Page 97 - Serpent Kingdoms

REALMS

themselves, although the currently awake lich can be persuaded Important Sites
to intervene if the tribal council cannot reach agreement about
Only ruins now break the landscape of this bleak region. Some
an issue.
of those ruins, however, are rich enough to result in a steady
The asabis and stingtails that make up the vast majority of
stream of adventurers.
the population are organized into tribal mercenary companies.
Anarath: The ruined City of Statues lies in the northern
Each tribe is controlled by an asabi chief, who gains control
reaches of the Frozen Sea, in the shadow of the High Ice. Aban-
by allying with the tribe’s most powerful stingtails. All the
doned in the dying days of Isstosseffi fi l, Anarath was picked
chiefs serve on the Council of Chiefs, which answers only to
over by early Netherese explorers. Today, it is the haunt of Iym-
King Oreme.
rith (female ancient blue dragon sorcerer 7), the Doom of the
The liches of Oreme keep only enough asabis and stingtails
Desert. Iymrith does not know the name of the city in which
in the city to ensure its defense and maintain a viable breed-
she lairs, but she has found the accommodations suitable. No
ing population. Excess tribes are dispatched into Faerûn with
one dwells in Anarath except the dragon, her legion of gargoyle
instructions to support themselves by any means necessary (usu-
constructs, and the Company of Flame Spiders (an enslaved Ath-
ally mercenary work) and ensure a steady fl ow of news reports
katlan adventuring company that the dragon uses to explore
back to the capitol.
nearby Netherese ruins). In recent years, word of Anarath’s
discovery has reached the serpentfolk of Najara, and they have
Major Geographical Features begun making regular pilgrimages to this ancient ruin. Since
none have dared enter the city so far, Iymrith tolerates their
Though not completely featureless, the area where the Isstossef-
offerings, just as she does those of certain Bedine tribes.
fi fi l Empire once stood now appears largely lifeless and barren.
Bhaulaea: In the western reaches of the High Ice, near the
The Frozen Sea: During the Days of Thunder, the old Narrow
old bed of the Narrow Sea, lies the ruined City in Ice. Aban-
Sea ran like a sword along the eastern fl anks of the Greypeak
doned by the sarrukh during their war with the phaerimms, it
Mountains, stretching from the future site of the dwarven sea-
now lies encased in glacial ice at the bottom of the High Ice,
port Ascore to the city of Oreme, but the sea was never more
forgotten by all except the liches of Oreme. Unless the denizens
than 100 miles in width. After the Isstossef reshaped the land
of Shade resume the melting of the High Ice, the only way
in their war with the phaerimms, the Narrow Sea fl owed from
to reach Bhaulaea is an ancient portal that links the ruins of
west to east, stretching from what would become Ascore to the
Ss’yin’tia’saminass with an intact remnant of the city preserved
Tortured Lands.
in a bubble of glacial ice. Since the portal key to return differs
After countless millennia, little evidence remains of the ter-
from the one needed to reach the City in Ice, however, would-
rain-shaping magic employed by the sarrukh. The icy dunes of
be explorers who do not take special precautions are usually
the Frozen Sea on the western border of Anauroch—the result
trapped there. The frozen corpses of seven yuan-ti and their
of rainfall that runs down the eastern slopes of the Greypeaks
deinonychus steeds in the center of the ice cavern bear mute
and freezes—give mute evidence of the ancient sea that once
witness to just such a miscalculation.
lay here.
Crypt of Hssthak: Hssthak (LE male sarrukh mummy
Today, the Frozen Sea is a breeding ground for many birds in
sorcerer 10/archmage 5), who believes himself to be the last of
the spring, but it is otherwise almost empty of inhabitants. Only
the Isstossef, rests within this ancient tomb guarding two of the
those foolish enough to search out the lost cities of Anarath,
Golden Skins of the World Serpent (Nether Scrolls). Although
Ascore (seaport of dwarven Delzoun), Bhaulaea, Hlaungadath
his crypt has remained undiscovered for countless millennia, he
(a crashed Netherese fl oating city), and Oreme ever come here.
waits patiently for the day that he can pass on the wisdom of
The Phaerlin: The Buried Realms of Anauroch are the
the sarrukh to their lesser progeny.
dominion of the phaerimms, and those who can resist the
Circa –6000 DR, the elves of Evereska stumbled across Hsst-
master of the Phaerlin are few and far between. The deepest
hak’s tomb and recognized the threat it posed. A half dozen elves
catacombs of Oreme connect directly with the Underdark and
volunteered to become mummies themselves so that they could
have been the site of repeated battles between the asabis of
guard the tomb for all eternity. Once they had been placed in posi-
Oreme and the mind-slaves of the phaerimms. Long ago, the
tion, the tomb was resealed and buried by elven magic. Because the
sarrukh liches erected a barrier around Oreme similar to the
crypt lay beneath otherwise unremarkable fl atlands, the Netherese
Sharnwall. Thus far, the barrier has prevented the phaerimms
never chanced upon it. Recently, however, the walls of a deep
from directly invading the city, but the wards do not prevent
sinkhole at a desert oasis on the eastern edge of the Frozen Sea
the passage of other races, including the thornbacks’ minions.
crumbled, revealing the front of the ancient structure. Already a
Elsewhere in the Phaerlin, asabi tribes dominate the catacombs
band of lizardfolk and the Company of the Golden Sands have
beneath the ruined city of Rasilith and the caverns beneath
explored parts of the tomb, so it is only a matter of time before
Azirrhat. The former group is under the direct control of
someone recovers the powerful sarrukh magics that lie within.
the phaerimms, while the latter is nominally free but secretly
Hall of Mists: In the depths of the High Forest, beneath
controlled by the phaerimms.
the towering Grandfather Tree, lies a truly ancient ruin known
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