Kalen Lokos
This city is well designed, having been built by disciplined soldiers and ardent religious fanatics, but lightly populated, having only about five hundred civilian residents. The buildings are all of stone blocks or mortared stone unless the architect had a specific reason to use wood. Since the slopes of the mountain make land usage less efficient than in a lowland city, sections of land within the immediate territory of Kalen Lekas have been left untouched, either due to the hardness of the stone, steep angles, or directives from the Earth Dragon. The result is a small town that is spread out over a large area on a series of artificial terraces, dotted with buildings, gardens, small herds of domesticated goats, and a few guard towers. The population is mostly human, with a few wellknown half-ores, elves, dwarves, and gnomes living here as well. The general alignment is neutral or lawful neutral, with the priests, most of the guards, and many of the mercenaries being lawful evil.
Two brick roads connect Kalen Lekos to the outside world, leading to the north or south side of the Drachensgrab Hills. The north road joins with the Slave Road from Highport and other trails made by the humanoid armies. The south road makes its way toward Stoneheim and joins the Brick Road. Within the town, the wide, paved city streets are kept clean by slaves. The stairs and ramps connecting the terraces are designed for easy defense; most are only wide enough for a single person to pass and are vulnerable to attacks from the terrace above. The defenders' tactics are to always seek higher ground.
Most everyone in this city is a worshiper of the Earth Dragon. There are exceptions, mostly slaves and some of the mercenaries. Worship services are held every Godsday, with public sacrifices of goods and animals-only rarely people-taking place during these services. Pleased with the worship and attention, the Earth Dragon has made sure that the land around Kalen Lekos has been especially enriched for plants, even more so than the volcanic soil elsewhere in the hills.
The city is bordered on the north and south side by two large streams. The gardens receive water through limited irrigation from the streams, supplemented by hand-drawn carts with barrels of water. The goat pens abut the streams, with the far side of the stream being fenced off to prevent goats from crossing into the main part of town. Organic wastes from the town are dumped into the streams, downstream of the gardens to prevent contamination and sickness. Other waste materials that can't be burned are discarded in unused parts of mines.
In addition to the people of the city, a few small huts of one or two families are scattered about the mountainside within a day's walk of Kalen Lekos. These people trade goods with the city and are followers of the Earth Dragon, but are independent and rustic enough to want a home away from the noise of the city. They produce only a little more than they need, and come to the city only every month or so.
Towers
Each of the six towers that guard the city stands 50 feet tall and is built out of large stones mortared together. Each has three interior levels with a number of medium-sized rooms and plenty of supplies. Should the town be attacked, it is possible to fit most of the citizens into the towers, where they can survive for at least a week on stored water and hard rations. A small catapult and ballista are atop each tower, with twenty bolts and enough gravel for ten volleys. Each tower is also equipped with a large gong that is used as an alarm.
Barracks
Each of these barracks houses thirty trained soldiers ( mostly humans and half-orcs). They defend either the roads or the high part of town against incursions. Ten soldiers from each barracks are on duty at all times ( usually guarding the roads into the town as well as being stationed in the towers), with another five patrolling inside and outside town. Each soldier has 10d3 gp worth of valuables, commanders twice that amount. Each barracks receives shipments of food every week from the lowland, and is well stocked with simple armor and weapons should they need to form a militia from civilians.
Businesses
This long stretch of land is much like a typical merchant's district, except that there is plenty of room for the shopkeepers to spread out and display their goods without overcrowding. This means that some go to extravagant lengths to attract business, building elaborate dioramas or brightly painted signs, and some even hire entertainers to draw in crowds. The place is often much more like a fair than a merchant center. This terrace otherwise has the sorts of shops that any other town has, except that most of the meat sellers have goat meat and there is an unusually high number of jewelers and fruit stands.
Dragon Stones
These four great stones ( marked D on the map) are a gift from the Earth Dragon to its city. Each appears to be nothing more than a large rock placed as a marker, but under the attention of four or more Earth Dragon priests ( one of which must be at least 5th level, and the total levels must be at least 14 ), each one of these rocks can be used as the focus of a conjure earth elemental spell ( the power of the Earth Dragon provides the spell energy; the priests just pray for a turn to focus its attention on it). The elemental will have 12 Hit Dice and remain for 14 turns ( otherwise conforming to the spell, following the commands of any of the priests involved in its summoning). The power of each stone only works once per year, so the priests will only call an elemental in times of great need (such as if the city is going to be attacked).
Goats
The terraces set aside for goats are left mostly to wild plant growth, and the goats are allowed to range freely within these areas to graze upon whatever they may find ( the far ends of the terraces are walled off). Vegetables that have started to go bad are piled in troughs for the hardy goats' consumption. There are roughly twenty goats per enclosed area, and small permanent shelters of stone have been built for them for sleeping and when the weather is bad. The shelters are closed at night to keep out any carnivorous animals. Like the gardens, the herds are owned by wealthy townsmen and tended by young people and slaves.
Homes
Like the other buildings in the city, these are made of stone and usually roofed with thatch or tiles. Each has enough space for a yard, and many have small gardens where spices and other supplemental foods are grown. A typical home in this area has one or two bedrooms, a combined kitchen-dining room, and an outhouse.
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