Table of Contents
The City of Kitogad
In central Krarth, many miles east of the ruins of Spyte, across the unforgiving tundra lies a lake, deep and cold and never does ice cover its surface. In ancient times, the city that once sat here in a fertile valley was under the rulership of the minor Magus Georgy when it came under siege from the forces of Magus Guiduz, who it is rumoured became the Gift Star in later days. Rather than surrender to their enemy, Magus Georgy called on the heritage gifted to him by his father, Tsar Vodyanik of the Waters, and all the fountains, faucets, and wells of Kitogad began to overflow until the city was completely drowned and submerged.
But each year, on the anniversary of its drowning, it is rumoured that the waters subside and the city can once again be walked by men.
Much of the city is naught but crumbled ruins, the wattle and daub that made up most of the outer buildings long dissolved in the dark, cold waters. But the central buildings remain…
The Palace of Kitogad
Standing largely intact, the palace is at the centre of the sunken city, and the carved walls that form its outside seem as if they could withstand countless more centuries.
The palace's great stone doors are partly open, revealing a vast hall inside – a round chamber with a domed roof of amethyst crystal.
Black marbled steps lead to a great dais opposite the entry, and upon that dais is a large throne wrought of silver and brass and studded with sapphires and moonstone, its cushions long since rotted away.
The floors beneath the palace are not as secure as they seem, and centuries of water currents have washed away much of the soil beneath the tiled flagstones.
(Damaged areas have a STEALTH of 10, and if stepped upon, a Reflexes check is needed or the PC will fall through and into the muddy void beneath. A character has three rounds before they will sink beneath the mud… hopefully, their companions are quick with a rope.)
Departing from that room is a high-ceilinged narrow corridor behind the throne, once concealed, leading into the castle proper. Bronze friezes decorate the tops of the corridor's high walls, and it leads to a large circular chamber with grey marble walls. The chamber is carpeted in waist-deep mist that seems denser in the centre, wrapping itself around a statue of an entwined couple.
Continuing deeper into the palace are a variety of courtyards, chambers, corridors, halls, antechambers, and more. Doors are covered in bronze and silver. Walls are covered in burnished metal and painted in faded, water-damaged frescoes depicting the Magi at ease. Strangely, some of these depict scenes of life underwater… Located throughout the ruins are tall stones, covered with carvings depicting semi-human figures and gods.
In the centre of the palace is a great door apparently made of silver1), carved with the face of a smiling woman. The secret means2) of opening this door is known only to the occupants of the city…
Past the door is a steep tunnel leading down into the depths, slick with moisture; eventually, the tunnel opens into an immense cavern from which countless water-filled passages extend.
Wading down the major tunnels, there are several that have within them great altars to bearded and scaled figures with toad-like features atop hunched and bloated male bodies. The cavern has tiered balconies overlooking the muddy, partially flooded floor, and in the centre of the cave stands a gigantic version of the same idol.
The waters will rise again rapidly some hours before dawn and anyone still within the city at this time will have less than an hour to leave the city and the valley before they are engulfed.
Many of the original inhabitants of the city died that day but those of Tsar Vodyanik's bloodline became something other; their former lives nothing more than vague shadows of memory.
The women became Vodyantikha – delicate silvery-skinned creatures with large black eyes and silver gold tresses, their webbed hands and feet allowing them to slip gracefully through the water. They are curious and fey but not malign – however, if slain they arise again at the next full moon as Rusalka; vicious undead slime-covered haggard remnants of their once quicksilver selves.
The men became Vodyanoi – their skin covered in black and green scales, their beards and hair tangled with algae over wide frog-like mouths, webbed clawed hands and feet, a broad fish-like tail, and burning red eyes. If slain, Vodyanoi do not rise again but dissolve into a mass of eels, water, and aquatic plants.
The GM may roll on the tables below for each hour spent searching the city
| d20 | Random Encounters within the City |
|---|---|
| 1−8 | Large Eel (as Python) |
| 9−12 | Unquiet Dead (1−4, as Skeleton) |
| 13−18 | Rusalka (1−2, as Spectre) |
| 19−20 | Vodyantikha (1−3, as a Rank 5 Elven Water Elementalist) |
| d20 | Things to be found in the city |
|---|---|
| 1−2 | Plain pottery and ceramics (2−12 coppers) |
| 3−6 | Coins (3−30 florins' worth) |
| 7−12 | Jewellery (2−20 florins' worth) |
| 13−14 | Golden vodyantikha mask |
| 15−18 | Utensils (1−8 coppers) |
| 19−20 | Fine Ceramics (1−3 crowns) |
| d20 | Things to be found within the palace |
|---|---|
| 1−2 | Coins (10−100 florins) |
| 3−4 | Jewellery (30−300 florins) |
| 5−6 | Potion (1−3, see Dragon Warriors p. 139) |
| 7−8 | Amulet (1, see Dragon Warriors p. 141) |
| 9−10 | Ring (1, see Dragon Warriors p. 144) |
| 11−13 | Enchanted Weapon (1, see Dragon Warriors p. 137) |
| 14−17 | Enchanted Armour (1, see Dragon Warriors p. 138) |
| 18−19 | Royal Treasure (unique item or Warlock-created weapon or armour) |
| 20 | The Cap of Dark Water |
| d20 | Random Encounters within the Palace |
|---|---|
| 1−8 | Vodyantikha (1−3, as a Rank 5 Elven Water Elementalist) |
| 9−12 | Vodyanoi (1, as Ogre with the spellcasting ability of a Rank 8 Water Elementalist; Rank-Equivalent 11) |
| 13−18 | Rusalka (1−3, as Spectre) |
| 19−20 | Magus Georgy (1, as Revenant with spellcasting ability of a Rank 8 Water Elementalist and Rank 5 Sorcerer; Rank-equivalent 15). Magus Georgy wears no armour, AF 1. |
Cap of Dark Water
This dark metal crown was gifted to Georgy by his father. If worn, the wearer becomes able to breathe and move through water as easily as air. The wearer may cast the spell Shadowbolt three times per day.
This article first appeared in Casket of Fays Issue 8.