Chaos in Karka

"The first thing you'll notice in Karka is the smell... sweet scents of cinnamon and spices from the market mix with the salty spray of the sea and the dung and manure of hundreds of horses and camels."

-Rashaas al-Sabir, An Outsider's Guide to Ar-Jan'ai

A Shopping Trip

As the party entered Karka, Elria and Ra'zon noticed that the city's defenses seemed to be pointed inwards; the guards were seemingly less concerned with external threats and more focused on making sure no one left the city. Winded from their days of intense magical expenditure, the group elected to take a rest on the Darrington after browsing the exotic markets of Karka. Elria equipped herself with several javelins, and Jameson purchased a slightly magical spear for personal use. Grom negotiated with a struggling alchemist for a case of ten potions of healing. He also encountered a shifty merchant who offered him a magical flying rug, but he balked at the exorbitant price tag and left. Meanwhile, Ra'zon set about searching for information that could lead him to the Iron Hand of Petros. He purchased a book that detailed the continent of Ar-Jan'ai and studied it, learning much about the Eddardan Kingdom and the region as a whole.
According to the book, the Iron Hand was brought to the continent by Aureg Eddarda, who had previously been the High General of the Empire of Räsgard before leading a failed rebellion 150 years ago. He fled to Ar-Jan'ai to establish his own kingdom, founding the city of Karka as his capital. Some seventy years later, his kingdom was toppled in the revolution that founded the Rumiyyad Autarchy. There was no record of the fate of the Iron Hand, and any surviving supporters of the Eddardans were banished from the new kingdom into the Mushtarak Desert.
The book also detailed a natural phenomenon known as the Curse of Undying, a powerful magical effect that causes beings who die upon the sands of the Mushtarak Desert to come back in a form of unlife known as alim-hari or corpsewalkers. Little is known of the origins of the curse, but it is hypothesized to have originated from the Khamut civilization, an ancient mageocracy that disappeared suddenly around two-thousand years ago and whose ruins dot the region. The Obviation pushed the curse further inland, and during the Eddardan kingdom a wall was built along the edge of it to keep the alim-hari out. Today, a special section of the Rumiyyad military known as the Graveguard man the wall and defend travelers from rogue corpsewalkers.

Market Mayhem

While Grom and Elria headed back to the Darrington to rest, Ra'zon and Jameson stopped at a local tavern for drinks. After an hour though, they began to hear screams from the market that were loud enough to wake Grom and Elria. The two pairs ran to investigate the disturbance and discovered a massive, armor-plated reptilian beast running amok in the city. Realizing the beast was frightened and not wanting to kill it, the group engaged in a cautious battle with the creature. Jameson used his fire runes to bind the dinisaur to the ground while Ra'zon for some reason tried to give it drugs, and Grom tried to use a bear trap against it with very little effect. The beast proved a formidable foe and nearly killed Grom, but the combined efforts of the group were able to eventually bring the beast to unconsciousness.
As the creature was brought down, a very nervous-looking human man arrived from the direction of the docks and immediately began inspecting the beast. He identified himself as Jable Solens, and said the creature had been found on an island far to the west and was intended to be delivered to the zoo in Meicor, but it had gotten loose and gone on a rampage. Noticing several Amber Watch guards approaching, the asked the group to vouch for him with the guards and offered to give them the location of the island in return. Elria used her fame to smooth talk the Amber Watch into forgoing Jable's arrest, who in turn held up his end of the bargain and marked the island's approximate location on their map before beginning the process of loading the creature back on his ship.

Into the Desert

As the party settled in for a rest aboard the Darrington to recover from the fight, Elria was contacted via sending by a man named Biehram Torabi, a cleric of Pashet and attending physician to the Rumiyyad Autarch's daughter. The message stated that there had been a complication and they would be unable to meet the party halfway as requested, but that the matter was sensitive and details would have to be exchanged in person. After completing a night's sleep, the party prepared to leave the city and head inland to the capital city of El-Azahdron. As they approached the massive pair of bronze gates that led out of the town, they were stopped by the Amber Watch who refused to allow them through without proper authorization. They were directed to Tijara Castle in the Tower Ward where they should speak to the garrison commander, Admiral Harad al-Idrissi. Elria and Grom headed there while Ra'zon, Jameson, and Ari bought a carriage and camels at a nearby livery.
Admiral al-Idrissi had been briefed on Elria's impending arrival and gave them clearance to leave, along with an escort. He introduced them to Captain Khairiya Meral, his second-in-command and the one who would serve as their guide while in the Autarchy. Meeting back at the city gates the party headed out into the desert, accompanied by Captain Meral and three figures wrapped in foul-smelling rags who they were told were Graveguards.

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Chaos in Karka"

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Previous Chapter: The Shimmering Gulf

Next Chapter: Doctors, Dungeons, and Dead People

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Ingame Date: 29-30^th of Rainseed, 1855
Real-Life Date: May 1, 2021
Protagonists:

• Elria Sylvistra
• Jameson Harper
• Grom
• Ra'zon

Featured NPCs:

• Jable Solens
• Harad al-Idrissi
• Khairiya Meral

Locations:

• Karka