Xoxoucayotl

**Xoxoucayotl**

Chaotic Good Large Town (South)

**Corruption** 0; **Crime** +1; **Economy** 0; **Law** 0; **Lore** -3; **Society** +4

**Qualities** Defiant, Rule of Might, Subterranean

**Danger** 10

**Government** Council

**Population** 2,642 (2,500 Humans, 42 Dark Folk, 100 Other)

**Notable NPCs**

**Atempanecatl Achcautli the Blind** (CG Old Male Human Brawler 10)

**Atempanecatl Chicawa the Bold** (CN Female Human Ranger 8)

**Atempanecatl Itzli the Fierce** (CN Middle-Aged Male Human Barbarian 8)

**Elder Coxcatl, Speaker For the Ancestors** (NG Venerable Female Human Oracle 10)

**Ambassador Xil** (CN Dark Stalker Rogue 4)

**Marketplace**

**Base Value** 2000 gp; **Purchase Limit** 10000 gp; **Spellcasting** 5th

**Minor Items** 3d4; **Medium Items** 2d4; **Major Items** 1d4

The pale-skinned Axtlaca people are a peculiarity in the southern lands of the former Telzuchin empire, physically resembling none of the
neighboring peoples and traditionally keeping to their own small
communities scattered across the hill country pm the western edge of the Telzuchin Jungle. According to their oral histories, they once lived as
 slaves in a lightless underworld, serving a hideous race of
subterranean beings whose name is lost to living memory. After throwing
off their chains in a titanic battle merely hinted at in their oldest
epics, the Axtlaca made a harrowing journey through a vast maze of
caverns before finally emerging on the surface world. At the cavern
mouth where they emerged, they constructed a great walled city, which
they called Xoxoucayotl, meaning "Freedom From Bonds" in their native
tongue.

Those who scoff at the legends of the Axtlaca would be shocked to
learn that Xoxoucayotl is very much real, and stands to this day,
although to describe it as a great city would be an overstatement. When
the Axtlaca emerged on the surface world, they found that the light of
the sun was too bright for them to bear, and so they established a crude
 settlement of rough-hewn stone in a vast cavern just beyond the sun's
reach. When their children, exposed to the light of day from a young
age, proved able to function on the surface, most left the city behind
to make a new life for themselves in the world beyond. A minority,
however, remained behind to help care for the older generation and keep
watch over the tunnels from which they had escaped. It was this second
generation who sealed the passage linking Xoxoucayotl to the underworld
with a thick wall of unmortared stone, leaving only a narrow passage
wide enough for a single human adult to pass, which they blocked with a
great stone wheel.

Today, the stone and brick structures in which the people of
Xoxoucayotl dwell are a far cry from the crude hovels of their
ancestors, though the settlement has continued to dwindle over time and
currently more than three-quarters of its buildings are abandoned and in
 various states of disrepair. The remaining inhabitants scrape out a
living herding livestock on the mountain slopes beyond the mouth of
their cavern home, and consider it their sacred duty to guard the stand
ready in case their ancient masters decide to come calling one day.

Although the people of Xoxoucayotl are not especially warlike, they
are always ruled by a triad of their most capable warriors, known as the *Atempanecatl*, or "high captains." This tradition is believed to
date back to the original rebel leaders who won the freedom of the
Axtlaca in bloody combat. In order to be considered eligible to become
one of the Atempanecatl, a warrior must journey alone through the door
of the stone wheel and slay one of the hideous monsters that dwell in
the caverns beyond. Bringing back a trophy from any appropriately
dangerous-looking beast is acceptable, but the larger and more
impressive the kill, the better.

Any warriors who have thus proven themselves have the right to
challenge one of the Atempanecatl to single combat in order to take
their place. If the challenger is of sufficient character, the
challenged Atempanecatl is greatly impressed by the trophy they brought
from beyond the wheel, or if the incumbent has simply grown old and
feels that they cannot stand against the challenger, they may decide to
yield before the duel begins. Otherwise, the combatant who first
surrenders or is rendered unable to fight on is declared the loser, and
the winner takes a seat with the other Atempanecatl.

The current Atempanecatl are **Achcautli the Blind**, the eldest sitting member of the council, who continues to defend his seat in spite of having lost his sight years ago, **Chicawa the Bold**, who goes on regular forays beyond the wheel for the sheer joy of the hunt, and **Itzli the Fierce**, a brutal and little-loved warrior who has had to defend his position
more times than any other sitting Atempanecatl. The Atempanecatl are
advised by a council of revered elders, the most prominent of whom is **Elder Coxcatl**, who holds the title of "Speaker for the Ancestors" and acts as the primary keeper of Xoxoucayotl's oral history.

Competing with the council for the attention of the Atempanecatl is **Xil**, a Dark Stalker who acts as an ambassador from a nameless nation of Dark
 Folk who are Xoxoucayotl's primary trading partners. The Axtlaca of
Xoxoucayotl regard the Dark Folk as "cousins," and their legends suggest
 that the two races toiled together as slaves before casting off their
chains. At any given time, there may be dozens of dark folk in town,
though most stay only long enough to conduct whatever business they have
 with the local humans. For the most part, this business consists of
trading refined metal, rare stones, and alchemical ingredients from deep
 underground for lumber, wool cloth, and various surface-world
foodstuffs.

In addition to the dark folk, members of a number of more-or-less
civilized subterranean races can be found in town, as well as a few
immigrants from the surface world who have found their way to the
secluded mountain region where the entrance to Xoxoucayotl is located.
Outsiders are generally made to feel welcome, as the people of
Xoxoucayotl are always eager for news and goods from other parts of the
world, isolated as they are in their stony fastness. As it stands, the
town has plenty of space for newcomers to stay, and anyone who's willing
 to fix up one of the abandoned houses that fill most of the cavern can
claim it for themselves.