Oerth’s geography is little known because travel
is so dangerous to one’s health. Only the rich
and powerful can afford the armed guards, wizards,
and <priests> who make long-distance travel
possible. Because of this, tales of far away
ands are always sought after by those unable to move freely.

The unusual places described here are some of the most
infamous and best-known bits of topography in the lands
men travel. In addition to being interesting in their own
right, these areas were selected for inclusion in this chapter
because they illustrate an important point: An AREA
doesn’t have to be filled with monsters, tricks, and traps to
be interesting to players and DMs alike.

The Pinnacles of Azor’alq
The Pinnacles of Azor’alq which have haunted Bakluni
lejend for upwards of 3000 years. They have
been variously described as the ancient dwellings of the
gods, the protruding spires of a titanic drowned city, the
monumental tombs of the near-mythical 1st Dynasty of
the Bakluni, and the nesting place of phoenixes, rocs, or
the Dramidj Ocean’s numerous dragons. The epic Hero for
whom they are named is said to SLEEP there with his Paladins.
The last royal house of the Bakluni Empire is said to
have fled here from the Invoked Devastation. The Cup and
Talisman of Al’Akbar is rumored to reside there. Such a
wealth of speculation betokens the fact that few have seen
the Pinnacles even at a distance, and (perhaps significantly)
fewer yet report any close approach or landing.
Mariners regard a sighting of the Pinnacles as an ill omen,
and will rarely so much as speak of them, and then only
when ashore.

The Pinnacles themselves are massive spires no less
than 40 in number (some say 100), in an irregular cluster,
none more than 2 miles from its nearest neighbor. They
are perhaps a quarter mile in diameter at the base, circular
in cross-section, and rise steeply upward in a regular series
of cliffs. How far they extend downward into THE OCEAN is
unknown, but their height above the water is in excess of
1,000 feet. The lower portions are clothed in forest, including
massive coniferous trees which are themselves sometimes
more than 200' tall. These are mixed with lesser
trees, some of which cling to the cliffs, and a wealth of
lesser ferns, mosses, and flowers. Above these is a cloudforest
of odd fleshy-leaved plants and rare orchids. This fragrant
and silent realm contrasts with the highest levels,
which are raucous and white-stained with innumerable
sea birds; puffins, ELDER, albatrosses, and others less recognizable.
On rare clear days the Pinnacles may be marked
at some distance by the plume of feathered life above them.

The Pinnacles seldom offer an easy landing. Broad
though they may be, the shelves between cliffs are seldom . conveniently near sea level. In most cases a landing party
must climb tens or hundreds of feet upwards from the sea.
The difficulty of the terrain, and the mists, numerous
waterfalls, and thick vegetation at first conceal the fact
that the Pinnacles are not natural formations, or even
shaped ones, but are composed of titanic blocks. On rare
occasions one encounters openings leading to the interior
of these constructions. There is no report of what may be
found if one ascends or descends the broad stairways leading
away from these bat-haunted cave mouths, or rather
doorways.

Whatever else dwells among the pinnacles, it is certain
that dragons of all sorts and sizes make their home there,
from tiny varieties that sport among the beautiful and
unique birds of the forests to huge coiled reptiles.

Notes for the Dungeon Master
Golden, faerie, pseudo-, silver, and mist dragons are all
appropriate residents. Rocs, giant eagles, and a phoenix or
2 may also be included. These live in relative harmony,
foraging outward for fish, whales, or even for food on the
mainland. All are concerned that no rumor of the Pinnacles
reach the outside world, and will either strand or kill
intruders (depending on alignment and circumstances) if
they possibly can. Treasures to be found include not only
the precious things gathered by the intelligent inhabitants
but also certain orchids and birds-of-paradise. Some of the
latter have been bred by the longer-lived dragons, and are
regarded as personal property. The guardians and treasures
of the interior should be powerful (possibly undead),
and the exterior inhabitants do not wish them to be disturbed. The isle may have human inhabitants.

The Pits of Azak-Zil
    In mid-locktime of CY 198, the Great Kingdom was
astounded by a ball of fire which appeared over the Oljatt
Sea, passed over Sunndi, Idee, Ahlissa, and Onnwall, and
vanished somewhere beyond the Sea of Gearnat. It was visible
as far south as the Olman Isles and as far north as
Eastfair and Rel Mord, and was cause for wonder and concern
even in those prosperous and confident times. Selvor
the Younger, after careful extrapolation to its origin in the
constellations, declared the shooting star to signify
“wealth, strife, and a living death.” The pronouncement
caused a panic in certain of the larger cities, particularly
Rauxes, where a number of prominent nobles took the pronouncement
to be a signal for the end of the world, or at
least of an era, and created several disturbances. Accordingly,
when after several years the predicted events failed
to make themselves evident, Selvor was banished from his
post and from the court, and held by his colleagues as a
laughing stock. There matters were to lie for more than 300
years, while chaos enveloped the greater part of the Flanaess
and few had the time or patience to study the work of
a discredited astrologer.

It was in 514 that Jemrek Longsight, a dwarvish sage
who as a child had been greatly impressed by the phenomenon
undertook a study entirely opposite to Selvor’s: using
records of the falling star’s flight she traced it not back to
its origin but downward to the Oerth. Longsight’s calculations
showed a landing along the easter wing of the Abbor
Alz, between the Bright Desert and the Nesser River. On
the basis of previous instances of shooting stars and their
tangible results, Longsight predicted a great deposit of
pure metals at the site: certainly iron, and possibly gold
and mithral as well. The direction of Jemrek Longsight’s
study has often been cited as evidence that dwarvish habits
of mind persist even in those who choose the most undwarvish
occupations.

Longsight’s announcements resulted in a flurry of activity
on the part of all the political interests in the region. All
over the Iron League there was a ferment of alliance, misalliance,
and reliance between the dwarvish clans and other
groups preparing expeditions. The Herzog of South
Province sent forth a large group of warriors and prospectors,
reportedly with orders to return with news of the
deposit or not at all. The Principality of Ulek took an interest,
as did Almor, Nyrond, and the Duchy of Urnst, and
trading houses from the Wild Coast and even Greyhawk
and Dyvers. Even the rulers of The Pomarj, then new to
their power, sent an ill-prepared company of orcs, goblins,
and ogres. As these varied forces converged on the AREA
delineated by Longsight, chilling tales of murder, treachery,
and bloody MASSACRE began to make their way back to
the outside world. Soon the weaker forces turned back for
lack of supplies or manpower. The Pomarjis were slaughtered
by a temporary alliance of dwarvish interests.
Nyrond and Urnst were unexpectedly impeded by the
inhabitants of Celadon Forest, who did NOT desire such
activity near their lands. The Herzog’s troops disappeared
into the Bright Desert and were never seen again. All parties
were harassed by the natives of the Abbor-Alz, who as
always resented intrusion, and by the Sea Princes, who
were attracted to the supply ships.

After half a decade of struggle, the house of Highforge,
one of the more prominent dwarvish clans in Irongate,
emerged as discoverer and holder of the starstone’s wealth.
A port was established on the waterless coasts where the
Abbor-Alz touches the Bright Desert, and a secret trail was
established leading inland. Highforge and its allies maintained
thorough secrecy, and for good reason: iron, platinum,
gold, mithral, and adamantite began to pour out into
the world at large through the carefully guarded harbor.
Few have reported concerning the mine inland, but from
peripheral comments it appears that the dwarves discovered
a broad depression of fused and shocked rock marking
the landing point of their prize and established themselves
in a nearby mesa from which they coordinated a well planned
mining operation. They dug deep artesian wells
and established cisterns. The mine and settlement they
called Azak-Zil, or Pureheart.

For 5 years Highforge swelled with wealth; there were
disruptions in metal markets as far away as Rauxes. Then,
abruptly, the flow was cut off. The port city of Zarak
remained, but communications with the mines ceased and
probes into the interior found the roads to be erased and
the dust storms to be intolerable. Members of a powerful
expeditionary force disappeared suddenly and silently at
night, even from guarded tents. Clan Highforge, after
expending much of its considerable fortune in an attempt
to refind and retake the mines, took heed of unfavorable
auguries and abandoned the effort. Zarak was abandoned.

Since the failure of Azak-Zil most southern dwarvish
clans have declared the folly of meddling with “things from
the sky.” Not a few suppose that the mine was visited by a
curse, either by something imported from the heavens or
by something wakened by the shooting star or the activities
of the miners. Many have cited Nomad lejends that an
ancient nonhuman people dwelt in the mesas of the southern
Abbor Alz and still GUARD them.

Only one individual has claimed to have found the site of
the mines since their abandonment: one Pont Sandmorg of
Narwell. Sandmorg’s account would place the mesa on the
eastern slopes of the hills, facing the Bright Desert, about a
hundred or more miles inland. There was a poisonous salt
lake filling part of the nearby depression, and there were
hills of tailings from extensive mining operations, and
plain evidence of a dwarvish cliff-city could be seen on the
south face of the mesa. However, Sandmorg and his men
were content to raid a few ingots from a former roadside
depot. Their number had been depleted by native tribes
and by packs of unusually ferocious and cunning ghouls,
and they turned back after ‘‘a most horrible howling, like a
thousand jackals which emanated from the city that night,
and a most foul apparition which appeared to the men on
watch.” Attempts to duplicate Sandmorg’s route have
either resulted in failure to find the mines or failure to
return at all.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The environs of the port-city will show only a few hardy
and surly nomads. Inland the terrain is extremely treacherous,
and dust storms are likely. There will be evidence of
former expeditions as the mines grow nearer, though most
of the treasures carried by these ill-fated groups will be in
the lairs of various desert monsters. There will be unusual
numbers of undead, especially ghouls and ghasts, many of
dwarvish origin.

Should the PCs reach the cliff-city or the
diggings they will discover that the work of mining still
goes on, as does the fighting that always attended it. Each
individual, NOW in undead form, seeks to amass for itself
all of the treasure. Their number is large, mostly ghouls
and ghasts. There are no noncorporeal undead in the city
and mines themselves. The undead will attack on sight in
search of food |or| treasure.

The cause of this horrible transformation is an ellipsoid
ov bluish METAL about 2' long and 1' in diameter.
All who die within 5 miles of it rise at the next full moon as
undead creatures unless the corpse is first blessed. Undead <Ceremony: Burial>
within 1 mile are turned at -5, those within two at -4,
and so on to the limit of the AREA of effect. The stone also
causes consuming greed and transformation to a lichlike
state in its possessor. It is presently held by a lich, a dwarvish
High Priest of 16th level. In addition to raising a primary
attribute by +2, the stone should have various other
effects as determined from the Dungeon Masters Guide; it
is an artifact.

The Sinking Isle
The Sinking Isle has HAUNTED the waters near the Isles of
the Sea Barons from Time immemorial. The earliest Oeridian
tribes to fish the Solnor there knew of it; the Flan
before them had lejends of it; the seagoing elves of Lendore
Isle have tales yet more ancient. Neither our own civilization
nor even that of the Elvenfolk was the 1st in the Flanaess;
there were others in times so far past that the very
shape of the lands has since changed. The Sinking Isle is a
reminder of them.

The region about Asperd Isle, the northernmost held by
the Sea Barons, is prone to infrequent if powerful quakes.
Perhaps it was one of these which in the distant past carried
an island city to the sea bottom, and perhaps it is the
same restlessness that on occasion raises it again into the
air. Local mariners hold that while these movements are
never predictable they are at times presaged by tremors
and a boiling and bubbling that stirs dark mud from the
bottom and releases bubbles of foul smelling gas. It is also
said that the rise of the Sinking Isle is most likely in storms
|or| fog. At such times coastal traders and pirates, who normally
seek the protected inner passage between Asperd
Island and the Solnor’s unpredictable waves, either go the
long way round or stay aport. Many northern captains
raiding southward will not attempt the strait at all, for
lack of friendly informants.

The Sinking Isle is not always so kind as to give warning
of its reemergence. Neither does it always show itself
entirely above the waters. Often only the highest extremities
jut upwards, as if they were lying in WAIT for unwary
ships. Indeed seamen credit the isle or its manipulators
with a malign will, and attribute any disappearance in the
strait to its action. More than one will tell tales of a near grounding,
a suspicious darkness in the water on a clear
fair day, |or| the sight of breakers where none ought to be. A
very few claim to have watched the island, or even landed
on it. They do so in whispers, as it is said that foolhardy
boasters are apt to vanish from their homes on some dark
and rainy night thereafter. So it is that for the most part
only a faint rumor reaches the outside world of the Sinking
Isle and its twisted ruins.

In the past 1 notable man was far less circumspect
than modern adventurers: Atirr Aedorich, a Hero of the
Great Kingdom in the days of its youth. In 155, as a young
man, he was sent southward by his father to the university
at Rel Astra, then a great center of learning in the magickal
arts. The Sinking Isle was less active in those days,
but as the fates would have it Atirr’s ship was caught in a
sudden squall, and driven onto the hidden claws of the Isle
itself. Atirr was fascinated rather than terrified (such were
the Great Kingdom’s nobles in those days). For a full hour,
while the crew sweated at the pumps and strained to place
a patch over the hull’s single rent, the young man gazed at
the strange phosphorescent landscape, and prepared several
sketches, until one of the Solnor’s strange and unpredictable
great waves came questing into the strait and
lifted the wounded vessel clear.  Atirr vowed to return and
discover the island's secrets.

Atirr did return northward some years later, but as Herzog
of North Province.  Not until his middle years did he
have the leisure to take up his study.  Through the examination
of certain ancient Suel tomes, and the exercise of
the arts he learned at Rel Astra, he devised a way to either
predict or command the vagaries of the Sinking Isle.  This
knowledge, like much else, was lost in the Turmoil
Between the Crowns, but several different descriptions
survive of what he found when he drew alongside the risen
city.

In the short Time before the island sank once again
beneath the waves, Atirr and his fellows were able to
recover and record information about a great many artifacts
from among the spiky and highly decorated ruins.
Among these were many panes of fine stained glass, some
still intact, and some in tints never yet achieved by modern
artists.  Besides these were a number of twisted ornaments
of gold and lead, later discovered to be of sahuagin manufacture.
Attir also discovered a book sealed against the
water in a lead casket.  All of these were returned to the
court at Rauxes in honor of the Overking.  The patient
Atirr hoped to study them further in his retirement.  He
declared the book in particular to be most interesting,
being among other things a recording of the lost language of
"an ancient history together with magickal secrets."

Tragically, Atirr was never to attain his goal. 2 years
after his discoveries he and all hands went down in a storm
off the coast of North Province in a storm which apparently
even the Herzog’s powers could not quell. The book has
since disappeared, though it may yet be found somewhere
in the catacombs at Rauxes; it is difficult to be sure, as so<?>
little word now reaches the outside world of the doings at
that court. It is known that Atirr was convinced from a preliminary
study that the city itself was NOT primarily of
sahuagin construction but must have been built by a terrestrial
race, though sahuagin-like creatures and other sea
life are depicted frequently in the architecture.

Later observers have examined the coastlands and sea
near the site of the Sinking Isle, and have on a dark evening
seen what may have been its upper towers. The region
is chill and forbidding for such a southern latitude. Fishermen
say that the catch in those parts is extraordinarily
good, but that nets are often fouled. Those attempting the
water, find it dark and chill. Most are content to leave the
Sinking Isle to the sahuagin, or whatever race of the deeps
now holds it.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The Sinking Isle is held jointly by sahuagin and krakens,
according to the local currents at the time. The waters
about the isle are alternately very clear and warm as the
southern current reaches it, or chilly and dark as it is
touched by the northern currents. Each sort of water has
its characteristic fauna, the former typified by sahuagin
and the latter by krakens. There is a 10% chance in any
month that the currents will change over the course of the
following month to the opposite direction.

The risings and fallings of the island are controlled by
sacrifices of intelligent creatures at an altar in the middle
of the largest ruin. The city is not of sahuagin manufacture,
but it would not be amiss to suggest that the builders
were the once-human ancestors of the sahuagin themselves.
They were in any case an evil race toward the end.
The ruins are reminiscent of Gothic architecture, with
much decoration and many high pointed arches.

The isle is relatively uninhabited during changeovers
from one current to another.  It is 15% likely to rise on its
own each month that characters are in the AREA, and will
remain above water for 1d6 hours.  It normally rests on the
bottom. Local fishermen are 10% likely to know the precise
location; local mermen 50% likely. Neither will be eager to
reveal the information or serve as guides. The sahuagin
and krakens have a few allies ashore to apprise them of
events.

It might be suggested that the House of Rax holds the
book discovered by Atirr.  Aside from historical information
it is both a libram of ineffable damnation and a book of vile
deeds. <book of vile darkness?>

The Twisted Forest
The Drachensgrabs have always been a peculiar land, an
anomaly among the more settled regions of the Flanaess.
Lejends Persist that Some Powerful being Sleeps there, and
that some unclean air is about certain of the hills. The
retaking of the Pomarj by humanoid forces is just such an
event as might be expected of this region-- Rumors aside,
there is at least 1 sleeping and dangerous power in these
superficially Pleasant lands: the misnamed ‘‘Twisted Forest.”

<redo this paragraph>
The Twisted Forest is no forest at all, but rather a collection
of Stony Pillars; these Pitted Pay Shapes have as much <?>
the aspect Of humanoid Shapes as of trees. They are Scattered
over the hillside meadows like so many leafless
olives, but it would be difficult to mistake them for vegetation.
They range in size from that Of a very small goblin to
that Of a VerY large ogre, but their twisted upper extensions
are as suggestive of upraised arms as of branches.
They have overall an UnWholesomea nd unnerving aspect.
One has the feeling of being watched- The Patterns on the
trunks are suggestive of tormented faces, and it is notable
that despite their great age they do not bear the abundant
mosses, lichens, and birds’ nests that the local outcroppings
of native rock display in such abundance.

An examination of the ground between the “trees,”
which is rich in flowers, shows a surprising number of
bones and many weathered remains of weapons and equipment.
One might at first suppose these to be the relics of a
battle, but they are of varying ages--some old enough to
have crumbled entirely and be evident only as strains in
the soil, while others are much more recent. Where they
have not been disarrayed by scavengers the bones and
equipment are still whole. The source of this carnage is not
any danger in the hills round about, but the forest itself.
Those who touch the stone shapes often die, or go mad.

The <jebli> of the Pomarj are NOW well aware of the dangers
of the Twisted Forest. Early during their influx a
large company of goblins scouting for new lands ascertained
from the local herdsmen that the Forest might contain
treasures somehow locked within the stone shapes.
Precisely what occurred on the day they entered the Forest
is not known, but it seems to have been something beyond
even the traditional danger (of which the goblins and their
allies might have been aware had they not in their eagerness
to push onward hastily slaughtered their informants).
Later observers have since examined this field of stone
shapes, and it seems that there are rather more of them
than implied in earlier accounts. There is moreover something
which was surely not present in past centuries-a
contorted river of stone among the pillars, more than thirty
feet long, tapered at either end. Unfortunately, it is not possible
to compare past and present eyewitness accounts
directly, as former natives of the region are now dead or dispersed.

The Twisted Forest would be entirely mysterious were it
not for records of the Keoish Court at Niole Dra. An
ancient and much recopied manuscript there purports to be
a history of the Suel peoples immediately after the last
disaster of the Suelite empire, penned by one Uhas of
Neheli. In this history is the tale of a particularly wicked
band of Suloise who fled with all their treasures eastward
along the northern coast of the Azure Sea, seeking a new
land in which to build a powerful new nation. They were as
learned and powerful as they were cruel, and met with success
in all their evil ventures, until at last they slaughtered
a band of innocent Flan tribesmen in a particularly
vile manner in the Suenha Hills. By so doing they brought
on themselves a most terrible curse from certain of the
Flannish gods the tribe had worshiped: that neither they
nor any of their kind should leave the valley in which the
MASSACRE occurred, and that they should be monuments to
their own wicked behavior, “pillars of tortured stone for all
the world to see.” This would seem to be a clear reference to
the Twisted Forest, and it is commonly accepted among
historians that the Suenha Hills were the Drachensgrab as
known to early Suel colonists. The malevolent effect of the
stone figures themselves remains to be explained, since it
would surely not have been a part of the original curse, but
perhaps the powerful Suel mages contrived somehow to see
that their malice would continue to wound the world, at
least within a limited area. As additional evidence that the
stone figures are former Suelites, the flowers peculiar to
the Twisted Forest are of types seen only in the far western
parts of the Sea of Dust.

As for the treasures which some insist are buried in the
stone figures, it is perhaps best not to seek them since the
Twisted Forest has so dire an effect, but it is doubtless a
great treasure indeed if these stone figures are in fact a
host of transformed Suelites. What if anything could be
gained from what may be the more recent additions to the
collection of pillars is unknown, even in rumor.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The pillars are largely the remains of evil creatures. Any
being of evil alignment which enters the demesne of the
Twisted Forest will be affected within 1d4 to 1d20 turns
depending on the degree of evil involved. Thereafter such
creatures must make a saving throw vs. spell each round or
be converted with all their goods and equipment into twisted
stony parodies of their original forms. They will thereafter
be fully aware and able to hear and see and even feel
their surroundings, but are immobile and practically indestructible.
Fire, cold, and lightning, as well as acids and
nonmagical weapons will cause no damage, but will cause
excruciating pain. The rock is also immune to common
spell effects such as rock to mud, stone to flesh, or dispel
magick, though know alignment is effective. Only polymorph
any object can release a trapped individual, and
then the success if checked as if dispel magic were being
used against a 20th-level spell. This restoration is permanent
if the victim survives the system shock roll.

Trapped creatures typically have only one avenue of
escape; they can attempt to take over the body of another
creature that touches or strikes them, as if using a magick
jar spell. One attempt to take over is allowed on each round
in which there is contact. A takeover attempt may also be
made against someone who attempts speak with stones. <stone tell?>
Once in its new body, the new tenant must survive a system
shock check or die. Resurrection or raise dead on a
body slain in this way will bring back the newer tenant,
not the old. In any case the former owner of the body is
trapped in the stone form of the aggressor. All creatures
are susceptible to these effects, but natural animals are
subject to an antipathy effect and will avoid the pillars.

Released creatures vary widely in origin. Some are the
original Suel band, including some powerful spellcasters.
Others (the smaller ones) are jebli or kobolds, while the
larger ones are typically ogres. The large snakelike figure
is a red dragon. Some will be other non-evil creatures
trapped in new bodies. Reactions will vary according to
alignment and length of imprisonment (some of the older
ones are quite mad). Equipment will be likewise variable.

The Burning Cliffs
The stretch of land facing the Icy Sea between the Cold
Marshes and the Forlorn Forest is one of the least trodden
regions of the Flanaess. Not even the Rovers of the Barrens
see much profit in it; they generally keep to the grasslands
farther south, and even these hardy folk refer to these
parts as “The Wastes.” Even the poorest parts of the Flanaess
have their wonders, however; in this case, the
famous Burning Cliffs.

The Burning Cliffs were named for their northern border
with the Icy Sea. Ships traveling along that coast may see
them for distances of a hundred miles or more on a clear
day, where the smoking rocks drop sharply to meet the
water. In fact the region of burning extends a good distance
inland. It consists largely of oily shales and a black flammable
rock which release smoke and steam from a process
of burning which has been continuous since the earliest
histories. It may even have spread in recent centuries.

It might be thought that a fire would make the local climate
more bearable, but in fact the smoldering and steaming
rubble gives rather more heat than is comfortable, and
in places is actually in flames. In any event it would be necessary
in most seasons to stand amidst the conflagration,
since the fierce northern winds soon carry away the heat. It
would in any case be a dubious comfort, being accompanied
by sooty fumes and steam. Ships sailing downwind of the
Cliffs are apt to leave with darker sails than those they set
out with. Neither would the warmed traveler have anything
to eat in those desolate regions, with the exception of
a few scrawny northern deer which feed on the sparse
lichens and willows upwind of the Burning Cliffs region.
The Rovers seldom bother to visit the place, and regard it
as simply another obstacle in their rare trips through the
Wastes.

The character of the Burning Cliffs has apparently
changed somewhat over the past century or so. Mariners
remark that the clouds billowing upwards from them contain
rather more soot than steam, and that by night a dull
glow enfolds the entire region as if there were higher
flames nearer the center. Both the Rovers and the seamen
have noted that the area of burning has spread by up to several
hundred yards a year (it is already nearly 30 miles
across), though in cold winters it retreats somewhat. On
occasion shapes are reported moving about behind the barrier
of cloud and soot. Perhaps most significantly, the forests,
marshes, and grasslands at the edge of the Wastes,
hundreds of miles away, have begun to sicken and die, supporting
the claims of some scholars that the Burning Cliffs
are in fact responsible for the Wastes to begin with. This is
of little concern to most northerners, however; the lands
are wide there, and apparently inexhaustible.

None of these more recent reports has been sufficient to
spur the practical northern peoples into any sort of action
or investigation, and it was quite by accident that anything
more was discovered. In 523 one Storrich of the Hold
of Stonefist failed in an attempt to advance himself by less
than traditional methods. Poisoners are not highly regarded
even in that grim country, and so Storrich and his followers
were obliged to flee. Since the season was summer
and the Ice Barbarians would not be likely to let his ship
pass unmolested, Storrich and his pursuers turned westward.
Unfortunately for Storrich and his men, the pilot of
the ship ran it aground offshore the Wastes, and Storrich’s
company was obliged to take to the land, the pursuit still
hot on their heels. As a last desperate measure Storrich
attempted entry into the Burning Cliffs region, risking a
stone path that he and his men found leading into the smolder.
Storrich’s pursuers turned back at this point well satisfied,
and informed the Master of the Hold that they had
driven Storrich to his death, having waited some days for
him to attempt a return and having seen nothing. It proved
to be untrue.

2 years later Storrich appeared in Dyvers, and being a
rather loquacious individual he soon disclosed his story -- several
stories, in fact, some of them mutually contradictory,
but it is possible to piece together a relatively plausible
scenario from his boastings. The general outline of the story
was that Storrich’s company happened on a city of fire-loving
creatures, and managed to steal some valuable gold
and jewelry. The subsequent conflict, and the flight southward
through the flames and fumes claimed all of Storrich’s
following, as only he was protected from the full
effect of the Burning Cliffs (apparently by magical effects
of certain of his possessions). The identity of the CREATURES
which Storrich robbed is uncertain; his claims gradually
grew more diverse. At various times they were elementals,
devils, demons, and harginn, and even efreeti. Unfortunately
these discrepancies were never resolved. Within a
month of his arrival Storrich died of a choking fit at a banquet.
There were no other survivors to corroborate Storrich’s
story, but it is clear that he had somehow acquired a
great wealth of jacinth and gold. He spent liberally in his
last weeks of life, and still left behind a considerable trove.

Since Storrich’s death a number of individuals have
attempted the Burning Cliffs. Some have entered by the
paths which are now occasionally evident throughout the
region, while others have attempted aerial surveillance or
have relied on magical protections against the heat and set
out cross country. None who penetrated deeply into the
land of the Burning Cliffs have returned. A number of
reports indicate that Iuz and the Horned Society have taken
an interest, and have sent large companies northward.
What the purpose of this may be is unknown save to the
rulers of Dorakaa and Molag. Some unknown persons have
erected an altar to Pyremius along the northern coast of
the Burning Cliffs; whether for purposes of propitiation or
worship remains unknown. Members of that cult have on
occasion been linked to the region, but they fiercely deny
it.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
Depending on the local intensity, the heat and fumes of
the fires will inflict 1d3 points of heat damage and 1d4
points of poison damage (save vs. poison to avoid the latter)
anything from once per day to once per round. These effects
are halved for someone standing on a pathway or otherwise
outside of direct contact with the burning rocks.

The residents of the area are all from the plane of fire; Iuz
and the Horned Society have been encouraging and
recruiting evil fire creatures from among these. A large
town has grown up near the center of the conflagration,
where there is a gate to the plane of Fire. The wily Storrich’s
boasts are true to the hilt; he passed through to the
City of Brass itself, and made off with some minor treasures.
As a result residents are now alert for intruding
“vermin.” Unless the connection to the plane of Fire is broken,
the Burning Cliffs region will continue to grow, much
to the delight of the cult of Pyremius.

Csipros Erd -- The Geysers of Death
In 510 CY the last of the Euroz and Jebli tribes were driven
forth from the Lortmil Mountains. One particularly
large horde made the ill-advised attempt to reach the Yatil
Mountains by crossing the gap from the Lorridges. Unfortunately
for these creatures they had been preceded by
lesser bands, and the combined cavalry of Bissel and
Veluna stood ready to stem the tide. A large part of the
force was destroyed, but the remainder survived by dint of
a ferocious counterattack and entered the southern Yatils.
There they were harassed by halfling, human, and elven
forces raised by the locals, who were not at all of a mind to
allow such prolific and ferocious creatures a foothold. The
horde finally turned southward in an attempt to reach the
Barrier Peaks region by passing through the Bramblewood
Forest. Here they met their final and fatal opponent, one
Sandor the Headstrong, the young lord of Polvar province
in eastern Ket.

Unlike the other harriers of the goblin/orc horde, the lord
of Polvar was not particularly concerned that they would
settle in his lands (clearly they did not desire to do so). He
was motivated instead by rumors that had filtered into Ket
after the earlier engagements: that the cartloads so
fiercely protected by the horde’s leader (the half-orc
Urgush) represented a great store of gems and precious
metals garnered during the horde’s years in the Lortmils.
Sandor was determined that such a prize should not
escape, and he pursued the host in a series of forced marches
which unfortunately exhausted his footsoldiers to the
extent that many fell behind and the remainder could not
bring about a decisive attack against Urgush’s resistance.
The chase led through the Bramblewood and into the hills,
Sandor’s force gradually regaining strength and Urgush’s
growing fewer. In desperation Urgush turned up an
unknown valley, determined to make a final stand. Here
disaster met both sides.

There are numerous hot springs in the northern Barrier
Peaks and in the Yatils, and they are widely known and
generally appreciated by the Kettites, so Sandor was not
surprised or particularly worried when he began to pass
through the outlying regions of a system of geysers, full of
white frothy stone and colored pools and pits. He only
slowed his cavalry over the difficult terrain. A supremely
confident man, he was not much disturbed either when
scouts reported a number of nearby lakes of a blood-red color
said to be unlucky by Kettite peasants. The wains of the
humanoid horde were in sight, and obviously bogged down.
Sandor prepared his men for a hard pressing attack, hoping
to disperse the horde and take their prize, when the
ground began to tremble.

With terrible swiftness, a powerful wind swept down the
valley, tumbling the orcs on their faces and oversetting the
precious carts. A wealth of gems could be seen to spill from
them. Sandor’s force had barely begun to comprehend this
when they too were bowled over. Only those on the upper
slopes, where Sandor had been organizing the crossbowmen,
were spared. None of the others rose again, even so
far as their knees. Farther down the valley trees were
snapped at the base by the strange wind. Geysers triggered
by the earlier tremors spouted into the air.

Sandor sent a cautious group of scouts into the ruined
valley, but they fainted well before they had descended to
the floor. He himself attempted the descent, and had to be
dragged back out of the area by the rope which he had the
foresight to attach to himself beforehand. Sandor and some
of the scouts recovered, as did some of those who had been
on the valley’s middle slopes. But all others were lost and
the invisible poison barred further entry. After 2 fruitless
days Sandor yielded to the demands of his much
reduced force and made his way back to Polvar, swearing
each of his men to secrecy concerning the location of the
treasure and vowing to return.

No sooner had Sandor recovered at Polvar than he set out
again, being careful to put under his command all those
who had 1st seen the valley. The sight of the wealth of the
Euroz and Jebli tribes had inflamed his desires, and he was
certain that with certain magical treasures he had
acquired he and his force would return with wealth sufficient
to make Polvar a nation in its own right. He never
returned.

Many have since sought Csipros Erd, the Geysers of
Death, but none have returned to report of them. The maze
of hills and valleys about the northern Barrier Peak is
large, and not a few have geysers and hot springs. Of the
“blood red lakes” mentioned in Sandor’s account there has
been not a trace. To common knowledge Urgush’s wealth,
along with what must be a considerable quantity of human
and humanoid bone, remains undiscovered.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The geysers and hot springs of the Valley of Death are no
more dangerous than those of other regions--which is to
say that one must be quite careful. The blast of a geyser
might inflict anything from 2d2 to 2d20 points of damage
(a saving throw vs. breath weapon is appropriate). The
intervals between activity and quiescence for most are
essentially unpredictable. The various water and mud
pools could inflict similar damage to those immersed over a
time scale of anything from segments to hours (even comfortable
temperatures sap vitality over time).

Poisonous gases are sometimes released from small clear
sterile lakes in the region. There are 2 along the Csipros
Erd approach, and there is a larger one at the head of the
valley above the basin containing the geysers. The gas is
odorless and colorless, and otherwise acts as a cloudkill
spell. It fills a very large volume, and disperses reluctantly.
Flowing downhill it can move swiftly, like a flood of water.
The lakes generally release the gas only if there is a strong
disturbance, like a minor earthquake, or a slide. For 3d8
weeks after discharging they are rust or blood red, and will
not release any poisonous gas.

The gems, jewelry, precious metal, and magical items of
Csipros Erd are now scattered over a broad region, having
been scavenged at various times by locals who risked the
geysers which are now extremely active about the site.
Much still remains in the hot pools, guarded by steam and
mud elementals that have moved into the region. The rest <para? quasi?>
is owned by ogres, various giants, and giant ravens and
eagles, as well as lesser creatures. Sandor’s force ran afoul
of a coalition of hill giant tribes which formed to loot the
treasure and which fell apart in quarrels shortly afterward.
A tribe still remains by Csipros Erd, and they have
developed the tactic of heaving boulders into the lakes
when enemies approach up the valley floor; this triggers a
release of the gas. It is remarkable for the number of bones
in it, many now encrusted with minerals from the hot
springs.

Tovag Baragu -- The Stone Circles
More than one scholar has remarked that whereas the
destruction wrought by the Bakluni mages on the Suelites
has been the longer lasting, having persisted to the present
day as the Sea of Dust, the Invoked Devastation which the
Suloise first unleashed against the Bakluni must have
been the more thorough. Even a thousand years later,
ruins of Suel cities may be found in the desolate Sea of
Dust, whereas the Dry Steppes, which are far more habitable,
seem to contain no remnants of the Bakluni cities at
all. A notable exception is Tovag Baragu, known in the
East as the Stone Circles. This large feature still stands
near the salt lake of Udrukankar at the edge of the Flanaess.

Tovag Baragu (''Navel of the Oerth" in Bakluni) is a set
of 5 broad circles composed of huge, smooth pillars of an
extremely hard white rock. The pillars are sometimes fluted
but more often entirely featureless, and they are set in a
broad pavement of blocks made from the same material.
The entire structure is circular, and more than a mile
across. It is perfectly level, though the land about it slopes
westward towards Udrukankar. On its western border one
may descend from the platform in a series of broad shallow
steps that ends rather abruptly some 20 or 30 feet above
the salt flats. The eastern border of Tovag Baragu is of a
height with the surrounding terrain, and dust and vegetation
have invaded its margin.

It must have been a great work to transport the pillars,
which are some 40 feet high each, to their present site.
There is not rock of that sort within more than 200 miles,
and indeed the origin of the stone is not known. Perhaps
the blocks could have been transported on barges if the
large rivers that once flowed across the steppe were
present when Tovag Baragu was built. Also surprising,
especially since so little else survived the Invoked Devastation,
is the pristine condition of Tovag Baragu. There is no
erosion, and not so much as a tilted pillar or canted paving
stone. The local tribes make no claim that their ancestors
ever constructed Tovag Baragu. This is most unusual given
the nature of the locals and the undoubted accomplishments
of their ancestors. For instance, nomads will solemnly
aver that the rocky pinnacles north of Lake <?>
Udrukankar were once a vast lighthouse constructed for
the lakeside city which stood there a millennium ago! Perhaps
they are correct. Tovag Baragu does bear some fleeting
resemblance to the badly eroded ruins one may
encounter in the Jotens and Crystalmists, which have been
attributed to an ancient civilization of stone giants. In the
absence of evidence, however, Tovag Baragu cannot be said
to have any certain origin, though the most obvious one is
that of Bakluni construction.

Local human and centaur .nomads hold Tovag Baragu to
be holy, and many of the Dry Steppe tribes make it the subject
of a yearly pilgrimage and festival, where they trade,
contract marriages, and meet in ceremonial commemoration
of the Suelites' destruction while their priests call
down further curses on that land. The entire event lasts
2 weeks, and those attending it or traveling to or from it
must abstain from feuds or warfare and are themselves
immune from the same. For much of the rest of the year the
site is abandoned and it is considered ill fortune to see it
even on the horizon. This is readily understandable; some
of the phenomena that may be encountered there are disturbing
even to the civilized mind.

One effect which is frequently observed by those who
wander among the circles is that distant objects seen
between them are sometimes magnified. Similar augmentations
of the other senses may occur as well. In this manner
it is possible to learn some astounding things, as in the
case of Celene--but that is a topic for another account than
this one. With concentration, it is sometimes possible to
sharpen the focus, or choose one's target. However on occasion
things may be seen through the pillars which are
almost surely distant in time or planes rather than in
space. One of the most frequent is a glimpse of a great lakeside
city, usually at night. Another is of a verdant plain
crowded with the peculiar mammalian life which may be
found on occasion near the Sulhauts. More rarely one may
see or hear regions which must surely be those of the Outer
Planes.

These views would be entertaining rather than unnerving
were it not that on occasion a connection is formed, and
objects may pass between Tovag Baragu and the area
depicted. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, these
openings are rather fleeting. They may however account
for some of the unusual creatures in the southern part of
the Dry Steppe.

It remains to be mentioned that the locals believe Tovag
Baragu has an effect on the weather. This is well substantiated,,
since those few outsiders allowed to observe the yearly
ceremonies may see that the weather summoning
powers of the nomads' priests are greatly augmented.
Whether in fact Tovag Baragu operates unguided is an
open question.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
Tovag Baragu should be treated as an artifact, as
described in the Dungeon Masters Guide. Its powers, and
the times at which it is activated, depend on astronomical
phenomena of Oerth. Each circle is linked to a particular
moon or planet and operates only when it is visible in the
sky. The actions of those in the circle at such times can
affect the outcome, but PCs should not be permitted
to learn all that is required for proper control. The
most frequent full connection is to a Pleistocene setting.
Whether the city seen represents the past or an alternate
world or the future is up to the DM. PCs
might be allowed to gather the impression that Tovag
Baragu maintains the Sea of Dust's present condition, but
they ought not to be able to do anything about it until they
reach extremely high levels, if then.

If the campaign includes the Cup and Talisman of
Al'Akbar which are described under Artifacts in the
Dungeon Masters Guide, a number of interactions might be
set up between it and Tovag Baragu.

The nearest settlement to Tovag Baragu is a very large
community of dervishes sworn to protect it from foreign
meddlers. The human and centaur tribes of the Dry
Steppes will be generally of a similar if less radical outlook,
and will do what they can to discourage adventurers
from approaching the spot. They will certainly not serve as
guides (except possibly in the cases of some individual
members of the tribe who are unscrupulous).

Rigodruok -- The Rainbow Vale
It is clear to any student of the natural world that the
ebony fields of ice which cover the northernmost tip of the
Oerik continent are no natural phenomenon, but are
almost certainly magically produced and sustained, much
as is the Sea of Dust. Quite simply, the towering wall of
blackened ice that greets the northbound traveler ought
not to persist. Even ordinary snows and ices do not remain
on land over summer at such latitudes, as may be clearly
seen in the case of the Icy Sea, which breaks up each
spring. What is more, dark ice is particularly vulnerable,
since it gathers the heat. It is a common practice in northern
cities for merchants to scatter ashes on their doorsteps
to melt the ice, a tactic that works well even in the weak
winter sun. Given such a magical nature, it is hardly surprising
that strange tales abound from such a region. Of
these one of the odder but more reliable is that of The Rainbow Vale,
Rigodruok.

Some years ago a fragmentary document was recovered
from Blackmoor Castle which gave substance to the widespread
accounts of a land “beyond the black ice where the
sun never sets.” While a firm description of the land itself
was lacking, the parchment gave explicit directions for
finding it among the wastes of the Black Ice. This information
fell into the hands of one Sormod, a merchant and
adventurer from Perrenland who was visiting Eru-Tovar,
where the parchment surfaced for sale at the bazaar. The
romantic Sormod mounted an expedition as soon as he
could gather the backing, and departed from Dantredun in
Richfest of CY 453.

In CY 460 there surfaced in the city of Greyhawk a volume
purporting to be the personal journal of one Henriki
Ardand, the expedition’s magician. Whether true or false,
it is a most marvelous tale. Henriki tells of the difficult
passage over the sooty ice, where the expedition was
endangered by subterranean hot springs of the same sort
that underlie Blackmoor. These apparently weaken the ice
and make passage over it a risky business, apt to result in a
sudden downward drop as a cavern collapses under the
weight of travelers. In places too, there are small volcanoes
which blacken the snows newfallen on the ice. Between
these dangers and the jumbled areas of collapsed ice, as
well as certain “iceworms” (most probably remorhaz) and
the hostile dark-furred bugbears of the region, the progress
of the expedition was rather SLOW and several members
were lost or refused to go on. At last, however, they reached
a range of low peaks jutting just above the ice as their
directions had described. What greeted them on the other
side must first have appeared to the surviving members to
be a paradise. Henriki calls it the Rainbow Vale.

After a region of mists the explorers saw before them a
green and fertile bowl of land, warmed and lighted by a
sunlike body floating 1/2 a mile above its center. Several
large islands of land likewise drifted about it, some of them
large enough to hold small rivers whose cascades of droplets
caused Henriki to name the valley as he did. Below the
miniature sun was a central lake, beside which the members
of Sormod’s group could see several clumps of broken
reddish towers.

Sormod and his band descended the steep cliffs into the
valley’s forests, passing first through birch, fir, and sablewood,
then through oak and beech woodlands where they
stopped to gather uskfruit and yarpik nuts, then past magnolias
and fig trees, and down to the shores of the lake
where they found palm and deklo trees flourishing in the
steamy heat. Curls of vapor could be seen rising from the
area of the lake beneath the valley’s illuminator. They
camped beside one of the skyborn waterfalls near the ruins
they had seen from the valley’s rim, and discovered to their
surprise that the buildings were of deeply rusted iron.
Finally they pitched camp. Perhaps exhausted by the long
journey, or drowsy in the unaccustomed heat, the watchmen
slept.

Sormod’s party was neither particularly weak nor poorly
equipped, but they had little chance unwarned against the
sudden onslaught that overtook them: goblins, bugbears,
and giant spiders, some of the latter of astounding size and
SPEED and fiendish intelligence. The camp was scattered,
and Sormod, Henriki, and the other survivors watched in
horror as their companions were bundled away and hauled
up on ropes of spider-silk to the nearest of the floating
islands.

Henriki and the others managed to regroup, and for some
weeks they cautiously explored their surroundings. They
discovered a group of human primitives who evidently worship
the spiders and their humanoid henchmen, and they
also found many inexplicable constructions of metal and
glass in the ruins. Without their equipment they did not
wish to risk an overland journey, but they discovered from
conversations with one of the friendly cavemen that there
was a tunnel leading southward which eventually would
reach the surface. Assured of an escape route, they mounted
a raid on the sky-island to which their companions had
been taken, using Henriki’s remaining powers. They discovered
no sign of their comrades, but they did find some
very large statues of spiders in a grove beside the spider-village,
each decorated with large diamond eyes. They took
these and fled.

The long passage southward through the tunnels
claimed yet more members of the group, in some cases to
heat .exhaustion as they passed the warm springs. Eventually,
however, they emerged south of the Black Ice at the
headwaters of the Fler. From there they passed through
the Burneal Forest, where Sormod was lost to a poisoned
arrow in a dispute with forest tribesmen. The survivors
(including Henriki, a priest of Pharlagn from Schwartzenbruin,
and two Wolf Nomads) divided the treasure between
themselves and dispersed, none willing again to risk the
terrors of the land beyond the Black Ice.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The chief inhabitants of the valley are goblins, bugbears,
giant spiders of various sorts, and the subject cavemen.
DMs with access to Oriental Adventures rules may wish to
add bakemono and goblin spiders. Creatures from almost
any climate zone might be added to the list. The whole valley
is rich in diamonds, and the spiders and their allies
have a number of magical items salvaged from the ruins.

Sources of knowledge concerning how to get to the region
could include the survivors of the expedition or their
descendants. The origin of the valley needn’t be explained,
at least in the initial series of adventures. The passage at
the headwaters of the Fler will be difficult to find without a
long SEARCH and probably impossible without directions. It
is in hex Y4-56. Rigodruok (the cavemen’s name for it, and
the name on any old sources giving directions to the place)
is in W4-51.

Esmerin
The Lortmils have always been famous for their gems
and precious metals, and stories abound of hidden settlements
in which the dwarves, gnomes, or halflings are as
rich as kings. Some of these have a firm basis, though in
fact the wealth of the inhabitants is greatly exaggerated --
gems and gold are worth a good deal less near their source
of supply, and the expense of safe export is high, even since
the Hateful Wars of CY 520. Nevertheless, one of the more
extravagant tales may have been true after all.

In Growfest of 556 the simple riverfolk of a river that
flows into the Jewel south of Courwood discovered a bronzewood <Courwood?>
casket of exquisite workmanship lying on a sandbar.
When they opened it they found the body of a young
halfling of tallfellow race, with unusually handsome and
noble features, preserved in a sweet-smelling resinous liquid.
He was clad in silks and gold brocade worked with
emeralds, and wore armlets, rings, and necklaces of gold
and emerald, together with much other treasure. Perhaps
because of elvish influence the rivermen of that region are
not as other men. They took each a single ornament, as it is
their custom that pallbearers are entitled to an item from
the gravegoods, and buried the casket in a secret place,
each swearing never to reveal its location. Nevertheless
the story spread up and down the river like wildfire, and
soon listeners as far away as Gradsul and Highport were
speculating as to the casket’s origin.

These events reawakened a tale long dormant set down
by Pontus Hardiggin, a halfling traveler who ranged widely
about the world between the years 350 and 390 before
retiring to write his memoirs. Among other stories, some
obviously fabricated, Hardiggin described a visit to an idyllic
land in which halflings and giants lived in peaceful
cooperation, blessed with fertile soil, health, and a great
deposit of gold, emeralds, and useful metals, and most of all
with concealment from the outside world. Hardiggin
placed this land in the Yatils, but this may have been
intended as a joke, or simply to protect the inhabitants of
that happy land. There are a number of surprising coincidences
between his account and the story of the casket: the
nature of the halflings (tallfellows, unusually handsome),
the nature of the land’s treasures (silk, gold, emeralds, resins),
and even funeral customs (placement in a cave in a
bronzewood casket). It seems unlikely that simple riverfolk
could perpetrate so elaborate a hoax as to duplicate an
old tale no longer widely known, or so expensive a hoax 2
of the emerald ornaments have since surfaced in jewelers’
shops on the Wild Coast, and they are flawless and of
distinctive design.

Nevertheless it is difficult to see how the land and people
Hardiggin described could go so long undetected. His
descriptions make the entire valley at least 10 miles
across, and in any case a large settlement including giants
is hardly inconspicuous. There may be, however, a number
of contributing factors. The slopes of the nearby mountains
as Hardiggin describes them are foggy and thickly clad in
dense forest, and the only passes require one to scale sheer
cliffs or seek out secret passages hollowed into the rock. In
either case the high altitude is debilitating, and the entire
way is guarded. The only other means of entry to the land
of Esmerin is by means of a river which flows through
underground caverns after disappearing near a whirlpool
in Esmerin’s eastern quarter. This is certainly a route even
more difficult. As for views from the air, only the giant
eagles and the aarakocra are likely to gain such, and these
were described by Hardiggin as allies. Last but not least
the land of Esmerin is described as protected by the magickal
power of a huge emerald “as big as a giant’s head,”
which stands in a pavilion at the center of the chief settlement.
Hardiggin described this emerald as having the
power to alter the appearance of a land as seen from the distance.
He also attributes powers to control the weather and
various other matters to this agency.

According to Hardiggin, those who somehow stray into
Esmerin are compelled by the inhabitants to remain (or if
they are evil, they are simply killed). This is done in cases
of apparent recalcitrance by means of a geas placed on the
intruder never to leave. The charming Hardiggin narrowly
escaped the imposition, or at least delayed it long enough,
to escape by a perilous route down the caverns running
alongside the underground river that leaves Esmerin, past
the burial chambers, and through several siphons (one
wonders why so foolhardy an individual lived to write his
memoirs). It is possible that somehow, with the exception
of Hardiggin, all outsiders have been deterred or detained.

Whatever protections Esmerin may have, it most surely
has need of them. Hundreds of fortune seekers have traversed
the Lortmils in SEARCH of it over the past 2 decades,
and many are of a dire and evil nature. Certain
well-equipped expeditions from the Pomarj have made
incursions into the Lortmils via the Suss forests, for
instance. So far none have returned with any report, but
this may well be only a matter of time given the hard evidence
of the emerald ornaments. One hopes, too, that the
casket will not be discovered and its contents (and possibly
the spirit of the corpse) examined.

Notes to the Dungeon Master
The inhabitants of Esmerin are 1,600 tallfellow halflings
and 400 stone giants. All are well-fed, well-educated,
healthy, peaceful, and handsome, and there are maximum
numbers of exceptional individuals among them. They
have 2 colonies of giant eagles as allies. In the center of
the major settlement is an artifact as per the DMG. In addition
to any other properties, it is intelligent, can use the
senses of its bearer, and can cast spells as an 18th-level High Priest/
The Great Druid. It can also create hallucinatory terrain
sufficient to conceal Esmerin from the air. Within a
5-mile radius of the emerald, crop yields are doubled and
minerals in the natural state regenerate themselves in
2d10 years. It is quite naturally very well guarded, and
will if necessary defend itself.

The stone giant-halfling civilization has xisted since
before the Bakluni-Suel wars, and has been isolationist
since its inception. The 2 races have somewhat influenced
one another, to the point where many of the halflings
have decidedly neutral tendencies and the stone giants
lawful and good tendencies. They do not like to take lives,
but will fight hard to maintain their peaceful isolation. In
a freak accident the burial casket was dropped into the river
that leaves Esmerin, and ever since they have been on
guard (remember, halflings and stone giants live longer
lives than humans, so the memory has not yet faded).

PCs may, if they are of good alignment, feel
compelled to help repel evil INVADERS, who will be closing in
on the settlement at about the time the PCs 1st arrive. In
any case it will be difficult to persuade the inhabitants of
Esmerin to allow the adventurers to leave.

Tirucambi
The Oljatt Sea is largely unexplored owing to the hazard
of the predatory sea creatures that dwell there, but nonetheless
the intrepid Sea Lords have TRADE routes along the <Sea Barons?>
shallower portions well down the Hepmonaland coast. One
of the primary reasons for taking such a difficult journey is
the lacework of islands, reefs, lagoons, and lakes known as
Turucambi.

Turucambi is a maze of limestone jutting up from the sea
bottom some 20 leagues from the mainland of Hepmonaland’s
easternmost extremes. Generally sea captains
approach along the coastline rather than across the deeps,
as native attacks are preferred to seabeasts the size of
ships. What they seek there is a wealth of precious coral as
well as the occasional odd relic traded by the locals.

The complex interpenetration of land and water that is
Turucambi is rich in Life, both above and below the
surface--indeed rather too much so for the tastes of most
merchants. The region is some 30 miles across, roughly
oval, and has numerous small islands which consist
almost entirely of steep ridges. The vegetation is dense,
and much of it is saw-edged or contains a poisonous sap
that raises blisters wherever it touches skin. These branching
islands are riddled with lakes and lagoons, many connected
to the sea through subterranean passages which
run through the entire region. All the rock is limestone,
and riddled with large && small caves; the footing is
extremely difficult, and the chief land fauna seems to consist
of venomous and ill-tempered snakes, and a few crocodiles.
Turucambi’s wealth, however, is in the water.

The Turucambi reefs are among the most complex
known, and present surprises at every turn. The tidal
range is great, and there are shallows regularly xposed by
the tides, deep unfathomed sinkholes, and complex and
powerful tidal races which can toss a ship like a toy. There
are white coral plains, expanses of seagrasses, mangrove
swamps, and complex rockeries of bright coral, all swarming
with Life from microscopic to gigantic. The waters teem
with mermen, sahuagin, water nagas, sea elves, koalinth,
saltwater trolls, ixitxachitl, and even a tribe of seagoing
lizardmen. These FIGHT constantly with one another to
maintain their territories, and to exclude uninvited landsfolk.
Nor are these the only hazard. Many of the corals and
sea jellies carry poison stings that may raise painful or
deadly welts, and a number of the molluscs and fishes are
similarly armed. Plesiosaurs roam the shallows, sculling
about in SEARCH of food both large and small.

The attraction of Turucambi to the aquatic races is twofold:
1st, it is one of the richest in sealife of the Oljatt’s
reefs, and 2nd it attracts human trade. Precious corals
can be harvested from the deeper parts of the reef: NOT only
the familiar red && black corals, but the rarer golden coral.
There are also certain ancient treasures such as small
figurines of precious stone, or delicately colored bowls,
apparently of terrestrial manufacture, in some of the darker
and less well explored corners of Turucambi. These are
highly prized. In return they gain goods NOT easily made in
the water; glass, copper |or| bronze (they have little desire
for iron, which rusts too readily), and silver |or| gold jewelry,
as well as much more mundane items such as wood &&
stone (particularly obsidian). Most have treaties with merchants
from civilized lands or with Hepmonaland natives
allowing safe passage and free trade. Indeed it is possible
that they TRADE yet more widely. A Duxchaner vessel blown
out to sea and unsure of its bearings once approached from
the east, and observed a huge hulk more than 100
feet long, with many masts and a slender shallow body. She
appeared to be really holed, and to have a cargo clearly visible
in the 6 fathoms ov water over her, but the practical
and incurious Duxchaners turned away. It is hazardous to
approach an unfamiliar part of Turucambi, not merely
because of the natural hazards but because of the locals,
who are more than willing to attempt piracy rather than
trading, and who are resentful of possible coral poachers.

It has been suggested that Turucambi might be artificial
in whole or in part. Such convoluted islands are found
nowhere else in such numbers. Certainly this would
explain the odd trade goods occasionally taken, but the size
of the structures strains belief. The hardheaded traders
who visit are not eager to spend time SEARCHING out the
answer to the problem, and the residents, even the friendly
ones, do not seem anxious to answer the questions of the
idly curious.

Notes to the DM
Because of the dangers of these waters, the numbers of
exceptional individuals among the traders at Turucambi
reef should be at a maximum. The same applies to the
diverse aquatic races.

Some of the lakes will be very warm, above human body
temperature (use the rules for heat exhaustion if these are
explored). Other lakes are filled with poisonous dissolved
gases below a certain level (treat this as a cloudkill spell).
Such waters will have a pungent smell characters are NOT
likely to mistake more than once.

The minor reef life might have any of the insinuative poisons,
from types A to D (see the DMG). Others might have
the same effect as a <giant?> Portuguese man-o-war. Some of these
may have been obtained by the locals.

Tidal currents and ranges will be strongest when Celene
and Luna are both full or new, and weakest when one is in
1st or last quarter and the other is full or new (the range is
0 at about the time of Growfest or Needfest). However it
is unlikely that the currents’ directions can be predicted
without local help. Tidal changes will expose or drown
underground chambers, and pull divers into or out of tunnels.

If the PCs explore on their own without
local sponsorship they will very probably be treated as
poachers. If they try to determine whether or not parts of
Turucambi are artificial, they will most probably be confused
by the coral dwellings of the present residents.

The wreck on the east side of Turucambi is of a clipper ship
(naturally the characters will never have heard of
such a thing). Its cargo consisted of china and tea. Its origin
is possibly extraplanar or from across the Oljatt or simply
unexplained according to the needs of the campaign. If
PCs somehow manage to copy the design and
find a shipbuilder willing to build such a “monstrosity”
and a crew able and willing to man it (these are not trivial
tasks) they will find that though fast, it is flimsy, hard to
control (in fact they will probably wreck it experimenting)
and very expensive to maintain, and that there is little call
for such a ship either in commerce or war.

It is likely that all the locals will regard PCs
as pawns to be used in their various disputes.