history decorate the walls of the temple’s great
hall. Faded frescoes show a city straddling the edge of
the Silt Sea, though the surface of the sea looks strangely
choppy and motive. The city vaguely resembles Giustenal,
but there are several important differences. First, most of
the protective wall is lower and less foreboding than that
which exists today. One part is much higher, however, and
wavy lines run down its face to fill what look like a stream
around the foundation.
Also, the ominous central spire of the city is missing.
Most of the buildings shown on the weathered mural
are long, low and flat, and their architecture is more
ornamental than that used in the days of Dregoth’s
rebuilding.
To Tenpug and his band, the temple is nothing more
than a sturdy building to protect them from the elements.
While they don’t necessarily worship the old god, they
take great pains not to do anything to anger him.
Relations with Others
With the possible exception of raiding tribes and city-
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states, Tenpug’s Band gets along well with the other
settlements in the wilderness. Few settlements refuse to
welcome their craftsmen with open arms and open purses,
for the coming of even a single traveler breaks the normal
routine and brings news of other places to the remote
villages.
The Band keeps its members’ pasts hidden, believing
that they would not receive warm welcomes if their hosts
knew they were escaped slaves. Instead, they pretend to be
freemen looking for honest work.
Of course, sometimes a lone traveler makes a tempting
target for monsters, raiders, or slavers. Every once in a
while, a member of Tenpug’s Band goes out and never
returns. That is a cruel fact of life for the ex-slaves in
Tenpug’s Band.
Although close to Giustenal, the band think little of
the ruins. Tenpug’s followers admit that Giustenal would
be a source of fantastic treasures, but most fear the tales
of the Caller in Darkness. Tenpug hasn’t forbidden any
of his tribe from exploring the locale, though he has
expressed reservations about such an activity.
Tenpug suspects that at least one of the band’s
number visited Giustenal and coaxed a bauble or two
from its shattered depths. An artist named Nallan once
disappeared for several days, and when he returned he
sold several objects to traders from House Shom. One
of the objects was an amulet that bore the design of a
dragon and was made from reddish-orange stone. Nallan
disappeared again some weeks later, and has not been
heard from in several months. Tenpug has seen the dragon
design on stone guardians in Giustenal, and he believes
Nallan fell to some nameless horror in an attempt to find
additional profit in the ruins.
Joining the Tribe
Any slave with a talent as an artist or artisan is welcome
to join Tenpug’s Band. Tenpug wants nothing to do with
preservers, defilers, or templars, however, and none of
these ex-slaves are welcome. Also, the mul is cautious
when it comes to warrior types who want to join his
band. Though the tribe could always use another strong
defender, Tenpug knows that his people have grown used
to being on their own. Warrior types usually like to
lead, and Tenpug’s Band just isn’t set up as a military
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organization.
Tenpug’s Band attracts artists and artisans, for these
were once wretched slaves who found a measure of worth
by demonstrating artistic abilities. They have no practical
skills, only artistic talent; while they were slaves their lives
often ended as soon as the popularity of their creations
waned.
Those who are accepted into the tribe must spend
a period of time apprenticed to someone with similar
talents. They spend this apprenticeship at the temple,
working beside the tribe member and learning about life
in Tenpug’s Band. Once the tribe member is convinced
that the apprentice is good for the tribe, he is made a
full member and assigned weeks to sell his services. This
period is designed to weed out spies and slavers, for
simply allowing a new member to see the location of the
camp and then wander off is to invite disaster. Those not
accepted are sent into the Sea of Silt without food, water,
or weapon.
Personalities
Tenpug: Tenpug once served as a gladiator in the
arena of Nibenay. It was there that he lost his left arm
and almost his life. He was made an artisan slave after
he healed, at which time he showed a talent for making
weapons. Now he works as a weaponsmith in the tribe,
turning out some of the finest weapons of stone and bone
to be found anywhere in the Tyr region.
The mul with one arm appears frightening to many,
but he is actually a very gentle, very quiet man who toils
endlessly over his wares. The workmanship shows in the
final product.
Once he arrives at a village and demonstrates his
craftsmanship, customers gather their own material for him
to work on. They gather pieces of stone and bone to take
to Tenpug One-Arm. Then the one armed mul forges the
material into a sword, or axe, or dagger of perfect balance
and razor sharpness.
When he isn’t away working, Tenpug leads the tribe
much as he makes weapons. He has forged his band into
a successful group of artists and artisans who make a good
living selling their talents.
Feera: Feera, a half-elf female, serves as a bone carver
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in Tenpug’s Band. She is a well-spoken, likable, and
attractive young woman who puts customers at ease with
her friendly banter.
Feera was not born into slavery. She was the daughter
of a freeman in Raam who made his living much as
Tenpug’s Band does today – by selling the fruits of
his carving talent. Feera grew up in this environment,
learning her artisan skills at her father’s side. Her father
was human, and she never learned what happened to
her mother. She only knew that her father loved the elf
woman very much. Disaster struck when her father took
on a job for a templar. The templar liked the bone
carving so much that he had Feera and her father arrested
and turned over to the slave pens. Feera was assigned to
the concubine pen, and soon learned to hate the self-
serving templar.
A chance trip away from the city led to Feera’s escape.
While the templar was examining the fields, Feera slipped
away. Eventually she was found by one of Tenpug’s Band
on his way back from a job. He took the young woman
with him and she soon became a member of the tribe.
1. The Temple Entrance: Huge stone steps and giant
stone doors lead into the half-buried temple. Great stone
statues guard each side of the doors. The statues are giant
humans with the heads of lions.
2. The Great Hall: This huge hall, built to giant
proportions, rises some 40 feet to a domed ceiling. Great
stone pillars stretch like trees from the floor to the ceiling.
Between these pillars, the tribe has erected great tents that
serve as living and work areas.
3, 4, 5. Empty Chambers: Each of these huge
chambers has 25-foot-high ceilings. These chambers were
empty when the tribe arrived and Tenpug has decided to
keep them that way. The only items of interest in these
rooms are the wall murals that have been etched directly
into the stone. The murals depict scenes of a world far
different from present-day Athas. There are lush forests,
huge lakes, raging rivers and waterfalls, and giants engaged
in artisan activities.
6. Secret Chamber: So far, this chamber has remained
hidden from the tribe. It still contains its original treasures,

including giant-sized furniture, piles of gold, and objects
made of metal. There are bronze cups, iron swords, and
even whole suits of plate mail armor.
7, 8, 9. Empty Chambers: These rooms are similar to
rooms 3, 4 and 5.
10. Secret Chamber: This room is similar to room 6.
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11. Altar Chamber: A gigantic stepped altar fills
much of this huge hall. Tenpug has piled goods made by
the tribe as well as a portion of the wages the tribe has
earned atop the altar as a tribute to the ancient gods who
have allowed them to dwell in this temple. The tents set
up in this area include storage tents, Tenpug’s command
tent, and meeting tents.
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Fort Harbeth
Fort Harbeth is the major fort of House Inika in
the Ivory Triangle region. The fortress is located in the
southwestern foothills of the Mekillot Mountains, at the
intersection of the caravan routes between Gulg, Salt
View, and North Ledopolus. It stands at the top of a
large hill in the stony barrens, its rear and sides protected
not only by the fortress wall but also by the sheer sides
of the hill which act as natural palisades. A winding
road brings caravans up the hillside to the main gate. In
keeping with the traditions of this house, its defenses are
quietly understated, but the nomads and raiders of the
Triangle have learned better than to attack this powerful
fort.
History
Fort Harbeth began as a supply post of House Riben
for caravans on the Gulg-Ledopolus trade route. Located
at the rough midpoint between the two cities, the fort
was blessed with a natural spring which was too small to
support an oasis but provided enough water for as many
as 200 men each day. House Riben built a cistern for
the flow and a small walled keep to protect the cistern.
The small outpost remained in Riben hands for over
100 years. Shortly after House Inika split off from House
Riben, a brief interhouse dispute left the fortress in the
hands of House Inika, which used it as a more discreet
location to form the spice caravans that traveled from
Gulg to Tyr. The outpost also allowed House Inika
to tap into trade with the nomads. Elven merchants,
herdsmen, and hunters were all welcomed to the fort.
Raiders occasionally attacked, so the defenses of the small
keep were slowly improved until no raiding tribe would
consider attacking again.
As is the case with virtually all merchant outposts, the
traders at the fort refused to conduct business with raiding
tribes. Merchant houses recognize that the best way to
discourage raids on their caravans is to close their markets
to stolen goods – unless, of course, they are actively
encouraging raids on a rival house. Unfortunately, it is not
always easy to tell just where a traveler obtained his cargo.
The elven tribes, on the other hand, are always eager to
make purchases without asking too many questions.
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Initially, the traders of Fort Harbeth also refused to
trade with renegade slaves. As the slave tribes became
more stable and began to produce goods rather than just
steal them, this stricture was lifted. This willingness to
trade with ex-slaves improved the lot of the slave tribes,
allowing them to expand and stabilize.
The fort’s importance increased as North and South
Ledopolus grew. The presence of these dwarven settlements
and their silt skimmers made shipment of cargo across
the Estuary of the Forked Tongue to Balic profitable.
House Inika established an alliance with House Wavir in
which the houses would wholesale goods to one another
at the crossing. A premium would be paid to the house
that assumed the risk of transporting the cargo across the
giantplagued estuary. The arrangement worked out very
well for both houses, and Inika eventually established a
small emporium in Balic. That base serves primarily as
an administrative office and an outlet for some of Inika’s
most exotic wares.
Fort Harbeth’s importance grew again when Fort Fyra
was founded. This enterprise, the most well-established of
all the slave tribe endeavors, has become an important
trading partner for Fort Harbeth. The fort’s “nomad trade”
has grown, and House Inika has used the additional profit
to increase the staff of this small outpost.
The Fort Today
Lying near the crossroads of three major trade routes,
Fort Harbeth is frequented by nomads, merchant caravans,
slave tribes, and even some elven tribes. Some of House
Inika’s caravans to North Ledopolus and points beyond
pass through Harbeth’s gates, but the task of marshalling
the caravans for Tyr has fallen to the headquarters of the
house in Gulg. Recently, trade with North Ledopolus
has led to an increase in the supply of dwarven items,
particularly weapons, passing through this fortress. Such
items can be purchased in the fort, although they are even
more expensive here than in Gulg.
In addition to the standard trade goods, Fort Harbeth
maintains a large herd of erdlu. These birds thrive on
the rough scrub which dots the foothills of the Mekillot
Mountains and, with the ready supply of water provided
by the spring, are able to survive year-round without ever
straying far from the fortress.

The fortress is an important supply point for the traders
who canvass this region. It is rare for a week to go by
without a small caravan wandering in or out of the gates.
Most of the caravans are of House Inika but some are
from other houses, notably House Wavir and the Renythi
League.
Fort Harbeth caters to the small, fast caravans favored
by House Inika. These caravans haul cargo on the backs
of kank or inix rather than using the slow mekillot wagons.
The enormous lizards’ need for huge quantities of water
make such caravans unpopular visitors. The fortress can,
however, accommodate mekillot wagons when necessary.
In an emergency, the interior of the fort can hold all the
beasts of a small caravan, but for normal traffic, there is
a good caravanserai just outside the gates.
House Inika actually has good relations with several
elven trading tribes, and such tribes occasionally stop at
Fort Harbeth. The master trader is naturally suspicious
of elves he does not know, and will not allow a tribe to
unload booty which they have obviously just stolen in a
raid.
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The master trader will not permit thri-kreen inside the
walls, although he will allow them to trade here. When
thri kreen come to the fortress, a special trading table is
set up on the hillside outside the fortress, and all trading
is done from there.
The Garrison
Fort Harbeth’s garrison includes a staff of 10 traders,
including the master trader Waltian Inika and his assistant,
Kelira Legar. This small trading group is defended by 40
soldiers led by Hurgen Vurst, a half-giant. The troops wear
hide armor and carry bone battle axes, light crossbows,
and stretched leather shields.
The garrison is supported by a well-defended fortress.
In addition to the usual defenses of high walls and strong
gates, the outer defenses of the fortress are littered with
traps. Most of these traps are fairly simple. They consist of
covered pits and spined traps along the tops of the walls,
intentionally loosened stones on the outer face to deter
climbers, and other delaying or injuring barriers. These
traps are intended to deter stealthy attacks; the garrison is
 Settlements
quite sufficient to repel any direct attack by force.
The garrison has recently been enlarged in response
to growing concerns that the slaves of Salt View might
choose to raid the fort rather than trade with it. Caravans
and traders are watched carefully, and Hurgen Vurst
has standing orders to forbid entry of more than 10
non-House Inika individuals to the fortress. Some of the
passing traders who have been forced to sleep in the
caravanserai have grumbled at this policy, but to date,
Fort Harbeth has not been successfully attacked.
Personalities
Waltian Inika: Waltian Inika is a tall, slender man
with dark hair and a closely-cropped beard. His silken
robes and confident bearing make it obvious that he is
the chief trader of Fort Harbeth.
Waltian is a man whose ambition exceeds his ability.
While competent, he does not have the vision or strength
of character to become a leader. He has spent much of
his life in House Inika’s most vital trading posts, first as
an assistant outpost master and agent, now as master
trader of an increasingly important base. He has spent
little time on caravans, considering the risks of such an
uncomfortable and dangerous lifestyle much greater than
the potential rewards.
He has been consistently assigned to the outer posts,
away from the cities, for a number of reasons. First,
although Waltian is a shrewd and cunning trader, he
has made a number of serious mistakes that have cost
the house considerably in lost profits. These incidents
are in the past, but the leaders of House Inika have long
memories.
Second, his natural telepathic abilities make him an
ideal representative for a distant outpost. He has sufficient
psionic power to make a short daily report back to the
main chapterhouse in Gulg. Since his most potent
telepathic ability is only one-way and his psionic strength
is too low to allow him to attempt to use his power more
than once or twice a day, he would not be as useful in
a central location.
Finally, Waltian’s personality has stood in the way of
advancing his career in Gulg. Advisers to the house
matriarch, Andiama Inika, disdain his pompous attitudes
toward those of equal or lower rank and his obsequious
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fawning toward everyone above him. Waltian fancies
himself an expert on everything and has an exaggerated
sense of self importance. Andiama’s advisers hope that
the responsibilities of running the fort will eventually tone
Waltian down and allow him to develop some polish. No
one objects to Waltian’s wish to rise in the hierarchy; they
are just concerned that he may simply not have what it
takes.
Kelira Legar: Kelira Legar is a lovely young woman
in her late twenties. While she has been a trader for
several years, most of her career has been spent as an
administrator in House Inika’s main chapterhouse in
Gulg. Her career there was fairly set; she was likely to
remain a low-level functionary for the rest of her days.
This seemed to suit Kelira Legar well, as her essentially
gentle nature was ill-suited to the competitive character
of a potential house leader. She was not actually of the
Inika family, so any attempt to rise high within the house
would be difficult at best.
Thus it was very surprising four months ago when she
requested a transfer to a desert outpost. She explained
to Burette, her superior, that she felt the move would
broaden her base of experience and would later serve
to increase her usefulness in Gulg. Burette agreed that
the house would always benefit from administrators with
field experience, and arranged to have Kelira sent to Fort
Harbeth. The request was sudden and somewhat out
of character for Kelira. Consequently, her superior has
advised Waltian to keep an eye on her.
Rather than watch Kelira, Waltian has simply kept her
outside any of his business dealings. He suspects that
Kelira may be a spy from a rival in Gulg and believes
that until she exposes herself, he will not give her the
opportunity to jeopardize Inika’s trade. She spends her
days visiting with the caravans, but she has not been
permitted to actually negotiate deals with them. She
has become increasingly self confident and outgoing in
the desert outpost and most caravan masters prefer her
pleasant company to that of the arrogant Waltian. Word
is returning to Gulg that Kelira is showing promise and
may have potential developing business relationships for
the house.
Whether she has the talent to become a dealmaker will
never become evident as long as she works for Waltian.

While the house makes an effort to groom talent, it is
the responsibility of an agent’s superior to identify and
promote promising agents. Burette would happily take
Kelira back in, but now that she is under Waltian’s
control, it is unlikely she will be allowed back to Gulg.
The decision-makers of the house have business to attend
to, and Kelira will soon be forgotten. Her career has, like
Waltian’s, essentially stalled.
No one but Kelira herself knows that her request for
transfer had nothing to do with advancing her career.
Recently, she discovered that she was a psionic wild
talent. For years she had hoped to manifest the power
of the mind, but when it came, she was horrified – her
ability was the power of aging. She fears that she has let
some kind of demon out of her soul, and is concerned
that she will be unable to resist the temptation of using
the power on those around her. In truth, Kelira rarely has
a harsh word to say, much less enough anger to cause
her to lash out with such a powerful psionic discipline.
The power places such demands on her weak physique
that it is unlikely she will ever use it, but this does not
reduce her fear.
Hurgen Vurst: Hurgen Vurst is the half-giant garrison
chief for Fort Harbeth. He is 11 feet tall, with broad
shoulders and enormous strength. He is basically lawful,
and tends toward lawful neutral in imitation of Waltian
Inika, the master trader in the fortress. Hurgen is more
clever than most half-giants, which makes him a particularly
dangerous adversary. He is responsible for the network of
traps that defend the outer walls, although he leaves their
detailed design to those with more crafting skill. He is as
respected a commander as can be found in House Inika.
1. Main Gate: The gatehouse frames a high gate with a
portcullis made of agafari poles from Gulg. The portcullis
is open during the day (except when the fortress is under
attack), and closed at night. A force of four men is
kept in the gatehouse at all times, watching for caravans
approaching from the road.
2. Walls: These stone walls are 20 feet high and topped
with machicolations. Each side of the fort is manned by
two guards at all times, and alarm gongs are mounted at
the center of each wall, If rung, these gongs will rouse all
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of the guards to the defense of the fortress. Sections of
the walls are trapped with many 8’-diameter round pits,
spined to prevent a trapped person from removing a foot
or limb. The pits are covered with sun-baked clay, and
they are easily spotted in daylight. Thus, they present a
hazard only to a night traveler, or to an attacker coming
quickly over the wall. Hurgen has trained his men to
channel attackers scaling the walls into one of these areas
to further delay their invasion. Hurgen himself has no
fear of these areas, as the pits are too small to catch his
massive feet.
3. Warehouse: This building holds the trade goods
of Fort Harbeth. Most of the building is a warehouse,
covered by a roof of leather on a wooden framework.
The roof keeps the sun from beating down directly on
the trade goods, but the warehouse is still hellish during
midday. The rear section of the building is the slave
quarters; 80 slave laborers are herded into this section
and locked in at night.
4. Trading Office: This building is both the trading
office and the residence of the master trader. The building
has two stories; a small staircase winds up the front of the
building to the entrance on the second floor. The second
floor is the trading area; it is austere and functional. This
floor also holds the chambers of Waltian’s four personal
slaves.
The lower floor, which is partially underground and
therefore considerably cooler, is Waltian’s home. This
floor is filled with accommodations, including a direct
pipe to carry water from the cistern to a bathing well for
the master trader’s personal comfort. This bathing well,
and the water it consumes, is a sore point with some
traders forced to make do with the water in the outer
troughs.
5. Trader’s Barracks: This building houses Kelira and
the other traders who serve Waltian Inika. The building
is divided into three bedrooms, each holding three traders
and one personal slave each. A central common room
allows the traders to eat and discuss the day’s business in
the shade. Waltian rarely comes here.
6. Garrison Barracks: Forty soldiers and their 10 slaves
 Settlements
reside in the longer main building; the square building to
the south is Hurgen’s quarters, with ceiling and furniture
suitable to his large size. A kitchen has been added to
the building, jutting out to the east; the garrison cook is
responsible for feeding all of the staff of the fortress.
7. Cisterns: These large stone cylinders hold the
accumulated water from the spring. Should the spring
fail, there is enough water in the cisterns at any one time
to support the full complement of freemen in the fortress
for six months. (Should slaves and erdlu be given water
in that time of duress, the cistern would only last two
months.) The spring water flows directly into the cisterns,
and the heavy leather awnings over these tanks, combined
with the cool flow from the spring, keep the water from
becoming too warm and stagnant during the day.
8. Erdlu Pen: This low hollow is the pen for the erdlu
herd. The herd is allowed to forage for scrub during the
day, but at night it is kept here. The sides of the hollow
are too steep for the erdlu to climb; the birds can enter
and leave only through the narrow, gently-sloped pass.
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The pass is blocked by a rough gate made of mekillot
bones.
9. Caravanserai: This large, level area of hard-packed
earth is where merchants and their caravans camp when
visiting Fort Harbeth. A narrow pipe from the cisterns
inside the fortress can be opened to fill the water troughs
on the western edge; the water can be shut off from inside,
preserving the water supply in case of siege. The area is
kept clear of brush by the garrison and by the grazing
erdlus.
10. Stable: This building houses the small hive of kanks
that serves this fortress as mounts. There is supposed to
be a full complement of 20 kanks at Fort Harbeth at all
times. The fort, however, is often at less than full strength.
The kank tenders must ensure that the brood queens do
not lay eggs in the stable, so the area is kept free from
vegetation. Gravid brood-queens are driven to a nearby
valley where the hive can raise the new brood. Once the
hatching period is over, the kanks are driven back to the
fortress. Excess kanks are sold or driven away.

Outpost 19
Outpost 19 is a small trading outpost in a stony canyon
at the northeastern end of the Mekillot Mountains.
Established by House Wavir primarily for caravans
traveling between Nibenay and North Ledopolus, Outpost
19 now also conducts a significant amount of business
with Fort Fyra.
History
Outpost 19 was established decades ago, during an
expansionist period of the history of House Wavir. During
the early years of the leadership of the patriarch Tabaros
Wavir, the dwarven towns of North and South Ledopolus
were just beginning their efforts to bridge the Estuary of
the Forked Tongue. Tabaros, seeing an opportunity to
build a trade route to Nibenay, established Outpost 19
in the shelter of the nearby Mekillot Mountains.
The dwarven effort at Ledopolus has been unsuccessful,
but Outpost I9 has served House Wavir well. While
not the most active of merchant forts, its convenience to
southbound caravans from Nibenay makes it a favored
stopover. Caravans visiting the villages of the southeastern
Tyr region restock here often, as they are welcomed by
master trader Ragstol Wavir, regardless of house affiliation
(for the most part).
The outpost began as a small building nestled in a
protected valley in the eastern Mekillot Mountains. As
the outpost grew, it gained some of the characteristics
and defenses of a real merchant fort. Still, it is much less
insular than Fort Harbeth or Fort Inix.
In the early years, merchant forces from more established
houses (primarily House Tsaxala) tried to drive House
Wavir from the region. The outpost was burned to the
ground several times by “mysterious raiders,” although all
involved knew who was behind the attacks. Eventually, the
House made an alliance with the Swiftwing elves, and the
next group of raiders found themselves facing 200 elven
warriors. After this bloody massacre, the raids stopped.
Another attacker was far more deadly and unforgiving.
Thirty-two years ago, a fierce salt storm from the Great
Ivory Plain collided with a westward blowing silt storm
and carried a huge volume of choking dust and scouring
sand to the eastern slopes of the Mekillot Mountains.
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Settlements
This storm buried Outpost I9; everyone there drowned in
the dust, and when the storm was over, there was no sign
of the outpost at all. When House Wavir heard of the
disaster, they sent a new staff to reestablish the outpost.
This time it was nestled in a box canyon, protected
on three sides by mountain slopes, with the mouth of
the canyon pointing inward toward the mountain range.
Although the site was different, House Wavir retained
the original name in honor of the traders who died in the
original outpost.
Outpost 19 still entrusts much of its defense to good
relations with its neighbors rather than high stone walls.
This lack of physical defense has caused Outpost 19
to suffer occasional raids, but the trading practices of
House Wavir have made many allies, and few will risk
the revenge that would come from the destruction of the
outpost. The outpost is also defended by Astemba Wavir,
a powerful preserver, and his powers are sufficient to ward
off smaller bands of traveling raiders.
The Fort Today
The fort has recently become a major trading partner
with the slave village of Salt View, through the trading
house at Fort Fyra. House Wavir has long opposed
slavery, and Outpost 19 has contributed to the prosperity
and stability of Salt View. Ragstol has encouraged the
artisans of Salt View by purchasing their wares. He allows
the performing troupes to entertain caravans as long as
the tribe does not follow up the performance with a raid,
and he always purchases any surplus salt that Fort Fyra
makes available.
True to his merchant ethic, Ragstol has tried to discourage
raiding by refusing to open his gates to the ex-slaves any
time they show up with anything other than goods he is
certain that they have produced. The house wants to see
Salt View established as a permanent trading partner,
and has authorized Ragastol to make temporary loans to
ensure Salt View’s survival. Ragstol has encouraged the
slaves of Salt View to stop raiding and to increase salt
mining as well as the amount of goods produced by its
artisans. One day, he tells the traders of Fort Fyra, the ex-
slaves of Salt View will be a welcome sight on the caravan
trail. So far, this has not happened.
Nevertheless, trade with Salt View and Fort Fyra has
 Settlements
been brisk. The people of the slave village prefer to deal
with House Wavir, due to Ragstol’s congenial manner
and the absence of slaving in the outpost. House Wavir’s
ties to Gulg and Nibenay are loose enough that its
support of Salt View causes it little trouble in those city-
states, and the other sorcerer-kings could care less what
happens in places so far from their own lands.
The outpost has also kept its contacts with the elven
nomads. Several wandering elven tribes visit the fortress.
Some travelers claim that Wavir uses this remote outpost
as a contact point for their connections in the Shadows.
There is a fair amount of festivity when an elf tribe
makes camp outside the outpost. During these visits, it is
usually possible to buy spell components from the elves.
A few elves have occasionally joined here as mercenaries,
protecting the small group of traders from the depredations
of those who do not know better.
The thri-kreen also trade here, although there is little
in the fortress to interest them. Ragstol maintains a good-
sized herd of crodlu and erdlu to use as trade goods in
case the thri-kreen do come. The thri-kreen have learned
that there is often good food here, but the prospect of
dinner without a hunt makes their visits rather rare.
Outpost 19 is more isolated than most of the merchant
forts in the Ivory Triangle. House Wavir, while large, is
not always able to keep regular contact with all of its far-
flung outposts. This leaves Ragstol considerable discretion
as to how he manages the fortress. He sends regular
dispatches back to Balic, but receives formal direction
from his superiors in the house perhaps twice each year.
The Garrison
There are four merchants posted to Outpost 19,
including Ragstol Wavir and his son Astemba. The other
two are often absent, supervising a regular trade caravan
to or from North Ledopolus.
Outpost 19 has a small garrison consisting of 15
warriors. There are a few elves and muls in the force,
but the majority are human. The troops are armed and
armored in a variety of equipment, with no man wearing
any less than hide armor. This motley force is surprisingly
effective, particularly since they are dedicated to their
cause and are well treated by Ragstol.
As mentioned above, the outpost is not well fortified.
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There is a low wall, but this is mostly to slow any attackers
rather than to stop them. There have been a few raids,
but allies of the fortress (either from Salt View or from
the elven tribes) have made raiders wish they had picked
a less well connected target.
Personalities
Ragstol Wavir: Ragstol Wavir is the 42-year-old leader
of Outpost 13. He is tall, topping 6 1/2’ in height, with
curly, light-brown hair and a long, almost sad face. His
limbs are long and thin, and his skin is burned a deep
brown.
Ragstol was a caravan master for many years, until
his caravan became lost in a siltstorm in the trackless
wastes south of Balic. He was knocked unconscious by a
panicking crodlu as he attempted to wrap its head with a
wet cloth. He was nearly buried in silt before one of his
staff wandered near.
Unfortunately, the long exposure to the silt has ruined
his health. He is prone to coughing fits, and has lost
much of the vigor that characterized his early years.
Although he is physically not what he once was, his
mind and his trading skills are as sharp as ever. He has
spent much of his time counseling Fyra and trying to
convince the ex-slaves of Salt View to give up raiding. He
believes that he is making progress with the group and
does not want to leave until he feels the area is secure
for free trade.
Thus, Ragstol has turned down several offers by House
Wavir to return him to Balic. Despite his age, he insists
on remaining in the field, aiding Salt View and improving
Outpost 19. His talents are valued highly enough that
his eccentric insistence on being allowed his own way is
tolerated by the merchants at the house, but none can say
how long the sickly man can continue this pace.
If Ragstol has a flaw, it is that he is too trusting and
unwilling to take charge in a situation. In a bargaining
situation he is second to none, but in the day-to-day
administration of the outpost, he leaves much to his son
and his garrison commander. Some of his subordinates
enjoy the autonomy and work all the harder, others take
advantage of the opportunity to shirk their responsibilities.
Some wonder whether this is Ragstol’s management style
or simply lack of management. Thus far, his trust has

been well placed in his son, and at least not a disaster in
his garrison commander, but many worry that it is only a
matter of time before a crisis arises. At that time, all will
know whether Ragstol’s command abilities have weakened
with age.
Mersten Vell: Mersten Vell is an ex-slave, ex-gladiator,
and an ex-inhabitant of Salt View. A simple woman with
a warrior’s view of the world, she found the transition to
a life of art and performance by the slaves of Salt View
too confusing. While she finds it difficult to live among
the artists of Salt View, she still believes that the people
of Salt View should not be forced to return to a life of
slavery any more than she should. She convinced Fyra
to allow her to travel to Outpost 19 in order to study its
operations. Fyra consented without seeking approval from
Xaynon, Salt View’s leader. Mersten offered her services
to Ragstol Wavir and the master trader gladly accepted.
Mersten is a typical mul. She respects Ragstol, but
has not spent much time contemplating his thoughts
about trade and the importance of an individual’s right
to property. Although she is no longer a gladiator in the
games of Nibenay (her one-time home), she still thinks in
the concrete, straight line fashion that led her to so many
victories in the arena.
Her status as the best warrior in the outpost makes her
a natural candidate for garrison leader. In a fight, Mersten
is likely to set out on her own, regardless of the odds,
expecting her comrades to follow and to acquit themselves
as warriors. She spends little time on strategic planning,
and is unfamiliar with the use of scouts or sophisticated
plans. Many friends of Ragstol have urged him to take
a more active hand in the outpost’s defense, as they see
Mersten’s inflexibility as a strategist as the primary cause
of the outpost’s defensive weakness.
Moreover, Mersten is not an even-tempered mul. She
tries to control her temper, but she is not always successful.
If challenged or under pressure, she has a tendency to
react violently. Thus far, Ragstol has been able to control
the mul’s temper, but if Mersten cannot change her ways,
Ragstol is afraid he may have to send her back to Salt
View.
Astemba Wavir: Astemba Wavir is the son of Ragstol
Wavir, and appears to be a skilled trader in his own
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Settlements
right. He has less skill in negotiating, but he can appraise
an item’s value more quickly and more accurately than
his father. Garbed as a trader and bearing a bronze
dagger which is the image of his father, Astemba can look
forward to a long career in House Wavir.
Few know, however, that Astemba is secretly a preserver.
Astemba takes great care to conceal his abilities, and only
his father knows of his illicit studies. Astemba generally
selects spells with no material components, or with
material components that are easily obtained. He uses his
comprehend languages spell to demonstrate understanding
in languages like that of a normal trader, and indeed
has become adept at a few nonhuman languages without
magical assistance.
Astemba’s magic is Ragstol’s secret weapon. He will
not use the magic against an opponent in a business
negotiation (you get no repeat business by cheating a
charmed opponent), but more than once, Astemba’s
magic missiles have made the difference between loss of
the outpost and the complete rout of attackers.
Unfortunately, since Astemba has developed his abilities
secretly, he has a limited selection of spells. He is a
voracious student of magic, and is filling out a reasonable
spellbook as fast as he can.
Astemba is developing a close relationship with the
Swiftwing elves, using his position to gain their trust and
respect. The Swiftwings will probably not completely trust
the son for a number of years, but Astemba is hoping
that eventually he will be able to turn to the elven tribes
for further magical training.
Perian Evenstar: Perian Evenstar is a member of the
garrison under Mersten Vell. A wandering elven warrior
of the Shadows tribe, she was hired on at Outpost I9 a
few years ago to learn more about human ways.
Only Ragstol knows that Perian is his contact with the
Shadows. Perian handles the spell components and other
illegal trade that Ragstol cannot handle himself, and is
the one to contact the Swiftwing tribe when Outpost I9
needs help.
While the Swiftwings are a fiercely independent group,
the Shadows are one tribe whose call they will respond to.
Many tribes that deal with contraband never encounter
the Shadows, but if they do, they are wise to heed them.
In return for Perian’s assistance, Ragstol collects no tariff
 Settlements
on Perian’s trade, and the trader will occasionally allow
other Shadow members to be concealed at the outpost.
Perian is, in fact, one of the reasons that Ragstol has
refused to return to Balic. While House Wavir is not
opposed to dealing with the Shadows, such dealings
are generally private matters between the Shadows and
individual traders. His son is not quite ready to take over,
and he can trust no other trader, even in his own house,
with Perian ‘s true identity. Moreover, he fears that if he
leaves, and the connection with the Shadows is broken,
the outpost will not have an adequate defense.
The rest of the garrison does not understand why
Ragstol is so fond of Perian. The elf is haughty and prone
to testing the garrison of the outpost, and this tendency
has earned her the general dislike of the garrison. Mersten
Vell was initially very hard on her for her attitude, as
her taunts and tests of friendship were incomprehensible
to her. Ragstol asked her to restrain herself, and it is an
open secret in the camp that Ragstol and Perian have a
relationship of some sort. Perian has taken to staying with
Ragstol on occasion, to keep people from suspecting the
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true nature of their arrangement.
1. Caravan Trail: This narrow trail leads to the open
Ivory Plain and is carefully marked and kept clear of
debris by the outpost garrison. The trail is hard-packed
earth, and is wide enough for one mekillot wagon to pass
through. The trail ends in a large open area outside the
wall, where visiting caravans camp.
2. Canyon Walls: These high cliff walls protect
Outpost I9 from the winds and sandstorms of the desert.
The canyon entrance twists and turns before reaching the
open salt flats, further protecting the outpost.
The canyon walls rise some 200 feet above the outpost
and are beautifully colored with bands of various shades
running horizontally along the canyon. The lower reaches
are scalable, but much of the cliff face is very steep, and
thus far no one has successfully climbed up to the top
(or down from above). The terrain at the top of the cliffs
is unknown; no one has ever managed to approach the
outpost from any direction other than the caravan trail.

3. Wall: This low stone wall represents the primary line
of defense for the outpost. While the wall is high enough
to discourage jumping over it on crodlu-back, it is low
enough to see over and can easily be scaled by a normal
human. (Thri-kreen can leap over this wall with ease.)
Notches have been set into the top of the wall to allow
arrows to be fired at any attackers.
4. Aarakocra Aerie: The top portion of the cliff wall
in this section is strung with a complex structure made of
netting. This netting is home to a tribe of aarakocra that
hunts across a wide range in the Mekillot Mountains.
The aarakocra have been here since Outpost 17 was
reconstructed, but all attempts to contact and ally with
the birdmen have failed. The aarakocra occasionally steal
an erdlu when times are hard, but otherwise avoid all
contact with their neighbors below.
5. Housing: This building contains the living quarters
of the traders and garrison of the outpost. It is partitioned
into a number of smaller rooms; Ragstol, Astemba,
and Mersten Vell have rooms of their own, while the
remaining staff are distributed three to a chamber. A
common chamber acts as a dining hall and workroom.
6. Trading Warehouse: This wooden building, the
largest in the compound, contains the trade goods which
Ragstol and the other traders buy and sell. More often
than not, the building is more than half empty, as the
warehouse was built in expectation of a much higher
volume of trade. Now and then, however, large caravan
drops are made by House Wavir, which ships the goods
from South Ledopolus or Altaruk to Outpost 13. These
are then doled out to visiting caravans over a period of
months.
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Settlements
7. Well: This small well is a wide shaft that drops
some 30 feet to the water below. The water is tangy with
minerals, but is safe to drink. Water is drawn up by
throwing waterskins into the well, then hauling the skins
up by ropes. Lifting the water is hard work, especially
since the water must be lifted for the erdlu and crodlu
as well as for all the humans. Mersten Vell often assigns
drawing up water as a punishment for unruly behavior.
This well is the only supply of water in Outpost 19. As
a result, it is not practical for caravans to remain here for
more than a day or two. The demand placed on the well
by watering the animals and staff of a typical caravan in
addition to the permanent outpost garrison will quickly
deplete it. Caravans knowledgeable of the region are aware
of this and bring the minimum number of animals up the
canyon to the outpost. New caravan masters are quickly
informed of the situation by Ragstol on their first visit.
8. Animal Pens: These pens contain the outpost’s
herd of 40-60 erdlu and crodlu. These flocks are used
as mounts for the occasional expedition, trade goods for
the caravans, and food bribes or raiding thri-kreen, so the
number of animals in the fortress varies wildly. These
animals are replenished by caravans and by the slaves of
Salt View, for which they are almost the only export.
9. Cave: This low chamber is used as a secondary
storeroom or as a living chamber when visitors exceed
the capacity of the outpost’s small buildings. It is 20 feet
deep, roughly circular, and has a 15-foot ceiling. At the
rear is a narrow tunnel, 4 feet in diameter, which leads off
into darkness. The small tunnel was sealed off when the
outpost was built to avoid a visit from some hibernating
creature.
 Settlements
Fort Inix
House Shom’s largest fortress east of Nibenay is Fort
Inix. Once a major caravan stop, it has been all but
useless for decades. It is, however, one of the oldest active
merchant fortresses in the Tyr region, and controls a
strategic oasis in the northern part of the Ivory Triangle
region.
Fort Inix can be found at an oasis 30 miles east of
Nibenay, just south of the Blackspine Mountains. It lies
in a transition zone where the salt flats of the Great
Ivory Plain change to the sandy wastes that dominate
this region of the Tablelands. The fort itself sits upon a
man-made hill.
The Fort Inix oasis is most fertile in the season of sun
ascending and early high sun. At this time, the immediate
region is filled with flowers, small brush, and other light
vegetation. By the end of the high sun season, however,
the land has all but dried completely, with only a few
deep wells producing water.
History
Fort Inix was built when the oasis near it was more
fertile and the foliage stood year round. At that time,
House Shom established a breeding ground for inix
here. This breeding effort produced some of the best inix
mounts in the Tyr region, and the fort was built as an
adjunct to the breeding effort.
According to the stories, the fortress was also used as
a way station for the huge House Shom caravans that
traveled from Nibenay to thriving settlements east of the
Ivory Triangle. Caravans from across the Tyr region would
pass through Fort Inix, collecting mounts and trade goods
for the long caravan route.
As the climate dried and the oasis withered, the
livelihood of Fort Inix went with the water. In time, the
oasis could no longer support vegetation year-round, and
the inix rapidly gnawed the remaining vegetation to the
ground. After that, the inix breeding efforts had to be
moved closer to Nibenay, in the protection of the Verdant
Belt. As the eastern settlements fell, there were no anger
huge caravans passing through the oasis. Over time, the
fortress has become more and more isolated, with less and
less purpose.
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House Shom made valiant efforts to preserve Fort
Inix’s sefulness. It established a number of small villages
in the scrub plains south of the ruins of Giustenal,
supported and serviced by House Shom caravans. As
soon as those villages became somewhat self-sustaining,
however, the agent running Fort Inix increased its prices
threefold to provide the cash required to purchase a
popular gladiator. Those villages that did not immediately
collapse under the weight of increased prices turned to
other merchant houses for their goods.
Over the last century, Fort Inix has become a visible
symbol of the fallen might of House Shom. The leaders
of the family are preoccupied with maintaining their
hedonistic lifestyles in Nibenay. Other merchant houses
eye Fort Inix as a puzzling waste.
The Fort Today
As is typical of House Shom, the complement of
the fort has not diminished with the declining activity.
Extensive resources are committed to maintain a huge
staff to manage the nonexistent inix herds and caravan
trade. Because of its history, Fort Inix is a prestigious
post for an up-and-coming agent of the house despite its
uselessness, and many vie for the honor of becoming Fort
Inix’s new master trader.
The post of master trader is at best temporary, as any
assigned to this post are quickly transferred either to
higher posts, or – if they are not politically adept – to
even less prestigious backwaters.
Few traders come to Fort Inix, primarily because prices
here are so high. There is a sizable black market selling
goods in the bazaar at lower prices, and many believe that
this black market consists entirely of goods stolen from the
warehouse in the fort.
Prices in the black market are less than those charged
at the fort itself, but they are often not competitive with
the less heavily burdened fortresses of the other houses
in the region. Because the master trader is constantly
changing, traders have become used to dealing with the
more permanent minor functionaries.
Simply surviving at Fort Inix is becoming more and
more difficult. The huge population of the fort (consisting
of 75 staff and 200 slaves) taxes the production of the
oasis. Over the years, the oasis has been shrinking,

primarily because Fort Inix consumes so much of the
water for itself.
As conditions continue to worsen, the day when there
will not be enough water to support the staff rapidly
approaches.
The Garrison
The staff of the fortress is divided into four main
organizations, all reporting to the chief trader. These are
the storehouse, the herd, the garrison, and trade operations.
The master of stores and his staff of 10 workers and
30 slaves maintain the inventory of trade goods and
supplies that are to be kept available for House Shom
caravans. With regular caravans, most of these goods are
lost to decay long before a caravan arrives to use them.
As a result, this organization is primarily dedicated to
identifying stores that have become useless, discarding
them, and requesting new stores from Nibenay. The
current master of stores is Berdeth Wesran; he is known
privately as a good source of inexpensive goods, and many
believe that some of the discarded stores end up in the
hands of his personal customers.
The master of the herd and his organization (6 workers
and 30 slaves) care for the inix herds. Since there are
no inix at the fortress (the oasis can no longer support
them), they spend much of their time waiting or training
in outdated methods of inix care. The current master of
the herd is Sermap Yestrev, a slender man in his fifties.
Sermap has been master of the herd for nearly 20 years,
and makes no secret of the fact that he plans to die in
the job. He views his generous salary and light duties as
a sinecure owed him by House Shom or is ears of service.
Sermap has done little to endear himself to the rest of
the fortress garrison. His staff contributes little to the
fort’s daily operations. Sermap has a long-running feud
with Berdeth Wesran, stemming from Sermap’s suspicions
about Berdeth’s inventory management and Berdeth’s
resentment regarding Sermap’s ineffectual staff.
The master of the garrison, Werelev, is responsible
for maintaining the defenses of Fort Inix. Werelev is
a belgoi, and his 40 troops are a mixture of that evil
race, half-giants of evil or chaotic temperament, humans,
muls, and thrikreen. Werelev maintains a rough, violent
discipline, and more garrison members are lost to internal
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Settlements
disputes or Werelev’s discipline than are lost defending
the fortress. Typically, half of this force remains at the fort
at all times, while half can be found “on patrol,” raiding
nearby villages and caravans of other houses.
The chief trader himself heads the last department,
whose purpose is to trade with those who visit the fort,
regardless of house affiliation. This department has 15
members plus 55 slaves, and operates a bazaar just outside
the fortress walls. Of all the departments in Fort Inix,
only this one is still doing the work of supporting House
Shom. Unfortunately, the costs of goods at the fort are
determined in part by the market, but mostly by the huge
overhead costs that go into supporting the enormously
over-staffed fortress. As a result, prices at Fort Inix are
uncompetitively high, and few will purchase anything here
they can get anywhere else. The only product traded
heavily at Fort Inix is lumber, and this is only because
Nibenay and House Shom hold a virtual monopoly on
lumber in this region.
In addition to the slaves mentioned in the various
departments above, every free member of the garrison
has a personal servant-slave. The department heads have
three slaves each; the chief trader has five. These slaves
have no direct duties, except to provide for the comfort
of the garrison. While in theory each slave is assigned to
a specific individual, in practice they are managed as a
labor pool, and a garrison freeman needing help will seize
the nearest servant-slave.
Personalities
Pevuran Bollos: Pevuran Bollos is the most recent
master trader of Fort Inix. Pevuran fancies himself a hero,
a remnant of the House Shom at the time of its greatness.
He is proud of his physical prowess and his talent as a
trader, but over time he has become worn down by the
bureaucracy. As a young man he may have had good
intentions and energy to become a reformer but the closer
he has gotten to the centers of power in the merchant
house, the more he has become complacent. He focuses
now more on his success within the organization and less
on the success of his operation.
Pevuran made his fortune on the House Shom trading
route between Nibenay, Raam, and Draj. This route
(which primarily trades rope, grains, water, obsidian, and
 Settlements
precious metals) has been the backbone of House Shom’s
prosperity for centuries. Pevuran was unusually lucky in
avoiding raids, so his caravans reflected higher profits than
most, but he is generally perceived as being a lackluster
trader. Pevuran was actually rather thoughtful in planning
his trips. He almost always scheduled his runs behind a
rather large caravan of a competitor. This, combined with
a judicious use of scouts and mercenaries resulted in the
successful track record which secured his position here.
Pevuran is yet another of the caretakers assigned the
monitoring of Fort Inix. Since his arrival, he has developed
an understanding with Werelev, the belgoi master of the
garrison. He has not sought to interfere with the normal
operation of the fort, and has focused most of his attention
on the political maneuvering in Nibenay.
Werelev: Werelev is a belgoi, and has been master of
the garrison at Fort Inix for the last eight years. He rules
his diverse and violent garrison through intimidation.
Werelev has seen several master traders come and go,
and makes a point of quickly establishing his autonomy
whenever a new trader takes over the fort. He tells the
new master trader that because he has been at the fort
so long, the main chapterhouse in Nibenay looks to him
for feedback on the new master trader’s performance. He
assures the new manager that he will send only praise
to Nibenay as long as he is not interfered with. He
concludes the discussion with veiled threats about the
fort being defenseless against raids. This usually results in
Werelev retaining full freedom to run, staff, and outfit the
garrison as he pleases. Pevuran has little interest in the
affairs of the garrison and has let Werelev have his way.
1. Motte: The entire fortress rests on an earthen hill
some seven feet high. This huge mound once acted to
protect the walls from siege engines, but as trade routes
have shifted it is unlikely that anyone will have any
interest in capturing Fort Inix. Legend has it that the hill
(called a motte) is riddled with hidden tunnels which can
allow troops to move unseen into or out of the fortress.
The truth of these legends is unknown, but not a few
members of the garrison have made it a hobby to search
for these hidden tunnels.
2. Walls: The massive stone walls of Fort Shom are
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relics of an older, more prosperous time. Twenty feet thick
and forty feet high, they are among the most massive
stoneworks outside of a city-state. Legend has it that the
stoneworks were the construction of giants in a time when
dealings between giants and humans were much more
friendly. The finer workmanship on the walls is obviously
dwarven, however, with some sections polished to a glassy
surface.
Such polishing appears only in a few protected corners
of the wall, however; time has worn away at the rest. The
machicolations are rounded and worn, sections of the wall
have developed cracks, and much of the wall has had so
much mortar wear away so that their outer face is riddled
with hand and footholds. Even the minimal maintenance
of mortaring, which would reduce further wear on the wall,
has not been attempted. Only the thickness of the walls
and their original quality construction has prevented their
collapse.
The only point at which the walls can be penetrated is
the main gate, which faces to the northwest. During the
day this gate remains open, but at night huge stone doors
are set into place in the opening. The gate is wide enough
for two mekillot wagons to pass one another, and the arch
is high enough to allow passage of even the highest wagon.
3. Towers: The outer walls are protected by round
lookout towers. Each tower is 40 feet high, with three
stories plus a roof. One lookout is stationed at each
tower; lookouts work 12-hour shifts, and most in the
garrison consider lookout duty to be unimportant and
dull. Werelev, in one of his few attempts at real discipline,
has tried to instill more attentiveness in the lookouts. His
last attempt came as he approached an habitual sleeper
“on duty” and threw him off the tower to the courtyard
below. This caused the lookouts to be more attentive for a
time, but as the incident fades into memory the lookouts
are relaxing again.
4. Trading Hall: This building was once the most
beautiful in Fort Inix, and it still is an awesome site.
The main trading hall is a vaulted chamber some 40 feet
long, its ceiling painted with images of traders exchanging
goods, particularly inix. The walls are inlaid with white
stone, the floor is marble, and the ceiling is supported by
pillars covered with reliefs. Side chambers off the main
 Settlements

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 Settlements
hall once housed record keepers, private traders and
money changers. At the height of Fort Inix’s success, this
was one of the most active and successful trading halls
outside a city-state.
Like everything else in Fort Inix, the trader’s hall suffers
from neglect. The heat of the sun beating down on the
roof has caused the ceiling to crack and chips to fall
from the faded frescoes. Centuries of torches have left
grey smudges on the white walls, and the marble floor is
covered with dust and minor debris. The hall itself is no
longer used. There are not enough traders or customers
to warrant it.
Occasionally, a new chief trader decides to reopen the
Trader’s Hall. For a time there is a lackluster effort to
reclaim the building, but long before it opens interest
wanes and the work stops.
5. Chief Trader’s Residence: This building is both the
residence of the chief trader and the hostel for important
visitors. The building is among the most ornate in the
fortress, and is in excellent condition. The interior is filled
with historical treasures and the finest of furnishings.
This luxury, however, is something of a sham. The
“historical treasures” are little more than memorabilia
with no intrinsic value, and the furnishings, while ornate
and valuable, are of varying styles, some dating back as far
as 40 years. The surroundings are certainly comfortable,
but the constant turnover of new chief traders gives the
decor of this residence an eclectic, unfinished look. Before
any one trader can complete redecorating in the style he
prefers (given the delays involved in getting anything from
the master of stores) another chief trader-with his own
ideas of appropriate decoration-has come along to take his
place. Thus, the residence is never complete.
The rear portion of this building houses the chief
trader’s staff. Like the chief trader himself, the staff is
frequently replaced. This chamber is more functionally
furnished, with little in the way of luxury. Aside from
beds and lockers, there is a small resting area modestly
outfitted with cushions.
6. Garrison Barracks: This building houses Fort Inix’s
ragtag garrison. This building is a square frame of wood,
almost spartan in its simplicity. The interior is divided
into a number of sleeping areas; bunks are divided up
146
more by the race and temperament of the occupants than
by any semblance of military organization. Beds are rough
ticks, stuffed with sand or straw, strewn haphazardly within
the sleeping areas. Equipment is stowed in chests or in
piles; theft and insects are chronic problems.
The central dining area here doubles as a duelling pit.
Disputes within the garrison are solved with knives as
often as by Werelev. In part this is because Werelev is
likely as not to have both parties executed, regardless of
who is right. In his words: “You are soldiers, not bawling
children. Fight your own battles!” Duels here are more
common than Werelev would like, but not so common
as to deplete the garrison. Replacements are hired on
periodic trips to Nibenay.
7. Master of Stores’ Residence: This two-story building
houses the master of stores and his freeman staff, many of
whom are also his family members. While the exterior of
this building is rather plain when compared to the other
residences, the interior is filled with the finest furnishings
and accoutrements that can be had from the warehouses.
The walls and floors are of the finest woods, and the
rooms are comfortable and spacious. The building is in
good repair, as the master of stores has made sure that
repairs to his home are made promptly and well. It is said
that of all the people in Fort Inix the master of stores lives
a life second in luxury only to the master trader.
8. Warehouses: These enormous warehouses store the
trade goods which are Fort Inix’s ostensible reason for
survival. Like many of the buildings in Fort Inix, the
warehouses are not in good condition, but the master of
stores has made some efforts to keep them in repair.
The stores are “organized” in a system devised by
the Amburr Wesran, the great-grandfather of the current
master of stores. It is said that no one but a Wesran can
find anything in the confused morass, although Berdeth
seems to be able to locate virtually anything in the huge
stacks of goods. The master of stores’ staff spends most of
its time inventorying and cataloging the huge storehouses,
identifying items that either through wear or neglect (or
sale on the black market) are in need of replacement from
Nibenay.
The warehouses also act as the sleeping quarters of
the slaves. A section has been set aside in one of the

larger warehouses as slave quarters; while the freemen of
Fort Inix have done little more than provide the slaves
with some straw, the slaves have turned this section into
comfortable quarters, with bedding, braziers, and even
some seats “borrowed” from stores. While the slaves are no
more successful than anyone else at finding things in the
Wesran organizational scheme, they view the improvement
of their quarters as a kind of scavenger hunt, and borrow
what they find and can use. So long as the slaves are well-
behaved and limit their pilferage, the master of stores and
his staff do not interfere. (This is more because interfering
would require work and attention rather than any feeling
of charity on the freemen’s part.)
9. Herder’s Hall: This building is the residence for
the herder staff, including the chief herder. While this
position is maintained as a symbol of the history of
House Shom, the chief herder has little responsibility at
Fort Inix. Sermap Yestrev’s feud with the master of stores
is manifest in the condition of the Herder’s Hall. While
the exterior of this building is no more run down than
any other building in Fort Inix, the interior is a shambles.
Entire rooms are uninhabitable because the floor has
collapsed or cracks in the walls go unsealed. A portion of
the building has been infested with giant centipedes; the
affected rooms have been sealed to prevent their spread.
All of the herders except the chief herder are huddled in
a single room, with a tightly sealed door to prevent any
centipedes which escape their confinement from getting
to the sleeping herders. The chief herder has repeatedly
requested the slaves and materials to restore the Herder’s
Hall, but so far has been politely refused.
10. Inix Corral: This large fenced area was once the
corral for the inix which made this fort great. Unfortunately,
as alluded to above, the inix are gone, but the corral still
waits for the return of the lizards.
When House Shom caravans bring livestock to the
Fort, they are housed in this corral. Temporary repairs are
made to shore up the collapsing fence, and the master
of herders and his staff actually have animals to care for.
Soon, though, the caravan leaves, taking its livestock with
it, or the livestock is sold off to the neighboring tribes, and
the herders return to a life of idleness.
At one end of the corral stands a half-collapsed stable.
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Settlements
The current dispute between the master of stores and the
master of the herd regards who should repair the stable.
Both are insistent that they have too many other duties.
Should the stable collapse, Werelev will ask the master
trader to step in and resolve the dispute.
11. Oasis: This area is the outermost edge of the
vegetation supported by the oasis. Primarily scrub brush
and flowering cacti, these plants take their water from
deep roots which go down several feet to the water table
of the oasis. Fortunately for Fort Inix, the oasis no longer
seems to be receding, although it is shrinking on other
sides. There is no open water at the oasis, although a
deep well can be found near its center. This well always
has water, even in the dry high sun season, and when
the cisterns get low slaves are sent to the outer well to
replenish the water supply.
12. Well and Cisterns: This 30-foot-deep shaft provides
the water for the entire fortress. Ten slaves (provided by
the master trader) work day and night to draw water from
the well and place it into a cistern from which the fort
draws its water. Several complex arrangements to bring
the water up have been tried, but slaves with buckets
have proven the most effective solution. In the season of
sun descending, the well goes dry, and the fortress must
survive on the stored water in the cistern for a period of
several weeks. During this period, slaves are put on half-
rations of water, and freemen may be put on half-rations
late in the spell. Each year, the dry spell gets longer and
longer, but the cisterns – augmented with occasional trips
to the well at the oasis-have been able to support the
residents.
13. Bazaar: This large area is where the traders set up
when a caravan or nomad tribe comes, or on the regular
“market days”. The bazaar is divided into a number of
booths, each of which offers a portion of the fortress’ goods.
These booths are easily assembled and disassembled, and
are brought back into the fortress and stored in the
warehouse when customers are not available. All of the
traders in this bazaar serve House Shom, and therefore
the prices set by the house are rather high. Fort Inix still
has, however, the widest variety of goods of any trader in
the Ivory Triangle region.
 Settlements
The Cache
The elven base known only as the Cache is the
headquarters of the talon-master of Gulg, the secret
domicile of one of the two heads of the Shadows in the
Ivory Triangle region.
The Shadows are a vast, secretive group of elves,
specializing in assassination, theft, extortion, espionage,
and a host of other illegal activities. They have existed
in the Ivory Triangle region since before anyone (except
possibly the Shadow King) was born. Many children’s
tales that have been passed down from generation to
generation contain references to the mysterious elf tribe.
History
The Cache was first constructed over 600 years ago.
The oba had declared war on the Shadows, seeking to
eliminate them entirely from the city. The talon-master
of that time, Prezas, defended herself and her talon as
well as she could, but even the Shadows found it difficult
to survive in the face of the power of the forest goddess
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Lalali-Puy and her Templar servants.
Prezas ordered that a secure fortress be built in the
Mekillot Mountains. She originally intended to use the
base only until the oba stopped persecuting the Shadows.
However, her battle against the elven assassins escalated,
and soon the base became the only safe haven for most
of the Shadows in the region.
No one knows why the oba eventually stopped her war
on the shadows. Some speculate that they performed some
service that appeased the queen’s wrath. In any event, with
the queen’s attention elsewhere, the Shadows returned to
Gulg. However, Prezas chose to keep the headquarters
of the talon in the Mekillot Mountains, where it has
remained ever since.
The location of the Cache is known to few outside the
Shadows. Non-Shadows who somehow stumble across the
location of the site will be killed immediately and without
hesitation.
The Fort Today
Today, as for the last 600 years, the primary purpose

of the Cache is to train Shadows. Much of the talon
leadership, including the talon-master Vollen, can be
found here, imparting wisdom to younger, less experienced
members and administering the Shadows’ many affairs.
The Cache is also a resting place for the elves who are
often forced to live within human society; when they have
tired of life within the city they can remove themselves to
an entirely elven environment once again.
Once the isolated fortress of the head of assassins,
the Cache is changing. It is transforming more and
more into a merchant’s fortress. The merchant claw (the
portion of the Shadows’ organization involved in trade)
has burgeoned with the growth in legal trade in the Tyr
region. Trade in the illegal goods with which the Shadows
deal has been further boosted by the revolt in Tyr and
the unrest in Raam. While both of these cities are far
from the Ivory Triangle, the effects of the changes there
can be felt throughout the entire Tyr region.
Today the clash of weapons and calm words of the
teachers have been augmented with the calls of inventory
counts and the scratching of the record-keepers’ tablets.
While the Cache sees no regular trade (its location is
far too secret to allow outsiders to visit), the volume of
trade done in elven markets throughout the Ivory Triangle
region has pushed the elves into running occasional
caravans to the Cache to store goods. Vollen, the current
talon-master, is concerned by the increased traffic to the
Cache, and is afraid that this will lead to its discovery,
but thus far no one has come up with a better alternative.
There is some discussion among the leadership of the
talon that the best thing to do would be to move the
talon back into the city. After 600 years, however, the
desire to remain is strong, and no real threat has arisen
to force the Shadows to act. Business is good enough that
the current leadership feels they have time to deal with
the problem; the elven tendency to resolve a problem
tomorrow instead of today may ill serve them in this.
The Garrison
The exact population of the Cache varies over time.
Agents and trainees arrive and leave, caravans bring new
members, and special operations may deplete the garrison
by as much as half. However, the following generalizations
may be made.
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Settlements
The mercenary and raiding claws (which offer mercenary
and raiding services to outside groups) are responsible for
providing the first line of defense for the Cache. There
are at least 100 warriors of 5th to 10th level from various
mercenary and raiding groups here, some recovering from
injuries, others in training. They are organized in a rough
command, but as most of them are here only temporarily,
there is little troop cohesion. In case of attack, however,
they will rapidly become a formidable force.
The magical claw is also comprised primarily of
temporary visitors. At any one time, roughly a dozen
defilers of 4th to 12th level can be found here. Most are
studying magical fundamentals or new spells, and are not
likely to have a wide variety of offensive magic available
in case of a surprise attack. However, four of the visiting
mages are assigned to garrison duty on a daily basis,
and are required to be fully prepared with offensive and
defensive magics.
In addition to the visiting mages, there are a half-dozen
experienced wizards who are teachers. One teacher is
assigned to lead the magical contingent of the garrison
each week.
The thieving, espionage, and merchant claws operate a
training center for rogues. (Illusionists in the thieving claw
are assigned to the magical claw for training.) Perhaps a
dozen students and three teachers can be found here at
any one time; in an emergency they can be called upon
to defend the Cache, but in general they are typically
held as a reserve or surprise force.
In addition to the trainees and their teachers, there are
approximately 40 “staff” members who are permanent
residents of the Cache. These include the talon-master,
his immediate assistants, and various members of the
claws assigned to administrative duties.
In short, while the Cache has no formal garrison of
troops, it is not an easily conquered site. It would require
a significant portion of the military forces of a sorcerer-
king to dislodge the Shadows from the Cache. Assuming,
of course, that they could find it.
Personalities
Vollen: Vollen is the current talon-master of the
Shadow talon of Gulg. A skilled and ruthless leader, he
has led the talon for over 70 years. He began his career
 Settlements
in the mercenary and raiding claws, then transferred to
the thieving claw. He spent several years in Gulg as an
elven trader, and considers the merchant claw to be the
future of the Shadows.
While Vollen is a capable (and occasionally even
brilliant) administrator, the Shadows have been erratic
under his leadership. Vollen distrusts mages, and himself
has no magical talent; this has caused him considerable
friction with Mistella, leader of the magical claw, so that
group operates with more than usual independence from
the talonmaster. He has pressed the merchant claw to
increase activity some say at the risk of revealing the true
extent of the Shadows’ power. On the other hand, he has
been indifferent to the operation of the other claws, which
has led to errors and misjudgments.
In combat, Vollen is a terror. He has fought hundreds
of battles. He has no code of honor when fighting and
believes the purpose of a battle is to kill your enemy. He
will show no mercy to those who oppose him with force.
His favored tactics include backstabbing with his long
sword. In a fight, he will wade into the melee, select the
single most powerful opponent, banish him (using his
psionic abilities) until the remainder of the opposition has
been killed, then bring him back to face Vollen’s entire
force alone. He is not above life-draining his own troops,
although he will stop at killing his own elven warriors to
ensure his survival.
Mistella: Mistella is the head of the magical claw of
the Shadow talon of Gulg. A fiercely independent woman
and a powerful sorcerer, she is often single-minded to the
point of being stubborn (a very non-elven trait).
Mistella spent her younger years as a slave-courtesan to
a defiler in the chaotic courts of Raam. Her experiences
have left her with a dislike of cities and anything human.
Mistella is a believer in the power of magic. When
presented with a problem, she will use magic first, even if
a nonmagical solution presents itself. Thus, she will often
waste magical energy rather than involve those outside her
claw in her missions. The magical claw of Gulg is known
for performing most of its missions without any warrior
support: an idea most think is unwise.
Mistella would have been faced with the consequences
of this strategy long ago were it not for the fact that she
disdains any but the most difficult missions. She will not
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provide ‘support’ mages to the other claws, believing that if
the problem is one of brawn, she need not risk her mages.
This magical claw employs only single-class defiler.
Mistella will not accept a dual-class defiler, regardless of
level, as she sees such characters as dilettantes. Mistella
despises preservers as being lazy mages who are weaklings,
and has been known to take a detour in another mission
to execute a preserver. This has not endeared her to
the magical claws of the talons of Nibenay and the
other cities, who think the deaths may attract unwanted
attention.
Ruvella: Ruvella is a powerful cleric/psionicist who for
many years was the head of the espionage claw in the
talon of Tyr. Her anonymity was lost during the recent
rebellion there, and she was forced to flee the city. She is
here partially to hide, and partially as an observer for the
current grand shadow master, Thus far her style of work,
which includes close coordination between the various
claws and an extreme focus on secrecy, has not meshed
well with Vollon’s more independent, freewheeling style.
Ruvella’s reports reflect this, and they are beginning to
sway the grand shadow master toward replacing Vollon,
perhaps with Ruvella herself.
1. Cave Entrance: This natural cave entrance is often
covered with brush to obscure it from sight.
2. Balconies: Walkways along the inside of the cliff
face lead to these carefully concealed balconies set 30 feet
above the desert floor. In times of attack, archers can man
these balconies, raining arrows down on besiegers without
risk of return fire. Other balconies lead to escape routes,
so that scouts, assassins, and other small parties can come
in and out without being seen.
3. Residences: This area, a separate chamber nearly 25
feet high, is where most of the inhabitants of the cave live.
Temporary residents pitch tents or bedrolls here; more
permanent residents have lean-tos and huts. In general,
the longest residents live closer to the cave wall, and the
most senior inhabitants of the Cache incorporate the wall
into their residences.
4. Training Ground: This large (30 feet high) cavern

is used for training warriors and thieves from the raiding,
mercenary, and thieving claws. Pells, blunted weapons,
weighted shields and other training equipment are stored
at the edges.
The training ground is lit and ventilated by a large
hole in the top of the cavern. The hole is in a depression
on the top of the massif in which the cave is built, but
no one has yet found a safe exterior route to the top. In
time of attack, lookouts climb up through the hole (using
ropes attached by levitating mages). A sentry posted atop
the mesa can see a large force coming for several miles.
When training is not going on, this chamber also acts
as a recreation and dining area. The elves congregate here
because it affords them a clear view of the sky.
5. Mage’s Hall: The only real building in the cavern
complex, this structure houses the magical library and
practice chambers for the mages. It is under the control
of the magical claw, and is off limits to nonmages by
Mistella’s order.
The library has a wide variety of magical texts carved
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Settlements
on clay tablets and is rumored to be among the finest
libraries outside the city-states. Unfortunately, the library
is not well organized. To find a spell in the library, a
mage need to search for several days.
In addition to housing the magical library, the mage’s
hall is also where visiting mages (of the magical claw)
reside. Mistella forbids her people to go to the common
residential cavern without an explicit mission from her.
6. Storage area: This cavern is devoted to storing
mercantile supplies, weapons, and other goods. Things
are piled haphazardly here; there is no one individual
responsible for caring for this area, and as a result it is
impossible to find any but the largest and most plentiful
items.
7. Spring: This spring provides water for all the
inhabitants of the cavern. Water from the spring pools
in a natural grotto below, which the inhabitants use as
a cistern.
 Settlements
Losthome
The halfling slave village of Losthome is a relatively
recent addition to the Crescent Forest. The oba’s halfling-
slave project is less than five years old, and the majority
of the inhabitants of Losthome are escapees from this
program. Despite its relative youth, it has become a
sizable community, with over 50 halflings living in the
central portion of the Crescent Forest. While many of
the halflings wish to return to their home in the jungles
beyond the Ringing Mountains, thus far none have made
the terrible journey across the Tablelands. Slowly the
Crescent Forest, and Losthome, is becoming their true
home.
Organization
The halfling clan of Losthome is organized like a
typical halfling clan of the jungles beyond the Ringing
Mountains. There is a clan-head (Zivlil) who leads the
clan on their hunts, decides where the clan will travel,
and otherwise rules over the halfling band, but there is no
tribe chieftain for the clan to turn to in times of difficulty.
Zivlil does not believe himself to have the power or
experience to become a tribe chieftain and remains loyal
to the unknown successor of Mogg-lul, somewhere beyond
the Ringing Mountains. Zivlil is a consensus builder who
tries to achieve a harmonious compromise among his
band. Zivlil’s status comes from his magical and psionic
ability as much as his age. He is a competent and rather
active leader (from a halfling perspective). Emergencies
have forced him to direct his band more firmly than
halflings would normally tolerate. His quick thinking,
however, has more than once saved the entire band, so
the halflings continue to support his rule.
There is little more of a hierarchy. Halflings try to
support one another, believing that building a community
and individual spiritual growth is more important than
achieving worldly dominance of any sort. Thus, there
are few struggles for status within the halfling hierarchy.
New slaves are quietly integrated into the clan, provided
a fair share of the clan’s goods, and made a part of the
community.
However, leaders are often selected for specific tasks.
These leaders are either appointed by Zivlil or selected
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by a consensus of the group which must accomplish the
task. Such leadership positions are transient, lasting only
as long as the task at hand, and leaders are selected
for their applicable knowledge and skill rather than any
formal hierarchy. When the task is complete, the leader
returns to being a simple member of the clan.
Thus far, there are only enough halflings to form
a single clan (albeit a large one), but there has been
some discussion of founding a true halfling village and
promoting Zivlil to chief.
Operation and Means of Existence
The halflings of Losthome are primarily hunter-gatherers,
searching the forest for food, shelter, and the necessities
of life. The Crescent Forest is not as fertile as their
homeland jungle, so the halflings are forced to travel over
a wider area (covering over 40 square miles). They are
careful not to remain in one place for very long, and they
restrict their hunting to avoid depleting the population of
the forest. With the clan getting larger, they have begun
to strain the ability of a given area to support them. The
halflings are forced to migrate on a regular basis to avoid
depleting the resources of any particular area and to
reduce the risk of being captured by the templars.
Zivlil has proposed that the clan turn to raiding to
supplement the food provided by the forest. While it is
true that the halflings see no harm in robbing a group
that intrudes on their territory, they live in an isolated
area of the forest and such intrusions are rare. Thus, to
raid the clan must leave its normal foraging area, go into
the desert, and raid a caravan.
This suggestion has met with some resistance. In halfling
society, raids are undertaken by clans of halflings who
have offended their chief or another clan. The halflings
of Losthome do not wish to stoop to behavior seen as
punishment in their homeland just to survive. The reality
of their situation has allowed this idea to gain some
acceptance, however, and the clan has conducted an
occasional raid.
Halfling caravan raids are an amazingly wild affair.
The halflings always strike from concealed positions – a
hidden canyon, a copse of trees, or simply from holes
where the halflings have buried themselves in the sand.
They attack from several directions at once on a signal

from the clan leader. They focus on stealing animals (and
people), but they will take nearly anything in the caravan
until the leader calls off the raid.
Zivlil has ruled that no non-halfling should know of
their existence, so each time they raid they strive to kill or
capture all of the intelligent beings in the caravan. These
they eat, either immediately or over time. Generally, the
caravan warriors are killed during the raid while the rest
are kept alive to provide fresh meat for later. Thus far no
one has escaped to tell the true identity of the raiders; the
city-states note the absence of slave bodies in the remains
of the caravan and blame Salt View.
Origin
Losthome’s origins begin in the city-state of Gulg and
the oba Lalali-Puy. In an effort to expand her control of
the Crescent Forest, Lalali-Puy sought to develop a corps
of forest raiders who could assault the lumberjacks and
settlers of Nibenay, blunting the Shadow King’s advance
into the forest and allowing her forces to work unseen.
While her templars were certainly up to the task, she
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Settlements
wanted a new weapon to strengthen her hand against the
Shadow King’s army. She therefore struck a deal with
Mogglul, to provide scouts and guides in exchange for
obsidian, which she planned to purchase from the mines
of Urik. When Mogg-lul died, the scouts who had arrived
in Gulg saw no point in continuing this effort. They
could not see how their sacrifice benefitted their chief if
he was dead. The oba imprisoned the halflings while she
attempted to forge a new pact with Alu, a charismatic
shaman who had assumed leadership of the tribe. Alu
had advised against the agreement in the first place and
was certainly not about to support it now.
The oba decided her only alternative was to invite
her captives to aid her. Those who volunteered would
be given their freedom and the rest would serve her in
captivity. The plan was doomed to failure. While several
of the halflings agreed to assist the oba, most just wanted
to return home. The captive halflings were stealthy enough
to easily evade their templar handlers.
One of the first escapees was Zivlil. In early trials of the
halfling-slaves, Zivlil psionically overwhelmed his handler,
 Settlements
fled into the forest, and slew a half-dozen templars with a
sling before vanishing into the wilderness forever.
As the trials continued and more halflings fled into the
Crescent Forest, Zivlil offered them traditional halfling
hospitality, sharing his food, water, and knowledge of the
Crescent Forest with them as he would with members of
his own tribe. Soon he had accumulated a following of
nearly 20 halflings, and the refugees began to form a clan.
The clan has continued to grow. Thus far, the templars
have tried hobbles, bribery, threats, and many other
methods for controlling the halflings, but to no avail.
Recently they have begun a new approach, striking off one
of the halfling’s feet before releasing it into the wilderness.
This slows the halfling sufficiently to ensure that the
templar can keep up, but halflings so treated soon die in
Gulg captivity. Should Zivlil hear of this practice, the full
force of the anger of the clan may be turned toward Gulg.
Location and Defenses
The halflings of Losthome have no permanent settlement.
Their current hunting range is a rough forested circle
some 15 miles north of Gulg, nestled against the eastern
slopes of the Windbreak Mountains. This region is well
watered with springs and runoff from water sources high
in the mountains, and it is among the thickest and most
impenetrable timber in the Crescent Forest.
The halflings wander their hunting range, camping
wherever they are when night falls, taking only minimal
precautions to defend the camp. However, their natural
ability to conceal themselves and their arboreal skills
make it possible for a platoon of templars to pass right
through such a camp without ever knowing the halflings
are there.
Each night, the clan hides high in the trees, resting in
nooks and the forks of branches. They huddle in groups
of three to four in each tree, and they are nimble enough
to move directly from tree to tree if they are in danger.
During the day, this scouting system is also used as a
perimeter watch for the clan. As the clan moves, the main
body of the clan is surrounded by a ring of scouts that
alerts the leaders to anything the clan encounters. Raiding
and foraging groups use a similar structure, although
there are fewer group members, so the scouts maintain a
narrower perimeter. As a result, it is virtually impossible
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to surprise the halflings of Losthome.
If attacked, the halflings fight primarily with bows, slings,
and other range weapons. Some use wooden clubs spiked
with obsidian, others have bone weapons, and a few have
metal weapons taken from caravans. If the enemy has
not yet closed, the bowmen will attack while the other
halflings fade into the forest. If the enemy gets too close
before it is discovered, the halflings fight furiously. If the
halflings outnumber their attackers, they will gang up on
individuals; if they are outnumbered, they will fight only
until they can flee.
Camp Description
The halfling clan usually searches for a defensible
hollow in which to camp. The primary features sought are
a thick copse of trees, a source of water, and at least two
escape routes. Over the years, Zivlil has found a number
of such places, and at each the halflings have constructed
a number of traps and signals to help defend them. The
following map key shows a typical site; other sites may
have a different mix of traps and a different layout.
Relations with Others
The halflings of Losthome are strangers trapped in a
strange land. They are unfamiliar with the world they find
themselves in. As a result, they are secretive to the point
of slaying anyone who discovers them in the Crescent
Forest.
The oba Lalali-Puy and her templars know about the
halfling escapees. They feel the diminutive people must be
falling prey to predators, and they have not realized that
the halflings are banding together. The general populace
of Gulg, however, is unaware that the halfings were even
in the city, much less that they escaped.
Nibenay also knows nothing of the escapees. There is
some evidence in the caravans the halflings have raided
(wounds on some of the bodies, gnaw-marks on the bones,
etc.), but the templars and merchant houses have not
yet realized what is going on. Should the Shadow King
discover such a large slave community so close to his city,
it is sure that a body of templars will be sent into the
forest to get them out and bring them back to Nibenay
– to become slaves again.
The halflings have little contact with the other peoples
 Settlements

of the Ivory Triangle region. They rarely leave their forest
home and few people travel deep into the forest. They
have occasionally sighted human raiders and thri-kreen
packs on the edge of their territory. With the exception of
some druids, the halflings have remained unobserved by
all known peoples.
Should they be discovered, most within the Ivory Triangle
would have little concern for them. The city-states would
feel that the halflings were a danger and try to drive them
off. The slave tribes and elven nomads would view the
halflings as simply one more reason to avoid the Crescent
Forest. The gith of the Blackspine Mountains might view
them as tempting victims, but that is quite a distance to
travel for such a “paltry meal”.
Joining the Tribe
Losthome is open only to halflings. No other race may
join the tribe, as the halflings trust only their own kind.
Any halfling who approaches, however, is welcomed.
The halfling is informed of the status of the clan and
is given a fair share of its goods. There are no initiation
ceremonies or trial periods required of new members. The
halflings trust one another, and even if a halfling is a
wanderer in human lands, the halflings consider him one
of their own.
There is a period of adjustment, however, while the
halfling establishes himself in the clan. During this time,
the other clan members watch the newcomer carefully,
assessing his skills and measuring him against themselves
and the other members of the clan. This is not out of any
sense of rivalry. Instead, it is a way for the clan members
to make an unbiased appraisal of who is the appropriate
halfling to assay any particular task. Skilled halflings may
immediately find themselves in charge of one of the many
projects which the clan must undertake to survive.
was chosen to lead the expedition, and members of each
clan volunteered for the opportunity to serve their chief
and the forest. The journey was difficult and Zivlil’s party
was forced to eat the oba’s templars who had been sent
to accompany them. They arrived unescorted in the forest-
city of Gulg and awaited the oba’s instructions. Lalali-
Puy was surprised and pleased with the compliance of
the halflings and with the curiosity they displayed for her
forest home. The visitors had been in Gulg three nights
when Zivlil heard the thoughts of Alu, the shaman of his
tribe. “Mogg-lul is done, Zivlil. Return to your home,”
came the message.
Zivlil told the other halflings that they were free to
return to the Forest Ridge. It was a great surprise when
the oba had him and his companions imprisoned as they
attempted to leave the city. He was further surprised by the
fact that the oba could not understand that an agreement
lasted only as long as the person who made it. After
several days of detention, the oba extended an invitation
to Zivlil and his friends. She invited them to stay in
her forest-city and explore the surrounding trees with her
templars. While the offer would have piqued the curiosity

Personalities
Zivlil: Zivlil was a talented psionicist and mage in the
forests beyond the Ringing Mountains. He was not only
a respected clan leader, but there was even talk that one
day he might become a tribal chieftain.
That all changed one day when Mogg-lul announced
that 100 warriors would be traveling across the world to
find paths in the forest of a queen of the flatlanders. Zivlil

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of virtually any halfling, the period of incarceration had

been extremely upsetting to the feral warriors, and only
three accepted. The rest were-locked up for a full cycle of
Guthay. Several halflings had already weakened and died
when a human adorned with necklaces retrieved Zivlil
from his cell.
Zivlil presumed that the human wanted a snack, but
by words and gestures he made it clear that he wanted
Zivlil to lead him through their strange forest. To Zivlil
this was a stupid request. He had only just arrived while
they had lived here their whole lives. He would not expect
to be asked this in another halfling clan’s territory, so the
human request bewildered him.
As he watched, however, he realized that the humans
were clumsy and ungainly in the forest. They sought the
halfling secrets of stealthy hunting, and they were far too
large and boorish to ever succeed at them. When the
humans released him, he seized upon the moment. He
bounded into the forest, running as swiftly as his legs
would carry him. The humans were faster, but not nearly
as nimble, and he quickly made his way into the new
forest.
Zivlil spent several days surveying the new domain.
He watched as they brought others of his hunting band evade his human captors.
and repeated their bizarre request. Some of his brothers Unfortunately, the experience of slavery has embittered
and sisters fled successfully while others were cut down the young halfling. He feels that the humans were
by arrows or magic. Soon the survivors of his band had exceedingly cruel in keeping them captive for so long, and
either escaped or been slain. Zivlil took his band deeper that their promises of not eating the halflings were insults.
into the woods, far from the prying eyes of humans, and Pletaw is still striving to be a better forest warrior and
tried to resume a normal life. He declared them a new has come along well in the years since the founding
clan, the clan of Losthome, until such time as they could of Losthome. His hatred of humans has made him
be reunited with their new tribal chieftain. difficult to deal with when humans are nearby, and he
Over the last several years, the band has slowly grown. has demonstrated a savage bloodthirstiness in raids. Zivlil
Now, a few of the younger couples are even having fears his unresolved anger may overtake him.
children. Zivlil knows that as the clan grows, the chances
of returning home diminish. In his heart he thinks that Grelzen: Grelzen is another of the halflings brought
they will never return home and that the best thing for his in from the Ringing Mountains by the oba’s scouting
people is to make a permanent life here. Nevertheless, in program. She too managed to escape and find her way to
honor of the old ways, he continues to offer hospitality to Zivlil’s growing clan.
all halflings who enter his domain – and death to humans While Zivlil is the political leader of the halfling clan,
who stumble upon his clan. Grelzen is the community’s spiritual leader. Like Zivlil,
she realizes that the larger the band gets, the less likely
Pletaw: Pletaw is one of Zivlil’s original compatriots. they will be able to travel back to their forest homes. Her
Zivlil had taken the younger, less-experienced halfling solution, however, is to leave now, before the clan gets
under his wing and was thrilled to see the young halfling any larger.

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 Settlements

and skins to carry the food and water they will need for
the trek across the desert.
Grelzen has also conversed at length with captured
humans brought back from raids. She tries to find out
as much as possible about the route back to the Ringing
Mountains. She has shown amazing patience in listening
to rambling human tales about their lives, their homelands,
and their culture, searching for any hint of how to ease
the journey home. Even the most loquacious source of
information, however, eventually enters the stewpot.

Fullgrin: Fullgrin (a human nickname) is an unusual

halfling, well traveled in human cities and a thief of
considerable talent. He began his career in Urik as
one of the two hundred halflings sent by Chief Urga-
Zoltapl of Ogo in a bargain for obsidian. When his duty
was complete he moved to Raam, where he became an
accomplished burglar.
His exploits in Raam eventually brought him unwanted
notoriety, so he moved along to Nibenay. But where the
Templars of Raam had been lax and fearful, the Templars
of Nibenay are frighteningly efficient. In a matter of weeks
Grelzen feels that the Crescent Forest is not large
enough to conceal the band for long, and she fears
recapture by the humans. More fundamentally, though,
Grelzen sees the mixture of halfling from different clans
as diluting the spiritual purity which in her mind makes
halfling life worth living. She sees the nomadic life of
the “clan” of Losthome, without a village and without a
chief, as a descent into barbarism. Finally, she sees Zivlil’s
willingness to take up raiding as a tool for survival as a
severe wound in the spiritual fabric of the halflings of the
band.
Grelzen’s words have considerable weight in the halfling
community. In their jungle homes, the shaman witch
doctors are the custodians of halfling culture, the settlers
of disputes, and the historians. While Zivlil is revered
for his magical and psionic abilities, Grelzen represents
spiritual authority.
Grelzen has publicly suggested (which is as close as
halflings come to demanding anything in their tribe) that
the departure be made soon, and she has taken a number
of steps to make that possible. She and her handful of
supporters have spent their time building extra baskets

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 Settlements
Fullgrin had to flee again – this time into the Crescent
Forest – until pursuit for him died down.
Thus he was greatly surprised to find a thriving
community of halflings in the Crescent Forest. As is
halfling custom, they offered him hospitality and protection
from the humans. He accepted and for the last several
months he has resided with the halflings of Losthome. His
skills of stealth and combat were quickly recognized, and
he has been placed in charge of a number of important
raids and missions for the clan.
But forest life is not for Fullgrin. Had he wanted to
live the life of the halfling clans, he would have returned
home from Urik rather than heading deeper into human
territory. And therein lies the problem.
Zivlil thinks Fullgrin is a very strange halfling. While
it is not in halfling nature to do violence to one another,
nor to hold one another in captivity, Zivlil fears that if
he allows Fullgrin to return to human society, the secret
of Losthome will be lost and the humans will come to
hunt them once again. Fullgrin and Zivlil are both aware
of the dilemma, and are both moving circumspectly to
accomplish their goals without offending the other. But a
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conflict is arising, and the halflings must decide what to
do about it.
1. Sleeping Trees: These trees are used as sleeping
quarters by the halfling clan. Those halflings not on
sentry duty climb one of these trees and nestle into the
forks of branches high above. Most of the sleeping places
are 15 to 20 feet above the forest floor. The older, more
established sites have small hammocks woven of vines
and leaves to provide a more comfortable resting place.
These are carefully woven to resemble natural foliage
when viewed from below.
2. Observation Posts: These small wooden platforms
stand high in the trees, carefully hidden from view by
branches. From these posts, the halfling sentries can survey
the forest for several hundred yards. Halflings traditionally
do not make use of such structures in the Forest Ridge,
but prefer to rest among the branches of the trees. This
new innovation was an idea learned in Gulg.
Each sentry is responsible for watching a specific section
of the camp’s perimeter. The platforms have been placed

to ensure that no one can approach undetected from any
direction. The sentries are armed with slings or bows, and
most platforms hold a stockpile of spears that can be
thrown at any attackers below.
3. Foot Sentries: To supplement the sentries posted
in the trees above, these three sentries wander the forest
below. They remain at the edge of the tree sentries’ vision
and signal with bird calls when an intruder or predator
approaches.
The map shows likely hiding places for these sentries.
However, they roam the perimeter and can be encountered
at any point.
4. Deadfalls: Each of these points on the map shows
where a large tree trunk has been hung by vines in the
upper reaches of the tree.
5. Trapped Tree: This particular tree has been cut
by the halflings to make it very climbable. If anyone
who weighs more than a halfling tries to climb the tree,
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however, the branches will snap off 20 feet above the
ground, dropping the climber to the forest floor.
6. Stream: This fast-moving, 2-foot-deep stream carries
water down from the Windbreak Mountains, into the
forest. The water is clean and cool. There is a ford, but
the water rushes fast enough to knock people off their feet.
The halflings cross the stream by
climbing in the trees and swinging from branch to
branch, rather than by wading.
7. Strange Ridge: This unusually-shaped ridge conceals
the buried form of an ankheg. The halflings are unaware
of the creature, and if they knew about it would avoid it.
The ankheg will come out if it hears a lot of movement
(such as the sound of combat or the thud of deadfalls).
It is hungry and will consume humans and halflings with
equal relish. It is just tall enough to reach the halfling
sleeping and sentry platforms, but must pull itself up the
side of a tree, exposing its soft underbelly.
 Settlements
Poortool’s Horde
A young candidate of the veiled alliance suddenly runs
away into the desert, templars burst through the door just
as a sale of magic components is completed, an elf tribe
is attacked by gith who strip the elves bare and leave
them in the desert – a bizarre and seemingly unrelated
series of events.
It is actually the activity of a small but increasingly
influential raiding tribe of the Ivory Triangle. Poortool’s
Horde is a tribe of mages tended to by slaves and
defended by gith. This bizarre confederation is the result
of Poortool’s desire to create a place where he could
pursue magic openly and in the company of other mages.
A place where he was not beholden to the suffocating
secrecy of the Veiled Alliance, nor subservient to the will
of the king in the ranks of the city’s defilers. The pursuit
of this goal has led the ruthless preserver to found the
most unlikely raiding tribe in the Ivory Triangle region.
Organization
An extraordinarily dispassionate man, Poortool runs his
tribe as an even-handed autocrat. He is willing to hear
out the opinions of even his gith sentries and scullery
slaves. He believes that anyone may have valuable
information to contribute to his decision making. He does
not suppose, however, that everyone is equally qualified to
make decisions and disdains the time-wasting, consensus-
building processes of democracy. He has at times, reversed
a decision in response to dissension. He does not see
this as a sign of weakness, but rather as proof that he is
open-minded and dedicated to the best interests of the
community.
Poortool leaves the day to day administration of village
affairs to Tordos, his second in command. Tordos tracks
inventory of dry goods as well as magic components.
He also directs the staff of slaves that the village has
acquired both through raids and the slave markets of the
city-states. The slaves are employed in all aspects of life
in the village. The mages need only get involved in the
mundane tasks of day to day life to the extent that it
interests them.
The security of the village is the responsibility of
Garreth, a human soldier who escaped the prisons of
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Gulg on a Red Moon Hunt and sought asylum in
Poortool’s village. He commands the gith warriors who
protect the community, and he coordinates their raids.
Poortool himself decides who will comprise the parties
that are sent on various missions required to advance the
interests of the community and its allies.
There are currently eight mages in the tribe, in addition
to Poortool and Tordos. They are encouraged to spend
their time engaged in study and research and to leave
the administration of day to day affairs with Poortool.
Poortool arranges for the purchase of necessary goods
through House Tsalaxa.
Poortool allows the members to pursue whatever
interests they may have, but they must be prepared to
leave at a moment’s notice to undertake a mission for
the community or of its allies. Poortool demands the
unquestioning responsiveness of a military organization in
all missions and raiding activity. They respect Poortool’s
vision and realize that he has only succeeded because of
a willingness to make hard decisions. There are two young
mages within the Gulg Veiled Alliance who are loyal to
Poortool, and one in Nibenay.
There are 50 gith who serve as the camp garrison.
The gith come from tribes who have been displaced
by Blackspear’s activity. Their efforts are coordinated by
Garreth, the garrison commander. They serve the tribe in
exchange for the goods they steal in raids, as well as the
aid Poortool offers in defending their own tribes against
Blackspear. None of the warriors are psionicists.
Twenty slaves comprise Tordos’ staff. Among these
slaves are some artisans who maintain the buildings and
fences, a kitchen staff, herders, and a few laborers. The
slaves are treated well and not overworked. This is not
because of any compassion on Poortool’s part. But it
simply reflects his idea of how to enhance the productivity
of his property.
Operations and Means of Existence
The tribe mounts two types of raids. The first are the
shakedown raids and the second are raids in the service
of their allies. The shakedown raids are used as part of
Poortool’s recruiting campaigns within the Veiled Alliance.
They are attacks on elven tribes that are intended to drive
the elves away from a particular city-state. This in turn

drives up the cost of magic components and reduces their
availability. The Veiled Alliance naturally feels the impact
of such a change, and the first thing to suffer within the
organization is the training of younger members. Poortool
uses this tactic to heighten the discontent of the lower
ranks of the secretive society and then uses his insiders to
flush out potential tribe members.
Raids are also conducted for the benefit of Poortool’s
allies. These currently include the tribes of gith who
serve him and the merchant House Tsalaxa of Draj.
The tribe will send mages to support the gith as needed.
Poortool has recently struck an alliance with House
Tsalaxa, which hopes to increase its influence on both
Gulg and Nibenay. The tribe is often requested to escort
caravans carrying sensitive cargo. They are also hired to
raid competitor’s caravans or client villages. The tribe uses
the revenue from their mercenary work to purchase goods
directly from the merchant house. They also sell some
of the magic components that they acquire through their
shakedown raids to House Tsalaxa.
Poortool draws upon the gith tribes to supplement his
garrison for particularly difficult attacks. He also dedicates
at least two mages to each raiding party. He is currently
looking for a few psionicists to augment the mobility and
communications capabilities of his raiding parties.
Daily living within the camp is attended by the staff of
slaves. These slaves are fairly dedicated to the tribe, partly
out of fear and partly because they are treated well and
know that their lives would be much more difficult back
in the city-states or with the slave tribes in the wilderness.
The slaves’ activities include minding the camp’s small
erdlu herd and preparing meals.
Origin
Poortool’s intelligence showed as a child, and he was
taken into the tutelage of the king’s defilers in Nibenay.
He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, but little
patience for discipline. His master recommended he be
sent for psionic study to improve his concentration before
he continued studying magic. He quit his magical studies
and continued to serve as a clerk to the templars. His
talent had not gone unnoticed, however, and he was soon
recruited by the Veiled Alliance. Starting from scratch,
he began his magical training as a preserver. Over time,
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Settlements
however, he found the secretiveness of the organization
that oppressed him and the structure stifled his growth.
He eventually stole a contact’s spellstring and set out into
the scrubland.
He had been traveling for a week when he was set
upon by a small pack of gith. He quickly disabled his
attackers and decided to ransom them back to their tribe.
The incident earned him the respect of the gith warriors,
who admired his cunning. He offered to assist the gith in
planning a raid and, while they were suspicious, the success
of the raid confirmed the young half-elf’s intelligence and
formed the basis of his current relationship with them.
Poortool decided to establish a permanent base
and called upon the gith to help him capture some slaves
from the caravans traveling out of Nibenay. Once he had
put the slaves to work building the small encampment, he
set out to recruit some like-minded young mages. Through
a series of clandestine meetings reinforced by a sudden
scarcity of magic components, Poortool quickly-found a
handful of initiates. It was the gith who named the tribe as
they saw the young mage begin to collect adherents. Over
the years, Poortool has expanded his small community.
He hopes now to tap into the cities of Balic, Raam, and
Dral for more tribe members.
Location and Defenses
The encampment of Poortool’s Horde lies about 20
miles due east of Nibenay. It lies at the edge of the
scrub plains, where the rocky badlands of the Blackspine
Mountains begin to take shape to the northeast and
the salt flats of the Great Ivory Plain spread out to the
south. The camp consist of a small village with modest
fortifications. There is a low earth wall topped with wooden
spikes, built to discourage predators. A garrison of 50 gith
maintain watch in three shifts. The sentries surround the
village and maintain visual contact with one another. The
area is gith territory and as a result few travelers or raiding
bands pass by unmolested.
Relations with Others
Poortool fully recognizes that his tribe will remain
fugitives from the law as long as the sorcerer-kings remain
in power, or at least until his tribe can grow in strength
to the point that they can defy the sorcerer-kings and
 Settlements

conduct their affairs openly. That day, however, is unlikely Poortool will strike a deal with anyone if he believes
to come to pass in this King’s Age. Consequently, a that it will serve the long-term interests of the community.
strict policy of secrecy must be maintained outside the He has hired small bands of mercenaries to find odd
community. items for the tribe or to serve as escorts on Tsalaxa
Even the tribe’s allies at House Tsalaxa know the tribe caravans.
as a roving band of mercenaries. Only their gith allies of
the Blackspine Mountains know of the encampment. Joining the Tribe
Poortool views the Veiled Alliance with disdain. While Strangers happening upon the encampment are likely
he recruits from their ranks, he tends to view them as a to wake up a distance away with no recollection of having
secret society of doddering old men and intriguers. He ever seen the place. Poortool has no qualms about killing
enjoys exposing their weaknesses and culling the most intruders if necessary. It would not attract undue attention
promising mages from their ranks. While they are not for traveler’s to fall prey to gith and disappear in the
currently aware of his tribe, were an Alliance chapter to vicinity of the Blackspine Mountains. Poortool will,
approach Poortool, he would entertain the value of an however, actually extend hospitality to mages and their
accord with them just as he would any other organization. traveling companions. His intention, of course, is to find
Poortool has no particular aversion to defiling magic, new members for the tribe.
but he does not believe it is practical to allow defilers A mage expressing interest in joining the tribe is
to join the community when there are so many mages interviewed by Poortool and Prasad, the tribe’s psionicist.
working together in close proximity. He does occasionally They use magic and psionics to confirm the veracity of
provide a passing defiler with spell components or a place their candidate’s answers. The candidate is permitted to
to hide. He reminds his preservers that all mages are remain in the community for a week, enjoying the open
fugitives and that such relationships may sometimes prove company of other mages. The candidate is then taken
valuable.
He sees the tribe’s relationship with House Tsalaxa as a
way of meeting the tribe’s needs for various goods without
exposing the group unnecessarily to the city-states and
villages of the region. He would, however, gladly enter into
a relationship with another merchant house if it served
his interests. Presently, the availability of goods, combined
with a single point of contact, make the House Tsalaxa
relationship quite satisfactory.
To this point, the tribe has only maintained alliances
with solitary gith tribes that have been displaced by
Blackspear. Poortool is now preparing to establish an
alliance with Blackspear himself. The mage believes that
one day when his small tribe has become a nation, he will
need an army to carve out its home.
Neither the elf tribes whom Poortool’s gith harass, nor
the templars whom he occasionally aids, are aware of
the existence of the tribe. The mages generally remain
concealed in the raids on the elf tribes. Consequently, the
elves simply think the attacks are just the random strikes
of roving gith tribes. The templars of the city-states believe
that the tips they receive simply come from concerned
citizens.

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on a raid. If the mage proves him or herself, he or she

is accepted into the tribe. Interestingly, only the gith are
permitted to evaluate a candidate’s performance on a raid.
Defilers are not permitted to practice in the
community but will be shown hospitality.

Personalities
Poortool: Poortool is a tall, bald half-elf with extremely
pale skin. He burns easily in the sun and always wears
a wide, formless straw hat to shade his face. His taste in
clothing is simple and he favors a functional leather jerkin
that he ties at the waist.
Poortool is in all ways a brutally pragmatic man. At
times he exhibits the ruthless efficiency of the templars
he once served. He is an excellent negotiator and always
honors his agreements. He is dedicated to advancing his
own knowledge of magic and psionics, and he believes that
his community provides the best chance to accomplish
this. While he would never voice such an ambition, he is
establishing a power base that he believes may one day
rival that of the sorcerer-kings.
He has, over the past few years, developed an increasing
interest in the Way of the Unseen. The discipline that he and watched the village for several days and was confused
lacked as a child has come in maturity threefold and has by what he saw there: humans and half-elf wizards milling
been fed by his continuing mastery of his innate psionic about and casting spells, slaves tending an erdlu herd,
ability. gith sentries. On the third evening he resolved to steal
Poortool is not an emotional man. He has a talent for into the camp and recapture his slave. The gith alerted
understanding what motivates individuals, and his tolerant Poortool when Garreth tripped an unseen magical alarm.
manner is borne of political acumen rather than kindness. Garreth was taken into custody, but his perseverance
A natural leader, Poortool is a solid ally and a dangerous and skill had impressed the gith so much that Poortool
enemy. returned his slave to him and extended the hospitality of
the tribe. The difficult man soon found himself agreeing
Garreth: Garreth is a warrior who joined the tribe as to serve as captain of the village garrison.
garrison commander after surviving an attack on a client Garreth is a large, disagreeable man who wears black
village he was defending. Garreth had been hired as a studded leather armor and pulls his long black hair back
mercenary to protect the village of the House Inika of in a knot. His abrasive personality and vindictive manner
Gulg. Poortool’s Horde descended on the community have won him the comraderie of the gith. He is something
and rounded up the four slaves in the town, one of which of a freebooter and is well suited to his task.
was Garreth’s. After the raiders left, Garreth set out to
find his manservant. While he was uncertain whether the Tordos: Tordos is a middle-aged human with thick
slave would still be alive, he was furious that someone black hair and a neat beard. He wears a decorative
would take his property. pillbox hat and can usually be seen carrying a large
Garreth, a stubborn man, tracked the gith party all the wooden box on his back like a knapsack. The box has
way back to Poortool’s encampment. He lay in the scrub two doors which open like a cupboard and are held fast

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by a small loop of leather. When open, the box can be
seen to house a countless array of tiny drawers, each with
a small round handle. The drawers are used to store
magic components as well as the herbs and powders with
which Tordos experiments.
Tordos was the first mage to join Poortool’s tribe and
is undeniably the most dedicated. Tordos had been
an innkeeper with a large family in Nibenay. He was
an initiate of the Veiled Alliance in that city, and he
allowed the group to use his inn as a contact point
and meeting place for his cell. The pressure of all of
his responsibilities had driven him to take a trip to visit
a friend in South Ledopolus. Tordos was traveling with
a caravan that was attacked by Poortool and his gith.
Poortool mentally dominated the mage and used him
to complete the violent attack. He then had his gith
immobilize Tordos’s hands, gag him, and lead him back
to the village with a handful of slaves.
Through various magical and psionic means, Poortool
completely controlled the older man for several days.
During this time Poortool mulled over the best way to
turn this puppet into a willing ally. Finally, Poortool took
Tordos into a field and prepared to speak to him of his
dream. He released his control of Tordos and waited for
his reaction. Rather than anger or bitterness, the man
seemed filled with almost childish wonder. He marveled
at the death that had been caused by his hands in the
caravan raid. Total enslavement for Tordos had been an
invigorating release. He spoke of the thrill of abdicating
all responsibility for his actions. Not since he was a child
had he felt the freedom of knowing that someone else
had to feed him, to clothe him, to decide how his magic
would blind a man.
Poortool began to speak of his vision. “Why let a bunch
of old men whom you don’t even know decide what spells
you should learn? Why take orders from people who hide
in the shadows? Why is there no community where a
man can choose his own path and where his acquisition
of greater ability is limited only by his intelligence?” The
discussion soon turned into a fascinating exchange on the
techniques of somatic concealment. He enthusiastically
agreed to join the young preserver and has proven to
be Poortool’s right arm. Tordos has never contacted his
family, who believes that he was killed in a gith raid.
The gentleman now administers the day-to-day affairs and
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directs the slaves.
1. Mage’s Quarters: These buildings are made of dirt
brick and a sod roof. They are divided into a sleeping cell
and a sitting room. The residents are prepared to abandon
the village at a moment’s notice. All the mages learn to
store their spells in a series of intricate knots on strings
which they wear as belts. Each mage’s quarters contains a
cabinet mounted with straps so that it can be carried on
the back. These are used to store spell components and
valuable objects. Beneath each of the mage’s quarters is a
cellar used for individual research.
2. Slaves’ Quarters: This large single-room building
contains thatch mats and small chests that contain the
private effects of the slaves. The mages have magically
warded the chests so that each slave can open only his
or her own chest. This small recognition of privacy seems
to please the Slaves.
3. Dining Hall: This large hall holds several large
tables flanked by benches. There is a large open fire pit
at the north end of the hall where meals are prepared.
Meat is cleaned and dressed in the adjacent smokehouse.
All tribe members eat here, although the mages will
sometimes take meals in their quarters.
4. The Well: This deep well provides water to the
village year round.
5. The Corral: This fenced area is used to contain the
erdlu herd managed by the slaves.
6. The Storehouse: This room stores various dry goods
used by the community. Items here are generally purchased
from House Tsalaxa.
7. The Barracks: This building houses Garreth and
the gith warriors. The gith prefer to sleep on the floor, on
a nest of cloth. Garreth has taken to sleeping this way as
well. The warriors all chests warded as the slave’s chests
are. The warriors all sleep with their weapons. At any
given time, one third of the garrison is sleeping here.

8. The Pit: This is a 40-foot-deep pit that has been
dug to hold a so-ut that one of the mages plans to capture
for purposes of research. So far he has been unsuccessful,
and the pit is empty.
9. The Amphitheater: This is a 10-foot-deep pit with
several tiers of benches leading to the floor. It is used for
demonstrations and instruction. Thirty feet below the floor
of this amphitheater is a room with a 20 foot ceiling and
identical lateral dimensions. It is used for presentations,
experimentation and testing.
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Settlements
10. The Drop: This is a 40 foot drop that opens
up into the subterranean amphitheater. The pit has no
handholds and has a hard stone floor. The mages can use
any number of magical means to descend the tunnel and
enter the room below. There is a rope in the storehouse
in the event that a slave needs to gain access to the room
for cleaning or for repairs.
 Settlements
The Poisoner’s Pit
Wheelock is, perhaps, the greatest poisoner of the
Tablelands. He makes his home at the oasis 35 miles
northeast of North Ledopolus, on the edge of the Great
Ivory Plain. He usually remains at home, but he does
make occasional excursions to collect new strains of
poisonous plants. Whenever he travels abroad, he always
makes the journey in a brightly colored wagon drawn by
six muls. The wagon has small curtained windows and a
sloping roof.
When at home, audiences are received by his assistant
Toth, who is a cleric of the earth. Toth is a simple and
polite young man who conducts Wheelock’s business affairs
and determines who will gain access to the poisoner. True
to the chilling neutrality of Athasian bards, Wheelock
does not discriminate among his clientele in terms of the
merit of their various causes. He does evaluate clients in
terms of urgency and sheer desperation. He may at times
end up selling one man a poison and his intended victim
the antidote.
He has little use for gold, but he will charge exorbitant
fees just to measure the desperation of an individual.
Other times he will require a service be completed before
providing a poison. He usually demands whatever the
client has less of, whether it be time or money. Sometimes,
if he takes a fancy to a person or dilemma, he will provide
his services for free or for a small gift.
Wheelock always interprets people’s requests literally.
This sometimes ends up killing them.
Personalities
Wheelock: Wheelock has, over the years, consumed
so much poison that he is now completely immune to
its effect. He can identify any poison by taste. He can
likely recreate any poison in his laboratory and and also
an antidote. In circumstances where he does not have the
materials for such a task, he will be able to identify the
components that he requires. If the materials he requests
are brought to him, he will be able to produce the
desired poison or antidote. This can sometimes involve
extraordinary journeys to find the unusual items that he
requires.
Due to the deterioration of his nervous system, Wheelock
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only takes reduced damage from physical attacks. Another
peculiar side effect of his neurological damage is his
complete immunity to telepathy. Wheelock can neither
be contacted nor attacked telepathically.
It is not clear how old Wheelock is, but the poisons
coursing through his veins seem to have contributed to his
longevity.
Wheelock has a number of odd idiosyncrasies. He
will not, for example, directly respond to questions. He
will instead wait until Toth, his companion, repeats the
question to him. This is because Wheelock hears voices.
It is not clear whether this is some sort of psionic residue,
voices from the lower planes, or simply the result of his
deteriorating nervous system. He has, however, become so
used to the constant whispering, that he ignores anyone
who speaks to him. He makes an exception to this habit
in the case of females.
Wheelock seems to have a gentle fondness for women,
although he does not always seem to be able to distinguish
between them. He will often seem to become lucid and
begin to pepper a woman with questions just to listen to
her voice. It seems to remind him of someone.
The poisoner has an insatiable appetite for riddles. His
lair is often protected by riddles and he enjoys playing
mental games. He has been known to forgo payment for
his services when a client petitions him with a challenging
riddle. He has also waived fees when particularly impressed
with an individual’s ability to solve a puzzle.
Toth: Toth is Wheelock’s personal assistant. He
is deeply devoted to the poisoner and has taken care
of him as the years of direct exposure to poison have
reduced Wheelock’s ability to take care of himself. Toth
is kindhearted and non judgemental by nature. He has a
gentle demeanor. He is scrupulously honest in business
and extremely protective of Wheelock. He enjoys company,
but he is not a very talkative young man.
Toth grew up in the village of Haddrass, at the nearby
oasis. His father was an herbalist and farmer who grew
a variety of odd plants for Wheelock. The boy met
the poisoner one day while running an errand for his
father. He had dropped off small bundles outside the
poisoner’s lair many times and had never caught sight of
its inhabitant.
This day, he saw a frail figure collapsed on the ground,

bleeding. The young boy drew upon the power of the
earth to mend the man’s wound and carried him inside
to recover. Wheelock had actually inflicted the wound
himself in an effort to measure the extent of his worsening
neurological damage. The boy found the poisoner’s quarters
in disarray. He straightened up the rooms as he nursed
the strange man back to health. While he went through
the poisoner’s effects, he uncovered some information that
shed light on his patient’s bizarre condition. Whatever he
discovered there, together with his conversations with the
half-lucid man, led him to feel that Wheelock needed
him.
After the poisoner recovered, Toth continued to
visit him whenever he had the chance. He spent long
afternoons puzzling over one of the bard’s riddles or
listening to fascinating stories about the peculiar weapons
that hung on the wall.
Toth eventually moved to North Ledopolus to continue
his clerical studies. It was there that he met and married
his wife Janelle, a barmaid. The marriage was difficult for
Toth, as his wife had a tendency to take an interest in
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Settlements
travelers who passed through the inn where she worked.
Several years passed before Toth’s father died and he
returned home to take care of the arrangements. He
stopped to visit Wheelock and found the poisoner’s
condition had worsened. The young cleric resolved to stay
with his old friend and sent word to his wife in North
Ledopolus. Toth now sends money to the dwarven village
where Janelle still lives, enjoying the company of travelers.
1. Entrance: This entryway is a 10-foot-square room
surrounded by 5-foot-thick stone walls. Outside the
entrance is a small pond tainted with slow acting poison.
The absence of algae and the bones of animals on the
floor of the pool usually deter travelers from drinking from
it. The entryway is usually blocked with an enormous
stone slab. Wheelock sometimes has the door warded
with a riddle.
2. Stairway: This stairway descends 40 feet below the
surface of the salt flats. The walls are marked by small
nooks every 5 feet on either side of the stairs. Resting in
 Settlements
each is a humanoid skull that has had the cap carved off
to make a bowl. The skulls are filled with lamp oil that
burns to illuminate the stairway.
3. The Wyvern’s Gate: The stairway leads to a
rough hewn hallway that opens into this chamber. In the
flickering firelight, visitors can discern an insubstantial
haze. It appears to take the form of a large lizard with a
long neck, bat wings, and a scorpion’s tail. This gate has
been warded by Toth with a wyvern watch spell.
4. The Receiving Room: An ornate wooden cask with
a spout and a jewel-encrusted goblet are in this room.
Written on the wall in the common trade language is a
message: “Please drink from the barrel. It contains a slow-
acting poison. The antidote will be provided upon the
completion of business.” Unfortunately, because reading
and writing are illegal in the city-states, usually only
templars, merchants, and bards get past this doorway.
Toth will not open it unless a visitor drinks.
5. Sitting Room: This is a large room with decorative
tapestries hung in the doorways and spread across the
floor. A bench lines the walls, and many large pillows are
strewn about in a manner of a wealthy nomad merchant’s
tent. There are several game boards with stones in the
room as well as a dizzying array of ornamental weapons on
the walls. There are also a variety of stringed instruments
fashioned out of gourds.
6. Wheelock’s Chair: This is a hall thick with smoke
from incense. At the end of the corridor, two thick black
curtains are drawn to the side, exposing a heavy wooden
chair that sits on a dais. Wheelock receives his visitors
in this chair. Toth must often bind the poisoner upright
in the seat, to spare his master from losing his balance
in a seizure.
7. The Laboratory: This room is full of small pottery
jars containing various powders and ointments. A large
brazier in the center of the room burns constantly. A
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chimney rises from the ceiling to the surface, where it
looks like a gigantic ant hill.
Visitors are not permitted in this room. There is a
good chance that someone sneaking in this room will
accidentally touch something coated with contact poison.
There is a well in this room which Toth created by
locating an underground spring. The spring feeds the
small pool by the entrance to the compound. It carries the
waste from Wheelock’s work up to the surface.
8. Kitchen: This room is where Toth prepares meals.
There is a small vent leading into the chimney from
the laboratory. There is a well in this room that draws
clean water from the same spring that feeds the well in
Wheelock’s laboratory. There is also a large wooden cask
that Toth uses for bathing.
9. Storeroom: This room contains various dry goods
and miscellaneous supplies.
10. Wheelock’s Chamber: The poisoner sleeps on a
large bed with a delicately-wrought canopy draped from
the ceiling.
11. Library: The walls of this room are lined with small
cubby holes carved in the stone. Paper and leather scrolls
are tucked in each compartment. A large table in the
center of the room is covered with clay tablets that have
various inscriptions on them.
12. Toth’s Chamber: Toth’s room has a simple bed
and an oil lamp.
13. Temple of the Earth: This small chamber is simply
an alcove of exposed earth that Toth uses for votive
ceremonies.

Fume
An insane cleric lives in this place and he calls his
shrine Fume. It is situated midway between Nibenay and
Gulg. Warriors of the two cities constantly fight over the
valuable agafari trees, but neither side is insane enough
to trespass on Solzak’s shrine at the top of the forest
crescent. Occasionally, one side or the other has sought
to enlist his aid – those who made the request were given
a fiery answer.
Solzak watches over the shrine’s eternal flame, keeping
it continually fueled with the slow-burning agafari. A
single log burns for days, and the special oils prepared by
Solzak can stretch the burning time to over a week.
Solzak does not like visitors – the wars of Nibenay
and Lalali-Puy have poisoned him to guests. Still, Solzak
welcomes anyone who is an enemy of either of these two
nations. He also welcomes other priests, even those of
water. Before the fire cleric settled on this land he had
amassed a large fortune, and rumors persist that his cave
is filled with magical treasures and gold.
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Settlements
1. Entrance: The entrance to the fire shrine is hidden
by thick foliage.
2. Obsidian Path: Fifteen oval, polished obsidian steps
lead directly to and surround both sides of a shallow pit
continually charged with flame. Solzak keeps the fire well
fueled with agafari logs.
3. The Eternal Flame: This is the shrine itself. The
fire here is always kept burning, and even a heavy rain
will not extinguish it, though it would cause considerable
smoke. Agafari logs covered with special oils burn for
slightly more than a week before Solzak must once again
replace them.
4. Solzak’s Cave: Inside this spacious cavern, blasted
from the earth by Solzak’s own hands, is everything the
fire cleric needs to survive. He has a bed made of dry
straw, a few plates and bowls, and a smaller fire with a
spit over it-the smoke escaping through a ventilation shaft
in the top of the cave. The walls are smooth and have a
black, polished look, a testament to the intense power of
 Settlements
this fire cleric.
5. Loose Stone: Solzak does have a large treasure,
accumulated during his wandering days. It is hidden
beneath a secret stone in the floor.
Mount Solace
Limrick the Mad suns himself on a large, white rock
high atop Mount Solace in the Mekillot Mountains,
overlooking the desolate town of Salt View. The residents
there occasionally ask the crazed cleric for aid, but very
cautiously, and only when the sun is low in the sky, or
during a light drizzle.
By night, or in times of gloom, Limrick becomes a
pouting, sober man. Other times, Limrick basks beneath
the sun’s rays, laughing to himself with pure joy and feeling
the penetrating beams fill him with power. Sometimes,
Limrick feels that the power is too much for him to
handle and he cannot help but begin casting spells to
relieve the pressure.
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Limrick’s shrine is a large white boulder resting on a
cliff on Mount Solace. Here he sun bathes, watching the
tiny beings of Salt View with humor. Sometimes he is
afraid that the shadow of the mountain is blocking their
enjoyment of the sun, so he casts sunray or blistering rays
“help ‘em out.”
1. The Basking Rock: This is the shrine itself, and
Limrick spends the hottest hours of the day here. Only
rarely does he leave his rock to visit the “little people”
who live below him. He is always amazed at how much
the villagers of Salt View have grown from the time he
leaves his shrine to the time he gets to the village. “Sun
makes ‘em grow, ya’ know?”
2. Grove: This tiny grove is Limrick’s home. He has a
hammock tied beneath an overhanging rock, and this is
where he sulks on those rare occasions when rain drops
make their slimy presence known to him. Limrick has no
treasure, his greatest jewel arcs across the violet-green sky
of Athas every day.

Estuary of the Forked
Tongue
Ledopolus
The twin towns of North Ledopolus (population 1,000)
and South Ledopolus (population 2,000) sit on the shores
opposite the island of Ledo. Many dwarves live in these
towns, and they are engaged in a great project – the
construction of bridges to span the northern fork of the
estuary and replace the silt skimmer ferry. The dwarf
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Settlements
Bruthambar, chief of the Rockcutter clan, is the head
builder and master of the towns. He is a pugnacious
ex-mercenary whose bluff good cheer is wearing thin
after years of setbacks and obstacles. The hill giants that
inhabit Ledo, a key stepping-stone for any bridge across
the estuary, have already torn down two previous bridging
attempts. The giants believe that the bridge is a scheme
to gain access to their island's valuable flint deposits.
Attempts to bribe them into allowing the construction
have proved fruitless. Competing merchant houses make
the situation even more difficult. The Wavir and Inika
trade posts in Ledopolus favor the bridge, but the head
of the Tomblador outpost secretly fans the giants' fears.
 Settlements

Road of Kings
City-state of Draj
The City of the Moons. A marshy realm rules by a
frenetic, whimsical warlord named Tectucktitlay, whose
greatest pleasure is taken in performing sacrifices atop
his mighty temple while the whole of the city pays him
homage. This backwater city celebrates the ferocity of the
jaguar and the prowess of the hawk, but spends most of its
time squabbling with raiding tribes and beasthead giants.
More details can be found in the city-states book.

City-state of Raam
A hub of chaos and decadence, Raam is an enormous
center, warred over by nobles' private bodyguards, corrupt
templars, and squads of professional graverobbers. The
Grand Vizier, Abalach-Re, turns a blind eye to her
tumultuous capital, spending her days throwing lavish
parties or overseeing hedonistic rites to her imaginary
patron deity, the primal serpent Badna. More details can
be found in the city-states book.
City-state of Urik
The Golden City. The City of Lion. The Holy City
of Urik is the most disciplined, most orderly, and most
militant of the city-states, thanks to the ever-present
oversight of Hamanu, the Lion of Urik, King of the
World, Lord of the Mountains and Plains. An ancient
ruler who has never been defeated in battle, Hamanu
accepts only the best from his city, and his iron grasp
keeps the discipline and devotion of his citizens from
wavering. More details can be found in the city-states
book.
City-state of Yaramuke
Long ago, Yaramuke was the fourth city-state along the
Road of Kings. Defeated by King Hamanu, the ruins of
the city remain, tempting treasure seekers. More details
can be found in the city-states book.
Ket
Seventy miles northeast of Bitter Well sits the large
village of Ket, known to dune traders as the last outpost
of civilization in this corner of the Tyr Region. The half-
legendary cities of Kurn and Eldaarich are many days'
travel to the north, and trade with those distant realms
is infrequent. Ket lies in a large mudflat covered in tall
grasses, trees, and brush. A silt basin surrounds the flat,
and a mile-long wooden causeway spans the dust, linking
Ket to the Road of Kings. Ket is a client village of Draj,
and Draji warriors stationed here protect the settlement
from attacks by giants.
Makia
Standing on the southern shore of the Lake of Golden
Dreams, the village of Makia is a trade center and supply
depot surrounded by pens for the quarry slaves. House
Stel of Urik invests heavily in the village, and most
employees, guards, and citizens in Makia have ties to
this merchant house. King Hamanu keeps a large force of

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 Settlements

guards stationed in the village, as well as halfling hunters

tasked with recovering fugitive slaves.

Krikik's Pack
This tribe, or “pack” as they call themselves, operates
out of a hidden oasis that has a small copse around it.
While the pack is made up of as varied an assortment
of races as any slave tribe, it has patterned itself after a
thri-kreen hunting pack.
The pack is led by a thri-kreen druid named Krikik.
The druid sees the members of his pack as not only
hunters but as fellow protectors of the hidden oasis he
guards. Everything that passes near the oasis is prey for the
pack, providing food and other supplies for the members.
The pack lives within the trees of its hidden oasis.
There are less than 50 ex-slaves in the pack, which often
leaves the tree village to roam the surrounding countryside
in search of travelers to prey upon.
Krikik's Pack views life as a precarious balance that
must be maintained. As such, the pack sees itself as
an instrument of balance. When the pack has a need,
it seeks a passing caravan that has too much of a given
item. By taking what it needs from those who have too
much, the pack maintains a balance and so helps the
world. Granted, I doubt that many of the pack members
see it this way, but it is how their leader understands it.
And without Krikik, the pack would soon dissolve into a
purposeless collection of individuals.
Krikik's Pack can be considered a raiding tribe, though
they never take more than they need from those they
plunder. They have no qualms about killing, and some
of the pack's members relish bloodshed, but usually they
do not go out of their way to engage in slaughter. Instead,
the pack kills when it must, hunts when it has needs to
satisfy, and plunders from those who are weaker.

Organization
Krikik's Pack is led by a thri-kreen druid. He sees this
collection of ex-slaves as his hunting pack, and so treats
each member as though he or she were a fellow thri-kreen.
Krikik does not abide idleness, though he understands
that his pack cannot go without sleep like a normal thri-
kreen pack. When rest is over, however, the druid expects

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 Settlements
his followers to hunt or care for the oasis.
The pack is organized along a strict order of dominance,
as in any thri-kreen pack. Krikik assumes his place as leader,
though he has never been challenged for dominance. The
rest know exactly where they stand in the pack, and any
disagreements are handled via the time-tested method
of battling until one of the combatants surrenders or is
killed. Because of the pack instinct, Krikik is extremely
loyal to his fellow tribe members. He expects the same
loyalty from them.
Jaleen, a human psionicist, serves as second in command
of the pack, and usually leads the hunts that take the
pack away from the oasis. She ruthlessly uses her psionic
abilities to put down any opponent, and her skills with
physical weapons have surprised many who thought she
was an easy target once her psionic powers were spent.
She appreciates the hunting pack attitude that Krikik has
instilled in the tribe. Sometimes she even imagines herself
as one of the powerful mantis warriors, prowling the desert
in search of prey.
The third rank in the pack is currently held by a
dwarf named Krom. Krom relies totally on strength and
weapon skill to keep his position of dominance. While he
sometimes feels he could take Jaleen and thus move up
in rank, he likes the psionicist too much to want to upset
the current order. As long as Jaleen treats him with the
respect he believes is his due, he will be content to stay
third in dominance order.
While this dominance order reminds some of the ex-
slaves of the ranks used by templars, the pack does not
treat its members like slaves. In fact, everyone who wants
to can battle for dominance if he so desires. No one is
assigned a position just because of the station he was
born into or the amount of money in his belt pouch.
Operations and Means of Existence
The hunt is the pack's primary means of existence
(though others call what they do raiding). The pack ranges
far from its hidden oasis to search for small caravans
or other vulnerable groups of travelers. When the pack
attacks, it can be vicious. Well protected prey is hit hard
and killed quickly in order to even the odds. Weaker prey
may be spared if they surrender. The pack will destroy
an entire caravan, however, in order to protect the oasis.
174
At times, the pack even attacks villages or the fields
around a city-state if Krikik believes they can do so with
a minimum of casualties.
The pack takes only those items it needs or will use in
the near future. It does not plunder to raise wealth, but to
survive. Food, water, weapons, and clothing are the most
common targets in a hunt. Krikik also demands that
the pack aid him in protecting the hidden oasis. This
involves driving off destructive creatures or even attacking
travelers who desecrate the oasis in any way. Travelers
who seek to use the oasis for normal purposes are not
bothered unless their number includes a defiler or if they
pose some threat to the pack. Of course, once they leave
the oasis there is nothing to stop the pack from preying
on them.
Origin
The thri-kreen druid had started his time of wandering,
traveling the Tyr region to gain an understanding of the
world and his faith. While traveling near Draj, Krikik was
captured and placed into slavery. He decided to abide
as a slave for a time, for he considered the bondage as
another part of his time of wandering and learning.
While working in the fields outside the city-state, Krikik
got to know his fellow slaves, including the psionicist
Jaleen. Jaleen had pursuaded some of the other slaves
to join her in an escape attempt. Sure that this somehow
related to his period of learning, Krikik decided to help
the slaves escape. Using his own strength and druidic
powers to complement Jaleen's psionics and the others'
sheer determination, Krikik provided the extra ingredient
to overpower the guards.
Once the small group of runaway slaves reached the
open desert, some of them began complaining that they
had no plan, no supplies, and no chance to survive.
Listening to these beings, Krikik finally came to a decision.
He challenged Jaleen for leadership, telling the slaves that
he knew a place they would be safe. The psionicist did
not resist Krikik's bid for dominance, for she had seen his
powers and had no plan of her own. So the druid led the
slaves to his guarded land. Krikik decided that these
people were to be the pack he did not have. They were
the reason he had originally started wandering, for the
oasis he guarded was too precious to trust to a single

guardian. It needed a full pack to protect it from defilers
and desecrators. These slaves would be Krikik's pack, and
they would serve as additional guardians for his hidden
oasis.
He explained to the ex-slaves what a pack was and how
it was set up. Anyone who did not want to remain with
the pack was free to leave, but they had to leave as they
arrived – without supplies of any kind.
None of the ex-slaves took his offer to go. They
all decided they wanted to be part of Krikik's Pack.
Location and Defenses
Krikik's Pack operates from a hidden oasis that is the
druid's guarded land. The oasis lies at the bottom of
a deep valley in the mountains north of Raam. The
valley, especially the area right around the oasis, is a lush
domain of fertile land. A small copse of trees surrounds
the oasis, and the pack has built a village within the
branches of these trees.
The location of the hidden valley is the oasis's primary
defense. The small range of mountains is surrounded by
desert on all sides, and the valley is tucked away between
two closely-spaced peaks. The druid guards the oasis with
all of his ability, for he considers this patch of land to be
his sacred trust. With the help of the pack, he can deal
with most bands of travelers who would desecrate the area.
The pack itself remains hidden within the branches and
leaves of the trees. They have built a village high above
the ground by constructing platforms between the trunks
of the largest trees. Protected and hidden by the mighty
branches and lush foliage, the village is further disguised
by covering the tents with vines and leaves. Ladders can
be raised, thus eliminating all outward signs that the trees
are inhabited by a slave tribe.
Relations with Others
The pack sees everyone as prey. Only those who
approach the hidden oasis to drink are left alone, but
this free passage usually lasts only as long as the travelers
remain within the oasis. Once outside, they again become
prey for the pack.
Krikik's Pack does not engage in trade. It exists to hunt
and raid. The pack's favorite targets are small groups of
travelers moving between Urik, Raam, and Draj. At times
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Settlements
the pack will even raid the fields outside the city-states.
The ex-slaves tend to stay away from large settlements, for
there are not enough of them to adequately attack secure
defenses.
Joining the Tribe
Few slaves wander out of the desert asking to become
part of the pack. However, when the pack attacks caravans
or fields where slaves are kept, they often set the slaves
free. If any of these slaves seek to join the pack, they are
invited to come along.
Several considerations are made when determining if a
slave is worthy of the pack. First, the slave must serve the
balance of the pack, neither upsetting the relationships
of the members nor requiring too much help to survive.
The pack survives by working together, and anyone who
seeks to unbalance that is cast out into the desert to fend
for himself. Second, the slave must agree to protect the
oasis, for that is the pack's sacred mission (at least as far
as Krikik is concerned). The oasis offers the pack shelter
and water, and the pack must offer it protection in return.
If a slave agrees to these two rules of life in the pack, he
is allowed to join and even fight to establish his place in
the dominance order. If a slave is found unacceptable, he
is either sent into the desert or killed outright, depending
on how much he can tell others about the pack.
Personalities
Krikik: Krikik became a slave while on his time of
wandering. He took his imprisonment in stride, seeing
it as just another learning experience. While working in
the fields outside Draj, the druid learned of an escape
attempt planned by his fellow slaves. As this attempt also
seemed to relate to his period of learning, Krikik decided
to help the slaves. Together with the psionicist named
Jaleen, Krikik aided the slaves escape into the desert.
It wasn't long before the druid decided that these ex-
slaves were meant to help him with his life's work of
protecting his guarded land. He offered the slaves a
chance to become part of his pack. As pack members,
they would share in the thrill of the hunt and would have
an oasis for shelter as long as they pledged to protect it.
The slaves agreed and Krikik's Pack was formed.
Now Krikik spends most of his time in the
 Settlements
hidden valley, communing with the spirit of the oasis. He
sometimes goes on a hunt with his pack, but he prefers to
leave such matters to Jaleen.
Jaleen: Jaleen was born a slave, growing up in the
children's pens in Draj. When she first demonstrated a
wild talent for psionics, the templars decided to kill her.
A noble petitioned for her life and took the child into his
home to serve as one of his domestic slaves. The noble
was an accomplished psionicist himself, and he found
enjoyment in teaching young Jaleen to use her powers.
He was good to her and as kind as masters get, and she
never considered using her mental powers against him.
The templars, on the other hand, were another matter.
If she was ever in a position to psionically attack the
templar who wanted to kill her, she would do so without
a second thought.
Her life as a domestic servant ended when the noble
died and she was turned over to the templars for field
duty. That was where she met Krikik. She now serves as
the pack's second in command and personally leads most
176
hunts.
Jaleen has fiery eyes that project defiance and a fiercely
independent mind. Her red hair falls about her face like
a mane of fire, and she has a temper that can melt stone.
Still, she is a fair leader and has earned the respect of
Krikik and the pack.
Krom: The dwarf Krom once held an officer's rank in
Draj's slave army. He survived the slave uprising led by
Krikik and Jaleen, though he was left for dead with a
bloody head wound. When he awakened, Krom decided
to make his own bid for freedom. The other guards were
dead, including the templar officer who kept the soldier
slaves in line. There was no one to stop the dwarf from
simply picking up his weapon and walking away. He
followed the escaping slaves' trail, as he had nowhere
better to go at the time.
Krom eventually caught up with the runaway slaves and
asked to join. Though hesitant at first, the other slaves
agreed when Krikik and Jaleen welcomed the dwarf. Now
he shares his military training with all who would learn.

While Krom is a fierce fighter, he has become an
accomplished tracker as well. He adores the human
Jaleen, and is content to remain third in dominance
order as long as she returns his gestures of friendship.
1. The Meeting Tent: This large tent serves as the
gathering place for the pack. Here hunting forays are
planned, stories are told, and decisions concerning the
pack are discussed. Krikik allows discussion on all topics
save the oasis. When a decision must be made about his
guarded land, the druid makes it alone. He does listen
to the opinions of his dominant pack members, however.
2. Rope Ladders: These openings in the tree platform
allow egress to the tree village. Strong rope ladders made
from hemp and giant hair can be raised or lowered
depending on the situation, and hatches can be closed to
offer further protection.
3. Jaleen's Tent: This tent serves as the living and
sleeping area for the pack's second in command.
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Settlements
4. Supply Tent: Whatever the pack acquires during a
hunt or raid is stored in this tent. Food, water, and extra
weapons are placed here.
5. Krom's Tent: This tent serves as the living and
sleeping area for the pack's third in command.
6. Krikik's Tent: When the druid is not communing
with the oasis or off wandering, he uses this tent. As he
does not need to sleep, the tent serves as a place for the
druid to think, to work on his weapons, or to meet with
members of his pack.
Ahpotex
Located west of the Lake of Golden Dreams in a
valley of the Ringing Mountains is Ahpotex, a shrine
of the spirits of the wind. Ahpotex is a strange place,
for a tribe of people live within several yards of the
place, and they protect and are protected by the shrine's
guardian, Alicious Strax. Alicious is a beautiful, young
elven woman, about 100 years in age. She can frequently
 Settlements
be seen soaring in a cliff glider among the rocky peaks
of the valley with the Ahpotexans, the tribe that gave her
shrine its name.
1. The Village: Some of the people live in the natural
caves that spot the cliff face. Others have carried wood
and other building materials from the plains below to
make sturdy apartments. One large building is situated
in a natural chasm, and this is used for skinning and
preparing carcasses for the cliff gliders. When not in use,
the gliders are stored in a cave located about 100 yards
from the village. There is always at least one guard.
Only about 25 of the men and women of the village
are old or fit enough to fight. They wear leather armor in
battle and wield spears and short bows.
2. The Path: The path leads to a primary trail through
the mountains. It is well concealed from the average
traveler by a rocky landslide about 75 yards from the
village. The Ahpotexans created this barrier so that casual
travelers would miss their hidden home.
178
3. Alicious' Cave: Alicious lives in this spacious cave,
but actually spends most of her time out on the ledge.
She loves the feel of the racing, valley wind blowing
through her long, silver hair. There is a hammock, a
number of soft pillows made by the adoring Ahpotexans,
and an ingot of pure silver worth about 950cp. Inside a
pocket hidden in one of the pillows is a wind fan.
4. The Shrine: The shrine itself is a rocky promontory
behind Alicious's cave. The villagers often have marriages
and rites of passage performed here; and funerals – their
custom is to throw the deceased to the winds as a funeral
offering.
Alicious Strax: Ahpotex is the name of both the shrine
and the village, and there are about 40 humans who
live here. Without exception, these villagers revere and
honor Alicious. They often hunt together with their cliff
gliders, and Alicious may invite friendly and adventurous
characters to come along for the ride. Without her, the
gliders often descend and force the riders to scale their
way back up the cliffs, but Alicious's mastery of the

winds, and the thermals that rise up off the tablelands,
allow them to soar in and out of the valley for hours.
Should a cliff glider separate from her, however, the rider
will find himself descending rapidly from the sky.
Grace
Beneath the Lake of Golden Dreams is one of the most
inaccessible shrines. Beneath the hot, clear waters of the
lake is the entrance to Strallowshax's submerged cave. A
dwarven cleric whose eyes and ears aren't as good as they
once were, he should not be underestimated because of
his age.
The yellow waters of the Lake of Golden Dreams
are extremely hot. Anyone who spends more than a
moment in the water start suffering damage unless they
have some sort of protection from the intense heat.
1. Submerged Entrance: This is the only entrance into
the shrine, and visitors often find a cistern fiend lurking
near the entrance. Strallowshax hasn't bothered chasing
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Settlements
the beast away since it tends to keep away visitors, and
the vast majority of them are only troublemakers in the
old dwarf's opinion.
2. The Grotto: There are usually a number of giant eels
in this small chamber. Strallowshax doesn't control them,
but they are familiar with him and usually ignore him.
With their hostile nature, they serve as both guardians
and alarms, should anyone enter the caverns.
3. The Shrine: This is the actual shrine of the spirits
of water. No water creature will enter this chamber, so
priests fighting with a cistern fiend or the giant eels are
safe if they can dart into the shrine.
4. Strallowshax' Cave: A vertical tunnel off the shrine
leads to the guardian's cave. This part of the cavern is
above the water level, but it is constantly humid due to
the steaming water. Strallowshax has only a few meager
possessions in these sparse quarters, but one of them is a
small vial of universal solvent.
 Settlements

Hinterlands
the flying creatures reside. There, they search the canyons
for pterrax eggs. Each warrior is responsible for securing
one egg, and for raising and training the baby pterrax that
eventually emerges.
Dej The civilized pterrans follow the same three Life Paths
A few miles from the Chak'sa is Dej, the great grave as their primitive cousins to the east. The Warrior's,
circle, another remnant of the ancient kreen/human Druid's, and Psionicist's Paths make up the foundation of
nation. Modern Dej is the only permanent thri-kreen pterran society. However, the civilized pterrans have lesser
settlement close to the Tyr Region. The population at paths as well. Farmers, herders, crafters, and traders are
Dej rotates, but there are always thri-kreen there, learning all honorable, if lesser, roles for pterrans to embrace. Still,
psionics, caring for the bodies of the dead, and so forth. the primary paths produce the society's leaders and hold
Occasionally, zik-trin'ta live at Dej and teach thri-kreen; more prestige than the lesser paths.
within the last decade, a "tohr-kreen" named Chaxchik Each pterran village is led by a Triumvirate, comprised
spent a significant amount of time at Dej and built an of the eldest tribal member from each of the primary
army of thri-kreen to fight a horrible psionic menace. Life Paths. In smaller communities, the entire tribe is
consulted before a decision is made, but in the larger
villages the Triumvirate is empowered to decide for the
Pterran Vale and Lost Scale entire community.
The villages of the civilized pterrans of the Hinterlands
are known as Pterran Vale and Lost Scale. In addition
to the twin villages, a few smaller settlements are scattered
around the area. There are approximately 10,000 pterrans
living in the Hinterlands communities.
Pterran Vale is by far the largest settlement, with 4,000
permanent residents. The pterrans live in lodges built
over hollowed out pits. The lodges are made using bones
and hides taken from the larger creatures wandering the
Hinterlands, including mekillots and inixes. The pterrans
farm, hunt, and raise herds. They are also fine crafters,
making some of the best bone weapons and tools in the
known world.
Lost Scale consists of only 2,000 villagers. Originally,
the community was established after the pterrans had a
split along religious lines. Some continued on toward the
Tablelands and became the primitive pterrans that still
reside there today. Others settled the village of Lost Scale.
The disagreements that led to the split have long since
been settled, and today the two villages form the basis of
civilization for the pterrans of the Hinterlands.
The people of Lost Scale are recognized for their legion
of pterrax riders. The best warriors of the village must
travel far to the southeast to reach rocky badlands where

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Forest Ridge
Ogo
The town of Ogo is home to a prosperous tribe of
about four thousand halflings. At its heart stands a
massive, ruined step-pyramid that has stood for as long
as the town lorekeepers have recorded. A shrine at the
base of the structure houses the Spirit Oracle, a female
halfling druid of unknown abilities who spends much of
her time in deep communion with primal powers. Such
is her reputation that even individuals from beyond the
Forest Ridge seek out her far-seeing advice.
The remainder of Ogo is composed of a scattering
of stone and wooden buildings amid open-air plazas. The
halflings here sometimes deal with outsiders and are less
likely than other clans to grab visitors and tie them up
for dinner. Every year, King Urga Zoltapl sends a levy of
two hundred halfling warriors to King Hamanu in Urik in
exchange for a shipment of obsidian weapons and tools.
The warriors who choose to return to Ogo after their stint
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Settlements
in Urik have a more cosmopolitan view of the world, and
since this arrangement has been ongoing for the past few
years, hundreds of halflings in Ogo share this experience.
The Rain Tree
In the thickest part of the Forest Ridge, just above the
salt flats of the south, is a huge tree that may be more
ancient than the sorcerer-kings themselves. It is always
dripping, as if it from a recent rain. A halfling cleric
named Purhas protects this tree from potential danger,
and hangs defilers from its dripping limbs.
The tree and the grounds surrounding it to a
distance of 10 feet is the actual rain shrine. Any rain
cleric who stands in this space or on the branches of the
tree is considered to be in conjunction.
Purhas protects the forest and all that live within
its confines. He is known to be kind, unless provoked,
then he displays the vengeance of his dying paraelement
masters. Once enemies have been killed in combat,
Purhas hangs them from the soaking branches of the tree
that marks his shrine.
 Settlements

1. The Rain Tree: This ancient tree stood here when

Athas was as green as the rain tree's leaves. Anyone
speaking with it can confirm that Athas once was green,
but the tree does not know what caused the destruction, or
even when it happened. It does know that it is beginning
to like the taste of flesh and blood as they seep down
through the soil and into its gnarled roots. This may
alarm some, but the tree is not evil, it is simply making
use of an available resource. A druid or priest of earth
would understand this immediately.
The tree has a slightly magical quality, but this is only
due to the create shrine spell cast by Purhas. It will not
protect it from fire per se, but the perpetual wetness
makes it extremely hard to burn.

2. The Death Branches: These two strong limbs are

used to hang the rare defiler or trespasser who dares to
endanger the halfling's shrine. Some forest beast eventually
comes to devour the meat, but the dripping blood and
wasted flesh only makes the ground around the Rain Tree
more fertile.

3. Purhas's Nest: Purhas sleeps and rests in a wet and

slimy bundle of leaves, midway up the tree. The nest is
full of holes so the water drips down continually, bathing
the little priest in constant rain.

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Sea of Silt
City-state of Giustenal
Giustenal's lord, the Dread King Dregoth, was second
only to the Dragon in power. Thus it was that the other
sorcerer-kings joined forces to bring him low, to prevent
the devastation that two Dragons would cause in their
war for supremecy. When Dregoth fell, so too did his
city. Now Giustenal is a haunted ruin, inhabited only
by the subterranean dray – dragonfolk dedicated utterly
to their missing king. More details can be found in the
city-states book.
The Silt Archipelago
Shallow silt and mud flats make up the region known
as the Silt Archipelago. Existing here is the last remnant
of the fabled sea of water that once filled the basin. The
area is marked by the Vanishing Lake at the north and
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Settlements
three islands surrounded by mud flats, which range in
depth from thick-crusted, waist-deep puddles to central
areas so wet that crust never forms and the depths reach
as much as 30 feet.
Parts of the mud flat have a crust solid enough to
support villages and crop fields. Humans, dwarves, and
giants live in the region, and the druid known only as the
Old One guards the lake from defilers and others seeking
to spoil the land.
The people who live among the mud fiats and islands
of the archipelago tend to cooperate over the distribution
of the area's resources. Trade between the villages is a
way of life here. They even team up to defend themselves
against slavers and raiders from the Tyr Region. While
intruders are frowned upon, traders are usually welcomed
by the villages. Balic's small trading houses, for example,
trade mekillot hide
and bone, kank honey, and finished goods for food,
wood, hemp, and giant hair.
Humans in the region maintain farming communities,
trade villages, and hunting tribes. Nomadic traders wander
 Settlements
the mud flats in silt skimmers, while the hunters make use
of domesticated pterraxes that they use as flying mounts.
Dwarves of the archipelago are primarily traders who
have refined silt-skimmer construction techniques into an
art form. They maintain a few villages, but mostly travel
in small family groups aboard their skimmers. When the
Vanishing Lake is at the height of its cycle and travel is
most difficult, four to six family groups join up to perform
repairs on their vehicles and raise crops for a time.
Large numbers of gith raiders inhabit the shores of this
area, but they rarely cross the silt to pursue their raids.
More dangerous are the hordes of silt runners who plague
the region. Though no village has been attacked by the
gith in living memory, these loathsome vermin may set
upon lone silt skimmers and small bands of travelers.
All the people of the Silt Archipelago hold clerics and
druids in high esteem. Each village is led by a cleric-
chieftain who is usually on good terms with the nearby
druids. Mages of any kind are taken as defilers and driven
away as quickly as possible.
Darna, Muln, and Vaas
Giants live on the three islands of Darna, Muln, and
Vaas. These are among the friendliest and most peaceful
giants on Athas. Most raise livestock on the islands, but
some sell their services as silt waders and cargo haulers.
Their frequent dealings with humans and dwarves have
formed a special bond of friendship that often surprises
visiting traders.
The southern portion of the island of Muln used to
be cut off by a wide trench of silt. The changes in the
earth have subtly altered the island, making it much
larger than it once was. The giants of Muln always left
the southern reaches alone, but now that the connection
is more permanent they have begun making overtures to
the people living there-the people of the village of Euripis.
Euripis
Euripis is a society of ukoven, or half-elementals. Like
the lesser genies of other worlds, the half-elementals of
Euripis have abilities and powers that give them an edge
over the other races of Athas. These abilities, however,
can only be used if the ukoven maintain contact with the
184
element that sustains them. In addition, if they range far
from their island home, the ukoven slowly die. For every
day they stay away, they must spend six days rejuvenating
themselves in the elemental springs of Euripis. If any
ukoven fails to return to the springs after more than
ten days, he risks death and the permanent loss of his
abilities.
The inhabitants of Euripis are philosophers and artisans.
They welcome friendly visitors who truly want to admire
the half-elementals' work or learn whatever knowledge they
feel like teaching at the time. They aren't a violent people,
but they will use their powers to defend themselves against
attacks. Currently, the half-elementals are establishing
peaceful relations with their neighbors to the north.
Tarelon
Despite its appearance and reputation as a haunted
city, Tarelon is inhabited. The ruins conceal a small
slave tribe, the Silt Raiders. The Sea of Silt is their chief
protection – and their greatest foe. Though no slavers or
soldiers of the sorcerer-kings will ever find the tribe in the
midst of the Silt Sea, the barrenness of their home strains
their resources and cunning to the utmost. They can only
manage to grow a few meagre acres of scant crops, and
they must rely on trade and raiding to furnish their basic
supplies.
The Silt Raiders, about 100 slaves of all races, are
led by an Earth cleric, known as Kelestes, who dreams
of seeing the ancient temple restored to its former glory.
Visitors to Tarelon find that the slaves are eager for
supplies and trade but are hardly fools; they attack foes
within the maze of crumbling walls and buried buildings.
The raiders know the ruins perfectly, and in many places
they have built secret tunnels and passages from one
buried building to another. It is a very defensible position.
In return for food, the raiders produce crafts and volunteer
their services as guards and scouts. They refuse to work for
any merchant who uses slaves. Another source of income
lies in the ancient treasures they find in the ruins of
Tarelon itself. They hoard steel armor and weapons and
trade them for months of supplies. Adventurers hoping
to loot the ruins during their visit discover that the tribe
regards the city as a crucial resource by the raiders. In
their eyes, plundering the ancient town would be akin to

harvesting another man's crops.
Shillisa
On an island in the Sea of Silt due south of Draj there
is a shrine of the deceitful and hungry lords of silt. The
sentinel who lives there is a ruthless man who raids the
coast looking for helpless souls to feed to his hungry and
heartless paraelemental masters.
Kathak is a dreaded servant of the paraelemental lords,
and rides a magical carpet over the greedy waves of
oozing silt that is his domain. More than one party of
explorers met its end when this madman streaked in and
carried them up over the sucking tides, dropping them as
screaming offerings.
Kathak's home is a low lying island just off the southern
coast of Draj. There is a hole in the ground that leads to
a short burrow, and it is in this place Kathak researches
his destructive magic.
Kathak's shrine is a tiny island protected by silt horrors
and terrible golems made from the oozing stuff. Kathak is
said to feed the sea in exchange for the energy he needs
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Settlements
for his defiling spells.
1. Entrance: The hole is about 5 feet in diameter and
Kathak is well practiced in the art of streaking through
the hole on his magic carpet at great speed.
2. The Shrine: The island itself is the shrine, and
any cleric of silt who stands on it is considered to be in
conjunction with the paraelement of Silt. There is usually
a gray or black silt horror present that feeds off the bodies
Kathak dumps to the sea. The silt horrors are not under
Kathak's control, and would eat him just as quickly as
anyone else.
3. Silt Golem: This terrible creature protects his master
and the shrine above. Whenever it hears movement on
the island above, it is instructed to climb out of the hole
and prevent anyone but Kathak from entering or casting
spells. Treat the silt golem exactly as an Athasian sand
golem.
4. Kathak's Cave: Kathak lives beneath the island in
 Settlements
a deep burrow. Magical equipment stolen from caravans
and or bartered from the thieves of Draj can be found
bubbling, burning, or otherwise cooking on his laboratory
table. His bed is a pool of silt covered with a heavy quilt,
and a number of bones are lying about the floor; Kathak
has a taste for raw meat.
Within the pool that serves as his bed, a number of
treasures can be found. Most of the items cannot be used
by Kathak, but he keeps them around to trade with the
elven thieves he employs from Draj. Anyone searching
can find 3,400 cp, a magical broadsword, 2 potions of
healing, and a ring of water walking.
Groomsh
Within the bowels of the volcano bordering Lake Island
lurks a fierce, terrible cleric named Thyraximus. This
crazed priest patrols the island looking for sacrifices for
his terrible lord, knowing that to let the molten rock go
hungry is to yield to the dim-witted earth spirits. He coaxes
the magma up with powerful spells, dances insanely as it
splashes in the deep silt around the island, and vanishes.
Thyraximus is quite insane, and won't hesitate to attack
186
anyone he catches on Lake Island. He claims to hear the
voices of his patrons screaming inside his head, telling
him to push the fiery rivers up and out. The screaming
is worse when the inevitable failure occurs. He is always
looking for ways to increase the surrounding temperature
or to fuel the fire in the liquid rock. He believes that
throwing in combustible materials is a viable method.
Only clerics of fire or magma have a chance of speaking
to him, and even they are slain if he they will not help
to keep the lava heated.
His shrine is deep within the largest volcano on Lake
Island, near the source of the ever erupting lava pool.
He must use his ability to ignore the element if he stays
down there for any length of time. Fortunately for him,
the benefits of the shrine are in effect whenever he stands
anywhere on the face of the volcano.
1. Entrance Ways: The volcano is honeycombed with
carved passageways, courtesy of Thyraximus and the
antloids that live above him. It would be easy for someone
to get lost in this searing maze of death.

2. Antloid Nest: A natural hive of antloids live here
and move throughout the volcano. They have become
friendly with Thyraximus, but that courtesy wouldn't
extend to anyone else caught wandering in their tunnels.
The spot marked with an "X" is the chamber of the
queen. There is an assortment of treasure here, taken from
those who strayed too close to the antloid's nest.
3. Thyraximus's Cave: Thyraximus has little treasure,
but he does possess one item of immense power, a ring
of 2 wishes! The cleric found this ancient artifact in his
youth, and the symbol of fire etched upon it convinced
him to find a mentor to teach him the power of fire. What
he found was a cleric of magma looking for someone to
take over his maddening position, and Thyraximus has
been chasing lava flows ever since.
If he had any idea of the power of the signet ring he
wears, he might have appeased his insane lords long ago.
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Settlements
Still, the ring is his holy symbol, and he must be dead or
helpless before it can be removed.
Originally, the ring had three wishes, but Thyraximus
unwittingly used one of them years ago. He wished that he
could withstand the incredible heat of the shrine below,
and the ring instantly granted him this power.
The fire cleric doesn't have a bed, but there are a few
small bones and scraps of meat here.
4. The Shrine: A narrow, natural ledge hangs out and
over the central pool of lava that fuels this volcano. The
heat is extraordinary, and anyone unprotected will burst
into flames in a matter of seconds. Obsidian stones mark
a meditation circle just above the fiery ooze, and is the
only surviving, visible decoration. Magma clerics natural
abilities to withstand heat do not work this close to the
source, so they must use their ability to ignore their
element, or other magic, to visit the shrine.
 Settlements

The Ring of Fire

The Iron Citadel
Sitting on a pathless rock spire that rises 500' from
the lava, the Iron Citadel seems the embodiment of
raw menace and martial splendor. The citadel gains its
name from the iron sheathing on its towers and spires. A
fortune in iron went to strengthen the fortress structure
and plate the walls. Gargoyles and ornamental spikes are
made of cast iron, an art now lost. Its highest pennants
fly nearly 800' above the Ring of Fire. Soaring buttresses
and needle-sharp spires of black stone create a distinctly
arachnoid impression. Clearly visible 15 to 20 miles away
when the conditions permit, the Iron Citadel is obviously
a strong and evil place.
It was built 2,000 years ago to extend the defensive
works of Ur Draxa, the City of Doom. The citadel's cost
in material and human life was absolutely staggering.
Though neither commodity normally concerned the
Dragon, the expense helped it decide that the Great Ash
Storm and the Ring of Fire were sufficient deterrents.
The Dragon decided to garrison its newly created fortress
with an elite band of warriors, who coincidentally formed
a powerful political faction that opposed the Dragon's
favored faction. Until this time, only viziers and templars
could gain councillor status within Ur Draxa. By creating
the Dragon Warriors, the Dragon shook up the political
scene of its kingdom and also gained a powerful fortress
and alert scouting force.
The Iron Citadel is still the headquarters of the Dragon
Warriors, their sacred retreat and stronghold. Half the
Dragon Warriors are here at any time; the other half
live in the city. The fortress usually is manned by 40
Dragon Warriors, 100 Draxans, and 200 to 300 slaves.
The garrison warriors patrol half that time, ranging out
over the Valley and the Sea of Silt.

Inside the Citadel: The citadel does not have a

single door to the exterior at ground level. All access
is through the landing stages or the rooftop. The citadel
has six commonly used levels and a few unimportant
sub-basements and cellars. A deep well in one basement
provides water.

188
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189
 Settlements

Level One: The lowest of the common levels features
large storerooms and armories. The fortress mess halls and
kitchens are here, as well as the slaves' quarters. Most
common Draxans of the garrison reside here, sharing
barracks that house 20 men or women each. The slave
quarters are far more crowded, and the slaves are locked
inside when not on duty. Service in the Iron Citadel is
hard.
to ‘reward' her with undeath. To attain her goal, she may
secretly recruit the party as her agents, taking them to Ur
Draxa as ‘prisoners' and then letting them escape-with the
Lord Warrior taking the blame, as well as perishing at
their hands.

Level Two: This level is devoted to the rocs of the

Dragon Warriors. Eight landing stages allow the giant
birds to enter and leave the citadel from this level. Thirty-
four spacious cages house the rocs. Saddles, bridles,
harnesses, and saddlebags are all here as well.

Levels Three and Four: The rooftop level is largely

open to handle extra rocs. Five extra cages are on the
rooftop, and the towers store extra food and supplies. A
large central tower rises from the rooftop; the Dragon
Warriors themselves have spacious and comfortable
quarters here. Four Dragon Warriors share each chamber
on this level and on Level Four.

Level Five: Reserved for leaders. Each chamber houses

two elite Flight Leaders, Dragon Warriors who lead others
in combat. The chambers are accordingly more luxurious
and comfortable.

Level Six: The private demesne of Amandia, the

Commander of the Citadel, and her superior, the Lord
Warrior. The commander is almost always here. However,
the Lord Warrior is one of the kaisharga, undead servitors
of the Dragon, and is usually in the city to counsel the
Dragon. Four elite Draxans guard this level.

Amandia: A powerful, clever warrior who has climbed

through the ranks of the Dragon Warriors, Amandia is
a tall and broad-shouldered woman of 40, noted for her
striking appearance and caustic personality. A vengeful
person who never forgets a slight, she has ruined enemies
for the merest snub. Amandia is the living leader of the
Dragon Warriors, but serves the undead Lord Warrior,
a kaisharga (Dead Lord) of the Dragon's Council. She
hopes to depose the Lord Warrior and take his place, not
realizing that her success would only cause the Dragon

190

The Valley of Dust and
Fire
City-state of Ur Draxa
The hidden city of Ur Draxa lies deep within the
Valley of Dust and Fire, ruled over by the Dragon. More
details can be found in the city-states book.
Outlander Villages
The ka'ardani (‘outlanders' or ‘exiles' in the tongue of
the City of Doom) are descendants of criminals exiled
from the Dragon's kingdom. They scratch out a precarious
existence here, outside the Ring of Fire; they believe
nothing lies beyond the Sea of Silt.
The outlanders are far more savage than even feral
slave tribes. Thousands of years of isolation have taught
them superstitions unknown in the Tyr region. They
regard preservers, defilers, and clerics as shamans or witch
doctors – powerful and fearsome creatures to be respected
and obeyed.
Outlanders speak a crude dialect of Low Draxan (the
slave tongue of the City of Doom), with a few words and
structures of the outer world's Common thrown in. Their
speech is only about 5% intelligible to outsiders, about
60% intelligible to speakers of Low Draxan.
Humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, and muls are all
present among most tribes. Half-giants, halflings, and thri-
kreen are only distant rumors. Outlanders may be fighters,
rangers, clerics, psionicists, or preservers. The resources of
the Valley are so depleted that defilers are not tolerated.
Clan of the Roc
The Clan of the Roc, a strong band of raiders and
hunters, fortunately possesses a small cavern system for its
home. Spring-fed underground lakes supply a wealth of
water. The clan site, marked on the large map, is a rocky
tor in the foothills of the mountains. Clansmen guard
their lair well, posting sentries for miles around.
The Clan of the Roc consists of 30 human,
4 dwarven, and 7 elven adults and 8 children of the
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Settlements
different races. The clan is led by Aristes Wyvernsbane,
a powerful human fighter now in his fiftieth year. Aristes
was a slave gladiator who was brought to the Valley when
he was 18 years old as part of the Dragon's sacrifice.
At 22 he escaped from an expedition of viziers and
templars and fled into the Dead Forest. An intelligent
and charismatic man, he managed to form a small group
of outlaws and exiles into the Clan of the Roc. They have
flourished under his leadership, but the question is arising
whether Aristes' son will automatically inherit leadership
or if some kind of competition or election should be held.
Fortunately, Aristes enjoys vigorous health.
Outlaws, slaves, and criminals have little chance of
winning an invitation to join the Clan of the Roc. Any
strangers defeated by the clan are considered too weak to
become members and are killed for their belongings. But
if a character fights bravely and honorably and tells the
clan of his background, Aristes might set up a duel for
the person's life.
Aristes: A good-hearted man, Aristes leads the Clan
of the Roc. An escaped slave gladiator of Ur Draxa,
he gathered his tribe over the course of 30 years. The
hostility of the Valley and the impossibility of escape have
forced him to extreme measures; it is Aristes' law that no
outsider may learn of the lair and live. However, he bends
his own rules for strong and non-evil visitors who help
the clan. He may provide especially helpful visitors with
information about the Gate of Doom and the Dragon
Warriors.
Aristes is short, muscular, and lean, with a scarred body
and gray hair. He is a fierce enemy, a strong friend, and
a good chieftain for the clan.
A. Sentries: At all times four sentries watch from good
vantage points in the surrounding wasteland.
B. Guards: Four sentries guard the cavern entrance.
C. Common cavern: The largest chamber of the lair
features a deep, cold lake and natural light from small
entrances around the room. By day, the rest of the tribe
prepares food, makes weapons, or teaches children. By
night, this area is usually empty-most of the Roc clansmen
sleep in private chambers.
Settlements

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D. Clan quarters: Each chamber is home

to a family or a couple of single warriors.
There are five human families, one dwarven,
and two elven. In addition, eight humans,
one dwarf, and one elf are single warriors.
The children sleep with their parents. Aristes
sleeps in the largest of the private chambers
with his three children.

E. Escape routes: These winding passages

lead to secret exits from the cavern complex

193
 Beyond the
Tyr Region
Beyond
The Jagged the Tyr Region
Cliffs
The cliff-dwelling halflings are excellent climbers, but
their society has given birth to a specialized group of
The known portions of Athas fall into two categories:
all the land that exists atop a high plateau alongside the
Sea of Silt, and lowlands that stretch to the northwest.
Separating these two areas are the massive Jagged Cliffs.
From the top of the Jagged Cliffs, sheer rock walls
drop two miles to the lowlands. These vertical monoliths
descend in straight lines. No gradual slopes slide to the
bottom, no layered steppes ease the descent. Instead, each
portion of the rock wall is as steep as the walls of any
city-state, though definitely on a more massive scale. The
name of the Cliffs comes from the irregular, jagged nature
of the horizontal plane, which from above appears as a
rip across the earth.
Powerful currents of air rush over the top of the Cliffs
to spill across the highlands. These air currents race
at high altitudes and affect the weather patterns farther
inland, but the climate around the Cliffs themselves is
relatively stable, always hot and humid.
Methods of Travel
There are only a few ways to descend the Jagged Cliffs
in the northern region. These include climbing, flying,
or via supernatural means. No matter what method is
chosen, the result is the same: The trip is dangerous, long,
and frequently fatal.
Climbing is the one method of travel available to the
majority of people. Is it the easiest way to get from the
top of the Cliffs to the bottom? No, for those who have
access to spells or psionics, for example, can make the
trip with greater ease. Those who have no other means at
their disposal and have a dire need to descend the Cliffs
must resort to climbing. This method requires appropriate
equipment, such as ropes, spikes, and hammers. Though
the rock walls look totally sheer from a distance, there are
ledges, handholds, stray scrubs, cracks, and cave openings
scattered about the face of the Cliffs. These are separated
by vast expanses of sheer, flat rock. Climbers need to
bring food and water with them. Except for the vertical
forests and the occasional waterfall spilling from a break
in the wall, the rock face is as desolate as any salt flat or
sandy waste.
194
Climbers who travel the Cliffs like others walk across
a paved road. These Climbers are greatly respected
and extremely necessary to the cliff dwellers' way of life.
They maintain the climbing paths between the vertical
villages, act as guides and scouts who range far from
a village's familiar territory, and provide a fast means
for getting messages or other important things from one
place to another. It should be noted that the markings
used to identify climbing paths and point the way are
unrecognizable and incomprehensible to anyone not
raised in the cliff dwellers' society-including halflings from
other parts of Athas.
Flying as discussed here refers to those with natural
powers of flight (like aarakocra), those with flying mounts
(like pterran pterrax-riders), or those with access to the
airships of the fabled Windriders of the Jagged Cliffs.
Strong winds aren't a problem along the cliff face, for the
hot currents that rise from the base direct the stream of
air blowing from the west up and away from the Cliffs.
In fact, these rising currents provide cushions of air on
which flying creatures can rest, making flight easier in
many respects. However, there are dangers that fliers have
to watch out for as well.
The clouds of hot steam discussed earlier are one of
the greatest hazards. If a flier accidentally enters a steam
cloud or has one catch him by surprise, he can be
scalded to death before he's able to find his way out of
it. Warm, benign mist can hide deadly steam clouds from
view until the very last moment, making it impossible to
avoid contact. Additionally, those not familiar with the
nature of a steam cloud might fail to recognize the danger
before it's too late.
Fliers must also contend with poor visibility. The mist
clouds everything in vapor, making it difficult to see
for any distance. In some places the mist is thinner,
with frequent breaks and areas of open air. More often,
however, the mist is dense and dark, shrouding the region
in dreary gray. In these conditions, visibility drops to
only a few feet, and hidden dangers can appear without
warning. Poor visibility also makes it easier to get lost,
resulting in travelers running out of supplies or getting so
turned around that they crash into the cliff face hidden
behind an otherwise non-threatening cloud.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Predators of all descriptions live along the Cliffs, and
fliers make excellent meals. Some of these predators use
psionics or highly specialized senses to hunt within the
clouds, so fliers should remember this adage-just because
you can't detect a predator doesn't mean that the predator
can't detect you. In general, another rule applies along
the Jagged Cliffs: the farther a traveler descends, the more
prevalent the dangers become. The mist grows thicker,
the temperature rises, and terrible beasts unlike anything
known in the highlands appear in greater and greater
numbers. This has to do with what lies at the bottom of
the Cliffs, as described below.
Finally, the usual problem of finding fresh food is just as
prevalent along the Cliffs as it is in other parts of Athas.
While there are a fair number of forests, there are even
more stretches of barren rock. Water, conversely, isn't a
problem-at least not the lack of it. Any cloth can be laid
out to absorb moisture from the mist, and waterfalls and
pools of standing water are spaced out with abundant
regularity. However, those used to the drier climate of the
highlands soon grow tired of wringing out clothing and
wiping beads of condensation from their faces. The high
humidity makes it harder for those from the arid regions
to breathe, and they find themselves developing chronic
respiratory ailments after extended stays in the mist.
The best advice travelers should heed is to fly straight
through the mist, going west or northwest as fast as
possible. To linger in the Misty Border is to invite one of
the disasters listed above to befall you.
195
Supernatural means of travel include preserver or defiler
spells, priest spells, or psionic powers. As with using these
methods to travel across the Silt Sea, those employing
them must remember to find safe places to rest before the
duration of the spell or power expires. An added problem
involves the cliff dwellers. The halflings of the Cliffs
don't use wizardly magic and have no understanding
of its properties. To the halflings, magic used by either
preservers or defilers bears an uncomfortable similarity
to the forces unleashed in the swamp below. For this
reason, the halflings believe that wizards are spawned in
the swamp, and those who openly use wizardly magic are
cast out of the vertical forests to fall into the swamp from
which the halflings believe they were spawned.
Features of the Jagged Cliffs
The Jagged Cliffs have a variety of terrain types. Some
are similar to those described elsewhere, others are unique
to the area, but all have special twists that reflect the
nature of the Cliffs themselves. Travelers will encounter
vertical forests, caves, scrub patches, oases, waterfalls,
barren rock, and swamp. Beyond all of these terrains, the
most significant feature of the area is the abundance of
water. It forms clouds of mist that shroud the Cliffs. It
spills from underground sources and runs down the rock
face with amazing exuberance. It coats trees and stones
with sparkling droplets that grow as large as vel fruit as
they slide toward the ground. Water trapped beneath the
arid highlands finds freedom at the Jagged Cliffs.
Misty Border
A wall of fog that those who live near the Cliffs call
the Misty Border rises from the base of the rock wall
to just above its pinnacle, where it dissipates into the
sky as long, thinning tendrils of vapor. Produced by a
combination of water, magma pools, and ancient magic,
the Misty Border clings to the face of the Cliffs. It’s dense
enough to hide the lowlands from those on or atop the
Cliffs. Occasionally a patch of the mist breaks open to
reveal the lowlands, but such breaks seal themselves after
a few moments.
The temperature of the mist ranges from tropical near
the top of the Cliffs to hot and steamy at the bottom.
Clouds of scalding steam float within the Misty Border,
 Beyond the Tyr Region
welling up from hidden sources to pose a hazard to those
who dwell along the Cliffs. These clouds of steam normally
cool to tolerable levels before reaching the interior of the
vertical forests that grow on the rock face, but they can
be deadly to climbers on the barren walls or travelers in
one of the living airships of the halfling cliff dwellers. In
short, the higher up the rock wall, the more tolerable the
hot, humid climate is.
Vertical Forests
Vertical forests are much the same as the terrain found
in the Forest Ridge, except that they cling to the side
of the Cliffs or rest atop and spill over jutting ledges of
rock. These tropical forests range in size from a few dozen
square feet to several miles across. All kinds of creatures
live within the vertical forests, including the cliff dwelling
halflings native to the region. The forests controlled by
the halflings are more or less tame, as the halflings go to
great lengths to keep the area around their villages free
of dangerous predators. The forests not under the care of
the halflings usually house a number of vicious creatures,
depending on their size and location.
In a vertical forest, small, sturdy shrubs and vines sprout
from cracks in the cliff face, forming a dense undergrowth
in which other plants can blossom. From this foundation,
tall, twisting trees grow out and up, reaching for the sun
and creating a thick canopy to cover the forest below.
196
Plants, bushes, and flowers of all descriptions cling to the
roots and branches of the twisting trees, filling the space
between the canopy and the undergrowth with thriving
vegetation. There is always a source of water running
through a vertical forest, usually an underground spring
emptying through a crack in the rock wall. Some of this
water catches in hollow trunks or in beds of moss to
form ponds and lakes. In addition, the moisture carried
in the mist helps the plants survive and keeps everything
wet. Sometimes enough condensation develops to produce
actual rain, though the wet mist is more common.
Caves
Caves of all sizes and shapes run through the face of
the rock wall, Some are no more than narrow, shallow
depressions, others open into elaborate natural mazes that
twist and turn for miles toward the Silt Sea. Most caves
are dry, providing some relief from the hot, wet mist,
but others contain varying amounts of standing water.
Depending on the orientation of the cave and the position
of its opening, mist might fill the interior and fall as rain
within the rock chamber. Others have ponds or lakes.
The water in these might be cool and safe to drink, or it
could be stagnant and foul. In some instances, running
water rumbles through a cave and spills as a waterfall
from its mouth. These represent the end of the water's trip
beneath the earth, for underground rivers and streams still
exist in this otherwise arid world.
The caves serve as lairs for flying and climbing creatures,
as havens for travelers, or as homes for those cast out of
the cliff-dwelling halflings' society. For this reason, those
who decide to explore a cave should first look for signs
that it's already occupied. Few things are more dangerous
than a creature encountered in its lair.
A few caves appear almost organic in nature, as though
shaped consciously by some intelligent being instead of
by natural erosion. The cliff dwellers avoid these locations,
reluctant to disturb places they believe belong to another
age. It's hard to tell if this attitude is the result of fear
or reverence, just that it runs through all of the villages
and seems to be deeply ingrained in halfling psyche.
Interestingly, halflings from other parts of Athas recognize
these caves on an instinctual level, as though they belong
to some deeply buried racial memory. Like the cliff
 Beyond the Tyr Region
dwellers, these visiting halflings also tend to avoid these
types of caves.
Scrub Patches
Scrub patches resemble the scrub plains of the highlands,
though on a much smaller scale. Clumps of grass, thorny
bushes, and spindly trees take root in a crevice or furrow,
or on a narrow ledge, and cling there for dear life. Rarely
more than a dozen large plants, and usually only one or
two, make up an individual scrub patch. They provide
handholds for climbers and resting places for fliers, and
some of the vegetation is even good to eat.
Oases
Oases found along the Cliffs basically combine scrub
patches with sources of fresh water. They're found in
depressions or natural basins in the rock wall – anywhere
that water can collect and vegetation can take root. These
include areas alongside or beneath waterfalls, or basins
in regions where rain falls on a regular basis. Powerful
creatures often take control of individual oases, setting up
a lair within the comfortable confines. Travelers should
consider this, as food and water might be as close as a
few feet away but as distant as the other side of an angry
aviarag.
Waterfalls
Waterfalls create impressive visual spectacles along the
rock wall, but also present many dangers. Like any vital
resource on Athas, the fresh water cascading down the
rock face is coveted by everything in the area. It attracts
predators and docile creatures alike as kank honey draws
sting-wings. The falling water can also cause parts of
the wall to crumble and slide, create flash floods in the
vertical forests, and even burst unexpectedly from the rock
to catch climbers by surprise and wash them away. Some
travelers have attempted to ride the falls to the bottom
of the Cliffs. Unfortunately, this usually leads to crushing
death somewhere deep within the mist.
Barren Rock
Barren rock is the most prevalent terrain type along
the Cliffs. Desolate tracts of bare stone run for miles in
197
every direction before another type of terrain intrudes.
This stone can be sheer and smooth, jagged, cracked,
or covered by narrow, ledge like protrusions. The only
constant is the wet, slick coating that paints the stone
with shiny droplets – a result of the high concentration of
water vapor. This condensation makes even the roughest
portions of the Cliffs slippery and harder to climb.
Swamps
At the bottom of the Jagged Cliffs, two miles below
the level of the Tablelands, a fetid swamp stretches along
the base of the rock wall. At its narrowest, the swamp is
a couple of yards wide; at its widest point, it extends a
mile and a half from the base of the Cliffs. This swamp
was once a great forest with a mighty river rumbling At
the bottom of the Jagged Cliffs, two miles below the level
of the Tablelands, a fetid swamp stretches along the base
of the rock wall. At its narrowest, the swamp is a couple
of yards wide; at its widest point, it extends a mile and
a half from the base of the Cliffs. This swamp was once
a great forest with a mighty river rumbling between its
trees. That changed long ago, when Rajaat came here to
develop defiling magic. Since that time, natural forces and
magical reverberations have combined to keep the swamp
alive and maintain the ecosystem of the Jagged Cliffs.
The base of the Cliffs acts as a natural drain, collecting
water running off from the highlands as well as water
emptying from the western lowlands. Hot springs, open
 Beyond the Tyr Region
lava tubes, and magma pools heat this water, producing
clouds of steam and mist that rise toward the top of the
rock wall to create the Misty Border. There are other
forces at work in the swamp, though, producing twisted
creatures and monsters stained by the evil of defiling
magic. For this reason, the cliff dwellers hesitate to travel
deeper than the one-mile mark, and most refuse to get
within one half-mile of the swamp. Not only do the
twisted and defiled monsters hunt up to these altitudes,
but the halflings believe that anything that gets close to
the swamp runs the risk of being altered by the residual
magic.
In any case, the swamp is a dangerous place. The heat
is more intense and deadly, the mist thicker, and the
effects of uncontrolled magic greater than anywhere else
on Athas-including the Pristine Tower. Fresh water can
be found in this region, as can food and plants safe to
eat, but there are also things that sane men and women
would rather not meet. Unfortunately, those climbing
down the Cliffs must then find a way through the swamp
before they can reach the grasslands beyond.
Encounters in the Jagged Cliffs
The cliff-dwelling halflings live within villages and one
city built inside the vertical forests. As the only form of
civilization in the area, these are the people travelers are
likely to meet. They inhabit that portion of the Cliffs that
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starts north of the Tyr Region and continues to the vicinity
of the Scorched Plateau. Travelers could encounter halfling
climbers or the airships of the Windriders, though they
might not receive a friendly welcome. The cliff dwellers
have never met any intelligent races with a few exceptions:
the kreen from the grasslands and the occasional pyreen
who comes to visit. Otherwise, these halflings have never
seen humans, elves, dwarves, muls, or the other races of
the highlands, and probably won't know what to make of
them when they do finally meet them.
Anything that flies or climbs or lives in caves or forests
can be encountered along the Cliffs. Near the top,
creatures familiar to the people of the highlands might be
encountered, though there are many varieties unique to
the environs of the Cliffs. As a traveler descends toward
the swamp, however, the creatures become nastier and less
recognizable due to the effects of uncontrolled defiling
magic. The only creatures that seem even remotely similar
to these monsters are nightmare beasts, so-uts, and the
like – all remnants of the Cleansing Wars. There is no
harsher, more lethal region than the swamp at the base
of the Cliffs.
Thamasku
Thamasku is the single exception to many rhul-thaun
rules. While most halfling communities are villages on the
ledges and in the crevices along the cliff side, Thamasku
is a bustling city of 12,000 inhabitants, on a lake in the
middle of a forest.
The city was built in the center of a large ledge, carved
out of the side of the cliffs by tidal waters when the world
was young. This shelf stretches back 80 miles from the
edge of the cliff, and most of it is covered with large,
hardwood trees and thick foliage.
Runoff from the tablelands to the east collects in
Ghavin Lake, a body of clear, fresh water almost 20 miles
across. A wide river runs from the lake to the cliff's edge,
then crashes over the side, creating what the largest and
most dramatic waterfall on Athas.
The waterfall empties into the swamp at the bottom of
the cliffs, contributing to the rising wall of mist.
Thamasku is extremely ancient, built before the rhul-
thaun existed as a separate group – when the rhulisti
ruled the world. The name Thamasku is an ancient
Beyond the Tyr Region

rhulisti word. Indeed, so archaic is that name

that its actual meaning is lost. Scholars are
fairly sure it has something to do with great
altitude. Since those long-lost days, halflings
who have taken advantage both of the lake
and the surrounding forest have occupied the
city.
Thamasku actually has a few buildings
made of stone and wood, in addition to the
organically grown towers that fill most of its
streets. The halflings ply the waters of Ghavin
Lake with boats made of wood, since the
ability to create life-shaped water craft is now
a lost art. They catch fish in organic trap-nets,
providing a delicacy virtually unknown to the
rest of the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs.
The city is also unusual in its horizontal
nature. The effects of living on cliff ledges
that influence other rhul-thaun are not in
evidence here. Climbers are few, though there
are many of them in Sol-fehn at the top
of the falls. There are a few in Thamasku,
however, who scale the cliffs up to the edge
of the Tablelands.
The city's life-shapers use their skills to
make running creatures called dhev-sahr and
the halflings use them as mounts to travel
through the forest and the green. Dhev-sahr
are of little use anywhere else in the Jagged
Cliffs.
Thamasku is more spread out and more
horizontal in its orientation than any of the
other halfling communities. The towers and
spires common to all settlements are there, but
so are single-story buildings, long and wide,
primarily used as store houses on the edge
of the city. Given the proportions of normal
halfling communities, Thamasku should cover
only half of the land it does and stand over
twice as high. Given the limitations of even
the amazing life-shaped building materials,
this would be a physical impossibility – one
that will always prevent the villages of the
ledges from getting substantially larger than
they are at present.

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
Leadership and Political Organization
The position of city administrator of Thamasku is one
of the most politically powerful appointments anyone can
possibly hope to hold. Currently, Vher-asach, the young
but capable daughter of the former administrator holds
the office. The haretuil actually nominated her to the
position only as a tribute to her dead mother, who served
the city well. They expected that she would remain only
a short while, and then a more experienced person would
be chosen to replace her. However, Vher-asach is more
than competent in the job, and it appears that she will
continue as administrator for the foreseeable future.
Nowhere in the Jagged Cliffs is clan affiliation as
significant as it is in this city. There are 28 different clans
in Thamasku, and 37 har-etuil who serve and govern
them. This is far more than in any other rhul-thaun
community, but overall, the numbers do not present
problems. Occasionally there are periods of clan strife,
when one clan is offended or somehow challenged by
another, but these are usually settled peacefully.
The life-shapers, who are called life-masters here, wield a
great deal of political power and influence in Thamasku.
Despite the fact that woodsmen bring in timber to use as
an alternate building material, and hunters and gatherers
use the nearby forests to provide more food and herbs
than in other rhul-thaun communities, the life-shapers are
kept busy meeting the needs of the city's huge population.
Vher-asach learned from her mother long ago of the
importance of the shapers, and almost always bows to
their wishes. In return, however, her shrewd dealings with
the wealthy life-masters have garnered enough money and
life-shaped creations to provide the city with conveniences
and necessities the government otherwise might not have
been able to grant.
A secret guild of thieves and assassins, known as the
ban-ghesh (dark wisdom), also has some political clout
in Thamasku. Their wealth allows them to pay off the
authorities, giving them virtually total control over some
of the lower parts of the city. In Thamasku, wealth speaks
with power and influence.
Sol-fehn, at the top of the waterfall created by the river
flowing from Ghavin Lake, is virtually an outlying quarter
of Thamasku. It is a small village, with a population of
200
less than 300 people, all of whom make their living in
the transport of cargo, people, or information to and from
Thamasku. Sol-fehn serves as a connection to the rest of
the rhul-thaunian society. Its administrator, Rath-omak,
answers directly to Vher-asach. He does whatever the
administrator of Thamasku tells him to do. Moreover, the
village is primarily populated by members of two clans
that chiefly reside in the larger city, so this village does
not even have its own har-etuil.
Economics
Because wealth is more important than anything else
in this city of commerce, everyone is deeply involved
in economics and trade. Because of the city's unique
location, products such as fish and woodcrafted articles
are among some of the items available here that cannot
be purchased in other communities. At the same time,
however, there is little call for these items elsewhere, so
there are virtually no exports to the other communities
of the cliffs.
The exception to this is the village Sol-fehn, to which
Thamasku sends food, lifeshaped creations, and various
goods that the smaller community does not produce.
Sol-fehn is almost solely involved in transportation and
related occupations, making it the hub of travel and
transport between Thamasku and other locales.
Within Thamasku itself, there are three marketplaces
where various merchants sell their wares. Although created
as a convenience, so that everyone in the city would be
close to a market, each of the three has taken on a
distinctive flavor and style. The southern market, also
known as the fish market, primarily sells fresh fish and
other foodstuffs. Though the other two marketplaces do sell
provisions, the freshest, best quality items are found here.
The western market is controlled almost completely by
life-masters. The merchants here sell life-shaped creations
of every description to all who need them. The eastern
market is a craft faire. Artwork, woodcrafts, stonework,
pottery, and other crafted items and supplies are found in
great numbers. No finer merchandise of this kind can be
found anywhere on the cliffs.
The whole eastern district of Sol-fehn is called the Art
Quarter, and it is filled with galleries, studios, theaters,
and related businesses. There are few centers of culture in
 Beyond the Tyr Region
all of Athas that can rival the talents found here.
The People
Thamasku is the center of rhul-thaun society. The
wealthiest rhul-thaun live in this city, although there are
plenty of common and poor folk within its confines as
well.
The people of Thamasku find themselves spending less
time struggling to survive than most other rhul-thaun, less
in fact than most of Athas' inhabitants. The city's size
reduces the risk of monster attacks, provides a vast range
of conveniences and services, and generally means that
citizens have better access to health care and finer food.
Life-shaped engines pump water from the lake into the
city, bringing it indoors to every home and building. The
life-masters have also set up an incredible waste disposal
system with underground conduits, regulated by organic
water-pumping engines, and life-shaped disposal units
that consume trash and all manner of wastes. The city's
systems of water delivery and garbage elimination makes
Thamasku a clean and comfortable place in which to live.
Because the people of Thamasku have a great deal
of leisure time, theater and the arts are more prevalent
here than in other communities. Music and the artistic
expression are important to all rhul-thaun, but here
in Thamasku they are taken to new heights. Fantastic
galleries, theaters, and music halls line the Art Quarter.
Dancing, music, visual arts, theater, tale-telling, and
201
other performance arts are all practiced here. Young
and old, rich and poor, life-master and city laborers find
entertainments and amusements to suit their tastes. Poets,
songwriters, composers, artists, and performers can make
their livelihood creating art and diversions for the people
of the city. In Thamasku, the arts are not idle pastimes,
but rather big businesses.
Many of the halflings who travel to the city eventually
end up deciding to live here, prompting the saying that
you can take the villager out of the heart of Thamasku,
but you can't take Thamasku out of the heart of the
villager.
Most of those who come to the city seek recreation,
dining, and living opportunities that exist nowhere else.
Others, however, have a very different reaction. They
believe that “stout and hearty” folk live only on the
ledges. The lives of “true rhul-thaun” should be spent
in the cloying mists and blustering winds of the ledges,
clinging to the cliff faces that they call home, carving out
their lives with bare hands. They view their city cousins
with great disdain, sometimes calling them “shaped rhul-
thaun.”
And some who come to Thamasku from the villages
find the city too exposed, too spacious. The villagers are
used to the secluded, protected ledges of the cliffs. The
fact that the city is in the center of a green, flat expanse
of land is disorienting and frightening to them.
Places of Note
The Air Temple: The largest of the rare temples of the
rhul-thaun, the air temple is in the lofty reaches of the
city's sprawling towers. This temple is the home and base
of operations of over a dozen priests. Thim-obec leads
the temple. The few devout followers in the city come
here to pay their respects, but this priest's real duty is to
the windriders. The air temple serves as a place where
windriders can find berths for their mounts to roost and
be cared for as well as free food and lodging for their flyers
and themselves. The priests feel that windriding is the
best technique of truly communing with the great power
of elemental air, and therefore windriders are holy men to
be respected. Ironically, none of the priests are windriders
themselves – they see their own role as caretakers.
Air priests have little interaction with the rest of the
 Beyond the Tyr Region

community. The temple takes no official interest in

politics, community action, or any of the events that
develop within the city.

The Aviary: This tall tower is home to the hundreds of

birds that fly about the city, and of the strange individual
known only as the Birdmaster. The tower is designed so
that there is room for even large flying creatures to land
and roost. For this reason, it is occasionally used by
windriders who come to the city. The Birdmaster favors
windriders, charging them no fees to use his roosts.
The Birdmaster is a druid of great power who, unlike
others of his profession, concerns himself with the
activities of a city. He watches over events in Thamasku,
communicating with his birds psionically. They are his
eyes and ears, and no one in all of Thamasku knows
more about the comings and goings of the city's populace
or of the things they do in secret.
Cal-adek's Safehome: This tavern is well-known
throughout the city as the meeting place for warriors,
mercenaries, and adventurers. It is also a place where
spies, thieves, and even killers can be hired to perform
less-than-legal assignments. Cal-adek asks no questions of
her customers, she simply demands that everyone “keep
a peaceful head about them while they stay here.” Wise
customers heed this simple request, for Cal-adek has a fair
amount of hired muscle herself.
Whispers say that Cal-adek is involved in the criminal
underworld of Thamasku. Others claim that she harbors
members of the Chahn. Neither of these rumors is true,
although at times she can be convinced to finance
potentially profitable operations – the legal status of these
endeavors is irrelevant to her.
The Conclave: This grand structure is the meeting place
of the har-etuil when they gather to make laws and pass
judgement on matters concerning all rhul-thaun. Although
vacant more often than it is used, a small contingent of
professional warriors are permanently stationed here to
guard the structure, preserve its appearance, and maintain
it.
The Mirrored Host: This tavern is an upscale
safehome for those wishing a luxurious night's stay or an
elegant meal. Mirrors, which are uncommon among these
halflings, cover many of the interior walls, giving this place
its name. The cost of a night's stay is 25 ghav-egoths,
meals are 5 ge.
Nuhl-ameth Storehouse: This is one of many
storehouses on the outskirts of the city. It is also the secret
headquarters of the Chahn, the terrorist organization that
wants to overthrow and transform rhul-thaun society.
A secret entrance in the main storage area leads to
an underground labyrinthine, the lair of these desperate
terrorists. From here they launch attacks upon the vher-
elus, the Conclave, and even life-shapers traveling in
the city. Their strikes are swift and of limited effect –
they want to make a statement rather than inflict actual
damage. The Chahn are careful not to allow themselves
to be followed back to their base, and have successfully
used it as their headquarters for more than a year.
At least 50 members use this secret stronghold, including
the Chahn's leader, Col-olin. Col-olin is a small, angry
halfling crossed too many times by the authorities. He
seeks destruction on a large scale, though he possesses
a conscience that sometimes gets in the way of his
passionate, devastating plots.
Poets' Rest: This safehome, located in the Art Quarter,
is frequented by artists and performers of all kinds. The

202
 Beyond the Tyr Region

place is inexpensive and the food is of poor quality, but

its patrons keep coming back for the atmosphere of the
place.

Sanctuary of Thamasku: Besides its status as the

largest life-shaper sanctuary, this structure's unique feature
is its location. It is underwater, submerged in Ghaven
Lake, with secret entrances and exits throughout the city,
connected by tunnels under the earth.
The sanctuary lies at a depth of about 300 feet. Shaped
like a mushroom, the sanctuary's domed main structure
narrows beneath it to form a base that is set into the
lake's floor. The structure is alive, of course, and its
gill system exchanges and filters oxygen and hydrogen
out of the water, converting the elements to a gas that
provides a livable atmosphere for those who live and work
inside. Over 150 life-masters work here, producing organic
masters of the world and its passionate servants. Let that
creations at a feverish pace to try to keep up with the
forever be our creed and our vow.”
city's needs.
Loi Far-oneth, the master of all life-shapers, lives and
Vher-elus Garrison: This small fortress has a garrison
works here. He is a man consumed with the past, its
of more than 150 lawkeepers. From here, they patrol the
preservation, and its effects on the present and future. His
city and respond to reports of trouble. In times of great
chief adjutant is Gil-ogres, who is subtly manipulating
need, they can call upon an organized, voluntary militia
events to gain personal power. When the har-etuil
of over 200 additional able-bodied men and women.
convenes in Conclave, it is not Loi whose name is spoken
in fearful whispers – it is Gil-ogres. Loi seems unaware
Vin-ered Woodworks: Unique in rhul-thaun society,
of his lieutenant's secret control of the organization, so
this huge emporium exclusively displays and sells items
preoccupied is he in scholarly pursuits.
fashioned of wood. The cost of their goods is moderately
In Thamasku, Gil-ogres's plans are simple. The life-
high, but Vin-ered quality is exceptional.
shapers' dominion over the buildings, tools and other
shaped articles gives them nearly complete economic
The Water Temple: The second largest halfling
control of the city. The only area where they do not
temple, the Water Temple is found on the lake's edge.
have actual mastery is the city's entertainment business.
The buildings of this complex are designed to appear like
To this end, Gil-ogres is sending agents into the Ban-
long, snaky fish, swimming through the winding course of
ghesh Guild. He wants to infiltrate the organization and
the temple grounds.
take it over from the inside, thus adding their resources
Under the guidance of high priestess Hiv-anad the
to his own. The guild has the strongest hold upon the
priests of this temple maintain close relations with the
entertainment district.
life-masters of Thamasku. In fact, the water priests operate
The sanctuary is also the keeping place of the Dal-arat,
in the city as spies for the shapers, and are well paid for
the oldest rhulisti artifact in existence. This life-shaped
their services.
device is actually a recorder (now impossible to recreate)
that replays an ancient account of the beliefs and creeds
The Dark Side
of the rhulisti.
“The fundamental forces of life, being what they are, The Ban-ghesh Guild, consisting of thieves, assassins,
have left us with no other option… We are both the and muscles-for-hire, is the driving force of the less-

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
reputable, darker side of Thamasku, which is usually
considered to be the lower sector of the central part of
the city. The slimy hands of this criminal organization
are involved in many aspects of life in the city, including
the extortion of merchants, entertainers, and tenders.
They own merchants willing to sell illegal goods, crooked
lawkeepers on-the-take, and administrative officials devoid
of ethics. The guild operates and invests in theaters,
casinos, safehomes, storage facilities, and virtually every
money making business opportunity or venture they can
acquire. In fact, when businessmen first start ventures they
often approach the guild, offering them a percentage of
their profits in exchange for a guild investment. The guild
is also available for loans (at exorbitant interest rates).
One could argue that the Ban-ghesh could make a
decent profit in purely legal activities (investments, loans,
legitimate enterprises). Nevertheless, a great deal of its
substantial treasury comes from extortion, murder, and
theft.
In the lower northern quarter of Thamasku lies a secret,
forbidden Fire Temple, offering its evil followers a place to
revere the element of death and destruction. This temple
maintains a contingent of Ban-ghesh armed guards for
defense, in case of discovery. Rumors abound that the
high priest, who many very well be insane, plans a massive
showing of the power of elemental fire that will inflict
tremendous damage upon the city and the people who
have turned their backs on the proscribed element.
Personalities
Vahv-ostes: Vahv-ostes is the commander of the vher-
elus in Thamasku. He also hires himself out as a mercenary
occasionally, along with a few of his compatriots who can
be spared from their official duties for a week or two.
Like most males, Vahv-ostes keeps his black hair long,
but prefers it pulled straight back and tied, to keep it out
of his eyes. His face and body show a number of scars,
and when he seeks to impress others he uses body paint
to highlight and draw attention to them.
Jhen-athin: Jhen-athin is a member of the Ban-ghesh,
and is considered to be one of the best infiltrators in the
business. Her specialties are her charm, wit, and pleasant
demeanor. She uses these as tools to slip past guards and
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deceive the vher-elus.
She keeps her brown hair short (as is the fashion), and
often wears a painted blue stripe down the right side of
her face. Her charm truly comes from her gentle behavior,
not from her average appearance.
Pareth
The second largest community of halflings is much
smaller than Thamasku, and nearly as old. In the
rhulisti tongue, its name means “hidden,” which is a fine
descriptor for the secluded village. It is recessed back from
a ledge that lies between two large, vertical outcroppings
of rock and built even further to the rear, into a wide but
shallow cave.
The community is huge by rhul-thaun standards,
with a population of 3,500, but still called a village. Its
administrator, Bal-olech, is a retired windrider yearning
for the old days. He wants to be young and spry so
that he can ride the winds again. Since this cannot
be, he lives vicariously through other windriders. Because
of his feelings, Pareth has become particularly attractive
to windriders. Bal-olech's administrations have given
merchants, safehome keepers, and others, encouragement
to offer special incentives and services to windriders. Since
this attracts new commerce, the har-etuil of the local clans
does not oppose his mandates.
Places of Note
Ger-orif's: This is the safehome favored by windriders
throughout the Jagged Cliffs. Although it is quite expensive,
the riders receive discounts based on how much time they
have been in the profession.
The five-story tavern offers food, drink and entertainment
of high quality. There is a huge fountain and even a pool
where guests can swim – a rare opportunity on Athas.
The 35 opulent rooms above and around the pool offer
relaxation and comfort unknown in most other places on
Athas. Wate
Prices
Entry Fee (paid at the door): 3 ghav-egoths
Room (per night): 10 ghav-egoths
Meal (light): 1 ghav-egoth
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Meal (sumptuous): 3 ghav-egoths
Drink: 2 ghav-egoths
Discount: 30% discount for windriders, plus 1% per
year of experience, to a maximum of 50%.
Sahr-enor Plaza: This large plaza is located near the
center of the village. Windriders use the open area to
ground their mounts. The flyers are then turned over to
tenders in the employ of the city who care for them. For a
fee of 1 ghav-egoth, a tender will oversee the needs of any
size windrider flyer for one night. The plaza is also used
for public gatherings, large entertainments (sponsored by
the city to attract windriders), and other affairs.
Sanctuary of Pareth: This sanctuary is another major
shaper stronghold, a complex built into the side of the
cliff. Using long-forgotten organic digging methods, the
ancient life-shapers created a series of rooms and corridors
within the cliff. Rumor has it that the shapers only use
a small portion of this underground domain. The vast
majority of its rooms and galleries are unused – and
for the most part, unexplored. Other rumors assert that
ancient tunnels honeycomb the entire cliff, and may be
filled with knowledge and artifacts from the distant past.
Regardless, the sanctuary of Pareth is the only existing
rhul-thaun subterranean structure.
The leader of the sanctuary is Mag-aven, a twisted
soul in a twisted body. An accident during a life-shaping
experiment disfigured her long ago and drove her partially
mad. Though she has supposedly recovered from the
insanity, she has since developed a penchant for pain
and the macabre.
The Wind's Song: This small shrine dedicated to
elemental air is built high atop a tall tower. The builders
designed this organic structure as a unique wind organ.
When the wind blows through the various holes and
tubes carved into its walls and floors, it creates an ever
changing melody of varying pitches.
There is a single cleric caring for this temple. Her name
is Fen-adan, and she mostly keeps to herself and to her
temple. Fen-adan's self-imposed duties are to maintain the
temple and to keep the tubes and orifices of the wind
organ clear and clean.
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Personalities
Las-aren: Las-aren is a professional climber who
lives in Pareth. She is completely evil and thoroughly
untrustworthy, but still manages to get enough work to
make ends meet. Occasionally, she lures prospective
employers into secluded areas in order to kill them and
strip the valuables from their pockets.
Las-aren has long black hair – unusual for a rhul-thaun
fmale. Her features are deceptively delicate, for she is
strong and capable. She prefers drab clothing and tries to
project a plain, homely appearance.
Flar-onib: Flar-onib is a wandering priest. He has no
temple to support him, but instead travels about helping
the downtrodden and poor in the name of elemental
earth. He frequents the village of Pareth more than most,
having a special affection for its people. Fen-adan, the
priestess of air in the city, dislikes him and it is rumored
that they were once lovers.
This holy man has long, unkempt brown hair and a
scraggly appearance overall. He chooses to use a simple,
life-shaped mace rather than more sophisticated weapons..
Glerran
The village of Glerran was one of the oldest established
communities of rhul-thaun still in existence today.
Glerran is even older than Pareth, but it is not as large
a community. Its name, in the language of the ancient
rhulisti, simply means “green.” In the village's heyday, the
name had meaning – it was literally surrounded by a
vertical forest. The forest is long gone, but the community
still thrives as a climber's haven.
Numerous pathways, trails, and branches of the
climbers lead to Glerran. One leads to the spot where a
vertical bridge once provided a walkway around the great
waterfall issuing from Ghavin Lake above. The organic
bridge has long since collapsed and no attempt has been
made to repair it. Only the most talented of climbers
can cross the barrier of the falls, and it is this fact that
caused the windriders to petition a number of har-etuil to
argue against rebuilding the bridge in the Conclave. The
windriders do not want increased competition.
Glerran is a village of 2,500 inhabitants. Most of
 Beyond the Tyr Region
the population makes its livelihood as merchants and
tenders, but Glerran has a greater than average number
of climbers who are employed to maintain communication
with Sol-fehn.
The village administration is actually performed by two
people, Kal-odot and Fren-anan. These twins, brother
and sister, are psionicists with mysterious and hidden
talents. The twins can switch personalities, exchanging
minds with each other so that each may occupy the
other's body by an agreement of wills, across virtually any
distance. They can also communicate telepathically at all
times without barriers. These special abilities have allowed
them to coordinate their actions and rise to a position of
power. It is actually only Kal-odot who holds the position
of administrator. His sister is seen merely as a popular
socialite who often opposes her brother's decisions. (Fren-
anan does this to play the gadfly, infiltrating organizations of
opposition, deluding enemies, and confusing competitors.)
The twins are the only functional psionicists in rhul-thaun
society. They are self-taught, and use their abilities to
further their ends.
Places of Note
Bid-unos: This is the largest temple of elemental earth
in rhul-thaun society. Its name means “earthdance,” and
in an annual display of clerical power, the priests of the
temple animate a great mass of rock outside the temple.
206
The Festival of Great Earth creates a tremendous amount
of thunderous clamor, which is annoying and frightening
to many villagers, most of whom do not associate with the
temple or its religion.
There are five priests who manage this temple.
Concealed from virtually everyone outside the priesthood,
the high priest of Bid-unos is in possession of a magic
item. Untold generations ago, at the dawn of the Age of
Magic, a group of outsiders came to the Jagged Cliffs.
A lowly cleric whom the temple of elemental air had
punished met them. He rejected the faith of air and
began to worship the power of earth. And so they exiled
him for heresy.
The tribe of outlanders was an evil band out to exploit
unexplored territory. They captured the halfling cleric
and were beginning to torture him with hot coals on
his tongue, seeking information. A pyreen who witnessed
these events attacked the group and killed them all, saving
the life of the cleric.
The halfling cleric was terrified, but when he regained
his composure, he seized the odd equipment that had
belonged to the strangers. There were certainly other
magical devices found that day. (Artifices that were lost,
inadvertently destroyed, or stolen – these may yet be
encountered somewhere among the rhul-thaun.) The
cleric's attention was drawn to a single enchanted article:
a device called an earth wand. This wand had the power
to cause stone to move and act as commanded by the
wielder. Believing he had been given a sign and a gift
from the greater element of earth, the cleric made his way
to Glerran, founded the temple, and began a tradition of
animating stone every 10 years to display the power of his
personal element. In the years since, the wand has always
been in the possession of the high priest, and in recent
times the traditional celebration of the wand's power has
been changed to an annual festival. The clerics of the
temple, however, are unaware that the wand only has two
charges left.
Because of that ancient cleric's encounter with the
pyreen, the temple preaches a doctrine of the reality of
amazingly powerful beings of nature at the top of the
cliffs, who guard the rhul-thaun and all earth worshipers
from harm.
 Beyond the Tyr Region

Sanctuary of Glerran: This large structure houses over

100 life-shapers who live and work here, growing and
nurturing their creations. The life-shapers of Glerran are a
freewilled and independent group which resents the sinister
edicts that come from the leadership in Thamasku. Under
their local superior, Dehm-acov, the Glerran shapers are
about to make their independence known to Thamasku.
They expect the inevitability of actual conflict, but they
also believe they can overcome any force Gilogres sends
to force the sanctuary into submission.

Teblish: This place is not actually as old as its name,

which means “thorny” in the tongue of the rhulisti. This
large, organic safehome was grown within the confines of
its predecessor's decaying and rotting walls. For reasons
lost to time, the previous structure on this spot was grown
so that the walls sprouted long, dangerous thorns. The
old, shriveled thorns are still visible on the outside walls
of the building, along with the remnants of the former
establishment. Inside, however, Teblish is a new and
obviously thriving enterprise.
The safehome also doubles as a theater and drama,
music, and tale-telling are all performed here. Meals and
drinks are served to everyone in the theater. The second
and third floors hold rooms for paying guests to spend the
night. The entertainment is free, and draws a large crowd
each night. Rooms cost only 3 ghav-egoths and meals run
about 1 ge.
Personalities
Seth-opal: Seth-opal is a cruel and heartless killer who
secretly operates out of the Teblish safehome, posing as a
merchant named Ren-odar. While he won't do anything
to jeopardize his cover at the Teblish, he can be hired to
work as an assassin or thief. Most of the time, however,
he works on his own, for himself, killing wealthy merchants
for their money and goods, breaking into homes, and
committing other nefarious deeds. This evil character will
always be an opponent of the player characters, who may
encounter him as he attempts to rob one of them.
Completely average in appearance, Seth-opal is a master
of disguise. He keeps his thick, black hair close-cropped
to enable him to wear wigs and other disguises. His eyes
are brown, and he rarely wears the same style of clothing
or makeup paint twice unless he is posing as Ren-odar, in
which case he wears long, bulky clothing to make himself
appear heavier.
Sahn-abish: Sahn-abish is virtually unique in rhul-
thaun society – she is a rogue life-shaper. She left the
sanctuary of Thamasku nine years ago, and has been on
the run from the shapers and their assassins ever since.
She was (and is) a talented crafter, but she disapproved
of the shapers' methods and plans. She came to Glerran
because she heard that the sanctuary in this village
was discontented with the way of things coming from
Thamasku. She has made secret contacts with Dem-acov,
voicing her support for a schism within the shapers. At
this point, however, she chooses to keep her presence
concealed.
Sahn-abish has long red hair that she keeps
tucked up inside a leather cap when she is traveling
incognito. Her clothing too is simple, in order to avoid
attracting attention.
Sahr-tosh
Known as the city of storms, bitter winds and inclement
weather often besiege this village. The reason for the
savagery of the storms here is simply that this is the most
exposed ledge settlement of the rhul-thaun. Nevertheless,

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 Beyond the Tyr Region

storms are more frequent in this part of the cliffs, and

Sahr-tosh was built in an unfortunate location. The
population remains steadfast despite the danger, however,
and approximately 2,000 halflings make their homes in
Sahr-tosh.
Because of an odd effect of Rajaat's Curse from the
swamp below, the mist near Sahrtosh often takes on a
rainbow cast. Colors cascade, pulsing and scintillating
for hours at a time, day or night, in patternless, random
intervals.
Rel-anir is the city's administrator and chief life-shaper.
In Sahr-tosh more than anywhere else, the shapers are in
complete control. With Rel-anir as their superior, they
wield absolute economic and political power.
Sahr-tosh is a rough and rugged community, with
few places of luxury or comfort. Most of the people are
common folk, working hard to make a life for themselves
on this ledge. Many of the inhabitants are tenders, caring
for the creations of the many lifeshapers who work in this
village.
Pterrans dwell dangerously close to Sahr-tosh, and
villagers require protection as do windriders, climbers, and
travelers. Therefore, many of its citizens follow the warrior
trade. Mercenaries are easy to find here, as well as other,
less savory freelancers – many of them seeking less than
reputable employment.
The pterrans have never assaulted the village itself, and
most likely will not. They occasionally attempt to isolate
climbers and attack them or swoop down on windriders,
striking from the backs of their pterrax mounts. In similar
fashion, patrols of climbing and windriding rhul-thaun
warriors – vher-elus under the command of the life-shapers
– hunt pterrax that stray near the village.
The life-shapers, as a group, harbor a particular hatred
for other intelligent races. While this is an inherent
contradiction of the philosophy that “all life is sacred,”
raising this question in Sahr-tosh is unwise. Expressing
anti-shaper sentiments is not a crime, as such, but those
who do are usually punished nonetheless.
Places of Note
Sanctuary of Sahr-tosh: This sanctuary is
disproportionately large for the community in which it
finds itself. Because they are in total political control of
the village, the Sahrtosh shapers are rarely taken to task
for the excesses of their actions.
Furthermore, since they are practically immune
from prosecution, they use their sanctuary to carry out
extremely dangerous experiments and to hide their
failures and deepest secrets. It is here, too, that they
keep their prohibited servants, the ghav-nosh, the takers
of life. The ghav-nosh are the shapers' personal assassins.
They use unique, and particularly deadly shaped weapons
to eliminate their masters' enemies. They are, ironically,
killers in the employ of the masters of life.
Stormtower: This is the highest tower in the village,
and functions as a prison of sorts. Long ago, 14 different,
powerfully shaped creations of the rhulisti were sealed into
cocoon-like pods. No one remembers how they can be
safely opened, nor exactly what lies within the pods. Semi-
transparent nodules on the pods reveal cloudy, uncertain
shapes, and certainly some of them are intelligent creatures.
Rather than destroy them, the life-shapers have chosen to
keep them here, locked away and well guarded, until such
time as someone can determine what they are and what
they can do. All that the people of the village know about
Stormtower is that something dangerous and forbidden is
kept under guard in the top of the tower.
Personalities
Wem-osun: Wem-osun is the life-shaper's main enemy

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 Beyond the Tyr Region

in Sahr-tosh. He leads a small underground movement

to strike at them and the ghav-nosh. He is an ally of the
shapers in Glerran, who secretly send him supplies and
assistance when they can. He makes full use of his psionic
abilities to aid him in his fight.
A handsome rebel, despite the fact that he is getting
on in years (even for a halfling), he is a robust man and
a formidable foe. Though he won't tell, some say that he
is over 100 years old. His medium-length black hair is
greying.

Yihn-tol
The village of Yihn-tol gained the name Climber's
Home in times past when it was the center for the climbing
profession. While that role has diminished, Yihn-tol is
still a successful village of 1,800 inhabitants. It is also
situated further down the cliff side than any other halfling
settlement on the Jagged Cliffs. This presents two unusual
challenges for the community.
The first problem is Rajaat's Curse. Being the village
closest to the swamp means that terrifying effects emanating
from it present a greater risk to those who live here.
The mysterious incidents caused by the swamp's energies
sometimes result in disaster. Fire, sickness, blight, and
mysterious disappearances are all traced to Rajaat's Curse.
The curse alters people, warping the bodies and even the
minds of the inhabitants, particularly the newborn.
The second trial is yet another threat from the swamp,
this time from the monsters down below that seek a
purchase a little higher on the cliffs. All manner of
horrors breed within the swamp and some of them leave
to ascend the bluffs. Most are clumsy climbers, illused to
the bright and open ridges, and the city's defenders easily
ward them off.
Yet far worse are the reggelids, who live at the base of
the cliffs and wield strange powers. Thankfully, they rarely
seek to come as high as Yihn-tol. Finally, and worst of
all, are the rare but dangerous assaults of the thri-kreen.
When the mantis warriors seek to find a way up the cliffs,
they often choose to attack Yihn-tol first.
Because of these threats, Yihn-tol is the only truly
fortified halfling community. Walls of stone and other
defenses protect the village. A large, well-armed garrison
of vher-elus stands vigilant and ready to repel any attack.
Unique among the vher-elus, however, their attention is
directed outside the settlement rather than within it.
There is no life-shaper sanctuary in Yihn-tol. The shapers
refuse to risk either themselves or their growth chambers
to the tender mercies of Rajaat's Curse and swamp-born
monsters. All of the shaped constructs required by the
community must be shipped in from other villages. Life-
shapers are flown in when a new building is to be created,
and leave immediately upon completion. Because of this,
The people of Yihn-tol have taken steps to reduce their
needs for organic tools, products, and even structures.
Places of Note
Brewefam: Housing producers of wonderful leather
goods, this place is named for its odd appearance.
Apparently, a flaw during its growth caused the building
to “sweat.” The walls of Bren-efam draw moisture from
the air and the earth and secrete it out of the tiny pores
in its surface. The seepage is a thick, syrupy ooze that is
strangely sweet to the taste and quite harmless.
Ter-ogon's: This safehome caters to adventurers. Daring
halflings occasionally decide to brave the dangers of the
swamp or the kreen-infested savanna to learn what secrets
and treasures they hold. When they do, they come to
Yihn-tol first, and always end up at Ter-ogon's.
Ter-ogon's is also a hideout for Chahn terrorists and

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
other, even more disreputable, types. The comforts it offers
are few, but pickings in Yihn-tol are slim. A night's stay
costs 2 ghav-egoths, and a meal costs 1 ge.
Personalities
Pev-ovas: Pev-ovas is chief of the Chahn in Yihn-tol.
He is a homicidal, megalomaniacal lunatic. He cares little
for the feelings of others or for the cause he “supports.”
He uses the Chahn as a vehicle for personal power and as
an outlet for his destructive aggression. He has a number
of subordinates, some of whom delude themselves into
thinking that Pev-ovas is fighting for the cause of right.
The rest are as dangerously evil as he.
Ter-omak
The Ter-omak was named for a great warrior, whose name
meant day hunter. When an earthquake weakened the
ledges where two halfling villages were located, threatening
to destroy them both, Ter-omak led the people to a site he
had found while hunting – a place for a new village. He
coordinated the mass exodus while the har-etuils of the
concerned clans were still debating what should be done.
So great was the gratitude of the people that they named
the new consolidated community after him. His popularity
convinced the har-etuil to appoint him the community's
administrator, a position the hunter was ill-prepared for,
but one he held until his death decades later.
Today Ter-omak is a community of 1,500 residents.
Nicely placed at the center of the settled portion of
the Jagged Cliffs, this village is a hub of climber and
windrider traffic. Several safehomes indulge the needs of
travelers.
The current administrator of Ter-omak is Vit-obaer, a
man with his hands full of problems. There are essentially
only two clans in Ter-omak (each formerly belonged to
one of the two tiny villages that were united by Ter-
omak), the Flahd and the Bein. The clans are currently
in a state of feud, and occasionally the fuss turns violent.
The reasons for the conflict are diverse and number in
the hundreds, including property rights, lovers' quarrels,
lies, counter lies, false dealings, and a myriad of personal
affronts.
The two factions keep the lawkeepers constantly
210
employed, dealing with everything from small acts of
vandalism and terrorism to the violence that sometime
erupts throughout the village.
Places of Note
Bein Clanhouse: Unlike other clanhouses of the rhul-
thaun (many of which are no longer in use), the Bein
Clanhouse is a virtual fortress. The Bein believe that
the only way to eliminate their enemies is through open
warfare, to force the Flahd to submit. Therefore, war in
the streets is inevitable. In order to prepare themselves,
they are stockpiling weapons of all sorts, food, and other
supplies. Though the clan is obviously far too large to
ever be able to bring everyone inside and protect them,
it is fortified against attack and can keep up to 100
clansmen safe and supplied for a limited time. Their self-
appointed military leader, Finaheon, constantly upgrades
their defenses and military plans.
Flahd Clanhouse: The Flahd clanhouse is as fortified
and well-stocked as that of the Bein. Reth-olus is a har-
etuil for the Flahd clan who also serves as its commander
in time of conflict.
The safehomes: Six establishments purvey food, drink,
and lodging to the large amount traffic that passes through
the village. Unfortunately, casualties of the feud between
the clans are not just local clan members. Simply staying
the night at a safehome run by one clan automatically
makes one an enemy of the other. Each controls three
safehomes, and prices are low in all of them. A night's
stay is 2 ghav-egoths, and a meal is only 1 ge.
Personalities
Tkaun-osir: Thaun-osir is also known as the Peacemaker.
He is doing whatever he can to stop the conflict between
the two feuding clans. He has a large heart, but very little
idea what he is doing. When news of a battle or potential
confrontation between the clans reaches him, he races
off to try to stop it. Usually, his unwise and ineffective
endeavors only exacerbate the situation.
Though short, even for a halfling, Thaun-osir's strength
and battle prowess is great – unfortunately, he loathes
violence. His long brown hair is often falling into his face,
 Beyond the Tyr Region
getting in his eyes.
Vir-rath
This village is named for the odd shape of the ledge
on which it is built. In fact, it really isn't built upon a
ledge at all, but rather at the top of a pinnacle of rock
that thrusts upward from a cliff slope. The pinnacle top
consists of three separate levels and the village is built
on these.
One of the greatest demands on the villagers of Vir-
rath face is the inaccessibility of water. Windriders and
climbers are needed to haul water up from nearby pools
and waterfalls. Thousands of years ago, life-shaped engines
pumped water up to the top of the peak in huge, organic
pipes. Now, however, the pool has long since dried-up and
the engines have fallen into disrepair. No living shaper
remembers how to repair them and new ones are just too
expensive.
The population of this village is around 1,300. Most
of the people are employed as tenders, though there are
many fine craftsmen here as well, working in stone, leather,
cloth, and other materials. Finally, Vir-rath is known for
its painters and sculptors.
Nowhere else in rhul-thaun society are class distinctions
as apparent as in Vir-rath. The three levels of the village
are inhabited by the poor, the middle class, and the
wealthy in ascending order.
211
Places of Note
The Crook of Her Arm: This safehome is the favored
establishment of painters because of its wide, open views
of the surrounding community. Prices are inexpensive – a
night's stay costs 1 ghav-egoth, and a meal is usually less
than 1 ge.
Pinnacle: This is another safehome, but it is located
at the top level of the village and is the highest point of
the settlement. It is an expensive place to stay and eat,
although the prices seem quite arbitrary, based on the
whim of the owner. Res-ohin, is a fat halfling whom most
of his patrons believe is insane. A room for one night
here can range from 2 to 20 ghav-egoths, and a meal can
cost from 1 to 10 ge.
Personalities
Zohr-otosh: The city administrator appointed Zohr-
otosh water master. His duties are to watch over water
supplies and make sure the city's reserves are maintained
and safe. This makes him a powerful individual, since the
price of water is so high in this village. The cleric takes his
job very seriously, and has hired a number of trustworthy
guards to help him watch over the city's reservoir.
In appearance, Zohr-otosh is unremarkable. His brown
hair matches his brown eyes that match the brown
clothing he wears under shell armor. He keeps his armor
and weapons ready at all times – just to be safe.
Sunnil
As one might gather from the construction of its name,
Sunnil's roots are ancient. The city has declined since
its founding, and now finds itself one of the least of the
ledge communities. Sunnil is a village of 1,000 residents,
known for its breweries.
Sunnil's administrator, Mak-amoar, is extremely ill – a
victim of the debilitating effects of Rajaat's Curse. The
har-etuil are loath to have to find a replacement for this
popular official, but there may be little choice. She is
bedridden and barely able to keep up her duties even
through assistants.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Places of Note
Clon-sin Bridge: This stone bridge connects the two
ledges on which Sunnil is built. It is the longest bridge
ever erected by the rhul-thaun that is still in existence,
stretching nearly 500 yards. The bridge is wide enough for
20 halflings to walk abreast. Organic buildings grow along
the sides of the bridge to utilize precious space. Most of
these buildings house lower-class homes.
Hast-ulon Temple: This temple of elemental water is
maintained by two clerics, Thavadern and Lus-okuhv, a
married couple who have a great deal of political influence
in this small village. They are consulted by the local har-
etuil on matters of importance, and even those who pay
no heed to the faith of water respect these two.
Personalities
Ther-adar: This windrider makes her home in Sunnil.
She is the daughter of the current administrator, but she
has no desire to take her place. Her home is in the skies,
and no one can make her believe otherwise. Nevertheless,
she feels guilty about letting her mother down.
Ther-adar is rugged and tough. Her black hair is cut
very short, and she is rarely seen in anything but sturdy
work clothes.
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Reg-tol
The small village of Reg-tol, known as Lordshome,
was once a community of the wealthy – a retreat where
the rich and powerful could escape the rigors of life in
Thamasku. Before that, it was the traditional dwelling
place of the rhul-thaun high lord – a position not held
for thousands of years. Since its founding, however, it has
grown into a lively but respectable village. Eight hundred
people live in Reg-tol, making it the smallest inhabited
community of the cliffs, but it is still larger than the tiny
camps that dot the cliff face.
Personalities
Dhar-ahan: Dhar-ahan is a professional pickpocket,
cutpurse, and burglar. If that were all, she would be just
one of the many who tread on the dark side, and nothing
more would need to be said. Dhar-ahan is different,
however, for not long ago she uncovered a thrikreen plot
to use psionics to infiltrate and destroy the rhul-thaun.
Worse, she agreed to help them in exchange for her life.
Dhar-ahan has medium-length black hair, and dark,
bloodshot eyes. She wears wildly flamboyant body paint,
particularly on her face.
Bav-rem
Bav-rem is now an empty ruin of abandoned basement
pits and discarded articles. Once this was a small but
thriving community in the north, near the falls of the
same name. (The village was named for the waterfall,
whose name means “death drop.“) Just a few months ago,
a group of climbers carrying messages and provisions to
Bav-rem found – nothing. All of the inhabitants and even
the village's buildings, had vanished.
Subsequent expeditions determined that something large
and amorphous strayed hrough the village. Disturbingly,
according to the tracks it left, it seemed to grow larger
as it slithered through the community. Everything organic
– halflings, buildings, lifeshaped creations, and even the
wild plants growing nearby – were no more. One of the
explorers noticed that there were no insects in the area.
Only inorganic materials and objects remained.
 Beyond the Tyr Region

The Truth
The cause of the disappearance of Bav-rem has not
yet been discovered, but it has alarmed a great many
people. Many felt that other villages would be attacked in
a similar way, but as of yet, nothing has happened. Most
believe that a horror from the swamp destroyed the village.
Others fear that the kreen were again on the move and
this time made it all the way up to Bav-rem.
The actual origin of the calamity was a furtive life-
shaping experiment gone awry. Three life-shapers in
the local sanctuary had discovered an ancient formula
for producing a new life-shaped construct. Although it
contained principles they did not understand, they chose
to use the formula anyway, thinking that if they were
successful, their fame would be assured. As it was, the
fateful consequences of their actions were so pervasive and
servants. The yuan-ti that dwell in the Forbidden City
complete that they did not even achieve infamy.
raid the local tribes for food and slaves, and sometimes
The accidental formulation created a semi-sentient
they grow bold enough to waylay large war parties of
creature with the ability to absorb other organic substances
halflings or thri-kreen that venture too close.
into its body, convert the material, and add the substance
to its own mass. It began first as a tiny blob of protoplasm,
then it started to grow at an alarming rate. It consumed the The Lost Clans
life-shaped creations in the laboratory where it was born. Halfling fables tell of a number of clans to the far, far
Next it absorbed its creators and the other life-shapers north who long ago lost contact with the rest of society.
in the sanctuary, consuming their constructs as well. Different versions of these tales each cite a distinct reason
Spreading out from the shapers' sanctuary, it groped its for the isolation. Some claim that the lost halflings left to
way through the village, drawing every living thing into its find a better land in which to make their homes. Others
ever expanding bulk. Nothing escaped. The creature then contend that they were outcasts and nonconformists who
wandered to a nearby cave to rest. The giant protoplasmic disliked the way rhul-thaun society worked. Still others
creature has lost much of its mass, and eventually it must tell tales of a great disaster, an earthquake, plague, or
feed again. To make matters worse, the beast may go into invasion that drove the clans away. Even the pterrans,
mitosis and produce a duplicate of itself. during a period of rare communication, have alluded
to other halfling communities on the cliffs beyond those
The Forbidden City known to the rhul-thaun.
In any event, the surmised existence of the lost clans has
Within the jungles south of Thamasku, an ancient
never been confirmed. Sometimes climbers and windriders
city half overgrown by withered vines and stunted
claim to have seen the villages of the lost clans – or even
trees crumbles into ruin. The nomadic halflings of the
claim membership in the clans of lost names. No real
surrounding tribes whisper fearful tales of Tham Nusul –
evidence exists to prove their reality. If halfling clans do
the Forbidden City. They tell of serpentfolk that come in
lie to the north, several unanswered questions are still to
the night, silent as shadows, and steal children from their
be raised. How has their society deviated from the rhul-
cribs. They tell of plants that seek the blood of the living,
thaun during the thousands of years of separation? What
and of a devil in the cisterns below the city that ensnares
life-shaping skills might they have retained that are lost to
its victims with illusions and turns them into mindless
the rhul-thaun? What else lies to the mysterious north?

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 Beyond the Tyr Region

Bvanen Cave City

When the rhul-thaun first encountered the bvanen,
they thought that these amphibians were simply monsters.
Long ago they waged great battles against them, for
the rhulthaun believed the carnivorous bvanen were a
threat to the villages near the cliff bottoms where the
amphibians apparently lived. It was not until two halflings
escaped from the bvanen cave-city, after capture by one
of their hunting parties, that the truth was discovered.
The escapees reported a surprising level of sophistication,
intelligence, and benevolence.
The city, they reported, was found in a subterranean
cavern accessed by a narrow entrance well hidden in a
crevice near the base of the cliffs. An entrance evidently
lay below and 30 miles north of the village of Vir-rath.
Half submerged in an underground lake, the city consists
of individual nest-homes fashioned of mud, sticks, and
other plants, coated overall with a shell of hardened ooze
secreted by the bvanen.
The amphibians showed a great deal of organization
within their community. Every member had a position in
a hierarchy – a sort of pecking order. The position of each
was symbolized by scars carved into the bvanens' flesh, as
were important nonverbal messages of status, current duty,
and personal designs.
The individuals in the city were divided into two
groups – warrior/hunters and caretakers. The warrior/
hunters protected the city and obtained food. The
caretakers looked after the young and the needs of the
community and domesticated beasts. The Bvanen keep
an amphibious form of inix, some large fish, and a variety
of other relatively harmless animals. These are used as
pets, food, and in the case of the inix, transport.
The halfling prisoners were well-treated. The bvanen,
once they had learned that their captives were also
intelligent creatures, refused to eat them, but apparently
held them as curiosities. Attempts at communication were
unsuccessful until a bvanen with the psionic mindlink
power came to them. He probed their minds, presumably
learning a great deal about rhul-thaun culture.
Overall, the halflings found their captors to be gentle
and kind to them and their animals. They used almost
no tools or weapons, relying solely on their own psionic
abilities and natural strength. Nevertheless, they were a
successful and thriving race, content to keep to themselves.
This, of course, happened hundreds of years ago. Since
then, many halflings have wondered why the two prisoners
were allowed to escape with their knowledge. Perhaps
the bvanen hoped this would end the hostilities between
the races. Certainly the amphibians have not initiated
any conflict with the halflings. The rhul-thaun, in turn,
have simply avoided the bvanen whenever possible. The
Conclave of Har-etuil has never made an official ruling
regarding the bvanen, or how they should be treated when
encountered. Many cynics claimed that if the bvanen
produced anything that could be sold or traded, the har-
etuil, in a fit of mercantile zeal, would have successfully
communicated and established relations with them long
ago.
Pterran Tribes
Several tribes of reptilian pterrans roost in heights of
the cliffs, in the northern reaches of the region. Although
neither evil nor particularly expansionist, these territorial
creatures have endured many misunderstandings with the
halflings that have resulted in bloodshed. Their alien
outlook and suspicious nature make true peace and
understanding between the races virtually impossible.
Like their cousins in the Hinterland, these pterrans
use pterrax as mounts as they hunt along the cliff face.

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
This often brings confrontations with windriding rhul-
thaun hunters. Aerial battles are common, although both
sides usually avoid them whenever possible, since they are
difficult to fight and harder to survive. A wounded flying
mount may take itself and its rider to their deaths, either
dashing into the cliff face or plummeting all the way to
the swampy bottom.
Unlike the reggelids or the bvanen, some pterrans
have learned to use the life-shaped creations of the
halflings. They do not have the knowledge, the skills,
or the facilities to maintain and tend the creatures in
most cases. Nevertheless, they enjoy stealing them and
using them until they die. This, more than anything else,
infuriates the rhul-thaun, for the pterrans have no respect
for life-shaped creations or even for life in general. Many
halflings – even some har-etuil – believe that steps should
be taken to drive off the pterrans or to eradicate them
altogether. Such a war would be bloody, with great losses
of life on both sides. Those halflings who believe most
strongly in the sanctity of life are obviously set against any
attempts at genocide.
The pterrans are nomadic, but keep to the upper regions
of the cliffs and avoid settling close to halfling villages.
The Great Rift
The Great Rift is an irregular crevice that's wide at the
Jagged Cliffs and narrows to a point just south of the
Dragon Crown Mountains. The rough walls drop straight
down to a gently declining floor that reaches almost the
level of the Hinterlands, then slowly dips the two miles
necessary to reach the level of the Crimson Savanna as it
runs toward the west. At its widest point, the Rift opens
for 25 miles.
The gentle incline makes for an easy climb from the
highlands to the lowlands. At the bottom of the Rift, the
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foul swamp that stretches along the base of the Cliffs
waits, though as luck would have it the Rift's mouth opens
at the swamp's narrowest location. A few strange monsters
from the swamp have moved into the Rift, and gaping
holes in the Rift's walls allow some subterranean horrors
to emerge. As such, the Rift isn't a safe place to travel.
Tohr-kreen loyal to the Kreen Empire are using the
Rift as a means for reaching the highlands. So far, only
exploratory teams have made it into the highlands, but
the kreen are definitely investigating the possibility of
launching a full-scale invasion in preparation for expanding
their empire.
Si'jidzak
A few miles into the Rift but still near the bottom
of the incline, the kreen have built a fortified wall and
stronghold they call the Si'jidzak. Literally translated as
“the Battle Wall,” the Si'jidzak is made of sand and the
exuded resins of slave insects. The wall is nearly 500 feet
tall. The sand has been piled and shaped, then coated
with a hard, smooth, crystalline material. A rounded
building constructed in the same fashion stands against
the wall. It's about 40 feet tall, serving as a silent sentry
beside a pair of massive gates.
The Si'jidzak serves two functions. First, it allows the
kreen to monitor what gets to enter the Rift, thereby
keeping the creatures of the swamp from migrating into
the highlands. Second, it serves as a base for exploration
teams sent into the highlands to discover the lay of the
land. Additionally, the warriors assigned to protect the
Battle Wall are also on hand to keep highlanders from
invading the Crimson Savanna. The kreen don't recognize
non-kreen societies as threats (or even as civilizations), but
they do know that wild beasts can cause a degree of harm
if allowed to run free.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
The Crimson Savanna
The lowlands beyond the Jagged Cliffs are made up
almost exclusively of a vast, seemingly endless grassland
called the Crimson Savanna. Tall grass bursts from fertile
red soil, reaching nearly 8 feet into the sky. The heat of
the day turns a fine layer of the topsoil into dust, which
the wind carries everywhere. This dust clings to the blades
of grass and hangs in the sky, painting the area red and
giving the savanna its name.
Temperatures across the savanna aren't as sweltering
as those in the highlands. It rarely gets hotter than 110
degrees, and never rises above 130 degrees. Besides the
abundance of thick, lush grass, water is more readily
available. It's not as wet as the Jagged Cliffs, but the
savanna experiences more rainfall than the highlands, has
a few wetlands, and even has some rivers coursing through
its jungle of grass.
It rains an average of twice a month across the savanna.
Some storms on the savanna produce flash floods, or
turn the soil into thick, sucking mud, or carry a frenzy of
lightning that dances from sky to ground with destructive
force and often sets the grass aflame.
The savanna sustains many types of grazing creatures
and the usual variety of predators they attract. While
there are mammals, birds, and reptiles, the majority of
creatures living in the grasslands are insectoids. From the
highly civilized kreen to giant k'cin crawlers to tiny clear-
wing fliers, thousands of insect species fill the sky, the tall
grass, and the red soil below.
Methods of Travel
Because most of the grasslands are flat, travel isn't all
that difficult. The tall grass and patches of soft dirt and
mud can make it tough for wheeled vehicles, but walking
isn't too much of a problem. Travelers can also find
paths stamped through the grass by the large grazers that
inhabit the area, and roads maintained by the kreen that
connect their cities and villages together.
There are hazards that could end a trip very quickly if
a traveler isn't careful. The grass limits visibility, growing
in thick clumps that rise to heights of 6 feet or more. It
hides unfriendly creatures, mud sinks, and other dangers
behind its curtain of red and green. When the wind blows,
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the jungle of grass sways and ripples, making it difficult
to hear predators moving nearby. The wind also coughs
up clouds of red dust, making it even harder to see for
any distance. Those walking through the tall grass must
also watch out for rainstorms. They can appear without
warning, scorching the ground with lightning and possibly
producing a flood of water that could wash travelers away
in a slide of mud. In these situations, drowning is a very
real possibility.
The grass itself poses a danger to those who don't have
a tough carapace or armor protecting their frail flesh. The
individual blades have sharp, dagger-like edges that easily
slice flesh that brushes against the grass.
The greatest danger, by far, comes from the creatures
that stalk the savanna for prey. Humans and humanoids
are unknown in the grasslands, but that doesn't mean
a few won't serve as hearty meals for hundredclaws or
tangle bugs. The imperial kreen also count as a major
hazard. They believe that the savanna belongs to their
empire, and that everything living in it is theirs. The kreen
don't recognize non-kreen as intelligent creatures, and
even the thri-kreen from the Tablelands are looked upon
as backward cousins at best. Humans and humanoids
can expect to be treated as slaves at best-or, at worst, as
potential meals.
Features of the Crimson Savanna
The savanna is made up of the following types of
terrain-grasslands, swamp, rocky badlands, stony barrens,
and mountains. These terrain types are described below.
Grasslands
Grasslands make up the majority of the savanna. Each
blade of grass grows to about 6 feet tall and as much as
a foot wide. The grass is a deep green in color, though
it may appear red due to the clinging dust. The edges of
each blade are as sharp as knives, and the slightest touch
can cut and draw blood from those without protective
coverings of some sort. A less prevalent variety, identified
by a purple vein running vertically through the blade,
carries a deadly poison which it delivers when it cuts.
Plants, flowers, and weeds grow among the tall blades
of grass, providing different sources of nourishment to
the creatures who come here to graze. Few creatures can
 Beyond the Tyr Region
readily eat the tall grass, but the younger blades have not
yet developed the razor edge that makes them so deadly.
The tall grass hides pools of standing water, small
streams, and patches of mud from casual observance.
Travelers should be on guard for the mud patches, for
many of these are actually mud sinks. A mud sink is a
deep puddle of mud that sucks whatever wanders into it
below the surface. Like quicksand, a mud sink pulls its
victims beneath the mud, trapping them and killing them
by suffocation.
Swamps
At least two swamps exist in the savanna closest to the
Jagged Cliffs. One has already been discussed. That's the
one that occupies the base of the cliff face. The second
divides the known portion of the savanna. It's called Kano,
a kreen word meaning cold that also has connotations
relating to the kreen's cold hell. A mighty river cascades
out of a western mountain range toward the Jagged Cliffs.
On its way, it pools in a depression that has become the
Kano Swamp. The kreen of the area avoid this swamp, for
its excessive wetness can cause a variety of illnesses in the
insectoids, not the least of which is chitin rot.
Swamps contain mud, water, plants of all descriptions,
and a multitude of creatures. Kano Swamp, for example,
houses a vast collection of reptiles not found anywhere
else in the savanna. Travelers can escape some of the
217
insectoid terrors of the grasslands by plunging into Kano
Swamp. However, the predators in its dark interior are as
deadly – or deadlier – than most of the predators stalking
through the tall grass outside.
Rocky Badlands
Rocky badlands of the Crimson Savanna resemble
the badlands already discussed in the Jagged Cliffs and
Tyr Regions. Like those found elsewhere, these badlands
usually surround mountain ranges or other rises of land,
like Kazin's Bluff in the extreme north. The greatest
differences revolve around the types of creatures inhabiting
the twisting canyons. As the badlands aren't the important
sources for food and water or the refuge for slave tribes
and hermits that they are in the highlands, they instead
become lairs for predators who hunt the grasslands.
Stony Barrens
Stony barrens and mountains also have much the same
characteristics as those found in other parts of Athas. Stony
barrens, however, are extremely rare. The only known tract
of this type of terrain in the Crimson Savanna surrounds
the mountains northwest of Kano Swamp. Mountains
aren't plentiful, but a few ranges burst up from the sea
of grass to scrape the sky. The tallest of those near the
Jagged Cliffs are the peaks of the Koschak Mountains.
The river that runs through Kano Swamp starts in the
heights of these barren thrusts of rock. The name comes
from the kreen language and means “holder of knowledge
in the sky.” The other ranges are little more than piles of
jagged stone rising from the badlands.
Encounters in the Crimson Savanna
Insects of all types and sizes inhabit the savanna, and
if travelers don't find them, they'll find the travelers. The
majority of these insects have the cunning of predators or
the fear-induced survival instinct of grazers, but only the
kreen and a few slave-race insectoids have true intelligence.
To'ksa, a subspecies of kreen who resemble the thri-
kreen of the Tyr Region, will probably be the first of
the imperial kreen that travelers will encounter. These
barbaric nomads live outside the cities and villages of
the empire, constantly hunting for food and sport. If they
 Beyond the Tyr Region

encounter non-kreen travelers, they won't recognize them

as anything but strange mammals. They'll be curious, of
course, but in the end they'll hunt them down and kill
them. If the travelers taste particularly good, the to'ksa
might take the leftovers to one of the imperial settlements
to share with the i'haaz (imperial leader).
The tohr-kreen of the city of Thaythilor actively seek
to explore the land at the top of the Great Rift (the
Hinterlands west of the Ringing Mountains). Not officially
a part of any kreen nation, Thaythilor is an imperial city
far from the heart of the empire. Tohr-kreen and modified
zik-trin warriors and scouts from this city are most often
encountered- near the Cliffs, especially in the area nearest
the mouth of the Rift.
Members of the j'ez and j'hol nations can be encountered
near the cities and villages of their nations, while any kind
of kreen can be met on the Imperial Road. Except for the emperor. The cities closest to the Haazi'sa, the emperor's
kreen of Thaythilor (who have seen “talking mammals” home, contain a mixture of different kreen types. The
up close), the kreen of the other nearby communities cities farthest from the Haazi'sa, on the other hand, are
have heard only the vaguest rumors concerning intelligent usually devoted to a single kreen nation and therefore
mammals to the east. For this reason, no encounter with feature a majority of one specific type of kreen.
the kreen will be easy – and most will end in slavery or There are six types of true kreen: j'ez, identified by
death. black chitin and four-fingered hands; j'hol, who have red
chitin and an almost humanoid form; jeral, sandy-yellow
The Kreen Empire in color (one of two subspecies common to the Tyr
Region); to'ksa, marked by sandy-yellow chitin and four-
Beyond the Jagged Cliffs, past the veil of the Misty fingered hands (the other subspecies found in the Tyr
Border, a vast empire of kreen nations dominates the Region); t'keech, who are dark green; and tondi, who have
Crimson Savanna. Unlike the thri-kreen of the Tablelands, an unusual mottled purple- pink chitin.
the imperial kreen have a civilization that, in many ways,
outclasses the city-states of the sorcerer-kings. Much of the Kreen Cities
details concerning the Kreen Empire remain a mystery,
but glimpses into the workings of this alien society have The kreen cities and villages closest to the Jagged Cliffs
been revealed. lie on the frontier of the empire. The j'ez city of J'eztere
Kreen, in the language of the mantis-men, means and its satellite villages (Ko'teg and Z'aythar) control a
people – specifically, sapient insect-people with mantis region of the savanna south of Kano Swamp. North of
like qualities. Thri-kreen, more specifically, means nomad the swamp, the j'hol nation controls the city of L'rax and
people. So, the thri-kreen of the Tablelands are wanderers, a few connected villages (namely Dezig and Awthuuk). In
while the Kreen Empire of the northwest encompasses the same area, one city and two villages are considered to
all types of mantis-people. Note that all of the kreen of be imperial holdings, with mixed kreen populations. These
the north are tohr-kreen, which simply means the settled are Thaythilor, Nirik, and Kakikix.
people.
The Kreen Empire is called G'lathuk, the family of G'lathuk Society
nations. It's a loose confederation of kreen nations which The Kreen Empire has a firmly established caste system
pay tribute of one sort or another to the Haazi, the kreen

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
in which everyone has a specific function. At the top is
the Haazi. The current kreen emperor is a male j'hol who
rarely leaves the sanctuary of the Haazi'sa (the imperial
capital). Beneath the emperor, the individual kreen
subspecies fall into the following hierarchy: j'ez, j'hol, jeral,
t'keech, to'ksa, and tondi. There are ranks and positions
of status within each subspecies, as well, though no to'ksa
will ever earn the positions or privileges available to a j'ez.
Members of the j'ez subspecies are lawful in nature and
tend to fill roles as leaders and bureaucrats. They command
legions, oversee work details, rule imperial holdings, and
perform the administrative functions necessary to keep the
empire running smoothly.
J'hol, in general, have an evil bend. They make up the
majority of the empire's military base, though they also
make good builders and crafters.
Those of the jeral subspecies tend to be of good
alignment. In the empire, they serve as teachers, though
a few also own ranches and farms. The haazik, priests
dedicated to the service of the Haazi, are culled from this
kreen type.
T'keech generally fall into either the neutral good or
neutral evil camp. In imperial society, these kreen are
the laborers, performing tasks that the other subspecies
consider beneath them but that are too complicated for
any of the enslaved insectoid races to be trusted with.
Members of the to'ksa subspecies are chaotic in nature.
They're the shock troops and gladiators of the empire. In
219
general, they don't hold a firm position in imperial society.
The place they do have is considered to be the bottom
rung on the societal ladder. They are wanderers in a
settled society, barbarians among the civilized kreen. They
are nomads and hunters who fill the wilderness between
imperial holdings. When the empire prepares to go to war,
it gathers clans of to'ksa to use as the first line of attack.
If the to'ksa are at the bottom rung of the imperial caste
system, then the tondi don't even make it onto the ladder.
These kreen are neutral in nature, though they can have
either a lawful or chaotic bend. They are loners who have
a great love of nature and usually follow the druidic path.
This subspecies is extremely rare, and they almost never
enter the imperial cities or villages.
Another type of kreen needs to be discussed, as its
members play an important role in G'lathuk society.
While not of the same evolutionary track as the tohrkreen,
zik-chil are members of a distantly related offshoot race.
Their name literally means the priests of change, and their
function is to change kreen into biologically engineered
super creatures. Pale in color and cold and manipulative
in nature, zikchil are lawful evil scientists. Through
biological processes that alter the exterior of a kreen,
zik-chil create the zik-trin (altered near-persons who are
engineered monsters modified for specific tasks: scouting,
retrieving information, combat, climbing, etc.).
The zik-chil serve the emperor. They are revered and
feared by other kreen, and their work and position gives
them religious overtones that can't be ignored. In specific,
they oversee an inquisition that roots out anyone who
interferes with the business of the emperor and empire.
Current Endeavors
The cities and villages of the Kreen Empire appear
alien to people from the Tyr Region. Built with excreted
material from enslaved insectoids, the design of each
structure has an organic and definite insect like quality
that disturbs most humans and humanoids. Each looks
as if it was grown instead of constructed, made up of a
macabre, almost disturbing series of spires, domes, and
membranous walkways, and filled with kreen of many
different shapes and colors.
The various nations get along through the common
tribute they all pay to the Haazi. However, the G'lathuk
 Beyond the Tyr Region
has grown too large to support itself. The time is coming
for the family of nations to add new nations to itself. One
of the most promising directions for this expansion is east-
up the Great Rift and into the highlands.
To facilitate this expansion, the zik-chil have been
creating elite combat specialists called zik-trin'ak and
sending them into the Tablelands to explore and gather
intelligence. As the tohr-kreen of the empire don't consider
anything other than kreen to be intelligent, they have
no problem contemplating moving into territory currently
controlled by humans and humanoids. If the G'lathuk
does decide to colonize the areas east of the Jagged Cliffs,
it will mean a terrible war between insectand mammal-
based life forms.
Not everyone in the empire desires a violent solution
to the overcrowding in the savanna. Many factions within
each kreen nation seek to break ties with the empire, or
at least to change the direction that things have been
heading. For example, the zik-chil have such close ties to
the Haazi that some say they are controlling him. When
such talk reaches the ears of the inquisition, the offenders
220
disappear into the temple-laboratories of the priests of
change. Others believe that the current cycle is nearing
an end, and a new Haazi will need to be selected to lead
the G'lathuk.
One particular group of malcontents gather at the
sacred site called Kazin's Chak'sas (Kazin's Heads).
Located on a northern rise, this site features a series of
stone edifices shaped like giant kreen heads. The zik-chil
have ordered this location off limits to the general public
and has created an elite guard force from to'ksa gladiators
to protect it. This hasn't stopped the dissidents, who
call themselves Kazin'tek (Kazin's pack). The Kazin'tek
believe that the way of the empire has corrupted the
kreen. It's time to return to a simpler way of life, like the
one embraced by the nomadic thri-kreen.
Thaythilor, City of the Tohr-Kreen
Thaythilor is a city where zik-trin are created; it is the
city closest to the Jagged Cliffs on the northern side. The
city is fairly small, with a population of perhaps 10,000
tohr-kreen and a few hundred zik-chil.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Like other tohr-kreen cities, Thaythilor was built using
the amber-like secretions of z'ock'n, larger versions of the
snail-like ock'n found in the Tablelands. Most buildings
are constructed by gathering a mound of sand, then
allowing the z'ock'n to secrete their amber over the mound.
Some buildings are a hundred feet tall or more, and the
translucent amber reflects the sun in patterns on the
sand. Domes and towers reach to the sky, while walkways
and ramps stretch around and between the structures.
True to its nature, Thaythilor looks as if it was grown
instead of built. Most non-kreen find the appearance of
the city rather macabre, almost disturbing, with its spires,
walkways, and domes, the membranes stretching between
some structures, and the presence of overwhelming
numbers of kreen in a variety of colors. The sight of
such a city triggers racial memories in thri-kreen, however,
causing them to recognize it as a safe haven, a "home."
Thaythilor is a free city that belongs to no particular
nation. The population of Thaythilor is mostly Jeral and
To'ksa, but has elements of each of the other kreen
subspecies. Zik-chil are more common in Thaythilor than
elsewhere in the three nations of the North.
The Tohr-Kreen Nations
The three nations that are also part of the Empire are
the Jeral, J'hol, and J'ez. The primary species of kreen in
each of these nations is named for the nation; the species
are physically distinct from one another. Besides these
three subspecies of kreen, there are three others (Tondi,
T'keech, and To'ksa) that no longer have nations of their
own.
Each of the three existing nations has a form of
leadership similar to that of a pack, but expanded. As
mentioned previously, a thri-kreen pack is led by a clutch
made up of all the clutchleaders in the pack; the leader
of the clutch of clutchleaders is the packleader. The thri-
kreen word for "pack" is tek or kek, while the word for
"leader" is hoz.
The tohr-kreen word for "pack" is kaluk, and the word
for "leader" is haaz. Kaluk has connotations of "state"
rather than "tribe," as implied by tek or kek Likewise, haaz
is closer to "governor " in meaning, unlike hoz, which is
more like "chief." Thus, among tohr-kreen, a packleader is
more correctly called a kalukhaaz, and is similar in status
221
to a humanoid regional governor.
Each northern nation, or lathuk is a collection of kaluk.
The kaluk-haaz of a nation form a clutch of their own,
and the leader of that clutch is the leader of the nation,
the lathuk-haaz. The lathuk-haaz never takes an oath of
office; there is no need. Tokchak ensures the lathuk-haaz's
dedication to lead and help the nation, and the packs
and clutches that compose it. Any oath of office are
redundant to the compulsions of tokchak.
The other kaluk-haaz in the lathuk-haaz's clutch also
hold positions of importance, and several responsibilities
are delegated to them. To maintain the stability of the
nation, challenges for clutch dominance are restricted, at
least in regards to the lathuk-haaz and the kaluk-haaz. A
lathuk-haaz can be challenged only once each year, at the
beginning of the year, and then can be challenged only by
a kaluk-haaz. A kaluk-haaz can be challenged only once
every six months, at the beginning of the year and halfway
through the year. A kaluk-haaz can be challenged only by
a clutchleader (g'tok-haaz) of the same kaluk.
Challenges for leadership positions are never made to
the death. In fact, some challenges for leadership positions
are not even made through combat; either the challenger
or the challenged may initiate a "social" challenge, one that
is made in terms of social and political accomplishments.
If a social challenge is made for a g'tok-haaz position, the
kaluk-haaz and the other g'tokhaaz decide the results. If
a social challenge is made for kalukhaaz, the lathuk-haaz
and the other kaluk-haaz decide the results.
Though each nation of kreen is predominantly composed
of a single species, members of other species are found
in each nation. Each nation has its own government and
entertainments, including a ritualized system of challenges
that is much like the gladiatorial arena system of the
human cities of the Tyr Region; the profession of gladiator
is a respected one in the thri-kreen nations.
The "J" that begins three of the subspecies names has
connotations of "nation," while the "T" that begins the
other names has connotations of "former nation." It is
probable that the three former nations were once "Jondi,"
"J'keech," and "Jo'ksa;" if the three current nations were to
fall, those subspecies would become known as the "Teral,"
"Thol," and "T'ez."
 Beyond the Tyr Region
The Southern Wastes
“Beware the city dwellers, for they have the tongues of
serpents, and their daggers are made of silver coins.”
- A Tamwar saying
The Tyr Region is rimmed by the Ringing Mountains
to the west and the Sea of Silt to the east, but to the
south is nothing but desert – a vast desert that never
ends, as far as anyone knows. As one travels south from
the shores of the Estuary of the Forked Tongue, villages
and outposts peter out to wild lands where only a few
lonely nomads roam. Beyond that, the traveler comes to
silent, empty lands where no one lives at all, and even the
vicious predators that haunt the deserts of the Tablelands
and the Ivory Triangle grow few and far between. These
are the Southern Wastes, a desolate expanse that in all
likelihood girdles the rest of the world.
The wastes have no verdant areas or oases large enough
to support a city. In fact, the desert takes on a capricious,
elemental character as one ventures farther south. Just as
the Sea of Silt is an incursion of elemental power into
the world, the Southern Wastes are home to other sorts
of incursions: mazes of windcarved canyons, plains of
smoking ash, forests of stone columns that drift with the
gusts, rivers of fire, seas of salt, and more. Perhaps other
populated lands like the Tyr Region exist somewhere
beyond these terrible wastes... or perhaps not.
Much like the deserts of the Tyr Region, the Southern
Wastes are the graveyard of ancient realms. Ruins dot
this awesome expanse and seem to grow older the farther
south one travels. Some sages claim that the peoples of
the Tyr Region once lived in these lands and were driven
northward century by century, as the decay of Athas
slowly enveloped the south.
Endless Sand Dunes
South of Balic lie the Endless Sand Dunes, a waste land
that stretches for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles.
It is the domain of the nomadic people known as the
Tamwar, herders who struggle to survive at the outskirts
of the dunes. In centuries past, the Tamwar gathered in
222
plundering hordes to strike at Balic, Kalidnay, or Tyr,
but no great leader has appeared among them in many
generations. The Tamwar tell stories of ancient kingdoms
buried under the vast dune sea – the homelands of
their sacred ancestors. The nomads turn on outsiders who
venture into their holy places.
Herumar, The Sand Scourge: A terrible monster
slumbers deep in the Endless Sand Dunes – the beast
known as Herumar, the Sand Scourge. The creature
resembles a seven-headed hydra of immense size, whose
breath gives rise to scouring sandstorms. A cult of vicious
elementalists worships Herumar, believing that blood
spilled in the dunes slakes the elemental creature's thirst
and earns the cultists its favor.
Arkhold
A ruined seaport buried in the sands by the shores of
the Sea of Silt, Arkhold is so remote that few treasure-
hunters have picked it over. The timeworn fortress of a
forgotten order of knights sits atop the highest point of
the settlement, overlooking the dry harbor. Drifting sand
covers much of Arkhold and shifts from place to place
over time, exposing long-buried portions of the area while
hiding others beneath new dunes.
The Blue Shrine
For most residents of Athas, it's a commonly accepted
fact that if gods ever existed in the world, they are long
since dead or driven off. The Blue Shrine, however, suggests
otherwise. This ancient structure remains untouched by
the hands of time, its white marble gleaming in the
crimson sun. Within the shrine, an endlessly smoking
throne rests before the altar. Those who sit in the throne
and breathe the smoke experience a dizzying rush of
visions: enormous, shining warriors battling beasts of living
rock and wind, armies of priests kneeling in obeisance, the
smell of incense, and the sound of ancient hymns rising
to the sky.
Celik
Celik is an ancient city that was one of the jewels in
the crown of Green Age domains. Now mostly a jumble
 Beyond the Tyr Region

of ruins, it nevertheless continues to function as a city

thanks to those who live there. The citizens of Celik
are a mixture of retired adventurers, outcasts from other
societies, ex-slaves, and humanoids from the wastes who
have gathered in the city for the protection, resources, and
wealth the location promises.
Korsun, the patriarch of the merchant house of Mareneth,
controls the city along with all of its assets and citizens.
Mareneth was the primary merchant house of the city-
state of Kalidnay. When the city was destroyed, members
of the house who were away decided to set up their own
community in order to survive. After a bit of searching,
the house's agents found the ruins of Celik. The call went
out for brave warriors to help clear out all vermin and
dangerous creatures, and within a year a small portion of
the ruins were made habitable. Today, almost 60 percent
of the city is occupied by the merchant house and its
retainers. The rest remains wild and dangerous, sealed
behind walls and fences thrown up to keep whatever
resides there from emerging into the living city.
In Celik, the merchant house holds the same position
as the sorcerer-kings of the cities to the north. Patriarch
Korsun rules like a king, with his family, agents, and
caravan troops serving as the city's nobility. Everyone else
in the city is considered to be free citizens, though they're
actually indentured servants who must earn their freedom
by laboring for the house. Any intelligent, healthy being
is welcome in Celik, provided he or she agrees to the
terms of servitude. As long as the terms are being met,
the citizens receive food, water, a place to live, and small
amounts of spending money to use in the taverns and
gaming halls run by the elf tribes who occupy a district
within the living city.
The city is divided into two portions: the living city and
the ruins. The living city is where all of the merchants
and citizens live. Like other cities, this portion has markets
and other amenities. The ruins remain untamed. Foul
humanoids and even undead creatures roam within the
ruins, though every year Korsun's troops absorb more of
the ruins into the living city. Adventurers can make good
money taking on hunting contracts for the merchant house,
provided they can survive what waits within the ruins. Of
course, they have to be careful about the terms of their
employment. Many adventurers wind up as indentured
servants of House Mareneth.

223
 Beyond the Tyr Region
House Mareneth's traders deal with the communities
living in the southern reaches of the Tyr Region, as well
as with a few of the smaller elf tribes. Caravans flying the
house's colors make regular trips to the seven cities of the
north, though they mainly trade with Balic and North
and South Ledopolus. In general, the traders try to keep a
low profile, as Korsun prefers that his city remain mostly
a mystery to the people of the north.
Durg's Puddle
Located in the western portion of the Endless Sand
Dunes, to the southwest of Celik, Durg's Puddle is a tiny
oasis with a small but clean pond at its center. The place
wouldn't deserve mention if not for the fact that the trade
caravans from Celik use it as a resting point on the route
that House Mareneth maintains to the southwest. Though
Durg's Puddle is an independent facility, the merchant
house and other travelers provide the tribe that runs it
with plenty of supplies and enough wealth to pay for the
troops that defend it.
The half-giant Durg leads the small band that runs the
oasis. Though he never talks about where he comes from,
Durg is otherwise very friendly and outgoing. Like all half-
giants, he tends to emulate the attitudes and customs of
those that stop at the oasis for a visit. Durg, as a water
cleric, has chosen this site as his temple and home.
Though friendly, he can become savage when called upon
to defend the oasis.
Durg's followers never number more than 20, and
they're mostly ex-gladiators who escaped from the arenas
to the north. The half-giant also keeps an additional 20
hired warriors on hand to help protect the oasis. Even
though the Puddle's defenders aren't numerous, most of
the raiders and predatory tribes in the area know that
troops loyal to House Mareneth also watch over the oasis.
Last Drink
The oasis village of Last Drink lies in the eastern portion
of the Endless Sand Dunes. The bubbling spring and
small patch of fertile land around it appear incongruous
in the middle of the sandy waste, but the sight can also
be very welcome to thirsty travelers. Unfortunately, the
location has been claimed by a clan of desert giants who
224
refuse to let anyone else near the oasis.
There are about a dozen adult giants in the clan, with
a similar number of children. The clan's chief, Ogflo, led
his people to this spot two years ago. After a short battle,
the giants killed or drove off the dwarves who used to
maintain the village. Ogflo and his clan have no desire
for ceramic pieces or silver, so travelers shouldn't hope to
purchase food and water. In fact, they should prepare for
combat, as the giants tend to attack anyone who comes
close to the village.
However, the clan will trade food and water for goods
and supplies. Travelers must survive the combat before
such negotiations can be opened, but afterward Ogflo will
entertain all reasonable offers. Weapons, materials that
aren't available in the wastes, and finished goods from the
cities and villages of the north all appeal to Ogflo and
his people. How much water a cord of mekillot bones is
worth depends on the current needs of the giants, though
Ogflo tends to be fair once actual trading commences.
The Crimson Monolith
The blood-red needle called the Crimson Monolith
rises from the eastern dunes, piercing the blazing sky like
a stone sword blade. The needle is made of an unknown
red stone. It's smooth and warm to the touch, and some
claim it even pulses like a living thing. The base is about
15 feet around, and it tapers to a point about 40 feet
above the ground. It has no seams, no obvious doors or
windows, and no apparent function. No one knows who
built it or how long ago it was constructed. It simply
stands alone amid the rises and falls of the sand dunes
like a lonely trail marker.
Travelers claim that on nights when the twin moons
are high in the sky, strange creatures emerge from the
monolith to explore the nearby dunes. These creatures
simply step out of the solid stone, for no doors appear
to open the way. When the moons begin to disappear,
giving way to the crimson dawn, the beings step back into
the monolith as silently and mysteriously as they arrived.
Accounts of these beings vary wildly. Some tales say
they are either tanar'ri or baatezu from another plane of
existence. Others claim that the beings are the ghosts of
some ancient age, returning to haunt the place where they
once lived. The most likely stories describe the beings as
 Beyond the Tyr Region
unknown denizens of another part of Athas who use either
magic or psionics to travel to the site of the monolith.
Whatever the case, the tales concerning these beings grow
each time another group of travelers return from a trip
across the Endless Sand Dunes.
The Great Salt Flat
Between the eastern borders of the Endless Sand Dunes
and the Sea of Silt lies a salt flat even larger than the
Great Ivory Plain. This region, known as the Great Salt
Flat, is a waterless expanse hundreds of miles across that
offers no shelter of any kind. In many places, chest-high
ridges of salty encrustation form natural mazes, blocking
all but the most nimble pack beasts and forcing travelers
to scramble across the tops of the ridges. The flat is a
nearly impassable obstacle between the islets of the Silt
Archipelago and the more settled regions near the Estuary
of the Forked Tongue.
The Mud Palace
In a deserted corner of the Tyr Region, the Mud
Palace stands in the middle of a vast mudflat. It is a
mysterious citadel of white marble that appears to have
no windows or doors in its lower floors. From its towers
pour continuous torrents of cold, fresh water that have
irrigated the mudflat for years, perhaps centuries. Nomads
who pass nearby say that the palace was the home of a
powerful sorcerer who commanded genies or demons to
build it for him. As the story goes, he reneged on his
payment, and his otherworldly allies entombed him in the
structure. It seems likely that a gate or a portal provides
the Mud Palace with its bottomless fountains, but few
people try to collect water here – the surrounding mudflat
teems with horrid monsters.
The Dead Land
The Endless Sand Dunes eventually give way to a steep
drop in the land. At the bottom of sheer, jagged cliffs, a
vast plain of blackest obsidian stretches beyond the limits
of the known territory. Most of the plain is smooth, flat,
black glass, though in places the plain is shattered and
great jagged chunks of glass jut into the sky. Other areas
225
appear to be flat and smooth, but are actually covered
with sharp grooves and rivulets that can slice even the
toughest boots to shreds.
No living creatures inhabit this desolate area. There's
nothing to eat on the obsidian plain, little to drink, and
few places to find shelter from the wind and sun. There
are no breaks in the glass where vegetation can thrive.
No fresh sources of water bubble up among the cracks
and fissures. Some water does collect in depressions when
a rare rainstorm explodes over the plain, but the water
quickly stagnates and turns bad before the heat of the day
causes it to evaporate completely. A few clumps of bushes
and groves of trees rise out of breaks in the obsidian, but
whatever foul magic formed the plain has also turned
these once-living plants into black stone.
An ancient, terrible battle of the Cleansing Wars was
fought at this site. In the battle, the land was slain and
hundreds of thousands of beings were killed. Now undead
creatures of all descriptions roam the plains and canyons
of ebon glass. Most of these undead creatures are the
remains of the slaughtered races, beings that no longer
exist on Athas – at least not as living creatures. Strange
beings with stranger names haunt the plains, wailing over
the injustices they suffered and calling for revenge against
Rajaat and his infernal Champions. In life they were
called kobolds and ogres, orcs, lizard men, and trolls.
They had names like gnomes and pixies and goblins.
Now they're spirits, skeletons, and other forms of corporeal
and incorporeal undead. The hatred they hold for all
living things sustains them, keeping them tied to the
physical world long after their bodies have died.
In some places, mindless undead continue to reenact
the desperate battles they fought in life against the armies
of the Champions. If living travelers come across one of
these battle sites, the undead will attack them as though
they were their ancient foes. In other places, solitary spirits
moan for a world that has long since faded from view.
There are intelligent undead on the plains as well, usually
acting as leaders for the hordes of mindless zombies and
skeletons that have lost their way. In all cases, when a
being with the spark of life is detected, the undead flock to
that spark for the warmth and sustenance it can provide.
Such life sparks are as water is to a living man, and the
undead of the haunted plains are very, very thirsty.
 Beyond the Tyr Region

Obsidian Citadel
Somewhere in the center of this haunted plain, an
Obsidian Citadel rises over the fields of glass. From this
bleak fortress, a powerful undead creature gathers the lost
spirits and troubled souls into a massive army. The thing
plans to eventually lead its army out of the Dead Land
and into the realms where the living creatures of Athas
still hold sway. On that day, this undead lord hopes to
gain revenge against Rajaat and all others who still draw
breath beneath the crimson sun.

Small Home
The ruins known as Small Home sit on the western
edge of the obsidian plain. In the Green Age, this place
of small buildings with ornate decorations was the home
of beings called gnomes. Now the place has been covered
by the same layer of black glass that coats everything
in the Dead Land, and hordes of short undead 120
creatures roam the area. If any living beings approach the
ruins, the sparks of life within them draw the undead like
caravans draw raiders. The undead are as unique as all
the undead of Athas, though there are large hordes of
zombies and skeletons. All of the undead in Small Home
were once either gnomes or pixies, though few of Athas's
current inhabitants know what gnomes or pixies are. As few living beings have explored this city since it fell
to the Champions, many secrets and treasures remain
hidden within the glass-coated buildings. Unfortunately,
The City of a Thousand Dead most of the treasures have been tainted by the obsidian
A massive city of obsidian stretches for more than coating, and none of the undead creatures will allow
a mile in every direction from its center in the eastern living beings to enter the city anyway. In the rare instances
portion of the Dead Land. Hordes of mindless or near- when treasures have been liberated from the city, tales of
mindless undead follow the commands of troll kaishargas, horrible curses have been associated with them.
gnome raaigs, and new forms of undead unique to the One legend claims that a huge undead creature resides
haunted plains. While miles of the glass plains seem beneath the obsidian city. According to the tale, the
deserted and devoid of both living and undead creatures, beast was created by the inhabitants of the city to defend
the area around this ruined city is literally crawling with it against the Champions' troops. This happened late in
undead beings of all descriptions. They appear at night, the battle, so it was never released to fight like it was
emerging from the shadows to resume their dances of designed to. Instead, it has become as undead as those
misery and songs of revenge. it was created to defend. The legend goes on to say that
This city was once a massive demihuman and humanoid the creature doesn't follow the commands of any of the
metropolis, where all races lived in peace. It was, however, undead lords. It has its own agenda that could even mean
an abomination in Rajaat's eyes, so it was one of the first the destruction of the undead of the city-if it were to get
places targeted by the crusades of the Cleansing Wars. loose from whatever binds it to its subterranean lair.

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
The Barrier Wastes
The Barrier Wastes is a term given to a desolate area
that cuts across a massive portion of the Jagged Cliffs
Region. Starting in the west just miles from the cliffs, the
Barrier Wastes stretches east to the White Mountains,
north to the Lava Gorge, and south toward the Tyr
Region. Two distinct terrain types make up this area,
and each has its own name. The larger of the two is an
expanse of sandy wastes known as the Glowing Desert.
The smaller is a wide belt of salt flats called the Scorpion
Plains.
Generally dry and bleak, the Barrier Wastes are marked
by constant wind and extreme temperatures. During the
day, the sun turns the land into a skillet, making the sand
so hot that it burns unprotected skin. At night, the heat
of the day quickly dissipates and the temperature drops
below the freezing point.
A near-constant wind howls out of the west, sweeping
the land relatively flat. This makes the salt flats as sleek as
glass, while the desert's sand dunes are brushed smooth.
The dunes have gradual inclines and less severe dips than
the sand heaps in the southern wastes.
Life exists in the Barrier Wastes, but not in very great
quantities. The largest concentration can be found in
Troll Grave Chasm, a crater whose scrub-plains floor
surrounds a huge mud flat. In the wastes themselves,
the villages of the Bandit States possess most of the
permanent oases, though a tribe of feral halflings controls
the northernmost stretch of desert.
The worst aspects of the Barrier Wastes are the lack
of water, the terrible heat, the bitter cold, and the near-
constant wind. Oases appear from time to time, but
travelers shouldn't count on them being in the same
location from one trip to the next. The few relatively
permanent springs that exist are under the control of
either a Bandit State or some other hostile and territorial
creature.
While the sun blazes overhead, the land burns.
Shimmering waves of heat rise off the sand and salt
flats, making it hot enough to roast travelers who don't
take precautions like finding shelter from the sizzling
open spaces. At night, the heat of the day quickly gives
way to bone-numbing cold, for there's nothing to retain
227
warmth in the wastes. As soon as the sun drops below the
horizon, the temperatures begin to fall. By the time the
twin moons have reached the highest point in the night
sky, extreme cold grips the land. Travelers prepared for
the high temperatures that accompany the daylight hours
sometimes freeze to death at night, forgetting to carry
garments to protect them from the cold.
If the extreme temperatures or the lack of food and water
don't kill travelers, then the wind is sure to drive them
mad. It blows out of the west at a regular, steady pace,
but occasionally powerful gusts roar across the wastes.
The noise never ends, for in the Barrier Wastes the wind
is an ever-present, unwelcome companion. Sometimes it
screams like a thousand dwarf banshees or rumbles with
the thunder of a hundred rampaging mekillots. On days
like that, no one can yell above the relentless sound, and
some say that even the internal voice of a thinker's mind
can't be heard through the din. The steady wind produces
a whistle that surrounds travelers. It becomes background
noise, a persistent song from which there's no escape.
In addition to the noise, the wind has other aspects
that make life intolerable. It carries hot, stinging sand on
its currents that can blind, burn, or even cut unprotected
travelers. The constant pressure that the wind induces
on whatever is in its way can be as maddening as the
noise, and sometimes more dangerous. It rips and tears at
clothing and equipment, seeking to whisk such items into
the air stream that blows ever to the east. When the gusts
become roars, they can lift humans and medium-sized
animals off the ground and send them tumbling down
dunes or into a hidden sinkhole. These are called Angry
Winds, for it's believed that the elementals send them out
of the west when something displeases them.
It's a rare moment when no wind breaks the stillness
of the area. In some respects, this is more frightening
than the Angry Winds because the sudden silence is so
jarring. After days or weeks of driving sound, the absence
of noise can be just as maddening to travelers who aren't
expecting it. The locals call these periods of quiet Still
Winds, and they believe that they are omens of bad
things to come.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Methods of Travel
As with most other terrain types, the common ways to
get around in the Barrier Wastes boil down to walking
and riding. See the notes in the Tyr Region for general
comments. Below are some specific things to watch for in
the Barrier Wastes.
The same advice about walking in the Tablelands
applies here, with some added considerations. Water and
food are even more scarce in the Barrier Wastes, and the
distances that might be covered are considerably greater.
It's imperative that travelers carry more than enough of
both or they'll never finish their trip. They must also carry
two types of clothing: one to protect them from the heat,
sun, and stinging wind of the day; and another to keep
them warm when the cold of night blankets the land.
Travelers must be on guard against wind madness, for the
noise and intrusive brush of air can drive even peaceful
beings into a killing rage. More than one group has fallen
to bloody fights inspired by the wind's song.
Riding is definitely the way to cross the Barrier
Wastes, but not all mounts handle the wind as well
as others. Crodlus seem immune to the relentless noise,
though care must be taken to protect their eyes from
blowing sand. Kanks react badly to Angry Winds, but
otherwise are dependable. Mekillots, however, become
nervous the moment they enter the Barrier Wastes and
feel the western wind blow across their armored hides.
Such beasts may make the trip without incident, but
usually the wind drives them into a deadly rampage that
often results in their deaths and the deaths of those
traveling with them. Travelers must remember to carry
enough supplies for themselves and their mounts.
The people of the Bandit States employ unique riding
vehicles for crossing the wastes. Called sail carts, these
small, wheeled vehicles are made of light materials like
bone and animal carapaces and carry two human-sized
passengers. Sails rise above the carts to capture the wind
and propel the vehicles across the smooth terrain.
Features of the Barrier Wastes
Four distinct terrain types make up the Barrier Wastes:
sandy wastes, salt flats, scrub plains, and mud flats. Each
is separate and widespread, not intruding on each other's
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territory as in the Tablelands.
Glowing Desert
Moving from south to north, the first portion of the
Barrier Wastes travelers encounter is the sandy wastes of
the Glowing Desert. This huge, open desert covers the
largest portion of the Barrier Wastes. Except for its size
and the low dunes shaped by the constant wind, this
region of sandy wastes is much the same as the areas to
the south. Surprisingly, sand storms aren't as prevalent
here because of the strong wind from the west. Near the
southeastern edge of the desert, where the west wind meets
breezes blowing in from the south, the cross-current forms
billowing walls of sand as thick as those produced by
the Silt Sea. The Glowing Desert gets its name from a
strange property of the yellow sand found here. At night,
the sand glows with a ghostly luminescence as bright as
starlight and as cold as the night air.
Salt Flats
Salt flats make up the northern portion of the Barrier
Wastes. This area, called the Scorpion Plains, is baked to
ceramic hardness. Travel here is easy, though great cracks
occasional block the way. While mostly identical to the
salt flats of the southern region, the Scorpion Plains have
two significant differences. First, the area isn't lifeless.
Insects and small animals are plentiful, living in the
many cracks that open above mud flats. Here, travelers
can find a variety of plants that can provide nourishment
in a pinch. They can also find the creatures that give the
area its name. A variety of scorpions live here, including
barbed, gold, and purple scorpions. Second, an occasional
oasis springs from a crack in the salt plains. Often under
the control of a Bandit State or a terrible monster, these
rare pools of fresh water bubbling up from the ground can
mean the difference between life and death for a thirsty
traveler.
Scrub Plains
Scrub plains can only be found in one place in the
Barrier Wastes. A great depression has been gouged from
the center of the Wastes, its sheer cliffs dropping 500 feet
to a lush bed of scrub plains thriving with a concentration
of life unlike anywhere else in the area. Called Troll
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Grave Chasm, the depression features beasts both benign
and malignant, a relative abundance of water, and a
reputation that gives even the toughest Bandit Lords
pause. Otherwise, these scrub plains are identical to those
that dot the Tyr Region.
Mud Flat
Finally, an extensive mud flat fills the very center of
Troll Grave Chasm. This swamp is even more mysterious
and legendary than the scrub plains around them. Tales
proclaim that not all of the terrible creatures called trolls
were killed during the Cleansing Wars, and some of them
still live within its dark, moist confines.
Encounters in the Barrier Wastes
Any creatures native to the terrain types that make
up the Barrier Wastes can be encountered within its
expansive territory. For the most part, though, encounters
with living things are few and far between. In the southeast
portion of the Wastes, travelers must contend with raiders
from the Bandit States. In the northeast, feral desert
halflings are the worst threat. In the west, the environment
itself poses the greatest danger, for food, water, and shelter
become exceedingly scarce the closer one travels to the
Jagged Cliffs.
City-state of Eldaarich
An ancient city far to the north of the tablelands,
Eldaarich has been forgotten by much of the world after
Daskinor, the mad king, sealed his city away from the
outside. For hundreds of years, it has existed in utter
isolation, with its citizens the subject of Daskinor's plots
and paranoias. More details can be found in the city-
states book.
City-state of Kurn
Another city lost to the distant north, Kurn is ruled
by Oronis, formerly known as Keltis, a sorcerer-king with
a surprisingly soft heart. His city and his people reflect
his thoughtful demeanor. Rumor has it that Kurn's king
foresees a brighter future than others dare to dream of.
More details can be found in the city-states book.
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Nexus
Nexus is an academy of the Way located high within a
small range of mountains northeast of Kurn. The hidden
site is hard to reach and well-protected by a group of
powerful psionicists and their students. A dwarf, Gulem
the Gray, runs the academy. It's said that he constantly
scans the reaches of Athas for psionicists worthy to study
at Nexus, and that these hopefuls receive mental summons
to come to the hidden facility.
Built within the mountain peaks themselves, Nexus
appears as a gray monolith beneath the crimson sun. Due
to the safeguards put in place by the psionicists who serve
the academy, no one can find the actual location if they
aren't permitted to. In fact, making it up the mountain to
Nexus itself is one of the first tests used to determine the
worth of a particular perspective student.
The most powerful users of the Way can circumvent
the safeguards if they really want to reach the academy,
but doing so alerts Gulem and his teachers. In this way,
Gulem may not be able to prevent a member of the
Order from visiting, but at least he'll be aware of that
visitor's approach.
Everyone who comes to Nexus is sworn to absolute
secrecy concerning its location and true function. While
studying with Gulem and the other psionic masters, the
neophytes must immerse themselves in the principles of
the Will and the Way. Body, mind, and spirit must
be forged into a single unit at Nexus, and the only
neophytes to finish the grueling training are those destined
for great things. Many are returned to apply their talents
for the good of their communities. Others are sent into
the wilderness to accomplish specific tasks. A select few
are charged with teaching others in the use of the Will
and the Way.
There are rumors that Nexus has binding ties to the
mysterious Order. In fact, Gulem is an entrant of the
Order, but his agenda is his own. He had no part in the
recent plot involving the psionatrix, and he has cautioned
his colleagues to keep a low profile in the wake of those
events. It appears that Gulem remains an influential
member of the Order despite his low status thanks to his
words of wisdom and his prudent actions.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Pyreen Grove
A particularly lush oasis in the scrub plains east of
the Thamasku Ledge goes by the name of Pyreen Grove.
Here, amid a sparkling blue lake and clumps of long-
leafed crying trees, legends claim that the pyreen gather to
discuss the plight of the world. If these mysterious beings
can truly call a single location in all of Athas “home,”
then this oasis is that place.
Animals of all types live within the grove, though no
intelligent or malignant beings shelter here for long. Some
unseen force drives them out, keeping the oasis pure and
pristine. Visitors who do make a brief stop at the grove
are encouraged to treat every living thing there with the
utmost respect. After all, it's said that pyreen can take
any form.
The pyreen, or the peace-bringers, are an ancient race
with ties to the Age of Rebirth that preceded the Green
Age. These psionicist/druids travel the world in an effort
to restore the vitality of Athas. In their natural form,
they have physical characteristics of all the demihuman
races, though they almost never appear that way. Instead,
they wander in the form of animals or as humans or
demihumans. They are solitary, noble beings with a high
purpose: to protect and restore the land.
While no visitors are likely to meet (or realize they're
meeting) pyreen in the grove, their presence can be felt
just the same. Just the fact that the oasis exists at all
should be enough to convince even the most skeptical
mul that something powerful watches over it. If a visitor
attempts to harm the oasis, the grove itself is said to rise
up and attack. The other amazing thing about the grove
is that no defiler is ever permitted to step within its
bounds. The land twists, heaves, and even cracks open to
prevent a defiler from getting closer. If that fails, powerful
creatures emerge from the grove to drive the offending
wizard off. Travelers' tales claim that everything from a lirr
to a jhakar has been seen defending the grove.
At least one pyreen regularly visits the grove. From this
vantage point, the peace-bringer can travel to the nearby
city of the cliff-dwellers to check on the progress of the
halflings who live there. The pyreen have definite ties to
the ancient halflings, and as the halflings of the Jagged
Cliffs are the closest to those of the Blue Age, it makes
sense that the pyreen would watch over them.
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Godshold
The ruins of Godshold lie near the Somber Woods, on
the western side of the Lava Gorge. The ancient temple
and its surrounding buildings date back to the middle
Green Age. Forgotten gods were gathered into a pantheon
by the domains of the lawmakers, and one northern
domain was dedicated to preserving this pantheon. All
that remains of this domain is the jumbled ruins of
Godshold.
The main temple is mostly intact, with gold-covered
walls and ornately carved icons that almost glow with the
beliefs of a long-dead society. A powerful raaig guards the
temple, keeping its secrets from all but the most stubborn
and able adventurers. It's said that the mysteries of the
Green Age and the ancient gods lie in the temple's depths,
waiting to be discovered. To retrieve them, adventurers
must get past the spirit who guards the site – and past
whatever other traps and defense wait within.
The surrounding buildings aren't in wonderful condition.
These have been looted and explored mercilessly over the
centuries, and natural disasters have added to the damage
and decay. Little of worth remains in these structures, but
who knows what small treasure might be hidden beneath
a pile of rubble or on the other side of a secret door?
Winter Nest
The White Mountains, near the shores of the Silt Sea,
are named for the pearly white snow that covers their
uppermost peaks. This snow cover lasts the year round,
for it's always cold and wet at the mountain's highest
elevations. It's among these frozen peaks that the village
of Winter Nest can be found.
A large tribe of civilized aarakocra settled Winter Nest
long ago. They call themselves “silvaarak,” the people
of the silver wing. These bird-people believe themselves
to be superior to all other creatures due to their ability
to fly above the world. This perspective naturally gives
them great confidence and pride in themselves, and they
possess a certain amount of sympathy for all land-bound
creatures.
Winter Nest is formed from a mixture of ice, stone,
and shaped bricks. The combination creates an amazing
spectacle that is unlike any other place in Athas. The
 Beyond the Tyr Region
use of ice alone makes it a strange and fascinating place.
Like the structures of the halflings of the Jagged Cliffs,
everything in Winter Nest has a vertical orientation. As
home to flying creatures, it doesn't matter where doors
are placed, and walkways and ladders aren't necessary.
Instead, buildings are surrounded by a series of landing
platforms and resting perches that only vaguely resemble
the streets and market places of human cities.
For the most part, the aarakocra of Winter Nest stay
in the peaks of the White Mountains. Traders from the
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village travel to Kurn a few times each year, but otherwise
the community tends to keep to itself. Problems with the
Bandit States and Eldaarich make such a policy seem
reasonable. Many young bird-people, however, want to
explore the world beyond the mountains and interact
with other civilized cultures. If the vocal and persistent
segment of the population is successful, Winter Nest may
completely abandon its isolationist ways.
Traaka leads the village. She prefers to keep Winter
Nest separate from the lower lands in order to maintain
its safety. However, she also understands the call of the
sky that makes the young aarakocra want to soar beyond
the summits and explore the world. She's desperately
trying to define a policy that allows such exploration
without endangering the whole community.
The Bandit States
A particularly rugged type of raider has developed in
the harsh environment of the Barrier Wastes, though some
attribute this ruggedness to the fact that the constant wind
that blows across the region drives them insane. Seven
separate raiding tribes control five permanent oases in the
Glowing Desert and two in the Scorpion Plains. A village
has grown up around each oasis, and these have become
the basis for the seven Bandit States.
Each of these seven communities is an independent
entity, though they've come to be known collectively as
the Bandit States. The large villages are populated by
outlaws, ex-slaves, and other outcasts who've found a place
with the charismatic and powerful men and women who
lead each tribe. These tribes exist in a near-constant state
of war, fighting each other for territory, to gain prestige, or
just for the thrill of battle.
When not fighting each other, the Bandit States engage
in raids against caravans plying the nearby trade routes
or the settlements scattered throughout the region. Using
fast riding beasts and unique sail carts, the tribes sweep
down out of the wastes to strike quickly, plunder what
they can, and escape back the way they came. It doesn't
matter which tribe travelers encounter, as each has a
similar approach to the business of raiding – strike like
the wind, take what you want by force and fear, intimidate
every victim so that the next time will be easier, commit
as much violence as it takes to accomplish the raid, and
 Beyond the Tyr Region
satisfy the blood lust that courses through every raider's
veins.
There are seven villages that each serve as the capital
of a different Bandit State. These villages are Pillage,
Plunder, Ravish, Ravage, Kel's Lot, Wrath, and Spoil.
Pillage
The village of Pillage surrounds an oasis located north
of the Troll Grave Chasm, in the portion of the Barrier
Wastes known as the Scorpion Plains. While most raiding
tribes contain members from a variety of races, the people
of Pillage are mostly humanoids, with only a few humans
and demihumans thrown in the mix. Chilod leads this
Bandit State, commanding a community of tareks, ssurran,
thri-kreen, nikaal, silt runners, some humans and dwarves,
a couple of braxat, and a few b'rohgs. All classes except
wizards are welcome among Chilod's ranks, as the tarek
has no tolerance for defilers or preservers.
Only Chilod's intimidating presence holds Pillage
together. The mixture of races makes a volatile brew,
but Chilod turns his followers' angry flames outward
instead of allowing them to explode within the village.
To accomplish this, the leader has declared war on the
nearby village of Plunder, making it a target for his tribe's
natural aggressive tendencies.
The raiders from Pillage make periodic excursions into
the Scorched Plateau. There, they seek out ssurran trade
caravans to attack. The ssurran traders have gone so far
as to make a practice of leaving a small caravan behind
for the raiders while their primary caravan continues on
its appointed route.
Plunder
Plunder is the second of two village oases in the
Scorpion Plains. Its raiding tribe consists mainly of elves
who have been cast out of their tribes for a variety of
transgressions, though there are also the assorted collection
of muls, humans, and a few humanoids. The tribe calls
itself Evartu's Ghosts, because according to elven tradition
those who are cast out from the elf community are dead.
If their one-time families have set them adrift in the land
of the dead, then the outcasts feel justified taking on the
roles of ghostly avengers.
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Evartu leads the Ghosts of Plunder in terrifying, often
violent, fashion. While the tribe attacks any travelers it
comes across for spoils and sport, the Ghosts especially
enjoy striking at the elf tribes of the Scorched Plateau.
When they go on a raid, the Ghosts wear the trappings
of the elven death myths – tattered clothing, burial paint,
and weapons decorated with blood. This adds to their
frightful image and often unnerves even the strongest elf
warriors.
When targets are particularly scarce, the raiders from
Plunder don't hesitate to attack the dwarf fortress at
the nearby oasis of Foul Puddle. While the mud-brick
fortress is formidable, the dwarves usually “pay tribute” to
the Evartu's raiders after a short, bloody battle. However,
Evartu never sends all of his warriors away from Plunder
at the same time, as he must guard against attacks by the
raiders of the village of Pillage.
Ravish
Ravish is one of five oasis village located south of Troll
Grave Chasm, in the section of the Barrier Wastes called
the Glowing Desert. The community based in the village
is a typical tribe of raiders-all ex-slaves from Draj. The
tribe is ruled by Akive, a powerful mul with no leadership
skills beyond great strength, excellent combat prowess,
and the ability to intimidate and bully her subordinates.
This village is the poorest, least organized of the Bandit
States, and its raiders blunder their attacks as often as
they successfully gain plunder. The targets they strike at
with most frequency are the halfling villages of the White
Mountain forests and Kurn's client villages.
Ravage
Ravage is the wealthiest of the Bandit States. It
resembles a large trade village more than a struggling ex-
slave community. Its leader, Talid the bandit lord, has a
vision that keeps Ravage on a path of growth and could
mean big things for all of the Bandit States. However, few
of his fellow bandit lords are willing to cooperate at the
level necessary for Talid's plans to succeed.
Talid wants to unite the Bandit States into one nation
that stretches across the entire Barrier Wastes. Of course,
the ex-gladiator from Raam sees himself as the head of
 Beyond the Tyr Region
this nation of outlaws, a vision that causes the other
bandit lords lots of trouble. They don't trust Talid or
his grand promises of wealth and power. When the mul
calls for a conclave of bandit lords (which he does on
a regular basis), most of the tribal leaders answer. These
meetings routinely break down as each leader tries to get
the best deal for his or her own tribe. Talid is never able
to get them to understand the value of cooperation or the
strength a united front will give all of the tribes.
Though they all distrust Ravage in the extreme and
are jealous of its wealth, none of the competing tribes are
willing to attack the village directly. As it's extremely well
fortified, direct attacks against the village often end in
victory for the defenders and lose of life for the attackers.
The other tribes have no qualms about occasionally
striking at returning raiding parties, however. Such a
strike isn't easy either, but it stands a better chance of
233
succeeding than a suicide raid against the main village.
Kel's Lot
Kel's Lot is the westernmost oasis village in the Glowing
Desert. This Bandit State is unique as it's the only
one that isn't simply a glorified slave tribe. In fact, with
the exception of a few individuals, the members of this
community have never known the bonds of slavery. Kel's
Lot's members are all dwarves who settled this village
decades ago. The village was already in place when the
slave tribes started to move in, and it has a long history
of using raiding as a means to survive.
The ancient dwarf named Kel serves as the leader of
this Bandit State. Of all the bandit lords, he most clearly
understands Talid of Ravage's vision. Unfortunately, his
prejudice against the mul (and all muls in general) causes
him to dismiss it as beneath the notice of his tribe. To
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Kel and his followers, dwarves are the greatest of all races,
worthy of ruling the entire world. Muls, however, have
been rendered impure by their mixed heritages and are
considered less than dwarves. The fact that Talid's tribe
prospers above Kel's makes the dwarf bandit lord even
more spiteful toward the mul.
Wrath
The village of Wrath, led by Lady Cesti, features a mix
of humans and demihumans living in a fantasy of their
leader's construction. Cesti, an ex-gladiator from Urik,
grew up enamored of the nobles who owned her. Even in
the slave pens of Urik, she withdrew into dreams of being
a noble to escape the tribulations of the arena. When she
gained her freedom and established Wrath, she did so
with the illusion that she was of noble birth.
The village is set up along the lines of a noble house-
or at least Cesti's version of one. All of her advisers and
raiding captains have noble titles, and the parties that
follow a successful raid look more like a noble festival than
a slave tribe celebration. Most of Cesti's followers enjoy
the illusion that the ex-gladiator has created, though a few
sometimes wonder about her sanity. Lady Cesti (as she
prefers to be addressed) can often be heard talking about
returning to Urik to participate in one noble function or
another, and she appears to believe that Hamanu himself
will grant her an audience if she so desires.
234
Spoil
Spoil, the oasis village located in the southernmost
corner of the Glowing Desert, is another community of
ex-slaves who use the village as a base from which to
launch raids on nearby trade routes. A powerful defiler
named Densis leads the tribe. He's protected by the
Gorzu and Urtke, halfgiants devoted to the defiler.
Densis hates Talid of Ravage with a passion. If anyone
is going to rule a united bandit nation, the defiler believes,
it should be him and not some muscle-bound half-breed.
Densis doesn't dare send his smaller and weaker tribe
against Talid's, but someday he plans to destroy the mul
and take command of wealthy Ravage.
While his tribe conducts raids or ambushes
membes of the other Bandit States, Densis travels north
to the ruins of the Buried City. He has been exploring
the site for almost three years, and each time he returns
to Spoil he has a bit more power at his command.
Few of his followers will accompany him to the ruins,
for they believe that the place is haunted by terrible
spirits and undead creatures. The fact that Densis
regularly communes with these beings makes him more
important in their eyes-and that much more frightening.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
The Scorched Plateau
Where the Barrier Wastes end, the Scorched Plateau
begins. This relatively flat plateau extends to the Thunder
Mountains and Burning Plains in the north, to the
Jagged Cliffs in the west, and to the Sea of Silt in the
east. No cities or other seats of civilization can be found
in this desolate region, though scattered nomadic tribes
and primitive communities do struggle to survive here.
Like most of the highlands, the Scorched Plateau is
a hot, dry region made up of the same terrain types
prevalent along the rest of the Silt Sea's coast. Rocky
badlands make up the majority of the terrain. The hills
and twisting canyons of the badlands give rise to a small
number of mountain ranges, though none of these can
compare to the Ringing Mountains in the south, the
White Mountains in the east, or the Thunder Mountains
in the north. Therefore, the methods of travel used in
places like the Tablelands work just as well here.
Nestled amongst with Thunder Mountains lies the
valley of the Last Sea and the variety of communities
around it, under the control of the Mind Lords.
The Scorched Plateau has two other features that
need to be discussed. These are the Somber Woods
and Lava Gorge. The forest, located near the mysterious
ruins of Godshold, is the only one on the plateau. The
gorge, meanwhile, is a huge, molten filled inferno slashing
through the middle of this blazing land.
Encounters in the Scorched Plateau
Creatures that exist in regions with similar terrain types
can be found in this area, so they won't be repeated
here. Instead, this section details creatures unique to the
Scorched Plateau.
Among the many small tribes of nomads and primitive
settlers living throughout the Scorched Plateau are a
number of elf tribes. Like the elf tribes to the south,
these elves are wanderers who disdain walls, houses, and
other permanent structures. Some of these tribes operate
as raiders, some as herders, and at least one engages in
limited mercantile endeavors. Travelers should approach
the northern elf tribes with the same caution they use with
the tribes in the south-keeping one hand on their purse
strings and one on their swords.
235
The largest of these tribes is the Moon Runners. Led
by Jesiv Moonsong, the Moon Runners engage in two
major activities: They hunt and they raise kanks. All of
the inhabitants of the area know the Moon Runners, and
most respect them as neighbors who never try to take
advantage of a situation. Some might consider this to
be peculiarly non-elflike behavior, but it fits with Jesiv's
philosophy. He only cares that his hunters have prey to
stalk and his herders have grazing land and water. Beyond
that, his tribe is more interested in festivals and fun than
in raiding or stealing.
The tribe does have one possession it considers sacred.
An oasis near the coast of the Silt Sea called Moon
Runner's Rest is held as a holy place by the tribe. The
elves make regular pilgrimages to the site to stock up on
water and relax. As long as the oasis isn't harmed or
abused, anyone may use it while the Moon Runners are
away. When they return, anyone found at the lush site is
attacked and driven off or killed. This custom relates to
the legend of the tribe's founder. When Moon Runner
finished his race across the desert, this oasis was waiting
for him. It was a gift of the water elementals, promised to
him when his thirst became so great he almost gave up
running.
When he arrived, a herder and his animals were
watering at the site. Furious that his gift had been used
before he had a chance to slake his thirst, Moon Dancer
killed them all. To this day, the Moon Dancers continue
this tradition, though most of those familiar with the area
know enough to leave the oasis before the tribe returns.
Ssurran traders operate in the region, dealing with
everyone from the largest nomadic tribes wandering the
scrub plains to the smallest clans hiding in the rocky
badlands. These northern ssurrans aren't as wild and
savage as their southern counterparts. For example,
the desert-dwelling lizard men of the southern regions
are raiders who enjoy the flesh of halflings and other
humanoid creatures. The ssurrans of the Scorched Plateau,
however, don't eat intelligent creatures and rarely resort to
raiding. Instead, the individual tribes have formed a loose
confederation of trading houses, though on a less formal
and more primitive scale than the dynastic houses of the
Tyr Region.
As adapted to the heat of Athas as other ssurrans,
those of the Scorched Plateau are friendly pack rats
 Beyond the Tyr Region
who love making deals. They collect anything, behaving
more like glorified junk men than dignified agents of a
merchant house. Still, they provide a key component to
survival on the Scorched Plateau by bringing news and
much-needed goods and supplies from one settlement to
the next. Because the heat doesn't bother ssurrans, their
caravans travel near the Lava Gorge. They take advantage
of the protection the gorge affords, as the intense heat
it gives off keeps most predators away. A typical ssurran
caravan consists of everything the individual lizard men
can carry, a few carts (either pulled or drawn by kwilits,
large insects as adapted to the heat as their masters), and
sometimes even a massive fortress beetle. Fortress beetles
grow to a length of 25 feet, carrying sturdy, 15-foot-tall
protective shells atop their backs. Much of the upper
portion of these shells is hollow, with intricate and
beautiful chambers formed during the growing process.
Ssurran use these docile insects as beasts of burden,
filling their hollow shells with their most precious trade
goods.
Somber Woods
The Somber Woods clings to the eastern side of a
small mountain range and serves as home to related tribes
of hunter-gatherers. This forest is a dark, brooding place
shrouded in an ancient cloak of antiquity. There are, it
seems, as many dead or dying trees as there are vibrant,
living ones. Old beyond imagining and twisted with the
weight of their years, these trees press in upon themselves,
creating a claustrophobic maze.
Adding to the feeling of desolation, most of the creatures
and insects living in the forest are nocturnal. During the
day, the woods appear to be deserted and eerily silent.
Travelers can wander for hours without seeing or hearing
another living thing. At night, the opposite is true. As the
twin moons rise overhead, the woods become a shadowy,
bustling terrain painted with the pallid luminescence of
moonlight. Pale creatures with large, glowing eyes emerge
to hunt, prowling the forest with vigor. This is also when
the tribes inhabiting the woods become active, moving like
spirits through this ancient wilderness.
The tribes have customs in common with the Gulgs,
though their culture and lifestyle is much more primitive
than that of Lalali-Puy's subjects. Their society has
236
developed around the hunt and the forest. Because
the creatures of the woods only come out at night, the
people of the woods (mostly humans, with an assortment
of adopted individuals from other races) have become
nocturnal as well. Because of their wilderness skills, their
strange activity cycle, and their savage, mystical customs,
many weird legends concerning the Somber Woods' tribes
have developed. Others inhabiting the Scorched Plateau
believe that the forest is haunted and that the members of
the forest tribes are the ghosts of the ancients. The tribes
do nothing to discourage these beliefs, as such legends
work to their benefit in most situations.
Lava Gorge
To the east of the Somber Woods, Lava Gorge is a deep
depression with sheer cliffs that drop almost 1,500 feet
to a lake of molten lava. The heat rising from the gorge
keeps most creatures away from its jagged edges, but those
who stray too close often find themselves riding crumbling
stone into the boiling rock below. Travelers need to avoid
getting too close to the gorge. Temperatures within a half
mile of the lava lake are as much as 30 degrees to 100
degrees higher than the normal temperature of the day.
This increase in temperature isn't always gradual, and
an errant breeze can feel like a blast furnace if it blows
across the burning lake of rock. The intense heat can
blister exposed flesh, burn the lungs, and cause even the
strongest half-giant to be knocked unconscious.
Luckily, the red glow of the bubbling lava can be seen
from a great distance as one travels the stony barrens
surrounding it. During the day, the air over the gorge
shimmers with rising heat and the sky above takes on a
slight reddish glow. At night, the lava lights up the sky
and sets fire to the horizon for miles around, making it
impossible to miss. When travelers spot the gorge, they
should turn toward the east or west to go around it. To
continue toward it is to risk an extremely painful death.
The Burning Plains
The Burning Plains The Burning Plains are one of the
most mysterious phenomena on Athas. The region's soil
is some of the richest remaining on the planet, fertilized
by centuries of dead grasses mixed into the black earth.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Most likely, when a traveler first comes to the Burning
Plains, he will see vast stretches of chest height grasses
waving in the dry wind. Many newcomers take this as a
sign that they have finally reached the Last Sea. After
all, how could such bounty survive without vast sources
of water nearby?
After walking a ways into the grassy fields, though,
the traveler notices that the ground below the seemingly
serene blanket of burnished white grass is covered in
blackest ash. These ashes are the result of the countless
wildfires that have ravaged the Burning Plains.
If there is any sort of a breeze, the air above the plains
becomes hazy with a fine gray ash that sticks to skin
and clothing, coating just about everything it comes into
contact with.
While the ash can be extremely annoying, gumming
nostrils and eyes and clogging throats, it is only a harbinger
of disaster to come. The ash is, of course, the remnants
of thousands of years of wildfires that have plagued the
Burning Plains since the Mind Lords closed the borders
of the Last Sea nine millennia ago.
In some places, the ashes have heaped up like massive
dunes rising dozens of feet into the air. In most places,
though, the ash is only knee deep. Still, this has the
effect of slowing ground traffic across the plains. All
overland movement rates across the plains are reduced
rate, meaning any trip across the plains is going to require
237
at least two days to complete.
The grass on the Burning Plains grows extremely
quickly, at the rate of more than a foot a day, starting at
the surface of the ash. The roots of the firegrass (as the
Last Sea residents call it) aren't very strong, though, and
they don't provide enough of a network to actually provide
a foundation across which travelers can walk. Anyone
stepping onto the false floor formed by the bottom of
the firegrass is in for a surprise, as they will instantly fall
through the ash to the actual floor of the plains if they
weigh more than about thirty pounds.
The same happens to any hapless creatures that wander
through the area. The Burning Plains are populated,
however, by mice, prairie dogs, and even meerkats which
can walk along the false floor formed by the firegrass roots.
They nest in tunnels clawed out of the ash, and when a
fire comes, they burrow deep into the ash and even into
the sandy ground beneath.
Flashfires
Although the winds off of Marnita occasionally bless
the Burning Plains with a gentle rain, this water is not
enough to keep the grasses from drying to straw beneath
the terrible rays of the dark sun. Inevitably, whether
from lightning or from overheated straw spontaneously
combusting, fire breaks out on the Burning Plains. The
desiccated grass goes up in flame like flash paper, and the
entire plain is swept by a raging inferno.
More than one group of travelers has met a flaming
doom after being caught in the middle of the Burning
Plains when a wildfire broke out. Since these fires occur
irregularly and unpredictably, most people wisely give wide
berth to these deceptively peaceful fields. All too often,
the alternative is to become just another cinder sifted into
the fine ash that coats the ground of the Burning Plains.
Adventurers may be tempted to try the same thing,
but they should consider that, unlike most humanoids,
the local rodents can live on very little air. When the
fire comes, it can literally suck the oxygen out of the
fauna's tiny tunnels if they are not sealed against such
an occurrence. Unless travelers can accomplish something
similar, they are doomed to suffocate, buried in the ash all
around them and trapped beneath the raging fire above.
The best time to travel on the Burning Plains is the
 Beyond the Tyr Region
day immediately after a fire (fires last 1-2 days), when the
grasses are bare shoots above the ash, and there is little
left to burn. Of course, the journey will generally take at
least two days, and on the second day the chance of a
flashfire is higher.
For this reason, most travelers do not bother with trying
to cross the Burning Plains, at least not on foot. Even
the Thunder Mountains are more hospitable than this
blistering land.
The Thunder Mountains
For the traveler who decides not to try braving the
Burning Plains, the only other way to reach the valley
of the Last Sea is by somehow traversing the Thunder
Mountains. These tall, craggy peaks are so named for the
fact that they are one of the few places on Athas that
regularly sees thunderstorms. Due to the dryness of the
atmosphere of Athas, water from Marnita evaporates into
the air above at an astonishing rate. When this warm,
damp air tries to escape over the western mountains the
terrible cold of the heights leeches its moisture as snow
and rain. The resultant storms ring out for miles around,
and the thunder booming from their hearts echoes from
the rocky peaks, to be heard by people clear across the
sea in the city of Saragar.
The Thunder Mountains are steep and, in most places,
nearly impassable. There are very few passes that cut
clear through the high rocks, and in the few places that
the walls are pierced in such a way, the Mind Lords'
security measures ensure that none shall pass unhindered.
Outside of the valley, legend has it that the mysterious
and ancient devices which seal the passes have fallen into
decay, and in some spots, a wayfarer can even walk right
into the valley of the Last Sea. But none of the legends
identify clearly where these unguarded passes are to be
found.
Of course, the Thunder Mountains were so labeled
long before the Mind Lords determined to cut the valley
off from the rest of the world. This had a great deal to
do with the large population of “crag” giants who lived in
the western end of the mountains. In ancient days, during
thunderstorms, these creatures crawled out of their caves
high in the hills and celebrated until the rain was over.
This same tribe of giants was subsequently chased out
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of the mountains by the Mind Lords. They were made
an offer: stay where you are and be eventually defeated
and exterminated, or concede to our might and move
to the Lonely Butte, where you will be left alone for all
time. A few of the nobler giants resisted, but they were
quickly destroyed by the powerful psionicists. Soon after,
the remaining giants accepted the Mind Lords' offer and
took up residence on the Lonely Butte. A small clan of
them remains there to this day.
Small Water
Travelers moving through the rocky badlands that wind
around the northeastern portion of the Glowing Desert
must contend with feral halflings from the Small Water
Oasis. These rare, desert-dwelling halflings leave the sandy
wastes to hunt in the labyrinthine canyons of the badlands
where game is more plentiful. They're as deadly and
dangerous as the halflings of the Forest Ridge, actively
stalking even intelligent creatures for food and plunder.
These raiders deserve the same levels of fear and respect
that travelers in the south give the Black Sand Raiders
and the Silt Stalkers, for they revel in mayhem and
bloodshed. It doesn't pay to try to reason with the Small
Water halflings. They would have the same reaction as a
merchant lord would if his erdlu egg breakfast suddenly
begged for mercy – they'd eat you anyway.
Trade Nest
The ssurrans maintain a common village called Trade
Nest, that's governed by the ancient OverChief of all
ssurran tribes. The OverChief Ssuss'ess is as proud of
his traders as any merchant house patriarch, though
he takes great offense to anyone who calls his people
"primitive". If travelers don't mind being bombarded
by hagglers and deal-makers, then Trade Nest can be
a welcome respite from the harshness of the Scorch
Plateau. For a price, supplies, information, and even
guides can be acquired in this ramshackle village.
Ssurran guides make excellent companions for travelers
crossing the Scorched Plateau, and ssurran caravans can
be life-savers when all other options have been exhausted.
They can appear at any time, emerging from a canyon or
walking out of sandstorm with a load of wares. The quality
 Beyond the Tyr Region

might not be what those from the Tyr

Region are used to, but the water and food
they carry can sustain thirsty and hungry
travelers until they reach their destination.

The Valley of the Last Sea

The valley of the Last Sea is ringed on
three sides by the Thunder Mountains.
Only the eastern edge lies open to the
Burning Plains instead. Together, these
nearly impassable barriers make a formidable
natural fence around the entire valley.
The Thunder Mountains are nearly
impenetrable, but for three passes. The
North Pass is rarely used, as few civilized
peoples live to the north of Marnita's valley.
The West Pass is a bit more traveled, but
since it cascades out of the mountains and
into the Crimson Savanna, there are also
few visitors coming from that direction. The
South Pass, on the other hand, is the main
gate into the valley of the Last Sea.

The South Pass

It's through the South Pass that merchants
from Saragar make their twice-annual
pilgrimage to the outlands to meet with
caravans from distant Tradenest. It's also
the means by which most outsiders make
it into the valley, especially if they are not
willing to brave the Burning Plains.
Because of this, the pass is, of course, the
most well-guarded of the valley's entrances.
The North and West Passes have almost
no security measures outside of the Border
of the Guardians. The South Pass, on the
other hand, is guarded by a high watchtower.
This small fortress is built on the inside of
the Border of Guardians, so it is mostly
a secondary line of defense, one that has
rarely been used.
The watchtower is staffed at all times by
a full patrol of 10 proctors and a single

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
lawkeeper to watch over them. The patrols keep watch in
split shifts of four hours each (four hours on, four hours
off, four hours on, four hours off, eight hours of sleep).
This way, they are always relatively fresh and alert.
Thus, the watchtower holds 30 proctors and three
lawkeeper at all times. Fresh troops are brought in from
Saragar fortnightly.
At night, the pass is lit by dozens of torches, making
it difficult to sneak through unnoticed. Nevertheless,
sneaky adventurers sometimes find some way to get past
unnoticed.
The Great Trade Days
Every year just before midsummer's and midwinter's eve,
the ssurran traders from Tradenest make their biannual
journey to a sheltered clearing nestled in between the
Thunder Mountains and the Scorched Plateau. To these
meetings, they bring all sorts of exotic foods and trinkets,
anything that might possibly catch the eyes of the Last
Sea merchants who are permitted to travel outside of the
valley's boundaries for this express purpose.
In exchange, the homelanders (as the denizens of the
Last Sea are fond of referring to themselves) bring all
sorts of unique things to trade: metal weapons, sails
made from puddingfish hide (in high demand for the
extremely different ships that sail the Silt Sea), and –
most importantly – fresh water (directly from Saragar's
desalination plant, making it some of the purest water to
be found on the entire planet).
The Great Trade has become a famous tradition in
the valley. At the height of the festivals – far and away
the two most important holidays in the entire valley –
the caravans of merchant wagons return from beyond
the mountains, overloaded with a veritable cornucopia of
exotic foods and other items.
People from all across the valley arrive in Saragar for
the festivals, and these are the only times of the year
that the unity these people all feel, regardless of any
arguing they might do the rest or me year, is blatantly
obvious. Even the Lizard Men normally reclusive in their
undersea kingdom, surface and join the festivities of the
air breathers for a few short hours.
The festivals are also the only times of the year that
all of the lawkeepers can be seen to act like civilized
240
creatures. Only the most horrid crimes are prosecuted
during the festivals, mostly because the lawkeepers are
having far too much fun and can't be troubled to go after
someone for something like jaywalking.
Many of the people who have escaped from or sneaked
into the valley of the Last Sea have done so during one
of these festivals. The security at even the South Pass is
notoriously lax at these times of year; only five proctors
are on watch at any given time and they are often caught
up in participating in their own miniature version of the
festivals.
Under no circumstances, however, are the merchants
ever willing to bring someone back across the border with
them. They might do so unwittingly, but to knowingly
invite the terrible repercussions of the lawmakers for such
a transgression is something that not even the greediest
merchant would do-if he valued his life in the slightest.
The Burning Plains
The other way to get into the valley of the Last Sea is
to cross the Burning Plains. While this may seem easy to
the untrained eye, the knowledgeable or wise traveler will
go many miles out of his way to avoid having to traverse
such a dangerous stretch of land. After all, getting caught
in the middle of the Burning Plains is a sure way to be
transformed into a heap of smoking ash.
The Last Sea
The Last Sea is the final surviving remnant of the
Green Age, a time long since past. The lands around it
recall happier days, before the coming of the monstrous
evil of Rajaat and his genocidal Champions. It is a place
unspoiled by magic, and its caretakers – Mind Lords and
mortal residents alike-take great pains to ensure that it
remains that way.
To most denizens of Athas, the Last Sea is the most
amazing sight that they will ever behold. Nowhere else on
the planet is there a body of water to be found anywhere
near as large. In fact, on a world in which an entire town
can be founded upon the existence of a single murky well,
it seems that something as huge as the Last Sea would
support a metropolis of staggering size, or even an entire
nation composed of such cities.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Nothing could be further from the truth. Marnita is
surrounded mostly by small fishing villages inhabited by
people who manage to eke out a living from the sea.
(Of course, the very idea of having enough water to put
a boat on is astonishing to most Athasians. Sure, such
craft work on the Silt Sea, but that's dirt – tiny pieces
of solid stuff. How could something like water hold up
something as heavy as a boat? Upon first hearing the
idea, most Athasians think that such a contraption would
sink like a pebble dropped into a glass of foamy ale.)
There are three reasons why the Last Sea isn't the site
of the densest population center on the face of Athas.
First, the Last Sea is salt water. Most Athasians have
run across a pool of foul water before, something so
brackish as to be undrinkable. To a newcomer, the Last
Sea must seem like the cruelest joke ever: to have enough
water to actually swim in, but not to be able to drink
a drop of it. The waters of the Last Sea are clear and
a deep blue-green. They are full of interesting creatures
that most Athasians outside of the valley have never
seen-things such as fish, seaweed, and even sharks and
dolphins. Sailing ships crisscross the Last Sea's surface
like elves skating across the dunes that cover the rest of
the planet.
Second, it's not easy for outsiders to get to the Last
Sea. It is a long way from Tyr, a place from which so
few people have been to the Last Sea that they nearly
all consider Saragar to be something out of legend. As
explained earlier, there are many physical barriers in the
intervening distance, any one of which can be deadly
Third, the Mind Lords like things the way they are
within their valley. They have set up elaborate security
measures (known as the Border of Guardians) to keep
outsiders out and insiders in. For this reason, not even the
ssurran traders that make occasional trips to rendezvous
with envoys from Saragar have managed to settle on the
shores of Marnita. They simply aren't allowed.
The people of the Last Sea live relatively easy lives
when compared with those of most of the other people on
Athas. One thing that visitors might note about the Last
Sea is that the only races represented here are humans,
elves, and dwarves. There are no others to be found.
Occasionally a mul or half-elf might be born to a
couple within the region, but this is extremely uncommon.
There is very little crime in the valley of the Last Sea
241
(due almost entirely to the efforts of the Mind Lords and
the lawkeepers of Saragar) and unwanted advances are
nearly unheard of. This means that the parents of such a
child would have conceived the baby willingly, and since
the races of the region tend to stick with their own kind,
few children of mixed blood are ever born.
Those mixed-breeds who do exist are assimilated into
the society without any problems. Unlike in the rest of
Athas, where the races each have their own separate and
distinct culture, in the city of Saragar, the peoples have
banded together into a homogenous society tolerant of all.
Muls and half-elves can truly be accepted here for who
instead of what they are.
Of course, outsiders are outsiders. A mul coming to
Saragar looking for acceptance will encounter just as
many problems as a human, elf, or dwarf of pure blood –
no more, but no less either.
In general, most people of the Last Sea region are
suspicious of outsiders and many actually fear them. After
all, outsiders are rare, and the people of the Last Sea have
heard many legends of the descendants of those peoples
not lucky enough to be protected by the Mind Lords
from the ravages that ended the Green Age. The nearer
to Saragar one goes, the more reactionary people become
to the presence of outsiders. Within Saragar itself, if the
city's lawkeepers get wind of the fact that someone has
entered the city without authorization, there will likely be
trouble for everyone involved.
Among themselves, however, the people of Marnita tend
to be relaxed and friendly. Most of the villages around
 Beyond the Tyr Region
the sea have basically a beach culture in which there is
little that can't be put off until tomorrow. “Tomorrow,”
the saying goes, “is the busiest day of the week, because
that's when everything gets done.”
Cuarsen
This sleepy little fishing village is located in the middle
of Marnita's southeastern shore, far from the influences of
Saragar. Altogether, Cuarsen consists of approximately 50
people, but this number fluctuates to a great deal higher
from time to time as the many druids that live on the
shores of Marnita favor this tiny place with most of their
attention.
For the most part, the druids of the valley of the Last
Sea are genuinely different from those found in other parts
of Athas. They live together in tiny beach communities of
10 people or less, spending their days surfing on the waves
of the Last Sea, constantly searching for the perfect ride.
The hunt for the ultimate wave is a never-ending one,
and it is the focus of these druids' days. Since a wave is
an ephemeral thing by its very nature, these people are
destined to never find permanent contentment. This is
fine by them, though, as they enjoy the searching almost
as much as they love the ride itself.
To these nature priests, surfing is a means of communing
with the water that they have come to love so much. To
learn to surf and then to practice the lessons of surfing
is to come to know the sea and to show not only your
undying respect for it as a force of nature, but also the joy
you can feel when you are totally in tune with that force.
This is represented by riding smoothly, almost poetically
atop a wave, knowing that it will end at any second and
enjoying it all the same for as long as is possible.
Most of the time, these druids live off of seafood they
catch and fruits that they forage for along the shore.
Eventually, though, this diet palls, even to such ascetics,
and they come to Cuarsen for a drink and a meal. In
exchange for these things, they trade ropes, mats, and hats
they have woven from the grasses that grow just beyond
the beaches.
On any given day in Cuarsen, there are usually one
or two bands of druids in town for some good grub.
They are typically dressed only in shorts, the women
wearing sleeveless half-shirts as well. Each and every one
242
of the druids is burnished a deep bronze from long hours
of exposure to the sun. Long-time druids are wrinkled
beyond their years, but they don't care.
Very little can get a druid inside any kind of shelter
for longer than a few hours. The people like to sleep
with the sand on their backs, sometimes even with their
feet in the water. More than one druid has had a rude
awakening when the rising tide has washed him out to
sea, but they generally just see it as the sea calling out to
them, promising a chance at some excellent body surfing.
It is rare to see a beach druid far from his board.
Each makes his own board by hand, lovingly crafting and
polishing it until it's ready to glide across the waves. It can
take up to two weeks for a druid to make another board,
and although druids do make boards for sale, they refuse
to part with their personal boards except under the direst
circumstances.
The people of Cuarsen are mostly friendly, and the
merchants there are happy to get business of any kind.
The same cannot be said for the druids, though. They
are a closed group. Even amongst themselves, their bands
are extremely insular.
While in the Sea Wax, Cuarsen's only tavern, druids
are often friendly, open, and even talkative with people
that they know. It will take them at least several days to
feel comfortable enough to speak their mind in front of
an outlander, though, if indeed they ever do. Bee, the
Sea Wax's shaggy haired elven proprietor and bartender,
makes sure to sit newcomers as far from the druids as
possible, but it rarely works. Once the druids are not in
complete control of the bar, they most times get up and
leave as soon as they can finish their drinks.
Cubarto
Cubarto is the second largest mixed-race settlement on
the shores of Marnita, following distantly behind Saragar
with just over 1,500 people. Cubarto is located on the
side of Marnita directly opposite Saragar. This position
gives its citizens trading access to both Kharzden and
Sylvandretta, an advantage the barge drivers of Cubarto
exploit ruthlessly.
The people of Cubarto are loud and lusty. None of
them would last 15 minutes in Saragar before being
hauled before a harmonizer to be brought into tune with
 Beyond the Tyr Region

the Mind Lords' song. Just about everyone in Cubarto

supports the Underground, although there are few who do
so openly. Marnita is only so large, and the reach of the
lawkeepers more than sufficiently covers it.
This is a port town and a fishing village. Boats of all
shapes, sizes and descriptions pour through the port every
day. Those citizens who don't support themselves in the
shipping business make their living harvesting the fruit of
the sea, hooking and netting the many delicious varieties
of fish that call Marnita home.
Just as with elsewhere on the Last Sea, however, the
fishers of Cubarto are careful not to overly fish any
particular region of the sea. To do so is to invite a
mass harmonization of nearly every fisher in town, and
that's something that nobody in Cubarto wants. It has
been over a thousand years since the entire village of
Waishiki was harmonized in one fell swoop for their
repeated violations of the fishing guidelines set forth for
them by the Mind Lords. No one in Cubarto personally Year's Eve celebration.
remembers it happening, but a visit to Waishiki will The people of Cubarto are open and warm. They like
convince any skeptic of the veracity of this claim. to drink and swim (not necessarily at the same time).
Cubarto is governed by a mayor elected by the people. They are suspicious of strangers, but openly so. Visitors
He has very little real power, and the post is mostly an may find this refreshing after having to deal with the
honorary one. The only thing he can do that no other implicit distrust found in many of the other villages on
citizen can is call in the lawkeepers when he feels that the shore. This mistrusting is only natural, of course. After
they are needed. If his judgment proves flawed, however, it all, anyone new in the village could be a spy for the Mind
can end up being he that is harmonized instead. Lords, so until the newcomers are proven to be who they
The current mayor is a well-tanned young man named say they are, they can expect to encounter stubbornness
Sentigo, with dark brown eyes and straight black hair bordering on open hostility from the Cubartan people.
he wears shaved close to his head. Sentigo believes in The easiest way to earn a Cubartan's trust is to publicly
running a tight ship, and in his case, that means collecting curse the Mind Lords. No one from Saragar could do
taxes from each ship that uses Cubarto's port. He usually such a thing because of their real fear that they could be
charges a measly two percent of any cargo carried, but he struck down for such a thing. (Of course, who's to say the
can go as high as 10 if his takes a disliking to the people outlanders won't be?) Not even a native Cubartan would
he's dealing with. In any case, Sentigo is a popular man, be so bold.
and any attempts to get out of paying him his taxes will
be met with stiff resistance from just about everybody Huddleston
else in town. At the end of the year, Cubarto always
Huddleston is a small farming community nestled into
has a surplus of taxes, and instead of hoarding the cash,
the nook north of Marnita, right between the last of the
Sentigo uses it to throw a great festival. People from all
Thunder Mountains and the edge of the Burning Plains.
around the Last Sea show up for the party, especially for
This extremely fertile land sees a great deal of rain, and
the fantastic spread of food and drink that the village
this, combined with the valley's long growing season, make
provides for free. Even an occasional lizard man, as well
the fields around Huddleston the most productive on the
as a ghost elf or two from Sylvandretta (see below) has
planet.
been known to show up for Cubarto's infamous New

243
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Visitors from afar will be astonished at the size of
these farms, the row after row of luscious plants and trees
bearing vegetables and fruits of all kinds. Perhaps the
most famous farm in the area is the old Jenkins Vineyard,
a place which has been producing the sweetest grapes and
making the finest wines on Athas for millennia.
The vineyard is run these days by a man named Clay
and his young wife Sherril. They happily care for the
vineyard and watch over all of their workers, and each
year they supply the drink for the New Year's Eve festival
in Cubarto. There is always plenty of good, inexpensive
wine to go around, and the Jenkins consider the yearend
party to be the best advertising for their product they
could ever find.
Never in the entire history of Huddleston has anyone
ever had to be harmonized. They're simply all too
well adjusted to ever even consider causing someone
unhappiness. True, occasionally even a Huddlestonian
gets down, but whenever that happens, another one is
right there to help pick him right back up again. The
villagers are determined that no one is going to spoil their
perfect record.
The Huddlestonians (basically anyone who lives within
10 miles of the village) generally live solitary lives, each
family working hard on its farm all week long. Come
the weekend, though, the villagers head into their tiny
burg for a couple days of song and celebration. These
communal moments are what bring these people together
and give them a sense of unity with one another. They
cherish their friendships above all else. Once you've got
a Huddlestonian for a friend, you've got a friend for life.
The Huddlestonians are extremely friendly to outlanders
and will extend such travelers every courtesy. Long ago,
they simply called the lawkeepers every time someone
made it through the Border of Guardians, but when the
lawkeepers seemed to stop caring so much about it, the
Huddlestonians did too. Today they call the outlanders
into their homes and treat them like royalty, eager to
learn everything they can about the world outside their
little valley
Huddleston is governed by a direct democracy. As
there are less than 250 people in the entire community,
they see no reason to elect any single person to carry
out all of their wishes. The honor of dealing with any
particular matter changes from matter to matter, generally
244
falling to the person best suited to taking care of that
particular task.
At the end of every weekend, the people meet
(traditionally at the Jenkins Vineyard, although other
places have been used) to discuss the issues of the week.
Votes are brought up after everyone who wants to has had
a chance to say his piece. A simple majority rules, and
any resolutions are acted upon instantly.
No Huddlestonians ever willingly shirk a duty placed
upon them by their fellows. It's rare that assignment of
a duty even has to happen, though, as most people will
simply volunteer their services to lend a hand in solving
any problem that might arise. Consequently, Huddleston
is an extremely competent community, and no one is
ever left dangling in the delightfully cool sea breezes that
sweep over these fields of plenty
Kharzden
The dwarven colony of Kharzden is far and away the
largest settlement in the valley, outside of mighty Saragar
itself. It holds almost 2,000 dwarves scattered throughout
the ancient mining shafts riddling the northern part
of the Thunder Mountains. These dwarves live mostly
underground like their ancient counterparts once did,
although they have long since lost any special abilities to
mine and forge metals.
Most of the veins of ore in the Thunder Mountains
were mined out long ago. A few new ones have been
discovered recently by hobbyist miners, and some new
metals have been extracted and made into new items like
mining tools and even axes. Most of the metal things that
the dwarves have, though, are as ancient and worn as the
bits that circulate throughout the rest of the valley.
The miners wear bandanas tied around their faces to
keep them from inhaling too much of the subterranean
dust. The people of Saragar have taken to jokingly
calling them the only bearded dwarves on all of Athas.
Traditionally these bandannas used to always be brown,
but today they come in all sorts of different colors and
patterns.
The dwarves' government is a matriarchal monarchy,
and the current queen is an aged woman by the name
of Elakta. In the dwarves' home under the mountains,
Queen Elakta's word is law, and it is obeyed by all.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
Elakta is as proud and stubborn as her people, and she
refuses to have much to do with the lawkeepers of Saragar.
She suffers their presence when they require it, but not
willingly, and she has yet to break the long tradition the
dwarves have had of refusing to call upon the lawkeepers
for help. If she has her way (and she usually does), her
people never will.
The dwarves live off of subterranean crops grown in
massive chambers buried deep beneath the mountains,
far from the burning rays of the sun. Their ancestors were
as distrusting of the efficacy of the Mind Lords' ability to
defend them from the sorcerer-kings as these dwarves are
today. The ancient dwarves built an underground world
for themselves that was almost entirely self-sufficient. In
this way, they hoped to hide from the wizards and their
power for as long as possible.
Since those days, the dwarves have become somewhat
lax in their vigilance. The doors to Kharzden stand wide,
their hinges long since rusted open. The colony has
expanded since those old times, and the village now spills
out onto the clearing on the edge of the mountainside.
The dwarves of Kharzden are stolidly against magic of
any kind, or even the use of psionics. They have a few
wild talents in their group, but none of them has any
training in the Way. The use of any kind of unusual
ability within the halls of Kharzden is frowned upon and
is grounds for immediate ejection for a time. If the offense
is repeated, the offender is beaten unconscious before
being cast out. The penalty for the third time is execution.
Other than this, the dwarves are extremely friendly to
outlanders. They see them as a potential source of revenue
and information. The dwarves' metals are extremely
valuable outside of the valley, and they are more than
willing to trade small amounts for important information
from distant lands. Queen Elakta strongly believes that
the day will come when the Mind Lords' efforts will
finally fail, and she will do everything she can to make
sure that her people are prepared for that eventuality
The dwarves also trade for all sorts of different things.
They are especially fond of gourmet foods and intricate
toys. They delight in these things above all else, although
the queen makes sure that these “vices” do not overshadow
the dwarves' more important work.
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Rivertown
Rivertown is a tiny town that sits on the banks of the
Big River, which flows out of the northwestern Thunder
Mountains and into the sea. The town rests high in the
foothills of this range, at a point at which the river runs
wide and fast.
If swept along the river, swimmers would eventually be
swept over the edge of the Big Falls, a 100-foot waterfall
that crashes down into a wide pool of water before
continuing on toward the sea. Those who avoid the rocks,
bare now in 20 feet of water.
Less adventurous souls can do what most of the villagers
do: walk across the suspension bridge that wavers a mere
six feet above the river's frothing surface. Still, some of the
young men in the village like to challenge outlanders to
a crossing of the river the old-fashioned way, and about
once a year someone is swept down the falls.
The people of Rivertown support themselves by hunting
and fishing. A large variety of woodland critters that are
good eating make their homes in the mountains and these
hills, and a lot of them come down to the river to bathe
and drink. Also, a substantial population of fresh-water
fish swim up and down the river, including a number of
different types of trout
When the salmon swim up the river to spawn (even
managing to climb the falls), the Rivertown fishers haul in
a load of these tasty fish. They then smoke them and store
them so that they can eat them all year round. Smoked
salmon is considered a fine delicacy around the entire
valley, and it is Rivertown's number one export.
Rivertown is governed by a mayor elected from its
populace of just over 600 people (including those who
live in the outlying areas surrounding the small town). No
one runs for the office. Votes are simply tallied every four
years, and the winner becomes mayor. The only restriction
is that once you've been mayor, you can never hold that
office again.
This suits the people of Rivertown just fine, since no
one really wants the job anyway. The mayor has to oversee
matters in the town and act as arbitrator to settle any
disputes. While this is all well and good, it gets in the
way of more important things like being in the woods.
The current mayor is a young woman named Karpinnen.
Tall, blond, and beautiful, with startling blue eyes, she
 Beyond the Tyr Region

is inexperienced with the vagaries of politics, having only

held the office for a few weeks. Before this, her only claim
to fame was that she had been horsing around on the
bridge and fell into the river. She was eventually swept
over the falls but miraculously survived. People around
these parts apparently figured that anyone so darn lucky
should take a turn at running things in Rivertown. Also,
her parents actually campaigned privately for her, hoping
that a little responsibility would help her mature quickly
before she got killed in another one of her foolish stunts.
The Rivertownies are generally stand-offish with strangers.
They don't trust anyone they don't know, fearing that
strangers might be spies from the lawkeepers. Still, they
enjoy playing pranks on outlanders just come through
the mountains (like telling them that rubbing rash ivy on
their skin will help keep away the mosquitoes found up in
the forest). This is easy, as they know that the valley seems
like another world to those from the desert lands. The
pranks are generally harmless in the long run, though.
The Rivertownies don't want to permanently hurt anyone;
they just like a good laugh at outsiders' expense.

Saragar
The city of Saragar on the edge of the Last Sea is the
largest settlement in the area and the home of the Mind
Lords. More details are found in the City-states book.

Shallat
Shallat is a small town on the northern side of Marnita,
sheltered from even a view of Saragar by the intervening
Lonely Butte. The people of this village are mostly
fishermen, but a number of farms range from Shallat's
borders to the edge of the Thunder Mountains, ensuring
that the less than 300 people who live here have plenty of
food without having to trade much with the other towns. lovely bride, the Duchess Shelistone. Both are impressively
Shallat's main attraction is its healing facilities. The skilled physicians and 10th-level water clerics. They are
town is governed by a hereditary monarchy, each member admired and well-liked by their people. No one resents
of which is a physician of incredible skill. Most members the pair their titles, as they are in fact mostly honorary.
of the ruling family are water clerics as well, people who Additionally, the responsibility of being in charge of the
have dedicated their lives to using the fertility of Marnita village is something that no one really wants to volunteer
to aid in their healing ways. for. Most people are happy to let someone else take care
The head of the ruling family is titled duke or duchess. of the political stuff so that they can get on with their
The current Duke Jaan Shallat rules side-by-side with his daily lives. Jaan and Shelistone, however, shoulder this

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
burden gladly, happy to be able to help their fellows in
any way that they can.
The Shallatians are a peace-loving people, and they are
generally treated well by everyone living in and around
Marnita, even by the brigands and pirates who live on
the Lonely Butte. After all, potentially anyone might
eventually find themselves in need of the village's services,
and when they do, they want to make sure that the
Shallatian healers will attend them with all due haste and
without a single reservation.
Of course, the Shallatian healers would help anyone in
need no matter how horrible a person he was. They have
sworn a sacred oath to aid anyone in need, no matter
what the circumstances may be. In all cases, they try
traditional means of healing first, but if that fails, they will
not hesitate to fall back on their priestly abilities.
The Shallatians charge reasonable rates for their services,
and they are extremely understanding in cases of financial
hardship. They will happily accept goods and services in
barter for their assistance. Otherwise, they gladly extend
generous terms of credit.
The Shallatians are so well-respected, though, that if
it is discovered that someone owes them something, the
people of the Last Sea will treat that person harshly
until he makes good on the debt. Innkeepers will only
put him in their worst rooms and sell him their cheapest
fare, hoping to force him to save enough to be able to
compensate the healers. Merchants around the sea will
do the same.
If a person simply refuses to pay up a debt, someone
(not a Shallatian, but a friend of theirs) will turn the
delinquent over to the lawkeepers for harmonization. After
all, this person's actions are causing no small amount of
concern in the community, and it's up to the lawkeepers
to keep the happiness.
Sylvandretta
Whereas the dwarves of Kharzden are friendly and
open with strangers, the over 500 elves of Sylvandretta
are cold and aloof. They believe that the purity of their
bloodline needs to be preserved, and they hold this above
all other concerns. Unlike most other elves on Athas,
these creatures are fair skinned with light blond hair and
pale blue eyes. Down the millennia, their line has grown
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even fairer than ever before, and they are now called
“ghost elves” by the people of Saragar – even the elves
of that fair city.
Sylvandretta is governed by a high council of seven
elders elected from the ghost elves' general population.
These wise people rule over their people for 21-year terms.
An election is held every three years, and a new elf is
elected to the open position. No one is permitted to hold
office for two consecutive terms, so they must take off at
least three years between terms.
Sylvandretta is located in the Spirit Forest, a massive
stand of ancient trees nestled between the two arms of the
Thunder Mountains, in the southwest section of the valley
of the Last Sea. Here, as far from Saragar as one can get
and still be under the Mind Lords' purview, the ghost
elves live in harmony with their natural surroundings,
sheltered as they are from the horrors the defilers and
their ilk have visited upon the rest of the planet.
Sylvandretta is based upon a circle of twelve tremendous
trees of life. These towering trees, each standing nearly
two hundred feet tall, support a network of handworked
tree houses in which live the twelve great families of the
ghost elves. The network of rope bridges that crisscross
between the trees, high above the ground, is nearly as
complicated as the web of relationships that connect these
twelve families.
Millennia of inbreeding among these creatures has
caused their life spans to be cut to half of the traditional
elven length. This has spawned a great debate among
the twelve families and the members of the council. One
side believes that the time has come to invite new blood
into their breeding stock. The other staunchly holds that
any such action would be tantamount to forever tainting
their vaunted bloodlines in a manner that could never
be repaired.
As such, while most ghost elves will steadfastly refuse
to talk to or even allow themselves to be seen by a
stranger (anyone from outside of Sylvandretta), a sizable
minority are at least willing to converse with outsiders,
even those from beyond the Border of Guardians. In
either case, both factions group the lawkeepers in along
with any other outsiders, except for a small force of ghost
elf lawkeepers specially commissioned by the Mind Lords
over five millennia ago as a concession to the elves'
extreme xenophobia.
 Beyond the Tyr Region
These lawkeeper ghost elves are legendary even among
their counterparts from Saragar. They are rarely seen
outside of Sylvandretta, but when they are, they usually
are out looking to capture a breaker of their laws. They
don't believe in harmonization – the best that such a
hapless fugitive can hope for is a quick death.
Waishiki
Waishiki is a small fishing community situated at the
rearmost point of the southern bay below the Saragan
peninsula. The people there are extremely friendly and
happy all the time. Strangely, this is because of the town's
tragic past.
Just over a millennia ago, the people of Waishiki were
having a problem. Actually, they were causing it. The
mayor of the town and the rest of the village elders had
come out condemning the Mind Lords and their horrific
practice of harmonization, a process (the elders claimed)
that robbed people of their right to free will. By living
under such a totalitarian regime, the people were being
forced to give up that exact same right, and it was up to
someone to finally stand up and speak the truth.
The Waishikans were supported morally by many
homelanders, but few of these people behind the scenes
were actually nervy enough to speak out loudly in
unconditional support. In the end, they turned out to
have been wise.
The protests were allowed to continue for as long as
Barani was in one of her manic moods. She was the
protector of the meek then, seriously considering any issue
that her subjects cared to bring to her attention. To her
fellow Mind Lords, she defended the right of the people
to differ with them in their opinions. It was only by
her efforts that Thesik's hand was stayed from dealing
punishment upon the village.
Then, as inevitably happened, Barani slipped into a
state of depression. This spelled immediate disaster for the
dissidents of Waishiki. Without even consulting Thesik
or Kosveret, Barani contacted the chief lawmaker and
ordered him to take every last one of his lawkeepers
into Waishiki and harmonize the entire town in one
fell swoop. It would take too long to root out the real
troublemakers, she said, and in the meantime, it was best
to make the entire village obey the Mind Lords' wishes
248
right away instead of waiting until a “better” time. The
goddess's orders were carried out to the letter, and every
man, woman, and child in the entire city was remade into
the Mind Lords' image. In one fell swoop, the town was
entirely loyal to the Mind Lords again.
Since then, things in Waishiki have pretty much
remained the same. The faces have changed, but the
attitude has not. They are each and every one model
citizens. The lawkeepers are welcomed freely here, as the
people have nothing to hide. Outlanders are not treated
well by the Waishikans for the same reason. Although
these new people don't have direct, immediate contact
with the Mind Lords, they are devout worshippers of the
Mind Lords, and if the lawkeeper who preaches to them
had something against people from beyond the Border of
Guardians, then so too do they.
One other thing that makes Waishiki stand out from
the other towns is the monastery of water clerics that
stands in the center of town, just as it has been for the
past five thousand years. These water clerics (or at least
their ancestors) were caught in the great cleansing of
the town, their minds wiped clear of the very thoughts
that they were passing on and the instigation rumors of
rebellion that they had started.
The water clerics may live in Waishiki, but their sacred
place is Marnita itself. These priests can often be seen
riding sailboards around the coast and even across the
sea, preaching their faith to each community in turn, their
tiny crafts' puddingfish sails flapping in the wind. They
are welcomed with open arms into each community that
 Beyond the Tyr Region

they travel to, but never as close friends. The people of

the Last Sea know that these priests are really puppets of
the Mind Lords, and they regard them as spies, so they
are always careful to keep their wits about them whenever
a water cleric is around.
These water clerics occasionally make pilgrimages into
the forests or even the mountains searching for a clear
spring of running water fresh from the highest peaks. For
this reason, these priests may often be the first people that
an outlander runs into on his way into the valley.
Water clerics do not inherently despise outlanders, and
they will actually instruct them in the proper ways of
handling both the water and themselves in the Mind
Lords' vision of how a city should be. In this, they see
themselves acting as a kind of harmonizer, although they
work verbally and with reason instead of with brute-force
telepathy.
As spell casters, though, the water priests are not
permitted in Saragar without an escort of at least
The plateau of the Lonely Butte is like a land that
one lawkeeper. Most people don't bother to make the
time forgot. Creatures and plants living here date back to
distinction between the different types of spell casters. To
even the Blue Age itself. Lizards of all shapes and sizes
them, all cut from the same cloth – unless, of course, the
slither through the undergrowth, far below this tropical
Mind Lords say differently in a particular case.
rainforest's canopy. Playful monkeys swing from tree to
tree, and shy gorillas fade away from intruders, into the
The Lonely Butte mist.
The Lonely Butte is a geographic wonder, a savage The main attraction of the Lonely Butte is that the
land that thrusts directly out of the water, surrounded on lawkeepers generally refuse to go there unless specifically
all sides by sheer bluffs falling over 200 feet to the sea ordered to by the Mind Lords themselves. This is a
below. The plateau atop the continuous cliff is covered land full of danger, a fact particularly true for those who
with a lush jungle which all sorts of dangerous creatures support the Mind Lords. But there are many creatures
call home. Fortunately for the rest of the Last Sea, the on this island that care not for politics and will kill
only way on or off of the butte, unless you can climb like indiscriminately to fill their bellies.
a spider or fly, is through Blufftown. Blufftown
Far behind Ordean's and Sitko's, (see below) there
This is a small settlement in the side of a bluff on the
is another infernal contraption of a basket and pulleys
east edge of the Lonely Butte. It's a rough and tumble
designed to haul people occupants up a tall, narrow
town where even the lawkeepers fear to tread, and for
chimney to the top of the Lonely Butte. The elevator
this reason, it's a haven for members of the valley's
shares the binding space with a raging waterfall which
Underground (a clandestine group of people who actively
occasionally wanders uncomfortably close to the swinging
– though secretly – oppose the Mind Lords' perpetual
basket. This water rushes through an iron grating at the
rule) and other fugitives from the Mind Lords' justice.
top and lands in a crystal pool far below, the source
Blufftown is little more than a couple of inns sitting in
of all of Blufftown's water. A small gate in the grate
a good-sized cave the winds and waters have carved out
opens automatically as the basket nears its journey's end,
of the east side of the Lonely Butte. These inns sit inside
powered like the elevator itself by an unseen obsidian orb.

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
this cave some fifty feet above the waves that crash against
the base of butte, and the only way in or out of the
area is by being hauled up in a precarious contraption
consisting of a larger wicker basket and a series of ropes
and pulleys.
The engine for this device is an obsidian orb stolen
from the Mind Lords long ago by Ordean, the greatest
pirate the Last Sea has ever seen. Over the years, it has
gotten a bit finicky about who it hauls up into Blufftown,
and there is only a 75% chance that it is working any
given hour of the day.
The operators of the two competing inns are Ordean (a
weasely man who claims to be descended from the dread
pirate of legend) and Sitko, a relative newcomer to the
business of catering to criminals. A prominent member
of the Underground, Sitko won the inn from its previous
owner in a poker match a little less than a year ago.
Ordean's is, simply put, a dive. The walls of this
ancient place are rotting from long exposure to the sea
air without even a passing nod at general maintenance.
Wind whistles through the slats, and even through the
floorboards (which are raised about three feet above the
uneven rock). Rain, when it can manage to be blown
under the cave's sheltering roof, leaks through dozens of
holes in the roof. The floors are nearly as dirty as the
sheets on the beds, and the ale is watery and pale.
Still, if your money's good, Ordean is only too happy to
serve you. The prices are outrageous – nearly double what
they are in Saragar – but Ordean figures he's got a captive
customer base, so he'll get out of them whatever he can.
Ordean is a bit of a bigot when it comes to races other
than his own (he claims to be human), but no matter who
the customer is, as long as he's got money, he's fine in
Ordean's eyes. Ordean treats everyone equally. The dusty-
haired little man with the weedy mustache will rip you
off no matter who you are – if you give him the chance.
Things have changed recently for Ordean, though. He
had an arrangement with the previous owner of Sitko's.
The two proprietors fixed prices in Blufftown ensuring a
hefty profit for them both. Sitko, on the other hand, has
balked at making the same kind of agreement. He's a
revolutionary, not a capitalist. He refuses to lower himself
to profiteering at the expense of his fellow Undergrounders.
Competition between the two inns has heated up a
great deal since Sitko acquired his inn. Ordean's ire at
250
the newcomer has been ameliorated a bit by the fact that
most of his old patrons have stuck with him just because
he's lowered his prices on ale to match Sitko's. Besides
which, the rough and tumble sorts who like to hang out
at Ordean's don't much care for the more intellectual
Underground crowd that Sitko's draws in.
The Lonely Giants
By far the most notable occupants of the Lonely Butte
are the small family of humanoid “crag” giants who live
on the southwestern edge of the butte in an abandoned
city dating back to the Blue Age. Portions of the city
seem to have almost grown directly from the rocks on
which the buildings sit, but much of it has crumbled, and
many walls and ceilings have been torn out by the giants
to make room for themselves in buildings meant for a
people just over a tenth of their size.
The city, the name of which has long since been lost,
hosts about 30 giants (25 adults and 5 children). The
inbreeding problems which have plagued the ghost elves
are even more prominent here, and the crag giants are at
their wits' end trying to determine what it is they should
do to keep their clan alive.
Their fate has made the crag giants exceedingly crabby,
and they tend to kill first and inspect the corpse later.
Outlanders who manage to survive the initial onslaught
long enough for the giants to calm down will find them
friendly enough. They are interested to glean information
about what is happening outside their butte.
The crag giants wait impatiently for the day that the
Mind Lords become weak enough for them to finally
wreak their revenge. To this end, they have made friends
with certain members of the Underground, including
Sitko. Sometimes they even offer shelter to such people.
Anything that could cause the Mind Lords harm seems
like a good idea to these sad creatures as it becomes more
and more apparent that they are headed for extinction.
Criker's Pirates
The Last Sea has known several semi-successful bands
of pirates over the years. They sail the waves on the hunt
for booty to loot from cargo-laden craft scudding along
the shipping lanes. Eventually, most make a fatal mistake
 Beyond the Tyr Region

and are brought down by the lawkeepers and hauled in

for harmonization, but sooner or later another band of
freebooters always crops up.
The latest and greatest group of thieves on the open
sea is probably the most successful one ever. This is
likely due to the fact that these pirates rob for principle
instead of profit, most of the crew being members of the
Underground. They sail under the command of a robust
mul named Criker in a blazingly fast corsair called the
Marion.
As the son of a mostly forgotten sailor on another ship
of bandits, Criker has been a pirate his entire life. But
only in the last few years has he found a cause he feels
really worth fighting for: bringing the Mind Lords down
once and for all. The lawkeepers finally caught Criker's
father five years back and took him in for harmonization.
The man hung himself rather than have his mind violated.
Criker fights the good fight for his father and all people
like him-those too proud to ever allow their will to be bent
to another's mind.
A few other pirate bands sail the Last Sea, but they
ar mostly part-timers, opportunistic robbers in it only for
the profit. Due to centuries of careful socialization in
the valley, however, even pirate raids on the Last Sea are
comparatively orderly things. People are not killed for the
sheer sport of it, and property is not destroyed without a
reason.
Criker's people have had a long and successful run for
one reason: they're part of the Underground. As such,
they have the support of many people. Perhaps most
importantly, they have earned the friendship of the crag
giants on the Lonely Butte, and it is in the shadows of the
giant village that Criker's pirates make their home, safe
from intrusion by the lawkeepers, if not from the jungle's
other denizens.
Undertown
Undertown is the name that the people of Saragar have
for the lizard man settlement deep beneath the surface of
the Last Sea, though the amphibious people have a name
for it that translates as Nesthaven. Few surface dwellers
have ever been to this watery village, but an occasional
water cleric has been there and back, and the tales told
of the briny society are amazing.
The town itself contains three separate tribes of lizard
men, each with its own loyalties and agendas. Any lizard
man can instantly tell the tribe of another lizard man,
but the differences are far too subtle for an air-breathing
humanoid to discern without spending many long hours
studying the creatures.
The three tribes occasionally have their differences, but
they all are entirely loyal (at least on the surface) to their
king, a hale and hearty reptilian named Nelyrox. The
lizard king's position is inherited by the oldest living
male in the family's line, and this family stands outside
of the tribal structure, thus implying that there will be no
favoritism shown to any one tribe
In fact, the king is a person like any other, able to be
influenced by those he calls friends. His wife Malani is of
the tribe of Kittos, and so she is able to curry favors for
her people. Nelyrox's high advisor is a psionicist named
Mobji. As the co-leader of his own tribe (along with a
creature called Jhoban), the mindbender obviously favors
his own people, and his advice to his king unabashedly
displays much of that.
The people of Xhenrid, the last tribal leader, are
actually more loyal to her than to the king. If she were
to call for a revolt against Nelyrox, it is certain that her
tribe would rally to her side against all odds. Xhenrid
has actually considered committing such an atrocious act,
knowing full well that it would split her people and cause

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 Beyond the Tyr Region
untold deaths. Still, the only thing keeping her ambition
for the throne in check is that fact that her people are
outnumbered almost two to one.
Despite her warriors' skill, it is certain that Xhenrid
would be on the losing side of a civil war amongst the
lizard men. Until such time as she can convince one or
both of the other tribes to join her – or she manages to
find help from some other quarter – she holds herself in
check. She is only willing to begin a blood bath if she is
sure the spilling of the red fluid into the frothing sea will
be to her ultimate benefit.
To this end, Xhenrid has struck up an alliance with
the Underground. The leadership of the Underground is
wary about working with such an obviously bloodthirsty
ally, but it is hard enough to choose your enemies in war,
much less your friends. King Nelyrox is staunchly on the
side of the Mind Lords, just as every lizard king has been
since the trio saved the amphibians from Keltis. And so
the Underground is in bed with Xhenrid, like it or not.
Undertown is an ancient and beautiful city, long
untouched by the ravages of war. The lizard men have
become a peaceful people over the millennia, even going
so far as to set up their own Psionics Academy aimed
at exploring the boundaries of their reptilian minds. The
lizard men live off of kreel (cattle like creatures that dwell
in the depths with them) and kelp farmed from great beds
of it which dot the sea. They supplement their diet with
an occasional fish or even a wild mammal that wanders
too close to the shores of the Last Sea.
The greatest threat to the lizard men's way of life is
the squark, a giant half-squid, half-shark creature which
roams Marnita's murky depths. Every so many years,
the creature attacks Undertown unprovoked, wreaking
massive destruction on the hapless city, despite the
many fortifications the lizard men have built up over the
centuries.
Many expeditions have been formed to hunt the squark
over the years. Few of them have had any luck with
finding the behemoth, and those which have certainly
didn't survive the experience. Still, the lizard men hold
out hope that they will someday be able to rid themselves
of this seemingly immortal menace.
The Seaways
252
Long ago, the psionic masters who ruled the Green
Age built a series of underground corridors of stone that
stretched for miles into the water-filled ocean that is now
the Sea of Silt. Standing upon ivory platforms, these
people were able to travel nearly instantaneously from one
end of the passageway to the other.
After the Mind Lords took control of Saragar, they
began to build just such a series of tunnels for their
own use. It was a massive project, but one that they felt
was necessary for the continued defense of the valley of
Marnita. After all, if it took their lawkeepers hours or
even days to get from one end of the valley to another,
they would find it impossible to respond to any threat
that managed to breach the Border of Guardians.
The corridors, which became known as the seaways,
linked up all of the places shown on the map on this
page, providing the lawkeepers with easy access to each
of the passes through the Thunder Mountains, as well
as with each large settlement in the valley. The very
existence of the corridors was kept secret, as the Mind
Lords were afraid that, if a powerful psionicist were to
discover the transit system, it could be used against them.
A special underwater access point even allowed the
travelers to reach Undertown. In fact, it was inside the
corridor from Saragar to Undertown that the lizard men's
time-frozen bodies were hidden when Keltis came through
the area on his final hunt to exterminate the creatures.
The tunnels were operated by obsidian orbs that moved
the ivory platforms along at unheard-of speeds. Today,
most of these orbs have malfunctioned, and only a few of
the routes are entirely operational. These marked with a
solid line on the map (as opposed to the disabled routes,
which are marked with a dotted line).
The only line used today with any regularity is the one
that runs from Saragar to the South Pass. This way, the
large purchases made from the outside twice every year
can be brought from the gate to the city without fear
of attacks by bandits. Other than that, the passages are
considered unsafe
Travelers can try to walk down the passages if they
like, but they are unlit and can sometimes house strange
creatures unseen elsewhere in Athas. It's rumored that the
seaways were long kept clean by gelatinous cubes, and
if these creatures haven't all starved to death for lack of
something to eat, they could still be down there. Perhaps
 Beyond the Tyr Region

they have managed to survive on the rats that they were

summoned to get rid of.
Unbeknownst to the Mind Lords, Xhenrid of the lizard
folk has reestablished the line between Undertown and
Saragar. She hopes to use it to somehow give aid to her
new friends in the Underground.

253
 Celestial Bodies
The Dark Sun Celestial Bodies
As the crimson sun rises in the morning sky is burns
like a fiery puddle of blood and gives the sky an alive
tinge. As the sun raises higher it appears as a deep red
inferno and the sky brightens, becoming a gradiant of
blue down to olive green at the horizon. Later it brightens
to become a bold orange and yellow before becoming
nearly bright white during the middle of the day.
Over the cycle of a 375 day long year, the sun varies
it’s path across the day sky though there is no noticable
difference in termperature or weather patterns resulting
from this.
The Moons of Athas
Athas as has two moons, Ral and Guthay. Depending
on the time of day, relative position o fht sun and other
atmospheric effects, the moons appear as different colors.
This apparent change in colour also slightly affects the
color of light cast down during the nights.
The Calendar of Kings commonly used in the Tyr
region completes it’s 11 year endlean cycle when the two
moons meet in the heavens, resulting in a major eclipse.
Stories tell of ancient moon gates on Athas that lead
to both Ral and Guthay, but they function only at
unpredictable intervals.
Ral
Ral is the closer of the two moons. Much of the time
Ral appears as a flaxen yellow color though it may vary to
a silvery hue or pale orange during some months. During
dawn and dusk the moon takes on a mottled green color
against the olive tinged skies.
Sages have speculated that that it is covered in great
seas and mountain-islands of dizzying heights.
Ral has a 33 day cycle of it’s phases.
Guthay
Guthay, the smaller and more distant moon. This moon
always appears as some variety of yellow though it van
vary from a pale flaxen to an almost glittering golden orb.
Guthay has been suggested to be mantled in steaming
mists beneath which lie scarlet jungles and marshy seas.
254
The phases of Guthay cycle over a 125 day period.
Legends of the Moons
Arkhold.s Devastation
The dwarves of Balic say the ruins of Arkhold were
once a farming village. Its troubles started in a Year of
Priest.s Vengeance, when Thorlin, a ruler of uncommon
power and cruelty, claimed to hear “the high voices from
the moons”. He said the two moons, Rul and Guthay,
commanded him to visit them and receive their wisdom.
Thorlin flew into the sky with a magical device of some
kind.variously, a jozhal-drawn chariot, a net carried by
air elementals, or (one of the most bizarre touches in
Athasian mythology) a spoon. He returned a year later
with .a wild and burning eye..
Thorlin urged the villagers to burn their crops in great
bonfires, then sacrifice all livestock. This, he said, would
bring prosperity to the village. So it was done.
After the devastating famine that followed, survivors left
for all parts of Athas. Nothing remains of the village of
Arkhold except ruins. So say the dwarves.
Uncle Tontor: A Wyrm’s Tale
Elf merchants around the Lost Oasis believe (or claim
to believe) that no one has ever seen young or small silk
wyrms. No one, they say, has ever seen them breed or
reproduce, despite repeated (usually fatal) attempts. The
mystery has prompted many tales. One concerns Old
Uncle Tontor, a mythical old human known for nosiness
about other people.s affairs. As the elves tell it, Tontor
grew curious to learn how silk wyrms reproduce. None too
bright, he tried to disguise himself as one, dyeing his skin
green and wearing limp cloth wings. Then he crept out to
“a fearsome deep cavern” where wyrms roosted.
Uncle Tontor entered the cavern, trying as far as
possible to look and sound like a wyrm. His bumbling
attempts attracted the attention of “King Snakewing” (in
village folklore, monarch of the wyrms). Ordinarily the
wyrms would have killed the old man on the spot. But
King Snakewing had recently fed well on a hundred
humans and was feeling tolerant. He ordered his minions
to carry the old man away into the sky.
Despite the human.s whining protests, “a hundred
 Celestial Bodies

silken snakes” lifted Uncle Tontor and carried him to the
moon Guthay. There Uncle Tontor saw that the moon
was really a colossal egg, from which all the silk wyrms
hatched, fully-grown.
Then the wyrms deposited Uncle Tontor unceremoniously
on the underside of Athas. (Elven folklore once held that
Athas is flat.) He had to swing hand-over-hand to the
edge of the world, crawl up over the side, and walk all
the way home; this journey lasted a whole king.s age, 77
years. When Tontor arrived back in the village, even
older and more irascible than before, his descendants
did not recognize him. Always nosy, Uncle Tontor asked
them, “What happened to your renowned ancestor, the
great Tontor?”
They replied, “What, that old coot? Our grandparents
said he went mad and thought he.d turned into a snake.
He slithered into the hills, and nobody ever saw him
again.”
Tasker the Scorpion.
These constellations, and the order that they are
progressed through are:
Balimarash the Caravan, Fiddle the Beetle, Hesper
the Kenku, Saurus the Lizard, Hortle the Spider, Sylk
the Wurm, Tasker the Scorpion, Pyrus the Wheel, The
Dragon, Tyrospur the Lion, Scratch the Basilisk, Krawler
the Kank
Besides these constellations used during the marking of
time, there are many other constellations that have been
identified and named by the people of Athas. One of
these is Coraanu, named by the Elves after the character
of their legends as he races across the sky.

The Messenger
An even stronger invoker of superstition and fear
occurs every 45 years, when a brilliant comet called “the
Messenger” visits Athas. By night one can read by the
comet’s light, and it can be seen clearly in the full
light of day. Folklore holds that the Messenger visits the
Dragon every 45 years to deliver important information.
The comet was supposed to appear four years before,
however, it never arrived. Priests and scholars have been
anxiously watching the sky, awaiting the comet’s return,
yet dreading what its tardiness might portend.

Constellations
All Athasians know the night sky and its familiar
constellations, and many peoples assign different meanings
to the motions of the stars and planets.
The main 12 constellations are the ones that make
up the mechant calendar. Through the year the crimson
sun proceeds through each of these, signifying the 12
months of the year. The sun reaches it’s highest between
the months of Krawler the Kank and Balimarash the
Caravan, and it’s lowest between Sylk the Wurm and

255
Celestial Bodies

256
 Distances

Balic to... Distances Gulg to...

Celic 151 miles Balic 179 miles
Gulg 179 miles Celic 260 miles
Nibenay 267 miles Nibenay 234 miles
Tyr 163 miles Raam 215 miles
Raam 248 miles Tyr 130 miles
Urik 216 miles Urik 183 miles
Ablath 133 miles Ablath 100 miles
Altaruk 106 miles Altaruk 73 miles
Fort Adros 180 miles Fort Adros 147 miles
Fort Glamis 35 miles Fort Glamis 144 miles
Fort Isus 230 miles Fort Isus 197 miles
Fort Klavis 155 miles Fort Klavis 24 miles
Fort Skonz 137 miles Fort Skonz 104 miles
Grak’s Pool 78 miles Grak’s Pool 101 miles
N Ledopolus 202 miles N Ledopolus 71 miles
S Ledopolus 51 miles S Ledopolus 128 miles
Silver Spring 153 miles Silver Spring 120 miles
Walis 176 miles Walis 285 miles

Celik to... Kurn to...

Balic 151 miles Draj 431 miles
Gulg 260 miles New Kurn 47 miles
Nibenay 248 miles Azath’s Rest 167 miles
Tyr 244 miles Bitter Well 404 miles
Raam 329 miles Fort Protector 20 miles
Urik 297 miles Fort Ral 250 miles
Altaruk 187 miles Ket 324 miles
S Ledopolus 132 miles
Silver Spring 234 miles

Draj to... New Kurn to...

Kurn 431 miles Kurn 47 miles
Raam 57 miles Fort Protector 27 miles
Azath’s Rest 264 miles
Bitter Well 27 miles
Fort Ebon 32 miles
Fort Ral 181 miles
Ket 107 miles

257
 Distances

Nibenay to... Tyr to...

Balic 267 miles Balic 163 miles
Celic 348 miles Celic 244 miles
Gulg 234 miles Gulg 130 miles
Raam 97 miles Nibenay 182 miles
Tyr 182 miles Raam 163 miles
Urik 170 miles Urik 131 miles
Ablath 134 miles Ablath 88 miles
Altaruk 187 miles Altaruk 57 miles
Fort Adros 135 miles Fort Adros 131 miles
Fort Glamis 232 miles Fort Glamis 128 miles
Fort Isus 37 miles Fort Isus 145 miles
Fort Klavis 210 miles Fort Klavis 106 miles
Fort Skonz 156 miles Fort Skonz 26 miles
Grak’s Pool 189 miles Grak’s Pool 85 miles
N Ledopolus 257 miles N Ledopolus 153 miles
S Ledopolus 216 miles S Ledopolus 112 miles
Silver Spring 114 miles Silver Spring 68 miles
Walis 373 miles Walis 269 miles

Raam to... Urik to...

Balic 269 miles Balic 216 miles
Celic 329 miles Celic 297 miles
Draj 57 miles Gulg 183 miles
Gulg 215 miles Nibenay 177 miles
Nibenay 97 miles Raam 158 miles
Tyr 163 miles Tyr 131 miles
Urik 73 miles Ablath 83 miles
Ablath 115 miles Altaruk 136 miles
Altaruk 168 miles Fort Adros 184 miles
Fort Adros 216 miles Fort Glamis 181 miles
Fort Glamis 213 miles Fort Isus 140 miles
Fort Isus 60 miles Fort Klavis 159 miles
Fort Klavis 191 miles Fort Skonz 105 miles
Fort Skonz 137 miles Grak’s Pool 138 miles
Grak’s Pool 170 miles N Ledopolus 206 miles
N Ledopolus 238 miles S Ledopolus 165 miles
S Ledopolus 197 miles Silver Spring 63 miles
Silver Spring 95 miles Walis 322 miles
Walis 354 miles

258
 Distances

Alturuk to... Silver Spring to...

Ablath 27 miles Ablath 20 miles
Fort Adros 74 miles Altaruk 73 miles
Fort Glamis 71 miles Fort Adros 121 miles
Fort Isus 124 miles Fort Glamis 118 miles
Fort Klavis 49 miles Fort Isus 77 miles
Fort Skonz 31 miles Fort Klavis 96 miles
Grak’s Pool 28 miles Fort Skonz 42 miles
N Ledopolus 96 miles Grak’s Pool 75 miles
S Ledopolus 55 miles N Ledopolus 143 miles
Silver Spring 47 miles S Ledopolus 102 miles
Walis 212 miles Walis 259 miles

259
 Index
Index
Ahpotex....................................................... 177
Altaruk........................................................... 74
Arkhold........................................................ 222
Avegdaar........................................................ 60
Balic................................................................ 74
Bandit States................................................ 231
Bare Stone...................................................... 15
Barrier Wastes............................................. 227
Basalt Plain.................................................... 73
Bav-rem....................................................... 212
Beastbarrens.................................................. 28
Bitter Well...................................................... 50
Black Isle........................................................ 64
Black Sand Raiders....................................... 89
Blackspine Mountains.................................. 46
Blackwash...................................................... 17
Blue Shrine.................................................. 222
Blufftown..................................................... 250
Bodach........................................................... 44
Boulder Fields................................................. 9
Broken Butte................................................. 28
Broken Lands................................................ 52
Burning Plains............................................ 236
Bvanen Cave City....................................... 213
Cache............................................................ 148
Canyons......................................................... 10
Celik............................................................. 222
Chaksa............................................................ 53
City of a Thousand Dead........................... 226
City of the Fire King..................................... 52
Clan of the Roc........................................... 191
Constellations............................................. 255
Crescent Forest............................................. 31
Criker’s Pirates............................................ 251
Crimson Monolith..................................... 224
Crimson Savanna....................................... 216
Cromlin........................................................ 106
Crystal Forest................................................ 55
Cuarsen........................................................ 242
Cubarto........................................................ 242
Dark Sun...................................................... 254
260
Darna........................................................... 184
Dasaraches..................................................... 54
Dead Forest.............................................19, 73
Dead Land................................................... 225
Dej................................................................ 180
Dhuurghaz..................................................... 60
Dragon Horns............................................... 21
Dragon’s Bowl............................................... 51
Dragon’s Causeway....................................... 67
Dragon’s Crown Mountains........................ 53
Dragon’s Plate................................................ 49
Draj............................................................... 172
Dry Marsh..................................................... 52
Durg’s Puddle.............................................. 224
Dust Sinks........................................................ 9
Echoing Mine................................................ 46
Echoless Caverns.......................................... 26
Eldaarich...................................................... 229
Endless Sand Dunes................................... 222
Estuaries......................................................... 14
Estuary of the Forked Tongue.............48, 171
Euripis.......................................................... 184
Flake Drifts.................................................... 18
Flashfires...................................................... 237
Foothills......................................................... 10
Forbidden City............................................ 213
Forest Colossi................................................ 55
Forest Ridge...........................................55, 181
Fort Fyra...................................................... 120
Fort Harbeth............................................... 131
Fort Inix....................................................... 141
Free................................................................. 83
Freedom......................................................... 74
Fume............................................................ 168
Gate of Doom................................................ 72
Gauntlets........................................................ 51
Giant Holds................................................... 49
Giustenal...................................................... 183
Glerran......................................................... 205
God in the Dust............................................ 63
Godshold..................................................... 230

Grace............................................................ 179
Great Alluvial Sand Wastes......................... 21
Great Ash Storm........................................... 69
Great Ivory Plain.......................................... 41
Great Rift..................................................... 215
Great Salt Flat.............................................. 225
Groomsh...................................................... 186
Grotto............................................................. 18
Gulg.............................................................. 106
Gunginwald................................................... 77
Guthay.......................................................... 254
Herumar...................................................... 222
Hinterlands............................................53, 180
Huddleston.................................................. 243
Iron Citadel................................................. 188
Iron Mines of Tyr.......................................... 75
Isle of Ash...................................................... 64
Isle of Bones.................................................. 64
Ivory Triangle........................................28, 106
Jagged Cliffs...........................................54, 194
Jagged Plains................................................. 18
Kalidnay......................................................... 74
Kel’s Lot........................................................ 233
Ket................................................................ 172
Kharzden..................................................... 244
Kled................................................................ 78
Kol-tukulg...................................................... 56
Kra-Hnur....................................................... 78
Kreen Empire.............................................. 218
Krikik’s Pack................................................ 173
Kurn............................................................. 229
Lake Island.................................................... 59
Lake of Golden Dreams............................... 52
Lake Pit.......................................................... 51
Last Drink.................................................... 224
Last Sea........................................................ 240
Lava Gorge.................................................. 236
Lava Plains..................................................... 20
Lava Sea......................................................... 17
Ledopolus.................................................... 171
Lonely Butte................................................ 249
261
Index
Lonely Giants.............................................. 250
Lost Clans.................................................... 213
Lost Oasis...................................................... 24
Lost Samarthia.............................................. 51
Lost Scale..................................................... 180
Maelstrom...................................................... 67
Magma Forests.............................................. 18
Makia........................................................... 172
Mausoleum of Shiivarm.............................. 26
Mekillot Mountains...................................... 44
Misty Border............................................... 195
Moons.......................................................... 254
Morghaz......................................................... 60
Mountains of the Sun................................... 59
Mountains of the Teeth................................ 49
Mount Narran............................................... 27
Mount Solace.............................................. 170
Mudflats...................................................11, 16
Mud Palace.................................................. 225
Muln............................................................. 184
Narrows......................................................... 50
Nexus........................................................... 229
Nibenay........................................................ 106
Obsidian Citadel......................................... 226
Ogo............................................................... 181
Outlander Villages...................................... 191
Outpost 19................................................... 137
Pareth........................................................... 204
Pillage........................................................... 232
Plain of Singing Skulls................................. 52
Plunder........................................................ 232
Poisoner’s Pit............................................... 166
Poortool’s Horde......................................... 160
Pristine Tower............................................... 28
Pterran Tribes............................................. 214
Pterran Vale................................................. 180
Pyreen Grove............................................... 229
Raam............................................................ 172
Rain Tree...................................................... 181
Ral................................................................. 254
Ravage.......................................................... 232
 Index
Ravish........................................................... 232
Reg-tol.......................................................... 212
Ringing Mountains....................................... 25
Ring of Fire............................................66, 188
Rivertown.................................................... 245
Road of Fire................................................... 60
Road of Kings........................................50, 172
Rocky Badlands.............................................. 6
Rocky Islands................................................ 15
Rowom........................................................... 61
Sahr-tosh...................................................... 207
Salt Flats........................................................... 7
Salt Marshes.................................................... 8
Salt View...................................................... 109
Sandy Wastes................................................... 5
Saragar......................................................... 246
Scorched Plateau......................................... 235
Screaming Ravine......................................... 27
Scrub Plains..................................................... 8
Sea of Silt.........................................11, 57, 183
Seaways........................................................ 252
Shallat........................................................... 246
Shard Flats..................................................... 71
Shault.............................................................. 62
Shillisa.......................................................... 185
Si’jidzak........................................................ 215
Silt................................................................... 11
Silt Archipelago........................................... 183
Silt Shoals....................................................... 15
Silver Spring Oasis........................................ 80
Siren’s Song.................................................... 49
Sith.................................................................. 67
Slither, the Crawling Citadel....................... 21
Small Home................................................. 226
Small Water................................................. 238
Smoking Crown............................................ 52
Smoking Land............................................... 20
Somber Woods............................................ 236
Sortar’s Army................................................ 98
Southern Wastes......................................... 222
Spoil.............................................................. 234
262
Stark Crags.................................................... 16
Stony Barrens.................................................. 5
Sylvandretta................................................. 247
Tablelands................................................21, 74
Tarelon...................................................65, 184
Tar Pits........................................................... 18
Temple of the Sky Serpent........................... 55
Tenpug’s Band............................................. 126
Ter-omak..................................................... 210
Thamasku.................................................... 198
Thaythilor.................................................... 220
Thunder Mountains................................... 238
Tohr-Kreen Nations................................... 221
Tortured Hills................................................ 71
Trade Nest................................................... 238
Tyr.................................................................. 74
Undertown.................................................. 251
Ur Draxa...................................................... 191
Urik.............................................................. 172
Vaas.............................................................. 184
Valley of Dust and Fire........................69, 191
Valley of the Last Sea.................................. 239
Vanishing Lake.............................................. 63
Vault of House Madar.................................. 24
Verdant Belt................................................... 35
Verdant Isle.................................................... 63
Vertical Forests........................................... 196
Vir-rath........................................................ 211
Waishiki....................................................... 248
Walis............................................................... 78
Waverly.......................................................... 49
Windbreak Mountains................................. 29
Winter Nest................................................. 230
Wrath........................................................... 234
Yaramuke..................................................... 172
Yihn-tol........................................................ 209