Settlement: Nisk Under-the-Wing
Ok, Sure its a sodden, swampy valley, but you have to admit can’t beat the view
Setup: Existing for decades as little more than a desolate peat farming settlement on the edge of a bog, Nisk became the staging ground for the last stand by a group of heroes against an ancient dragon, who saved the kingdom by working a great act of magic and petrifying the wyrm in the middle of its pre-rampage monolog. Decades and innumerable tourists later, Nisk has become a major artery of trade for the kingdom, as well as a place for younger adventures to come and learn from the legacy of their forebearers.
Adventure Hooks:
Defeating an ancient dragon will make anyone’s reputation, but the wizard Everett Paliisar who worked the petrification magic has made it into an identity, opening a renowned magical workshop and taking the stone dragon as its sigil. The only problem is that even decades after his triumph, Paliisar has NO idea how he managed his magical miracle, and into his old age has barely managed to stave off questions and requests to repeat his great trick. When the party comes looking for some tutoring or help with their own problem in need of petrification, expect Paliisar to make them jump through innumerable hoops in hopes of dissuading them.
In addition to the swampy waterways, Nisk is surrounded by ancient rainforest that once provided shelter and hunting grounds to the dragon. The forest also contains the ruins of a nameless kingdom, lost in ages past to some unknown catastrophe. Notoriously haunted by monsters and spirits so old that their identities have worn away, these vine choked structures have a siren song that have called to adventurers for generations.
During their adventures in the region, the party obtains a coded treasure map that once deciphered guides them to climb the cliffs behind Nisp, make their way out onto the dragon’s head, and rappel down into its mouth. Apparently some daring group of thieves had been using the cave that’d formed from the dragon’s gullet and foremost stomach to store their ill gotten gain. What happened to these thieves, and and what they left behind to guard their treasure is a story for another time, but the party will need to watch themselves regardless. The elemental energies of the petrified dragon have begun to manifest as spiny crystalline growths, which can have unpredictable effects if exposed to magic or stabbed into a clumsy adventurer’s flesh.
Those eager to make a name for themselves are often drawn to Zillo’s, a rougher establishment on the edge of the settlement where hot-blooded brawlers can compete in an arena for prizes and the chance to be scouted by attending nobles and freecompany recruiters. Every fortnight there’s a special bout where would-be champions are matched against one of the hobbled drakes kept beneath the arenas foundations, a cruel and unpredictable tradition that lets those desperate enough for fame claim to be dragonslayers like Nisk’s first defenders. Zillo’s management is known to pay top price for drake eggs or hatchings, and does a tidy trade in dragonflesh on the side.
