The Key of Risha

As the capital of Rohsk (one of the Four Regions of Adhonaglamar), Risha has a rich history. It is the central location in many myths and legends. One of those is the story about the Key of Risha.

Legend has it that centuries ago, when Risha was just another city in Rohsk, a trader settled in the centre of town. Renowned for his collection of art and his wealth, he was a man of stature. Before his arrival, workers from outside the city had been busy for months making changes to the building he had bought. Being so rich, people weren't surprised he wanted his new home to be the finest in town. But what puzzled them were the cartloads of dirt the workers carried out of the house. When they asked the workers about it, they wouldn't talk about their assignment. They were paid to keep their mouth shut, and they planned to do so.

When the trader finally took up his residence in the house, he had all his possessions moved over. Carts full of art, furniture, musical instruments, and chests with unknown contents were queueing up down the block, waiting to be unloaded. To avoid too many curious onlookers, the carts drove around the house to the rear courtyard, out of sight of the nosy neighbours.

Time went by and people went on with their lives. The trader did well in the city, selling and buying plenty of goods.
One evening, after he had concluded a particularly good deal, he went down to the local tavern for a drink. Sadly, he drank too much that evening. In his inebriated state, he began boasting about his wealth. Three unsavoury looking customers, smelling an opportunity, offered him a place at their table and filled his cup. They started interrogating the trader, asking him how much gold he owned and where he kept it. Not thinking straight, the trader disclosed he had a vault built somewhere in the city, and the only way to access it was through a network of tunnels that started at his house. At that moment he reached inside his shirt and took out a necklace. Made from a simple yet sturdy chain, a large golden key dangled at the end. An intricate pattern, shaped like a maze, was engraved into its handle.

"Without this key, no one can ever find their way through the tunnels and access my vault."

Having heard enough, the trader's new 'friends' offered to take him home, as he was becoming drowsy. They left the tavern together.

That was the last time the trader was seen alive. The morning after, he was found floating in a stream underneath a bridge near his house. The guardsmen who were tasked with investigating the murder went to his house. Inside they found the three companions near a large hole in the wall of the basement. Two of them were dead, the third one was unconscious. He was taken to the city jail, where he was questioned by a judge once he regained consciousness.

He told the judge all he knew. He recounted the tale of the trader's boasting in the tavern, and the information they wriggled out of him. He remembered arriving at the house, but of the events that happened afterwards, he had no memory. He did not know how the trader ended up underneath the bridge, nor how his companions died.

The judge was at a loss. Without other witnesses and no clear indication of what happened, there were precious few leads to go on. On the body of the trader they found no key, nor was it found in the house or on any of the three companions. He sent several guardsmen down the hole in the basement wall, but all got lost and it took hours before they could find their way back out. The tunnel system was vast, and without any map it was impossible to find the vault. None of the guards had come across it while they were in there. No one even knew what it would look like. It could be hidden somewhere inside the tunnels.

The judge decided to have the heralds call out a message throughout the city. Anyone having any information about the murder or having found a golden key with special markings on the handle, were to come forward. No one did. But there were many inquiries about the details behind the murder and the peculiar message the heralds had spread. It didn't take long before the full story was out in the open. People started searching all over the city for both the key and the vault. Some forced their way into the trader's house and entered the tunnels. But they had no more luck than the guardsmen. When a few never came out, the major decided to have the tunnel entrance sealed (they were later found dead inside the tunnels; having lost their way completely they had died of thirst). Without the key it would be impossible anyway to find the vault and he wanted to avoid more adventurers getting lost, or worse.

And so it is that to this day the Key of Risha remains unfound. The surviving companion died soon afterwards in his cell while awaiting trial. While the official cause of death was ruled a stroke, some claim he was murdered by those who want to make sure the vault is never found. Others think the last companion was hallucinating or lying, and there simply is no vault. The trader's house was filled with valuables and expensive belongings that passed to the city afterwards (he had no remaining family). So some doubt there was ever anything more. But to some the legend offers a chance of a new life, a chance of finding riches to raise themselves up in society.

Even today, every once in a while, people will still be found looking around the house of the trader for a hidden compartment or a clue on how to find the vault in the tunnels. But for most, the legend of the Key of Risha has become a story they tell their children around the fire on a winter evening.