The Underground Highway

THE UNDERGROUNDHIGHWAY

Bart Savenije

Book Two of the Lost Books Of Talislanta

The Talislanta game and fantasy world are the creations of Stephan Michael Sechi. Talislanta is a trademark of SMS, and is used here with permission.Writing: Bart Savenije. Editing, Layout, & Cartography: Paul Cunningham.First Printing, October 2010. This book may be reprinted for personal use only. For more information about the world of Talislanta, visit talislanta.com.

THE LOST BOOKS OF TALISLANTA2 - 2

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Travelling Underground _______________________________________ 2-5

Map: Subterranean Talislanta ___________________________________________________ 2-6

HISTORY _______________________________________________________________ 2-8The Forgotten Age_______________________________________________________________ 2-8The Archaen Age________________________________________________________________ 2-9The Great Disaster______________________________________________________________ 2-10The Phaedran Age ______________________________________________________________ 2-10

TRAVELLING UNDERGROUND____________________________________________ 2-10The Underground Highway_______________________________________________________ 2-10Learning the Rocks _____________________________________________________________ 2-11

Chapter 2: Excerpts from the Geological Repository in Durne________________ 2-13THE GNOMEKIN PROTECTORATE ____________________________________________ 2-14

The Seventh Road ______________________________________________________________ 2-14Sidebar: Station Seven _______________________________________________________ 2-14Sidebar: Tunnel Lights _______________________________________________________ 2-15Map: A Bunk Hole on the Underground Highway __________________________________ 2-16

The Cymril Underground Connection _______________________________________________ 2-17Map: A Grotto on the Underground Highway _____________________________________ 2-17

The Underground City of Durne ___________________________________________________ 2-18Sidebar: Encounters in the Gnomekin Protectorate__________________________________ 2-18

The Durne Slideways ___________________________________________________________ 2-19Map: The Durne Slideways____________________________________________________ 2-19

Ironroot ______________________________________________________________________ 2-19Sindar Canyons ________________________________________________________________ 2-20The Sapphire Mountains _________________________________________________________ 2-21The Dead River ________________________________________________________________ 2-21The Land Kra Burrows of Kasmir__________________________________________________ 2-22The Jaspar Mountain Mines ______________________________________________________ 2-22Brown Astar __________________________________________________________________ 2-23

Map: One of the Caverns of Brown Astar_________________________________________ 2-24The Muses of Brown Astar _______________________________________________________ 2-25The Subterranoids ______________________________________________________________ 2-25

THE WESTERN WATERWAYS___________________________________________ 2-27The Dead Lagoon ______________________________________________________________ 2-27Forgotten Shrines_______________________________________________________________ 2-28

Map: Forgotten Shrine Beneath the Witchwood____________________________________ 2-29Fan Sea ______________________________________________________________________ 2-30The Fan-Ra-San________________________________________________________________ 2-30The Three Sisters_______________________________________________________________ 2-32

Sidebar: Encounters in the Western Waterways ____________________________________ 2-33Map: Death Spiral of the Golden Sister __________________________________________ 2-34

The Onyx Mines _______________________________________________________________ 2-35Spy's Fate_____________________________________________________________________ 2-36

Sidebar: Amerdeiro's Journal __________________________________________________ 2-36The Cliffs of Khazad ____________________________________________________________ 2-37The Dark Tongue_______________________________________________________________ 2-37

THE UNDERGROUND HIGHWAY2 - 3

THE EASTERN STRETCH _______________________________________________ 2-38The Ancestral Home of the Vajra __________________________________________________ 2-38Harakin Raiding Tunnels_________________________________________________________ 2-39The Citadel of Karang ___________________________________________________________ 2-39Lava Lake ____________________________________________________________________ 2-40

Sidebar: Encounters Beneath the Volcanic Hills____________________________________ 2-40Map: The Island of Fate and the Fire-Pits of Malnangar _____________________________ 2-41

Sassan's Mansion_______________________________________________________________ 2-42The Sauran Connection __________________________________________________________ 2-42The Mazdak Cascade____________________________________________________________ 2-42Guerrilla Rocks ________________________________________________________________ 2-43The Colourful Caverns __________________________________________________________ 2-44The Kalixa ____________________________________________________________________ 2-44Cicz Spring and the Mandalan Stream ______________________________________________ 2-46The Rajan Connection ___________________________________________________________ 2-47Secrets Taken to the Grave _______________________________________________________ 2-48

ROOT CANALS _________________________________________________________ 2-48Deodar Subways _______________________________________________________________ 2-48Lost Treasures _________________________________________________________________ 2-49The Sea Floor Tunnel ___________________________________________________________ 2-49The Underground Highway - South Branch __________________________________________ 2-50

Sidebar: Encounters within the Root Canals_______________________________________ 2-50Root Canals ___________________________________________________________________ 2-51

Map: Root Canals in the Swamps of Mog ________________________________________ 2-52The Mudmines of Karansk _______________________________________________________ 2-53

SHIFTING SANDS AND ANCIENT TALES _________________________________ 2-54Subterranean Salt Tunnels________________________________________________________ 2-54

Sidebar: With a Grain of Salt __________________________________________________ 2-54The Urkra Mystery _____________________________________________________________ 2-55The Broken Chasms ____________________________________________________________ 2-56The Kharakhan Catacombs _______________________________________________________ 2-57The Archaen Marchway _________________________________________________________ 2-57The Caranthean Vaults __________________________________________________________ 2-57The Ancient Ruins______________________________________________________________ 2-58

Sidebar: A Thaumaturge's Vault ________________________________________________ 2-58The Emerald Eye _______________________________________________________________ 2-61Deadwood ____________________________________________________________________ 2-61

Map: Black-Wood Tunnels Beneath Deadwood____________________________________ 2-62The Satada ____________________________________________________________________ 2-63

DEEP WHITE___________________________________________________________ 2-65Black and White _______________________________________________________________ 2-65

Sidebar: Slumbering Ice ______________________________________________________ 2-65Cold Storage __________________________________________________________________ 2-66The Icy Dungeon _______________________________________________________________ 2-66High and Far __________________________________________________________________ 2-67

Sidebar: Encounters in the Deep White __________________________________________ 2-68Crystal Corridors _______________________________________________________________ 2-69The Ruins of Farnir _____________________________________________________________ 2-69The Hoarfrost Mines ____________________________________________________________ 2-70

Map: Ice-Locked Ruins of Farnir _______________________________________________ 2-71Hiding in the Dark______________________________________________________________ 2-72


Chapter Three: Going Down ____________________________________________ 2-73ADVENTURING UNDERGROUND__________________________________________ 2-73

ADVENTURE SEEDS ____________________________________________________ 2-74Durne and the Darklands _________________________________________________________ 2-74Fan-Ra-San Tears ______________________________________________________________ 2-74Full Demonic Circle ____________________________________________________________ 2-74Muddy Business _______________________________________________________________ 2-74Thaumatreasurehunt ____________________________________________________________ 2-74Facing the Dark ________________________________________________________________ 2-74

Chapter Four: Rockbottom Lore_________________________________________ 2-75Equipment ____________________________________________________________________ 2-75Magic________________________________________________________________________ 2-75Paths ________________________________________________________________________ 2-75Skills ________________________________________________________________________ 2-76

Chapter Five: Secrets Buried Deep_______________________________________ 2-77UNDERGROUND LORE ___________________________________________________ 2-77

Geology ______________________________________________________________________ 2-77Orientation____________________________________________________________________ 2-77Weight _______________________________________________________________________ 2-77Surviving _____________________________________________________________________ 2-77Modes of Travel _______________________________________________________________ 2-78Preparation____________________________________________________________________ 2-78Natural Crystal Resonance _______________________________________________________ 2-78

BESTIARY _____________________________________________________________ 2-78Aqus ________________________________________________________________________ 2-78

Sidebar: Subterranean Fauna and Flora Found in Other Sources _______________________ 2-78Earthwisps ____________________________________________________________________ 2-79Float-footed centipedes __________________________________________________________ 2-79Provlo _______________________________________________________________________ 2-79Rocktail ______________________________________________________________________ 2-79Tearfish ______________________________________________________________________ 2-79


CHAPTER ONE

TravellingUnderground

This is where our lands truly begin, son. Here at Tunnelrock Gate, where the surface road fromCymril descends into the Tunnels that lead to Durne. From here, the Underground Highway willtake you anywhere you want to go. When you grow up and join the Protectors Force you will seemany wondrous places that are somehow connected to our home. Terra has taught us to travelwhere the surface races don’t even know it’s possible. Trust in her to lead you. And now we mustgo back home, son, for Terra won’t prevent mom getting angry if we’re late for dinner.

Lessons by a Gnomekin father

Rock being pulverised under the progressiveattack of giant jaws…

The trampling of soldiers boots echoingrhythmically…

The ‘plok’ of water drops falling on soft stone,slowly eroding it away…

The screams of creatures trapped and killed byother creatures…

The trickle of a small stream finding its waythrough a cave…

The majestic rumble of a collapse…

Endless silence…

These are the sounds that define theUnderground Highway throughout the ages,over and over again, from the birth of the landto its final destiny. For without light,describing this realm to surface dwellers isimpossible for lack of words that define theintricate atmospheres found underground. Forhow would one convey to an Aamanian priestthe clay-iron-like smell of air just a degreecolder that indicates the presence of water in alayer of solid granite, or the difference in thesound of breaking rock that is a mereconsequence of it cooling down or thatindicates an imminent collapse to a Kangwarrior? Perhaps the Gnomekin and the Vajrapossess a vocabulary for some of these things,but even their jargon is not apt to describe thedynamic growth and decline of this vastnetwork of tunnels, passages, rivers, caverns


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and other hollow spaces in the Talislantancontinent over the ages.

The only way to really know theUnderground Highway is to explore it andlearn. Let’s start our journey and bring somelight into the darkness of this subterraneanrealm of Talislanta.

HISTORYWhat is known today as the Underground

Highway is the result of millennia of forces ofnature, magic and hard labour working theirways through Talislantan soil. Traversing it islike wandering through a history book. Thelegendary Underground Highway fromPhandril to Golarin and the one travelled todaybelow the Seven Kingdoms mysteriously mixwith the burrows of the legendary Urkra andthe eroded streams of the Western Waterways.This amalgam of different origins of spaces ina myriad of geological layers makes theUnderground Highway as colourful as lifeunder the twin suns.

From the Time Before Time, some partsof the Underground Highway were creatednaturally, through the forces of erosion anderuption, geological pressure and collapse.Ever since major cultures started to flourish invarious eras, additional tunnels and roomswere carved by hard labour or use of magic.Over time, long stretches disappeared oropened up to the skies as the result of disastersor neglect and new sections appeared asquickly whenever nature or people found away or a need. Almost a living thing itself, theUnderground Highway grows and decaysconstantly, and theories saying that thisoccurred according to some greater plan havenever held much ground. Despite the organicways by which it developed over time, as aconsequence of its unpredictable rise and fall,the Underground Highway isn’t a whole.Many tunnels don’t connect or can’t becrossed because of flooding, chasms, cave-ins,

or wild magic. Other parts aren’t evenunderground, but run from one tunnel entranceto the next through old river beds or canyonfloors. Many a section goes nowhere at all.Yet, the Underground Highway is well named,because many species, sentient or not, use itfor living and travel throughout the entirecontinent of Talislanta. And so it will be untilthe end of times.

THE FORGOTTEN AGEThe age of which only legends remain.

Due to its place in the Omniverse, Archaeushas probably been under the influence of otherspheres from the day of its creation, if powersfrom those planes didn’t have a hand in that aswell. If there is any evidence left that tellsabout the creation of the world, it is likely tobe found underground. From that time on,water eroded stone and washed away clay;tectonic pressures broke rock masses leavingempty spaces in between to drain the watercollected above; where tunnels connected tothe surface, draughts of wind dried humidspaces and polished through pores until therewere new tunnels. Doubtlessly openingsappeared where they should not have, creatinggates into other dimensions. Whether it isthrough these that the first life appeared, orthat the Green World emanated into the matterof Archaeus waking elementals that startedroaming the world above and below, the worldgot populated by a variety of races who lefttraces of their existence behind. On rareoccasions unfamiliar fossils are found that cannot be related to anything alive today, andshimmerings of powerful ancient magic arediscovered that are likely not of this world.

There is no doubt that the mythical race ofthe Thane knew how to build underground.Their elaborate tombs and mausoleums extenddeep into the rock beneath Khazad. There aretales by explorers that some graves are dug sodeep they might not even be in this worldanymore. However, the sanity andtrustworthiness of these brave adventurers hasbeen doubted as often as not. Some claim thatthe carvings on the stone pillars or the patternof those pillars on the land hold the secret to a


map of the subterranean network of burialchambers that hide an enormous wealth intreasures. Indeed, the dead city of Necron isburied under the sands of the region and itremains to be discovered whether timecovered it with sand or the Thane made it sinkbeneath the surface or maybe even built itthere in the first place.

The Mirin of L’Haan say that beneath thethick layers of ice, there are signs that thewhite region in the North used to be fertileplains in the days of the First Folk and later,until the Ice Giants claimed the region. Rarereports from explorers who ventured into thisarea mention tunnels through the ice down tosolid earth where they discovered rare non-magical artefacts of unknown origin. Thestrange dietary need of the Ice Giants to firstfreeze any organic food to make it digestiblehas also led to the discovery of forgottenfrozen corpses of unfamiliar races, probablymillennia old. Unfortunately, no such corpsewas ever transported to the civilized world inorder to back-up these claims.

The Maruk and other people from theWilderlands of Zaran and the Plains of Golarinhave legends about the origin of the Kra.According to their tales, most of the tunnelsbeneath the western Wilderlands were madeby the spawn of an ancient serpentine creature.In the early days of the world, a gargantuansnakelike monster, later named the Urkra, fellfrom the heavens and crashed into the MarukMountains. When, after years, it recoveredenough from its celestial descent to moveagain, it turned its back on the sky and startedto burrow into the earth. According to thislegend, Serpent Pass is the now-eroded canyoncreated by its rough landing and the slopedown towards a huge round opening into theground evidence of its final escape from theskies. No expedition ever returned to confirmthe existence of such a creature beneath theWilderlands. Of course this could beconsidered evidence in itself…

Throughout the lands of Talislanta legendsfrom the Forgotten Age can be found. It’s

worthwhile to sit down and listen when the oldfolks rehearse the tales of their people. Whilemuch of these tales can be referred to therealm of the imagination, keep in mind that itis likely some truths are hidden among thefantasy that just may save your day sometimeand let you live to tell your tales back home onlong evenings around a warm fire in thehearth.

THE ARCHAEN AGELegends describe the early Archaen city of

Phandril as sandstone polished to beauty byelemental magics. Given the greatness of theArchaen race, it seems fair to assume thatearth magic, and later thaumaturgy too, wereused in the creation of this city and its majestictowers. It then follows that the Archaen magesdidn’t use this magic aboveground only.Indeed, ancient lore regarding the Last DragonWar provides hints that in addition todisabling the Watchstone, the Archaen magescreated a huge underground highway toquickly move armies of Archaen and Sub-Mentroops close to the city of Golarin unnoticed. Itis possible that this road extended as far Northas Kharakhan, if the speed with which this citywas taken is any indication. It is likely thatthis subterranean road remained in use fortrade and diplomacy between Phandril and theFour Nations until the War of the FourNations. It would certainly have beenabandoned, if not blocked or destroyed todefend Phandril against the Necromancer KingDrax and his armies. No mention of thishighway has been recorded since the ArchaenCabal declared the Age of Heavens.

The Drakken were never known to digdeep. Several Sub-Men tribes, however, maywell have resided in caves and tunnels. Thesewould for the majority be of natural origin, butit is quite possible that these tribes developedmining techniques to expand their living spaceand make it more comfortable. Ancient,relatively crude but artificial caverncomplexes were found to exist in the SapphireMountains, the mountain range between theSouth-eastern Wilderlands and the KangEmpire and in the Khan Mountains.


Unfortunately, following the departure of theArchaens to the sky cities, little lore of theaffairs on the ground found its way into thearchives above. If any treasures remain to befound in the Sub-Men hideouts, they would beof value to any historian or collector.

In the course of history, the lands betweenthe Dead River and the Volcanic Hills havebeen the scene of many battles. Spoils ofancient battles got buried under thick layers ofdust and soil. Burial mounds slowly levelledinto the earth and disappeared, and there mustbe quite many mass graves scattered all overthose plains. If one would know where to lookand find their way through Land Kra tunnels,Satada passages, unstable ruins of ancientsewers and grave robber digs to such places, itshould, at least in theory, be possible to findmany a treasure chamber full ofmiraculous items.

THE GREAT DISASTERThen came the apocalyptic end of the

Archaen culture. The rupture of the tectonicplates that severed continents from the rest ofthe world and the random occurrence ofmassive surges of magic wreaking havoc inmountains and seas alike as they cleft theirway through the world destroyed many of theexisting tunnels while creating new ones. Itwas as if a surgeon cauterised all of the manyveins through which Talislanta was bleedingto death with a single motion and the continentsprouted a whole new vascular system in itsbody, but was left with many scars. Thecreation of the Lost Sea and the Dead Rivermade new passages accessible that wereflooded before. Also the tunnel-riddencanyons in Northern Sindar find their origin inthese times. The layer of Ice in the Naranduincreased spectacularly, becoming thickenough for a new race of subarctic creature tomake burrows in. The first recordings of theWestern Waterways can be traced back toshortly after the Great Disaster, as can talesabout the existence of the Colourful Cavernsin the East. The first appearance of theSubterranoids is further evidence that theGreat Disaster caused a magical stampede

even deep below the world’s surface and theUnderground Highway would never be thesame again.

THE PHAEDRAN AGEWhen the Great Disaster finally had run

its course, the land masses settled again in amore or less stable configuration. During thelast six centuries, nature and rogue magic havekept themselves relatively quiet. Land Krahave always been a danger to travellers alongthe Underground Highway. The Satada havegradually become an ever increasing threat, ashas the appearance of the new undergroundrace of Subterranoids. Following theestablishment of the alliance of the SevenKingdoms, the Gnomekin from Durne furtherexcavated existing tunnels leading South fromthe Tunnelrock Mountains and so created whatis today commonly referred to as theUnderground Highway. With their capture bythe Quan, the Vajra had to abandon theirextensive underground homes for a life inslave camps. Any chance of discovering theextent of their access to the Eastern Stretch ofthe Underground Highway has been broughtdown to a minimum due to the Vajra’s passiveresistance. The same goes for any knowledgethe Sunra might have about undergroundwaterways in that area. Recently, theGnomekin have started to chart theUnderground Highway beyond the SevenKingdoms area and established the GeologicalRepository in their capital city, Durne.

TRAVELLINGUNDERGROUNDTHE UNDERGROUND

HIGHWAYThe name ‘Underground Highway’

doesn’t do justice to this vast network ofsubterranean passageways. It is impossible to


describe the paved road from Durne to Cymrilalong with the muddy canals below the treeroots in the Southern swamps and the lavalake hidden beneath the Volcanic Hillstogether in only a few words. Each stretch ofthe Underground Highway is unique, with itsown peculiar properties. If there is anythingexperienced Gnomekin explorers havelearned, it is how much they have still to learnabout the deep world. The public and secretpassages of the Underground Highway in theSeven Kingdoms are well-known and easy totravel. To walk in the caverns of soft rockbelow the Western Lands requires watertighthigh boots and wind-shielded lanterns. Travelthrough the burrows of the Land Kra is fast,but means going ever deeper into moredangerous territory. The icy slideways in theNorth may seem like spectacular fun, until thatdead-end turn proves to be worth its name.Sure, the hollow carcasses of fallen giantbombo trees sunk in the Southern marshes arean inviting escape from the swarms of bitinginsects, but is it worth the risk of the rottingroof caving in, flooding the tunnel with mud?The Underground Highway is a marvellousplace and provides ways to travel longdistances quickly or avoid certain hazardsfrom the surface. But a wise traveller learns asmuch of the road ahead as he can, because theUnderground Highway is truly a differentplace than sunlit Talislanta.

LEARNING THE ROCKSDarkness is the most common obstacle

encountered on the Underground Highway,and the one most often underestimated. Theeasiest solution is to bring torches or lanterns.Many an inexperienced traveller, however,forgets that flames require oxygen to burn anddeep down in tunnels without ventilation,oxygen can be a preciously scarce commodity.When travelling through humid passages,torches tend to get wet and fill the air with achoking smoke. Safer, but more rare andcostly light sources include glowing fungi,crystals or magical items. The major drawbackof bringing light is, of course, that it can beseen from far ahead in the dark and tends toattract unwanted attention. Another

disadvantage is that it ruins your visionbeyond the immediate radius of illumination.If any light, no matter how dim, is availablefrom the surroundings, it is advisable toextinguish any light sources and rely on thesharpened sensitivity of your eyes and othersenses. Natural light sources come in manyforms, as light falling in through holes in theceiling, phosphorescent plants, crystals, bugs,magical illumination, or ghostly mists, toname a few.

Next, travellers quickly discover thatnavigating underground isn’t as easy as on thesurface. The Underground Highway below theSeven Kingdoms is quite unique in havingroad signs to indicate the destination a tunnelleads to. Anywhere else, the responsibility forcorrectly navigating this three-dimensionalnetwork of subterranean passageways can’t beput on someone else’s shoulders. Awarenessof the surroundings can be a great help inunderground navigation. Having someknowledge of geology is most valuable tointerpret changes in the rock walls in relationto where the various exits of a cavern lead.Limestone is abundantly present in the West,obsidian below Urag and the Volcanic Hills.Smooth walls indicate the presence of waterand mosaic multi-layered walls are evidenceof the forces that were at work during theGreat Disaster. The same goes for animal andplant lore as, for example, rock urchins willonly be found close to the surface and rootgrub only live in the South of Talislanta. Ifbreathing becomes difficult and fatigue comesquickly, that is typically a sign of very deeptunnels where ventilation is minimal andoxygen is available in limited supply.

The Underground Highway plays trickswith the mind. Not only the darkness, but alsobeing confined to narrow enclosed spaces, themany slopes and turns that make scoutingahead impossible, the need to be constantlyaware of your footing and the stability of theroof have driven many explorers to, andsometimes over, the edge of madness. Evenexperienced travellers admit that this can be atense experience occasionally, but they also


tell about the peaceful silence and reaching ameditative state walking through dim, quiettunnels. However, all agree that time isimpossible to keep track of underground andeven the seasons are unnoticeable more than20 feet underground. The best is to rely onyour own biological clock and eat, drink,move and sleep when your body tells you to.

Be sure to pack enough supplies and gearbefore starting out underground. TheUnderground Highway can be a barrenenvironment, although there are spots ofabundance to be found. Once the sun is out ofsight, there are no more opportunities forshopping. Surface activities to make the life ofthe survivalist a bit more comfortable, likegathering wood for fire, hunting for food orgathering edible plants, sipping up dew toquench the thirst, or climbing a tree for shelteror escape from some wild creature, are all a lotmore difficult in a dark, dry tunnel with onlytwo exits. Don’t forget to bring a pick axe,spikes, rope, and a hammer, too. No matterhow famous the guide who said that tunnelwas clear only a week ago, if after three days

travel you are faced with a caved-in section ora chasm, without the right equipment all that’sleft to do is turn around and go back up. Wearsturdy, watertight and warm clothing. Somespaces are only wide enough to crawl throughover sharp edges. The atmosphere deep downis very constant and mostly not extremelycold, but it’s cool enough to feel chilly if notproperly dressed and prolonged exposure tolow temperatures when wet can be deadly.

Finally, enjoy travelling the UndergroundHighway. For well-prepared travellers it is nomore dangerous than going under the opensky. The Underground Highway promisesunique experiences that cannot be found in thelight of the twin suns and the seven moons.Crystalline caves filled with sounds fromunknown places, sliding through tunnels of iceat high speed, native underground cultures,and the chance of finding buried treasures outof legends are just a few of the things thatshould compel any adventurer to go belowground, if only once in his lifetime.


CHAPTER TWO

Excerpts fromthe Geological

Repositoryin Durne

The problem with maps is that they are only two-dimensional.

Famous Gnomekin explorer Emmo Ebono

Durne… underground city, city of moss,and home of the Geological Respository.Opened only in the year 600, the GeologicalRepository already has gained fame at thecentre for all things geological. Its publicmuseum proudly presents the unique StrataSample Collection, the Miniature Minesexposition, the Crystallomantic Artefactsdisplay and for the young ones, the A-maze-ing Tunnel Tour and the sculpting workshop.However, for anyone intent on travelling theUnderground Highway, its extensiveGeological Repository Library is the truetreasure chamber. Here, thousands of maps are

stored along with traveller’s reports,geological lore books, treatises on excavationtechniques, speleology textbooks, bestiaries onsubterranean species, legends pertaining to theUnderground Highway in ages long gone. It awell-kept Gnomekin secret where all thesetomes, scrolls, sculptures and lore crystalscame from in such a short period of time. Factis that besides any unknown benefactors, theGeological Repository maintains standingorders with the Protectors Force to chart andreport back any new information gathered onmissions into foreign parts of the UndergroundHighway. In addition, the Geological


Repository occasionally hires freelanceexplorers for expeditions to map specificunderground regions. Much of thisinformation is available after purchasing amembership to the Geological RepositoryLibrary, but classified information or fragileresources may be viewed after making anappointment with the Geolore Masters whorun the Library.

THE GNOMEKINPROTECTORATE

“They want LIGHTS in the UndergroundHighway? You’d think those big-shot magesfrom Cymril can conjure up enough toilluminate their journey.”

From the minutes of the Inner Circle ofEngineers, Durne, year 457

The Underground Highway is among thebest roads in the Seven Kingdoms and sees asubstantial part of all traffic in this region. Forthis reason, the rulers of the Seven Kingdomsagreed that the security of the UndergroundHighway below the Seven Kingdoms was tobe given into the hands of the ProtectorsForce, which makes up the majority of theDurne military and are highly specialized inunderground combat, with backup availablefrom the other countries’ armies shouldconflict arise. The main tunnels below theSeven Kingdoms that fall under theresponsibility of the Protectors Force arecalled the Gnomekin Protectorate and aremarked regularly with a variation of thesymbol of the Seven Kingdoms (a six-pointedstar - a green hexagon at its centrerepresenting Cymril and azure, crimson, aqua-blue, brown, orange and purple points,representing Astar, Taz, Vardune, Durne,

Sindar and Kasmir respectively, but down herethe brown of Durne forms the centre). Manyother tunnels, public and secret, exist as wellin the region and may or may not be patrolledby the Protectors Force. It is easy tounderestimate the power of these small troopsas many invaders painfully found out; stillmany wandering monsters and raiders enterthe Underground Highway through thesecondary tunnels to make trouble in theworld above.

THE SEVENTH ROAD

The Real Underground HighwayEveryone in the Seven Kingdoms knows

about the Seven Roads and there being onlysix roads drawn on any map. The existence ofthe Underground Highway is no secret. DurneAvenue, the northern road out of the city ofCymril splits about a quarter mile beyond thecity gates, where another gate, made of brightblue azurite crystals, leads into Station Sevenor Deep-Down-Durne Station as it’s called inchildren’s songs. This is where the

Station Seven

Station Seven is a large buildingmade of curled red iron and large clearcrystal windows, like a giantgreenhouse. An airdock allows skyshipsto moor. Inside, Station Seven is hometo the station guard barracks, theSkylight Inn, and an indoor farmersmarket, which serves many a Gnomekinmerchant. Immediately behind the gate,the road sharply slopes down towards awide tunnel opening. The opening isdecorated with the carved symbols ofthe Seven Kingdoms. On one side, justinside the opening facing outward standsthe granite statue of a Gnomekinprotector, on the other side, just outsidethe opening and facing inward stands themarble statue of a Cymrilianroyal guard.


Underground Highway begins, and mostCymrilians have visited Station Seven, if onlyout of curiosity or for the majestic buildingand its indoor farmers market. Going downfrom Station Seven runs one of the best roadsof the Seven Kingdoms. Its surface is smoothall the way, it doesn’t get slippery because it’salways dry and never extremely cold, there areno storms and only few difficulties in theterrain, such as steep slopes.

Following an ancient curving trail ofunknown origin, the Underground Highwaycarves its way North through a thick layer ofgranite rock. After two hundred miles, theUnderground Highway opens up into DurneJunction, an impressive cavern full ofstalactites and stalagmites surrounding a darklake that mirrors the many colours ofprismatite crystals embedded in the rock. Thesurface road, that went underground intoTunnelrock Mountain at Tunnelrock Gate,joins the Underground Highway here for thelast couple of miles to the city of Durne. AtDurne Junction, the Home Guard division ofthe Protectors Force is stationed. From here,many smaller roads run to various destinationsin the Kingdom of Durne too. Where the twobig roads join, a crystal statue of a Gnomekinwarrior hunting a Darkling stands as amemorial to the One-Day War in the year 67,when the Gnomekin drove a Darkling hordeback into Urag.

The Underground Highway is a marvel ofunderground engineering. By order of theKing and Queen of Durne, the Inner Circle ofEngineers employed scores of skilled minersto transform what was once an uneven,winding and musty tunnel into a two hundredmile road, high and wide enough toaccommodate carriages. Sections near theentrance are decorated by sculptors, paintersand other artists on commission by wealthymerchants, nobles and city officials. Furtheralong, the crude granite rock makes up thewalls and ceiling, but the floor is smooth allthe way. The Underground Highway isartificially illuminated and ventilated along theentire track.

The road doesn’t run straight ahead forlong in most places, but according to legend, itfollows the curves of an ancient trail. At someplaces, the Underground Highway goes asdeep as two hundred feet below the surface,but mostly it runs at depths between fifty andone hundred feet. Steep passages are part ofthe track, but all can be climbed anddescended by healthy people and beasts ofburden in good condition. Maybe this ancienttrail is the reason that travel isn’t dull on theUnderground Highway, as the road frequentlypasses grottos with spectacular sights. Amongthese are a pond with phosphorescent eelsslithering with an eerie green light between theplants on the bottom, a grotto with an ever-present mist caused by a ‘garden’ of stonecoral that sprays the air with a sweet smelling

Tunnel Lights

Resonant crystals exist in manyforms throughout Talislanta. Tuned toother crystals, these rare magic stonesemit whatever is absorbed by anothercrystal, usually sound or light. Theprismatite crystals in the UndergroundHighway are tuned to emit the naturallight caught by the crystal built into thespire of the royal palace in Cymril.Placed at two hundred foot intervals,these bright lights provide illuminationfor only a relatively small area, but theyshow the way ahead and give travellersin indication of the time of day. It tookthe Cabal of Crystallomancers over acentury to grow enough fine-tunedcrystals for the entire UndergroundHighway. These crystals need each otherto propagate the light resonance and willnot work outside of the UndergroundHighway. In between the prismatitebeacons phosphorescent fungi growingon the walls. Most surface-dwellingraces barely consider this illumination,and brightly lit caravans can frequentlybe spotted long distances away.


fluid that attracts insects, the fossilized bodyof a large geophage, and cave drawings of along forgotten culture. Many smaller tunnels,some little more than cracks in the wall, splitoff from the Underground Highway, leavingthe traveller to wonder where they all lead to.

At twenty five mile intervals, artificialcaverns have been carved out at the side of theroad. Called bunk holes by troops of theProtectors Force, these caverns serve as campsites for travellers in peace time and asbarracks in times of armed conflict. Freshwater is available here from natural wells orsmall waterfalls. Ever since the UndergroundHighway was officially opened by the kings ofDurne and Cymril more than a century ago, apersistent tale has been going around about theexistence of secret tunnels that lead from eachof these caverns to a secret military commandpost. However, no one has ever been able tofind an entrance to confirm the story.

The Underground Highway, though one ofthe safest roads in Talislanta, certainly is notfree of dangers. It is infested with the samenuisances encountered on most civilised roads,such as beggars, peddlers and bandits.Connecting tunnels are home to a variety ofwild animals and plants, such as cave bats,scarlet sporozoids, and chasm vipers.Occasionally, a lost exomorph or invadingparties of satada or subterranoids pose aserious threat to travellers. The ProtectorsForce patrols the Underground Highway tokeep it clear of dangers. Some UndergroundHighway patrols employ trained catdracs tohelp them detect invaders or to conveymessages quickly.

Major BranchesLess well-known than the Seventh Road

are the major branches of the UndergroundHighway running East and West through thesoil of the Seven Kingdoms. Some fifty milesSouth of Tunnelrock, a remarkable tunnelopens up eastward from the main road. Theportal to this tunnel is the sculpture of a landkra eating its own tail. This tunnel itself lookssimilar to the Seventh Road and equally well

A bunk holeon the

UndergroundHighway


to travel, but is much smaller and doesn’tallow carriages to enter. The end of this roadlies in Sindar, near the city of Nadir, fromwhere a different path continues to Kasmir andAstar. A second major branch has its entranceat Durne Junction. It leads to the city ofValanis in Vardune, going North around thecity of Durne, passing just south of Ironroot.This tunnel is the left-handed twin of the roadto Sindar until it reaches Valanis. From there,less magnificent tunnels lead south to Vashay,passing beneath Aamanian soil in the bend ofthe Axis River, and from there to Vahana andTarg in the jungles of Taz and through theCinnabar Mountains to Tor.

THE CYMRIL UNDERGROUND

CONNECTIONIn ancient times, the citizens of Cymril

used to bury their garbage in undergroundcaverns for lack of a river to wash it away andreluctance to dump it out in the countryside.Most of their waste is now disposed ofmagically, either by citizens who know how tothemselves, or by public services. This has leftthe old sewer-tunnels exposed for people tomake other use of. As all dark places, it is anattractive place for elements from the localunderworld to build hideouts and storageplaces, to hold meetings, or to use it as a fastentry or escape route. Indeed it is rumouredthat most older buildings used to be connectedto the old sewer-tunnels and that many exitshafts have not been sealed properly. Forexamples, as yet unexplained escapes haveoccurred from the Cymril Court Dungeonssouth of Durne Park. If someone were lookingto get in touch with criminal, rebellious orradical factions, for a place to conduct certainrituals well out of sight of prying eyes, or foran illegal dump site, the old sewer-tunnelswould be a good place to start.

The nearby Seventh Road is a goodfacility to have at hand for those who frequentthe sewer-tunnels below Cymril. It wasn’tlong after the arrival of the first undergroundresidents that new tunnels were dug thatconnect the Cymril Underground with the

A grotto on theUnderground

Highway


Encounters inthe Gnomekin Protectorate

Use this table for encounter ideas orroll 1d20 to select a random encounter.Add a modifier of +1 to +10 accordingto the distance from civilized areas.

Roll Encounter1 Curious Gnomekin children2 Merchant caravan3 Magician and servants4 Sindaran collector5 Pharesian peddler6 Kasmiran beggar7 Discarded item(s)8 Gnomekin Scout and catdrac9 Entrance to the Slideways

10-11 Group of Gnomekin Protectors12 Unoccupied hideout or lair13 Bunk hole or sentinel post14 Statue and/or fountain alcove15 Unusual grotto, roll again:

1-4 A mass of insects 5-8 A tangle of vegetation 9-12 A water source13-16 Resonant crystals17-20 Other

16 Unlit stretch of road17 Band of caravan bugs18 Remains from a recent battle19 Arimite troublemakers20 Fossilized geophage21 Colony of rock urchins22 Interesting cave drawings23 Infestation of root grubs24 Ambush by bandits25 Flurry of cave bats26 Scarlet sporozoid27 Chasm viper lying in wait28 Wandering exomorph29 Roving land kra30 Invading war party, roll again:

1-5 Darklings 6-9 Satada10-15 Subterranoids16-20 Other

Seventh Road. These connections are a likelysource of the constant supply of annoyingpeddlers, thieves, and escaped critters in theSeventh Road, who never passed the guards atStation Seven.

THE UNDERGROUND CITY

OF DURNETunnelrock and adjacent mountains are

home to a huge complex of grottos, cavernsand hollows connected in an apparentlyrandom way by a series of tunnels. Access toTunnelrock and Durne is controlled by whatthe Gnomekin call ‘tall tunnels’, high enoughto comfortably accommodate Sindar visitorsand well illuminated. Most other passagewaysthroughout these mountains are ‘kin tunnels’,no more than four to five foot in height anddark.

The capital city of the Gnomekin lies 200feet below the surface. It is made up of moss-lined cave dwellings called nooks that areconnected by a network of tunnels andunderground streams and lakes. On mostwaterways, ferries are available or boats canbe rented. Around the nooks, there are largecaverns the Gnomekin use for growing foodand breeding fish, and by crystallomancers forgrowing crystals. Sentinel posts are scatteredthroughout the city for security. Walkingthrough Durne is a strange experience for mostsurface dwellers, even if they stay only in thehigh-roofed and well-lit Open Arms Nookdedicated to visiting dignitaries.

The Resonant GrottoNear the centre of Durne lies a crystal

grotto that attracts many visitors. This smallcave contains a cluster of natural resonantcrystals. These are a wondrous collection ofvarious types of crystals that protrude fromtheir rocky bed as if showing a certain pride intheir peculiar nature. Of some crystals it ishard to image that they are natural and uncut.The thing that draws the people are the soundsemanating from them. Resonant crystals canemit sounds that other crystals of the samekind elsewhere in Talislanta pick up.


Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to tellwhere the sounds originated. A particularpastime for Gnomekin children is to comehere and shout something in the expectationthat someone, somewhere far away hearsthem. Parents are wary of letting their childrenplay there too often, because of tales thatvoices performing dark rituals have beenheard in the sounds of the crystal resonance.

THE DURNE SLIDEWAYSWhile the sentinel posts protect the

Gnomekin within the city, Durne has moreextensive defences that have proven theirvalue over time against, for example, thedarklings and the satada. Foremost amongthese defences is a masterpiece ofsubterranean engineering called the Durneslideways. The slideways consist of anintricate series of stairways and elevators thatlead to the start of a long polished slope,which in turn ends at the base of another seriesof stairways and elevators. Each Gnomekinprotector possesses a piece of soft leather thathas been rubbed with an oily soap for sittingon while riding the slideway. Using theslideway, the Gnomekin are able to movelarge numbers of troops and goods to allcorners of Durne in a very short time. Theslideways are small kin tunnels for their owndefence. Like the rest of the kin tunnelnetwork, there are many slideway slopes thatend in pitfalls or other deadly traps. Maps ofthe Durne slideways are strictly militaryproperty. In peacetime, the slideways areallowed to be used for transporting tradegoods under supervision of theProtectors Force.

IRONROOTIn the Seven Kingdoms and beyond,

Ironwood is famous for providing extremelystrong, durable wood. Much less well knownis the underground forest called Ironroot.Ironwood trees grow single long roots thatgrow straight down and extract all metalelements from the ground. This flow causes astrong magnetic field to permeate throughoutIronroot. Along with the traces of metal, all

The Durne Slideways


water is extracted from the earth, leaving nomore than a thick layer of powdery dust thatwhirls up in suffocating clouds if disturbed.The dust is flushed away after a day of heavyrainfall, creating an ever deeper and strangecavern below Ironwood, filled with metallicpoles that are the ever-deeper growing roots ofthe trees above. A strong magnetic fieldsurrounding each of the roots makes itextremely awkward to traverse this cavernwhile carrying iron or steel equipment.Without iron, it is easy to cross this dustyplace, but it’s amazing how widely iron isused in making weapons, armour, tools,buttons, hooks, keys, cutlery, lanterns, etc.Evidence of this fact can be found all alongthe edge of Ironroot. The main entrance toIronroot is by a side tunnel from theUnderground Highway between Tunnelrockand Durne.

SINDAR CANYONSThis is one of those places where the

Underground Highway isn’t underground allthe time. Sindar is a strange land of toweringmesas and odd rock formations. The shadowsof the mesas and corridors of overhangingrock make ideal passages to sneak through thiscountry. The strong Satada presence in Sindarhas created a series of hunting paths that allowan easy crossing at the ground level of theland. At various points, these paths cross theSindar branch of the Seven Roads, which alsoruns along the canyon floors. The huntingpaths frequently enter into the sides of themesas and canyon walls to reach the nextcanyon or a dried up river bed at the otherside. In some mesas, there are passages all theway to the top. When discovered, theSindarans make them collapse for securityreasons, preferring to control access to the topof the mesa by the exclusive use of winchplatforms. However, the Satada have proventhat it’s hard to destroy these tunnelsthoroughly enough to prevent them from beingrestored. The one exception is the passage upthe Nadir mesa, which connects at the bottomto a major branch of the UndergroundHighway to Durne. This entrance to thispassage is blocked with a carefully hidden

door. Even if found, its intricate lock isdesigned by dual-encephalon minds and willboggle all but the most intelligent persons.Upwards, the passage is filled with traps andstrategically placed shooting holes. Sindaranrods of alchemy are most effective in thenarrow spaces of this passage. A group ofarmed Sindaran guides are present here toescort visitors up the mesa tunnel to Nadir andplaying Trivarian in their spare time. Fromhere, the tunnel proceeds underground in asoutheast direction to the other side of themesa. There it exits onto the canyon floor. Aseries of hunting paths, mesa passages andgeyser pipes leads southeast into themountains bordering Kasmir. Smaller pathslead east, towards the Sapphire Mountains,where a few tunnels allow passage into theDead River.

Dry as the land is on the surface and in themesa tunnels, hidden water sources are knownto exist scattered through the undergroundrealm. Just follow the dry bed of a stream toits source and there is often an entrance to thesubterranean, or one can easily be created witha pick axe or the right spells. Created by high-pressure jets forced through the cracks of theyellow rock, many of these ‘geyser pipes’ arehigh and wide enough to walk throughcomfortably. Further down, walking oftenbecomes wading as water doesn’t evaporatehere as fast as it does on the surface.

The underground streams below Sindarare notoriously dangerous to travel. Althoughthe water level in most geyser pipes isnowhere any more than knee deep,occasionally tectonic pressure, seismic forcesand erosion cause geysers to break free fromtheir pressure domes hidden deep in the Sindarrock. When that happens, these pressuredomes create violent water spouts that sweepaway everything in their path until they findrelease in a spectacular fountain at the surface.Broken bones, battered weapons and tools,loose coins and small treasures litter theSindar canyon floors as evidence of theseaquatic eruptions. Geyser pipes areunexpectedly smooth. Though created by


force, rocks and sand polished the rough edgesas the water is propelled through the pipes.Navigating geyser pipes is relatively easy.Water spouts always go from deeply hiddenpressure domes upwards, so the directiontowards an exit is obvious. Several pressuredomes are home to a kind of sulphur-lovingalgae that thrives under hot and denseconditions. When exposed to air, these algaeundergo a metabolic change that causes themto emit a pale yellow sulphurescent light. Thischange can be sustained only for short periodsof time, and streams over three days old losethis natural lighting unless refreshed byanother water spout. That said, in the dry landsof Sindar under the heat of the twin suns, anoutdoor water source generally dries up withinhalf a day. Algae in geysers that reach thesurface are subject to very strongsulphurescent reactions and create DromelightFountains, a spectacular sight at night that isunique to Sindar.

The mesa passages are the completeopposites of geyser pipes. These passages aredark dry paths, barely wide enough to allowone person at a time to pass through. Bringingbulky equipment into these tunnels is out ofthe question. Passages wind their way throughthe rock in all three dimensions. The numberof side tunnels splitting off from the passage islimited, which facilitates navigation but leavesfew options for escape routes or alternativeways when running into a collapsed tunnel.The yellow Sindar rock is relatively soft andeasy to dig through if needed, provided youcarry the right tools. Some tunnels open up inthe side of a mesa high above ground andmake excellent scouting posts.

The strong satada presence is by far thehighest threat to anyone traversing theUnderground Highway through Sindar. TheSindarans haven’t found a completeexplanation for what makes Sindar soattractive to the satada, but bits of informationextracted from captured satada warriorsindicate they are searching for something thatwas lost to their race here in ancient times.Satada are usually found in bands of four to

twenty individuals and are highly aggressive,but even a lone Satada lying in ambush in amesa passage can be a lethal risk. Beside theSatada, Sindar is home to chasm vipers andthe occasional subterranoid or land kra.Malathropes have been known to moved infrom the Dead River once in a while. In themountainous border in the north, Darklingsand Stryx have been spotted, but thesecreatures rarely venture into the Sindarcanyons.

THE SAPPHIRE MOUNTAINSBordering the Darklands in the north and

the Dead River in the east, the SapphireMountains effectively isolate the Sindar landsfrom their less than friendly neighbours. Alow mountain range, the Sapphire Mountainswould not be a major obstacle if not for theviolent storms that frequently plague its barrenpasses. Historically, the Sapphire Mountainscontain only few tunnels, but in the last coupleof centuries, ever more tunnels appeared,mostly by mining expeditions. The SapphireMountains would be a rich source ofsapphires, if not for the Satada, darklings,subterranoids and land kra making mining ahazardous enterprise. At least three majortunnels through the Sapphire Mountains, allstarting out from Sindar as abandoned mines,give access to the floor of the Dead River. Thedeeper parts of these tunnels are of satada orland kra origin.

THE DEAD RIVERThis is another stretch of the Underground

Highway not honouring its name. Thiswinding chasm crosses Talislanta from theLost Sea to Baratus Bay. Its depth ranges fromforty feet in the north to one hundred andtwenty feet south of Kasmir. The easiest wayto travel are where paths exist at the top of theriver’s banks. More concealed travellersusually prefer the dark shadows andundergrowth of its depths. Most of the DeadRiver bed is not very difficult to travel. At itsorigin, footing is slippery due to a permanentlayer of ice. Along the middle of Urag, thewestern bank is coloured in orange, ochre and


purple by the chemical wastes spilling overfrom the Acid Plains. Walking must be donewith care to prevent stepping in a foul pool ofacid that eats away good boots in mere hours.The wonder of this place comes from theeastern bank, which is covered with brightgreen ivy and other vines. The bend aroundKasmir is notorious for land kra crossing theDead River to and from the Wilderlands.Between the southern jungles and swamps andthe Topaz Mountains the Dead River runs arugged course through dark grey, sharp rocks.After heavy rains, it may be difficult to travelthese parts without a high risk of sufferingserious injuries, because murky water makes itimpossible to see where hands and feet cansafely be placed. Throughout the entire lengthof the Dead River, the remains of ships andwater creatures are buried and are sometimesbrought to the surface again. The Dead Riveris a main junction of the UndergroundHighway. Tunnels of various origins openedup onto the river bed ever since the river randry, leading to underground places east andwest of the river along its entire course. Thismakes the Dead River an attractive site forunderground travellers to plan the next part oftheir itinerary from. Unfortunately, mosttunnel entrances look very much alike andmore than one adventurer made a mistake incounting tunnels and unwittingly chose totravel a deadly road instead. Behemoths,malathropes, chasm vipers, Za bandits, andSatada are known to use these routesintensively for their respective purposes.

THE LAND KRA BURROWS

OF KASMIRKasmir is infamous not only for the

suspicious attitude of its residents, but also forthe numerous land kra inhabiting the desertlands. Actual encounters with land kra areinfrequent, but when they happen, oftennothing is ever heard again of the unfortunateparty. Kra activity in this region leaves thelower layers of rock riddled with an everchanging network of kra burrows. The largestof these burrows are the oldest, and aresupposedly created by a giant type of land kra

that supposedly no longer exists. For somereason, land kra avoid these burrowsthemselves. In contrast, the common smallerland kra burrows are common places toencounter these horrors of the rocky depths.

The Kasmir desert is a shifting dunescapeon top of a hard bedrock composed ofalternating layers of yellow and brown rock.These layers run more or less horizontally,making depth navigation easy. Land kra preferto move through the soft layers of sand at thesurface, where they can usually be spotted bythe long ‘wyrm trails’ that they leave behind.Their lethal reputation, however, is caused bykra who wake up deep below the surface, andburrow straight up through hard rock withouteasily detectable signs, and devour the sourceof their disturbance. In the darkness of theburrows, these ‘kra pits’ are hard to detect andpose a hazard to underground travellers.

From the Sindaran border, two majorroads transect Kasmir’s rocky bottom. Aconnecting series of large ancient burrowsapproaches the city of Kasir from the Northand a similar series of tunnels runs eastwardand used to end in the Dead River close to themilitary outpost Ikarthis. This opening hasbeen destroyed for defence purposes and themilitary contingent at Ikarthis regularly patrolsthis part of the Underground Highway and aspecialist squad of Gnomekin sappers makessure any new kra burrows meet the same fate.Kra burrows are too widespread to control allaccess from the Dead River into the Kasmirunderground though. As the Kasmiranswouldn’t dream of risking an invasion frombelow, the tunnel to Kasir leads up to thesurface at a strategic distance from the town.The Underground Highway continues throughthe Old Royal Mine, south of Kasir in theJaspar Mountains.

THE JASPAR MOUNTAIN

MINESJust as the Sapphire Mountains form the

northern border of the barren countries that arepart of the Seven Kingdoms, the Jaspar


Mountains form the natural southern barrierwith the green kingdom of the muses. Thisbarrier is of strategic value because of itsextreme richness in minerals. It is the mostimportant source of black iron in the SevenKingdoms and of gold in Kasmir, but alsoquartz and amethyst are mined here in largequantities. Most precious is the mine in themost south-western peak in Astar thatprovides tiny amounts of the coveted blackdiamond. Due to this discovery, the JasparMountains are now literally riddled withmines started by prospectors hoping tobecome rich quickly. Most of these mineswere eventually abandoned as no valuableores were found and are no longer safeto enter.

Mine entrances are easy to recognize fortheir wooden frames of support beams, theabandoned camp sites and large piles of rubblenearby. Mine shafts in the Jaspar Mountainsslope downward until they reach the rocklayers where mineral ores are expected. Themajority of mines start as small enterpriseswith few labour resources available.Therefore, mine shafts tend to be narrow,roughly cut passages with minimal attentiongiven to support. Notorious among those arethe so-called ‘stairway mines’, that go downso steeply that steps needed to be cut out in thefloor and lack platforms at regular intervals toallow for support beams. A wrong step meansrisking a bumpy and deadly drop to the bottomof the shaft. When the depth of the minerallayers is reached, corridors extend in anydirections the prospectors felt their luck wouldlie. Mines that were excavated with the aid ofskilled geomancers are characterised by thelack of such a maze of corridors and have onlyone or two digs running straight towards amineral vein. Such mines are of little use tothe subterranean traveller because theyinevitably run into dead ends. Persistentprospectors, however, created networks oflong, winding corridors that frequentlyconnect as different people were intent onmining the same mineral sources. It is possibleto traverse the Jaspar Mountains from the Old

Royal Mine at Kasir to their most southernfoothills next to Lake Zephyr.

BROWN ASTARFrom the foothills of the Jaspar Mountains

a road leads south to meet one of the SevenRoads running from Lake Zephyr to the citystate of Danuvia. There it ends. The forestsouth of the Astar branch of the Seven Roadsis much denser than the sylvan glades thatmake the rest of Astar such a lovely land. Tinydirt paths enter this forest. Muse living spaceis concentrated around Lake Zephyr, and onlyfew muses are encountered here. Deep insidethis forest, an unknown part of the Muse raceis hidden. One in every five hundred Muses atpuberty becomes extremely sensitive to theemotions of all living things around them,including animals and in rare cases also thelife flow of some plants. Muses bearing thisburden can’t adapt to the highly social life oftheir people. Being constantly overwhelmedby strong impressions from all around them,they collapse or go mad, unless they separatethemselves from their kin. In their search forpeace of mind, these Muses discovered thatcertain hollow trees give access to a system ofgrottos deep in the dark brown soil, and theymade a new home there. These grottos areknown among the Muse population as BrownAstar, while the Muse community living thererefers to the surface lands as Green Astar.Brown Astar is kept a secret to foreigners, soas not to disturb the quiet that the Muses livingthere so badly need.

Hollow pillow trees give access to atunnel into the dark brown soil of Astar. Somefifty feet below the surface they open up in aseries of large, interconnected spherical caves.Over thirty such caves have been found, all ofthem looking more or less identical. In thecentre of the cave there is a still lake devoid oflife. Around the lake grows a forest of thintrees with pale yellow bark and white leaves.The soft ground is covered with a thick layerof deep purple moss and ferns. At the edge ofthe cave the fertile soil is too thin for trees totake root and is filled with all kinds of edible,


One of theCaverns of

Brown Astar


inedible and even poisonous plants andmushrooms. Throughout the grottos,earthwhisps fly around lighting the place upwith their flittering wings, the veins of whichare filled with a white-glowing fluid.

Brown Astar is a very secluded place.From each cave, there are at least two ways upto Green Astar through hollow Pillow trees. Intwo caves the lake in the centre extends into astream that disappears between the roots of thepale yellow trees. It is conceivable that thesestreams have a connection with Lake Zephyr.

THE MUSES OF BROWN

ASTARThe Muses of Brown Astar are as

beautiful as their surface-dwelling kin,although they carry an aura of melancholyaround them. In the pale light of their forests,their translucent robes, as well as their skin,hair and wings carry the suggestion of apalette of warm colours that can’t quite bedetermined with certainty. Except for thethings described below, the Muses of BrownAstar are the same as their families above.

SocietyDue to their overly sensitive telempathic

mind, the Muses of Brown Astar are solitarycreatures. The grottos are large enough thatthey aren’t bothered by each other’s presence,but they are still always aware of all othermuses nearby. In the grottos, the Muses foundthe earthwhisps living there and developed aclose relationship with them. The earthwhispslive independent lives and don’t serve theMuses. Instead, they trade the fluid from theirglowglands in exchange for memories of theworld above that they seem to find amarvellous experience. Muses maintainrelations with several earthwhisps and eachwhisp is free to trade its glowing fluids withdifferent muses.

CustomsThe Muses of Brown Astar appear even

more aloof and disinterested than those ofGreen Astar. They actively avoid strong

emotions and thoughts both in themselves andothers. As a consequence, the Muses don’thave passionate sexual relationships but maydevelop romantic, stable relationships thatmay lasts for several years or even decades.Even in such relationships, Muses live solitarymost of the time.

GovernmentThere is no government at all in Brown

Astar. When it comes to decision making,their sensitive telempathic minds pick up eachothers feelings regarding the matter at hand,giving them a kind of direct democracy thatisn’t found anywhere else on Talislanta.

The ArtsIn Brown Astar, the Muses are very

artistically inclined. As an escape for theirthoughts, feelings, and passions, they createintricate paintings all over the grotto wallspainted in the glowjuice they trade with theearthwhisps. These paintings always presentvery strong images and can’t be looked atwithout feeling the emotions put into it.Glowpaintings are temporary in nature andfade away in the course of a month. BrownAstar is a silent place where no music is made.Muses sometimes dance to a silent tune intheir head, triggered by a memory from theiryouth.

THE SUBTERRANOIDSSubterranoids are massive bipeds who

mostly dwell far below the caverns of Durne,but are known to travel the UndergroundHighway throughout the entire continent ofTalislanta. They have a rocklike exoskeletonwith crude features, brown, grey or black incolour. They grow sharp spikes on all majorjoints, which are the largest at the shoulders.Subterranoids dress in leather loincloths.Subterranoid parties encountered away fromtheir homes are almost always armed withswords and shields of an unbreakable blackmetal of unknown composition. Subterranoidsare immune to heat and flame. They can see intotal darkness, but are very sensitive to brightlights. The exoskeleton of dead subterranoids


locks into place and transforms to solid rock.The creature inside quickly dries out and theexoskeleton crumbles to dust within a year forlack of maintenance.

AncestryLittle is known for sure of the

subterranoids. They don’t occur in any storiesfrom before the Great Disaster, suggesting thatthey came to Talislanta some six hundredyears ago. They may have arrived through arift in the Omniverse or they could have beencreated by wild magic surges deep in the earth.Some scholars claim they are a magical hybridof Satada and rock demon. Others are of theopinion that they are earth elementals warpedby fighting the Stain in the Green World andno longer able to live there.

SocietySubterranoid clans reside in the deepest

underground caverns and tunnels, wherecreatures from the surface don’t survive longfor lack of fresh air. They live on a diet offungi, moulds, insects, animals and have alimited ability to digest raw minerals.Subterranoids live in clans of exactly 33members, and always operate in teams ofthree, called triads. Triads have specificresponsibilities within the clan. Clans areindependent and ignore each other most of thetime. All communications between clans aredone by specific triads. Subterranoids onlyreproduce when their number is reduced. Allmembers of a clan can be male or female asneeded, but they can be only gender at a time.It takes a subterranoid three months to changesex. Infant subterranoids are born asgelatinous creatures. Their slimy skin iscovered with pebbles and stone splinters; thisslowly hardens out as a provisionalexoskeleton. When they can feed themselves,young subterranoids are locked in a cave,where they feed on minerals only. After oneyear, they are strong enough to break out ofthe cave. Fully grown, they are then ready totake their place in a triad.

CustomsAble to navigate underground by some

innate sense, subterranoids can turn upanywhere. Although they seem to preferexisting tunnels, subterranoids are skilledminers in solid rock. Their heavy weight andlack of subtle movements makes it difficult forthem to move through softer soil types.Subterranoids won’t easily go into muddyterrain for risk of getting stuck. Tales of theirnature allowing them to move through solidrock probably came to life because someonesaw a subterranoid eat rock, but they are nottrue. Raw minerals and metals are essentialnutrients to subterranoids, and they eat smallpieces of rock and ore to supplement their diet.The triad responsible for forging weapons mixdigested minerals with the metal of the bladeson which they work.

GovernmentOne triad of each clan acts as the absolute

leaders of that clan. All triad members areresponsible for each other’s acts. Only actsthat endanger the clan are considered crimesand are punished by expulsion of the triadfrom the clan. If the triad of leaders haveendangered the clan, they are killed andanother triad takes their place. Youngsubterranoids then fill up the ranks until theclan counts 33 members again. Banned triadsgo insane and become feared killers.

Magic and ReligionAt least one triad of each clan is capable

of magic, usually geomancy. One of themagic-capable triads is responsible for therituals of worship of an entity that may be anarch-demon or true elemental. Alchemistsassume that some kind of magic is involved inthe creation of the subterranoids' unbreakableequipment.


The ArtsSubterranoids are not known for

appreciating art. Other races see an artisticvalue in their mysteriously etched swords. Fortheir excellent quality, however, these rareblades most often end up in the hands ofwarriors rather than those of art collectors andantiquarians.

LanguageWhile able to speak the Elder tongue,

subterranoids usually communicate in Signand a kind of sound code in which they usetheir shields as a gong; the echoes of theringing carry much farther in the tunnels thanwould a voice.

DefencesSubterranoids are masters at underground

combat. Deploying a combination of combattactics and traps they are deadly opponentsunderground. Above, they suffer from thelight. Triads use special tactics that combinemaximum defence of each other and rapidcoordinated attacks to break the enemy’sguard.

CommerceSubterranoids are completely self-

sufficient and do not trade with other clans orraces. The Arimites maintain a minimum ofcontact with subterranoids, and some claim tohave bartered with them.

World ViewSubterranoid clans are entirely

independent. They defend if attacked and raidfor things their clan needs. They may or maynot maintain relations with inhabitants of theGreen World or the Demon Realm.

THE WESTERNWATERWAYS

Water, water, and more water… Bah, give mesolid rock anytime.

Unknown Gnomekin engineer

Except for Arim and Khazad, the WesternLands are largely made up of rich, humid soilon top of thick layers of marl, limestone, clay,sandstone and other soft materials. One has togo quite deep to reach hard rock. As aconsequence, water stayed in the upper layersand carved out a vast subterranean network ofrivers, lakes and grottos there. Emmo Ebonomade good use of them during his mappingexpeditions and travelled many a mileunderground by canarge in company of hisFan-Ra-San guide.

THE DEAD LAGOONComing down from the Sardonyx

Mountains one arm of the Sascasm riversimply ends in the Green Lagoon. Accordingto an old Dhuna legend, this part of theSascasm does not actually terminate there. Inforgotten days, they say, it was called theDead Lagoon, a sump that forced the river togo underground, its hidden tributaries goingon for many miles. The Dhuna bury theirdead, because of revelations saying that theancient practice of sending the dead away onthe river to the Dead Lagoon is not permittedto them. While most scholars denounce theDhuna tale as pure nonsense, it holds true inthe core. In later ages, without the care of thedisappeared civilisation, the opening into tounderground realm got partially blocked bydebris and the Green Lagoon was formedabove. Being fed by the Sascasm river, thedrain still exists at the bottom of the GreenLagoon, and is the source of a waterfall into a


cistern that is the ancient Dead Lagoon. Thewater falls down from the ceiling into the clearwater of a lake in the centre of a grotto thathas been carved out from the dark brown rock.

The lake is large but shallow, nowheremore than knee-deep. Whether it is theechoing sound of the waterfall in the otherwisesilent lagoon, or some other unfathomablething, a faint feeling of ancient power lingershere. No life exists in these waters andalthough the water of the Sascasm river isdrinkable and the lake is crystal clear, theatmosphere of this place doesn’t quite inviteits consumption, almost as if it were holywater. If legend is true, this lake works as apower source for revealing and defensivemagic as long as the water keeps flowing.Whatever ancient powers are unleashed if everthe flow of the water would dry up is anyone’sguess.

A narrow corridor guides a fast stream ofexcess water to another waterfall into a lake inthe next cave. The grotto that is entirely filledwith the deep waters of this second lake isvery uneven. Light sources reflecting onstalactites, rocks in the water, and otherstructures in the cave walls cause manyshadows that make it difficult to see whereexits might be. As this lake is one of the majorwater sources to the rest of the WesternWaterways, there are many streams out of thisplace. Only few are large enough all the waythrough to be used for travel. Some exits carryinvisible markings over them that can berevealed by magic, though the meaning ofthese has been forgotten. Most of the markedexits can be used to reach other places. If thecurrents in the water are studied with care, itwill become obvious that one other river,coming from the north, contributes to this lakeinstead of flowing away from it.

FORGOTTEN SHRINESFrom the east side of the second lake in

the Dead Lagoon, several deep but narrowstreams wind into the dark soil of Witchwood.The narrow passages with low ceilings andsharp bends only allow the smallest of vessels

to pass. The dark, brittle and damp soilthrough which these streams run, gives anoppressive feeling and are no place forclaustrophobes. Falling overboard is not agood idea here, for the muddy walls providenothing in the way of footholds, and buryingthe point of a boat in them risks not being ableto get it loose again. The water is surprisinglycold, and grows colder as the streams getdeeper into Witchwood soil, but it neverfreezes. Sound doesn’t carry far down here.These shallow waters split many times andother streams join without any signs of wherethey might be heading. Towards the centre ofWitchwood, there is no longer any current inthe streams and the oppressive feelingbecomes more intense. It’s a feeling like beingin a room with increased atmospheric pressurewithout ventilation and someone invisible isstaring at you. Staying in this area for morethan a few hours is enough to raise the hairs inanyone’s neck. After several days, paranoiabecomes a very real and overwhelmingemotion.

Continuing upstream, eventually the waterbecomes shallower and dries up. A muddypath leads upward and becomes hard sand andfinally solid rock. These paths all end at acircular room, one of a number throughoutWitchwood. Large obelisk-like stones are setin the wall and are carved with strangesymbols and glyphs. Each of these rooms liesdirectly below one of the stone circles inWitchwood and holds the same ancient magic.It is conceivable that the magic involved in asummoning ritual above resonates in thisroom, increasing the power of the ritual. Thiswould explain the power of the Dhuna towield such ancient magic to create theirwitchgates. Another theory is that these roomsbecome the actual portal that brings thesummoned entities into the world before theyare gated to the world above. It is better not tothink about what would happen if a ritualbackfired and a being from whateverdimension the Dhuna were communing withbroke free and began roaming these tunnels.Otherwise, these forgotten shrines are perfectplaces to study ancient magic, as the glyphs


Forgotten ShrineBeneath theWitchwood


and runes on the stones here are not as fadedas above. These shrines are particularlysensitive to summoning magic and anysummoning spell cast here benefits from a +5bonus.

FAN SEAA single large river coming from the north

is the only other source that contributes to thesecond lake of the Dead Lagoon. This slow,wide river, coursing through a large tunnel,can easily be travelled by small boats. Thewater of this river is clouded with sand, but itbrings a fresh air, as after a spring rain. Awayfrom the Dead Lagoon, the walls of the tunnelgrow ever thicker layers of moss, that remainswhite instead of green for lack of sunlight. Themoss first grows at the water level, but upriverit quickly covers the entire tunnel.Occasionally a kelplilly floats by, whiteflowers floating on circular beds of tangledweed up to three feet across. In bloom, theygive off a very strong scent into the water, thatlingers in the bed of kelp and attracts fishgoing from flower to flower, promoting thereproduction of these plants. This water makesa very exotic perfume and brings a decent sumof money in some markets. These waters arealso rich in fish, and starvation should not be aproblem with a fishing rod, net or trident athand. Cooking, of course, is a different matterwithout any land about that is large enough tobuild a fire on, even if dry fuel were available.For miles, this river goes in a north ornortheast direction. Gradually, stalagmites andstalactites begin to appear and over severalmiles become more frequent, makingmanoeuvring a vessel more awkward andhazardous, as the murky water hides sharppeaks just below the water level that are quitecapable of piercing the hull of a smallfisherman’s boat and unpredictable undertowscan make such accidents happen. Beyond thislong and hazardous barrier, the river is easy totravel for several miles again, until it opens upin a huge underground sea, right below theMushroom Forest.

The sight of this sea is spectacular and noone enters without spending a moment to takein the scene. In the darkness of the dome,thousands of lights twinkle brightly up above,like stars in a moonless night sky. Apermanent light drizzle falls from the sky,causing an amazing visual phenomenon. Asthe light from the “stars” breaks in thedroplets, bands of rainbow colours floatthrough the dark sky like pole light.Occasionally, larger drops shoot through thesemulticoloured curtains as flashes of a singlebright colour. The light is bright enough to seeby and to illuminate the mother-of-pearl citythat lies in the centre of this sea, Aqiniss,home of an aquatic race called theFan-Ra-San.

THE FAN-RA-SANThe Fan-Ra-San are an offshoot of the

Sun-Ra-San of the Eastern Lands. They are anaquatic race, though they are capable ofspending up to six hours out of the waterwithout problems. While the Sun-Ra-San keptto the open seas, the Fan-Ra-San clans alsohunted in lagoons, up rivers and in lakes.Smaller and more slender built than theircousins, the Fan-Ra-San share the silver-scaled skin and deep-blue eyes. They havegills below their cheeks and their arm pits, afin-like protrusion along their spine and theirwebbed toes stand very far apart for maximumpropulsion in the water. Most Fan-Ra-San areclothed only in loincloths with decorationsmade of shell and water plants. Guards weararmour made of overlapping hard shells. Itsmother-of-pearl finish is beautiful and difficultto target in the heat of a battle.

AncestryThe Fan-Ra-San share the same racial

history as their Sun-Ra-Sun kin. They fled theEastern Lands along with the Sun-Ra-San, butstuck to coastal areas and ventured up riversand lakes as well instead of the open sea.When the Great Disaster struck, they foundthemselves trapped in a system ofunderground lakes and no longer able to stayout of the water for long periods of time. They


literally became a lost race for centuries andmade their home in the underground confinesof Fan Sea. From here, they explored most ofthe Western Waterways, but kept tothemselves when they saw other races.

SocietyThe Fan-Ra-San built the city of shells,

Aqiniss, from the shells of a species of largeshellfish that lives at the bottom of Fan Sea.Both the inside and exterior of these toughshells are covered in mother-of-pearl thatgives them their multicoloured, shinyappearance. Homes are mostly underwater, buta friendly competition in decorating a housewith beautiful spires above the water level hascreated a marvellous construction in the lightof the artificial stars overhead. The extendedfamily is the core of the Fan-Ra-San society.Couples mate for life and afterlife in aceremony called the “merging of souls”.Children are raised by the parents andgrandparents, and training in Fan-Ra-Sanculture and aquaculture begins at age two.

CustomsLike their kin, the Fan-Ra-San have a

great love of learning, and they treasure theirhistory and culture. Children learn to read andwrite the ancient Sun-Ra-San script andrehearse the stories of their people until theyknow them by heart. Records of pedigrees andimportant events are kept by family eldersetched in parchment scrolls made of the curedscales of certain types of fish. The Fan-Ra-Sanhave accepted the separation from their kinand adapted to their new home. The WesternWaterways are their domain and they takepride in collecting as much knowledge about itas possible. The coming of age rituals of theFan-Ra-San involve taking part in a discoveryexpedition into unknown parts of the WesternWaterways. The Fan-Ra-San developed anintricate way of mapping waterways growinga three dimensional miniature map in coral. Aform of aquatic botanomancy calledaquaculture is taught to any child who provesto have a talent for it.

GovernmentBy ancient tradition, the Fan-Ra-San are a

democratic people. Their leader, called“Eminence”, is elected by popular vote. Thisindividual is assisted in all matters by acouncil of eleven elected advisors, called theCouncil. The Council may overrule theEminence with a two-third majority. TheCouncil also acts as the Fan-Ra-San’sjudicial system.

Magic and ReligionThe Fan-Ra-San have specialized in a

form of aquaculture that is similar tobotanomancy, but uses fish, shellfish andwater plants instead of plants that require soilto grow; aquaculturists have abilities similar toBotanomancers, but with aquatic species. Oneof the hybrids the Fan-Ra-San bred is the aqus,a four-legged aquatic creature favoured byFan-Ra-San guards as mounts (see Chapter 5for more information). Mount and rider canmove swiftly underwater without causingmuch rippling at the surface of the water andare very agile in aquatic combat.

Following their transformation during theGreat Disaster, the Fan-Ra-San felt that theirancestral god Aqus abandoned them and along religious crisis followed. Unwilling toforget their god completely, they named theircity after him, Aqinnis, in memory of Aqus.The lack of moonfish in their newenvironment meant that the spirits of the deadhad to go elsewhere. Eventually, they took upworship of a fresh-water deity named Seol, towhom they built a shrine near the DeadLagoon. They moved the shrine into a templein Aqinnis. The Fan-Ra-San believe that theirdead rise up and join the spirits of the ancientworshippers of Seol as sparkling lights on thedome over Fan Sea. The bodies of the dead areput in coffins made from shells and sunk to thebottom of Fan Sea.

Fan-Ra-San feel that tending to the god isa shared responsibility, but requires full-timeattention. Being a practical people, any adultcan become a priest by taking a simple vow.Priests can leave their position again by


another simple ceremony, but may join thepriesthood again whenever they wish. Socialresponsibility makes sure that there are alwaysseveral priests attending the temple.

The ArtsThe Fan-Ra-San are skilled in the

processing of shells, fish scales, plant material,and coral into pieces of art as well as usefulitems. They take great pride in craftingbeautiful spires on the tops of their homes,making Aqinnis into the wondrous city that itis.

Like their kin race, Fan-Ra-San song isoften haunting and sorrowful. The “Lamentfor a Lost Race” is one of their most intensesongs. Fan-Ra-San sing exclusivelyunderwater, in the same way as the Sun-Ra-San, considering it vulgar to hear their songsperformed in air.

LanguageThe Fan-Ra-San speak the ancestral

tongue they share with the Sun-Ra-San and theSunra, called Sun-Ra-Sa. Over the centuries,the Fan-Ra-San picked up a smidgen of otherlanguages from parties adventuring in theWestern Waterways. Common names arehyphenated; male names begin with “Fu”,while female names begin with “Fa”. Thesecond syllable always begins with an “R”, asin Fum-Ras, Fug-Rin, Fun-Ra (male), or Far-Ris, Fan-Ros, Fam-Rif (female).

DefencesHaving faced few threats, the Fan-Ra-San

maintain only a minimal army. The WaterGuard has a permanent underwater station atthe barrier downriver to the Dead Lagoon.Other, well-hidden outposts exist throughoutthe Western Waterways, but are used onlywhen needed. All soldiers are trained inaquatic combat and are skilled riders of aqusmounts. Underwater surprise attacks are acommonly used tactic to quickly deal withinvaders. Aqinnis city defences includeharpoon-throwers.

CommerceThe various Fan-Ra-San families in

Aqinnis and surrounding area trade amongeach other, using coins made of blue coral ascurrency. Blue coral is the only type thatoccurs naturally in the Fan Sea, and onlysparsely at that. Coins are crafted exclusivelyby the priests on orders of the Council. Fan-Ra-San keep their existence hidden from otherraces, but are known to barter with individualsor small parties encountered in the WesternWaterways in disguise.

World ViewIn time, the Fan-Ra-San discovered

passages that would lead them to the oceanagain. However, adapted to fresh water now,and under the influence of a new god, theydecided to remain secluded in the Fan Sea.They see the entire Western Waterways astheir domain, to be respected by anyone whotravels there. From the waters of the Sascasmriver, the Fan-Ra-San secretly observe otherraces, but more from a curiosity to learn than adesire to establish relations with them.

THE THREE SISTERSWest of the Dead Lagoon lies a strange

formation of smooth blue rock, called theCrying Eyes. From two large openings waterfalls down into another lake, named the Lakeof Tears. This big, deep lake is the home of adeceptively violent species of aquaticpredators, called tearfish (see Chapter 5 formore information). These slender and gracioussilver and purple striped fish with large wavyfins and tails possess a strong flexible set ofjaws set with a razor-sharp row of needles forteeth that penetrate and rend leather with ease.Tearfish are hunters that innocently approachtheir prey, showing off as beautiful andplayful animals. Then the group of tearfishattack the victim suddenly. The surface of thelake looks like it is boiling as the creaturesfight to get their share of food.

Tearfish are named well, for not only dothey tear apart their victims up into smallenough pieces to eat, but also because they


Encounters inthe Western Waterways

Use this table for encounter ideas orroll 2d20 to select a random encounter.Subtract 5 for northern and easternencounters (Fan Sea and Witchwood).Add 5 for western encounters (Lake ofTears and the Three Sisters).

Roll Encounterup to 1 Fan-Ra-San aquaculturist

2 Fan-Ra-San fisherman3-4 Fan-Ra-San Water Guards5 Kelplillies6 Scavenger slime7 Strange glyph or runestone8 Coven of Dhuna witches9 Wandering Sarista magician

10 Summoned entity, roll again: 1-4 fiend 5-8 figment 9-12 ghast13-16 night demon17-20 water demon

11 School of angorn12 Plant demon13 Adventuring scholar14 Gang of neuromorphs15 Skalanx16 Safe mooring17 River kra18 Triad of Subterranoids

19-20 Rough current or rapids21 Arimite mining crew

22-23 Tranquil lagoon24 Scarlet sporozoids25 Darkling spy26 Sudden waterfall27 Arimite trader28 Reclusive Gnorl29 Rag-tag band of treasure hunters

30-31 Remains of lost expedition32 Weirdling33 Mandragores34 Ghost ship from Khazad

35+ School of tearfish

process indigestible bits into a dark red goothat they excrete from an opening just behindtheir eyes, as if they were shedding tears. As aconsequence, the water is slightly salty andhas a reddish hue. Fan-Ra-San tales claim thatthese fish feed on the dead of an ancientcivilisation, and that the bottom of the lake is atreasure store. In fact, tearfish only live onfresh meat and refuse to eat carrion. Whateveris to be found in the depths of the lake was leftby those unaware of its dangerous inhabitants.

The Lake of Tears feeds three largeunderground rivers, called the Three Sisters.According to a Phaedran legend, threedivine—or more probably divine-looking—sisters tried to persuade a handsome hero fromthe north to marry one of them. At the momentthe hero would have made his decision, a giantcame along and bashed him on the head withhis giant club so hard that only his blueskinned head remained above the ground. Thethree sisters sat down in shock and wept. Theyshed tears until they were all dried out anddied, but by then these three rivershad formed.

The most northern river is theunderground twin of the Weeping river,running its exact course underground. TheNorthern Sister, the youngest, was the goldenone. Her tears mixed with the water and gavethe soil its yellow colour. The river easilycarved a way through the soft sandstone,bending this way and that to circumventblocks of granite and other hard stone. Likethe Weeping river, it is a narrow, fast river thatcan be travelled by small boats that are easilyhandled. As it progresses, the river divesdeeper and becomes wilder. There are nobanks and a trip on this river must be travelledto its end in one go. Deep beneath the sourceof the Weeping river lies the death spiral ofthe Golden Sister, a small lake that is oneviolent vortex draining the water to placesunknown. At the side of the lake is an artificialpier where boats can be moored. At the end ofthe pier, a long spiral staircase was cut out inthe rock, by people long forgotten, and leads


Death Spiral ofthe Golden Sister

all the way up to the top of a small hill, deepin the forest.

The Middle Sister was the black one. Hertears, mixed with strong anger, went in astraight line west into the soil of theWerewood, turning the earth black. Where theanger lost its strength, near the Valley ofForgetfulness, the river suddenly splits into

many smaller streams, most of whicheventually spill their water into the Necrosriver. A few streams steer away from theValley of Forgetfulness into the groundsbelow the Dread Forest. These streams take onthe black colour of the rock they run through.By slowly dissolving this stone, or maybe fedby vengeful feelings of the Black Sister, thewaters turn acidic and carve an ever deeper


path into the rock. Any vessel or organism thatstays in those waters for any length of timeslowly gets eaten away. Only on well-litnights, the Sarista dare to relate a legend thattells about dark ghosts from Khazad sailingtheir vessels of black mist on the Necros river.As ghosts can’t cross the open sea, it isspeculated that there might exist a passagebelow the ocean floor into Khazad. If this istrue, the Black Sister would certainly bea candidate.

The Southern Sister, the oldest, was thesilver one. With a calm sadness, her tearsstreamed south through Gnorlwood soil,where they turned west into Silvanus. Hertears give the ground its silvery grey colourand her strong will and big heart made this thelargest of the three rivers finding its waythrough the hardest of rock. Calmly, the SilverSister follows a low-roofed, smooth tunnelinto Silvanus without any place to stop orchoose between different paths to follow.There the river ends in a hidden pool deep inthe forest. The Sarista know this pool as aplace of serenity and revelation, where thereflection of the moons tell about things tocome, where the best water is found to makepotions, and where Death won’t come untilTime forces it to visit there.

THE ONYX MINESSouth from the Dead Lagoon there is very

narrow tunnel, just wide enough to crawlthrough. It’s recognisable by black and whitelines of a very sharp grained sand on thebottom of the trickle that runs through it. Thissand is ground onyx and the tunnel is abackbreaking passage into the mountain rangecarrying that mineral’s name. The only reasonfor taking this torturous road is because it’sthe only known underground road into Arimfrom the north. It’s a bad mining area, so therenever are many people around. Unfortunately,this region of the Onyx mountains is instead afavourite area of subterranoids, who for somereason are attracted to these mineral-richrocks, even though they don’t seem to usemuch of the ore themselves. They have,however, dug many tunnels through these

mountains over the centuries and it’s notuncommon to encounter a triad or two on theirway to unknown destinies.

On the Arim side, the mountains are richwith mines set up by the Arimites. The highermountains bordering Gnorlwood are a richsource of garnets, sards, and silver. The latteris mined under strict control of the Exarch’ssoldiers as it is used to mint Arim’s owncurrency. The hills near Iswan and Shattra arethe most important source of black iron in theWestern Lands. The high peaks north of LakeVenda hold a few veins of emeralds,carnelians and beryls. Mines can be foundscattered all through the Onyx mountains,operated by humourless Arimite miningcrews, who are all too eager to break the dailyroutine to deal with a couple of intruders, whoare no doubt after their valuable ores or spyingfor the Ur clans. The Arimite crews areprobably the most experienced with thecustoms of the subterranoids, as they share theunderground realm beneath the OnyxMountains. Arimite miners make use oftunnels abandoned by the subterranoids, andthere even exists basic forms ofcommunication and barter between the tworaces. The Arimites have thus become veryfamiliar with the Underground Highwaywithin their territories, and can quickly movefrom one part of the country to another fasterthan would be possible overland. Thisknowledge is also one of the reasons that theirmining operations are among the mostprofitable in all Talislanta, yet it makes them atarget for scholars and adventurers who wishto learn more about the subterranoids, a factwhich the surly Arimites do not enjoy. As aconsequence, more than one overconfidentand nosy visitor has found himself the targetof a contract with the Revenant Cult.

There is one section of the OnyxMountains that contains merely onesubterranean passage, and that one leads to theCliffs of Bahahd and the road to the ForbiddenCity of Ahrazad. This passage runs fairly highthrough the cliff side and frequently opens upto caves that overlook the canyon below. The


caves in the Cliffs of Bahahd are the well-known location to go searching formoonstones of immense size and impeccablecolour. The popularity of these sites withadventurers and treasure hunters has made itequally popular for the Stryx as a place of easypickings. Every once in a while, the Ur use thecliff passage to send a small army of darklingsto pester the Arim leader in his hidden palaceand test the strength of the capital’s defences.Some people say that it is only a matter oftime until the Ur will muster an army that isbig enough to conquer the city and wipe outthe Arimite’s government, with the rest of thecountry to be following the same fatesoon after.

SPY'S FATEUnknown to almost all Aamanians and

Zandir is the fact that from the most westernedge of the Onyx Mountains, a very smalltunnel runs below Zandu, crossing the GreatBarrier Wall at a depth of thirty feet, throughAamanian soil. The tunnel splits up in a deltaof tunnels that connect to the Axis river, some30 miles north of Vashay. This tunnel wasincidentally discovered by a Zandir thiefhiding from the Aamanian inquisition in thewell of an abandoned farm a little outsideAamahd. Ever since, this tunnel has becomethe domain of certain criminal elements fromboth Aamanian and Zandir societies, who runan expensive smuggling operation here. Onboth sides of the Great Barrier Wall severalsecret and well-guarded exits to the surfaceexist. From official sides, the existence of thistunnel and its current function arecategorically denied, but knowledge of it ingovernment circles would go a long way toexplaining how both countries can maintainsuch a high level of intelligence on each otherwithout spies ever being caught at the gatethrough the Great Barrier Wall. This route isalso used as an escape for Aamanian hereticsor to circumvent the diplomatic isolation ofAaman by the Seven Kingdoms. The manyopen connections with the Axis rivercombined with its small capacity make it avery unreliable route that can flood in mereminutes when heavy rainfall raises the water

Amerdeiro's Journal

I had the White Lilly’s crew dropthe anchor well out of reach of thosecursed stone faces. Instead of risking myprecious vessel, I selected the best sixhands of the crew, boarded the sloop,and left the Lilly in the capable hands ofthe first mate. Thinking back, half ourluck must already have been spent onhaving calm waters, where the currentsusually drag a vessel wherever theyplease. Perhaps best that we didn’t knowhow.

Between two nasty sharp teeth wesailed into the mouth of one of the stonedemons that mark the cliffs. Along withthe darkness, the abrupt silencesurprised us. While outside, the cries ofthe Wailing Mountain had sent shiversalong our spines, but the oppressivesilence made those big men a littlesmaller. Unable to see much in the lightof the lanterns, the sloop repeatedly hitthe rocks, as if the demon was sayingnicely that it didn’t want us there, yet inour pride we went on. After the first turnwe lost what little daylight we had.That’s when the foul wind rose up fromthe demon’s throat to sicken all of us.But we went on with empty stomachs, asour employers promised to pay verywell indeed if we would return with anyartefacts of an extinct tribe he called theThane.

Past the next bend, the whisperingstarted. Too faint to distinguish thewords, the tone of cursing chants couldnot be misunderstood. Not a dozenheartbeats later, a sharp rock penetratedthe hull of the sloop and two of the crewpulled in their oars to make repairs andscoop the water out of the boat. Thewhispering chants continued.

(continued)


Amerdeiro's Journal(continued)

In the light of the lanterns ourshadows seemed possessed of a life oftheir own, a life that didn’t look like ithad much of a future. Next we knew, itstarted to rain. Yes, I know, we were in acave! Water ran along the ceiling of thecave and streamed down from the manyspikes that decorated it. We lost anotherman on the oars to help scooping out thewater and keep us afloat, so fast was itpouring down on us.

When we’d at last passed the rain,everything went dead silent. Then a lowgurgling started. We felt it before weheard it and fear overtook each one of us.The gurgling became louder and moreominous, as if the demon was trying tothrow up. The rotting stench had drainedmost of the strength from our muscleswhen finally the tidal wave came. It wasfull of the wreckage of ships that sank inthese waters and some not too long agobecause half the bodies in the water werenot the Lilly’s men. Halfway out, thesloop was smashed to splinters in a bendand the impact forced the air out of mylungs. If it wasn’t for the second matekeeping me above the water, well, I’msure the first mate would have recitedsome good paradoxes, like he did for thefive men we had lost by the time thesecond mate and I reached the safety ofthe Lilly again. No matter how muchthey will pay, I won’t order the Lilly nearthose demons ever again, but I mustadmit that new white streak in my hairworked miracles for my reputationamong the crew and my patrons.

level in the Axis river. Less ethically inclinedminds might conceive this as a suitable way toget rid of unwanted elements. The westernbranch of the Underground Highway of theSeven Kingdoms must pass below the Axisriver close to the point where Spy’s Fatesurfaces. If an entrance into those tunnelsexists, then those who know of it can keepsecrets very well. Besides, there are otherways to cross the Axis.

THE CLIFFS OF KHAZADAlthough virtually impossible to reach, the

giant diabolical visages that are carved in thesides of the Cliffs of Khazad, have openingsfor mouths that lead into the interior of theKhazad peninsula. Few captains dare tochallenge fate and sail the dangerous currentsand sharp rocks surrounding these cliffs. Evenfewer tried and survived. And those who didnever bragged about it, and that is usually nota good sign for prospective adventurers. Thestory of Amerdeiro, captain of the White Lilly,is one of the rare tales about these caves (seesidebar).

THE DARK TONGUEThe Badlands are sparsely-wooded

steppes, not suited for any kind ofunderground travel. From the coast to theSardonyx Mountains, a black iron path crossesthe Badlands. This mysterious phenomenondisappears into a huge cave in the foothills ofthe Sardonyx Mountains. This site is scatteredwith bones of various species. If not home tothe Wildmen of Yrmania, creatures like theyaksha, tundra beast, or muskront may havetaken shelter here. As often in the wild lands,the transition of ownership of a lair is notalways a peaceful event. Besides the commonresidents from the Badlands, this place seesfrequent visits from Satada hunting parties,where the Satada seem to avoid the rest of theBadlands. This has lead to the suspicion thatthis cave might conceal the entrance to atunnel complex that is connected to realmswhere the Satada feel more at home. Theoccasional presence of night demons suggeststhat these tunnels might also be connected to

those through Narandu leading to the BlackPit. The Wildmen never seem to havebothered to find out.


THE EASTERNSTRETCH

The gnomekin have not charted theUnderground Highway this far east. Whatlittle is known for sure, Emmo Ebono learnedfrom Vajra engineers.

THE ANCESTRAL HOME OF

THE VAJRA

The Vajra HivecitiesThe traditional territories of the Vajra

below the hills bearing their name are nearlyforgotten except by the Vajra themselves. Inthe Opal Mountain mines and the catacombsof the citadel of Karang Vajra songs can beheard, softly music from their basso voices.Songs about their ancestral home, recited onlywhen no guards are nearby. These songs tellabout the Queen’s Chamber with each of itswalls decorated with mosaics made fromprecious stones, glowing gold, orange, yellowand brown in the light of the hearth, about theNursery with growing eggs lying in theirincubator beds of delicately sculpted jade,about the Prayer Hall to Terra, the earthgoddess, a large circular hall with Terra’smirror, a floor of plain brown rock polished sosmooth that it reflects a Vajra’s image in thegoddess, about the Corridor of Time spirallingoutward telling the history of the Vajra in itscarved walls from the foundation of the cityonward… until the year 82. Evacuated andsealed by the Quan, these cities lie nowabandoned, prey to the force of time.

If one would know where to find anentrance and be able to break the seal, awondrous realm would be revealed. Acollection of hive-settlements lie spreadthroughout the Vajran Hills, each connected tothe others by long winding tunnels. Vajracities are nearly impossible to map ascorridors curve in all three dimensions,

seemingly without logic or direct connectionsbetween any two places, which are never builtat the same depth. The low ceilings don’tallow most races to walk upright. It takes aVajra to make sense of these mazes and feel athome here. Nobody, however, will have a hardtime appreciating the craftsmanship of thisplace. Floors and walls are all polishedsmooth, highlighting the natural layers andminerals of the rock they are carved in, doorsturn on their hinges at the touch of a finger,each room is connected by a intricate systemof water pipes and illuminated by cultivatedglobs of phosphorescent fungi suspended fromthe ceiling, lighting the room in any of colourof the rainbow.

Despite its apparent chaotic design, somesense can be made of it by one who takes thetime to study it. Chambers close to theentrance are military domain. Barracks, messhalls, training areas, armouries, smithies anddefensive structures can be found here. It iseasy to misjudge these rooms, as equalattention has been given to their polished anddecorated walls as anywhere else. Spread outaround the army lie the domains of theworkers. These include dormitories, mossfarms, storage rooms, mineral mines, toolshops, gem cutting and sculpture studios,temples, schools, and other locales for thedaily routines of Vajra life. In between theclusters of soldier and worker domains liesdeep in the earth the royal domain surroundedby the nurseries, servants quarters and burialchambers. There is only one such cluster ineach of the Vajra’s cities.

Somewhere deep, deep in the subterraneanrealms of their homeland, some say at the veryheart of the world, lies the essence of theVajran race. A dark space filled with a lake ofmagma so hot that its glowing body is coveredby a black layer of scorched air. This is theDark Fire, that burns in the soul of everyVajra. From opposite sides of the cave, anarrow ledge of an unknown type of rock,resistant to the immense heat, leads to thecentre of the Dark Fire, but stop twenty feetshort of each other. This symbolized the


Vajran soul. It is possible to get close to theheart, but come too close and you risk beingconsumed by the Dark Fire. The ledges eachbegin at a tunnel that leads back to the city,although the locations of the upper entranceare one of the closest guarded secrets of theVajra.

According to Vajra legend, their homesmay be left abandoned, but they are not leftundefended for any plunderer lucky enough tofind a way in. The Dark Fire is a living thingand protective of the home of its caretakers.Adventurers who claim to have found theVajra cities mentioned encounters with whatmight be different incarnations of the DarkFire. Some talk of lava demons, although thesecreatures are commonly too big for the lowcorridors. Others tell about a cloud ofsuperheated air moving through the city. Yetother tales recall a Vajra spirit with eyes thatshoot rays of magma. Of course, it is quitepossible that these stories are worth no morethan the price of a couple of beers.

HARAKIN RAIDING TUNNELSCold and inhospitable, the Opal

Mountains form a natural barrier to protect theEastern Lands from the invaders. Of coursethey attract their share of adventurers hopingtheir luck will lead them to a deposit ofprecious blue diamonds, but the cold stormsand frost demons have left few expeditions toset up a proper dig. Left to their own devices,such mines collapse quickly enough, leavingthe peaks of the Opal Mountains a prospectivebut effectively useless area for those whoprefer to travel underground.

Like any barrier though, the OpalMountains too are far from a perfect one.There are passes that can be taken when notblocked by snow. The rough waters of theStrait of Harak have ground many caves in thesea side of the mountains. Harakin war chiefssent out scouts to explore these tunnels andwhile many never came back, it turned out thatthere is at least one way through the heart ofthe mountains into the Quan empire. At theQuan learned soon enough, this road is large

enough to accommodate large war bandsalong with their dractyl mounts. How theHarakin get creatures from the sky through thedark confined spaces below the mountains isanyone’s guess. Despite frequent patrols byKang trackers, the entrance on the Quan sideof the Opal Mountains has never beendiscovered by the Quan.

Information extracted from Harakinprisoners has revealed—for what little relief itbrings the Quan—that the journey under theOpal Mountains is a dangerous one. It is easyto get lost in the tunnel if the connection withthe war caravan is broken. No troops that leftthe body of the army have ever been seenagain, as if they were suddenly swallowed bythe dark. Ominous sounds can be heard fromtime to time, varying from a distorted rumbleto crushing and screeching, always muffled,always suggesting that the source of the soundis closer than the sound itself leads to believe.Although there are no open attacks on passingwar bands, it seems that no caravan makes itthrough the mountains without suffering lossesin troops. People get detached and lost, or adractyl panics and kills its handler, or fewerpeople depart from a campsite than arrivedwithout anyone ever noticing where they went.If the war chiefs are in on the cause of thesedisappearances, they never let it be known,claiming that if a Harakin can’t take care ofhimself, that’s his own problem.

THE CITADEL OF KARANGThe Citadel of Karang is the first line of

defence in the Quan empire against Harakinraids from the Opal Mountains. In addition toits defensive importance, it is also one of thebiggest slave camps housing Vajra miners.From the Citadel of Karang, Kang troopsescort gangs of Vajra miners on their weeklytrip to mines in the western side of the OpalMountains, to dig up metal ores and preciousminerals for the Quan. At the end of the week,the Vajra are moved back into the Citadelof Karang.

At Karang, the Vajra miners live in atunnel complex built below the citadel. This


Encounters Beneaththe Volcanic Hills

Use this table for encounter ideas orroll 1d20 to select a random encounter.

Roll Encounter1-2 Sauran war party3-4 Exhaust of hot fumes and smoke5-6 Field of obsidian shards7-8 Hungry drac9 Ambitious pyromancer

10 Nesting draconid11 Hidden side chamber12 Sudden volcanic eruption13 Unleashed earth demon14 Strange blue crystal boat15 Raknid workers16 Lavafish17 Relentless ravenger18 Solitary vasp19 Vengeful pyrodemon20 Bound shedim

crisscross maze of tunnels and rooms was builtin exactly the same way as a traditional Vajracity. The Quan who run the citadel neverunderstood the organisation of Vajra societyand didn’t recognise that the old division insoldiers and workers still exists. To the Quan,they are all miners. However, should anoccasion for revolt ever arise, the apparentlyopen corridors of the Vajra camp may prove tobecome a well-defended bastion overnight.Safe in the knowledge of holding thehibernating Vajra young hostage, the Quanpretty much left the Vajra to their own deviceswhen constructing a new home. In acontinuous effort of passive resistance, theVajra work on these tunnels have neverstopped. Unknown to the Quan, theyconstructed a huge network of tunnels throughmuch of the northern Quan Empire. Currently,connections exist into the Sinking Land, to theMazdak Drains at Moon Lake, and furthersouth as far as the Vajra camp at Kangir.Trusting the goddess Terra to watch over theirancestral homes until better times arrive, theVajra never dug tunnels back to their formerhomes under the Vajran Hills. It is likely thatthe Vajra discovered the entrance to theHarakin invasion route, but if so, they nevertold the Quan.

LAVA LAKEGiven the hazards on the surface of the

Volcanic Hills, few people consider thepossibility that this area might also betraversable below ground level. That is not tosay that this is the safer road, but it certainlywill be a trip to remember. The Volcanic Hillsare a dynamic terrain, where sinkholes andcraters appear and disappear as eruptions andcave-ins occur. Openings into the interior ofthese lands are easy to find, but knowledge ofwhere exactly tunnels are going becomesoutdated rapidly due to the geologicallyhyperactive character of the area. Whilenavigation can be difficult, finding your goalisn’t. All tunnels and lava rivers, despite alltheir detours, eventually course to a hugeunderground lava lake below the centre of theVolcanic Hills. This cavern is a magnificentsight. The orange-yellow light from the slow

waves of the boiling lava brightly illuminatesthis place with shimmering effects not unlikethose seen on the ceiling of an indoor pool.The air above the lake is filled with ominousdark grey clouds of smoke, as if suggestingthat a thunderstorm might break looseany moment.

At the centre of the lake, invisible fromthe edge of the cave, lies the Island of Fate, alarge rock of rough obsidian, its surfacecovered with razor-sharp edges and spikes.The island is barren, save for one impressiveconstruction. Almost as if organically grownfrom the surface, tall stone circle of gnarledobsidian monoliths surrounds a stern buildingof white ivory that has somehow been maderesistant to the sulphurous atmosphere in thecave. In the atrium of this building, five pits,positioned as corners of a pentagram, eachspout a pillar of white-hot flame into the air all


the way up to and through the ceiling. Theseare the infamous Fire-Pits of Malnangar. It isin these pits that the cult of black wizardsknown as the Torquarans sacrificed almost theentire Xambrian race in the early ArchaenAge. The Fire-Pits and the Obsidian Circleoriginate from the Forgotten Age, but thebuilding, although thousands of years old, was

created in a more recent period. Void offigurative decorations, it does not reveal itshistory. Knowledge of the ancient symbolsthat line the otherwise plain walls is lost to theworld today, but careful study reveals thatthey are part of some dark magic, necromanticor demonic in nature. Given that it was builtaround the Fire-Pits of Malnangar, a historian

The Island of Fate and the Fire-Pits of Malnangar


could easily link it with the first necromancerking Drax or its master, the shaitan Zahur,who might have used the magic of this placein their escape from this dimension and thewrath of Diabolus.

The underground passages in this areacome in three kinds: tunnels, lava rivers andchimneys.

Tunnels are made of rock that is eitherglassy, hard, and sharp; or porous and brittle.Due to the omnipresent layers of soot anddust, not to mention the ever-moving shadowsand glows, it’s often impossible to tell whatkind of rock the environment is made of. Thesharp lavaglass rock is tough on the soles ofany shoes, and it might be wise to bring anextra pair. A walking stick or staff is anothervaluable asset to test the strength of theground ahead. Just remember that a woodenpole won’t last long in this place.

Lava rivers are created after an eruptionhas subsided, but around Lava Lake, theserivers are major thoroughfares of themselves.Lava rivers flow through odd-shaped tunnelswithout walkways at the sides. Without aproper (and usually magical) means oftransport, these boiling rivers cannot betravelled safely. The Orogovians around theircampfire tell tales of blue crystal boats thathover above the lava on a cushion ofvaporising essential ice. Other stories involvebig lavafish willing to carry travellers on theirback for a reward. There is even a legend of ademonic entity commanded by its master toprovide ferry services. If this is true, thiscreature was most likely a shedim in service ofthe shaitan Zahur, and if it still exists andserves this task, then its master must be alivetoo, somewhere in the Omniverse.

Chimneys are vertical shafts through therock, created by eruptions. These shaftsexhaust the hot fumes and smoke thatpermeates this realm. Although they formquick routes between tunnels at differentlevels in the underground realm, the choking

and steaming hot air makes a climb or descentall but impossible.

SASSAN'S MANSIONContrary to the legend of Phaedran times,

Sassan the unstable fire-mage survived hisappointment as emissary to the Volcanic Hills,though barely. Roughed up by the Saurans andtoyed with by pyrodemons, Sassan eventuallycame to command the respect of theinhabitants of the Volcanic Hills. The Sauranssay that he could command Dragon Rock toerupt at his will, although this seems anexaggeration even for a master wizard of thePhaedran Age. Several tales make mention ofa fire wizard living in the crater ofDragonrock, so it is likely there is some truthin the matter. After Sassan’s eventual demise,the stabilizing spells around his mansionweakened and it sank into the depths of thevolcano, where it presumably still lies hiddenin a protective magic shell. It is conceivablethat it might be found if someone were madenough to organise an expedition north fromLava Lake.

THE SAURAN CONNECTIONAs one of the few people to maintain

friendly relations with the Saurans, theOrogovians learned of an undergroundpassage between the Sauran settlements ofSathra and Sathir. The Saurans themselvesdon’t use it for other purposes than storage,but they allow the Orogovians to use it totravel quickly between the towns. The Sauransconsider the tunnel useless, because it doesn’tallow room for fighting battles and hiding isfor cowards. Only when waging an open warwith the Kang, a branch from the tunnelthrough the mountains in the east is used tosupply the Sauran armies.

THE MAZDAK CASCADEIn the ancestral lands of the Mazdak tribes

in the mountains bearing their name, caveswere found with primitive drawings made bythis people. Although the peninsula of theMazdak Mountains consist of a soft, porousrock, the Mazdak never extended their


territory below the surface of Talislanta. Therain, however, did. Erosion created a threedimensional spider web of tiny drain holes,converging through ever bigger drainscollecting the water, and eventually reachingseveral caverns deep in the heart of themountains where all the water comes togetherin a cascade of bigger and smaller lakes deepbelow the hills. It doesn’t require skilledminers to dig away the top layers of rock toreach man-sized drains that lead down to theMazdak Cascade. These lakes are the breedinggrounds of the moonfish, creatures that theSunra believe may be the reincarnations oftheir dead. Moonfish communicate by singing.Theirs songs are picked up by other sentientbeings telepathically. Above, moonfish onlysing at night, but in the everlasting darkness ofthe Mazdak Cascade, they sing all the time.Their complex melodies form strangeharmonics that reverberate on the cave walls,the echoes fitting in with their song asconsonant undertones.

While the waters of the Mazdak Cascadeare easy enough to travel with any kind ofvessel or even by swimming, for those whoknow how, the telepathic song and echoespenetrating the mind from all sides are enoughto drive people mad. Dual-encephalons sufferfrom this effect twice as fast as normal people.The madness lasts for as long as the song isheard. Those who have suffered from it saythat the song drives the spirit out of the bodyand keeps it suspended above it. Theenlightened soul understands the song of themoonfish, which, apart from their basic animalurges, is about travelling among the starswhere other races that once visited Talislantastill live. The vastness of the empty spacebetween the stars reflects aspects of the terrorof the Void and would be enough to causeinsanity if not for the light of the stars andbalm of song tying the soul to this world.Victims of the moonfish song are vacant hulls.The body is awake and responds to basicstimuli and commands, but lacks the will toact on its own accord. Once returned in theirbody, victims are faint from the alien visionsand require some rest to get themselves

together again. The visions are tooincomprehensible for normal minds to graspand will be forgotten quickly. However,whenever a moonfish song is heard again,even on the surface of Talislanta, the victim isstruck by terror of a dark void waiting outthere to for a chance to visit Talislanta again.It’s an effective defence of the species’ecological niche.

From the Mazdak Cascade, a mineral-richriver leaves the Mazdak Mountainsunderground in a north-western direction.Beyond the foothills of the MazdakMountains, the river runs through the southerntip of the Vajran Hills, turning west throughthe earth of the Cerulean Forest to surface as atributary to Moon Lake, where it ends.

GUERRILLA ROCKSTorture of Mondre Khan captives revealed

that the Khan Mountains and the Ku-ChangPlateau contain underground passages that theMondre Khan use. Much to the Quan’sfrustration, scouting parties aimed at findingthese passages never discover more thanshallow caves and natural hollows too narrowto travel through. The Mondre Kahn areknown to lack any magical aptitude, yet theyare able to suddenly disappear without a trace,at least in their own territories and on the Ku-Chang plateau. The only logical conclusion isthe existence of a system of tunnels that forsome reason has eluded the Quan. This hasbecome a sensitive point at the imperial courtin Tian, as the Quan suffer the same inabilityto find the underground passages through theOpal Mountains used by the Harakin.

The secret of the Mondre Khan is astrange natural phenomenon they call spindleholes. The rough rock of the east coast is solidand hard, but because of its inflexibility ittends to crack easily with temperaturechanges. This can cause great lumps of rock tobecome loose but stay contained by the rockaround it. Rainfall slowly erodes these lumpsinto spindles that can turn freely in theirseclusion. In some spindle holes, the waterfound its way out through the cracks, which


eventually formed a series of drainage tunnelslarge enough to move through. Over time,erosion wore away the outer layers of thespindles, which gained ever more room intheir sockets to the point where an agile manmight crawl all the way around it to disappearin the drainage tunnel.

The existence of spindle rocks in the hillsof the Mondre Khan territories and the Ku-Chang plateau is no secret even to the Quan.They also know that spindle holes are usefulhiding places for refugees and will poke aspear or sword in the opening to draw themout. But on their hunts for the Mondre Khan, itnever occurred to them to lay down theirunwieldy weapons and take off theircumbersome armour to have enough freedomto crawl around the spindle to look for closeinspection. Hence the existence of drains largeenough to accommodate a man has so farescaped them.

It is only a matter of time until the Quandiscover this secret, but the Mondre Khan arenot too worried about that. The drainagetunnels are rarely interconnected and don’tform an underground network. If one isdiscovered, the rest will remain safe until oneby one they have all been found, though it isunlikely that the Quan will ever find them all.For all they know, Fate may change the worldagain long before that ever happens. Drainagetunnels always end up in a lower place, but arelong enough to take the Mondre Khan well outof sight of the Quan patrols. The abundance ofwater means that exits are often hidden byextensive plant growth and the Mondre Khanknow better than to leave obvious traces.Experienced Mondre Khan can cover longdistances overland by stringing together theshort stretches between spindle holes anddrainage tunnels.

THE COLOURFUL CAVERNSThe Variegated Forest earns part of its

name from the layered multi-collared rock onwhich it grows. This landmass is made up ofalmost all geological rock types that can befound throughout Talislanta. The variety of

minerals in the soil are taken up by the treesand affect their colour. Within the VariegatedForest, little stone huts can be found that giveaccess to a staircase down into the earth.These lead to a collection of large cavernshidden in the bedrock.

The Colourful Caverns are an amazingsight that never fails to surprise first-timevisitors. This large complex contains cavernsof any single colour of rock as well aschambers made in rock that consists ofmulticoloured layers. All types of rock andores that exist throughout Talislanta arepresent somewhere in these caverns, includingall the valuable ores and minerals that can befound in them. These caves would be anattractive target for adventurers looking for aquick way to get rich, if not for the fact thatthe existence of these caves is known to veryfew people besides the Kalixa, a race of smallpeople that calls these caverns their home.

The Colourful Caverns possess twoclusters of naturally resonant crystals. One is acollection of crystals of many different typesthat reflect sounds from other resonant crystalsall over Talislanta. The other bed contains alarge group that consist exclusively of orangejacinth crystals. These crystals possessproperties that make them valuable gemstonesfor magic resistant items. How this strongresonance of magical resistance works isunknown. It doesn’t seem to affect the use ofmagic in the Colourful Caverns, but it mayassist the Kalixa Keepers in the performanceof their task.

THE KALIXAThe Kalixa are small in stature, with an

alabaster-like appearance. Hair in various huesof brown is stuck to their round heads as if itwere sculpted from clay. Their eyes can be inany bright colour, but always with yellowpupils that move restlessly, as if afraid to missanything. Yet the composure of the Kalixa isthe complete opposite, almost regal. Theynever seem to be surprised or swept away byflaring emotions. The Kalixa wear practical


tunics and shoes of a crude, durable cloth thatlooks like canvas and is dyed in bright colours.

AncestryIn many ways, the Kalixa look like the

Green Men of the Dark Coast, except thatwhere the Green Men are merged with allthings living and changing, the Kalixa strivefor unchanging stability. Some scholars claimthat the two races form two sides of the samecoin. If so, a link with the Archaen sorcererViridian also might exist for the Kalixa. TheKalixa themselves don’t seem to be interestedin this matter. In the history of the Kalixa, theGreat Disaster holds a central place as theevent that nearly killed their race. The Kalixagave everything they could anywhere inTalislanta in an attempt to stabilise the rogueforces of magic that were changing the world.In the end, only a few families survived in theColourful Caverns.

SocietyThe Kalixa are a gentle race that takes

minute care of their environment, making surethat all stays as it is. The maintenance of astatic environment is the core task of theKalixa race. Through a divination ritual atbirth, a mate for life is chosen for thenewborn. Male children move in with thefamily of their chosen mate. In the constantclimate of the Colourful Caverns, there is noneed for the Kalixa to build homes. Eachfamily chooses a niche in one of the caverns astheir own, and the choice is respected by theother families. Families have strict duties,such as growing the fungal cultures the Kalixause for food, the making of tools from a typeof stone specifically selected for that purpose,or teaching the children. The family performsthose duties for the entire population of theColourful Caverns. The Keepers are the coreof the Kalixa society and are in charge of allrepairs. Each keeper is surrounded by half adozen hand-picked assistants, who areexempted from their family’s duties. Keeperstrain their assistants in a strict master-student relationship.

CustomsThe Kalixa see the world as two opposite

forces that must be kept in balance: changeand stasis. They are quite aware of the excesschange that has been going on outside theirhome since the Great Disaster and see it astheir task to anchor the world from the never-changing realm of the Colourful Caverns. TheKeepers can feel the forces in the worldtearing at their homes and are constantlysearching for things that have been changed orare busy making repairs to places other peoplewould never notice that something wasdifferent. The Kalixa still aren’t as strong asthey once were, and few Keepers ever leavethe Colourful Caverns to fight the changebeyond the stability of their homes. Once aday, all Kalixa sit down to meditate on thestate of the world. This ritual, they claim,anchors the world to its place inthe Omniverse.

GovernmentThe Keeper’s rule is absolute in Kalixa

society, although it is hard to tell. Their life isgoverned by strict traditions and rituals. TheKeepers do not allow change to come intotheir lives when they can avoid it. As allKalixa share in their observations duringmeditation, they lack the urge to go against theestablished rules. Within the boundaries oftheir culture, Kalixa are free to do as theyplease. There is no crime among the Kalixa. Ifsomeone gets too excited, he is calmly advisedto spend a full day in meditation by one of theKeepers. If visitors misbehave, they may wakeup back on the surface without any memory ofhow they got there.

Magic and ReligionThe Keepers are skilled in a natural form

of thaumaturgy that allows them to detect eventhe most tiny of changes that time brings toeverything. They possess powers of repair thatallow them to heal the earth as well ascreatures and man-made things. The KalixaKeepers are the only known entities that areable to affect time, and then only in a verylimited manner. Anything healed or repairedby a Kalixa is put in a temporary stasis,


making it resistant to further change. A livingcreature healed this way will find that theaffected body part is immune to physical harmfor at least a week. The Kalixa believe in abalance of change and stasis, but see these asnatural phenomena, not supernatural. Theyhave rituals celebrating both, although ritualsof change haven’t been performed much forseveral centuries. When a Kalixa dies, theKeepers conduct a magical ritual thatdisintegrates the body.

The ArtsKalixa love colours. They are dressed in

colourful clothes and wear chains andbracelets of polished pebbles of all kinds ofplain rocks and gems that can be foundthroughout the Colourful Caverns. Anythingthey make, including common utilities, iscreated from a material that is specificallyselected for that purpose, regardless of thevalue of the material, and is beautifullydecorated. For example, the Kalixa makequartz spoons, flint knives, and basalt drinkingcups, emerald broom handles, granite tiaras,and amber buttons for their tunics. To theoutsider, these collected items make littlesense, except that they bring good value onmarkets elsewhere.

LanguageKalixa are fluent in High or Low Talislan,

Quan, and the Elder Tongue. They speak amixture of these tongues depending on whichis best suited to express their thoughts. Theywill try to stick with one language whentalking to outsiders, but old habits die hard andconversations may be very confusing.

DefencesThe Kalixa are a peaceful race, unwilling

to harm others for the change it brings. Thereis no military among the Kalixa, but the time-affecting and thaumaturgical powers of theKeepers are suited to deal withmost situations.

CommerceThe Kalixa are not interested in trade.

Their race is self-supporting in their chosenhabitat, and they have no wish to introducenew things in their society. Likewise, theKalixa are not keen on giving away theiritems, for the insecurity of what they might beused for outside the Colourful Caverns. Intheir own way, however, the Kalixa aregenerous people and will reward anyone whohelps them to further their cause.

World ViewEver since the Great Disaster, the Kalixa

race has been recuperating from their effort tobring stability into the world again. Keepershave kept their race within the safe confines ofthe Colourful Caverns to isolate them from therest of the world until they are strong enoughto take a more prominent place in the worldagain. While most Keepers have their handsfull maintaining stasis around their homes, anincreasing number of Keepers travel into theworld to do their work there. To avoidunwanted attention, travelling Keepers usuallypose as Gnomekin.

CICZ SPRING AND THE

MANDALAN STREAMEver since their owners' enslavement by

the Quan, the Sunra dragon barques have beenunder tight control. The Quan regulate allnaval activities within their waters and exploitthe Sunra as sailors and shore crew. As havemost races in the Eastern Lands, the Sunrahave organised a passive resistance against theQuan domination. Almost-forgotten Sunra lorementions more rivers that connect to theInland sea beyond those on the surface. Theseare the Cicz Spring and the Mandalan Stream.While the dragon barque ruled the easternwaters, no one bothered to find out wherethese waters ran, or if they even existed.Pushed to find new ways, these names wereremembered, and their locations found.


The Cicz SpringOn the bottom of the Inland Sea, hidden

among forests of sea weed, the Sunra found astrange mausoleum: a big, square block ofjade with a large hole in the centre. Built fromjade and overgrown with coral, it is difficult tonotice unless someone knows what to look for.The thing that gives its existence away is astrong current emerging from the hole.Swimming into the mausoleum against thecurrent reveals four graves in the walls of thecircular opening. The graves are marked withthe High Talislan symbols for C, I, C, and Z.Whoever these people were has been lost intime. From the graves, the tunnel continuesdown into the very bones of Talislanta in asouthwest direction. It takes a skilled swimmerto continue against the ever increasing currentinto the dark depths. The tunnels ends in anunderground spring that is so turbulent it lookslike it’s boiling. The wild currents pull theswimmer every which way if he lets go of themetal rungs that have been fastened in theceiling of this pressure dome. The unluckyvictim’s chances of survival are small at best.The rungs lead to another tunnel throughwhich another stream of water is forced out ina southern direction. Shooting like an arrowthrough the water, the swimmer willeventually leave through an exit in a rock onthe bottom of the Bay of Cicz. It’s a roughjourney, and occasionally travellers do notmake it, but it allows the Sunra a route forcovert activities away from the prying eyes ofthe Quan and their Kang guards.

The Mandalan StreamThe danger of discovery is greater on the

more easily travelled Mandalan Stream. Mostwho know if this short, underground stream'soutlet in the sewers of Jacinth believe itoriginates from a spring in the Quan Forest.The truth, however, is that the MandalanStream branches off below ground from abend in the Shan River that turns fromnorthwest to north. Like Cicz spring, thisstream is completely submerged and can onlybe travelled by aquatic species. Unlike Ciczspring, though, the Mandalan Stream is calmand poses no danger other than the fact that

both of its ends lie in plain view for anypassing Quan or Kang to see.

THE RAJAN CONNECTIONOver the years, many entrepreneurs have

undertaken mining expeditions into the JadeMountains. Some have conducted successfuloperations for several years, but in the end, allof them became the victims of raids by Chanawitchmen or ‘misunderstandings’ with theNagra or Rajan spies. From the mountain cityof Irdan, the Rajan have always been lookingfor secret ways into the Quan empire. Nonehave been found that can be used to quicklymove large companies of troops for a surpriseattack, but following the difficult hollows thatrun deep down this mountain range, severalconnections have been found and usedsuccessfully for spying activities.

The Rajan Connection is a difficult path totravel, and the Rajans maintain a well-trainedsquad of spies who are expert speleologistsspecifically for this strategic resource. It’s aconstant climbing of steep rocks, jumpingnarrow chasms, wriggling around stalagmitesand taking short dives to the next section.Leather bags made watertight with wax or oilare a speleologist's most prized possessiondown there. Not only are they good forkeeping food and spare clothes dry, they alsokeep lights dry, can be used to search for airchambers when underwater and provide someprotection against sharp rocks. Navigation isnot a problem as such, for, if any, there isusually only one way to go and it’s not goingto be an easy road. A few major obstacles, likewide chasms or too narrow tunnels, have beentaken care of by means of twin-rope bridges orcutting out additional moving space. Despitethe wealth for which the Jade Mountains areknown, none of the famous black diamonds orgold is to be found at this depth. Instead, thefossilised bones of extinct creatures arenumerous here and suggest that once there wasroom for life. These days, the life formsencountered may in fact be more dangerous.

In addition to spying activities, the HighCouncil of the Nihilist Cult has explorers on a


constant search for the sealed sanctuary ofUrmaan. This sanctuary supposedly containsthree thousand chests of arcane goods and(they hope) also some indication of whereUrmaan hid his one hundred and forty volumeTranscripts, filled with ancient lore of blackmagic. Ever since the legendary magician'sdisappearance, Chasmrock has been a likelycandidate. The black depths of the manydeadly chasms that tear through this mountainare the ideal hiding place if one could find asafe way down. Rather than a safe way down,it is conceivable that the access to thesanctuary might instead be a safe way up fromthe Rajan Connection. If this is true, not onlyhas it been sealed, but hidden as well, and isno doubt protected by powerful wards andforbidden curses.

SECRETS TAKEN TO THE

GRAVEThe Greylands are the ideal battlefield and

have seen repeated violence from theForgotten Age onwards. The places are scarcewhere digging deep enough wouldn’t revealfragments of an old helmet or the tip of anarrow from one ancient civilisation or another.What is of more interest to the undergroundtraveller, however, are the remnants of ancienttrenches, siege tunnels, burial mounds andforts. Left to their own devices after the battle,the organic parts of these feats of engineeringdecayed. Where sand and dust settled andbecame hard enough to carry weight beforethe structure collapsed, tunnels were createdand forgotten. If the rumbling feet of landdragons didn’t cause their collapse, many suchtunnels must still exist in the soil of theGreylands. None of these territories aremapped and only a fraction of them are knowneven to the Vajra. To persistent adventurers,these grounds may reveal some of the secretsthat the soldiers of old have taken to theirgraves. With luck, it might even be worth theeffort and a couple of pick axes.

ROOT CANALS

Madness! If you really want to gounderground in the swamps, then you can stepout of this boat and just wait for a while.

Anonymous Gnomekin engineer

Because they are ill-suited for tunnelling,wetlands, swamps, and jungles remain largelyuncharted by the Gnomekin. Be that as it may,tunnels do exist in various forms, from hollowgiant trees, fallen over and sunk in the mud, towaterways roofed over by mangrove air roots.Most knowledge that has been written downoriginates from tales of traders andadventurers who visited those lands.

DEODAR SUBWAYSTime is a strange thing in the western

rainforests. The Green Men may not see it thatway; for civilised people, the rhythms of thejungle are impossible to understand. Where aflower may bloom for only one night in a year,a giant deodar can stand for ages. But when itstime comes, such a tree comes down with amagnificent crash in mere seconds. Then ittakes days, weeks at the very most, until it iscompletely grown over again by other junglevegetation and disappeared from sight andforgotten.

Or is it? There is little that can topple agiant deodar, unless it has been eaten awaycompletely from the inside and lost theconnection with its root system. A commontropical storm will then break it like a match.It is unknown what eats at the core of thedeodars, but it’s a fact that only the marrow iseaten and the tough, durable bark is left alone.The remains of the unfortunate tree becomes agiant hollow tube hidden in the floor of therainforests.


The Green Men leave these subwaysalone, but all manner of insects and beastsmake their homes in them. And where there’sfood to be had, there are predators all the wayup the food chain that use them to get fromone place to another. Thus, these giant tubeshave come to form a badly-connected networkof hidden subways through the rainforest.

LOST TREASURESAccording to Zandir legend, the eastern

junglelands, now the domain of the Azahu,were once ruled by the Baratus, a submen raceof pirates. Upon capturing a windship, theBaratus’ reign of the region really began. Theycaptured more windships and became theterror of many Archaen societies until theirsudden and complete disappearance followingthe Great Disaster. The Baratus revered twothings, true elementals, which were their gods,and treasure, especially magic items. Themountains and cliffs of the eastern junglelandssupposedly hold the lost remains of Baratussettlements. Suspicious as all pirates are, it iscertain that the Baratus didn’t leave theirtreasures unguarded and for all to see whenthey were out raiding.

Each Baratus crew had its own port of callin the jungle, be it in the form of a stonetemple, a hidden lake, or a large cave in a cliffside, or anywhere they could moor a fair-sizedairship away from prying eyes. Some of thesemay be the unknown ruins that legend placesin the Azahu lands. Each crew made sure thattheir stash would be locked away safely. Withplentiful pickings in the rest of the continent, itwould be against pirate etiquette to raid eachother’s hideout, but each society has its rotteneggs, especially if most of the eggs don’t smelltoo fresh to start with. But, wealth drawsadventurers like a moth to a flame and theBaratus figured that they might as well burnthemselves. Each Baratus lair is riddled withtraps and it would not be beyond a geniuscaptain to trap some of the obvious traps aswell just to be sure. Like the Baratus piratesthemselves, the traps tend to be of thespectacular kind, like fireballs, ceilings

coming down, poisonous gas pouring in, andthe like. Some traps are technically advancedand suggest the hand of a Yassantechnomancer. Whether the Baratus took themas part of the crew or as prisoners is unknown.The Azahu quickly found out that they didn’thave enough patience to figure out how todisarm the traps, and they leave the Baratushideouts alone. Nowadays, many of theselocales are the favoured residences of BatMantas.

To maintain contact in case somethinghappened to a crew’s airship, the Baratuscreated underground connections betweentheir hideouts. These tunnels are only slightlyless dangerous than the ones leading to thevaults. Apparently, trust didn’t come cheaplyamong the different crews. Apart from themany traps, these tunnels are easy enough totravel. They are dug out large enough for twogrown men to walk easily side by side. Atintersections, symbols indicate where eachtunnel leads, although knowledge of theBaratus symbology was lost when the racewas cut off from Talislanta.

THE SEA FLOOR TUNNELIn the ocean south of the Mog swamps lies

the small rocky island of Gao-Din. Now anindependent kingdom, it started its inhabitedexistence as a penal colony of the oldPhaedran empire. Far from the mainland andwith no means to escape, security was toughbut by no means watertight. The prisonerswere able to start mining a tunnel secretly,intending to dig an escape route to themainland safe from the aquademons plaguingthe waters. Exactly how they did this, andwhere they left the large masses of rock theymust have carried out of the mine is anyone’sguess these days. The entrance to this tunnel isas big a secret of the Gao citizenry as theseven passwords required to gain access to thecity. The obvious rumours put it in the Throneof Thieves, the royal house. This being theformer warden’s dwelling makes this highlyunlikely, unless the King of Thieves has hadthe entrance relocated.


Encounters withinthe Root Canals

Use this table for encounter ideas orroll 3d20 for western encounters(Jhangara, Mog, Taz) or 3d20 + 40 foreastern encounters (Dark Coast).

Roll Encounter3 the Horag4 nest of water raknids5 harnessed durge and mudsledge

6-7 Jhangaran mudminers8 wandering river kra9 mung-berry tree

10-11 Jhangaran marsh-hunters12 crystal moth13 black ikshada

14-15 Mogroth16 quaal17 cave bats18 scavenger slime19 Thrall patrol20 polyp-plant21 winged viper22 sulphur tree

23-24 swarm of Tazian flies25 cache of recently mined amber26 stalking swamp mantis

27-28 lost or discarded object29 ambushing exomorph30 amber wasps31 lone Jhangaran outcast

32-33 ravenger34-36 dead end

37 party of Gao treasure hunters38 wounded marsh strider

39-40 makeshift grave41 inquisitive sapient42 slime demon guarding a site

43-44 alatus45 sneaky machakka

46-47 piece of rotting cast-off clothing48 aquatic vasp

49-50 aramatus

(continued)

Tales say that the Gao tunnel goes straightdown a narrow shaft deep into the heart of theisland. It’s a long descent on a ladder ofuneven rusty metal rungs in the granite wall.Apparently, the shaft is narrow enough to feelcramped, but large enough to make a painfuldrop to a certain death when not knowing orforgetting which rungs are loose. From thebottom of the shaft, a horizontal tunnel justhigh enough to let a man walk upright runs ina northern direction. Some stories say that thispart of the tunnel is plated with gold. Otherssay that it’s a maze with a long line of tinydiamonds in the ceiling leading the way out.There are other tales about it being trappedlike a Kasmiran vault and so it must be as wellfilled with treasure too. The only reliable talethat came from the Gao mentions that it leadsback up to a rock in the strait between Gao-Din and the mainland, from where the passageof ships through that straight can easily becontrolled. The secret of this rock is that itholds a magic that can summon sea dragons.Whether the outpost at that tiny island meansthat the prisoners never made it as far as themainland or that they had plans to use themagic of the rock is pure speculation.

THE UNDERGROUND

HIGHWAY - SOUTH BRANCHThe Underground Highway from Vahana

to Targ is but a crude tunnel compared to theSeventh Road. Roughly hewn deep in thegranite bedrock, with air holes letting in themuffy smells and vermin and intrusive plantsof the Tazian jungles, it sees very little traffic.Every year, a Thrall expedition clears thisstretch of the Underground Highway ofunwanted flora and fauna. The rest of the time,travellers have to take care of these nuisancesthemselves. The stairway leading up to thesurface at the Thrall town of Targ is guardedat all times. Allegedly, the exit itself opens upnext to a vicious mangonel lizard’s pen todemoralise any intruders.

From Targ, the Underground Highwayenters the Cinnabar Mountains and follows themountain range to the Tazian capital at Tor.


Encounters withinthe Root Canals

(continued)

51-52 tunnel clogged with tangle of 1-5 normal vines 6-10 stranglevine 11-15 serpentvine 16-20 morphius plants

53-55 pool of stagnant water56-57 line of mudwalkers

58 hungry urthrax59-60 floatfooted centipede colony

61 lurking spider moss plant62 wandering neurovore63 running stream of clean water64 concealed swamp lurker

65-66 violet creeper67 observant tardisite68 caravan bugs69 cluster of resonating crystals70 voltt

71-72 disused lair73 Imrian slavers74 single black lotus plant75 chasm viper76 sudden tunnel collapse77 k'tallah grove78 sudden deluge of water79 angry bog devil

80-81 hunting band of Moorg-wan82-83 tunnel half-full of sticky mud

84 pseudomorph85 carven Baratus symbology

86-87 colony of Green Men88 unoccupied D'Oko dwellings89 mated pair of Scythes90 ancient stone statue91 malathrope92 mantrap plant93 omnivrax

94-95 Ahazu berserkers96 newly summoned plant demon97 badly decayed windship wreck98 bat manta99 hidden/trapped treasure cache

100 iron dragonfly

Most of this tunnel runs fairly high throughthe body of the mountains, and are thereforefree from most jungle-loving pests. Thereexists, however, a species of exomorph thathas adapted to a life in the mountains and thatis known to sometimes wander into the tunnelsthat run through the Cinnabar Mountains.With its grey-brown coat, it blends in with therock perfectly, using the same ambush strategyfor hunting as its jungleborn cousins do. AtTor, the tunnels lead to a well-defended exit inthe city, although the Thrall strategistsconsider the risks of an invasion from that sideas negligible.

From the western Cinnabar Mountains abranch of the Underground Highway extendswest to the Axis river. Bordering the swampsof Mog, this tunnel runs through soft soil,saturated with muddy water. Every once in awhile, a section of wall or ceiling gives awayunder the pressure of the water and floods thetunnel. Depending on the season, the watermay or may not drain out to the Axis riverquickly, and over time it leaves a thick layerof sticky mud that may rise up to waist height.The Thralls have an agreement with theJhangaran mudminers to dregdge all the mudfrom this tunnel every seven years in exchangefor tools and weapons.

ROOT CANALSFrom the Amber river to the Yellow

Marshes the swamps of Mog are surprisinglyrich with trees, in particular the gnarledbombo trees. The wild and often dangerousplant life makes travelling this country all butimpossible. The murky bogs and quagmiresare too thickly packed with root stalks, patchesof bonereed, deadwood and other obstacles towade through, let alone row a canarge or othersmall vessel. That’s all good and well for thetree dwelling Mogroth, but it would seriouslyimpede travel for any visiting parties if not forThystram’s casual remarks on the floatfootedcentipede. This small creature’s many feet endin tiny air sacks that allow them to move onthe water’s surface. The famous naturalistnoted that the swamp’s dense obstacle course


Root Canalsin the Swamps of Mog


seriously hindered these insects, yet they areable to travel great distances quickly byseeking the shelter of the tangled roots ofcertain bombo trees. Little did he suspect thesecret of the root canals.

The giant bombo trees have aerial rootsthat stand in big curves away from the trunk.These roots easily span a distance of five toten feet before they dip into the water. Wherethe bombo trees grow in high densities, thisresults in spectacularly tangled knots of treesthat can entertain a Mogroth for hours, simplyhanging from a tree looking at the strangepatterns. In less densely overgrown areas thatdon’t enthral the Mogroth enough to go theremuch, roots capture a large space and keep itfree from other botanic intruders. Covered bymoss, algae, broken reeds, and dead bomboleaves, these roots form the frame over astrange series of interconnected canals. Thesetunnels are large enough to accommodatesmall rowing boats and its occupants don’teven have to duck with every other root toavoid bumping their head. The overgrown roofof dead or rotting organic material hides anytravellers from plain view. While it also keepsout some of the many nasty bugs that inhabitthe region, it unfortunately keeps in the sleep-inducing scents of the Morphius plant, thehallucinogenic pollen of the black lotus, andother botanic dangers. It’s an interestingquestion for naturalists why these airbornetoxins don’t affect the floatfooted centipedes,yet have caused the early death of many avisiting adventurer.

THE MUDMINES OF KARANSKMining mud is a filthy job, but someone’s

got to do it. Most Talislantans are glad it’s theJhangarans and not them. The products of thatfilthy job though—sapphires, amber andgold—are much in demand and once out ofJhangara their muddy past is quicklyforgotten. Karansk, like any Jhangaransettlement is a cesspool. It is populated bygrey-clad mudminers frequently drunk oncheap alcohol and unpredictable. When sober,some individuals can be relied on to take anadventurer on a return trip through the

marshes to the mudmines. The majority ofmudmines are open pit mines. The mud is dugaway in a funnel-shaped pattern and sieved forbits of amber, valuable stones or gold nuggets.This goes on until the outer edge becomes tooweak and the whole mine floods with mud anddebris. This often happens when a Jhangaranis too drunk to care where he digs and quite afew mudminers’ gold mines suddenly becametheir graves.

Among the Jhangarans there are a fewvery experienced mudminers who know whereit is possible to dig shafts into the marsh’sground instead of open pits. This secret ismuch sought after and strongly defendedamong the Jhangarans themselves. All of thesemines can be found along the south bank ofthe Axis river from Karansk back to thebifurcation of the river, and from there furtherupriver along the east bank until the borderwith Taz. Occasionally, this last stretch hasbeen the conflict between some moreentrepreneurial Mogroth and Jhangaranmudminers. The fact that this nominally isMog territory doesn’t seem to bother theJhangarans. The dredging of the swamps bythe Mogroth puts the relative safety of themudmines at risk of flooding, which in turndoesn’t appear to cause much arousal amongthe Mogroth. Arguments have been settled byforce as well as by sharing a cask of grog,which only serves to illustrate theincomprehensible minds of both races.

The secret to the underground mudminesseems to lie in a mysterious cavern that existsbelow the humid soil of the swamps justbeyond the fork in the Axis river. This cavernis full of resonating crystals, with aremarkably large portion of them beingsapphires. Apart from their usual unsettlingprojection of sounds from other resonatingcrystals all over Talislanta, these crystals alsoproject a stabilizing force along the east bankof the river upstream and the south bankdownstream in south-eastern direction. Noother places along the banks of the Axis arestable enough to allow underground mining.Jhangaran mudminers who know about shaft


mining learned about this cavern the hard way.When they first found it, it seemed too good atreasure mine not to pillage. As they did so,the majority of mine shafts along both arms ofthe river collapsed that same day. These days,the Jhangarans avoid that cave as if it were theHorag’s lair.

SHIFTINGSANDS ANDANCIENTTALES

From the Seven Kingdoms there areseveral well-known, though risky, connectionsinto the Wilderlands. Emmo Ebono travelledmost of them in the company of the Danelekguide Vi-Po-Lek. History has many legends ofthe ancient cities and the curses that befellthem. These legends and some evidenceexisting today allow one to speculate over theexistence of tunnels in the northernWilderlands. Desert sand is no good fordigging tunnels. That is, unless you employpowerful thaumaturges. There must be plentyof secrets buried beneath the Red Desert. Forthe Rajans, whose much more rocky desertlacks all that, it’s just another excuse to wagewar against the Dracartans.

SUBTERRANEAN SALT

TUNNELSThe widespread craggy hills of the

Barrens are riddled with undergroundpassageways and caverns of various origin.The alkaline rock formations don’t rise highbut go very deep instead. This region of theUnderground Highway is the home of theunlikely company of earth demons, Enim andDanelek. The Enim and Danelek use the caves

and tunnels near the surface. Deep down dwellthe earth demons. Caves within hills areusually interconnected, and deep belowground many hills have tunnels runningbetween them. Caves in the Barrens hills arehuge but with relatively small, inconspicuousentrances. Even in the dim light, the alkalinerock glitters in a mixture of white, yellow andblue light from the crystalline sediments ofsalt, sulphur and copper. Even a tiny lightsource is reflected all through the cave ortunnel. This makes travelling through thesecaves and tunnels easy, if not safe, as less thanfriendly creatures get an early warning. In thetops of some hills are huge caverns that are the

With a Grain of Salt

There is a Danelek tale about ayoung explorer from the western landswho ventured into the caves of theBarren Hills. He was searching for saltcrystals, hoping to find some outside theDanelek territories. When he foundnothing in the outer caves, he wentdeeper into the hills. After a while heheard the most awful singing in theworld, which suddenly stopped. Hedimmed his lantern and went oncarefully until he stood in a cave wherea magnificent feast was laid out. A largetable was filled with several pieces ofsteaming, juicy meat on the bone, smallbowls with boiled eggs, cold liversausage and some spicy pies. The smellsmade his mouth water as he looked overthe scene, when suddenly he was liftedup into the air by the collar of his coat.The Enim who caught him considered ithis lucky day to catch the ingredients foranother such meal, for that was what thedinner was made of. Not in a hurry, theEnim invited his victim to join him andthe explorer was only too glad not to bekilled right away. They passed the timewith drinking and gambling, until theexplorer had lost all his money.

(continued)


With a Grain of Salt(continued)

The Enim got angry that his gamewas over so quickly. Hoping to postponehis death, the explorer offered to bet thesecret location of the best wine in allTalislanta against his life. Unable toresist the lure of such an enjoyable secret,the Enim agreed. As a wager, they bothwrote down their best estimate of thenumber of crystals on the walls of thecave on a pebble and put them in a sealedjar. Then the Enim, who didn’t needsleep, started counting. After two days,the Enim came to counting the back wall,and the explorer took his chance andmade his escape. In his fury, the Enimconjured a massive blaze of fire aroundhim and threw it after his victim. In thescorched cave with its now entirely blackwalls, the sealed jar cracked open by theheat, revealing the explorer’s stone witha zero on it. The Enim had to let theexplorer go now, and he made his wayout safely to tell this tale to a Danelekguide. Unfortunately, the Danelek whoheard the tale had no love for wine andthe secret location of the best wine in allTalislanta got lost in the telling.

preferred lairs of Enim.

Despite their richness in alchemical salts,few mines have been opened in these hillsbecause of the Enim threat. A quickexpedition led by an experienced Danelekguide can recover a wealth of ores bytraversing the heart of the hills from cave tocave. The Danelek have a good knowledge ofthis part of the Underground Highway andknow how to interpret signs of danger.Shortage of food is not a problem, as thesecaves are the mating grounds of rock urchins.Water, however, is extremely hard to find.Whatever water is available is bound incrystalline sediments and must be extracted byalchemical or magical means.

Near the heart of the Barrens, the cavesbecome fewer, smaller, darker and furtherapart, with less crystalline sediment to reflectlight. Earth demons tunnel deep beneath thesurface of the Barrens. They can tunnel at willand move through the earth wherever theyplease and for whatever purpose motivatesthem. This random digging is another riskfactor to careless travellers. These tunnelswere not built for long-term service and can bequite unstable. Nevertheless adventurers areattracted to the gemstones left behind by theearth demons after digestion of the rocks andminerals. The strong presence of earth demonsand Enim suggests the existence of at least oneportal to the nether planes of the Omniversedeep below the Barrens. Several tunnelsconnect to the Dead River between theObsidian Mountains and Kasmir. Some verydeep tunnels are rumoured to pass below theDead River straight into the Darklands.

THE URKRA MYSTERYThe Maruk mountain range contains a

remarkable geographical feature. Between itspeaks runs an enormous canyon called SerpentPass. It is said that in ancient times, agargantuan creature fell down from the skiesonto the tops of the Maruk Mountains. Thiswas the legendary Urkra, from which all kradescended. Serpent Pass is the timeworn trailof the Urkra, by which it made its way down

from the mountains. When it reached groundlevel, it continued to dig and disappearedforever. Near the western end of the passthere’s a hole in the ground over a hundredfeet in diameter, its edges smoothened byerosion. After rainfall, this hole becomes achurning whirlpool as all the precipitationfrom the mountains gathers in Serpent Pass,becoming a torrent down towards it. These arearid lands, but when it rains, the effects aredevastating. In dry times, the ground aroundthe hole shows the spiral marks of the vortex,and the hole is an easy entrance to theUnderground Highway. After a vertical dropof about a hundred feet, the hole splits intofour large tunnels that go deeper into the


ground in opposite directions. Each of thesetunnels quickly becomes a labyrinth of largedrains to get rid of the water. Deeper downsome tunnels show the markings of being ofland kra origin, but it is difficult to distinguishthem from natural water drains. It is easy toget lost in these tunnels. The many sidetunnels connecting each other, the manycurves and slopes of various steepness arevery disorienting. Despite its vastness, thislabyrinth seems to be home to only few landkra, but those are inevitably far above averagesize and usually approach from the depths. Norecords exist about how deep these tunnels go,nor whether a creature like the Urkra mightstill exist.

Numenia LostThe Marukans claim that they descended

from the ancient Numenians. Numenia, the“city of faith”, was built in the southernmostpeak of the Maruk Mountains in the era of theArchaen empire. It is said that it was a city ofbeautiful ornate religious buildings, dedicatedto the god Ikon. The Numenians worshippedenchanted objects as holy items invested withdivine power. The most holy among those wasan idol shaped in the image of the god.Eventually the city was destroyed byearthquakes and buried when the mountainssurrounding it came crashing down during theGreat Disaster. Now and then temple artefactsturn up, like prayer wheels, icons, and magicalobjects with religious inscriptions. Severalexpeditions have tried to find the ancient city,but none led to its discovery. Ever since theancient war with the Torquarans, the groundsaround the city carried deadly poison. Theland kra avoid these rock masses and theUrkra labyrinth does not extend anywherenear Numenia’s grave. Any artefacts found inthe area should be treated with extreme carebecause of the poisonous taint of the area.

THE BROKEN CHASMSThe Kharakhan Wastes and the

Plaguelands are broken by ragged chasms.Some are ancient canyons where once riversflowed. Others were created when the Great

Disaster tore apart the earth. Newly formedunderground crevices brought together waterfrom the Golarin Plains and an unstable lavastream from the Volcanic Hills, and the wildmagic did the rest. The resulting chemistry atethrough rock and created a series of tunnelsleading from the chasm floors to connect bothrealms from which the streams originated.Travelling these tunnels seems deceptivelyeasy. They are large enough for a normal manto walk through, and they don’t wind so muchas to lose orientation. The floors are rough, butnot so much as to require climbing overboulders and ridges. Most tunnels don’texceed ten miles in length before they end upin another chasm. Each entrance reveals thewicked red and blue flamed rock created in theburning creation of the tunnels. The risks lie inthe unstable alchemical composition of thefloors and walls with a touch of residual wildmagic left. A step on such a site is likewalking on thin ice; it can break any momentand engulf the unlucky victim in anundesirable substance. Disturbing theprecarious balance can result in anything froman explosion of red and blue shards of flintstone to a boot being stuck in instantlyhardened concrete or a piece of the wallturning into a mirror-smooth patch of amber.This feature has made these tunnels a place ofpilgrimage for alchemists. For otheradventurers, these are risks to overcome insearch of the catacombs of the ancientfortress-city of Kharakhan.

The Purple SeaSouth of the Kharakhan Wastes, the

magical cocktail was stronger and ate its waydeeper into the ground of the Plaguelands.There, it melted a layer of rock over an area ofmany, many miles, which filled with a toxicfluid as the magic subsided. Eventually apurple subterranean sea was created, withseveral tunnels leading away from its northernrocky shore. In the south, many creeks lead upto fens on the Sursian plains. At least oneblack tunnel approaches the ruins ofTorquaran, but comes to a sudden end severalmiles short of the former city. Nothing stirs inthe Purple Sea, which is as smooth as a mirror.


It can be crossed like any other sea, but shipsdon’t leave a wake and oars don’t causeripples. Like the Plaguelands above, it isbelieved that any living thing that crosses thePurple Sea will be changed or transformed insome unpredictable manner. The sea itself istoxic, although its effects are inconsistent.Taking the water of the Purple Sea out of itsunderground dome causes it to transform intoa harmless but fragrant purple liquid thatmakes a desired ingredient in expensiveperfumes and magical potions.

THE KHARAKHAN CATACOMBSSituated in the north of the Kharakhan

Wastes lie the ruins of the vast fortress-city ofthe Drakken, a giant reptilian race of the earlyArchaen age. Although little is left of thebuildings above, the underground catacombsbelow the central dome are mostly intact,despite the ravages of time and the coming ofother civilizations. Built to supply an armycamp, these catacombs were built as ahoneycomb grid. High, square corridors,roughly hewn out in the bedrock, connecthuge, undecorated halls that served as storagespace, armoury, training halls and defensivestructures to the Drakken. These halls havesuffered their share of pillaging over thecenturies, but these expansive structures arelikely to still contain many ancient treasures.These catacombs are level and stable; fewhave collapsed. This made them easilyaccessible for wild animals and other creaturesto make them their home, despite thepersistent rumours of the catacombs beinghaunted by the spirits of long-dead Drakken.Most fearsome among these spirits would be agiant reptile with glowing nails on its clawsthat slowly cause anyone wounded by them toslowly change into a reptilian form. Whetherthe story is true that unscrupulous historianshad someone suffer this fate in order to see ifthe unfortunate one could translate theDrakken glyphs remains unverified. TheKharakan catacombs are the most northernterminal of the Underground Highway inthe Wilderlands.

THE ARCHAEN MARCHWAYMany scholars studied the legends of the

Dragon Wars in the early Archaen age, yetmany issues remain unresolved or unverified.Among them is a record on a fragile scroll thattells about the strategies used in thepreparation for the second Dragon War. It isthe only reference to an underground tunnelused to march a large army close to Golarinunseen. According to the scroll, disabling theWatchstone brought in the element of surprise,but only if the troops were so close that theDrakken wouldn’t have time to organise theirdefence. No Drakken scouts could see thetroops before it was too late. To this end, thewizards and engineers of Phandril created asubterranean marchway, a tunnel running fromPhandril, what is now the Hadjin ruins,straight north to Golarin, allegedly locatedbeneath the ruins of Four Nations. Themarchway would be an arched tunnel with apaved floor, wide enough to accommodatethree platoons marching alongside in regularformation. It would have to be dug deepenough to muffle the sounds and vibrations ofso many marching boots, yet not so deep thatit would require an exhausting climb back tothe surface shortly before the attack. It hasbeen speculated that the Archaen marchwaywould probably have had its exit in thenorthern slopes of the Maruk mountains. If so,it probably disappeared when the GreatDisaster levelled many of the peaks in thismountain range. Although strategists agreethat it would have greatly improved theirchances of success, to build a structure of thatmagnitude in such a short period of timewithout leaving a trace is beyond anyone’sskill today and maybe ever. Whether or not itcontributed to the victory over the Drakken,no trace of the marchway has ever been found.

THE CARANTHEAN VAULTSAll engineers, including the Yassan, will

say that the Red Desert is not a good place fortunnels. The scarlet sand is too loose tosupport tunnels, the porous rock underneathtoo weak, and while it might be possible to digin the bedrock below that, creating a stable


entrance through the upper layers just isn’tworth the effort with the frequent sand storms.Opposing the engineer’s view in this matter, atleast in theory, are the thaumaturges ofDracarta. The secrets of their art allow them tostabilize desert sand, to reinforce rock and togassify stone and blow it out to create tunnels.No doubt such efforts have been made for thedefence of the city, but the quantities ofquintessence needed to create a substantialnetwork of tunnels is beyond the capacity oftoday’s thaumaturges. The powerful mages ofbygone eras wielded enough power toaccomplish such enterprises with success andthey did. In the city of Drakarta several vaultshave been found that were created bythaumaturgy, and each of these held valuabletreasures. One of the tomes discovered inthese vaults mentions that not all wizards inthe Archaen era trusted that their treasureswould be safe in the sky cities, with so manyskilled mages not being beyond a little spyingand pilfering to learn their neighbour’s secrets,even with the harsh punishments should theybe caught. This led to the creation of secretvaults in the ground, in violation of theagreement with the sub-men. A thaumaturgethese days would be skilled enough to lead anexpedition to the vaults, should any bediscovered.

THE ANCIENT RUINSRuins of forgotten eras are scattered

across the wilderlands of Talislanta. Twoseparate corridors of the UndergroundHighway connect these ancient cities. Onegoes from the Ruins of Osmar through thePlains of Golarin to the ruins of the FourNations. From there a branch leads throughthe Maruk Mountains, and presumably lead toburied Numenia. The Underground Highwaycontinues to the Orogovian and Torquaranruins until it reaches the Purple Sea beyondwhich the Kharakhan wastes and ruins lie. Theother corridor runs from the ruins of Kasraanto the Hadjin ruins and continues through theTopaz Mountains to the Old City of Ashann.Although called corridors, these Archaentunnels are barely worth the name. Given thepride of the cities of that time, they probably

were little inclined to build strongunderground connections that wouldcontribute little to the splendour of the citiesor the egos of their inhabitants. Except for thetunnels near Kasraan, the corridors are narrow

A Thaumaturge's Vault

The Archaen tome discoveredbelow Dracarta relates the story of themage Famorin, a thaumaturge of someskill, but unable to master the art ofwarding. Having been the victim of aburglar, who could not be found evenwith thaumaturgical forensics, hedescended from his home in the skycity of Pompados to the Red Desert andstarted his work. To shield his workfrom prying eyes, he erected a wall ofshimmering air, giving any activity theillusion if being a mirage. Afterclearing a patch of rock from its sandycover, he started evaporating a smalltunnel into the rock. From here, the texthas become largely illegible due todecay, but there is mention of aninvisible bridge of solid air, doorsconcealed by a curtain of gaseous earth,a stairway of gold of which one step isliquified and drops the intruder into theabyss below, a room lit by candles ofsolid flame that cast confusingshadows, a pool covered with icy flamebut with a three-dimensional mazethrough the water below, and of acrystal ferry to cross a waterfall, butalso of magic gone wrong. There’s ariver to cross with water so hot you canforge iron in it, a chamber filled withsolid air that turns into a thunderstormif transformed back to gas, and one ofthe many statues would be the wizardhimself after a solidification backfired.According to the tome, this vault islocated near the oasis south of Nadan,should any daring explorersbe interested.


and low, and dug with little attention tomaking travel comfortable. In many places,the soil was not stable enough to construct anatural tunnel and had to be reinforced bymagic. Over time, many such spells lost theirpower, creating major obstacles along theroad. From other parts of the Wilderlands,creatures have found or forced access intothese corridors and taken residence there forshorter or longer periods of time.Consequently, it is hard to predict whatdangers may be encountered there besides theobvious presence of Satada, malathropes,urthrax, chasm vipers, and crag spiders, norwhat treasures may be found except theremains of unlucky adventurers that wentthere before.

The Ruins of OsmarFrom the Dead River, several tunnels

approach the ancient ruins of Osmar. Thosewho dare to face the curse of Osmar, thatallegedly is bad enough to drive away allwould-be residents, and the substantialbeastmen menace, face a city that still containsa myriad of treasures. The most prominentamong those treasures are the blue ironweapons and suits of armour. These days, blueiron is only available in the Eastern Lands, byVajra who know how to extract it from thefeathers of the ironshrike and the shrieker. Thecity had a reputation as the main centre forartificers and enchanters, who no doubt tookgood care to store their valuables in safeplaces that would stand the test of time. Blueiron was such a common sight in Osmar that itis impossible that a bird’s feathers providedenough of that precious metal to satisfy theneed of the Osmarans. Indeed, besides thecorridor to the cities in the east, tunnels havebeen dug in magically aligned patterns belowthe city that may well have been miningshafts. These mining shafts go straight downto unfathomable depths and some even claimthey are bottomless. If any blue iron ore is tobe found deep down below the city, itinevitably requires a good deal of magic tobring it up into the city. Like the Black Pit ofNarandu, who knows what horrors may lurkso deep in the earth.

Ruins of the Four NationsThe Four Nations were built over the ruins

of the Drakken capital of Golarin. Their rulersconstructed fortified palaces from thematerials they found in the ruins, boasting tohave underground vaults protected againstthieves by magic and supernatural guardians.Given the military importance of Golarin, it islikely to have had the same undergroundhoneycomb construction of tunnels and hallsas the Drakken base at Kharakhan. Theunderground vaults would have had to beconstructed within the ancient sublevels ofthat vast city. The War of the Four Nationsand the subsequent pillaging by thenecromancer king and Phaedran explorersdestroyed everything. Today, no records existthat make mention of an entrance to the vaults.Their existence is openly doubted by somescholars, but odds are that extremely rare andvaluable treasure still lie buried somewherewithin those catacombs, waiting for someonesmart or lucky enough to discover a way intothe vaults. Even if the true treasure is notfound, many common and uncommon toolsare to be found among the remains of theancient settlements. For those with an eye onthe markets in major Talislantan cities, itmight be worth the risk of bumping in abeastmen enclave in search of lost plaques orscrolls on which Phaedran notes aboutpowerful magic spells are written.

Orgovian RuinsThe once rich city-state of the Orgovians

never was a big settlement, and the Orgoviansnever dug deeper down than was needed fortheir cellars and the royal dungeon. It is in thelatter that the Orgovians discovered thecorridor of the Underground Highway. Theroyal dungeon is nothing remarkable in itself,but before the Great Disaster levelled the citythe Orgovians explored the length and breathof this corridor, and many paintings of theirtravels decorate the walls of the corridor. Asworks of art they are worthless, but as a sourceof information about the UndergroundHighway it might be priceless for all the long-forgotten secrets the paintings may reveal ifone knows what to look for. The Orgovians


broke completely with their past, and it isunlikely that they went back to draw up acatalogue of these paintings for sale, despitethe worth of such a tome to undergroundexplorers and treasure hunters, not to mentionthe scholars at the Geological Repositoryin Durne.

Ruins of TorquaranThe corridor to Torquaran ends abruptly

several miles south of the city’s ruins. A shortramp leads up to the surface, where theremains of a Torquaran guard post indicatethat they must have seen significant use in thepast. Little of this cursed city still stands andmaybe that’s just as well. Historians havecollected much information about its darkhistory. Although most of it had better beenforgotten, their documents still point to a greatmany isolated subterranean tombs, prisons,ritual chambers and vaults beneath the ruins.There does not seem to exist a propersubterranean structure beneath the city.Perhaps this is in line with the apparentpurpose of their other defensive structures, tokeep inhabitants in rather than to keep enemiesout. For lovers of subterranean exploration,the ruins of Torquaran have little to offer.

The Ruins of KasraanLike Osmar, the ruins of Kasraan can be

reached through several tunnels from the DeadRiver. A city of merchants, its soil is home toan enormous collection of catacombs, vaultsand tombs. Like tales of the city above speak,though maybe in exaggeration, of “streetspaved with gold” and “towers of jade thatreached the sky,” the catacomb roads belowthe city allegedly consisted of rows of “silverdomes resting on ruby pillars” and familyvaults were separated from the undergroundalleys by “sculpted blue adamant gates laid inwith perfect moonstones.” Much of theunderground city is still intact. In the palatialquarters of the city, the underground roadsconsist of canals lined with narrow pavements.Now dried up, these canals are littered withthe accumulated junk of ages. Creatures likethe urthrax thrive here like the vermin theyfeed on. Plunderers have removed most of the

valuables from the catacombs with completedisrespect of the finer laws of engineering, andseveral sections have become very unstable asa result. Many of the vaults that can bereached still haven’t been breached and as faras it is possible to tell with the limitedknowledge of the current era, the complicatedmechanisms that require both luck, skill andthe right combination of magical “key” itemsshould still be functioning. It is equally likelythat the ancient curses are still holding strongthat would allow the mummified rulers in theirrich tombs to rise and destroy anyone invadingtheir peace in search of treasure.

During the uprising of the submen tribes,the Kasirans built their iron dragons, largearmoured vehicles that were powered bymagic, to maintain their trade operations withother cities. In addition to these costlyautomatons, they worked intensively onmaking the Underground Highway a suitablealternative to overland travel. Unfortunatelyfor them, the residents of both Phandril andAshann had their minds on the stars instead ofthe sand and refused to support this effort. Amagnificent tunnel extends east from Kasraanfor twenty miles, where it falters and returns tothe same narrow, uneven corridor as is foundelsewhere in the Archaen sections of theUnderground Highway.

The Hadjin RuinsThe Archaen city of Phandril looked at the

skies. Builders of sky-scraping residential andofficial pillars, airdocks and colossalmausoleum towers, the first Archaens couldhardly be bothered with the ground, other thanto make sure it was strong enough to supporttheir amazing structures. To prevent the risk ofweakening the fundament of their buildings,no underground spaces were created at all inPhandril. In that same line of reasoning, thecorridor does not reach the city proper, butenters the Topaz Mountain at the first peak itencounters west of the Hadjin ruins. Fromthere, the voyage to the ruins must becontinued on the surface.


The Old City of AshannLike Phandril, the inhabitants of the Old

City of Ashann looked at the skies, or ratherthe stars. A city of astromancers and diviners,they were interested in the ground only as asolid base on which to build their one hundredfeet thick concentric walls. Also like Phandril,the corridor of the Underground Highwaypasses south of the city with exits leading towhere supposedly once a road led to the OldCity. According to legend, the ring-shape ofthe city was designed to reflect certain astralsignificances and accommodate diviningrituals. There have been scholars in the field ofgeomancy who claim the existence of certainpatterns of power lines in the Talislantan soil.If this is true, then the Old City of Ashannmight have been build on a conjunction ofsuch power lines. This school of geomancersunfortunately lacks any interest at all in whatsuch power lines would imply for the presenceof any treasures or ores that might be in theground as a result of this magic. Anyonewilling to overcome the dangerous creaturesand the mysterious wanderers in the Old Cityto dig in the extremely hard soil mightfind out.

THE EMERALD EYEThe Sea of Glass is one of the strangest

phenomena in Talislantan geology. Theexistence of such a body of fused green glassis a miracle to behold, even without knowingthat there are things going on underneath it.That knowledge was obtained by a cabal ofGnomekin crystallomancers after studyingseveral clusters of naturally resonant crystalsfor three decades. Careful triangulation ofknown signals and analysis of unknownsounds led them to believe that there must be ahuge hollow bubble at the bottom of the Sea ofGlass. They dubbed it the Emerald Eye. Thisbubble contains a large outgrowth of resonantcrystals, and based on the sounds issupposedly the realm of an as yet unfamiliarcivilization or is populated with a species ofanimals with vocalisations that resemblehumanoid voices. Unfortunately, the soundswere never clear enough to distinguish the

words, if they were that. It must be a strangeworld down there, a huge cave isolated fromthe rest of Talislanta, with two suns and sevenmoons that all emit a dim green light filtereddown from above. It is uncertain whether theSea of Glass is clear enough to make itpossible to see any movement on its surface.Anyone or anything living here has been ableto do so without interference from outside eversince the Forgotten Age. It is hard to imaginewhat the original inhabitants of Talislantawould be like. Discovering such living historyis the ultimate dream of any historian.However, if an entrance exists in thesurrounding mountains, it has not yet beenfound or else has been lost again. On thewhole of the Underground Highway, theEmerald Eye and the hills surrounding the Seaof Glass make a perfect centre between theOld City of Ashann and the Rajan tunnels intothe Jade Mountains. However, these hills aresurprisingly void of any tunnels.

DEADWOODNo tome about the Underground Highway

can be complete without mention of theDeadwood. Deadwood is easily recognisable,as the picture of a wood of trees plantedupside down in the ground is a unique anddisturbing sight. These black roots that reachto the skies like angry claws can be followedinto the ground by some light digging untilthey reveal black-wooden tunnels. Thesetunnels form a highway of sorts that is not tobe travelled lightly. In theory, this maze oftunnels permeates all through the Omniverseand could thus be used to reach other planes.Infested with plant demons, encounters areinevitable when travelling these tunnels.However, it might well be that the plantdemons are only the lesser evil on the road.With exits throughout the Omniverse, theoccasional resident that got lost in its localdeadwood might well be found wanderinghere. The black-wood tunnels are a twistedmaze themselves, as one would expect a rootsystem to be. It is never a certain thing wherea tunnel leads, if anywhere, and the risk ofbeing lost forever is a real threat in this place.


Black-Wood Tunnels Beneath Deadwood


THE SATADASatada are a semi-nomadic race of

reptilian predators found in hot and aridregions throughout Talislanta. There are largepopulations in Sindar in the Seven Kingdoms,the Wilderlands of Zaran, the Red Desert andthe Kang Empire. They are known to prey ontravellers and to raid isolated settlements andare not afraid to attack creatures up to man-size for food. The Satada know their wayaround the Underground Highway like noother race, and use it to travel all acrossthe continent.

AncestryTheir life underground and their

aggressive nature make it hard to study theSatada culture, but given their reptilian natureand use of the Sauran tongue, it has beenargued they, along with the Saurans and theSauruds, are descendants of the Drakken. TheSatada are not very interested in theirracial history.

SocietySatada are known as nomadic hunters and

warriors, although the distinction is hard tomake for outsiders. Their clan-based society isbuilt along a strict caste system that dependson age. Up to their transformation, hatchlingshave the position of a fiercely protectedtreasure without responsibilities. Duringadolescence, Satada belong to the caste ofhunters. It is their responsibility to make surethat the hatchlings are fed and taken care ofduring evacuation. Other than the hatchlings,members of all castes have to provide theirown food. Adult Satada make the transitioninto the warrior caste. Warriors defend thehatchery cave and the elders, and provide thetools, weapons and other items needed by theclan, usually by raiding travelling parties orsmall settlements. Satada don’t distinguishbetween males and females in the division oftasks. There is no emotional bonding in long-term relationships and couples usually onlyform for a night. Female warriors lay three toten eggs at once, which they leave in the careof the hunter class. Satada hatch in snakeform,

pale-white in colour, with a set of tiny butsharp fangs, and infamous for their insatiableappetite. Hatchlings are not allowed to leavethe hatchery, which often literally looks like ahuge can of worms. Any food captured orkilled is tossed into the hatchery, where it isquickly devoured. When reachingadolescence, hatchlings transform, grow limbsand change colour to green, brown or dark red.The Satada tell about a third caste of elders,former warriors who never visit the surface ofArchaeus again.

CustomsThough primitive, Satada know how to

forge iron into weapons and work leather intoserviceable items like sacks, sheaths andcloaks. The Satada learned to brew a secretdrug to sedate crag spiders so they don’t attackcreatures caught in their webs. The Satadathen use their capture-bows to retreive thecaptives to be fed to their young.

GovernmentSatada who live long enough to become

elders develop a keen sense for the presence ofland kra, which are the arch enemies of theSatada. Every once in a while, land kraactively seek out and attack a Satada hatcheryto supply its diet with essential nutrients that itcan’t find anywhere else. This poses a majorthreat to the continued existence of a clan.When the elders detect a land kra on the hunt,they order the hatchery to be evacuated.Hunters collect the hatchlings in large sacks,not without risk of being seen as foodthemselves, and carry them away. The elderslead them on a long journey far away from thehunting area of the land kra, sometimeshalfway across the continent. Satada warriorstry to slow down the land kra in case it picksup the clan’s trail. Like any situation thatinvolves outsiders, Satada warriors follow thefirst one to take initiative to solve it.

Within the Satada community, disputesare automatically won by the higher caste.Within a caste, Satada usually solve argumentsby trying to impress and threaten each other. If


it comes to actual violence, the fight is to thedeath and the loser is fed to the hatchlings.

Magic and ReligionSatada hate magic and have little affinity

for it themselves. Satada elders believe theyare cursed by a snake goddess, who sends theland kra after their nests and causes them tospawn voracious, snakeform offspring.Nevertheless, the hatchlings have an almostholy status; the clan will do anything to keepthem well fed and protected. When they areforced to move, the elders pray to their deityto lift their curse. Satada elders believe in alegend about a lost shrine to this godsomewhere in the Sindar-Golarin region. Thismay explain the large Satada presence there.Younger Satada are not interested in religion.The dead are fed to the hatchlings withoutfurther ceremony.

The ArtsSatada have little appreciation of art. They

prefer crude forms and massive structures andcare not for fine decorations. Warriors collectsmall trophies that make them look moreimpressive, but they are not interested in theartistic value of the objects themselves.

LanguageSatada share the hissing Sauran tongue

with the Saurans and the Sauruds, indicating acommon Drakken ancestry. The Satada speaka dialect that is characterised by words endingin a clacking sound. It only exists in spokenform, not in writing. Satada names have thatsame hiss ending in a hard sound, likeSheussekk, Ssizhoushantt, Soshfalhokk, andSykhtt. There is are no separate male andfemale names. Clans put their symbol ontunnel walls to mark the borders of theirterritory. It is not unknown for several Satadain a clan to have learned another language ifthey stayed in one area for a longer periodof time.

DefencesSatada warriors are experienced fighters,

having survived the tough training school of

the hunter class. Warriors tend to sticktogether so they have at least a chance againstopponents like the land kra. Hunters areusually encountered in small groups, raidingtravellers and isolated settlements for food forthe hatchlings. They frequently leave anythingelse behind, even if it is of value. Warriorscollect small trophies to decorate themselveswith, as well as useful tools and weapons.

Both hunters and warriors are skilled inthe use of the capture-bow, a heavy andunwieldy weapon, resembling an oversizedcrossbow. The weapon fires a barbed, iron-tipped bolt similar to a harpoon; a rotatingspindle wound with a hundred feet of stoutwhipcord allows the wielder to reel in theunfortunate victim. The Satada prefer to tangletheir victims before engaging in hand-to-handcombat. In a melee, their tail is used both forbalance and as an often underestimatedweapon. Due to their travels, Satada areknown to wield weapons from all over thecontinent. They possess an excellentunderground orientation ability and use this totheir advantage in combat.

CommerceDue to their aggressive nature, Satada

don’t trade with other races. They maintain avery simplistic view of commerce. What theSatada need, they take; what they don’t need isleft behind for others to use. Trade betweenclans is conducted by the elders and consistsmostly of information regarding the locationof land kra and food sources, or the exchangeof clan members.

World ViewSatada have a deep hatred and fear of the

land kra, which like Satada for lunch. Oncebeing tracked by kra, Satada travel longdistances to get rid of them. The Satada seemto divide the rest of the world into twocategories—food and enemies—depending onthe caste to which they belong. Effectively,they are the same thing. Due to their frequentmigration, the Satada come in contact withmany other races, and a clan can possess itemsfrom all over the continent. Abandoned


hatcheries are known to turn up unexpectedtreasures occasionally.

DEEP WHITE

Imagine a tunnel so white that it blinds youlike the sun in the sky.

From Tunnels in Talislanta,a school book for Gnomekin children

Rare bits of information from a greatmany reports pieced together suggest thatNarandu is riddled by tunnels of sorts from theCrystal Mountains in the south to the FarReaches in the north, and from the Black Pit tothe edge of the Trackless Wastes. Collectivelyknown as the Deep White, how many of thesetunnels are actually connected to form ahighway is unknown. The presence of nightdemons, typically found near the Black Pit,but also as far west as Yrmania and as farsouth as the plains of Golarin, suggestextensive connections throughout Narandu. Incontrast, according to the Mirin, L’Haan isnearly void of underground passages, exceptfor the Mirin mines in the HoarfrostMountains.

BLACK AND WHITEFar in hostile territory and swarming with

dangers, most notably night demons, the BlackPit of Narandu remains a mystery to mostTalislantans. Few investigators have broughtback reliable reports to the civilised world. Itis said the Ariane possess the most knowledgeof this phenomenon. It is possible to descendvery, very far into the darkness. An ever-present steam rising from the depths suggestsa body of water, yet the ever-increasing coldas one goes down makes this highly unlikely.Deep down, the very reality of the Black Pitseems to waver. Razor sharp edges protrude

from walls that seem to bend in impossibleangles. Suggestions that this pit contains aportal to Cthonia or the demon realms, or toGelidane, which might be the plane ofelemental cold, or maybe some otherdimension entirely, feel all too real here. The

Slumbering Ice

The Black Passage grows. When itwas still only a rumour, the Snow Queenof L’Haan became worried, and severalyears in a row she sent out Mirin scoutsto investigate this phenomenon. Indeed,the Black Passage grows, much like theblood vessels of a baby growing in itsmother’s womb. Exactly what isgrowing in the Narandu plains isunknown, but if its beating heart is theBlack Pit of Narandu, it is to beexpected that little good can come fromit. Stories of half-digested corpses foundin storage rooms that were abandonedby the ice giants are further cause for arestless sleep.

In a joint effort, the Ariane andMirin have set up a permanentexpedition near the Black Pit to keepwatch over this ill omen. Hidden in acavern in a snow-covered hill, mysticsand priests study the magic surroundingthe Black Pit and the activity of nightdemons. Unable to find any consistentresults at first, the Ariane experimentedwith near-stasis observations. This leadto the discovery that events seem tohappen in a very slow but rhythmicpatterns. Several times now, they havebeen able to correctly predict surges ofnight demon activity in the BlackPassage, which coincides with thesimultaneous appearance of the moonsZar, Leolis and Phandir in their fullmoon phase.

(continued)


Slumbering Ice(continued)

If this constellation is any indication,then it will still be centuries before aproper shape will be recognizable in theformation of the Black Passage, but it islikely that disturbing powers will bemanifesting long before that. If the IceKing is behind such a force, it willrequire an alliance of people to defeatthis threat. Maybe the recent increase inMirin trade parties throughout Talislantais not just the effect of a strong economyin L’Haan that the Mirin claim it to be.

upper levels of the Black Pit are made of rock-hard jet black ice that refuses to melt in naturalflames or heat. This layer is nonetheless full ofopenings all around that look like they are theresult of ice melting. Large cones of black icehang from the base of each opening. Theseopenings are notoriously slippery.

Known as the Dark Passage, a large tunnelof black ice runs east and west from the BlackPit. On bright days, a few parts of this tunnelcan be seen on the surface as a black line deepwithin the ice fields of Narandu. The darknessof the tunnel hides whatever moves through itfrom sight. Maybe this is why it seems to be ahot spot for night demons. To the east, theDark Passage disappears into the ShadowRealm. After fifty miles in a westwarddirection, the Black Passage branches off invarious smaller tunnels running to variousparts of the Narandu underground, as if theywere dark veins in a dead white body.Although the blackness disappears afterseveral miles, the darkness seems to extendfurther into the tunnels every year. The Mirinworry about this (see sidebar). Despite thedisappearance of the dark colour, the entiretunnel system is still called the Dark Passagefor its frequent presence of night demons asmuch as the dark fate that many adventurershave met in these tunnels. The main passagecontinues west and takes on the blue and whitetones of the ice of the Narandu plains afterfifty miles. Eventually, it disappears below theCrystal Mountains near the origin of theDead River.

COLD STORAGEThe Ice Giants are known to dig caverns

and tunnels in glaciers to store valuables andto mature any food they catch, for ice giantscannot digest anything that is not deep frozen.Such caverns are found throughout Narandu.Most often, they are natural depressions,carved out in icy hills by violent storms. Still,a lot of storage sites are dug out for theoccasion. Deeper storage rooms connect tobranches of the Dark Passage (although it’s nolonger dark away from the Black Pit) andprovide exits to the world above. Ice giants are

not good at remembering where they madetheir stores and sometimes corpses areforgotten. Odd treasures can occasionally befound that way. What it worrisome is the factthat corpses are not preserved in the cold, butover a period of decades actually undergosomething that is somewhat similar to aprocess of maturation and digestion. Thisprocess happens faster the closer the storagelies to black sections of the Dark Passage,backing up the belief that the icy land issomehow alive. Some tunnels go downbeyond the level of the Dark Passage and allthe way to the soil of Narandu. Down on theground, the remains of plants, including ediblevarieties and beasts, possibly giant ancestorsof the woolly ogriphants, kirryan and tundralopers can be found. Stories that the remainsof primitive settlements were found on theseformer plains have not been verified.

THE ICY DUNGEONThe Five Peaks, a fearsome steep

mountain in the Ice Peaks range in Narandu isalso known as the Ice King’s Palace. Duringthe night, it appears to hover above the groundas snow billows about its base and to glowwith the last rays of the fading sunlight. Thefew expeditions that went out to examine thisphenomenon and survived, returned withstories of apparently endless caverns and


tunnels throughout the gargantuan blocks ofice. The side of the cliff is full of large cracksof light blue shadows growing into a steadydeep blue as the cracks go deeper in to themountain. From the upper reaches of the cliffsice dragons have been spotted circling theplains in search of prey but strangely omittingto attack their usual prey, the ice giants thatinhabit the region.

Many natural crevices run into a dead endafter a while. Others, however, lead to the IcyDungeon inside the Ice King’s Palace.Adverturers' stories told after several mugs ofbeer regularly venture into the direction of thetreasures that are hidden there. The threat ismore real than the alleged treasures, and therash drinker who claims that the Ice King’sheart, the largest of the blue diamonds, ishidden there, is quickly made to shut up so asnot to bring bad luck upon the bar’s patrons.

It is possible to reach the Icy Dungeonfrom side tunnels of the Black Passage andthis may actually be slightly less dangerousthan facing the dangers of the flat, white plainsof Narandu. The ever-present threat of nightdemons in these tunnels is of course to bereckoned with, and also a rare frost demon orlone ice giant is to be expected, as well askirryan laying in wait to jump on passingprovlo, and perhaps the nesting cave of a packof rime hounds, not to mention erx feeding onthe wild magic that maintains the permafrostin Narandu. . . . Well, maybe it isn’t muchsafer than travelling aboveground after all. Butit does have the advantage of being less likelyto alert the Ice King’s watchtower in the FivePeaks overlooking the plains of Narandu.

Inside the blue tunnels near the IcyDungeon, frost golems do whatever work hasto be done and can easily be followed,provided the many roaming ice giants can beavoided. Whatever his true origin, the IceKing is a powerful warlock and the IcyDungeon shows it. Portals into the dungeonare enchanted with strong wards. One of thesafest routes recorded, albeit one foradventurers with a strong stomach, is to follow

the golems bringing the well-frozen andseasoned carrion into the gruesome foodcellars, where it is roughly shattered intomeal-sized portions and stored on shelves.Beyond the food cellars lies a maze of twistingstairways and short corridors that go up anddown without apparent logic or goal. Manyrooms open up from the corridors, showingmesmerizing ice sculptures and tricks of light,illusion-covered pitfalls, supercooledemptiness that freezes any warm-bloodedcreature that enters instantly, and other traps.No expedition so far has discovered a way upinto the palace of the Five Peaks. On the otherhand, it appears to be possible to go downendlessly. In several corridors well-craftedillusions were found that cover up the factthey lead back up to the top of anotherstaircase going down, and it is uncertain justhow deep these tunnels lead. Terrifyingscreams are heard from time to time, butalthough torture chambers were seen, nonewere found to hold prisoners. The solesurvivor of one party claimed to have seenwhat looked like a tomb with a plainsarcophagus in the centre and row after row ofstatues of ice giants on both sides of it.According to this fellow, there may have beenseveral thousand statues present there. If thisis true, it raises the question whether thesewere actually statues or ice giants waiting tobe animated. In the latter case investigating iftheir blue diamond heart is already present atthis stage might turn out to be a very profitableexpedition, if one survives the hazards ofthe north.

HIGH AND FARCovered by green-white ice rather than

blue-white like the rest of Narandu, the FarReaches mountain region makes a differentsight altogether. This mountainous area can bereached through a series of tunnels through thethick ice of Narandu. From the most southernmountains, a long depression in the groundbelow the ice runs southwest, like an old riverbed. At the bottom, a small space is free of iceand can be followed for many miles. Thesmall diameter of this corridor prevents anyice giants from entering it. At the Geological


Encounters inthe Deep White

Use this table for encounter ideas orroll 2d20 to select a random encounter.

Roll Encounter2 guardian frost demon3 half-digested corpse4 crystal moth5 yaksha6 magic-feeding erx7 shivering army of darklings8 Nar Khan tribesmen9 roaming ice giant

10 patch of black ice11 pack of rime hounds12 odd magical portal13 hungry frostwere14 forgotten cache of food or loot15 terrifying scream from afar16 hunting kirryan17 remnants of ancient civilizations18 wandering night demon19 provlo nest20 outcropping of resonant crystals21 dormant frost golem22 dangerous-looking cracks23 Gnomekin crystallomancers24 melting icewater25 domain of an ice dragon26 Mirin trading party27 frozen underground lake28 fiend29 lone Ariane seeker30 ice kra31 bat mantas32 group of Ariane warders33 pack of tundra beasts34 opening into a dractyl lair35 Mirin adventurers36 riderless snowmane37 abandoned blue diamond mine38 sizeable Mirin expedition39 shadowight on a mission40 other

Repository in Durne this corridor has beenmarked as the White River. Near the peaks ofthese mountains, icebound shipwrecks suggestthat these peaks may once have been islandsand the area would have been underwater.Deep beneath the layers of ice that cover themountains lie extensive reefs of coral thatsurvived the effects of time and the pressure ofthe ice. In the dim green light, little evidenceremains of their vibrant colours, but theorganic structure stands like scaffolding,allowing passage between its frozen beams.Open spaces are few and passageways arenarrow, twisting and filled with the sharpedges and spikes of frozen coral, but most ofthe mountains in the centre of the Far Reachescan be climbed that way. Where no coralgrew, the ice lies directly on the mountain,blocking movement. The coral reefs form anetwork of awkward openings that can becrawled and climbed through with difficulty.Like all sea bottoms, it is scattered with theremains of ancient civilizations, althoughmuch remains covered up. Old coins, shards ofweapons and tools, bones, and broken beamsof ships can be found simply by searchinglong enough.

Nearer to the top of the mountains,numerous caves can be found. The openingsare small and are often hidden by the coral. Itis quite possible to discover an entrancesimply because the coral covering it can’tsupport the weight of the explorer standing onit. Inside are large caves interconnected bynatural looking tunnels. Signs of habitation bytwo primitive cultures can be found here,presumably extinct submen races. While cold,these caverns lack the typical feel of icyradiation caused by the ice giants. If such coldis felt anyway, beware of the ice dragon thatchose the cave as its lair. The upper caveswere once occupied by the island dwellers.Where the walls are not covered by a thicklayer of lichen, drawings of simple fishingboats can be found. Fishing hooks, fish teeth,shards of pottery are typical findings in the icefloor of these caves and are of some value tocollectors simply because of the rarity ofexpeditions venturing this way. The lower


levels must have been below the water leveland were inhabited by an aquatic submen race.Shrines and altars can be found where thewaterline must once have been. It appears thatthe surface dwellers were either dominated bythe merfolk or looked up to them as higherbeings. The underwater caves don’t look likepermanent homes, but rather like places ofshelter. The aquatic race probably venturedout into the Midnight Sea a lot of their time.Most remarkable are the extensive oyster bedsthat line many walls and suggest agriculture orthe cultivation of pearls. Breaking open theoysters can yield a rare green pearl. Almostnon-existent in Talislanta, the value of suchpearls depends entirely on the credibility ofthe story of the seller. An echo of the magicthat caused the water to vanish remains as ascary vision when either of the suns shinesdirectly into these caves during sunrise orsunset. Then these caves are filled with thegreen shimmerings of light in the water. Thevague and distorted ghosts of what might havebeen the merfolk of this region can be seenresisting in vain a forceful stream that towsthem into the depths of the caves to disappearwhere the light becomes too dim to see.Memories of a sounds like tortured whale songwill send shivers down the spine of even thehardiest adventurer.

CRYSTAL CORRIDORSThe Crystal Mountains have the reputation

to be next to impassable. Only few naturalpasses are known and used by the few tradersthat cross these mountains to deal with theMirin. Other adventurers risk the dangers ofthe rough terrain, tricky glaciers, avalanchesand predators like frostweres and ice dragonsin search of the precious blue diamonds.Known to few folk, there are other ways to getfrom one side of these mountains to the other.A major tunnel into the Crystal Mountainsopens where the Dead River parts with themountains to turn south. This tunnel may oncehave been the path of a tributary to the DeadRiver. Other openings, large and small, existon both sides throughout the entire length ofthe mountain range. In the very west, a

junction exists where the Dark Passage entersthe floor of the Lost Sea.

The Crystal Corridors deserve their name.Running high and low through the CrystalMountains, glittering ore can be seen in manyplaces, although the large majority is made upof cheap quartz. These corridors are alsofamous with crystallomancers for their manybeds of naturally resonant crystals. From eastto west, these form a permanent radar ofeverything that is happening in Talislanta. Acabal of Gnomekin Crystallomancers has apermanent station in these corridors, guardedby an elite platoon of the Protectors Force.

Although easier to travel than crossing themountains on the surface, travelling theCrystal Corridors is nowhere near a leisureactivity. The corridors vary in width andheight from a mere two feet to no more thanten feet in some places. The floors and wallsare uneven with many large cracks in thefloors and walls due to the slowly decreasingtemperatures as the ice giants move furthersouth. Slopes can be steep and unforgivingand may continue for miles from the heart of amountain all the way to its top. Between thebottom and the top of the mountains there areno exits to the tunnel. In the western part ofthe mountain range, the Nar Khan tribes, arace of submen that has many similarities tothe Mondre Khan of the Eastern Lands,inhabit caves and may be found wandering orhunting in the Crystal Corridors. Further east,ice dragons have their lairs in the CrystalMountains, some of which may be connectedto the Crystal Corridors. Frostweres are anever present threat here too.

THE RUINS OF FARNIRThe second largest presence of ice giants,

next to the Ice Peaks mountains where the IceKing is said to hold court, is around the ruinsof Farnir. Exactly what happened is unknown,but along with the other sky cities, Farnir fellfrom the heavens, and shortly afterward itdisappeared in a thick layer of ice. The icegiants created tunnels running from thesurface down to the city and still make use of


these tunnels occasionally. No doubt otherpassages through the ice connect to some ofthese tunnels. Several theories exist about thereason why the ice giants visit the city andsome even claim that Farnir was somehow thebirthplace of their race. It would take a longand well-prepared expedition into the ruins tofind the truth.

As one descends from the ice tunnels tothe city, Farnir appears in all its ancientsplendour. Tunnels enter the city just withinits adamant walls and show the richness of thedecorations all through the city. Stairs downfrom the walls are beautifully crafted fromblue iron filigree, appearing as if they couldnot possibly hold the weight of a child, letalone a grown man, but as strong as a staircaseforged from solid steel. Near one of thosestairs is a diamond fountain filled withquicksilver that continues to run, despite thefrozen state of the rest of the City ofAlchemists. The ice that encases the ruins ispure crystalline white, and as long as there isdaylight above it is not hard to see, despite atwo hundred feet thick layer of ice rising overthe city’s towers. Most of the city is filled withice, and it takes hard work with a pick axe tomake any progress towards the centre. Thestreets are surprisingly clear, and buildings areclosed, as if everyone braced themselves forthe impact when the city fell. The city is fullof marvellous constructions, some of whichhardly bear describing. Masters of alchemygave imaginative twists to the artful buildingsmade by masters of engineering. Walking astreet may be like walking on water; a curtainin a doorway may fill the air with the sweetsmell of freshly baked pies; when rang, a bellshaped as a bird sings a melodious tune.Unfortunately, a day's work doesn’t makemuch progress in the rock-hard ice that fillsthe streets and buildings.

At night, the city becomes filled withvarious spectral entities that move through theclear ice as if it were air. The nature of thesespirits is unknown, but contact with livingcreatures can cause anything from visions ofan ancient market, or turning the area touched

blue and immune to cold, to instant death.Successful expeditions that brought backmarvellous trinkets from Farnir didn’t dare tostay in the city for more than a few days andonly in the presence of daylight.

THE HOARFROST MINESTo the Mirin, the Hoarfrost mines are the

last line of defence against the ice giants ofNarandu as well as their most importantsource of blue diamonds. Riddled with mines,the Hoarfrost Mountains are the only place inL’Haan that has an Underground Highway.The rest of the Mirin lands are utterly void oftunnels, caves or other subterranean structures.The mines run deep into the body of themountains to a level full of caverns, where aseries of frozen lakes connected by rivers formthe basis of the Mirin mining operations. Fromhere, tunnels are dug where veins of costlyores are expected. Rubble is removed with iceskiffs to caverns that serve no purpose to theMirin. Ores and rough gemstones are collectedat a few central locations before being broughtup to the surface. In addition to the mines, theMirin operate a tunnel pilot service on theunderground ice rivers for traders who wish toavoid the risk of going over the mountains.The Mirin charge a hefty fee for this service,but many see it as a better price to pay forgetting to the other side than the chance ofhaving to pay with their life.

Where the Hoarfrost Mountains separatethe Sinking Land from the Shadow Realm, theMirin know there exists a long series ofcaverns, lakes and canals that hold evidence ofsome past civilisation. What little knowledgethe Mirin have of this place indicates thatthese caves have been the residence of one ormore tribes of submen. As they see it, theywere caught between a rock and a hard place,with the Shadow Wizards and the Snipes, andmost likely the Great Disaster did the rest.These caves are now home to a small army offiends, bat mantas and shadowights thatescaped the control of the shadow wizards ofthe Iron Citadel in the Shadow Realm.


Ice-LockedRuins of Farnir


HIDING IN THE DARKThe Obsidian Mountains and the

Darklands are riddled with more tunnels andcaves than there are holes in Cymrilliancheese. The mixed rock of the Darklandssuffered a lot from the pollution by the UrClans and the forced mining expeditions theUr demanded from the darklings. As the softerstone was washed or dug away, a frameworkof near indestructible rock remained. In thesetunnels the darkling tribes make their homesfor as long as the Ur let them. Many sites areinaccessible due to the toxic chemicals usedby the Ur to drive out the darklings. ADarkling legend is still being told about theirLost Home somewhere in the depths beneatheither the Obsidian Mountains or theDarklands. Reluctant to endure the abuse bythe Ur Clans and equally reluctant to leavetheir homelands and possibly suffer anotherdefeat by the Gnomekin or other race whoseterrain they would have to invade, thedarklings are in a constant search for theirLost Home. When approached with care, theyhave even been known to provide services orgoods to adventurers who offer to help them intheir search. Of course, it is better to makesure beforehand that the darklings—with theirtongues that were made for lying—will keeptheir part of the bargain. A much-renderedservice by the darklings is to put an adventurerback on the right track out of the Darklands, asit is all too easy to lose your way in this rockysponge. From the Darklands, passages connectto Durne and the Wilderlands. Thoseapproaching these lands usually experience anincreased number of encounters with Satada.After coming from the Darklands, someadventurers have described this as a goodthing. The upper reaches of the tunnels in theObsidian Mountains are the domain of theStryx and a good number of yaksha andprovide little or no benefits to theunderground traveller.


CHAPTER THREE

Going Down

ADVENTURINGUNDERGROUND

Like the surface of Talislanta, theUnderground Highway contains manydifferent settings and many ideas to use inadventures. There is something for every styleof play within the common theme of theUnderground Highway. As the UndergroundHighway spans all of Talislanta, it can befitted in with most campaigns, for GMs wholike to do something different for a change.

Many different approaches exist forrunning underground adventures. The classicdungeon crawl is of course among themanywhere treasures are hidden. The Baratushideouts or the catacombs of ancient Kasraanare ideal locations to do some dungeonbashing. Spy’s Fate and the Rajan connectionare good places for stealth missions intoenemy terrain. The Wilderlands contain manylinks with historical events in Talislanta andwill appeal to spell casters in search of ancientspells or powerful magic items. Fans of wateradventures can chose their pick with the secret

tunnels of the Sunra or their new cousins, theFan-Ra-San. Finally, the ‘real’ UndergroundHighway in the Seven Kingdoms offers manypossibilities, from caravan guarding todiplomatic missions, Satada hunting, and epicadventures.

Likewise, adventures can focus on manyaspects of the Underground Highway. How dothe players find out where to go? Can theysurvive on rations of fungus and moss that theKalixa showed them? Do they see those giantrough diamonds that will bring a small fortuneon the market of Kasmir among the othercrystals? Are you certain you brought enoughlantern oil? And how, in Terra’s name, do youfight a Satada warrior when the walls and theceiling don’t allow you to swing your swordlike you’re used to? The UndergroundHighway poses many new practical difficultiesfor GM and players to explore. Enjoy thesechallenges.

In this and following chapters you willfind ideas for adventures, new characterarchetypes, skills, magic, equipment andcreatures to use in your games. [Editor's note:Most of the last three chapters are presentedhere as incomplete outlines.]


ADVENTURESEEDS

Below are several ready-made story linesfor adventures. They are not fully detailed butgive you a background story and several waysto develop the adventure. These seeds leaveroom for the GM to run the adventure in a waythat fits his or her style and player group.

DURNE AND THE DARKLANDSA Gnomekin scout returns with a report

that the Ur are pressing the Darklings again tolaunch a massive evacuation into Durne. Witha new surge of subterranoids coming from thedepths, the King and Queen of Durne wish tohire the aid of a group adventurers to confirmthese observations and to delay the evacuationas long as possible. Coming from Cymril bythe Seventh Road, the adventurers get achance to get used to the peculiarities ofunderground travel and combat with Satadahunters in search of fresh meat. Getting anaudience will introduce them to the Gnomekincity of Durne. The King and Queen will grantthe adventurers the use of the slidewaysystem. Let’s hope there are not giants amongthem.

Near the Darklands, the adventurers willmeet the first darklings who have fled theirhomes but don’t know any details. Pressingon, the adventurers will have to enter thedarkling realm, where they have to talk theirway through the pathologically lying darklingsto find out that the Ur Clans have struck abargain with an unknown entity to movefurther south in exchange for their toxicwastes. Can the adventurers aid the darklingsto fight the Ur, or help them find their LostHome? Or will they travel the Dead Riveraround Ur to the north to find out more aboutthe deal the Ur struck with the ice giants whowant to move their invasion to the south? Canthey forge an alliance between the stryx andthe darklings and with aid of the Gnomekin

Protectors Force strike back at the Ur Clans,return the situation to the way it was, and letthe Ur Clans deal with a disgruntled ice king?

FAN-RA-SAN TEARSThe adventurers meet with a Fan-Ra-San

elder in disguise, who tells about ancientmagic at the Crying Eyes. As he begins to giveinstructions on how to get there, his eyes gowide and he dies. How are they going toexplain this and still get help to reach theCrying Eyes?

FULL DEMONIC CIRCLEA Rahastran cartomancer predicts the

return of an evil power at Zahur’s shrinebelow the Fire-Pits of Malnangar. Worriedabout this, several cabals of powerful wizardsgather to find a solution. The adventurers areapproached by an unknown wizard whoclaims to know the ritual that can destroy theshrine before it’s too late, if only they takehim there. Can the adventurers find a way toreach the Island of Fate? Is this wizard who hesays he is? Or is he secretly planning toconduct a ritual that will return Zahur or Draxto this world? And if so, will the plot bediscovered in time? If not, Talislanta maysoon be another world altogether.

MUDDY BUSINESSThe tunnel to Karansk has been flooded

with mud again. The Jhangaran mudminers arecleaning it out, but someone is sabotagingtheir work. Who? Why?

THAUMATREASUREHUNTA Dracartan thaumaturge opened a cavern

created by ancient thaumaturgical magic andneeds a party of adventurers to investigate.

FACING THE DARKDemons are entering the Badlands in

increasing numbers. The adventurers mustfind the tunnel that leads from the Black Pit ofNarandu to the Sardonyx Mountains and causeit to collapse.


CHAPTER FOUR

Rockbottom Lore

UNDERGROUNDPATHS

EQUIPMENT

CanargeA combination of canoe and barge. This

boat has a small section in the back that seatsone person, who can proper the vehicle withoars or a pole. The front part is broadened toserve as a cargo area.

Speleological GearNot unlike mountaineering gear, this

includes rope, a small pick axe, watertightbags, survival rations, a warm blanket, roughleather gloves, metal spikes and a hammer.

MAGIC[Editor's note: This heading was a

placeholder for subterranean-related magicorders and spells.]

PATHS[Editor's note: This heading was a

placeholder for subterranean-relatedcharacter paths for 5th Edition Talislanta.]


SKILLS

SpeleologyThis skill covers all the tricks needed to

move through difficult tunnels. It includesknowledge of what items to bring along, basicrules of thumb (e.g. keep a minimum of threesteady hand- and footholds at all times,regularly check your rope for cuts and wearthat may decrease its strength). It also allowsone to construct simple rope bridges and digout footholds with a pick axe.

Attribute modifier: DEX

RaftingThe ability to construct simple vessels out

of basic things that will remain afloat in waterand how to ride it in a wild water river.

Attribute modifier: DEX

GeologyKnowledge of geological layers,

recognition of different types of stone,including ores, and their properties. It alsocovers knowledge of seismic activity, the waygeysers work, and when lava has cooled downto temperatures at which is strong enough tosupport an adult man walking on it.

Attribute modifier: INT

Orientation - SubterraneanThis ability allows a player to find his way

around in the unfamiliar spaces of theUnderground Highway. With this skill one isable to determine depth underground byestimating the oxygen level of the air, predictwhether a tunnel will go up or down furtheron, and determine which way the suns set eventhough he can’t see them.

Attribute modifier: PER


CHAPTER FIVE

Secrets BuriedDeep

UNDERGROUNDLORE

This section contains information aboutthe things that make travelling andadventuring underground different from thesame activities on the surface of Talislanta, aswell as tips for players to prepare themselvesfor a journey on the Underground Highway.

GEOLOGYWhile you may not see far ahead, the land

you’re travelling through can tell you a lotabout its history, dangers, and resources.[Editor's note: This section would haveprovided details on geology for use by playersand gamemasters alike.]

ORIENTATIONKnow where you’re going. Even with a

map, it’s hard to say which way is north. Justlike you can tell directions from which side ofa tree is covered with moss if you know themain direction of the wind, so can thesubterranean races tell directions from

geological features, location and type offungal growth, echoes, and of course magic.

WEIGHTThere are no shops below ground (with

the possible exception of certain stretches ofthe Underground Highway beneath Durne), soeverything you want to have you must bringalong yourself. Remember that many stretchesof the Underground Highway are unfit forbeasts of burden. Watch your encumbrance.

SURVIVINGKnow how to find food and water that is

safe to consume. Bring warm blankets andpack them in a watertight bag. Movingthrough water will get you wet, and there’s nosun to warm you but plenty of draughts to chillyou to the bone. Fires are not an optionwherever limited oxygen and smoke inhalationare risks; toxic fumes and oxygen depletionmay occur. Know how to cross deep crevicesand get to high-up tunnel entrances safely,where the rock is strong enough to attach ahook. Be aware of risks like cave-ins, floods,unstable ground, avalanches, waterfalls, andsteep downward slopes coming to a dead end.


Subterranean Fauna andFlora Found in Other Sources

While nearly any creature might befound below ground for one reason oranother, below are references to a selectfew that are native to, lair in, or mayfrequent underground areas, along withthe page number in the source.

Aramatus (Tal4 249, TC 5, TM 10)Bane (NG 12, Tal3 259, Tal4 169, TM

17)Bat Manta (NG 13, TC 103)Black Mushroom (Tal3 281)Bog Devil (TC 8, TM 24)Cave Bat (NG 16, Tal3 261, Tal4 290,

TM 28)Chasm Viper (Tal3 289, Tal4 133, TM

29)Crag Spider (NG 17, Tal3 261, Tal4

185, TM 31)Darkling (NG 18)Deadman (NG 110, Tal3 282)Deadwood (Tal4 160, TC 11, TM 35)Demon, Earth (NG 21, Tal4 359, TC

130, TM 41)Demon, Lava (TM 42)Demon, Night (NG 23, TC 133)Demon, Pyro- (NG 24, Tal4 213, TC

135, TM 46)Demon, Rock (TM 46)Demon, Sand (NG 25, Tal4 272, TC

137, TM 46)Devil, Enim (Tal4 337, TM 55)Disembodied Spirit (Tal4 281, TC 106,

TM 59)Drac (Tal3 290, TM 60)Dragon, Crested (NG 32, TM 63)Elemental, Minor (Tal3 275, Tal4 311,

TC 95, TM 72)Enim (NG 37)Erx (TC 107)Ferran (NG 41, Tal4 355, TM 77)Fiend (TC 104)

(continued)

MODES OF TRAVELMain roads that run beneath the surface

may be traversed by wagon or steed, but mostcannot. Some underground lakes and riverscan be travelled by boat, shallow streams bycanarge. Sometimes services are provided.Rapids are traversed by raft. Use air bubblesfor travel underwater. Aqus can be trained asaquatic mounts.

PREPARATIONBuy maps, talk to guides, find trustworthy

companions, buy equipment, stock food andclean water.

NATURAL CRYSTAL

RESONANCESome rare crystals are magically sensitive

to vibrations and resonate on an unknownmagical frequency. This magical resonance isso powerful that it affects other such crystalsthroughout the continent. These crystals emitsounds picked up by crystals in remotelocations. Crystallomancers have not yet beenable to grow crystals with such a powerfulability. Apparently, the crystal’s ability toresonate is integrated with the bedrock ofTalislanta, because cutting a crystal loose fromthe surrounding bed destroys its resonance.

BESTIARYAQUS

An aquatic hybrid of the equs and somefish. Able to quickly stretch and retract astrong membrane between its front legs andbetween its hind legs, its strokes can propelthe animal with considerable speed throughthe water. Aqus are the favoured mounts of theFan-Ra-San Water Guard.


Subterranean FaunaFound in Other Sources

(continued)

Gellid (TM 82)Geophage (TC 28, TM 83)Ghast (Tal4 159, TC 114, TM 84)Gnomekin (NG 43, Tal4 123, TM 85)Gnorl (Tal4 166, TM 85)Ice Giant (NG 46, Tal3 263, Tal4 297,

TM 95)Ikshada (NG 47, Tal4 305, TC 33, TM

95)Kaliya (NG 33, TM 100)Khadun's Sage (TM 103)Kra (NG 51, Tal3 263, TC 36, TM 105)Kra, Desert (Dj 30)Kra, Land (Tal4 129, TC 37, TM 105)Land Crab (TM 107)Manrak (TC 46, TM 114)Necrophage (NG 63, Tal3 273, Tal4

159, TC 116, TM 127)Octomorph (TC 53, TM 132)Orange Fungus (Tal3 284)Pseudomorph (TC 57, TM 143)Rajan Scorpion (Tal3 277, Tal4 291,

TM 146)Raknid (NG 70, Tal3 266, Tal4 214, TC

58, TM 148)Ravenger (Tal3 266, Tal4 281, TM 150)Rictus (TM 153)Rock Urchin (Tal3 293, Tal4 359, TM

154)Root Grub (Tal3 278, Tal4 141, TM

154)Satada (Tal3 267, Tal4 132, TC 65, TM

157)Scarlet Sporozoid (NG 105, Tal3 280,

Tal4 125, TM 160)Scavenger Slime (Tal3 267, Tal4 304,

TC 66, TM 160)Shadowcat (TC 117)Shadowight (NG 76, Tal3 274, Tal4

301, TM 165)

(continued)

EARTHWISPSSubterranean companions of the muses of

Brown Astar.

FLOAT-FOOTED CENTIPEDESAquatic cousin of the caravan bug, found

in swamps.

PROVLOThe tunnels through the thick layer of ice

covering Narandu between the ruins of Farnirand Traitor’s Bay are home to a penguin-likesemi-intelligent species, called the Provlo.Their main mode of movement is a short run,followed by a fast slide on their smooth roundbellies, similar to a bobsled. Unawaretravellers can have nasty accidents whensurprised by these living torpedoes. Provlolive in pairs and communicate with otherProvlo pairs by building their nests inresonating ice crystals.

ROCKTAILA slothlike creature with a leathery skin

that resembles rock. It clings to the ceiling andcan extend its hide like a cloak, concealing itsbody. Its long, muscular tail resembles astalactite and uses it to knock out unawarepassers-by. Then it drops to the ground to eat.

TEARFISHBeautiful and innocent looking fish that

inhabits the area downstream from the DeadLagoon in large numbers. For all their serenitywhen well-fed, these fish become monstersthat tear any living being to pieces in minuteswith their needle teeth when hungry.


Subterranean FaunaFound in Other Sources

(continued)

Sivian (TM 170)Skalanx (Tal4 181, TC 71, TM 170)Skank (Tal3 293, TM 171)Slicus (TM 171)Snipe (NG 83, Tal4 302, TC 73, TM

173)Stenchroot (NG 111, Tal3 286)Subterranoid (Tal4 125, TC 76, TM

177)Tszarlak (TM 185)Urthrax (Tal4 315, TC 82, TM 188)Vajra (Tal4 206, TM 189)Weirdling (NG 93, Tal4 168, TC 88,

TM 196)Werebeast (NG 94, Tal3 270, Tal4 169,

TM 197)Yaksha (NG 99, Tal4 175, TC 90, TM

200)Yitek (Tal4 275, TM 202)

Key to abbreviations:Dj - People and Places: Djaffa (4th

edition)NG - A Naturalist's Guide to Talislanta

(1st edition)Tal3 - Talislanta Guidebook (3rd

edition)Tal4 - Talislanta Fantasy Roleplaying

(4th Edition)TC - Thystram's Collectanea (3rd

edition)TM - Talislanta Menagerie (4th edition

/ d20)

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