farms, fields, and estates of the White Counts, their threat of the giants once and for all.

for all. The foolish knight

enforcement is somewhat laxer beyond the city’s walls. and his troops stopped the Shrouds from performing
The knights accompany important caravans, especially their rituals at the monoliths, thus allowing several giants
perfume shipments, along trade routes to Barsella or to escape their prisons and rampage through the Grand
Verrayne. They rarely patrol into the Wastes, however, Plaza. Fortunately, a group of adventurers joined forces
since the remaining armor-bonded knights can still rely with High Priestess Lethana and the other Shrouds. These
on the scrying wizards of Mageholme to teleport them brave heroes held back the giants long enough for one of
to any threat, including any who too closely approach the the Red Sisters to renew the binding spell, cutting her own
slumbering Dread Walkers. throat so the power of her blood forced them back into
The years of reliance on magical aid has bred the monoliths. Sir Markus was demoted for exceeding
complacency among the knights, making them softer his authority following the incident, and he still broods
than their hardened kin who felled Zhergthoth with valor bitterly about his disgrace to this day.
and raw steel. Most knights are more learned in courtly
The Ducal Perfumeries
intrigue than martial matters. With the armor bonds
The most exclusive district of Bourgund is the Bouquet
fading, the knights will be woefully unprepared for the
District—or Odor Alley, in the whispered humor of the
looming threats of the undead giants in the Haunted
locals. Several streets host small incense shops and large
Lands or the rumored dragons in the Ghostlight Forest.
perfume emporiums alike. The White Knights guard this
This situation is a grave concern to the White Council, if
precious resource closely, and the sensual fragrances
not yet to the duke himself.
escaping onto the pristine streets contrast oddly with the
Mageholme Citadel heavily armored knights.
The true power behind the White Knights resides in the Halflings are common in this district, desirable for their
secluded tower of Mageholme. Within its walls, 250 sensitive noses, devotion, and skill. Shadow elves also
wizards live shackled in service to the White Knights. The frequent the area, arranging shipments to the Courts and
majority of its residents are trained armor-bound mages, spreading around large amounts of fey coin. Merchants
their fealty pledged to a White Knight and their time spent here also provide other accoutrements, including delicate
closely observing that knight. A few dozen elders serve as glass bottles, magical censers, and even more nefarious
mentors, advisers, and court mages to the White Council. items that can serve dual purposes, such as rings holding
The remainder are apprentices culled from the least worthy small, secret compartments that work equally well for
of Bemmea’s various schools. In Bourgund, however, they perfume or poison.
are mages of service and worth. The skills learned within
Mageholme are carefully guarded state secrets.
High walls and magical wards protect the citadel against Magocracy of Allain
mundane and magical intrusion. The highest spires In the aftermath of the Great Mage Wars, only the
hold the scrying cells of the bonded mages on duty, each Magocracy of Allain stood among the ashes. Allain’s vast
comfortably appointed to the wizard’s taste. Most mages holdings are bordered to the south by gleaming Bourgund,
learn both arcane and divine arts, and many achieve the to the northeast by fey-plagued Tintager, to the west by
title of Mystic Theurge before retirement. Maillon’s swamps, and finally crowned in the north by
Aurgelmir’s Teeth the shining jewel of Bemmea. Through happenstance or
Scattered around the city are a dozen huge monoliths of (more likely) treachery, Allain inherited the convergences
crimson stone. The biggest, known as the Centerstone, of ley lines that once crisscrossed the Wastes. The paths,
stands in the Grand Plaza in front of the duke’s palace. stretched and anchored by the isolated capital of Bemmea,
Unknown to the founders of Bourgund who built their make these lands an over-boiling kettle of magical might
city around them, these stones are the sleeping forms that travelers claim they can smell on the air like an
of primordial giants created by Aurgelmir, the first and approaching storm. As a result, arcanists of all stripes fill
greatest giant, and imprisoned by the gods. The task of this land like rats in a granary.
ensuring these prisoners remain forever within their Some come to Allain to learn from the most talented
stone cages rests with the Shrouds, a secret cult of the Red arcane practitioners in Midgard. Others come to steal
Sisters of Marena, who perform a ritual every 10 years to power for themselves. Both kinds of travelers find ample
renew the wards that keep the giants contained. opportunities. In Maillon, masters of alchemy struggle in
A few years ago, Sir Markus Alavaine, youngest of the their laboratories to invent new concoctions and unlock
White Knights’ elite Order of the Rose, nearly unleashed the secrets of immortality. Tintager recruits war mages,
disaster on the city. Sir Markus wanted to match the warlocks, and hellblood-tainted sorcerers to tame the fey
prowess of the White Knights of old who slew the Dread wilderness and hold its ancient rivals at bay. In the fertile
Walker Zhergthoth, and he convinced his superiors to hinterlands, potent ley lines give rise to new mages, and
let him bring down the red monoliths and deal with the experienced masters search among nobles and rabble alike
for young apprentices to mold. In Bemmea, the great seat
248