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1) In the dark chambers are warehoused several sculptures of decidedly inferior quality. Mostly they are crude attempts at bursts, or full-figured nudes of decidedly pronographic intent. Whoever produced these disasters, it could not have been the same artist that created the rest of the artwork you've seen on the estate.
2) Renewed by the furit of your sacrafice, the vampire lord emerges from the tomb. "You have awakened me, and for this I am in you debt," he lisps. "Do not presume to command me, however. You have not obtained the Silver Wheel, and until you do, my soul is my own!"
The Lord of the Undead vanishes, leaving behind only an oily cloud of smoke, and the bucket of deep-fried jumbo shrimp. Back to the drawing board.
3) This is a shrine to the dark lady Irkalla, queen of Magan, the underworld of Oceana. Of all the structures in this area, this is the best preserved. Simple offerings of weeds and rocks lay before Irkalla, indicating some residents of this world worship the dark queen.
Irkalla's image is blasted from bronze. She seems serene and confident, with a terrible sort of beauty lurking in her fierce countanance. The black pits of her eyes stare at you without emotion. Here is a deity to be feared - perhaps also to be loved.
4) You stand before the gate to Purgatory's great public arena. Bloodthirsty residents of the Dilmun interior come here to enjoy the spectacle of oulander scum such as yourselves fighting to the death on the floor of the arena.
A guard swaggers up to you. He is clad in the trappings of authority - the fine armor, a weather-beaten harness, well-oiled weapons. "Oy there, you filthy street scum," the guard growls. "You look fit enough to hold a weapon. Why not haul your butt into the arena and make yourself useful?" Why fight for another man's pleasure when life in Purgatory is a daily struggle for survival? You're about to turn away when the guard lays a heavy hand on your shoulder and adds, "You'll get your choice of arms...and if you defeat you foe, which I doubt, you might win Papers of Citizenship. Namtar help me - heathen dogs like you living in Dilmun! I don't like it, but the law is the law."
5) With distaste you discover the source of the foul odor. Before you is a low structure, not so much a building as an odd series of stone slabs leaning against one another. Some ancient stonemason identified this place with a legend carved into the rock: "Morgue". A more recent hand has added its own opinion: "The way out, chumps!".
The stench of the dead is overpowering, but sensing there's something important about this place, you hang around on the fringes and observe the routine. Sallow work gangs of malnourished slaves, themselves more dead than alive, slowly carry corpses from the building and stack them in sloppy piles. You dimly wonder what crime or heresy landed these poor souls a job as slaves in a city of criminals.
From time to time additional corpses are brought here by the more tidy citizens of Purgatory. These are deposited in the house or stacked in the piles without seeming purpose. After a time, several of the slaves bundle one or more corpses into a crude canvas sack and hurl the bundle over the wall. Distantly, you think you hear a splash. You judge you're near the harbor wall - are the dead of Purgatory hurled into the waters of the city harbor?
It occurs to you a living man could lay with the dead, and journey with them in a sack over the wall and to freedom in the harbor beyond. How far do the sacks of corpses fall? Are they really tossed into the harbor, or do they tumble into a well? Could you escape from a bag of cadavers before it sank to the bottom of the sea, maybe forever mired in muck and weeds? Perhaps the overpowering smell of this place is starting to get to you. Or perhaps this is your ticket out.
6) Here you find a simple wilderness shrine, tended by a lonely druid. He welcomes you to his temple, saying the place of worship is open to all.
The shrine is earthy and natural. The walls seem rooted in the depths of the earth, the rock seems alive with animal spirit, the very air is crisp and sweet. You see that the patron deity of this shrine is the man-animal Enkidu. "He is the god of beast-men and man-beasts," the druid explains. "He respects only the strong and pure, to whom he will grant a powerful boon. Before Namtar's purge, the god was in residence in this forest, where he presided over a vast druid colony. Now Enkidu is gone, the brotherhood is broken, and knowledge of our magic is lost."
7) You secure yourself in a bag full of only slightly stinking corpses and wait patiently. Someone sews the bag up as you lie motionless. After some moments, you hear a throaty voice call, "Oy, yew! Run yer sword throo them bogs, thar! You 'member wot hopp'nd last week! We don't wont any mar escayps now, do we?" You are bound and helpless!
8) A great cry of joy goes up as you debase yourself. In a city of criminals, what shame is there in going native? Just to make you feel at home, the beggars beat you steadily for a week. Properly initiated into the world of mendacity, you eventually are set free to wander the streets of Purgatory, better understanding if not entirely fond of the city's lowest class of citizens.
9) A statue of Namtar, the Beast From The Pit, dominates this dirty city square. You carefully examine the statue, trying to memorize the features of the villain who exiled you to Purgatory. You struggle in vain. The citizens of Purgatory, themselves no less fond of Namtar, have taken it out on his image - the nose is broken, limbs are chipped, and the mouth is deformed beyond all recognition.
As you watch, a wild beggar spits on the statue. "Filthy face of stone!", she mumbles. "Layed down with lizards he did, that stone face lies as much as he!" The poor mad creature wanders off, still spitting and mumbling, leading you to wonder if a similar fate awaits you in the months to come.
10) This back-alley building is in remarkably good repair. Curious, you enter, and recognize the interior of a modestly-appointed magic shop. A wizened gnome of a man springs from behind the counter and scurries up to you. "Mercy, mercy me...customers! Bless me, customers at last!"
The old man is insane but friendly. He explains all high magic has been outlawed by order of Namtar, but instruction in the low arts is still permitted in isolated regions. He is eager to teach you what he knows, and will in fact refuse a fee, preferring to teach for the simple joy of it. Unfortunatly, the old man knows little useful magic.
11) Try as you might, you just can't get your nose to remain on your face. That Namtar sure has an odd sense of humor.
12) Just ahead you see a bridge. The bridge is covered and armored doors barr the way across. The bridge appears to be the only way to cross the water and reach the land beyond. A pack of guards lounge before the entrance to the bridge. As you appear, they snap to attention. A guard with a narrow forehead and small eyes approaches you.
13) You're in the middle of the bridge. Although the bridge is covered, you can hear water rushing beneath you. It is impossible to swim from one island to the next. This bridge is the only way across.
14) You knowledge of city lore serves you well. This place isn't so much a city as a prison. The streets are unpaved and evidently double as an open-air sewer system. Many of the city's structures are buildings only in the loosest sense of the word - several have holes in the roof (or no roof at all), others have been gutted by fire. Everything is damp, showing this city is little different from any other on Oceana...the rising sea level is eroding the land upon which the city is located, and it is slowly sinking. Doubtless those buildings that have basements will be at least hip-deep in water. Graffiti is scrawled on walls everywhere, generally curses directed at Namtar and crude pornographic renderings of all species of Oceana. In all, Purgatory is and ugly place you would do well to leave as soon as possible.
15) The guards retire a few steps and converse in low tones when you show them the ring. One of them approaches nervously. "We're King's men, you know. We don't want any trouble." He shuffles his feet and won't look you in the eye. "We just went along with...with everyone else. You have seen the King?" He frowns when you answer. "The ring means you're on King's business, so you can pass...but if anyone asks, we never saw you. Understand?"
You pass into the city. The guards still won't look you in the eye.
16) Before you is a tumble-down collection of huts. A group of ill-clad unfortunates are gathered around a fire. They see you approach and rush to your side. "We saw you swim across the bay", says a toothless man who seems to lead the group. "Any enemy of Purgatory is a friend of ours. C'mon in and sit by the fire."
17) This is the temple of the Yellow Mud Toad, dedicated to the patron beast of this city. The temple is a run down and depressing as the rest of the city. The center of the temple is dominated by a huge statue of the Yellow Mud Toad, sunk fully a third of its height into the muddy floor of the building. "Everything sinks these days," a priest of the temple complains. "This whole city must be built on a lake. We'll all sink away to nothing if this keeps up!"
18) The camp is deserted. Apparently everyone who lived here was slain in your recent battle. You notice signs of habitation, but whoever lived here was dirt poor. It's unlikely you'll find anything of worth in the camp. Glancing back at the pile of bodies left in your wake, and then the bucolic scene of the camp, you sense there was probably a better way of handling this situation. The man who confronted you seemed a lot like yourself. Maybe he mistook you for authority from Purgatory, and only sought to defend himself. This was probably a time for words, rather than swords.
19) After about an hour, the sick man's fever breaks. He props himself up on one elbow and smiles. "I was dreaming," he says in a weak voice. "I imagined I floated on a vast black pool far beneath the earth. I think it was in the Underworld. I saw a goddess bound in chains. She was stranded on an island guarded by monsters." He laughs. "I guess I had a fever."
The man tries to stand up but finds he's still weak. You help him sit up. "My name is ULm," he says. "I guess I have you to thank for breaking my fever. The guards at the bridge beat me up, and I just can't seem to bounce back." Intrigued, you encourage Ulm to continue. "I escaped from Purgatory through a secret door in the wall. I tried to cross the bridge north of the city, but I didn't have the right papers, and the guards beat me. I've been coughing blood ever since."
Ulms' eyelids begin to droop, and in minutes he's asleep again. A moment later his body stiffens, and Ulm dies. At least his final moments were pleasant ones.
20) In the center of the ruined tower that occupies the heart of this city, you find a dais and what's left of a statue. The dais stands about four feet high, and from the looks of things, appears to have been placed here since the tower was destroyed. A plaque on th dais reads, 'This plaque marks the original location of Lanac'toor's Tower and Magic Academy. This statue commemorates his feats." There used to be a staute atop the dais, but it has been removed, leaving only Lana'toor's swollen feet behind. The statue appears to have broken off clean at the ankles.
21) You pick your way through the ruins and come upon a spy post maintained by the defenders of Byzanople. Several soldiers are gathered here. They are gaunt from month of isolation - you surmise that if the city does not fall by assault, it will soon succumb from hunger. The soldiers are led by a woman warrior dressed in white and red. As yet, you remain unobserved.
22) This shack has been set up as universal shrine for Dilmun's many religions. A priest welcomes you and escorts you around the shrine. The majority of the shrine is devoted to Irkalla, the Queen of the Underworld, and her consort Nergal. The priest explains worship of Underworld gods always spreads during times of strife, perhaps because people come to view their own world as an extension of hell. Also represented is the man-animal Enkidu, patron of the Druids, and the obscene Refeek, god of things better left unsaid.
The priest lets you worship or observe as you see fit, neither condemning nor encouraging your actions. "These are hard times," he says, "you had better pray to them all. We can use all the help we can get."
23) You intently scrutizine the murals for several minutes, and are able to arrive at a few broad conclusions. It seems this city square was used to confine a dragon. You remember a legend of the cities of Dilmun holding dragons captive as defense against their neighbors. The murals depict a blood sacrafice and obtuse ceremony being used to pacify the dragon. In one of the ceremonies, a priest is depicted aiming a short metal rod at a dragon, seemingly holding the beast under his sway. Furthermore, the ruins surrouding this square offer mute testimony to the effectiveness for cite defense.
24) You board the ship as soon as the last of the pirates drops dead, eager to see what it was the thieves were so determined to defend. You see the ship's name is the PRAIRIE MADNESS, and that it seems to be fitted out for fast raiding missions. There isn't much of a cargo hold, so the ship won't serve for long journeys, but it looks very fast and dangerous.
25) "Welcome to Phoebus, City of the Sun!" chipers an odd mechanical voice. You stop in your tracks, trying to identify the source of the voice. After a few moments, you hear the message again, and determine it is coming from a raised stone dais and plaque directly in your path. Evidently the message is activated by you presence. "Welcome to Phoebus, City of the Sun!" the voice says again, this time a little slower than before. You examine the plaque and see it is a map of the city. "Welllcooooome tooo Phoeeeebusssss, Ciiiityyy offf theeeee Sunnnnnnnn...!" the voice intones, now perilously slow. Something is wrong with the device. A mechanical hand pertrudes from the dias, frantically try to shake your hand, but there's no way you're getting near it. Two stern looking gentlemen dressed in all black stare at you, making you nervous. Committing the details of the map to memory, you hurry away from the silly device. "Welllllllllcoooooooommmmmmmmmeeeeeeee...!"
26) The walls of this city are of bright marble that seem to glow with an inner light. The streets are paved and clean and there is no sign of poverty or disorder. The horse carts run on time. You can't shake the feeling something is about to go tragically wrong. (Must be San Francisco)
27) You at last stand before the Sword of Freedom. The hilt of the fabled blade is just inches from your grasp. A hush comes over the city of Freeport. The furiously boiling waters previously surrounding this isle have subsided. You look up and see the citizens of Freeport have gathered all around the harbor, waiting to see what you will do next. Some of the citizens appear happy, others are proud, many just wear blank stares. One large man stands silent, but the tears roll down his cheeks.
You smell a faint scent of ozone. Somewhere a baby cries.
28) Two officers occupy this building, evidently associated with the military force drilling on the parade grounds outside. The officers quickly shuffle aside a dice game thery were playing when you entered, and snap to attention. They relax when they see who you are, and you sense a change in their attitude.
The elder of the two officers give you a close inspection. "Such a fine lot of patriotic types," he says. "It's about time someone from this little burg enlisted in the army! Welcome to the service of King Drake. Hail Namtar!"
29) Perilously weakened from your long journey through the swamp, you at last enter the City of the Yellow Mud Toad. The walls here are sagging and brown with grime. The city smells almost as bad as the swamp that surrounds it. Still pools of foul water and puddles of bubbling mud clog the streets. The people of this shuffle about on their tasks, letting your greetings go unheeded and refusing to look you in the eye.
30) Sheltered at the base of the ruined city wall you find a funky little souvenir shop. A sign in the window identifies the place as "Your Lanac'toor memorabilia shop!" Intrigued, you enter. An unseen bell chimes an offensively sour note as you swing open the door to the shop. Inside you find a remarkable selection of Lanac'toor souvenirs. Images of the mad sorcerer are inscribed on mugs, bowls, plates, bookends, trophies, boxes, candles, and lanterns. Lanac'toor grinning face or family crest is embroidered on hats, ties, underwear, capes, and belts...a store clerk even offers to personalize any item you select, sewing or engraving your name on you purchase. A very small portion of the shop is given over to items unrelated to Lanac'toor. Most of it seems like junk - bits of masonry from the city wall, timy images of the Yellow Mud Toad, and odd scraps of metal. You are amazed by the single-minded devotion this shop shows to an historical figure so insignificant outside the walls of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad.
31) On the far distant horizon you spot the menacing shape of a black sail. It seems these sea lanes are patrolled by pirates and other scurvy beasts. The enemy ship is down-wind from you - it is only a matter of time before you are caught!
32) Huddled in the shelter of the city's ill-repaired wall you find a militia of wild-eyed men. "Is the war over?" one of them asks. "Does Lanac'toor live?" wonders another.
You are able to piece together something of the history of this place. The patron of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad was a wizard named Lanac'toor. He occupied a tower that formerly stood in the center of town. Lanac'toor quarreled with Namtar when a general ban on magic was announced, and war broke out between the City of the Yellow Toad and Namtar's city of Kingshome. As soon as the war began it was over. Kingshome legions summoned a dragon from the swamp to shatter the walls of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad. Lanac'toor's tower was destroyed and the wizard himself was turned to stone.
After Lanac'toor was killed, the enemy army withdrew, apparently unconcerned with the fate of the City of the Yellow Mud Toad. The citizens of the city are convinced the worst is yet to come, and thus maintain a feeble city militia as defense. It seems unlikely the city has anything worth defending. The men of the militia mutter to themselves as you leave.
33) Ahead you see the walled city of Byzanople. The tattered banner of Byzanople still flies above the city's unbreached walls. The approaches to the city are occupied by the army of Kingshome. The besieging army is spread across the countryside, indicating it has been several months since Byzanople was invaded.
As you approach, several heavily armored soldiers launch an assault on the city. They scamble over rubble and rush the city's gate, waving their weapons and shouting war cries. A hail of arrows, stones, and boiling oil descends upon the attackers whenever they stray too near the wall. The defenders make short work of the Kingshomer assault, and fewer than one in ten of the soldiers launching the assault make it back to their camp.
34) A rought pile of rubble marks the perimeter of the Kinsghome advance seige camp. The cyclopean walls of Byzanople are just a few yards away. A twisted path leads through the rubble toward the gates of the city. The path passes beneath the walls of the city, forming a savage killing ground. The path is littered with broken arrow shafts, debris, and the bodies of others who have tried to take this city by storm.
35) This massive central structure dominates the city of Lansk. Unlike the walls that surround this city, this structure is fortified and prepared for war. Armed Lansk guards patrol the battlements, looking stern and ill humored. Written warnings in a variety of languages advise passers-by to keep their distance. And not without reason, for within the structure, visible through a thick glass panel, you see a dragon. The beast is huge, completely filling the fortress that is its home. It must weigh a least eighty tons. The dragon is asleep, but no less fearsome for all of that.
A plaque explains the dragon is maintained by the city as its primary means of defense. Should disaster ever threaten the city, you read, the dragon will be set free, destroying both the city and the army that would couquer it. The dragon is maintained by expensive blood sacafices - primarily by hurling criminals into the dragonbunker.
The dragon is impressive, but you feel vaguely disappointed. This isn't a fearsome flying saurian; it's an overfed monster sitting in a cage.
36) You alert the warriors to your presence. The soldiers are startled when you speak, and when they turn you see they are pale with fright. They realize you could have killed them before they knew you were there. The soldiers regard you nervously as the woman in red and white approaches.
"You're the infiltrators the Kingshomers sent from their camp," she says. "I see you are surprised - my city might be losing this war, but we're not without our resources.
The woman shakes your hand as she introduces herself. "My name is Princess Myrilla," she says. "If you meant us harm you would have attacked us from behind. You don't look like Kingshomers; I choose to trust you." Myrilla barks some orders to her men in a language you don't understand. Turning back to you, she continues, "Follow me. My brother will want to speak with you."
Myrilla leads you through a secret passage into the heart of Byzanople. It's odd this girl has so abruptly taken you into her confidence. You decide to play along...if she can't make you a better offer than the Kingshomers, this is certainly an easier way into the city than storming the gate.
