Iacaris
The largest island of the eponymous elven kingdom. Ruled by Queen Caerynna Hathador Tindotirel nan Iacaris and Prince-Consort Aerilor Harlaeth from their seat in the city of Tel Edhil.
# Environment
Most of Iacaris is a dense, wet forest. North of the Rhimer Peaks which divide the island into two halves lies the capital of Tel Edhil and its port city of Alyn Yunaes. Alyn Yunaes is built by the delta of the river Isnelon, which translates as Clearstream. While the delta is muddy, the farther upriver you go, the clearer the water gets. Isnelon flows through Tel Edhil and is calm enough for traffic on the river to be possible in a boat that is suited to it. South of the Rhimer Peaks the forest becomes more akin to rainforest, teeming with wildlife. There are few roads through the southern part of Iacaris, but the northern part is quite densely populated.
# Alyn Yunaes
The port city of Alyn Yunaes is the part of Iacaris that most visitors see first. The harbor is not that different from most human settlements, although the native ships are. The elven warships are trimarans with four masts, two on the center hull and one on each outrigger.
The majority of the windsilk produced in the Estian Islands is made in Alyn Yunaes by artificers from the Royal Arcanaeum in Tel Edhil. A ship's captain with the right contacts could pay 15000 gp for a set of Windsilk Sails.
# Tel Edhil
# Tel Edhil
Founded 2000+ years ago.
| Race | Population |
|---|---|
| Total | ~85000 |
| Elven | Majority |
| Humans | Minority |
| Half-elven | Minority |
| Dwarven | Minority |
| Halfling | Minority |
| Gnome | Minority |
The capital of the Kingdom of Iacaris and the largest settlement in the Estian Sea, this ancient city is more grown than built. In common, the name translates as the Serene City. At first glance, it barely looks like a city, since most buildings are melded into cliffs and trees, although some are more familiar-looking. In the middle of the city, a massive tree serves as the palace of the Queen. The streets are undulating grass-covered paths beneath large boughs that shade the city from above. At ground-level the sunlight is mostly filtered out by the dense foliage above, but strategically placed lunarite lanterns give out a dim, soothing blue-ish light which makes day and night almost inseparable. As such, most elven residents don't keep to a set sleep schedule, and businesses are open whenever their proprietors are awake. Wildlife is ever present in the city, with birds of all colors in the air and almirajes (opens new window) in the undergrowth.
The city guards (called the Edhildore, the Serene Watchers) are all elves, dressed in greens and browns and armed with longbows or double scimitars. Most patrols consist of a pair of guards, but the entrances, bridges and key locations have a bigger presence. Their captain is Crown Prince Aerivar nan Iacaris, the son and heir of Queen Caerynna.
# Ambar Tenelcel, the Silver Oak Palace
A massive tree stands about 300ft high in the center of Tel Edhil. This is the palace of Queen Caerynna. Graceful walkways connect a multitude of rooms on different branches of the palace. The tree itself has almost completely smooth light-grey bark that almost looks like marble. The upper floors of the palace is one of the few places in the city where the sun is visible in the day. In the center of the upper bough of the tree, the large circular throne room sits, called the Sun Court. This is where Queen Caerynna carries out her official business, dressed in whites and gold. Her elite personal guard, the gold-plumed Luthdorë (the Sunwatchers), are never far from her.
# The Market-cleft
Not far from the palace, a large ravine (½ mile long, ~150ft deep and ~60ft wide in the middle) lies between two hills. From the sides of the ravine caves have been dug out in several stories and house shops of all manner of goods. Smiths, weavers, cobblers and apothecaries line the walls. Some shops are small, maybe only dug 30ft into the walls of the cleft, while the largest ones have tens of rooms that expand for hundreds of feet into the sides. The interiors also range from simple dirt floors to lavish mosaic inlays. Stairs and walkways on the side of the ravine connect the bottom with the floors above. The bottom has stalls and stands where merchants hawk their wares.
# The Royal Arcanaeum
One of the oldest establishments in the Market-cleft, the Arcanaeum is the largest magic shop in Tel Edhil. To become an enchanter for the arcanaeum, one must have top grades from the Archivist College. They run a strict no-bargaining policy. They employ perhaps 20 artisan enchanters of different skill and specialization. They are led by Grand Enchanter Saevel Thartirel (male High Elf), an old Wizard who has served at the arcanaeum for several human lifetimes.
Current items in stock:
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Most common magic items | (2+1d4) * 10 gp | Almost all of them in stock, others take about an hour |
| +1 Weapon (any) | 350 gp | Enchants a provided weapon, and takes a day to complete |
| +1 Armor (any) | 700 gp | Enchants a provided set of armor, and takes three days to complete |
| Uncommon Magic Item | (1d6 + 2) * 100 gp | Can take a while to acquire (around 3 days) |
| Rare Magic Item | (10+2d10) * 100 gp | Can take a while to acquire (around 7 days) |
| Very Rare Magic Item | (5+2d10) * 1000 gp | Can take a while to acquire (around 14 days) |
| Cloak of the Mountebank | 3000gp | |
| Canaith Mandolin | 2400gp | |
| Mithral Half Plate | 1500gp | |
| Luckstone | 700gp |
# Critter Companions
On the bottom floor of the Market-cleft, a small shop staffed by two halflings sell animals, both large and small. The walls are lined with cages, and it doesn't smell great. The animals however, are mostly friendly and decently trained. The animals they sell range from common lizards and almirajes that already make the city their home, to much rarer fey beings that would make a unique, life-long companion if treated well.
Current items in stock:
| Creature | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lizard | 10gp | |
| Weasel | 15gp | |
| Almiraj | 25gp | |
| Cat | 35gp | |
| Owl | 45 gp | |
| Flying Monkey | 50gp | |
| Blink Dog | 200gp | |
| Pseudodragon | 500gp | |
| Valenar Hawk | 750gp |
# Gems and Jewels Inc
Run by a young gnome female, this shop is at the very bottom of the Market-cleft. Nicely decorated with wooden panels on the walls and display cases showing of her goods, jeweler Mystra Glittersparks will buy and sell gems and jewelry.
Current items in stock:
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond | 500gp | |
| Diamond | 150gp | |
| Ruby | 300gp | |
| Various semi-precious gems | 10-100gp | Citrine, alexandrite, garnet, jasper etc |
| Mundane jewelry | 25-150gp | Depends on material. Most of these can have a gem set into them. |
| Brooch of Shielding | 1200gp | |
| Ring of Feather Falling | 2300gp | |
| Ring of Jumping | 400gp | |
| Amulet of Health | 3500gp | |
| Amulet of Drunkard | 650gp |
# The Hearth
The premier inn in Tel Edhil, the Hearth is run by a Fire Genasi named Paribal. She oversees a crew of various races, including their Warforged chef Cookie, who was programmed to cook by Paribal herself. Soft beds and nice beverages await any traveller who stays here. Beds are 12gp per night. The inn is located near the river, and has a large common room and a top floor where the rooms are.
# Traveller's Haven
More of a bunkhouse than an inn, the Haven is run by a thirty-something half elf man named Desmund. This is a slightly shiftier establishment, filled with the workers of the city and ladies of the night seeking temporary employment. Beds are 5gp per night.
# Siltharel, the Stargarden
A large sprawling compound on the outskirts of Tel Edhil that teaches magic to those elves that prove adept at it. They do not take many students, but each one is given expert tutoring and the graduates are top choices for recruitment by the Edhildore battle-mage squads and by the artificers of the Royal Arcanaeum. The entry chamber is a wide hollow oak tree, and most of the grounds are fenced in. The grounds contain both libraries and research workshops as well as greenhouses and gardens, as both arcane spellcasters and druidic ones are taught here. The druidic circles represented here are those of the Land, Stars and Moon. They also teach a small number of monks, who follow the Way of the Astral Self.
# Edhildore Garrison
By the main entrance to the city lies the garrison and headquarters of the Edhildore, a combined standing military and city watch. This is where they train and live when they are not out on patrol or guard duty. Many elven rangers and fighters started their journey in the Edhildore. Becoming an officer of the Serene Watchers is one of the best ways for a commoner to advance socially in the city.
# Shrine of Arwyn Elsiter
This shrine is the main Pilgrim Knights presence in the city. The shrine itself is a hollowed out tree with a statue of Arwyn Elsiter, one of the founders of the Pilgrim Knights. The statue used to hold Arwyn's fabled sword, Fiendfell, until it was stolen. Some of Arwyn's descendants still live in Tel Edhil. Disciple Briniel nan Maeral (NG female wood elf) is in charge of the temple and provides Charitor services. Captain Gundin Bronzefist (LG male dwarf) commands the small squad of spears stationed here.
# Maeral
Maeral is the name of both the island next to Iacaris, and its biggest settlement. It is a sparsely populated swampy island, albeit rich with natural resources for intrepid entrepreneurs who wish to harvest them. Almost no roads cross the island, but there are more frequently traveled paths.
# Town of Maeral
A town built on a swamp, some of its houses standing on stilts connected by rickety gangplanks. Maeral has more non-elves than the rest of Iacaris, but is still predominantly elven. Narrow waterways is the main mode of transportation, and most houses have a small dock where rowboats can make harbor.
The town guard, as it is, patrols the surrounding swamps mounted on tall raptor lizards. Small tribes of lizardfolk live in the swamps, hunting its denizens for food and skins.
# The Dirty Flagon
The only inn in Maeral. Run by Filmer Mudbeard (male dwarf, CG). Not the finest establishment, but as it has no competition, it is nonetheless the watering hole of choice for most of the townsfolk.
# The Swampmarket
This market on the outskirts of Maeral is where the locals trade with lizardfolk and other traders from the island. The market is a series of roofed platforms on short stilts over a swampy lake, where rowboats dock for trading.
# FTC Warehouse
Maeral has recently seen some FTC activity, who condider its riches underutilized. As they usually do, the FTC started by recruiting criminal gangs with vast sums of money, clearing the way to make their operations 'legit' and quickly taking over their business. The leader on Maeral is an elf called Milynna nan Maeral, who previously ran a smuggling operation. This large building is used both as storage and as trading post, where merchants and farmers come to make deals on various swamp goods.
# Lizardfolk Tribes
Several tribes of lizardfolk inhabit the swamps of Maeral. They live in thatched huts on stilts deep in the swamps, where they make their living as hunters and gatherers. They are generally not hostile if unprovoked, but can put up fierce resistance if given a reason. Some non-lizardfolk live here too, outlaws, druids and others who have abandoned civilization.
# Ambar Atador
Ambar Atador, the Dragonguard Fortress, is a ruined relic of times past. When the Dragon War flared, this fortress was constructed to keep watch over the Narrows for any dragons approaching. It has long been ruined, but who knows that lurks among its fallen spires now?
# The Narrows
A thin channel between Iacaris and Maeral, this straight is devilishly difficult to navigate by ship. Hidden undercurrents throw unaware ships onto the sandbanks and razor sharp rocks that line the shores on both sides. Only the most experienced captains should attempt to pass through here. Some elven captains have built special ships to ship goods through. Called Narrowrunners, they are low-draft multi-hull vessels powered by sail and oar.