City of the Lost
The City of the Lost is a grand and terrible metropolis that has long lain hidden deep within the southeastern Green Mountains. Most of the peoples of the Westmarches and of the rest of Reme and the world beyond have, as yet, never heard of the City of the Lost, but those willing to listen and give credence to the tales of the orc and hobgoblin clans of the Green Mountains know that the City of the Lost has been there for generations at least, and that its activities grow ever more overt and bold as time goes on.
Unless you are a citizen, the City of the Lost can be found only by those who are lost and unwanted. They can arrive alone or in small groups, but they must have lost sight of where they are, and they must be outcasts, exiles, pariahs, criminals, or otherwise reviled by all other communities they have lived in or attempted to join. Those who leave the City of the Lost without becoming citizens or citizens’ servants can only rarely find their way back, and citizenship is not easy to obtain.
The orcs and hobgoblins of the region know that those who emerge from the city will either be the strong who are devoted to protecting the Lostfolk secrets and way of life, or they will be the weak who failed to find a place among the lost citizenry. The monstrous denizens of the Green Mountains do business with the former and see the latter as excellent prey, certain to never be missed by anyone, anywhere.
Unless you are a citizen, the City of the Lost can be found only by those who are lost and unwanted. They can arrive alone or in small groups, but they must have lost sight of where they are, and they must be outcasts, exiles, pariahs, criminals, or otherwise reviled by all other communities they have lived in or attempted to join. Those who leave the City of the Lost without becoming citizens or citizens’ servants can only rarely find their way back, and citizenship is not easy to obtain.
The orcs and hobgoblins of the region know that those who emerge from the city will either be the strong who are devoted to protecting the Lostfolk secrets and way of life, or they will be the weak who failed to find a place among the lost citizenry. The monstrous denizens of the Green Mountains do business with the former and see the latter as excellent prey, certain to never be missed by anyone, anywhere.
History and People
The City of the Lost was founded just under three centuries ago, or so say the orcs and hobgoblins who claim to have traded with its people. They don’t know the details of its founding, but have heard talk of a fallen angel of Vanitthu, a half-dragon wizard, the blood sacrifice of a mighty demon-lord, and a drow sorcerer — or sorceress. The stories vary, as stories do.
The tale goes, however, that a group of powerful misfits and outcasts grew tired of running, fighting, and stealing to stay alive. They decided to found a city for all the unwanted people in the world where they could come together and defend one another, side-by-side. In the course of their quest, however, they realized that such a city would be hated and feared above all other cities and would quickly be conquered and scattered. Thus, they first sought a hidden location and the massive magical means that would be required to maintain an entire city in secrecy for generations.
Whatever ritual they ultimately used, it seems to have worked, as this city lies perilously close to the heart of Reme, yet Grand Duke Iltobarus has been heard in only the last few years to say with conviction that the City of the Lost is a myth — a wild tale being put about by Green Mountains’ monsters in an attempt to lure the unwary into their territory to be robbed or enslaved (or eaten).
Whatever the case, one orcish account claims that the people of the City of the Lost practice solid, orcish values, prizing strength above all else and having little use for the weak of body or will. They say that most of the Lostfolk are ugly and twisted of appearance, but what that means to an orc is uncertain. They say that the Lostfolk keep slaves, but they kill any others who call them “slaves”; they insist on calling them “indebted servants.” All the free Lostfolk, these captured orcs claim, are improbably strong warriors, smart and fierce and not to be trifled with.
The orcs seem to dislike and fear the Lostfolk, but they seem to respect them very greatly. One claimed to have a half-sister who had become Lostfolk — a human-tainted halfbreed who was driven from the tribe for weakness but later returned as a lost sorceress and razed her home village to the ground. The orc seemed very proud to be related to such a person.
A hobgoblin account from the same region spoke of a culture that prized vengeance and retribution as an important show of strength, with a concept of justice that included punishing all who mistreat the strange and unique people within their communities. This hobgoblin, who was herself born terribly disfigured, claimed to have found the City of the Lost after being driven from her clan as a child. She described being treated much kinder than she had been by her fellow hobgoblins, and worked hard but fed and trained as a warrior, just as she would have been among her own kind.
Upon passing a Test of Adulthood at age six — which she felt was typical for hobgoblin children in the city, showing pride that hobgoblins could pass the test much younger than human children — she was presented with her “receipt of debt” for the investment that had been made in her upbringing. After that, she served her “creditor” in relative contentment, but never distinguished herself enough to make much headway on paying off what she owed. Ultimately, when she lost an arm in battle, her creditor was unwilling to invest in her regeneration, or any further in a crippled warrior. Her debt was sold to a lesser, crueler creditor and she ran away from the city, only to be captured by humans in the Dunavenwood. When asked if she resented her “creditors” or any other aspect of Lostfolk culture, she expressed only that they had treated her more fairly than her own people.
The hobgoblin was illiterate and received very little education among the Lostfolk. She knew nothing of the city’s origins or history, or even much of its governance. She did know, however, that the city’s ruler was a male drow named Beirndwenyr, who styled himself the Lost King. He was a mighty sorcerer, she was told, with a will of iron and a razor wit. He was the only king the city had ever had, she said, and had been one of the founders, centuries ago. She said the story went that he was raised as a drow priestess but rejected the teachings of the Queen of Spiders and was transformed into a man, though the hobgoblin wasn’t clear on the order of events or whether they were true. She knew that drow men were among the more common citizens of the City of the Lost because of their oppression and degradation within drow culture. She also claimed that many citizens were halfbreeds or otherwise of mixed species, and that most citizens were beings she couldn’t even identify, though few were larger than ogres or smaller than goblins, and most were at least fundamentally humanoid, even those who came from other planes.
Of the latter, she said many citizens came to the City of the Lost from other worlds, though she didn’t know how they found the place. Others, she said, were “freed slaves” brought to the city by force and “granted the opportunity” to work themselves free of debt and become citizens. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea, since she said most such creatures (often humans or halflings) were weak and died before they could pay back their “debts” of “freedom.”
The hobgoblin was unwilling to guide her captors to the entrance to the City of the Lost, even after her missing arm was regenerated, and she died in human custody in Gilboath, having never produced any proof of her claims.
One interesting note in all this, however, is the stir the City of the Lost is beginning to raise among the dwarves of the Green Mountain region, especially in Gemtown. A very old Gemtown legend speaks of a sister city from long before the forest receded from the Green Mountain foothills and the humans came to settle them. Gemtown’s sister city was called Coppertown (or Khazghren in the local dwarven dialect of the time) and was lost to some mysterious disaster more than 3,000 years ago. Dwarven explorers searched for its ruins for generations upon generations but to no avail, and many now believe that Coppertown was never anything but a tale.
Based on orcish and hobgoblin descriptions, however, some dwarven scholars now believe that this City of the Lost may have somehow been founded in the rediscovered ruins of Khazghren. The location is approximately correct, they say, and the descriptions of the high-ceilinged, vaulted architecture and grand elegance of stonework sound dwarven to them, and inconsistent with accounts of smaller brick-and-mortar dwellings constructed into cramped city streets in the poorer Lostfolk neighborhoods. If this King Beirndwenyr simply found an abandoned dwarven city, they say, it makes more sense that it could have grown so large in so few centuries, though they still agree that major magics must have been used to keep it a secret.
Then again, with how hard the dwarves have looked for their sister city’s ruins over the centuries, perhaps, they say, some great and terrible magic already enchanted the place when Beirndwenyr found it. They hope they can find some way to penetrate and study the City of the Lost to determine whether it really is built within the ruins of Khazghren, and whether or not it is still possible to solve the mystery of Coppertown’s ancient fall. Some dwarves have also begun to ask what relationship, if any, this City of the Lost might have to the strange sounds echoing in the depths of Gemtown’s easternmost mines.
The tale goes, however, that a group of powerful misfits and outcasts grew tired of running, fighting, and stealing to stay alive. They decided to found a city for all the unwanted people in the world where they could come together and defend one another, side-by-side. In the course of their quest, however, they realized that such a city would be hated and feared above all other cities and would quickly be conquered and scattered. Thus, they first sought a hidden location and the massive magical means that would be required to maintain an entire city in secrecy for generations.
Whatever ritual they ultimately used, it seems to have worked, as this city lies perilously close to the heart of Reme, yet Grand Duke Iltobarus has been heard in only the last few years to say with conviction that the City of the Lost is a myth — a wild tale being put about by Green Mountains’ monsters in an attempt to lure the unwary into their territory to be robbed or enslaved (or eaten).
Whatever the case, one orcish account claims that the people of the City of the Lost practice solid, orcish values, prizing strength above all else and having little use for the weak of body or will. They say that most of the Lostfolk are ugly and twisted of appearance, but what that means to an orc is uncertain. They say that the Lostfolk keep slaves, but they kill any others who call them “slaves”; they insist on calling them “indebted servants.” All the free Lostfolk, these captured orcs claim, are improbably strong warriors, smart and fierce and not to be trifled with.
The orcs seem to dislike and fear the Lostfolk, but they seem to respect them very greatly. One claimed to have a half-sister who had become Lostfolk — a human-tainted halfbreed who was driven from the tribe for weakness but later returned as a lost sorceress and razed her home village to the ground. The orc seemed very proud to be related to such a person.
A hobgoblin account from the same region spoke of a culture that prized vengeance and retribution as an important show of strength, with a concept of justice that included punishing all who mistreat the strange and unique people within their communities. This hobgoblin, who was herself born terribly disfigured, claimed to have found the City of the Lost after being driven from her clan as a child. She described being treated much kinder than she had been by her fellow hobgoblins, and worked hard but fed and trained as a warrior, just as she would have been among her own kind.
Upon passing a Test of Adulthood at age six — which she felt was typical for hobgoblin children in the city, showing pride that hobgoblins could pass the test much younger than human children — she was presented with her “receipt of debt” for the investment that had been made in her upbringing. After that, she served her “creditor” in relative contentment, but never distinguished herself enough to make much headway on paying off what she owed. Ultimately, when she lost an arm in battle, her creditor was unwilling to invest in her regeneration, or any further in a crippled warrior. Her debt was sold to a lesser, crueler creditor and she ran away from the city, only to be captured by humans in the Dunavenwood. When asked if she resented her “creditors” or any other aspect of Lostfolk culture, she expressed only that they had treated her more fairly than her own people.
The hobgoblin was illiterate and received very little education among the Lostfolk. She knew nothing of the city’s origins or history, or even much of its governance. She did know, however, that the city’s ruler was a male drow named Beirndwenyr, who styled himself the Lost King. He was a mighty sorcerer, she was told, with a will of iron and a razor wit. He was the only king the city had ever had, she said, and had been one of the founders, centuries ago. She said the story went that he was raised as a drow priestess but rejected the teachings of the Queen of Spiders and was transformed into a man, though the hobgoblin wasn’t clear on the order of events or whether they were true. She knew that drow men were among the more common citizens of the City of the Lost because of their oppression and degradation within drow culture. She also claimed that many citizens were halfbreeds or otherwise of mixed species, and that most citizens were beings she couldn’t even identify, though few were larger than ogres or smaller than goblins, and most were at least fundamentally humanoid, even those who came from other planes.
Of the latter, she said many citizens came to the City of the Lost from other worlds, though she didn’t know how they found the place. Others, she said, were “freed slaves” brought to the city by force and “granted the opportunity” to work themselves free of debt and become citizens. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea, since she said most such creatures (often humans or halflings) were weak and died before they could pay back their “debts” of “freedom.”
The hobgoblin was unwilling to guide her captors to the entrance to the City of the Lost, even after her missing arm was regenerated, and she died in human custody in Gilboath, having never produced any proof of her claims.
One interesting note in all this, however, is the stir the City of the Lost is beginning to raise among the dwarves of the Green Mountain region, especially in Gemtown. A very old Gemtown legend speaks of a sister city from long before the forest receded from the Green Mountain foothills and the humans came to settle them. Gemtown’s sister city was called Coppertown (or Khazghren in the local dwarven dialect of the time) and was lost to some mysterious disaster more than 3,000 years ago. Dwarven explorers searched for its ruins for generations upon generations but to no avail, and many now believe that Coppertown was never anything but a tale.
Based on orcish and hobgoblin descriptions, however, some dwarven scholars now believe that this City of the Lost may have somehow been founded in the rediscovered ruins of Khazghren. The location is approximately correct, they say, and the descriptions of the high-ceilinged, vaulted architecture and grand elegance of stonework sound dwarven to them, and inconsistent with accounts of smaller brick-and-mortar dwellings constructed into cramped city streets in the poorer Lostfolk neighborhoods. If this King Beirndwenyr simply found an abandoned dwarven city, they say, it makes more sense that it could have grown so large in so few centuries, though they still agree that major magics must have been used to keep it a secret.
Then again, with how hard the dwarves have looked for their sister city’s ruins over the centuries, perhaps, they say, some great and terrible magic already enchanted the place when Beirndwenyr found it. They hope they can find some way to penetrate and study the City of the Lost to determine whether it really is built within the ruins of Khazghren, and whether or not it is still possible to solve the mystery of Coppertown’s ancient fall. Some dwarves have also begun to ask what relationship, if any, this City of the Lost might have to the strange sounds echoing in the depths of Gemtown’s easternmost mines.
Religion
Based upon the many stories told of the City of the Lost among the Green Mountains’ monstrous denizens, it can be inferred that most religions are welcome among the Lostfolk, but that good-aligned deities are rarely revered in their culture. Two notably reviled deities among the Lostfolk, however, are apparently the Queen of Spiders and Vanitthu, despite the opposing natures of these two divine beings.
Worship of the Spider Goddess is apparently strongly discouraged by the king, who has been known to spit at the sound of her name. He is said to be condescendingly tolerant of male drow Lostfolk who continue to worship the spider goddess, but to be very harsh with drow women unless they first reject the Queen of Spiders and all her teachings. Many describe Lostfolk culture as largely consistent with the Spider Goddess’s teachings, and they say that the king does not realize the extent to which he still conforms to his culture of birth, but few are willing to tell him so to his face, and most worship of the Spider Goddess in the City of the Lost is done in secret, if at all.
As for Vanitthu, he is apparently taught as a kind of foil in Lostfolk mythology, the hypocrite who claims to care about justice and retribution but understands nothing of suffering or the true value of punishing wrongdoers. Portrayed as a bumbling fool who constantly sides with the oppressors over the oppressed while claiming to do the opposite (in some stories due to cowardice or greed, and in other stories due to his own stupidity and misunderstandings), Vanitthu is seen by Lostfolk as the epitome of all that they wish to destroy, both within themselves and the world around them.
Worship of the Spider Goddess is apparently strongly discouraged by the king, who has been known to spit at the sound of her name. He is said to be condescendingly tolerant of male drow Lostfolk who continue to worship the spider goddess, but to be very harsh with drow women unless they first reject the Queen of Spiders and all her teachings. Many describe Lostfolk culture as largely consistent with the Spider Goddess’s teachings, and they say that the king does not realize the extent to which he still conforms to his culture of birth, but few are willing to tell him so to his face, and most worship of the Spider Goddess in the City of the Lost is done in secret, if at all.
As for Vanitthu, he is apparently taught as a kind of foil in Lostfolk mythology, the hypocrite who claims to care about justice and retribution but understands nothing of suffering or the true value of punishing wrongdoers. Portrayed as a bumbling fool who constantly sides with the oppressors over the oppressed while claiming to do the opposite (in some stories due to cowardice or greed, and in other stories due to his own stupidity and misunderstandings), Vanitthu is seen by Lostfolk as the epitome of all that they wish to destroy, both within themselves and the world around them.
Trade and Commerce
The orcs and hobgoblins say the Lostfolk trade openly with the monsters of the Green Mountains. Disguised as ordinary traveling merchants from other parts of Reme, they also trade with the dwarves and even the humans and other communities around them. None of the monsters who has been questioned on the subject has claimed to know whether or not the City of the Lost has trade with the Under Realms or with other planes, but the hobgoblin who claimed to have been raised in the city suspected that such trade did take place. Then again, she tended to ascribe near-divine powers to her king, so her testimony might be suspect.
By all accounts, the City of the Lost produces fine crafts and magic items, powerful warriors or assassins for hire, and also engages in smuggling and the fencing of stolen goods. No products are known to be illegal in the City of the Lost. The Lostfolk do some mining, hunting, and mushroom-farming, but they trade for the majority of their food and textiles, often while pretending to be ordinary human merchants from well-known cities.
By all accounts, the City of the Lost produces fine crafts and magic items, powerful warriors or assassins for hire, and also engages in smuggling and the fencing of stolen goods. No products are known to be illegal in the City of the Lost. The Lostfolk do some mining, hunting, and mushroom-farming, but they trade for the majority of their food and textiles, often while pretending to be ordinary human merchants from well-known cities.
Ties and Diplomacy
The City of the Lost is not known to engage in traditional diplomacy with any entity, nor to have loyalties to any but their own. Instead of treaties and negotiation, they have long dealt with their neighbors through a combination of impenetrable, magically-augmented secrecy and (in the case of the local orcs and hobgoblins) total military superiority. If, as the local monster populations are beginning to claim, the City of the Lost is preparing to abandon its centuries-long practice of hiding from the authorities of Reme, it is unknown what sort of relationship it intends to pursue with the larger nation surrounding it.
Government
While tales of the city’s founding are usually of several misfits banding together — often featuring a servant of Vanitthu who left the “foolish” god’s service and struck out in pursuit of a “more just” (more violent) form of retribution for wrongs — there is no evidence today that anyone but King Beirndwenyr remains of the founders, assuming that he ever really was one of their number. Whether the other founders (or all the founders) have died or simply left the city is unknown, but Beirndwenyr holds his throne in an odd combination of sheer magical might and popular acclaim. He is believed to be neither kind nor particularly generous, but residents of the City of the Lost seem to be quite proud of his power and his strange “justice.”
Beirndwenyr is said to be exceptionally handsome, almost pretty, frighteningly charming, and to exhibit an odd combination of drow feminine and masculine traits in his speech patterns and body language. He shows no sign of the humility and obedience considered natural among drow males, instead being as proud and arrogant as a high-ranking drow priestess, and every bit as authoritative as well. He is said to be cultured and educated, at least as drow measure such things, but refuses to speak of his past or childhood, even with those closest to him.
As for the rest of Beirndwenyr’s government, it is said that all positions must be won in contests appropriate to the positions held, and then the winner must be acclaimed by the people in an unopposed popular vote. In general, the system is believed to be fairly popular, even among those who suffer under it, for reasons not yet well understood.
Beirndwenyr is said to be exceptionally handsome, almost pretty, frighteningly charming, and to exhibit an odd combination of drow feminine and masculine traits in his speech patterns and body language. He shows no sign of the humility and obedience considered natural among drow males, instead being as proud and arrogant as a high-ranking drow priestess, and every bit as authoritative as well. He is said to be cultured and educated, at least as drow measure such things, but refuses to speak of his past or childhood, even with those closest to him.
As for the rest of Beirndwenyr’s government, it is said that all positions must be won in contests appropriate to the positions held, and then the winner must be acclaimed by the people in an unopposed popular vote. In general, the system is believed to be fairly popular, even among those who suffer under it, for reasons not yet well understood.
Military
Because freedom (“from debt”) and full citizenship are won largely through either the completion of dangerous missions or what the hobgoblin informant called “sports” (vicious gladiatorial combat, from her description), most Lostfolk full citizens are extremely powerful in combat. In that sense, warriors of the mundane or the magical variety seem to form a kind of unofficial ruling class in the City of the Lost, ensuring that the city is always prepared to defend itself from threats of any kind.
All menial labor is performed by “indebted servants,” many of whom are children or in some way disabled. Everyone is trained to fight, however, such that while the lower classes (slaves) do labor to support the elite full-citizen military, even said lower classes will never include helpless non-combatants. Also, because of the dangled promise of future freedom, most of these servants do seem to be loyal to the city — and to King Beirndwenyr — even if not to a particular “creditor.”
Nevertheless, however well each individual of the Lostfolk might do in a fight, those who have spoken of their battle tactics do not describe an exceedingly disciplined or well-organized military. It is as yet unknown if any such body exists within the City of the Lost or what sort of command structure it might have if one does exist.
All menial labor is performed by “indebted servants,” many of whom are children or in some way disabled. Everyone is trained to fight, however, such that while the lower classes (slaves) do labor to support the elite full-citizen military, even said lower classes will never include helpless non-combatants. Also, because of the dangled promise of future freedom, most of these servants do seem to be loyal to the city — and to King Beirndwenyr — even if not to a particular “creditor.”
Nevertheless, however well each individual of the Lostfolk might do in a fight, those who have spoken of their battle tactics do not describe an exceedingly disciplined or well-organized military. It is as yet unknown if any such body exists within the City of the Lost or what sort of command structure it might have if one does exist.
Major Threats
Just as the legend of its founding says, the City of the Lost is likely to be threatened by anyone and everyone around it should it ever lose its veil of secrecy. Even if the Lostfolk have never openly gone to war with their neighbors, they seem to have structured nearly everything about their culture to antagonize and provoke the major powers around them, especially Reme and Reme’s Westmarch dwarves, as well as any nearby drow settlements in the Under Realms beneath them. Since the Lostfolk harbor criminals as well, they might even draw the enmity of peoples and governments much farther away.
Perhaps the only beings that might not majorly threaten the City of the Lost are the orcs and hobgoblins with whom they are known to trade, though such folk are hardly celebrated for their loyalty in the face of peril. All in all, it seems unlikely that things will go well for the City of the Lost should their concealing enchantments ever fail. Then again, King Beirndwenyr is supposedly an intelligent elf. If he thinks his “kingdom” can survive without its spells, perhaps he knows something that his neighbors do not.
Of course, if he does, perhaps that unknown power too might constitute a danger to the citizens and servants of the City of the Lost.
Perhaps the only beings that might not majorly threaten the City of the Lost are the orcs and hobgoblins with whom they are known to trade, though such folk are hardly celebrated for their loyalty in the face of peril. All in all, it seems unlikely that things will go well for the City of the Lost should their concealing enchantments ever fail. Then again, King Beirndwenyr is supposedly an intelligent elf. If he thinks his “kingdom” can survive without its spells, perhaps he knows something that his neighbors do not.
Of course, if he does, perhaps that unknown power too might constitute a danger to the citizens and servants of the City of the Lost.
Wilderness and Adventures
The City of the Lost is surrounded by wild mountains known to harbor populations of particularly warlike orcs and hobgoblins, as well as whole aeries of rocs. In addition, the mountains themselves are treacherously steep and difficult to traverse, particularly on the southeast arm of the range. What sorts of underground wilderness and adventures might exist in or near the City of the Lost are as yet unknown, but the Green Mountains are thought to be riddled with tunnels to and from the Under Realms, so it is likely that adventure exists around the outer tunnels of the city as well.
Settlement
City of the Lost
Owning Organization
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