Information on the dragon Krikk =============================== The area north of Sind is Karakandar, and they are separated by a lake. On the west, it is bordered by Hule and Slagovich. Noone knows about the country bordering Karakandar to the north (travel to there takes more than a week by horse). To the east, the Oghriz live in an area called the plateau. The area west of the plateau in Karakandar is the dragon Krikk's territory. Noone is supposed to enter Karakandar from Sind, but there are smugglers who smuggle mostly oil and some healing salve (x2 healing rate) from the Oghriz to Sind. The Oghriz are similar to Orcs, and speak their own language which is distantly related to the Ogre language. The Oghriz have both nomadic communities and several small towns. The Oghriz have some unique customs. The nomads can be bribed, and the townspeople are unfriendly, but not hostile. The dragon Krikk is a female white dragon, and has a huge bear, Maximus, as a hench-being. Maximus has been patrolling the area around the north of Sind. Some think he is raising an army, but it is clear from where he has been seen that he is checking out fortifications. An agreement made between Krikk and the Rajahirajah forbids entry to Karakandar from Sind. Krikk's lair is somewhere in the mountains in his territory. One of Krikk's children attacked the main town of the Oghriz. Their guard captain wears it's hide. The Oghriz have some kind of flame squirting catapult, which was used to mortally wound Krikk's child. Krikk has tiny spies, small ice dragons. They look just like her, but small, and they obey her very command. My thought is that these could possibly be familiars of Krikk. If so, be very careful, as familiars will share the same skills as Krikk and be adept at hide, spot, and so forth no doubt. The small ice dragons can hide well because of their tiny size. Krikk has been purchasing various components on the black market. From discussion with T'zaz and Grey, it is clear that Krikk is researching or building golems. It is unclear what sort, but none of the orders are for body parts (like for an iron golem). Krikk and agents of Krikk have been making the purchases. Some adventurers, some smugglers, many of which have been contacted by Maximus. Information on the Company of the Blue Eye ========================================== Background on Red Steel, Cinnabryl and Slagovich ------------------------------------------------ The Company of the Blue Eye have been working for Krikk and Maximus. The Company of the Blue Eye is based in Slagovich. Their headquarters are in the eastern part of town, within the inner walled section of the city. Slagovich is a city on top of a hill. A port city. It has canals and such running through the city, which is a bit like Glantri. Rather strange, given the water (you can see) is hundreds of feet below. The people in Slagovich speak Slag, which is 25% related to Thyatian, and some people there speak Sindhi. The houses are of a reddish hue, as are many of the people. The reddish hue is caused by the Red Curse, cinnabryl. Cinnabryl is mined near Slagovich. The richer people live inside a high wall, but most people live outside the walls. Most of the people living outside the walls are cinnabryl miners and related industries. Slagovich exports cinnabryl to the west, to combat the Red Curse. The Seeker's cinnabryl mine isn't that close to here, it's up near the top of the Gulf of Hule. Slagovich is on is the western side of the Gulf. Slagovich is the Eastern end of the Sind <-> Savage Coast/Hule trade link. The link which passes through Baratkand, and forms a fair proportion of the tax income... Perhaps Krikk is interested in controlling that link. That trade has not changed significantly recently. Grey has considered changing the tax downwards, but hasn't done anything about it. The Slagovich side has talked of raising the trade taxes to cover the wars. If you spend 1 to 2 weeks in the plagued lands, you will get the Red Curse. You get powers (a legacy), a time of grace, then a time of loss. The curse doesn't cover Slagovich, it covers lands further to the west. If you get the curse, find an inheritor and get some cinnabryl. The cinnabryl will protect you from the bad affects of curse, and allow you to use your legacy. None of the Seekers know anything about the inheritors. Some of the local watch are equipped with armour of a distinct reddish hue, made from depleted cinnabryl, known as Red Steel. Cinnabryl is depleted as it protects against the curse. Red steel is half the weight of steel and stronger than steel. It can be purchased in Slagovich. The cost of red steel is 20x normal steel, with a cost of 2sp/ounce. Red steel can be enchanted. Red steel requires special tools and skills to work it. Red steel weapons count as +1 magic for hitting things. Red steel armor reduces the armor check penalty by 2 and the maximum Dexterity bonus is increased by 2, but the armor category doesn't change. Red steel armor and weapons cost 10x the normal amount. Red steel has the same hardness and HP as mithral: hardness 15, 30 hit points/inch of thickness. Cinnabryl bracelets are used to protect those who are balanced. Outside the tainted lands, cinnabryl amulets should not be worn. Red steel is safe though. Cinnabryl can cause the Red Blight, a wasting condition. Simply removing the cinnabryl while outside of the area is sufficient to enact a cure. It appears that the people in Slagovich worship Halav. (e.g. a watchman said, "May Halav's grace shine upon you.") According to Thora, there is a cult dedicated to Halav in Karameikos. According to what Minora told Thora about Halav, Halav is also worshipped in the Hollow World. Halav is the other prime deity of the Milenian Empire - Halav is the husband of Petra. Halav is a deity of warriors in the Milenian Empire, particularly warriors who fight against humanoids. Detailed Information on the Company of the Blue Eye --------------------------------------------------- The mercenary Company of the Blue Eye have assisted the Knights of Halav to protect the city Slagovich against the Huleans and the other cities, so they are well respected. The Company of the Blue Eye recruits from everywhere, but mainly to the east towards Sind. They are a fairly general company, with archers, infantry, cavalry, etc. There are about 500 people in the Company of the Blue Eye. Most of them are away from Slagovich, working for Krikk. The ones that are left are the rookies, trainers, invalids, etc. Few of their leaders are left in Slagovich. (Note that this would make it easier to attack the Company of the Blue Eye headquarters, however the city would likely protect them if they were attacked within the city.) The headquarters is in a built up area, and doesn't have great local security. Once you join the company, you are in for life. Your previous life doesn't matter. Some of them were formerly criminals. There are no humanoids amongst them. They are mostly Humans and some Elves from Torreon - a barony to the east of Slagovich, within the cursed area. To meet the Company's leaders you go to their compound next to the eastern wall. The Company of the Blue Eye have often worked for Slagovich, always for free when the city was attacked by Hule or the other city states. It is likely that the city would support them in return, particuarly if anything happened in the city itself. These documents list the leaders names of the Company of the Blue Eye, the approximate force size by different types, and the leaders of each group within the company. It also mentions some facts about them, like that every member has a blue eye tatooed on their body somewhere. The overall leader is Jishnu, a human fighter and charismatic leader. It is said that Jishnu trained in strange magical arts at a far eastern land called Thyatis. Their head cleric is called Annabella covas calls de Galen, a human, it is not clear who she worships. They have another cleric, human, in the base in Slagovich here, a junior cleric who makes potions for their people (unnamed). Their head mage is called Shansar, a human. He is away as well, and again they have another human mage in the base, who identifies items and performs the tasks they need magic for at base (also unnamed). Another member of the council wich runs the company is Galamir, a human warrior. Their head scout is a human woman called Chada. The head of their scouting group in the field is called Chico, a human male. He reports to Chada. The head of their infantry is a human male Astar, who reports to their Council. The head of their cavalry is Cuarto Lopez Maitos, who also reports to the Council. Cuarto is an Elven male Spellsword from the Savage Baronies. Cuarto's legacy appears to be related to luck. None of the other leaders have lived long enough in the region to acquire legacies. Most of their troops are not from the tainted region, and those that did remained here. They have extensive magical item support from their mages and clerics, who often make one shot magical weapons for their troops, like magical arrows. Arrows which explode, or do other nasty things. The company marched eastwards 2 months ago, destination unknown. The troops didn't know where they were going, which is not unusual for them, as the WofBE often don't tell people things they don't need to know. Most people assumed they were marching to flank Hule in some manner, maybe an extended raid. They haven't made any particualarly large purchases recently, aside from provisions for their journey. There have been no further supplies sent to them since.