S

01)s zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof MgstaraTM es of zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAthe zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrincess zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAArk

= Challenger

mpions zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof Mystara'

Table of Contents Design: zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAAnn zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBADupu Foreword and Inroduction

Launching to the Completion of the Tho Enchantment and the Skyship's Tramformatio

Presmting Excerptsfro?d the Journals demar of Haaken, Captain of the E

#i6%188.

The Chronicles of the Princess Ark ' Edltlng: Elizabeth Anne T Product Manage Bruce Box zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAArk Robh Ruppel Cover Ark Robh Ruppel Interior Teny Dykstra Art Coordinator: Peggy Cooper Cartography: Diesel, John Knecht Color Deck Plans: Robin Raab Production: Angelika Iokotz Technical Advisoi: LTjg So0 Klein, US. Coast Guard zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAcontinuity Advkm Doug Bickford Playtesting: Doug Bickford, Paul Dupuis, T. Scott

...................

The Princess Ark .. Containing Information Concerning the Valia

.................................... Kinder, Elizabeth Tomabene, and Kevin Weishaar.

ylitb, the Heart and S

WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSQ Inc. DUNGEON MASTER, DM, MYSTARA, and the TSR logo are trademarks owned

Whereby We Discover the Skyship sion; Naval Regulations Followed Routines of Men and Officers; Ports Infomation for New Recruits.

esses thereof, are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Random House and its affiliate companies have yorldwide

distribution rights to the book trade for English language prod- zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAurn of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional disuibutors.

This game accessory is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unautho- rized use of the written marerial or artwork herein zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAis prohibited without the express permission of TSR, Inc.

Friends and Foes .......................

Dark; Cestlan Gobblers, Voracious P

120 Church End, ment Prince Hal

Cambridge, CB1 3LB

ISBN 1-56076-615-8

Foreword and Introduction

Heroes of the Princess Ark zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBApresents the popular Princess Ark series from DRAGONm Magazine as an addition to your campaign.

The fmt zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAtwo-thir& of this book tell the story of the Princess Ark, an Alphatian skyship, in narrative form. 'The Princess Ark Exploring Space and Time" summa- rizes the series' episodes from DRAGON Magazine issue zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAa153 through issue #la. (There simply wasn't enough room to reprint them all in their entirety.) "The Chronicles of the Princess Ark" picks up with the episode from DRAGON Maga- zine issue zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAa169, and includes excerpts from the Princess Ark's logbook from the time she arrives in the Kingdom of Sind to when she finally heads for home- after traveling around the Serpent Penin- sula, along the Savage Coast, and around the Orc's Head Peninsula at the mouth of Yalu Bay.

The rest of this book provides the infor- mation you may need to integrate the Princess Ark into your campaign. The section on "The Princess Ark" includes design specifications for the Princess A d to be used with the skyship rules pre- sented in the Designer's Manual, deck plans, and a complete key to the sky- ship's layout. "Heroes of the Skies" cov- ers the major characters found aboard the Princess A k o m p l e t e with game statis- tics zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAso they zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAcan be used as player charac- ters or as detailed NPCsand intmduces some minor characters who take care of things while Prince Haldemar and the ship's officers are off having grand adven-

"Life Aboard the Princess ArP reveals what life is like aboard the skyship. It indudes daily routines followed on board, and the rules and regulations enforced by the Alphatian Imperial Navy. "Campaign- ing with the Princess Ark,"on p. 88, dis- cusses the roles the skyship can take in your campaign-as friend or foe, and campaign focus or interesting sideline- and how to head off potential role-play- ing problem before they occur. "Future History of the Princess Ark, "on p. 90, gives a possible timeline of events to bring Prince Haldemar and the Princes

tures.

Ark through the years of the great war between Alphatia and Glantri (presented in the Wrath of rbe Immortals boxed set) and up to Year 1010 AC, which the Poor Wizards A 6 m a w covers.

"Friends and Foes" provides game sta- tistics and details for a variety of races and creatures encountered in the Prin- cess Ark chronicles. And, finally, "The Thothian Enchantment" presents the unique spell Haldemar used to enchant the Princess Ark.

How to Use This zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBABook As is the case with the other two books

in this set, Heroes of the Princess Ark is meant primarily for the DMIM. You may read the books in any order, as each can stand alone. Each book complements the others, however, and all of them together can open up new vistas in your cam- paign.

The Designers' Manual contains the information you need to use the game statistics provided for the Princess Ark, and the Explorers' Manual expands the information Haldemar discovers in "The Land of the Maharajahs" and "The Ser- pent Peninsula Revisited" episodes. On the other hand, the Princess Ark's log- book entries describing Haldemar's im- pressions of Sind and Yavdlom can be used to add a great deal of flavor to the descriptions you give to your players when campaigning in the Great Waste or on the Serpent Peninsula. The rules and regulations followed aboard the Princess Ark can be adapted to any military sky- ship; and the creatures found in "Friends and Foes" may be met by player charac- ters regardless of whether or not they own a skyship.

If you intend to have your players role- play characters aboard the Princess Ark, letting them read the "Chronicles" will serve as a good introduction to the sky- ship's history and the major characters they can expect to meet (or play!).

You may want to pull out the two large map sheets showing the main decks of the Princess Ark when you introduce your players to the skyship. These maps

are scaled for use with 25mm miniature figures or cardboard stand-ups. They show the commander's deck (which is; mostly enclosed beneath a crystal dome) and all of the open-air decks on the sky- ship's main hull. For interior deck plans, seep. 71.

The Princess Ark as a , Unique Skyship

The Princess Ark is. a un and does not always follow the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBArules pr sented in the Designers' Manual. (T begin with, it would be prohibitively expensive to enchant such a large sky- ship with the multitude of enchantments Berylith brought to the Princess Ark.) This is due to two primary factors. The Princess Ark was originally conceived as a story, and hence isn't based on game mechanics, Also, she was designed Wore the skyship design rules were full$ worked out.

Tbis isn't to say there's anythmg wrong with the Princess Ark, or that she can't be used in your campaign. This is just a no@ of explanation for those s h a q q e d read- ers who are bound to find discrepancies between the information here and the rules presented in the Designm'Manual.

In fact, nothing should stop you from designing unique skyships for your own campaign should you so choose. The Thothian enchantment detailed on p. 95

can be used as a basis or model for other flying enchantments researched by PC mages, or by NPC mages you as DM wish to introduce. On a world as magic-rich as Mystata is, powerful spellcasters are b u n d to find new ways to do things, and th rules won't always cover these situations.

Any time the D&D" rules get in th way of something you want to do.id your campaign, feel free to change them, introduce exceptions, or find ways tb work around them. Think consequences through, however, to keep the game in balance. If you let the player characters build or find neat new skyships loaded with extra enchantments, make sure

with rule-bending ships.

he Princess zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAArk Exploring Space and Time

Exploring Space and Time

In the Alphatian year 1964 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAAY (964 AC), Empress Eriadna granted Prince Hal- demar of Haaken permission to re-com- mission his family's aging flymg ship. The newly restored zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrincess Ark embarked from Sundsvall the next year.

The majestic ship's travels took her southwest to the continent of Davania. Flying east along the Jungle Coast, she approached Cape Eriadna and the Pass of Cestia, where an away team stumbled upon some Cestian gobblers (see p. 91).

Turning east and then north, the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrin-

cess Ark flew over the Isle of Cestia to Oceania. While investigating the islands interior, Prince Haldemar ran afoul of some night dragons (see p. 92). The Princess Ark and her crew escaped, re- grettably leaving Boltman Ramissur in the clutches of the furious night dragon.

Back at the Isle of Cestia, the Princess Ark took some native Cestians on board to supplement losses in her crew. Lady Abovombe came on zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAb a r d as well (see p. 76). zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAAs the ship approached the Gulf of Mar, Haldemar took another creature zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAon board-a small, terrified bat that beat against his porthole, and that would later surprise Haldemar and the crew.

Prince Haldemar and his skyship next encountered trouble in the form of a group of Heldannic Knights zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA(see p. 911, a seemingly insigmficant clerical order from the Heldann Freeholds. A bit of trickery

and negotiation-involving the mortal remains of the Heldannic Knights' Immor- tal Patron-nded in Haldemar escaping with his life and his ship, but gaining the enmity of the Heldannic Knights.

The Princess Ark's next stop was the Vulture Peninsula, where Haldemar dis- covered some interesting secrets of the nagpw (vulture-headed creatures). Just inland from Green Bay, the ship discov- ered the Ndjatwa, a slaver society of ell- ogre crossbreeds. A bit of diplomacy on Haldemar's part resulted in favorable cul- tural exchanges and the promise that Alphatiam would be protected from the Ndjatwa fondness for human flesh. As a gesture of friendship, the Ndjatwa clan- master presented Haldemar with a human slave- Heldannic Knight who gave his name as Herr Rolf. As the princess Ark ventured along the

southern shore of Green Bay, she en- countered several cloud funnels. Halde- mar was intrigued by Herr Rolfs reaction to the sight, and determined to discover what the Heldanner knew about these funnels that the Alphatian schools failed to teach. A dangerous experiment-flying straight into one large funnel-revealed zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAthat these tubular breaches are anti-grav- ity highways straight through Mystara's Skyshield (see the Designers' Manual,

p. 30). Once in space, the princess Ark discov-

ered a hitherto unknown second moon, Myoshima (see p. 93). The moon has a light-bending shield at the edges of its atmosphere that renders it nearly invisi- ble from the outside. The rakasta in- habitants took exception to Herr Rolf's presence-Heldannic Knights are decid- edly unwelcome on their'world-and demanded his release into their custody in return for establishing ties with the Alphatian Empire. They also provided a monolith carved from Myoshima's light- bending c o r e a gift which rendered the Princess Ark invisible.

When Herr Rolf escaped on a flying sabre-tooth tiger, the Myoshimans kid- napped Iady Abovombe to hold her ran- som for Haldemar's assistance in re- capturing the knight. Herr Rolfs flight led

the Princess Ark down through the Skyshield at the southern pole, where an anti-magic field caused her to crash inside the opening to the Hollow World. Halde- mar enlisted the help of a giant snow sloth to tow the damaged ship toward warmth, while the crew fought starvation and deadly cold

Once the Princess Ark escaped the effects of the anti-magic field, her crew set out to explore this strange new world -still, in pursuit of Herr Rolf, who had avoided every attempt to recapture him. While flying over Nithia, Haldemar dis- covered a Nithian priestess named Khu- firi in his quarters. She answered many of Haldemar's questions about the lands below while the ship pursued the Hel- dannic knight. The Princess Ark finally caught up to Herr Rolf, flying on the back of a white dragon, in a bank of clouds. Before Haldemar could capture the knight, the Princess collided with a floating island hidden in the clouds.

The island, Oostdok, was inhabited by gnomes and dominated by a fortress dis- playing the black lion emblem of the Heldannic Order. A gnome named Leo- pold (see p. 79) bumped into the invisi- ble Princess Ark and enthusiastically offered the help of the Le NeNiens Fam- ily Trust, Inc., in repairing the skyship.

After a nerve-wracking rescue by a gnomish air blimp, the Princess Ark was taken to a secret underground dry dock where her crew and hundreds of gnomes set about repairing her. Khufui betrayed the skyship's presence to the Heldannic Order before repairs could zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAbe completed. The Princess Ark and her crew barely escaped in time.

With five Heldannic skyships pursuing her, the Princess Ark managed to escape through the polar opening and back into space. There, she was met by a large war galley commanded by Herr Rolf. After a raging battle which the Princess Ark won by virtue of some "minor improvements' introduced by the gnomes, Khufiri re- vealed herself as none other than Synn- the ruler of the night dragons encoun- tered during the Princess Ark's first ex-

I

plorations of Oce . .

ISynn, bent on revenge, snatched Herr

Rolf away from Haldemar and lured the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPHncess zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAArk into a nebular storm that

ripped the very fabric of time. When Hal-

demar and the crew awoke, they were zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA34 years in the future-Amphimir 26, 2000

AI'. To torment her enemy further, Synn returned the now aged and hitter Lady Abovombe to the ship.

Haldemar headed the Princess Ark toward home, where he discovered he and his crew w ee no longer welcome in

the Alphatian Empire. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAIn the intervening y@ars, Herr Rolf had become High Priest

of the Heldannic Order. For reasons of

diplomacy and secrecy, Empress Eriadna

offered Prince Haldemar a choice be- tween death for himself and his crew or

continuation of his initial mission of ea;ploration, with no return to the Empire

pbssible until the matter with the Heldan-

nic Order was somehow resolved. As the Princess Ark left Alphatia, Hal-

demar accidentally discovered that his

pet bat was none other than Ramissur,

the boltman left behind in the first

encounter with the night dragons! He had been transformed and mind-controlled as a spy for Synn. Together with Talasar's

clerical magic, Haldemar managed to restore the boltman.

Following some clues that the Princes Ark was more than she seemed-she seemed able to maneuver herself out of

danger as though alive-Haldemar set out to discover the source of the Thoth-

ian enchantment he had originally used to re-enchant the aging skyship. A ternfy-

iflg encounter with an ancient Thothian

lich resulted in the discovery of a second

part to the enchantment. For the next month, as he studied the

ancient Thothian hieroglyphs, Haldemar found himself slipping in and out of

sprange hallucinations and stranger reali- ti&. When at last he invoked the power of the Thothian hieroglyphs, the spell

opened a portal to the Plane of Air.

The Princes At4 dove through the por- tal. On that Plane-much like the space surrounding Mystara, hut with breathable

air between the world+the ship and her crew encountered a horde of sky zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAwyrm

(see p. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA94). The largest sky wyrm, Mery-

ath, sensed the life force of her mother within the Princes Ark.

Haldemar discovered that his original

use of the Thothian enchantment had bound the life force of the sky wyrm

Berylith into the Princess Ark. Berylith herself appeared before Prince Haldemar, asking that he complete the enchaptment

and bind her soul as well, making her whole once more.

Completing the enchantment opened a gateway to the Plane of Nightmares. Spectral hounds streamed into the Plane's

sky, attacking both the Princess Ark and

the army of sky wyrms led by Meryath.

As Haldemar completed the enchantment and escaped hack through the gateway from the Plane of Nightmares, the closing

gateway trapped the greatest of the spec- tral hounds. Immediately, the remaining

hounds turned tail and fled. But before Haldemar could celebrate

the completion of the Thothian enchant-

ment, the Princess Ark mysteriously be- gan to break up before his very eyes,

plunging down to a mound of wreckage on the world beneath them.

.i'

m

The New Princess Ark-

With the completion of the Thothiah

enchantment, Berylith found herself zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAwith complete control over the Princess and the ability to alter the skyship

vessel that suited her better. She decided to do some redecorating. Unfortunately,

she gave no warnings to Haldemar or the crew, who rushed to the life rafts or were

rescued by flying sky wym as the ship

appazently disintegrated around them. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAz Beryliths efforts took her out of co

munication for a while, asshe and wreckage of the old ship fell to Hakh (a small world in the Plane of Air). Hal*.

demar couldn't bear to view the wreck4 and sent Talasar and Meryath, Berylithe

daughter, instead. When neither had returned three da

later, Haldemar and a sky-wyrm nam

Fenroth flew down to Hakh to find zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBArke They found the Forest People of Ha instead-tall goblinoid people with black skin decorated with glowing t.a

toos. The Forest People promptly took

Haldemar and Femoth prisoner, reuniting

them with Talasar and Meryath Ion' enough to sacrifice them to a "sky spirit

The "sky spirit" was none other tha

Berylith, who recovered from her effom

mar saw what s

I I

From zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAthe zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAJournals of RINCE W E M A R OF HAAICEN

LordAdmiral ofthe Mighttest

Empire

Captain of tbe Ever-Viamboos

PRINCES zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAARK mmperid h'xplorer, etc, etc.

*4 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1

Land o f the Maharajahs

I& zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAWhich the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrincess Ark Interrupts a Battle and Prince zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAHaldemar Foils a

Fiendish Plot

l l s lami r zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA23,2000 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAAY: It took a day to reach the magical gate that had brought us to the sky wyrms' universe. It was a huqnpy flight that took all the skill and prqwess of a sky wyrm like Berylith to holu the course through the gate's storm. At last, we could see daylight piercing the billowing clouds at the peak of the storm. Everyone was longing for a mo- meht of calm and rest under our golden sum. With a bang, the ship emerged through the gate into our own universe- and we nearly crashed into a desert sand dume!

The gate's exit had moved since we had entered the other universe, appar- enoly by hundreds of miles north-north- west of our previous position. Worse yet, we showed up unexpectedly in the mid- dle of a haale in the desert. Apparently, a smaller force had been surrounded and wduld have been butchered had it not been for our impromptu arrival.

I'ordered Berylith to make her ghostly sky-wyrm aura turn invisible, wishing to zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAstay out of what was clearly not our husi- ness-but zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAno! Instead, Berylith felt this wa6 not becoming of a true princess. She even roared to make her arrival more grandiose. Myojo hung his head in em- hafrassment. Xerdon shrugged. And I wab too numb to react.

?he larger army panicked immediately. Dropping scimitars, shields, and turbans, the soldiers rode off on their camels tovard the southwest. As for the smaller force, its men dropped to their knees, bowing as low as they could. There was nothing else to do but make contact.

The Chronicles of the Princess Ark

It took some convincing on my part to have Berylith go invisible. She obviously enjoyed the awe she caused and wanted to remain the heroine of the day. Finally, with the wooden ship alone being visi- ble, I invited the leader of the defending forces to come aboard.

The man was Prince Dhajee, a polite and soft-spoken person. His father, the maharajah of Putnahad, ruler of the south- ern pravince of Sind, had sent him on a missiod to King Chandra's palace in Sayr Ulan. IEe was to return with special orders for the king's future visit in the capital of Putnab$d. A small army, sent by the rajah of Jaibul, had come close to capturing the prince. 'Taibul, I learned, is a small, inde- pendent realm on the coast west of Sind, and it bas been a rival of Putnabad for centuries.

Prinqe Dharjee was obviously very impressed with the Princess Ark, her magic, ;her workmanship, and, most of all, hen decoration and style. Since the Jaibul force had left his caravan in had shape,ihe asked if we could transport him anti his servants hack to Jahore, the capitali of Putnabad. After our undue intrusidn into the Kingdom of Sind, the only ciiiilized thing to do was to accept. We pi4ked up his camels, troops, ser- vants, and even the caravan's royal ele- phant, ;and we headed south to Jahore, the pearl of Putnabad.

Ts& 24: Beryliths mood was truly dreadfbl all morning. She complained without end about the elephant pacing from dort to starboard all night, and about b e camel dung all over the stern deck. She nearly ejected one of the crew for refirring to that area as the "poop deck."lAnd we were flying at a snail's pace. I!couldn't tell if it was because of the exqa weight or Berylith's had mood.

Talasp was still in sick bay, recovering from dis misadventure on Hakh. I left Xerdod in control of the bridge and spent the remainder of the day with Prince Dharjek. He WdS amazed at the ship's consmktion, and he had no doubt that a great architect must have designed the plans o f this marvel. He assured me his father "would certainly pay a thousand

treasures of emeralds and rubies for the services of the divine genius who con- ceived such a masterpiece as the Princess Ark. " I cringed. Berylith heard that-I knew it. Suddenly, the ship flew faster.

Tslamir 25: We reached Jahore this morning. The city is a sprawling mega- lopolis on the westemmost branch of the Asdnda delta. High, fortified walls enclose the inner city, protecting middle and upper class quarters, merchant areas, and the maharajahs palace. Beyond the walls spread thousands of poor, overcrowded dwellings, a squalid collection of shacks and muddy alleys, occasionally divided by the main roads leading to the inner city gates and the numerous temple com- pounds. A shahhy port occupies the south- em edge of the city, allowing light ships to sail the grimy delta up to Jahore. Larger ships remain anchored in a small bay at the mouth of the delta. A few stone bridges span the wide Asanda river within the city, but most of the population uses small barges to cross over.

Oddly enough, it seemed none of the main buildings were erected in a regular fashion. As we came closer, it became clear many of the onion-shaped domes were imperfectly built, the towers being crooked nearly to the point of collapse. Certainly none of the windows or doors showed any symmetry at all. This was totally unlike the usual Sind architecture.

As usual, the arrival of the Princess Ark caused quite a bit of agitation among the people and the guard. Seeing Prince Dhajee on one of the levitating life boats relieved them. We were immediately bmught to the maharajahs apartments.

Ashuptd Khan, the maharajah, was very thankful to us for saving his son from the rajah of Jaibul. A great banquet was of- fered at the palace. Later, during the cele- bration, the maharajah leaned over to me and asked about the PrincessArk. Indeed, zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAhs son had described the vessel at length, and I could see a gleam of envy in the maharajah's eyes. I am afraid I disap- pointed His Highness when I mentioned the ship had been created by the magic of a creature from beyond this world, and that I was only its keeper.

5

to care at all This was too much of a cor zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAI The maharajah then began to tell me what was happening in Jahore. It was

believed that a great curse afflicted the city. Many people were unable to attain

the greatness of zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAskill of their fathers. Most of the upper castes were going through

an inexplicable decadence and laziness, explaining the imperfect looks of the

huildinp in Jahore.

Last month, the Black Rajah of Jaibul visited zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAKing Cbandra in Sayr Ulan, and he

joked about the poor state of affairs of

the "Pearl of Putnabad." This greatly id - tated the king. He ordered a great palace he built there before the end of the year, or the Ashupta family would be stripped

of its nobility and possessions. The maharajahs son was on his way to Sayr

Ulan to obtain financial aid from the king

when the Black Rajahs troops managed to intercept Prince Dharjee's caravan.

Ashupta Khan was quite broke; he was

totally unable to fmd a competent archi- tect anywhere in Jahore as well. He was

in a sticky position. Of course, being a foreigner and the

"keeper" of an incredible piece of arcbi-

tecture, I could not evade zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAhis interest. For my assistance he offered much, including

his prized stable, half of his harem, and even the diadem on his turban, none of

which I could honestly accept. In time,

though, Asbupta Khan was more than willing to offer "preferred client" status to

Alphatian merchants in Jabore, with a 1%

impost on port trade payable to the

Haaken family. At that point, 1 thought

that lending a hand would be a challeng- ing enterprise. Based on this lucrative

arrangement, I set forth to build a palace. Tslamir 26: The crew was granted

some leave in Jahore after the elephant,

the camels, and their owners disem- barked. The scene drew a huge crowd of

onlookers in the street below, as the large animals dangled from ropes under-

neath the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrincess. Widespread betting

took place in the streets on whether each animal would make it to the ground

safely. The elephant drew record bets when one of the ropes began to give. A

little levitation spell came handy, and I won that bet (with 791 odds).

The officers discussed the pal; '0-

ject with me. Raman and Leo both showed great interest. Berylith was able

to attend the meeting after a fashion, reading my mind as the discussion took place. She, of course, said she was skill-

ful in the matters of architecture and would gladly provide her knowledge.

She also quietly requested that half of

that trade impost be used to embellish

the Princes Ark through the purchase of objects of art and other ornamental items. Once the details were worked out,

Raman, zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBALeo, and I would disembark and conduct the construction, as per Bery- Iith's blueprints.

Tslamir 28 It took some time to find the proper site for the construction. It

was finally decided to destroy the aban- doned city libraly, which was threatening

to collapse into the river. Unfortunately,

the Sindian workers proved to be incred- ibly slow, so slow that I had to use the

ship's crew to accelerate the process.

There is no telling how long it will take to level the older construction.

Late this night, after the moon had set

behind the horizon, I felt the ship move. Berylith had decided to intervene in the construction. She moved close to the

library and blasted it with her breath weapon. It created great confusion in the

sleeping city, as people thought the monsoons had arrived. Berylith quickly

gained altitude and remained bidden inside a solitary cloud until calm returned

in Jahore.

Andrumir 4: Despite the magic I used to help in the palace's construction, I must admit that the people of Jahore are terribly slow workers. It has been very

difficult making them follow a consvuc-

tion plan without erring. Raman and Leo were near nervous exhaustion in their

endeavors to explain the work to the Sin-

dians and to avoid catastrophic mistakes. Andrumir 8: I have noticed an in-

crease in construction oversights. Raman and Leo seemed much more indolent and

careless today. Worse, the crew has been acting quite sloppily on board, forgetting to clean the decks or to show up for duty. Some crew members did not seem

incidence. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA~

This lazy attitude struck me with its sim

ilarity to zzonga addiction, which ravaged

our empire some time ago. However, I could observe none of the other symp- toms normally accompanying zzonga addiction. It would take quite a bit of

magic to affect an entire city-and so far I. have not detected any sign of large-scale

magic anywhere. Andrumir 12: I found the source of

the *curse." The waters of the Asanda River have been poisoned with a race

alchemical substance. It is unlikely ' could happen naturally, so I must admit

someone has been seeking the doom of Jahore. But who? There was only one way to figure this out. Ashari and I would

leave the ship in disguise and blend in with the population. With some luck,.we

could unveil who was behind all thk

Andrumir 14: Of course, zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAs had to be working upstream to

nate the city waters. We expl river hanks just north of the Jahore and found several areas well concealed from :

sight, There I dropped several hardened compounds of my creation that would take several days to dissolve. The solu- tion, when mixed with the water, woul

immediately reveal any evidence of PO

son by coloring the water. We could the trace the colored solution back to fbs

spot where the poison had been thrown into the water.

Indeed, we were soon able to trace the solution back to one of the hidden

sources. Someone had dropped a sheep skin full of slow-dissolving poison into the river. It came in sufficient quantity to

affect most of the population in the city for several days. We even spotted o q

culprit, a man on a horse. It was time t

uncover the conspiracy. We quietly followed the man back t

Jahore. A hit of inoisibility allowed us to enter his house just moments after him. There we saw him use a magical ite

that opened a small gate. He entered, a we followed closely.

On the other side was a palace-but not quite like the one in Jabore. It wa8

h k er and more sinister. The zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAman walked

past a comer and entered a room. Ashari tiptoed up to the door and listened. She

heard a discussion between what must have been our spy and his employer, and

the sound of money changing zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAhands. The

man came back out carrying a goatskin full of poison and returned to the gate. I

signaled Ashari to leave; she barely had

time to get through before the gate disap peared.

Andrumir 15, Xerdon: I fear that something has happened to the Admiral

and his escort. Neither he nor First Class Navigator Ashari have returned from their

fomy into Jahore. I alerted His Highness,

Ashupta Khan, who immediately dis- patched his guards to search the city.

Andrumir 15, Haldemar, from a lawr accounti The sun rose soon after

Ashari's return to Jahore. I was able to

explore the sinister palace and locate the ruler in his throne room; my spell of zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAinvisibility still protected me. From the

visitors he met in the morning, I could deduce that he was no other than the Black Rajah of Jaibul. He was an old

man, with a skin parched from age and

the unforgiving sun of the Great Waste. Judging from his stance, I could not fail

to recognize an experienced wizard.

m e Black Rajah retired shortly after the meetings to his personal quarters, at the

top of a high, narrow tower overlooking the town. There, he spent hours going

through the bureaucratic paperwork that

plagues so many rulers. While looking about, I noticed antique clay tablets bear- ing the royal seal of Sind and held to-

gether with a golden silk ribbon. While

the Rajah was busy elsewhere, I quietly took a few pieces of vellum and rubbed

them with a bit of charcoal over the

tablets, obtaining an imprint of the ancient text. With luck, Raman could decipher

the Sindian scriptures later on. The sound of chains and men-at-arms

echoed up the hallway. Soldiers were pulling a prisonera Pearl Islander per- haps, judging from the dark color of his skin. He was a bit small, though, with

slightly narrow-lidded eyes and gracious facial features. He had a thin, neatly

trimmed beard and wore a long red robe made of soft leather scales. The guards knocked at a door and while they waited,

the prisoner glanced in my direction. I could have sworn he saw me, but the

guards pulled him quickly into the other chamber.

Intrigued, I followed them. The rajah

was there, sitting in a comfortable chair and toying with a small piece of jewelry. It looked like a small flame carved from a

topaz. He had the prisoner stripped and

waved the guards out. Soon thereafter the rajah uttered a long invocation and brandished the jewel. Translucent flames

began to glow on the prisoner's body. I

could see the pain in his eyes, but he endured stoically. He remained quiet and

immobile while the magical flames grew

and consumed his flesh. The rajah was watching intently, enjoying with a sadis-

tic pleasure his victim's pain and agony. I realized then that the prisoner was star- ing into my eyes, despite my invisibility. It felt like he was looking through me. For a brief instant, I saw images of great battles, flying ships, death and pestilence,

then a great continent sinking into stormy

seas. My senses returned just as the man died.

I noticed a certain perplexity on the rajahs face. He squinted for a moment in

my general direction. That would not do,

so I ducked behind a curtain. The rajah quickly spoke another spell and looked around him, observing the room and lis-

tening carefully. I did not think he saw me, but he certainly suspected some- thing. He quickly scooped up the bone

cinders and the few ashes remaining where the prisoner once stood, poured

them into a golden crucible, and walked out, swiftly shutting the door behind him.

By the time I could safely open the door,

the rajah had disappeared behind a cor- ner or, more probably, through a secret

door. This was very strange. I had no clues

as to how the prisoner could have seen me or what those visions were. Worse, I

knew the rajah would use those a s hes and I suspected his intentions to be thor- oughly evil. It wasn't until very late that

Chronicles

night that I located the,Rajah and the ashes as well. He was in the palace

dungeon, in a chamber that took all my skill to reach. I observed the rajah work-

ing at a small brazier. After a litany of incantations, he sprinkled the ashes that

had been mixed with another substance. This produced swirls of acrid-smelling

smoke with sparks of light. Inside, I was

surprised to see the same visions that af- fected me in the rajahs apartments. The rajah was quickly taking notes with a quill and a piece of parchment. The same

battles and cataclysm appeared as in my previous vision, up to a point when the

rajahs apartments also materialized in the vision-with me standing near the cur- tains!

The rajah jumped to his feet and

cursed. He dispersed the smoke and had the guard sound the alarm. If he had a

doubt, it was now gone. He knew I was in the palace and what I looked like. I

would have to be very careful in the future. The old man had many ways of finding me. It was time to skip out of the chamber. It was late, and I was getting

very tired and hungry. Andrumir 16, Xerdon: The ship has

grown restless, somewhat skittish like a horse. I suspect she senses the disappear- ance of the Admiral. I attempted to com-

municate with the ship's entity but failed to obtain an answer. So far, the search by the maharajah's men yielded no sign of

the admiral or Ashari. I recovered Chief Raman and Mr. Le Nerviens, both of

whom I found in an unclean condition and resting with the other construction personnel during work hours. This inex-

cusably lax attitude before foreign civil- ians is not permitted for an officer of Her

Imperial Majesty's Navy and shall be

stopped at once. Andrumir 16, Haldemar, from a

later accounb I spent the night in a lit-

tle stable. At dawn, I took a stroll down the streets. The town of Jaibul was as

sinister and oppressive as its palace. The town's thugs and cutthroats are rivalec

only by the rajahs guard, a brutal and

arrogant bunch. The rajahs palace and

his army's quarters were located inside

an imposing citadel. A port opened directly zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAon a small bay. There I noticed the rajah's guards were unloading another prisoner; he looked a hit like the one the rajah murdered earlier. He displayed the same dignity as the other. These people could be powerful seers, perhaps. I was getting horribly curious about zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAtheir origins.

Aside from the horrible tortures and murders that had been probably taking place for some time, it zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAwas clear the rajah was up to something big. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAI had to return and find out, so I cast a new spell and flew up to the Rajahs tower. There, from the window I could see the rajah sitting in front of a mirror. Instead of his reflec- tion, the mirror revealed a man in black, wearing a hood. The rajah picked up his scroll of notes on the vision and stuck it through the mirror, causing strange rip- ples through its glassy surface. The man in black nodded, then quietly produced a pen and wrote something on the scroll before returning it. The rajah read the response-then said, in proper Alpha- tian, "Well, well. Their destruction will be a blessing for us all. How soon, though, is the question, isn't it, my obtrusive friend?" The man in black faded away as the rajah turned toward me. "You didn't think you could fooI me much longer, did you?"

Andcnmir zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA17, Xerdon: The ship has inexplicably broken her lines and set flight toward the southwest. I suspect she senses where the Admiral is. For lack of results from the maharajah's incompetent search of Jahore, I am allowing the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAPrincess Ark to take us to wherever she wishes. I am cloaking the ship to avoid further problems with the local populace.

Andrumh 17, Haldemar: I should have been more alert. No recollection of what happened after my last encounter with the rajah came to my mind-that is to say, nothing else than a searing pain in my head. 1 woke up in the citadel's dungeon, stripped, gagged, and shackled to the wall in a very uncomfortable posi- tion. I could not have done a better job of it myself.

The rajah showed up hours past my awakening. He came with a nasty grin and his topaz. "I didn't think you would cooperate, and as a fellow wizard I wished to spare you the commoner's fate," said he, pointing at various instru- ments of torture across the cell. "The Fire Jewel is far more efficient in revealing someone's inner thoughts. And am sure you will fully savor the refined magicks of Jaibul." The rajah's sinister laughter echoed in the dark dungeon. He began the Fire Jewel's incantation. I cringed.

Then a heavy cudgel landed on the back of the rajahs turban. He collapsed in a soundless heap. Someone stepped out of the dark. It was Ashari! The dear young woman had followed the rajah's lackey back to Jahore. Seeing that the gate had closed before me, she quickly "terminated" the river's poisoner and recovered the item he used to open the gate. By the time she had discerned its method of operation, I was already else- where in the rajah's palace. She had been looking for me ever since. Finally, Ashari had followed the rajah down here, and, as Glantrians would say, "Voila!" A master stroke! And she smirked, "I also, um, accidentally dropped the rajah's poison in the citadel's well." How thoughtful of her. This yeoman was due for a promo- tion.

After hooking the rajah to his own shackles, I was tempted to try the fiery topaz on him. After all, he, too, had many things to tell us about. Alas, a squad of guard entered the cell unexpectedly. A prompt remtxe graviy took care of them, except for a runty fellow in the back who ran for help. We ran for the gate, ducking from pillar to corner for some time while men-at-arms rushed down the narrow stairwells looking for us. It was an exhila- rating race, although I had some trouble keeping pace with the nimble Ashari as zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAthis delightful game went on.

It was during this "dungeonesque es- capade" that I located the prisoner I had seen in the port of Jaibul. Ashari defeated the crude lock that imprisoned him with barely two twists of her wrist. Our man bowed slightly and swiftly followed us.

We could hear the rajah's hysterical shouts echoing up the hallways.

It took Ashari some doing to find an exit-a filthy sewer grate in a deserted street. As we wriggled through, it seemed to me that something was amiss. It was high noon and no one was around. As we slipped down the street under the shadows of colonnades, guards suddenly poured out from every corner. We were trapped!

The rajah had recovered his senses more quickly than I anticipated. Within moments, there he was, sitting on a zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAflyflY; ing carpet and hovering above us. "You will suffer for a thousand days,and thou- sand nights, each of you!" sa

and trembling with anger. I grimly turned to my compatriots and,

noticed, oddly enough, a wry smile ap- pearing on the face of the prisoner we had rescued. Enraged, the rajah raved on; '"You will see your skin slowly ripped from your flesh and thrown to the dogs!" he cried.

Now the former prisoner displayed a very wide grin that infuriated the rajah even more. Perhaps he knew something I

didn't. "Each of your limbs will be ripped from your body!" spat the rajah. "You--'! Suddenly the rajah jerked, his eyes grow- ing very wide, and stopped in the middle of his speech.

" I doubt that very much, your high+ ness!" came a voice behind him in the air: Slowly, the Princess Ark became visible just behind the rajah. And at her prow stood Xerdon, with his sword conspicu- ously jabbed into the rajah's back. The rajah's men fled at once in complete

Andrumit 18, Haldemar: With the rajah of Jaibul in our hands, I had no difficulty in retrieving my belongings from the rajah's dungeon-and the antique Sindian tablets. According tb Raman, the clay tablets were an old treaty between previous rulers of Sind and Jaibul. It attributed the ruler of Jaibul legal rights to the Province of Putnabad, should the Ashupta family become extinct or be stripped of its nobility due to royal discontent. The

chaos. What wonderful timing. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA:

8