Aetthyng
2010-02-19, 03:05 PM
The Kingdom of Capphune
The bold adventurers round a bend in the road, and the white city of Rejenask comes into view in the southwest. Shining like a cap of snow in the sunlight, it perches on a high hilltop overlooking the Phereon river, its fortifications part wall, part sheer cliff. The adventurers cross a field of dry rice paddies dotted with orchards and walled gardens, but mostly devoid of human life. An enormous water wheel straddles the Phereon just upstream of a stone bridge and an eighty foot waterfall, powering the city’s aqueduct and two pairs of cargo elevators, unique in the world.
The small kingdom of Capphune remains one of the richest for its size. There has always been demand for the tea of its plantations and the copper of its mines, and it co-owns the most important waterway in the world, the just-completed canal of Sonryliat. Recently, however, the seasonal trade has slowed down, and the many travelers and merchants of the bustling main port city of Insborke have left for the sake of the capital. The adventurers are among them. They are skilled in the martial and magical arts, but… not enough to pass the coming trials unscathed.
They come to a crowd of native Capphunej mixed with foreigners standing before the Phereon bridge, upon the bridge, and past the bridge, curving westward in line to board the elevators. South of the bridge, a somewhat emptier road leads up to the old eastern stairway entrance and beyond, to a hilly countryside. To the northwest, the Phereon winds up the great valley into the Capphunej heartlands. Mount Shirune, the third tallest peak on the island, looms in the north. In the east, the ocean gleams in the sunlight, interrupted by columns of smoke off Insborke, and topped by a gray-brown strip on the horizon that might be the continent – Elf country.
A squad of guards with halberds and bright green uniforms monitor the shifting mass of people as it crosses the bridge, struggling to be heard over the roar of the waterfall and the ghastly screech of the waterwheel’s gears. The Capphunej are tall and slender people with very dark skin and slanted eyes, wearing simple, light clothing, loose headgear, and wavy, long hairstyles. Some of the shorter and paler (though by no means pale) individuals might be elven or half-elven, but they seem to hide their lapine ears. Many of them appear to be wealthy landowners or merchants. Any foreigners, such as the nearby band of brown-skinned minstrels, stand out from the crowd easily. Along the side of the road, an orc wearing a uniform with the city’s emblem, his skin as black as tar, pushes a large wheelbarrow as his tiny daughter skips ahead and fills it with rubbish dropped by passerby.
As the line advances, a team of Halflings on riding dogs, also wearing green uniforms, goes back and forth across the bridge, shoving parchment scrolls into every open hand. After a while, the group of adventurers get hold of one and crowd over it. Hastily printed on the scroll is a warning from General Jenestum. Most of the scroll is printed in Capphunej - the local human dialect - but there is a translation to Common in the bottom margin:
Spring-52-490 T.D.J.
By nightfall of this day, all entrances to and exits from
the Royal City of Rejenask will be closed to civilians.
All foreigners must report to the Citadel of Rejenask for
their traveling papers to be examined.
Foreigners able to fight are encouraged to volunteer to
the Capphune Royal Army for a generous reward.
All foreigners who fail to present themselves at the
citadel by nightfall will henseforth be considered enemies
of the crown, guilty of crimes punishable by death
or by an indefinite period of incarceration.
Authorized by General Jenestum, serving commander of
the Rejenaskej Capphune Royal Army division.
The scroll holds no additional information that might explain these harsh measures.
An out-of-character thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142630) is now available. Don't forget to click on thread tools at the top of this thread and to subscribe so that you don't lose it. This will probably be my longest post :smalltongue:. All of the j's in the local names are pronounced as y's. Have fun!
The bold adventurers round a bend in the road, and the white city of Rejenask comes into view in the southwest. Shining like a cap of snow in the sunlight, it perches on a high hilltop overlooking the Phereon river, its fortifications part wall, part sheer cliff. The adventurers cross a field of dry rice paddies dotted with orchards and walled gardens, but mostly devoid of human life. An enormous water wheel straddles the Phereon just upstream of a stone bridge and an eighty foot waterfall, powering the city’s aqueduct and two pairs of cargo elevators, unique in the world.
The small kingdom of Capphune remains one of the richest for its size. There has always been demand for the tea of its plantations and the copper of its mines, and it co-owns the most important waterway in the world, the just-completed canal of Sonryliat. Recently, however, the seasonal trade has slowed down, and the many travelers and merchants of the bustling main port city of Insborke have left for the sake of the capital. The adventurers are among them. They are skilled in the martial and magical arts, but… not enough to pass the coming trials unscathed.
They come to a crowd of native Capphunej mixed with foreigners standing before the Phereon bridge, upon the bridge, and past the bridge, curving westward in line to board the elevators. South of the bridge, a somewhat emptier road leads up to the old eastern stairway entrance and beyond, to a hilly countryside. To the northwest, the Phereon winds up the great valley into the Capphunej heartlands. Mount Shirune, the third tallest peak on the island, looms in the north. In the east, the ocean gleams in the sunlight, interrupted by columns of smoke off Insborke, and topped by a gray-brown strip on the horizon that might be the continent – Elf country.
A squad of guards with halberds and bright green uniforms monitor the shifting mass of people as it crosses the bridge, struggling to be heard over the roar of the waterfall and the ghastly screech of the waterwheel’s gears. The Capphunej are tall and slender people with very dark skin and slanted eyes, wearing simple, light clothing, loose headgear, and wavy, long hairstyles. Some of the shorter and paler (though by no means pale) individuals might be elven or half-elven, but they seem to hide their lapine ears. Many of them appear to be wealthy landowners or merchants. Any foreigners, such as the nearby band of brown-skinned minstrels, stand out from the crowd easily. Along the side of the road, an orc wearing a uniform with the city’s emblem, his skin as black as tar, pushes a large wheelbarrow as his tiny daughter skips ahead and fills it with rubbish dropped by passerby.
As the line advances, a team of Halflings on riding dogs, also wearing green uniforms, goes back and forth across the bridge, shoving parchment scrolls into every open hand. After a while, the group of adventurers get hold of one and crowd over it. Hastily printed on the scroll is a warning from General Jenestum. Most of the scroll is printed in Capphunej - the local human dialect - but there is a translation to Common in the bottom margin:
Spring-52-490 T.D.J.
By nightfall of this day, all entrances to and exits from
the Royal City of Rejenask will be closed to civilians.
All foreigners must report to the Citadel of Rejenask for
their traveling papers to be examined.
Foreigners able to fight are encouraged to volunteer to
the Capphune Royal Army for a generous reward.
All foreigners who fail to present themselves at the
citadel by nightfall will henseforth be considered enemies
of the crown, guilty of crimes punishable by death
or by an indefinite period of incarceration.
Authorized by General Jenestum, serving commander of
the Rejenaskej Capphune Royal Army division.
The scroll holds no additional information that might explain these harsh measures.
An out-of-character thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142630) is now available. Don't forget to click on thread tools at the top of this thread and to subscribe so that you don't lose it. This will probably be my longest post :smalltongue:. All of the j's in the local names are pronounced as y's. Have fun!