Preview: More from the Gazetteer

In my earlier preview, I shared with you a PDF of the article I recently submitted for publication in a future issue of Fight On! It's an overview of a much larger and more detailed treatment of the Eshkom District, one of the twenty such districts that makes up the Empire of Inba Iro. I intend Eshkom to be a ready-made "starting area" for people wanting to dive into sha-Arthan. To do that effectively, though, I need a more extensive gazetteer, one where each important location gets a longer entry, complete with descriptions of points of interest and NPCs, as well as some adventure seeds. Here's a draft of one example of what I intend to do with all the noteworthy sites in the Eshkom District.

Wolaka

Type: Village
Location: Southern reach of the Senok River, near the road to the Uldakal District
Population: ~500

At the southernmost reach of the Senok, where the road winds south toward the Uldakal District, lies Wolaka, a village of slate-roofed homes and terraced fields clinging to the rugged land. The river, once swift and restless, slows here, pooling in deep, shadowed bends before vanishing into the earth. Fishermen cast their nets in the still waters, while herdsmen guide their flocks along narrow trails, ever watchful for the iljanga that descend from the eastern mountains. Villagers also speak of old things sleeping beneath the mountains, of caves that breathe strange winds and of flickering lights seen dancing along the ridge lines on nights when the moons are thin.

Points of Interest

• The Riverbend Pools are a network of dark, still pools where the Senok gathers before disappearing underground. These waters are rich with fish, but their depths are unnerving. Nets sometimes return empty or tangled with strange weeds and, on occasion, the bones of even stranger creatures.

• The Terraces of Akwen are ancient agricultural terraces still in use, though built in an earlier age. Using interlocking stones, they grow hardy root vegetables and bitter greens. Some believe the lowest terrace conceals a sealed stairway into a forgotten vault.

• The Hollow Wind Cave is located above the village, exhaling a steady stream of warm air. Locals avoid it, saying birds do not fly near it and that voices echo in alien languages. Old Hio (see below) leaves offerings at its mouth during new moons.

Notable NPCs

• Old Hio, Lorekeeper and Healer
  A weathered Ironian woman with clouded eyes and a sharp tongue, Hema tends to ailments both physical and spiritual. She knows the old stories and speaks of debts owed to forgotten things in the mountain.

• Matar Shan, Skeptical Jirisa Herder
  Young and restless, Matar scoffs at the village’s old fears. He’s recently lost several jirisa to the iljanga and is organizing other youths to trap or drive the beasts out – though some claim what took the animals wasn’t any iljanga.

• Tresno of the North Road, Merchant-Traveler
  A quiet, heavyset Chomachto man who stops in Wolaka each season. He trades in salt, tools, and stories. Tresno always lodges nearest the river and watches the mountains with a wary gaze.

Adventure Seeds

• The Thing in the Pools
  The Riverbend Pools’ waters have begun to churn without wind and dead fish surface with peculiar bite marks. Old Hio says the “sleeping water-child” may be stirring. Fishermen demand protection and rumors fly about what might be lurking in the depths.

• When the Iljanga Spoke
  A herder returns from the high pastures claiming an iljanga spoke to him in a dream and demanded tribute. Days later, his jirisa flock is untouched while others have suffered attacks. Is he mad or has he unwittingly struck a dark bargain?

• The Light Above the Ridge
  Each time both moons wane, pale blue lights dance along the ridge. A sage visiting from Eshkom wants to study them, but the villagers refuse to guide him. The villagers say the lights are the souls of those who once tried – and failed – to unlock the secrets buried in the old stone tombs above. Whatever they found there, it did not wish to be known.