The northern reaches of Lostrei stretch from the Great Indigo Wood to the River of the Sagas (and perhaps farther north still, but that territory is uncharted). East to west, it extends from the Glass Sea to the coast, which means it includes most of the Varidraol Mountains. The terrain is rougher than in the south, but still fertile. The climate is very warm.
The people of Northern Lostrei are typically hunters and herders, more nomadic than settled. Thus, there are few towns or villages but many caravans and temporary campsites, some of them quite large near small lakes and streams that populate the region.
NARAYAN
Narayan is a structure that hangs like a hatchet blade a thousand feet in the sky
Thuman, page 262
Glimmer, page 38 Jai: level 4, pleasant social interaction as level 5
Mol: level 4, most areas of knowledge and lore as level 5, Intellect defense as level 5
One such band calls itself the Water, named for a lake spirit in an old folk tale, supposedly the greatest of all things because it cannot be broken or killed. Yartal, a broad-shouldered man who is missing his left hand, is the head of the large bandit clan. The Water bases much of its structure on familial ties, and the entire band is mainly a trio of intertwined families. lives. In these visions, they receive detailed
instructions on how to craft elaborate numenera devices. Stranger still, synth crates sometimes (but not always) appear in and around the lake, containing the parts and tools needed to make the devices from the glimmers. Most people have seen the method for creating metallic wings that flap and beat like bird wings, but which allow the wearer to fly by means of nullifying gravity. More than a dozen sets of these metallic wings have been fashioned, a process that takes almost a year to complete.
No one has ever entered the structure of Narayan itself, although the people around the lake are preparing to mount an expedition using the flying harnesses.
THE VARIDRAOL MOUNTAINS
These ancient, rolling mountains are tame compared to the Black Riage to the south. This is the domain of bandits, raiders, and criminals, as well as more than a few abhumans. These lawless, violent bands clash with each other as often as they attack the more civilized Gaian communities in and around the Varidraols.Flying harness: level 6 artifact; allows wearer to fly a long distance each round, or twice as fast as a person could walk overland; depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check once each day used)
Yartal: level 6, climbing and stealth as level 7; Armor 2
Repeating Seeker
Artifact; level 1d6 + 2. If the user spends an action targeting a foe within long range, on the next round, the launcher fires a small missile that attacks the target even if the target or the launcher no longer has direct line of sight. For example, if the user aims and then ducks around a corner, the launcher continues to fire from around the wall at no penalty. Further, as long as the target is within long range, the launcher continues to fire missiles at that target for one round per artifact level beyond the first, whether the user wants it to or not. Each missile does damage equal to the artifact’s level. Depletion: 1 in 1d10.
NORTHERN LOSTREI HEARSAY
Spies From the East: Spies from a far-off land called Vralk have been spotted in the sun collector fields south of Teulamis, clearly interested in the impressive amounts of energy there. Whoever they are, they are extremely violent, ruthless, and bloodthirsty. Missing Key: The people of Guire, a small village east of the Varidraols, have unearthed a functional flying machine of impressive size. Before it could be activated, the keylike device required to operate it disappeared. This object is a long synth egg that must be held to one’s forehead. If it were recovered, the villagers would pay handsomely for it. (Guire is wealthy thanks to a number of important discoveries nearby.)
THE WEIRD OF NORTHERN LOSTREI
Whispering River: The River of the Sagas gets its name from the fact that early explorers thought the sound it made as it flowed was a language, telling tales of the past. Most people today regard this as colorful folklore, but in truth, many have said that the river does occasionally speak to them, relating nigh-incomprehensible tales of an extremely distant past.
Giant Insect: Travelers to the far north— beyond the River of the Sagas—claim to have seen a creature a half-mile (0.8 km) long wandering the hills. This insectoid thing supposedly has thousands of legs and sounds like an army on the march when it moves.
Tachyron: level 4; perception and initiative as level 10; attacks, Speed defense, and stealth as level 6; Armor 3; perceives thirty seconds before and after the present moment; see The Ninth
World Bestiary, page 123
Orgulous: level 5, attacks as level 6, perception as level 4, Speed defense as level 3; health 28; tendrils paralyze at short range on a failed Might defense roll and drag struck foe to immediate range to be bitten for 7 points of damage; paralyzed foes are swallowed and move one step down the damage track per round; see The Ninth
World Bestiary, page 96
Ergovore hound: level 4, attacks as level 5; health 30; one bite attack for 7 points of damage or up to six tongue attacks on different foes for 3 points of damage each, plus if a target has any kind of energy defense in place, it is negated; see The Ninth
World Bestiary, page 47
Vara Thedbol: level 6, negotiations and perception as level 7 Terranik: level 5, attacks as level 6; Armor 3; inflicts 7 points of damage with his huge hammer Yartal’s enforcer: level 5; health 20; Armor 2
Yartal’s three main enforcers all carry artifacts called repeating seekers. The rest of the bandits are armed more simply with swords, spears, and bows. The Water numbers almost two hundred, with most of those able to fight if needed. They fear and respect Yartal and his hulking enforcers.
The Water dwells in a wooden fort nestled in the mountains, well hidden and easily defensible. They keep broken hounds as attack animals, as well as a single trained tetrahydra. Typically, the Water sends out small raiding parties of a dozen or so warriors. These parties are gone for perhaps weeks at a time, returning with various spoils.
The mountains are also home to ravage bears, varakith, reptilian tachyrons, and the giant polyplike orgulous.
TEULAMIS
The river town of Teulamis rests upon the southern banks of the River of the Sagas. Eight thousand people call it home, living in simple stone houses on the shore or wooden structures on stilts that rise up out of the river. The chief administrator of Teulamis, Vara Thedbol, walks on artificial legs that make her stand about 8 feet (2 m) tall. Her long black hair is held in place by a biotech oddity
that pulses and moves in response to her mood. She prefers working on her fishing boat in the river to dealing with city business, but if she must, she stays on dry land and makes sure things run smoothly with the help of Terranik, the head peacekeeper. Terranik spends most of his time keeping the townsfolk safe from the dangerous creatures that live in and around the river.
Outside of the town, to the south, is a vast field of “sun collectors.” These numenera devices capture the energy of the sun’s rays as completely as the leaves of any plant and store it in great thrumming cylinders beneath the earth. It is said that in this area, cyphers sometimes work twice, and artifacts that have been drained of power function once again, but if true, these benefits seem unreliable at best. Many of the sun collectors do not currently function, but tinkerers and scholars like to experiment with them and see if they can get the devices running again.
This area, for obvious reasons, is haunted by energy-eating ergovore hounds. In recent months, Terranik has attempted to run off the hounds and other creatures that make the area dangerous so the people of Teulamis can make use of the sun collectors and their energy.
Broken hound, page 232
Tetrahydra, page 262 Ravage bear, page 254 Varakith, page 264
some of the hardened fluid free. It immediately became a liquid that, among other strange properties, could clean any stain.
The tower “walls” are translucent, allowing one to see inside. The interior appears to be filled with liquid water. It also seems as though fish can swim up from the sea into the tower. However, all of this might be an intentionally created illusion. The Triumvirate: The Triumvirate is a mysterious intelligent entity or entities that dwell near the Fluid Tower at all times. They appear to be three androgynous faces that hover above the level of the water. When someone approaches the tower, sometimes they intervene, sometimes they merely observe, and sometimes they are nowhere to be seen. Very rarely, they speak, imparting wisdom or predictions like an oracle. Little is understood about these apparently godlike beings, but they seem to have the ability to manipulate matter and energy, time and space. No one knows what their agenda might be.