This post details the River of Death (area A) and the Street of Kings (area B), along with some of the booths on the Street of Kings. Part One is here.

A. River of Death
By the time the River of Death flows into the marshes, it divides into numerous channels both big and small. Ibis is built on the banks of the largest channel at a place where the land rises about 15 feet above the surface of the river. The river here is black with sediment and its banks are choked with papyrus reeds and inhabited by crocodiles and hippos. An ancient nixie dwells in the river, seducing men and then drowning them when they attempt to embrace her.

Crowds: During the day, the river is always busy with mercantile barges and fishermen. At night, the river is largely empty.

Random Encounters
1 Crocodile (3d6)
2 Hippopotamus (2d6)
3 Nixie (max hit points)
4 Royal Barge (Nobles, bodyguards)
5 Smuggler (Thief Lvl 3 with 3-6 underlings)
6 Specter

A1. Smuggler’s Tunnel: A tunnel here is obscured by reeds and barred by a locked grate. The tunnel allows enough room for a man in a rowboat or on a raft to pass through without scraping his head. The tunnel leads to a small loading dock with a locked door. The door opens into a secret room in the cellar of the House of Three Leopards [1].

B. Road of Kings
The Road of Kings extends from the northern gate (the Thoeris Gate, named for the giant statues of the hippo-headed goddess that flank it) to the Gate of the Moon that opens to the west. Along most of its length it is paved in dingy limestone and cut by wheel ruts. In several places (such as [13] on the map) it is marked by a deep, open sewer with small drainage tunnels that lead to the River of Death and are known to harbor the city-state’s ghouls.

To the north on our map, the Road of Kings passes by the Nomarch’s Palace, a large fortress and the city’s treasury. To the west, it leads to an industrial area of tanners, phosphorous makers, smiths, dye shops, shipyards, stone cutters and an orichalcum foundry.

Crowds: During the day, the Road of Kings is crowded with artisans, beggars, townswomen and other folk just going about their business.

Random Encounters
1 Adventurer (see end of article for sample NPCs)
2 Caravan (1d6 traders with 2 camels each)
3 Guard (1d6 + sergeant)
4 Mage (two, preparing to duel)
5 Noble Retinue (Aristocrat with bodyguards and slaves)
6 Priest (1d6+6 carrying an idol and chanting)

Nomarch’s Palace: The nomarch’s palace is a sprawling complex of dozens of buildings (guest houses, barracks for the Mameluke guards), mostly faced by white marble, and gardens (kitchen, medicinal, orchards and pleasure gardens). The entire complex is surrounded by a 20-ft tall wall patrolled (inside and out) by Mamelukes (see below) who are sometimes accompanied by chained leopards. A small portion of the gardens appears on the map [20].

The main structure of the palace is a three story rectangular building comprising over 200 chambers, including a shrine of Bast, guest rooms, a massive throne room, chambers for the nomarch and her ladies in waiting. major domo and other servants.

• Besheva, Gynosphinx: HD 8 (47 hp); AC 1 [18]; Atk 2 claws (1d8); Move 18 (Fly 24); Save 8; CL/XP 9/1100; Special: Divination, dispel.

• Faki, Major Domo, Magic-User Lvl 7: HP 26; AC 9 [10]; Save 9; Special: Spells (4th); Black robes, long, pointed shoes tipped with golden horns, a polished ebony staff of divination tipped with a ruby worth 1,000 gp, silver dagger, scroll of protection from evil. Mature aristocrat with tanned skin, black hair and long beard, brown eyes, heavy-set. He is mean with money, but virtuous. Keeps a harem.

• Mameluke: HD 3; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d10); Move 12; Save 14 (12 vs. spells); CL/XP 3/60; Special: Adept spells (1st). Chainmail, shield, curved long sword, jezzail (treat as heavy crossbow). The Mamelukes are slave soldiers raised as warrior-mages loyal to the nomarch.

• Mameluke Captain: HD 5; AC 3 [16]; Atk 1 weapon (1d10); Move 12; Save 12 (10 vs. spells); CL/XP 3/60; Special: Adept spells (2nd). Chainmail, shield, curved long sword, pistol (treat as light crossbow).

Merchant Stalls: There are 16 merchant stalls on the portion of the Road of Kings on this map. It is rare that one is closed during the day (1 in 20 chance). In general, assume that a merchant has what a player is looking for on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6.

B1. Bes the Spice Merchant (2 hp) offers a small variety of spices. He charges double the normal price for his spices, but they are of the best quality and are double-wrapped in cheese cloth. Bes is a drowsy man (his wife keeps him awake all night with her snoring) with very dark skin and a bald head.

B2. Mukamutara (4 hp) is a grouchy old woman with beady eyes and a perpetual sneer. She always has a bright green parrot on her shoulder. Mukamutara is a witch of some minor ability, and sells magical charms and protective amulets. Her charms are of very high quality (10% chance of actually working) and go for 10 gp for a basic love charm to 100 gp for an amulet that protects one from possession by evil spirits. Mukamutara has a problem with men, and charges them triple what she charges women.

B3. Astennu (2 hp) is a nervous, chubby little man who designs and sells a wide variety of turbans and hats. His hats are mediocre, but his prices are a bit steep. Astennu keeps five ostrich feathers (worth 5 sp per feather) under his counter. He also sells a balm made from beeswax and other secret ingredients that he claims cures the gout (or any other complaint a customer might have, including mummy rot! Of course, it has no curative abilities).

B4. Tumaini is a retired adventurer who sells adventuring supplies (rope, torches, 10-ft poles) and maps (he has one that he claims leads to Necropolis, and another to the ruins of Timulus). His prices are quite reasonable and of good quality. Tumaini has a booming voice and is tall and muscular. He would be quite handsome if not for the gaping scar across his face and his glass eye (which always seems a bit off-kilter) received in battle with a wyvern.

• Tumaini, Fighting-Man Lvl 3: HP 14; AC 8 [11]; Save 14. Keeps a shield and curved short sword handy, and a dagger on his belt. Nervous around mages.

B5. Raziya (2 hp) is a trader who once plied the length and breadth of Nabu, Pwenet and the Wyven Coast. She is now too old to run a caravan, but her three sons have taken over the business and keep her supplied with a miscellany of armor and weapons. Currently, she is hawking a set of polished bronze greaves, a suit of armor made from bulette hide and a suit of full plate mail that bears the mark of Guelph and is thus of the highest quality (though it smells like something died in it – which is accurate). Raziya is quite greedy, but has a soft spot for a handsome man. She wears loose silk pantaloons of blue and yellow, a purple bodice set with tiny pearls (really alabaster) and a billowy chemise of peach and green.

B6. Nassor (3 hp) is a dour man with a booming voice who calls out “Bows – Bows – Finest on two continents!” as he works on a short bow of laminated horn. He currently has three short bows and two long bows ready to go, along with two dozen arrows of various weights and lengths and a few bow strings. Nassor’s bows look good, but are not of the highest quality (-1 to hit), though they are sold at half-price. He likes to gossip, and seems distressed (he owes money to the local thieves’ den).

B7. Gahiji is a pleasant little man with a round belly and several jiggling chins. He dresses in a simple white robe and adorns himself only with a band of iron on his left pinky. Gahiji has a sallow complexion and dirty blond hair. He is a necromancer of middling abilities who sells minor enchanted items (potions, scrolls, maybe a magical dagger or amulet) taken from tombs and burial sites by the city-state’s ghouls. Roll three minor magical treasures for Gahiji’s stand, and allow for a 10% chance that he has a medium magic item and a 1% chance of a major magic item. Minor items usually sell for around 1,000 gp, medium for 5,000 gp and major items for 10,000 gp.

• Gahiji, Magic-User Lvl 3: HP 5; AC 8 [11]; Save 13; Special: Spells (2nd). Wears a ring of protection +1.

B8. Nuru (1 hp) is a stone carver who produces little idols of Bes from soapstone and (1% chance) more valuable materials like turquoise, lapis lazuli or alabaster. Her partner, Shabat (COM 3 hp), is an excellent cook who sells humus and cold vegetable soups from the same booth. While Shabat is rather petite and plain, Nuru is more heavy-set and a bit androgynous with her short hair and baggy clothes. Her idols are of average quality, but she sells them at a dear price. Bartering annoys her.

B9. This raucous booth is filled with a dozen squawking birds (parrots and a macaw) and a few yapping little dogs. The animals are trained by Zesiro, a loud, obnoxious woman who loves to haggle.

B10. Kamilah is a rather mannish-looking woman (maybe an exiled amazon?) who runs a booth selling crossbows of excellent quality and, for those who know the thieves’ cant, concealable weapons like spring-loaded daggers and slim swords hidden in walking sticks. Kamilah is cheerful and loves to barter. Those who get the best of her are usually invited to the Spotted Sphinx for a drinking bout that might last long into the night.

• Kamilah, Fighting-Woman Lvl 1: HP 6; AC 9 [10]; Save 16. Owns leather armor, a shield, heavy crossbow (+1 to hit), short sword and dagger. Usually just keeps a dagger handy.

Ibis is a city-state dominated by magic-users and illusionists. Mages hold most political power and form the bulwark of the city-state’s defenses. It is situated on the delta of the River of Death, a landscape of lush hills, sparkling lakes and reed-choked river banks. In ancient times, it was the major sea port of the Nabu Empire, which occupied a savanna that stretched from the shores of the Golden Sea to the rain forests of Cush. Nabu was ruled by an aristocracy of pale skinned wizard kings and queens called pharoahs. These men and women plumbed the depths of knowledge arcane and scientific, and in their quest to bring the world under their yoke destroyed themselves, turning their lush parklands into a terrible wasteland. Ibis alone among the great city-states of Nabu was spared.

In the intervening centuries, Ibis managed to survive and then thrive. For a short period after the collapse of the Nabu Empire, it fell under the domination of the Purple Kings of Ophir (see NOD #2), but that was short lived. Only 200 years ago it was the eastern jewel of the Empire of Nomo, which itself fell due a cataclysm not of its own making. During the Nomo domination, its old university flourished and the city-state began to attract philosophers, sages and sorcerers to delve into what knowledge of ancient Nabu was saved and to quest into the desert to find lost lore. Ibis is again a free state, ruled by a secretive nomarch and beginning to look across the Golden Sea with hungry eyes.

Ibis is ruled by the Nomarch Besheva, a gynosphinx of great antiquity, she having siezed power after the end of Nomoan rule. Besheva is assisted in her rule by a privy council of great sorcerers, warlocks and witches and by a council of commons consisting of the heads of the city-state’s noble families. Besheva dwells in the Old Palace, a sprawling estate of gardens, courtyards, barracks for the pastoral guard and slave-soldiers (see below), a shrine of Bast, guest houses and a manor containing a throne room, living chambers for the nomarch, her ladies in waiting, her major domo and hundreds servants.

The city-state’s high priest is a member of the privy council as well as heading the city-state’s college of priests, the Grand Temple of Thoth and the Eldritch Order of the All-Seeing Eye, a brotherhood of magic-users.

The jewel of Ibis, though, is its University. While small by modern comparisons, it is one of the larger such institutions in (or near) the Motherlands, and over the years has attracted many of the finest young men and women from families noble and mercantyl. While many think of it as a school for sorcery, this is quite incorrect. The university at Ibis teaches rhetoric, history, geometry and mathematics, above all else. Several of its faculty, however, are magic-users of some minor ability and sages who have picked up a spell or two in their day, and these individuals have several apprentices to whom they pass on the lost arts of ancient Nabu – think of them as teacher’s aides who can throw a spell or two but still have to attend Master Hahmet’s lecture on the ninteenth dynasty.

Because the city-state has attracted so many magic-users in its day, it has acquired a reputation for wizardry, and in truth has more alchemists, wand carvers and cauldron makers than the average city. In addition, magical items are more common in Ibis than in other city-states and may be available for trade.

Ibis’ magic-users, like their kind everywhere, are an eccentric lot. Because of their political power, they tend to be more arrogant and overbearing than elsewhere. Those who go to far are punished for the hubris by a clandestine band of assassins.

All of the divinities of the Nabu pantheon (NOD #3) have temples and shrines in Ibis, with the largest temples being dedicated to Thoth, Isis (and her trinity) and Anubis. Foreign deities such as Hecate, Sabazios and Mercurius are represented on the college of priests, and there are also dozens of obscure cults dedicated to saints, archangels, chaos lords, archdevils and demon princes.

Most crime in Ibis involves the black market for magical items and rare spell components, which are supposed to move through the temple of Thoth. Thoth’s diviners spend most of their time trying to suss out smugglers.

The Citizenry
Nabu’s human population is made up of a core of true natives who can trace their families back to the days of the Nabu Empire, the descendants of more recent immigrants (mostly from Nomo and the Golden Coast) and old noble families who, again, can trace their bloodlines back to the empire.

The true natives have dusky, reddish skin and black hair, with green eyes predominating. The noble families have pale, milky white skin that becomes a mousy gray as they age. Their hair is as black as night when they are young, but in their old age becomes whispy and silver. Nobles have large, almond-shaped eyes that range from hazel to a dark brown that is almost black.

Most Ibisians dress in long caftans of bright, cheery colors and wrapped turbans, usually of black or white. Others wear baggy trousers and loose shifts with ruffled collars and long, sleeved robes. Feathers are a common adornment in turbans. Ibisian women of the noble caste wear more form-fitting gowns of silk and adorn themselves with jewelry, especially head bands of cloth-of-gold. They carry ostrich-feather fans to shade themselves from the sun and the eyes of common onlookers.

The people of Ibis speak a dialect of the ancient language of Nabu. It is a poetic language, soft and pleasant to the ear. Almost all Ibisians speak (or at least understand) the common tongue of the Mother-lands, and usually speak it in the dialect of Nomo, as that empire conquered Ibis and ruled it for two hundred years. Educated Ibisians speak elven, and it is the principal language spoken at the University.

Ibisians are an independent bunch. The non-magical folk are hard-working and not entirely enamored with mages and their followers. The common people tend to rally around Isis and her priesthood, while the artisans favor Hathor.

For entertainment, Ibisians prefer dice games, wrestling, and horse and chariot races. Magic-users favor more lofty diversions, such as dragon chess and cockatrice fights. Magical duels are officially illegal, but occur regularly nonetheless.

Ibis is built on the Ishka Delta, where the Ishka River meets the Golden Sea. This is a very fertile area, and the entire delta is under the domain of Ibis. Beyond the delta and river is the demon-haunted desert, which hides ancient ruins and royal crypts.

Ibis’ economy is based on agriculture, fishing, paper-making and alchemical manufactures. Precious metals from the surrounding wastelands and highlands flow into the city-state via miners and is minted into gold, silver and copper coins. Gems are rarely traded in Ibis, as they are too valuable as alchemical components.

Exotic Customs
Animals are sacred in Ibis and not to be harmed or killed except by specially sanctioned priests who perform killing in hidden rituals and only outside the city-state. This makes meat somewhat more rare and expensive (double price) in Ibis than in other places. Fish are not included in this prohibition of harming animals, and thus feature prominently in the local diet. The penalty for harming or killing an animal is several months in the Nomarch’s dungeon and a thorough lashing, with repeat offenses resulting in the loss of a hand and then an eye. Attacks on cats or the sacred ibis is punishable by mutilation or death.

Locals do not speak of the dead without casting their eyes to the heavens and then dropping a coin (usually copper) on the ground. These coins are usually picked up by beggars, who are permitted to do so, but are considered unlucky for others (5% chance of the perpetrator suffering a -1 penalty on all rolls while the coin is in his or her possession).

Foreigners are scanned for magical auras. Each magical aura on the person costs them a gold coin (two if they are using foreign coinage). Naturally, this means that there are moneychangers set up along the road leading to Ibis.