Ruins

Bleak Tower

This circular, marble tower rises more than a hundred feet above the surrounding plain. Once, a wooden stairway ascended the interior, but it has long since rotted away. Other than the stairway, the tower remains exactly as it has stood for at least a thousand years. Not a stone has fallen from its walls. From its crown, a magical lantern still casts a macabre green light out over the Sea of Silt. When the wind stirs up a good dust storm, a loud, painful bellow sounds from the tower at regular intervals. The local natives attribute the roar to the ghost of the tower's lady who, they say, lost her betrothed on such a night long ago, when the Sea of Silt was filled with water.

Arkhold

This ancient village of stone huts was once protected by a large castle perched atop a hill overlooking the town. The village seems to have been a healthy one, for it had outgrown its walls several times and built new ones to protect the outer buildings. Now, much of the village is covered by drifting sand. My guides told me that every time they come back, a new part of the town is uncovered and a section that they had previously explored is buried in sand. Arkhold's isolation makes it a good place for treasure hunters. Although we tarried here only a few hours, my guides each found a steel sword (I about it. When I tried to climb the hill to explore it, my guides restrained me bodily, claiming that it was the home to a foul race of insane humanoids. Then, as nightfall began to approach, they insisted upon leaving the area altogether, fearing that those same humanoids would come and take us kicking and screaming back to their castle. I would like to return there someday, however, for the castle looked amazingly well preserved. I am sure that it would prove to be an excellent place to learn something about the ancients.

Kalidnay

Large as Tyr and as wealthy as Balic I the sorcerer king who ruled it lived in an immense palace in the heart of the city, surrounded by the mansions of his nobles and templars. Judging from all of the abandoned trading emporiums, it must have been a wealthy city indeed. In the center of the city, there was even a huge ziggurat. Now, the streets are littered with skeletons, the palaces have fallen into ruin, and the ziggurat has been cracked open like an immense earthen egg. No one knows what disaster caused the downfall of Kalidnay, but there can be no doubt that it came rapidly and unexpectedly.

Bodach

Bodach, lying at the tip of peninsula projecting into one of the great inland silt basins was undoubtedly one of the mightiest cities of the ancients. lts ruins cover many square miles of the peninsula. When you stand at the edge of the silt basin, you can see its towers rising above the silt for many miles beyond. Unfortunately, Bodach and the surrounding territories are not good places to linger. As the crimson sun goes down, thousands of undead zombies and skeletons crawl out of the cellars, sewers and hidden dungeons, then begin scouring the city and the surrounding countryside. If you're here after dark, you will spend the entire night fighting one long, pitched battle. l have talked to those who say that the undead are controlled by a powerful Defiler who is using them to keep treasure hunters away from the city while he systematically loots it. Others claim that the undead are the original inhabitants of the city, and they cannot rest because there is some terrible secret buried in the heart of ancient city that they do not want discovered. In either case, if you go to Bodach, be prepared for an intense battle against this gruesome army.

Giustenal

Giustenal is another of the great cities of the ancients. The city has many different walls, some of which wind down into the Sea of Silt. it is possible to wade several miles into the dust by walking along the tops of these walls, but I would advise against such foolishness. There seems to be an unusual concentration of silt horrors around the city. Giustenal appears relatively deserted, perhaps even peaceful, and it is. However, there is something lurking out there in the quarters buried by the Sea of Silt. Psionicists claim that it is a being - or an object - of incredible power that makes contact with vulnerable minds and calls to them. I have never felt this pull, but one night while we were camped inside the city ruins, a glassy look came over my psionicist companion and he began conversing with an unseen partner in a strange language. Two days later, he went insane and murdered our kank drivers. I was forced to kill him to defend myself.

Yaramuke

This ruined city was once ruled by the Queen of Yaramuke, a beautiful sorcerer named Sielba. She and King Hamanu of Urik became embroiled in a bitter dispute concerning quarrying rights to the obsidian on the Smoking Crown. Hamanu resolved the dispute by razing Yaramuke to the ground, using such terrible magic that even the water was fouled forever. According to legend, Sielba's treasure is still buried beneath the ruins of her palace. If you journey to Yaramuke in search of this treasure, I wish you good luck in determining which pile of rubble was once Sielba's palace.