Ilkmar
Dust / Consumption
Three hundred years before the old city was created, the wizard Ennelong had cursed the gluttonous merchant Kohsmann for his evil acts. The latter had made profit at the expense of the poor, and, more serious, stolen a magical item that was very dear to Ennelong.
Ennelongs curse stated, that, lest he atoned, he and the ground he stood on would become the very image of death. This would happen when he would be on his highest moment of glory.
The wish Ennelong used was not without costs: being the old mage he was, it became the end of him. Kohsmann, however, successfully became a prolonger and sucked the peasants dry for three more centuries.
Then he came upon the city of Ilkmar, a harbour city which nearly celebrated the 500th anniversary of the granting of its city rights. Kohsmann decided to run for mayor and hoped to turn public favour towards him by setting up a great banquet to celebrate the event. This was made possible by a magical device that created god-like food. His popularity rose considerably that day (the people from the city did not know him yet) Thus his greatest moment of glory came, and the fulfilment of the curse. He, the city and all its inhabitants turned into beings of pure dust, and were sent to the Plane of Dust.
Right now he lives his life there, as mayor of a city of dust, inhabited by dust beings, who all loathe him but can do nothing about it. The sea itself turned to salt, encapsulating the city in a desolate, eerie landscape. It glimmers under any lights cast upon it, adding to the otherworldly ambiance of the place.
A berk can just walk into the burg (given the right magics on him) and interact with any creature in there. He cannot touch ’em. Touching ’em will turn ’em into a pile of dust. The blood will also avoid making too much noise, for buildings may collapse (though they seem to rebuild themselves eventually).
Sages speculate that there are ways to break the curse and setting the inhabitants free. Those who know the dark of Kohsmann know that he should severely atone for his misdeeds.
Adventure Hooks:
- The Curse of Kohsmann: The players are hired by a group of sages to find a way to break Kohsmann’s curse. This quest involves deep research, negotiations with dust beings, and possibly confronting Kohsmann himself to persuade him to atone for his misdeeds.
- The Collapsing Burg: Strange seismic activities threaten to destroy Ilkmar permanently. The players must investigate the source of these disturbances and find a way to stabilise the burg before it is lost forever.
- Dust to Dust: A group of planar travellers is trapped in Ilkmar, slowly turning to dust. The players must race against time to find a way to reverse the transformation and save the travellers.
Source: Alex de Beer, Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
