Editing Kas-Turaaal (section)

=The Plains of Interminable Gloom=


Northern Kas-Turaaal is dominated by the gray, icy Plains of Interminable Gloom. While the Plains themselves are flat, featureless and stupidly cold, those who venture within will find either legendary treasure or horrid, freezing death. Probably horrid freezing death. 


Until relatively recently, the Plains were ruled by Gwinglezort the Massive's gnomish barbarian nation. Not long ago, a band of adventurers travelling through the Plains introduced the barbarians to the mysteries of magic. In the process of practicing teleportation, the barbarians discovered such alien concepts as "summer", "comfort", and "not being eaten by mammoths". Since then, they have pressed southward in search of more temperate climes, and are now too embroiled with orcish and human conflict to return to their homeland even if they wanted to. Some few isolated pockets of gnomish barbarians still remain, but travelers are now more likely to meet Saber-toothed Mammoths, Yeti and Wood Monsters (who eat only wood, and are thus starving slowly since there are few trees near the Plains). The most exotic threats of the Plains are the Kremesicles, cousins of the puddings who live in milder climates. Kremesicles may be found in black, yellow, red and rainbow varieties. 


Legend says that deep beneath the Plains sits the Diamond Fortress, and underground keep of shining, faceted ice. The Diamond Fortress is supposedly a deadly and terrifying dungeon built by the dragon wizard Urbozniak to hold his treasure. In fact, some claim that the Plains and the Diamond Fortress were both created by Urbozniak in an elaborate scheme to hide 10,000 lbs. of diamonds, which now sit in plain view somewhere in the Plains, indistinguishable from the surrounding ice. 


Whether the Diamond Fortress exists or not, what is sure is that hundreds of expeditions have dug for it over the centuries, creating massive caverns beneath the ice. This means two things for the ambitious adventurer: 1) ancient treasure buried in forgotten tunnels and 2) frequent fatal cave-ins as miles of thoroughly-undermined ice suddenly collapse. 


Trade through the Plains of Interminable Gloom is rare, but there is one avenue. At the northern tip of the plains is the port city of Akam-Ha. Here, rugged dwarven workers from the far-off land of Schlackengravva (to be detailed later, hopefully by someone else) unload and store shipments from around the world to be resold by the sled caravan that makes one trip over the Plains each year. In the past, the caravan has maintained high profits despite the rough terrain it covers by selling to both the gnomish barbarians and the human villages north of Calishar, carrying goods that would be too tempting to bandits if transported through civilization, and by maintaining very loose shipping laws in Akam-Ha. Since the gnomish barbarian exodus, the caravan has done poorly, and word is that the dwarves of Akam-Ha are questing for magic sleds to make the caravan faster. 


NOTE: While yeti are extremely vicious and deadly, adventurers are not encouraged to slay them on sight. Some of them are actually half-yeti, a separate breed of highly intelligent and sensitive individuals of mixed yeti and human blood. Half-yeti (or "demi-yeti") are available as a player race.