Adventure 7: Mor-Mehr and the Mountains

The group was dropped off in Cairona by Yash and, after resupplying, headed back eastward. They went through the underground Rigun Pass to the city of The-Bin, a bustling bazaar town on the western foothills of the mountains. The goal was to travel south to Mor-Mehr, the temple-city rumored to be the gateway to the Sacanno Mountains and the fabled lost city of Adanir.

While in Mor-Mehr, the group sought information about traveling through the desert, learning that Kaftar were attacking caravans as well as sandstorms sweeping away unsuspecting parties. Ardeshir befriended a dwarven blacksmith named Balshar, who said he was headed to Mor-Mehr for a routine job of resupplying and repairing the various needs of the town. The group offered to protect him on the road as they were all going south, and so they left The-Bin accompanying Balshar.

Along the way to Mor-Mehr the group was indeed met by a Kaftar group, who tried to lure them into a trap (pretending to be a false caravan). The Kaftar attacked and were later joined by dust mephits, those elemental imps of the sands. The group managed to protect Balshar (although were quite annoyed with the mephits), and continued on.

In Mor-Mehr, they were met by the Order of Annayur, who warned them at the Sacanno Mountains were a dangerous place, and that none were very welcome there. They had sealed the entrance up ages ago to protect ruins from grave-robbers and monsters, and were wary of letting even the adventurous party in. They claimed no knowledge of Adanir's existence.

Ardeshir Rouhani vouched for the party's good faith, and after deliberating with the Order's leader, Mateen, managed to get the Gate to the Golden Road opened. They were warned of slimes and harpies, as well as a stone giant named Gaddadhara who dwelled on the road to an ancient city of Abizad, a fallen trading post.

In the old temple ruins at the foot of the mountains, the group slinked through past some minor traps of the Order of Annayur's doing, and also encountered some oni and more dust mephits. Ichirou managed to bravely fend off a darkmantle, and the group uncovered the remains of a treasure store hidden away by bandits years ago.

They continued out from the old temple into the mountain passes, where they passed by great painted murals of the destruction of the forests that had now become the Astara Desert surrounding Majirah. Then they approached a massive stone citadel, whereupon they met Gaddadhara, the stone giant...

Adventure 6: Tiger Sword Glade

After a few days of waiting around Tahirah, the group was brought back to the library where Sihamuni presented them with his initial findings from the Auran Tomes they brought him. He also gave Steiger some information regarding the Dark Witches, one of whom was shown on his cameo trinket.

With new information in tow, the group turned southward toward Tiger Sword Glade. There Anden, the half-elf sorcerer, hoped to consult the sage Yash about his identity and the mysterious cube he'd been carrying around. The first step toward the glade was the Feypool, the sacred lake that the elves' saw as their Edenic beginnings.

Kappa are mischievous water imps.

At the Feypool, they saw the priests setting up camp along the shore, among them Jarumi, whom they'd met at Kali. Jarumi exclaimed that kappa--water imps--had taken over the shrine. They devised mechanical devices to leach away the power of the prayer stones (ino-ishi), and that the dimmed light of the stones brought forth a gumon, a strange spirit creature. The stones had to be freed and reactivated through magical prayer in order for the gumon to be vanquished.

Gumon appear wherever

 divine energy is weak.

The party went into the Feypool shrine where they encountered the long-limbed gumon and the kappa. While party rogue Ichirou disabled the devices around the ino-ishi, the party kept the gumon at bay. With Elaria re-lighting the stones, the party was able to take care of the gumon and free the shrine's divine energy.

Continuing westward, the party overcame a thick wall of brambles and continued to the glade. There they encountered tiger guardians as well as a weretiger, Vepkhi, who had been cursed by Yash ages ago in order to protect the sage. Elaria managed to stymie the tigers' aggression, but Vephki demanded proof of worth. Steiger tried him in combat, but was knocked out.

Vephki was still pleased with the party's actions, and Yash appeared. The sage was a giant, winged white tiger. Unlike Rajasaru, he was more into directness and pride than mental games. Yash told Anden that his small cube was the key to the gates of Adanir, the lost city of the Elder Elves. He recounted how when Shisano lifted Ishtar to the heavens (whose tears became the wood elves), she was with Shen's child, and this child had to stay behind. The child was looked after by the gold dragon Annayur, along with some elven disciples, and through this was born the Elder Elves, a noble and proud elfin lineage who built a great citadel in the Sacanno Mountains, the massive ranged separating Tahirah and Majirah.

Adanir had locked itself away, however, at the close of the second age, and was more a mythical city than any real place. To find its entrance would be a treacherous journey. The group debated which leads they should follow up on, and how they should deal with the threat of Naga invasion. Anden suggested going to Adanir might prove useful in helping bring them into that fight as well, and so the group decided to head back east. They asked Yash for a ride to Cairona, so they could travel back to the temple-city of Mor-Mehr, a rumored shrine to a gold dragon, and a good place to start.

Yash, the great Tiger Sage.

Upon Yash's back they flew toward the city, covering miles in moments, and the party set out for a new adventure.

• The Auran Tomes were translated by Sihamuni, the royal librarian at Tahirah. They mentioned accounts of Kazim the Abjurer's time among the wind djinn, as well as the history of the Astara Desert and unions between the Majirahans and the Elder Elves.
• The Feypool is the holy birthplace of the elves, a great lake that is tended by priests. The group rekindled the shrine's prayer stones and battled a gumon spirit creature.
• Tiger Sword Glade is the home of the great sage, Yash. It is protected by Vephki, who was transformed into a tiger guardian by Yash when the sage caught him hunting in the forests.
• Yash explained that the noble Elder Elves are separate from the Tahirah wood elves, and given that Queen Shahrzad had a cold reaction to Anden's parentage, it might seem there is bad blood between the peoples.
• The Elder Elves were bearers of powerful magic, including flying carpets which they traded with Majirah. They dwell in Adanir, a citadel hidden among the great mountains between Tahirah and Majirah.

The Auran Tomes

Here are the translations of the Auran Tomes that were found beneath Rhotas Barav.


Auran Tome 1: Recordings of Kazim the Abjurer

The first tome is a record of Kazim the Abjurer’s time in the city of the wind-djinn, under the rule of the Djinni lord, Al‘Ŝafan Anil, the Sky Caliph. This kingdom was ruled in a vibrant city that floated about a mile above the dunes called The Citadel of the Winds. Its ruins are now shrouded in sandstorms and clouds, rechristened the Hanging Gardens in the Astara Desert near Majirah.

Most of Kazim’s entries record the lives of the djinn, and how they felt the Majirahans were spoiling the lands of the desert since they’d driven out the Nagas. Indeed, he remarks how the vegetation had been “creeping more and more toward the mountains and coasts since the Shah came into power.”

“The djinn of the winds are kind, if not mercurial, proud of their heritage and nomadic lifestyle. Indeed, like the wind, they are quick to change their dreams and whims, but are still fond of the characteristic nobility and honor-bound oaths that all djinn are known for. They quite lament the loss of the Naga Kingdom, having been burned down by the Majirahan armies to drive them westward, and ever since the verdant hills have become more and more bare for the sake of a human empire.”

Of note are several entries he makes years later.

“The djinn are being courted by powers greater than I. Indeed, even the Naga King Vasuki has hinted that if he could harness the djinn’s power he could exact revenge on all mortals. My time in the Citadel is becoming more fearsome, while I watch my back from supernatural predators in the hopes of making sure no one can use the djinn’s powers for ill will. Friendships may be made of strong bonds, but none is stronger than the will of the Creator to prevent the destructive desires of Evil.”

And later:

“It is with a heavy heart I return to the Citadel of the Winds. My intentions are not as honorable as the Sky Caliph believes, and it is after I have done my duty and sealed him away that I can rest easy. Indeed, after what the Radiant Lord took as his penance for being sealed, I can sleep easier knowing—or rather, not knowing—what I have given up. Each djinn-vessel requires a price, and Al‘Ŝafan Anil’s vessel is that of air. Memories are ethereal, floating in an invisible tether between sensation and consciousness, and these I happily give up if it means I do not have to relive the knowledge I gave my wife and son to the Efreet.”

Auran Tome 2: The Djinn of the Sands

The second tome is (part of) an account of the history of what is now the Astara Desert. It is written by a djinn scholar named Al’Aziran, who says in the introduction, “much of what I write is the truth, although mortals would have you believe we were to blame for the calamities. In actuality, it is the existence of Free Will among both djinn and mortals that conquers.”

Al’Aziran explains that the Creator fashioned three beasts on the Middle World: Leviathan, the serpent of Water that guards the Eastern Oceans; Ziz, the bird of the Air, who perches upon the tower of Zenith and hunts the Great Wasteland Desert of Falak; and the Behemoth, the beast of Earth. 

While Ziz and Leviathan have survived, the Behemoth was slain in a joint hunt by djinn, Nagas, and Men (who would later found Majirah). This massive battle created the Scar, the massive crevasse that runs between the two deserts. It is said Behemoth’s remains sit at the bottom of the scar, waiting to be picked by vulturous wizards and treasure hunters.

The tome also explains that the djinn, when driven out by Majirahans and Elder Elves of the Mountains, went into the desert and hid in the city of Ubar, whose presence is hidden by the raging sandstorms and heat of the Wasteland.

“Indeed, the greatest threat of the desert was the union of the Majirahans and the Elder Elves of AdanÍr, who under the protection of Annayur, created an army of flying-carpet cavalry and sand-storm rangers. Until the alliance broke down, this Empire of the Suns proved troublesome, until Kazim the Abjurer quieted the power of the djinn inside his brass vessels.”

The final chapters begin to explain the history of the Djinn of Ubar, saying that “the realm is lost to mortals with whom the djinn wish no contact, but those who can find the dragon of the sands, Shabnan, may ply him for the city’s whereabouts.

“For the acolytes of Ŝirahz have proven friendly to the djinn, devoted to the power of their dragon and not Celestial manifest destiny. Understanding the clues to a dragon’s whereabouts (such as Majirahan scholars can attest) can bring fortune to travelers looking for the hospitality of the acolytes or the djinn.”

Lastly, the tome also explains the djinn crafted many items that could be unlocked only by djinn blood, that these relics—often weapons and the like—were designed so that the djinn could be protected from their enemies. The djinn of Ubar can recraft these tools if need be, allowing another to harness their power. Such items were lost when many djinn settlements failed, like those of Al-Duram and Kinshala in Lost Khandar.

Adventure 5: The Elf Queen

Before departing Kali, the group was once again thanked, and Jarumi said she was heading west to the Feypool, and if the heroes needed her they could find her there. Failn Shalandalan was approached by his own parents, who bestowed an intricately woven cloak upon their son. They wished him a safe journey and to give their best to the Divine Mother.

Tahirah

Our intrepid heroes arrived in Tahirah, the heart of the wood elf kingdom, housed in a giant tree. While waiting for clearance to pay their respects to the Divine Mother, Anden went out for rumors from the local hatagoya bars. He heard about rising threats from the Haritacandra, owlbears, and Sirrusha unrest at the borders.

After one day the group was allowed to visit with Shahrzad, the Queen of Tahirah. They were greeted coolly by the elf sovereign, who allowed them access to the royal libraries. She did not listen to Ardeshir's pleas that the border defenses against the Sirrusha and bandits be strengthened. She treated Anden hostilely, as well, citing Majirahans were the cause of much woe for the elves, and that, although half-elven, he was not a wood-elf. Steiger was ignored, and only Failn and Elaria were treated as worthy subjects.

After this brusque encounter with Shahrzad, the group was approached by Omaru, one of the Raji who advised the queen and ran the day-to-day elements of the region. He understood the heroes' journey and showed them to the library. He also said that he suspected someone was after the Divine Mother's life, and asked for their help to uncover possible assassins. His first suspect was a handmaiden named Keima, whom he suspected of being in league with the Haritacandra. He also confirmed the bags of mysterious coins the group found (on the goblins and the Haritacandra) were of Naga origins. The serpentine Naga were driven west into the uncharted lands of Lost Khandar by the Majirahans at the close of the second age.

While in the royal library of Tahirah. the group met Sihamuni, one of the royal archivists. He explained the the tomes they found weeks ago beneath Rhotas Barav were written in Auran, the language of the air-elemental djinn. He gave a brief history of the first ages of the Middle World:

“During the first ages of the Middle Kingdom, the Celestials and other beings lived alongside the children of the Creator: mortals and the djinn, beings of smoke and fire. The djinn were ruled by the great Djinn Lords, elemental beings also created, like the mortals, by the Creator and endowed with Free Will. There were four great Djinn who oversaw the Middle Kingdom in the hopes of maintain a certain balance.

In truth, I think, they wanted to fortify their own power bases, for they were all brimming with honor and greed. There was the Dao, of the Earth, who lived in the East, where Taishan now reigns. The Marid came from the east, north of here from Khandar, ruling the waters. The Djinni of the air took to the south, where the desert winds blow, and the Efreet, the Fire King, hailed from the north, where the Bazahn Wastes and Mount Mu roil.

These Djinn Lords harnessed great power, and were sought after for their abilities and servitude by mortals. There is also the occasional myth that they can grant wishes, create from nothing. Regardless, their power was immense, and mortals craved it. During the wars that closed the second age, the Djinn were trapped within Brass Vessels by Kazim the Abjurer, who sealed away their power and buried them in the earth.

Legends always speak, and fortune tellers always dig, of the Brass Vessels being hidden here or possibly found there, but in the end they prove to be just legends. Regardless, those who seek the power of the Djinn could reshape the Middle World….”

 

Keima

When Anden showed him his mysterious cube, Sihamuni said it did contain an old elvish script, and that the sage--Yash--who dwelled at Tiger Sword Glade to the south would be able to tell Anden more. When Steiger showed him the crone engraved upon his cameo, Sihamuni said he'd look into it for the northman.

The group devised a plan to have Failn, a fellow wood elf, pose as a palace servant to get close to Keima. Under the name Fafu, he worked for a short while before infilitrating Keima's room. Inspection of her diary revealed that she was indeed visiting a Haritacandra cell, which her brother Joren had joined. She believed it was against his will, through the arrival of a stranger, and tried several tries to dissuade him of his new loyalties.

Joren

The group followed Keima out to her next meeting, trying to help her. Their noise drew the Haritacandra forth, however, and a standoff ensued. Joren wanted his sister's safety guaranteed, as well as that of his comrades, from the wrath of Shahrzad, whom they viewed as tyrannical.

Ardeshir attempted to see if Joren and the Haritacandra were indeed under the possession of another force. His magic pitted him against a mental battle with a Naga mind, but Ardeshir warded it off. They sent for Omaru for aid in cleansing the mind-control, and the Raji brought another councilmember, Shay, to cure the bandits. They returned to Tahirah with the promise that the Haritacandra would get a fair trial.

The following day Omaru summoned the heroes again, claiming an earthquake had unsettled a small farming village in the western foothills. This quake had disturbed the grave of an old Raji, Zodan, who had risen as a goryou, a disgruntled spirit. He asked they dispose of Zodan.

The group arrived at the small village of Showamura, which was in a state of ruin. They could see Zodan rampaging through the farmlands, but were also met by another opponent: a human with a naginata spear. He called himself Hyuga the Mountain and sought a duel with the man known as Failn the Whirlwind. It was discovered through his magic spear he had caused the quake, but the goryou of Zodan was unfortunate and unforeseen side-effect.

Yamano Hyuga

While Failn and Hyuga dueled, the Ardenshir, Anden, and Elaria stopped Zodan, whose burning corpse set fire to the main buildings. Steiger nobly set out to rescue villagers trapped amidst the rubble, helped out by the others as soon as they'd taken care of Zodan. They rescued all the villagers, but Failn was knocked unconscious by Hyuga, who claimed that he was not yet worthy of membership with the Five Rings. Although Ardeshir and Steiger went out to stop Hyuga for his actions against Showamura, they let him go free in the end. The group returned to Tahirah, where Omaru praised their efforts.

RECAP:

• The capital of Tahirah is built within a giant tree.
• The Divine Mother/Queen of the elves is Shahrzad. She is seen as a beautiful and strong sorceress.
• Omaru, one of the Council of Raji who help see to the city, entrusted the party with helping ward off threats to Shahrzad's life. His first suspect was a servant named Keima, who was in league with the Haritacandra. It was discovered her brother, and the Haritacandra, were under the control of another group: the Nagas.
•  The Nagas are a snake race that were driven from the west to the area known as Lost Khandar. Once the large deserts around Majirah were verdant and bountiful, but the humans and dwarves pushed out the magical Nagas and claimed the lands as their own at the close of the Second Age. The Nagas seem to be making a retaliatory strike, some 300 years later.
• Sihamuni is the chief librarian of Tahirah. He explained the existence of the Djinn Lords during the first two ages, and that they were sealed away by Kazim the Abjurer at the close of the Second Age. Their power is vast and mortals often try to harness it to reshape the world.
• A goryou is the unsettled body of the deceased, often bent on ill-will and mindless rage. The corpse of a Raji named Zodan was awakened by a quake and became a goryou, tormenting the village of Showamura.
• Hyuga the Mountain is a martial artist from a group called "The Five Rings." He challenged (and beat) Failn in a duel.