Barada: Points of Interest 22-30

22. The Marching Square

In a huge, open cave the soldiers of Barada perform their drills on dusty slabs of sandstone. At the far right of the cavern, built into the cave wall stands the impressive walled fortress of the Qalea Militaria, flanked on either side by huge statues of military heroes and fearsome beasts. To the left, the cavern is dominated by a fortified stone wall set with a heavy gate and watch towers. Perhaps it is the lower light level at that end of the cavern, but this entrance to the Pit of Judgement gives off an ominous aura.

23. Qalea Militaria

While this grand building is heavily fortified, it does not defend any strategic location per se, and instead serves more as a symbol of Baradan military strength.

Beyond that, the Qalea functions as the base of military operations within Barada. Generals sit within its offices reviewing scouting reports and forming battle plans. The ordinary soldiers of Barada garrison here when they are not on deployment.

Civilians are not allowed within the Qalea without prior appointment.

The Qalea is both the name of the fort and the military organisation of Alagria, for more information on the organization, view the Qalea Militaria page.

24. The Pit of Judgement

Beyond the heavy-set doors of the gatehouse, through a dark, short and winding passage lies a cavern that almost immediately drops away into a large, round pit. Around the edge of the pit stand several guardhouses connected to pulley-based lifts that dangle over the precipice. From the depths of the pit, the echoing sounds of moaning, crying and shouting emanate and play out across the open cavern in a haunting chorus.

[p[The guilty of Barada might be subjected to many punishments, but few are as feared as incarceration in the Pit of Judgement. A deep, circular shaft, the Pit is Lined on all sides with cells. While there is some light at the top of the shaft, it grows steadily darker the deeper it gets, which is why the lowest levels are reserved for the worst offenders.

25. Subterranean Storehouse

A well-worn track leads out from a checkpoint nearby, along which a steady stream of carts are being wheeled. Going into the checkpoint are carts laden with grains and fruit, while at the same time empty carts exit in the opposite direction. Passers-by can make out the shapes of silos beyond.

26. The Guild Hisad

Further down the well-worn tunnels, the source of the carts becomes clear, a gatehouse marked with a rose-coloured crest and emblazoned with a sheaf of wheat and a sickle. Carts pull along to the gatehouse where a studious individual checks over the contents and makes a note in some detailed ledger before waving the cart on to its destination. Empty carts arrive in the opposite direction and are given some unknown directions for their path through the cave beyond.

27. The Steading under the Sands

Beyond the gatehouse of Guild Hisad, lies a truly vast cave in which sits a rolling farmlands, far more reminiscent of the rural hearlands of Milagon or Ebrion than Barada. Off in the far distance a waterfall cascades into a glistening pool that feeds into a number of streams and troughs, irrigating countless fields of cereals, fruit trees, herbs, spices and grazing land. All manner of farming is carrying on here more than a mile beneath the surface of some of Ara’s harshest, most inhospitable landscapes.

28. Deep Scramble Slums

Down, past the established tunnels of the Steadings, the tunnel networks of Barada become increasingly roughshod. Gone are the wide, even and cleanly excavated tunnels that have marked the rest of Barada, gone too are the small, glowing gemstones built into the walls and ceilings to light the way. In their place a series of lanterns hang sheading flickering light across the uneven surfaces

Eventually, the tunnels open up into a cave network, although visitors will both smell and hear the slums of Deep Scramble before they see them. Small caves are dug out along the walls of these caverns and most other available space has been monopolised by tents, lean-tos and hovels. Children run around unsupervised, adults play dice games and everyone stares suspiciously at the sight of outsiders.

Space is a premium underground and Barada’s success means it continues to expand. Beyond the established spaces of Barada, life is more dangerous, and expansion puts the population at ever greater risk of encountering mind flayers and other evils of the underdark. It is therefore no small surprise that the city’s poorest and most destitute residents find themselves at the forefront of that expansion.

29. Badul Zhaldrea’s Hovel

At the far end of Deep Scramble Slums, up a rocky slope, sits an unassuming cave mouth. What stands it apart from the rest of the slums, is how quiet and deserted it feels. The locals know better than to risk the ire of the Mad Alagrian, although they know that in exchange for his solitude he would go to great lengths to defend them from danger.

Hidden away within the Deep Scramble Slums is the home of Badul Zhaldrea, the Mad Alagrian . While he is not well known within Barada, he is something of a local celebrity to the residents of the slums who know that anyone underestimating him based on his eccentric exterior are due for an unpleasant surprise.

Badul’s hovel is a series of sub caves and tunnels. Within his main chamber, he has the following items on display:

His life's work, a tome, bound in Beholder skin, The Anomalonomicon

A dissected Spectator

A massive hunk of amethyst that vibrates gently to itself

A padded box containing a number of strange spiral shells, muted lavender in colour outside, their insides appear almost impossibly opalescent

A jar of liquid in which are preserved some purplish tadpoles

A strange, grey, honeycomb-like rock, the compartments of which appear unfathomably deep

30. The Hidden Vaults

For what it lacks in natural resources above ground, Alagria makes up for with plentiful riches below the surface. Many of the country’s historic wars with Milagon have been over the gold and jewels mined from deep beneath the desert’s surface.

Barada is home to perhaps some of the largest, best filled vaults in Ara, or so the tales say, for few if any have ever seen inside the Shovrhan’s vaults. Their location is not only a secret, but an everchanging one, for the treasures of Alagria are stored within a demiplane whose entrance shifts and bars only the select few from entering.

It is unknown exactly how much wealth still lies within the vaults, for it is no secret that Barada’s reliance on magical enchantments has come at an extensive cost.