Zarash'ak

Kuv dagga! Smell the sizzling slugs and the fresh ashi bread! Say what you like about Sham and Fairhaven-my heart’s home lies on the stilts ofZarash’ak. — Alaar Velderan, Tharashk Inquisitive

No lightning rail crosses the Shadow Marches, and House Orien won’t risk its caravans in the treacherous marshlands. No trade roads connect the scattered villages. For generations, the Marcher clans were virtually independent kingdoms, battling all challengers to maintain their dominions in the darkness.

This situation changed with the rise of House Tharashk and the demand for dragonshards. Galifar’s hunger for the mystic crystals was a source of wealth and influence for the heirs of Tharashk, provided they could process the crystals and move them to the markets of the east. The three dominant Tharashk clans were quick to establish refineries, but their ancestral homes were too deep in the Marches to facilitate easy trade with Galifar. The leaders of the clans came together to build the largest city the Marches had ever seen— a port that could carry shards and services to the wider world.

It proved impossible to erect a city on the shores of the Zarash Bay, so architects made their way up the Glum River until they found a region that was stable enough. Even then, building the port was no simple task. The Glum is unpredictable and prone to floods, and the only way to secure a foundation was to raise the city above the river. This style of building is common throughout the Marches, but no construction on this scale had ever heen attempted. The creation of Zarash'ak took a decade and the resources of all three great clans. The Torrn druids raised mighty murk oaks from the depths of the Glum. Aided by the brute strength of Aashta laborers, clever Velderan architects built a foundation of interlocking platforms using the trees as supports. Additional piles and pillars were dropped into the Glum, and in time Zarash'ak was born.

Today Zarash'ak is known across Khorvaire as the seat of House Tharashk and the gateway to the Shadow Marches. Those who wish to deal with the leadership of the House of Finding or venture into the depths of the Marches likely find their way to the City of Stilts.

Traveling to Zarash’ak

No secure overland route to Zarash’ak exists. In recent years House Lyrandar has established an airship docking tower in the City of Stilts, and airships remain the swiftest and safest way to reach Zarash’ak. However, many captains refuse to risk their vessels in the skies of Droaam or the wild Marches. As a result, most visitors come to Zarash’ak across the water, laying anchor in Zarash Bay and taking ferries up the Glum River. Typically, the journey costs 10 galifar per traveler, but no standards are enforced; ferry operators might charge more for wealthy passengers. The threat of Tharashk bounty hunters generally deters piracy along the Glum, but the river’s dangers include chuuls, mad cultists, and strange horrors of the daelkyr that have risen from the depths.

Getting into the City

Rope ladders and lifts carry new arrivals from the Glum to the platforms of Zarash’ak. Tharashk recently installed a single levitating lift for the heaviest loads, but most of the cranes and elevators are powered by ore muscle or ogre laborers from Droaam.

The primary docks are beneath the Heart, the original core of the city. Those who enter through the docks are evaluated by the Liondrake guards of House Tharashk. These minders care little for identification papers or nationality, but they have a good nose for visitors with trouble on their minds, and a person who offends the Liondrakes might be pushed off a platform into the river. The easiest way to avoid the scrutiny of the guards is to arrive in the company of a Tharashk heir who can dismiss them. Another option is to work with the heirs of Clan Orgaal, who bring goods into Zarash’ak on the wings of wyverns. An Orgaal camp sits north of Zarash’ak, and sufficient gold or other interesting offers can purchase a means of entry into the City of Stilts.

The Sights and Smells of Zarash’ak

Citizens of the Five Nations often find their first visit to Zarash’ak a disturbing experience. The stench of the city’s waste mixes with the naturally foul waters of the Glum, and Marchers have different attitudes toward body odor than do the people of the east. These factors inspired the poet Kessler to call Zarash’ak “the city of a thousand stinks.” Amid the squalor, the magic of the Torrn druids ensures that the residents have pure water for drinking.

The Heart is the original center of the city, sup- ported by the trunks of massive murk oaks. This area is dominated by the Tharashk enclave and its asso- ciated businesses and barracks. The dragonshard refineries are deeper in the Marches, but at any given time the vaults of the Heart hold a fortune in shards waiting to be shipped to the east. The enclave of Zarash’ak is the home of the Tharashk triumvirate, which sets the overall vision for the house. It is also the seat of the Finder’s Guild, and many Tharashk heirs learn to harness their mystical gifts in the Heart of Zarash’ak.

The Ring surrounds the Heart and is constantly expanding. New levels are added to existing buildings, and new platforms are attached to the old. This work is done by different architects with wildly varying levels of skill, and the result is a ramshackle patchwork of a city. Some platforms have wide paths that could almost be considered roads; on and around other platforms, rope ladders are the only way to move from place to place. Most of the respected heirs of the house live in the Heart, leaving the Ring to traders, laborers, and travelers who can afford to stay out of the Webs. However, as the city’s population continues to grow, some members of the Tharashk clans are forced to settle in the Ring.

In general, the Ring is a bustling place. Merchants abound, offering everything from broiled slugs and handmade knives to healing salves and Gatekeeper charms. Beggars and thieves watch for unwary foreigners, and cultists of the Dragon Below take to the streets in search of new recruits. It’s a wild and chaotic environment, with opportunities for those seeking to make contact with Gatekeeper druids, followers of the Dragon Below, or guides to the deeper Marches.

The Webs stretch beneath the rest of the city, in the cramped space between the surface of the river and the lowest platforms of the Ring. The structures here are canopies supported by ropes anchored to the platforms above and the stilts. All of these structures are temporary by design, because when flooding is bad, the lowest canopies can be swept away. Here the poor and the mad mingle with those who enjoy the freedom of a hidden life in the shadows. If you know your way around, the Webs can be the fastest means of moving about Zarash’ak, but running the ropes is dangerous for anyone who has poor balance or ene- mies in the deeps. The City of Stilts has no streets as such, and direc- tions are typically based on the names of buildings, the presence of certain people, or strong scents. For example, a traveler might be told to “follow the scent of the midden heap on the North Ring, and look for Torgaan’s black door.”

Life in the City of Stilts

For a city of its small size, Zarash'ak is a thriving community. In addition to the blood heirs of House Tharashk, the City of Stilts draws people from across the Marches. Despite Tharashk’s growing influence, most of the dragonmarked houses prefer to deal with the Finder’s Guild in a more stable location, and many of the services that travelers are accustomed to buying from the dragonmarked must be purchased through locals. A single Sivis message station exists in the Heart, along with the Lyrandar Tower and a lone Gold Dragon Inn; healing services are provided by leech-wielding novice druids instead of the heirs of House Jorasco.

The Shadow Marches aren’t a recognized nation. The Marches didn’t sign the Treaty of Thronehold and aren’t bound by the Galifar Code of Justice. What order exists is imposed by House Tharashk; enforcement and execution are in the hands of the elite Liondrake soldiers and inquisitives. Crimes that occur outside the Heart are largely ignored unless they threaten the house or the city, but anyone who tries to rob the Velderan vaults or disrupt the Sivis message station is hunted down with ruthless efficiency. In general. Marchers are expected to handle their own problems, whether that means defending themselves, hiring ogres as guards, or having a clan of vengeful relatives willing to pursue offenders.

Humans, orcs, and half-orcs make up the bulk of the population in Zarash’ak. A few hundred goblins live in the Webs, along with a number of gnomes, halflings, and half-elves. Traffic with Droaam has brought monstrous creatures to the city; ogres and gargoyles work across Zarash’ak, and each of the Tharashk triumvirs has a gorgon bodyguard. The Common tongue remains the standard language in the Heart, but many in the Ring and the Webs speak only Goblin. A significant number of resi- dents speak a language they call Azhani, a blend of the Old Common of Sarlona and Goblin. People who speak Riedran or Goblin can communicate with those who speak Azhani, but nuances can be lost. Traffic with the east has brought the coins of Galifar and Riedra to the city, and they are used interchangeably in Zarash ’ak. Some merchants prefer to barter for goods, and many citizens use raw drag- onshard crystals as a form of currency.

Forces to Be Reckoned With

The greatest power in Zarash ’ak is House Tharashk. The house is divided into a number of factions, each with its own interests, and the Liondrakes are a proud unit that often pursues its own goals.

The Cults of The Dragon Below are driven by wildly divergent agendas. The Aashta cultists of the daelkyr Kyrzin are well established and subtle in their schemes. By contrast, the eyes of the daelkyr Belashyrra are prone to dramatic and dangerous plots. In the Webs, a goblin named Jhugaar preaches raving sermons promising the rise of the Overlord known as the Voice in the Darkness. If true, this prophecy could draw the Lords of Dust to Zarash’ak (though, of course, it could be madness).

The Gatekeeper Druids have strong ties to Clan Torrn of Tharashk, and Torrn employs primal magic to sustain the city. The Triumvir Maagrim forbids her people from fighting within Zarash’ak. The city remains an invaluable place to make contact with the Gatekeepers and study primal rituals, and the hidden sect known as the Valshara’ak Seal might recruit adventurers who show great promise.

Clan Orgaal is a branch of the ambitious ruling Clan Velderan. These clans seek to increase Tharashk’s influence across Khorvaire and to ensure Velderan’s ultimate dominance within the house. Vel- deran has no interest in the Gatekeepers or the cults, and the clan exploits their squabbles to weaken its rivals. The ruling clans pay litde attention to the small, ore-dominated Orgaal, which allows Velderan to use it for covert activities. Orgaal could employ adventurers to sow discord among other clans or embark on mis- sions that aid Velderan at the expense of its rivals.

House Deneith has no strong presence in Zarash’ak, but a rivalry is growing between the Sentinels and the Finders. Agents of the house could turn up at any time to cause trouble in Zarash’ak, likely disguising their sabotage as the work of Riedrans or Dragon Below Below cultists.

Lord Toka Threefangs is the ambassador of the Droaam warlord Kethelrax the Cunning. Threefangs is gaining influence among the goblins of the Webs with his tales of the kobold king, and some among the Liondrakes wonder how he plans to use his growing clout.

Riedra has established a small outpost in the city to discuss working with the Finder’s Guild. Is Ambassador Sosharani an agent of the Dreaming Dark?

Type

City