Volume One -- The North and East of the Old World
by Rajaad
Welcome to the series of treatises I’ve always wanted to scribe. You see, the most difficult aspect of being an adventurer is being mortal – with a limited life span, there’s only so much time to explore the world. During my adventuring career I’ve collected innumerable maps, rumors, and legends which might lead the savvy adventurer to wealth and excitement. I’m beginning with the Old World, dear to my heart, and will cover each of the known provinces in turn, as well as some of the areas in between.
Use the accompanying map to pinpoint the locations of the sites, and if you decide to do some exploring, good luck!
1 – The Wrecks of the Northern Shore
The Morleraan Ocean is known for her fierce tempers and ferocious storms. The shipping trade has always attempted to stay out of her open waters, where ships can disappear without trace in her famous magical storms. So ships have held to the coastlines, hugging the northern shore of the Old World and then cutting north to the shore of the New World. But the shorelines possess their own dangers. Wicked storms roll across the waters and drive ships into the rocky coasts and underwater outcroppings near the shore, littering the waters with wreckage. There have been few survivors of such catastrophes, and old shipping records mark off loss after loss. Eventually, in the year 17 After Shayana, a man named Devon Jaralain took it upon himself to buoy the shoreline, and he marked the most dangerous reefs and outcroppings with large wooden floats. These floats have been replaced annually, and the buoys have reputedly saved hundreds of lives. In the nearly three hundred years since Devon's buoy implementation, losses have been greatly reduced, but shipping records document at least seventy-three ships that have sunk along the coast.
Most of these ships sunk in shallow water, and the waves will often wash up coins and artifacts from centuries past. If properly equipped with magic to allow the breathing of water and protection against the icy-cold waters, the adventuring possibilities are endless. Many of the wrecks are rather well-preserved due to the cold water, and the sea is relatively free of predators.
Among creatures to beware are the huge, slow-moving Asa shark, usually a creature of the deep waters, but occasionally known to bump up against ships in an attempt to knock them over. This is, of course, fruitless against larger vessels (though sailors have been known to fall overboard due to the impact), but small trells could be endangered. The Asa shark grows to forty arms long and appears quite intelligent, often stalking ships for leagues in the hopes of something being thrown overboard.
There have been two reports of krakens – another deep-water beast, but coastal adventurers should be in little danger of such legends. The reports are unverified in any case, and both reports are over a century old.
Finally there are the merchrins, arm-long fish prized for food on noble plates but also known to run in large schools and attack much larger prey. There are no known reports of merchrins attacking humans, but then again, few people go swimming along the northern shores. Merchrins are shallow-water fish, but it would be unlikely to encounter them, as they are quite rare and rather over-fished.
Perhaps the greatest danger would be the sea itself, with its large waves and strange storms. And one must not forget the pirates that lurk in the coves and bays, and who know the waters better than any ship’s captain.
Despite the risks, there are millions of silver of lost currency, most of it antique and probably more valuable if sold to collectors. Then there is the cargo – including weaponry and armor, porcelain and tapestries, jewels and wines. The list is endless. I myself, wandering along the shores, once found a small golden figurine of a dragon with two emerald eyes (one of which was missing). The artifact itself was fairly valuable just for the weight of gold and the quality of the emerald, but two passages’ research in the archives of the Library of Selarum, where the original Old World shipping records are kept, allowed me to track down its origin and date. Armed with this information, I then fetched a handsome price from a collector, allowing me to go into retirement for about two moons.
2 – The Pirate Fortress of Al’Jirdeen
Ambition might be considered a virtue, but too much tends to get one in trouble. Al’Jirdeen, said to hail from an unknown land, had dreams of being the greatest pirate of all time. Gathering his band of fifty men about him, he set about raiding ships just after the founding of Jalpa. He believed in glory, and instead of embracing the long-standing pirate tradition of making oneself scarce, he began building a stone fortress on the north-eastern coast of the Old World. Inaccessible by land and approachable by sea only through a labyrinthine network of reefs, he constructed his fortress for all to see. For three years he was the scourge of the sea, frustrating Old World authorities who could see his fleet and fortress across the foaming waters, but dared not approach. Finally, one of his ships was captured, and the torture of his men revealed the passage into the fortress. A passage later the fortress fell.
The ruins, however, still remain, and though there are many references to Al’Jirdeen’s treasure hoard, said to contain the loot from over fifty ships, the hidden chests remain undiscovered. They are rumored to be in the vicinity of the ruins, accessible by secret passageways that lead to a network of underground caverns.
The well-preserved ruins, however, are now home to goblins (who may very well have found the treasure and distributed it among their underground cities), and chimera have oft been sighted lurking along the shore. A dangerous place indeed. If you approach by water, remember the dangers of the reefs, for the rocks are known to be sharp and merciless.
3 -- Elves
There have been so many reports of elves in this area that there is no longer any doubt that they have a city in the vicinity. Small-statured wood elves are most commonly reported, but moon elves have also been sighted. Little is known of the elves, and for the adventurer who could discover their lands and establish trade and communication with them, there would be great boons.
4 – Mashaea’s Vorpal Sword
Vorpal swords, able to slice through stone, armor, or other people’s blades with almost no feeling of resistance, were common during the MorDuraan times. Now only a handful are known to exist. If you wish to find one, however, all you must do is discover the place where the warrioress Mashaea fell.
Her companions recorded her final battle, a fight to the death with an immense forest dragon, said to be the size of three draft horses combined. She managed only to injure the beast, and her companions had no recourse but to flee. I’ve reconstructed, from meaningful passages throughout their journals, the relevant clues that could lead one to discover the exact location of this event.
Our search was for the Wellspring, whose waters were rumored to cure any ill . . . half-way up the tallest mountain near the Al’Jirdeen mountains it bubbles forth from a cave . . . there were three possibilities, and we settled on the southernmost, which we named ‘Gryphon Peak’ due to the gryphon’s face the mountain resembled when one viewed it with head titled to the side . . . we travelled a passage through the rocky hills, Mashaea protecting us from the goblins that poured from the many caves at night . . . she clove a hollow in the rock for us with her blade, and we weathered an attack by what must have been a hundred goblins. That she could construct such a shelter is all that saved us . . . the valley we have called ‘Deepfen’, for there are truly fenlands at its bottom. Frightening and bubbling with overripe and fetid things, it's still the first true green we’ve seen for days . . . the woodlands on the southern edge of Deepfen have proven a great boon – an oasis of abundance in this grey, stony land . . . we decided to explore the little rocky valley that moved to the north – it’s nearly impassible, but the pools of water we see at its bottom make us wonder if the Wellspring might be nearby . . . it took her in the shoulder with its claw, and her blade tumbled from her hand and fell among the stones, sinking into the rock so that only its hilt could be seen. We knew then that it was over . . .
The blade was a longsword, and if one could find the shelter Mashaea carved into the stone, you’d know you were on the right track. The sword itself might best be found by looking for green – it is my supposition that the path it cut in the rock as it sunk to the hilt might serve as a reservoir for water and organic material. Such crevices often spawn plant growth in otherwise barren areas. If I were looking for it, I’d search for a sword-long line of moss or plants, perhaps even covering the hilt.
The Wellspring, incidentally, has never been found.
5 – New Masalla
Before Jalpa was built under the same name, a group of nobles began erecting a fort along the coast. Their intent was to build a great shipping port, but plague and encounters with Sereg and merfolk never allowed the project to grow beyond the status of village. It was occupied for eight years, and then finally abandoned. There were thirty-seven buildings constructed, most of wood. The great hall was made of stone, however, and is reportedly still in good condition. A Sereg raid spelled the last day for the village, so most of the goods were probably taken, but the ruins might be worth exploring. Most of the wooden buildings are half-fallen, but there are said to be outlying hunting lodges in the nearby woods. Sereg still dwell in the area, and there have been recent sightings of harpies and large wolves – possibly dire wolves – along the shore.
6 – The Dryad of Highwood
If it weren’t for the Sereg, New Masalla might have been a wonderful place to live. An oft-mentioned area recorded in many New Masallan journals was the Highwood. Described as a place of bountiful game, deep forests, freshwater pools and lush moss, it was a veritable woodsman’s paradise. Deep in the Highwood, however, was a great, twisted tree, in which lived an ancient Dryad. Sweet and beautiful beyond words, she was friendly as well, and would sit for hours with huntsmen, recalling stories and legends from the times of yore. One man estimated her at more than a thousand years old, and the secrets she might have known can scarce be imagined. She hasn’t been heard of since the fall of New Masalla, and her location is unknown. But being immortal, she is doubtless still present, and if she could be found one might uncover secrets much greater than those I’m divulging. Still, beware the Sereg in the area, and recall that Dryads themselves can be quite dangerous if they take a fancy to you. If you go in search of her, bring plenty of things for trade – chocolates, candies, jewels and beautiful clothes are all beloved of the Dryad race.
7 – The Swamps of Heron’s Rook
These fens are best negotiated by canoe, as there can be vast stretches of stagnant, slime-covered water. The swampy areas are famous for glowing swamp-gasses, rare herbs, and the fist-sized Emry snail, prized as a delicacy when served with butter and lemon. Most stay clear of the lake in the middle of the swamp, however, for therein dwells perhaps the world’s largest Fen Dragon. Ancient and rather decrepit, it has nevertheless been responsible for the deaths of many herb-gatherers and explorers. The lake, called by some Guura (translating roughly from Old Tongue into ‘beware’), is said to be permanently quiet and still, its secrets hidden beneath a grey coating of algae that floats over the surface. Somewhere in the middle is believed to be an island, and upon this island dwell a strange race of merfolk, very beautiful but speaking a strange tongue and living by stranger ways. Little more is known of them, for the approach is considered too dangerous due to the dragon living beneath the waters.
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I hope this series of treatises shall be a boon to adventurers everywhere. Take care in your travels, but may you discover what I have not had the luck or the time to explore!