Page 119 - Serpent Kingdoms

REALMS

mouths that honeycomb both sections are linked by narrow actively, and the inhabitants of the realm came to consider it a
stone staircases carved into the rock. Northface serves as living vassal state of distant Nimbral.
quarters for the legion of troops based here, while Southface is
home to the merchants who cater to the needs of the soldiers Plots and Rumors
and their families. A pair of stout, fortifi ed walls known as the
Westgate and the Eastgate block the western and eastern ends Despite the tight security of Samarach, rumors abound of ser-
of the gorge, respectively. pentfolk plots.
Taruin (Large City, 23,899): The City of Seven Spices lies Harim of the Jahi: Rumor holds that a debauched, hedonistic
near the confl uence of the creeks that form the cult of serpent-worshiping
River Samar. Many of the rare spices for which sorceresses known as the
Samarach is known are gathered in the fi elds sur- Harim of the Jahi dwells in the jun-
rounding Taruin, and salt caravans from the gle’s depths. Any woman who vanishes
mines of Selgol regularly pass through in the jungle is assumed to have joined the
this walled town on their way to cult, and any man who disappears is said to have
the scows that will transport fallen prey to its members.
their cargo to Samargol. In truth, the Harim of the
A large contingent of Jahi is a cabal of pureblood
Samargol’s army is yuan-ti from the Sauringar
based in Taruin, and tribe. Its leader is an undead,
its leaders use the city as three-headed serpent known as
a staging area for extended a jahi MM2 that embodies
patrols along the borders of the unfulfi lled desires of
the Samarlogh. the yuan-ti to reclaim
the Chultan Peninsu-
Regional la. The jahi’s current
chosen one is Ssent-
History enna Di’Nastassa (CE female Illustration by Kalman Andrasofszky
pureblood yuan-ti cleric 5 of Sseth/
The isolated realm of Samarach was sorcerer 5/mystic theurge 8), a snake-tongued
once the western half of Thindol. At that time, its Flying Hunt
seductress of unparalleled beauty.
populace was dominated by Tashlutan immigrants who settled
the Sanrach Basin after the Tashalar Campaigns (circa 300 DR).
(See the Regional Histories of the Tashalar and Thindol, below, Serpentes
for more details.)
Capitol: Ss’inthee’ssaree
In the Year of Many Serpents (605 DR), the Thindolese in
Population: 126,487 (yuan-ti 58%, wild dwarves 41%, sarrukh
both the Chultan-dominated east and the Tashlutan-dominat-
1%)
ed west unmasked a host of yuan-ti infi ltrators in their midst.
Government: Empire (in principle), Tribal Alliance (in practice)
During the months of anarchy that followed this event, roving
Religions: Sseth (now Set) (sarrukh, yuan-ti), Thard Harr (wild
bands of ophiophobes attacked anyone they suspected of possess-
dwarves)
ing serpentine ancestry. Unlike the eastern Thindolese, the folk
Imports: Slaves
of western Thindol fl ed en masse, marshaling a great fl otilla of
Exports: Furs, herbs, jewelry
ships and sailing for the fabled isle of Nimbral.
Alignment: LE, NE
After a great storm dashed much of this slapdash fl eet
against the Beacon Rocks, a legion of pegasi-mounted Knights
The Serpentes Empire once stretched from the Lhairghal (Hal-
of the Flying Hunt appeared above the remnants of the fl eet and
ruaa’s West Wall) to the Peaks of Flame, and from Sheirtalar
ordered the Thindolese to return to their homes. After listen-
to the Snout of Omgar. Now, however, its leaders openly rule
ing to their pleas for mercy, Lord Samar, a Nimbral Lord and
only in the Black Jungles. Still rent by the ancient tribal feuds
the commander of the Nimbran legion, agreed to return to the
that laid the empire low, Serpentes has only recently reawakened
Chultan Peninsula with the refugees and drive the yuan-ti from
from centuries of somnolence and begun to reassert its authority
the Sanrach Basin.
over the Chultan Peninsula.
Once the survivors returned home, the archmage Samar
cloaked the mountain passes and roads of the realm in veils of
illusion, then began a decades-long hunt for the agents of the Life and Society
yuan-ti. In time, the western Thindolese began calling their
Of the fi ve great yuan-ti tribes in the Chultan Peninsula, only
isolated land Samarach, after the fi rst Nimbral Lord to rule it
three have signifi cant holdings in the Black Jungles. At present,
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