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The Citadel of Jogovar: Upper Ruins (pt2)

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The second part of the module, following the description of the lower ruins, settlement and background of the ancient Juggooli citadel of Jogovar.
The whole inner perimeter of the fortress ruin, gaining height towards the center, is covered by reddish sandstone rubble, broken clay bricks and thorn bushes; sand is filling the crevices. A few corroded and twisted metal pieces lay spread among the debris.

JhoghovahrAußenBeschriftet

A map of the area; one field equals six metres. Dashed areas below ground. Click to enlarge.

u) Two seemingly well-preserved buildings. The northern one is built directly into the incline of the mound. The domed ceiling is still present, but at threat of collapsing. If there are strong vibrations or if heavy ground work is performed (like digging for treasures, moving stones) saving throws or whatever is appropriate in your system may be necessary to prevent being crushed by falling stones. The building has been looted long ago.

j) The ruined walls of this domestic building hold nothing special.A little digging through the rammed clay floor reveals a thick corked ceramic vessel, containing the well-preserved skeleton of an infant. The vessel is covered in glowing imperishable writing. In the dead tongue of Juggool the makers plead for acceptance of the stillborn child into the arms of a Great Mother Goo-Lehe where it may speak well on behalf of the living. Together with the skeleton some pearls and a small but valuable ruby are buried in the vase.

k) Completely destroyed tower ruin that serves as a quarry for the settlers. Among the rubble there is a knife of polished flint with a grip of blue metal, apparently cast around it.  It does double damage against Arraqu and all reptiles. It was created by the Juggooli as a weapon against the Lords of the Glass Lands, an empire still existing to this day. As they are of the same species as the local Arraqu people of today, the knife holds equal power against them. Should the knife be carried into the Glass Lands and its origin revealed there will be grave repercussions for the user.
A poisonous snake, moderately dangerous, made its nest in the ruin and dislikes disturbances.

l) Large, but barely recognizable angular foundations and a well. Maybe used as small gardens or orchards for the citadel’s occupants? Perhaps a former corral? Or something else entirely?

m) Almost completely preserved tower ruin. Still high enough (say, 14 metres) to allow overseeing the surrounding terrain for many miles. Access via the inside of the mural ring through an archway. A stone stairwell leads to the tower ceiling that is often used by Juthul (see building a ) as a viewing platform – both to look out for invaders and to find solitude in disheartened bird watching. In fact, an air of melancholy and despair befalls all characters who linger around this building – an echo of the ancient siege. The place is exceedingly well suited for the summoning of ghosts and for other breeches relating to time or the transition between states of existence.

n) Around a small ring of stones – once a makeshift fireplace – lay the gnawed and de-marrowed bones of three humans. Going by their shape, sage of anatomy may identify them as former Magog, Ullaki or Arraqu people. If specifically inquiring about the shape of the skull the Arraqu may be ruled out. Cause of death in the corpses is not obvious, but one of them misses the left forearm.
Nearby are a couple of broken clay tablets which may be pieced together. They are personal notes speaking of stairs to many tunnels beneath an altar. Another tablet is a contract between a client offering a sizeable reward for the procuring of a certain object, legally verified by a notary from Dumaj. The object seems to be some kind of remedy or drug called “the Uptar paste”. A small expedition was to be established to this end.
The contract contains the names of  four men, undoubtedly of Magog language – so either true Magog, freed slaves or culturally assimilated outsiders. It dates back twelve years.
The building contains not much else. The remains have long been stripped of all valuables by the settlers.

o) The middle of this crumbling tower ruin with walls preserved to hip-height is free of the otherwise ever-present thorny bushes. The reason for this is a trap door made of heavy stone, buried roughly at forearm’s length beyond the clay crust. A knowledgeable character might figure out that a lack of vegetation often points to obstacles preventing the growth of deep roots for water-dependent plants or to dry hollow spaces beyond ground. The trap door is opened upwards and reveals a four metre deep stair. More for this will follow with the description of underground area 11.

p) Defiled marble monument. Shows a god or hero of the Juggool. The face has been shattered from the eyes downwards. An arm is lacking; it is being used as building material in Gruula’s hut (see building b). What remains of the statue is a soft, slightly abstract style that poses a sharp contrast to the rough-hewn stone blocks and clay bricks of the ruin.
Further destruction of the statue brings cursed dreams upon the offender, eventually leading to mental maladies. Gruula may be a victim of this, growing more unstable.

q) Two metres of stair lead to this building. It used to be a walled platform wtih a big altar; some sort of temple that blends into the wall ruins to the north and west. It was once part of one great complex from which the citadel was led and administered. The alter, a rough block of green-hued marble, can be moved by the combined strength of four men. The former rotation mechanism at its side is all but rusted away and completely stuck. If the alter is pushed towards to the wall, explorers will find a stairway leading downwards.
The walls of the building are mostly ruined and smashed. Some stones still show the fine glowing writing of the Juggool, but any attempt at piecing them together is likely futile.

r) This area is badly damaged, worse than most. Only the little area bordering at building q and connected to the ring wall still has a little domed roof, supported by a stone pillar, and may be entered from the north. The floor is dug deep here, down to the level it used to have before the citadel’s destruction. This is thanks to a male giant electric hunter roach that built its nest here. It avoids the settlement to the south and rather catches grazing solitary goats or game. Its digging uncovered trinkets worth 100 shekel, including small battered silver rings strung up a wire into two chains. Each chain contains five rings with one engraved letter that may be Juggool or something else entirely.
Below an assortment of secretion the excavated walls show traces of glowing paintings of a very abstract style, portraying a gift-bearing procession of long and slender black-skinned people with elongated skulls. They march towards a great fortress on a hill. The opposite wall shows similar people in battle with great beasts and green-skinned riders. The black-skinned fighters carry rods from which blue and red flames pours forth. Winding and curved letters in the Juggool tongue seem to describe the happenings.
The enemy soldiers are the Lords of the Glass Lands in the far west, green-skinned and shaped like the Arraqu people. A war was fought between the Juggool people and the western riders once; the two people used to be hereditary enemies vying for control over a trade route along the western highland before the appearance of the Magog brought an end to the witcher-kingdom of Juggool. If traces of history are glanced from the writing in some way (per ghost summoning, erudite study or other means), the location of 1d4 former battlefields or contested trade towns will be revealed to explorers – potentially leading to loot or strategic resources that lay forgotten.

The Citadel of Jogovar: Background and Upper Ruins (pt1)

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JhoghovahrAußenBeschriftet

A map of the area; one field equals six metres. Dashed areas below ground. Click to enlarge.

This post details one location found in the setting of Gog, Part 1 describes the history and the current inhabitants of the outside area of a ruin; the next parts will delve deeper.

Juggool was an alliance of several smaller city states and forts, collecting tribute from surrounding farming villages. It had been established by a race of posthumans similar to the modern herdsmen called the Njema tribes – oily-skinned, with elongated and slightly backward-curved skulls, light blue eyes, delicate features and long limbs. The lords of Juggool were gifted with great weapons they had found deep beneath the earth. The firelances, as they were called, brought ruin to all enemies on the field of battle. Other people of their time, armed with simple bows and hatchets of hewn stones, could defy their blaze. “Jogovar, Maw of the Red and Blue Fire”, was the strongest citadel of the Juggooli people. Beneath it, the realm’s sorcerers brought forth the weapons in labyrinthine cavers of a more cruel age.
The Juggooli were among the first people to be fought by the reappearing Magog, and among the most formidable foes, resisting for many years. Many soldiers lost their lives to the burning rods of the defending army, but eventually the flamebringers were cast down from the battlements and their corpses paraded, the siege towers and catapults of Gog – now save from the fire – tore down the walls. The town with its round stone huts was all but annihilated; the palace area was plundered and razed, the land covered with salt. The statues of the Juggooli gods were shattered in their holy places, the priests forced to denounce them.
While the remaining firelances were carried to the city of Gog as valuable loot – now laying in its treasure vaults for hundreds of years -, their origin remains a mystery: before the secret of their providence could be lifted, the last living witchking of Juggool impaled himself upon his sword.
The destruction of Juggool and its forts brought rich farmlands near the river Tsab to the Magog empire, gifted to settlers and veterans.
Distracted by more urgent problems at other fronts, at the passing of many decades, the search for the firelances quickly faded from memory. The fortress Jogovar turned to myth, and had it not been for a season of exceptionally strong winds a couple of years ago it would have remained but a story. As it stands, the broken remnants of its second defensive wall and parts of two others have been uncovered. Ruins of a few round stone buildings grow from the dust.
On this foundation, and with a sheer limitless supply of ready debris, an assortment of outlaws and fugitives (of about 20 permanent residents) began building a settlement about three years ago. Far from the more important trade routes the camp proves a secure retreat. Sometimes they rob travellers, sometimes they share the  water from the thousand year old well with them (marked as the circle above building d). The group of make-shift stonehuts, mended with clay, dung and rubble as well as sometimes a few leather tents (temporary; every two months for one week +3d6 nomadic inhabitants trading in livestock before continuing their march through the steppe) functions as caravansary, mercenary barrack and den of thieves. The nearby ruins serve as nothing more but a source of hewn work stones. Nobody knows of their eventful past, nor of the treasures – and dangers – waiting below.

Adventurers may turn this run-down “colony” into a base of operations; they may rebuild the citadel with help of the locals and take control over the area. In that case they would eventually become tributaries to Gog – or face retributions.  They may also come here to collect bounties on the residents, or find bloody work on the local thieves’ behalf.

Here follows a description of the inhabited areas of the rubble. Buildings a to h are part of the nameless settlement. Unless mentioned otherwise all buildings consist of reddish, roughly hewn rocks and possess floors of clay mixed with grasses. Roof are normally made from bount reeds and wood held in position by clay. The general inventory as well as room layouts is up to the reader’s imagination.

a) Juthul the Archer. A yellow-skinned Ulak man, who left behind the life of a herdsman and troubled the plains for a while as a bandit of some reknown. The inofficial leader of the local scum. Rules-wise, he is an ageing warrior who gets a big bonus to all attacks with bows or thrown daggers due to his eagle eyes. He is rather supple, with sun-dried wrinkly skin the colour of saffron and a long white beard. He wears an armour of hareded layers of linen with a coating of snake leather, the scales of which being of peculiar size. He has final word on whether strangers are accepted in as guests or robbed as enemies. Juthul lives in the uppermost of the inhabited houses, which is protected by a non-inflammable roof made of clay, supported by strong wooden beams on the inside of the house. Livestock is kept in his yard, where there is a fireplace. The house has an antechamber, a sleeping chamber, a common room for visitors with once-valuable futons and rugs as well as storage room with a humble collection of fine clothing and his collection of weapons. The most prized possession in their is a carefully knitted rug depicting an Ullaki woman and a child. Juthul does not tolerate questions regarding the rug or the depicted. He was once patriarch of a sizable family clan, but lost all relatives in a bloody feud with a bigger tribe resulting from his pride.
Juthul is surprisingly old, his strength diminishing, but as a foe he is not to be taken lightly, possessing an iron will, experience in battle, loyalty for his men and a stern conviction to defend what is his.

b) Gruula the Terrible. A yellow Ullak man, fugitive slave from the quarry town of Qutta, who first cut his master’s throat and then proceeded to murder his captor’s whole family. For two years he roamed the hills of Qutta as a cattle thief and petty robber before meeting Juthul. He has been working alongside him for eight years, seeing in him a sort of heroic father figure he is willing to protect with his life.
Gruula looks harmless, but he is an experienced cutthroat and in battle is filled with near-demonic frenzy. The other men fear him for his ferocity and his swings of temper. Gruula often talks to himself. For these and other reasons he lives in a house of his own instead of with the other men.
The walls to east of Gruula’s house stand only about as high as benches. They serve as the community’s meeting place.

c) Drushayanti, the Gubi woman. Blue-skinned, almost two metres tall, with mighty tusks with silver-filled carvings. Exceedingly strong and able to grant minor magical blessings. Seven years ago, her village in the great Rift was raided by slavers from the deep lands led by a male Gubi from a rival tribe; the prisoners were sold to all corners of the world. She sided with Juthul three summers past when he robbed a caravan where she had to work as burden-slave. Her training to become village shaman was never finished.
Drushayanti is smarter than she looks, working as a sort of logistician to the bandits organizing the gang’s equipment, provisions and supplies. She often takes over for Juthul when it comes to trade with friendly travellers, selling or bartering goods.

d) The great common housing. The western building serves entertainment, with beer kegs, tables, dice and whatever else belongs into a make-shift “inn”. Visitors of the settlement will be met here and catered for. In the eastern building live twelve men, including fugitive Magog triplets who had deserted from the army. The men are loud, obnoxious, violent and looking for quickprofit.
e) Glmuth the Cook, “Father of the Stable”. A fat Ullak with sickly skin responsible for the preparation of the meals in the common building d). In fact an astonishingly capable fighter who had served with Juthul long enough to possess certain privileges like a house of his own. Sometimes dares criticise Juthul, but surprisingly still possesses two ears. He misses two fingers, but for unrelated reasons. Glumith smells horribly, which might be due to him sleeping just one wall away from the camels and riding donkeys. Very agile for a man of his shape.

f) Dumuq-Ishkur, sagely healer from Gog. Nobody really knows why he’s here. In any case, he’s been caring for the wounded from Juthul’s gang for years. He keeps a few goats in the tower ruins. Next to his work as healer he is also the village’s butcher. Dumuq-Ishkur is not a man of violence and will run if battle erupts in the settlement. He owes a great debt to Juthul – some think he holds a share of responsibility for the feud that destroyed the old Ullak’s family. Others claim he found the dying Juthul, pieced him back together and thus robbed him of the possibility to die with honour with his family. Juthul trusts him.

g) Ruins of the outer tower. The circular walls are man-high and protected from the sun by tall grasses. The floor itself is about one step lower than outside. Entrance is possible via a bow-shaped hole in the wall and a small ramp between the buildings in f). The tower serves as a goat stable and, if necessary, a prison for captives. Shackles and chains are fastened to the wall. A half meter below the well-stomped clay and goat dung a lucky character may find an ancient silver ring bearing strange symbols. The ring emits faint magic (visible through the earth for those in possession of the gift) and protects its wearer from spells of control and influence. The plain-looking trinket was a gift from an enarmoured Juggool witcher to the secret man of his heart, an officer who died defending this very tower against the army of Gog. The ring was supposed to always remind him of the importance of true feelings.
Each day the ring is worn there is a 1 in 2 chance that, an hour after the sun’s highest position, a man will be heard weeping for a few moments.  Should the wearer become alerted of this he may concentrate and hear the weeping every day. This may come in handy as a rough measurement of time if below ground and without the sun to tell days apart.
Furthermore, each day there is a 1 in 100 chance that the translucent ghost of the witcher Houlagal, in a fine blue scale-like garment, is awakened. He will attack every Magog (or, for the matter, every Homo Sapiens Sapiens) in the group with relentless hate. Should there be a male Njema in the group the witcher will see in him his former lover reincarnate (the truth of this sentiment is up to the game master). He speaks Juggool (which might be similar to the tongue of some Njema tribes) and very broken antiquated Magog, works magic like a moderately advanced magician or sorcerer and otherwise works like ghosts in the used system. He knows the secret of the creation of the firelances, but will only share it if convinced to have found his former lover or if the group will use it to fight against the resented empire of Gog. Being bound to a ring that protects against charms and enfeeblement, the ghost is hard to deceive and completely immune to mind control.

h) Here the foundations of a very large building with a big yard reach from earth and thorny bushes. Nobody talks about why it is not being used. At least everybody says nobody talks about it. In fact everybody will have their own story – there are claims of a ghost haunting the ruin, of poisonous scorpions, of Juthul having bad dreams about it or that once a corpse was found in there.