Umbral Hold

**Umbral Hold**

Neutral Evil Large City (South)

Corruption +1; Crime +1; Economy +1; Law +2; Lore +2; Society +4

Qualities defiant, insular, mythic sanctum, no questions asked, strategic location

Danger 10; Disadvantages heavily taxed

***Demographics***

Government autocracy

Population 20,000 (7,000 fetchlings, 5,000 humans, 3,000 elves, 1,000 halflings, 1,500 half-elves, 1,000 tengu, 1,500 other)

***Notable NPCs***

**Shadowlord Xokur** (LE male old fetchling oracle (bones mystery) 15/heirophant 5)

**General Tukrovv Donarus** (LE male half-elf fighter (two-handed fighter archetype) 12/ranger (urban ranger archetype) 3)

**Councilor of the Hold Ovuurani Donarus** (LN middle-aged female elf wizard (universalist) 9/aristocrat 1)

**Rebel Leader Korizunra** (CG female tengu oracle (battle mystery) 7/ninja 4)

**Crime Hunter Orbraa** (NE female minotaur barbarian (invulnerable rager archetype) 6)

**Herald of Chains Eroxta** (LE middle-aged female fetchling cleric of Khaivara 13)

***Marketplace***

Base Value 8,000 gp; Purchase Limit 25,000 gp; Spellcasting 5th

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6

In the **Valley of the Hidden**, a stretch of mountains with various wide paths so deep that sunlight rarely passes into, lives the little known city of ***Zkriier*** (an Alko term roughly translated to "kingdom"), better known though in legend as the **Umbral Hold**, named for its unique placement in one of the middle sections of the mountains that connect all of the larger paths together.

Originally nothing more than a large, well hidden fetchling city that
 provided information of the well known trading cities of the south, it
stood for nearly 20 years with relatively little happening; many traders
 of the fetchlings were born and raised here, and they feel like this
city, despite being on the Material Plane, is relatively similar to
their origin of the Shadow Plane. It was originally ran by a mayor
voting system, with the main focus on the politics being on the economy,
 trading, and preventing and punishing those who commit crimes. However,
 during one voting session, the candidates were suddenly found to be
assassinated-rather brutally, as they were portrayed in the city with
spikes impaled in their bodies, and hanging from walls with chains
embedded in their eyes-a practice of fetchling worshipers of Khaivara to humiliate ones enemies. Fear started to spread through the city, as no
one could identify who was this assassin.

He soon revealed himself, as the self-proclaimed lord of the Hold-the **Shadowlord Xokur**, a fetchling who had disappeared from the city roughly 14 years ago due
to mysterious circumstances. Having returned to the Shadow Plane, and
venerating Khaivara, he went into the Inner Sea region and began to draw
 a cult following in a unique form of worship-unlike most followers of
Khaivara, Xokur and his cult venerate their goddess for giving strength
by feeding off of the fear of their enemies.

Without a true councilor, the city attempted to go into protesting,
with some of the more ill-tempered and impatient members attempting to
assassinate the Shadowlord. One such assassin was **Lotaricca**, a tengu ninja who's grandparents had followed the original founders of the
 city as bodyguards. Enraged that the city her ancestors helped build is
 being overruled by a tyrant, she sneaked into his home with full intent
 on poisoning him. What she didn't realize was that he could quickly
turn the shadows against her-for he had the power of a heirophant,
meaning that his worship had rewarded him with nearly god-like powers.
The next day, Xokur proved his mythic strength to the population by
using the shadows to hunt down and mutilate a good number of the
protesters who wished him dead-all in front of the entire population. A
large number of these were tengu, but both elves and humans also ranked
in the murder. As another form of punishment for this act, the tengu
were moved to the **Everdark Allies**, an abandoned lower section of
the city that serves as part catacombs, part dungeon, and part slum,
while the majority of the elves, half-elves, halflings and humans were
enslaved, while only a few selected high ranking fetchlings were immune
to a law that forced a good number of the fetchling population into a
low class position in society. Why the halflings, who were mainly
innocent in these protests, became so heavily punished is a mystery,
though many claim that the Shadowlord is a pure racist, even to his own
kind. He also enlisted a law that allowed some of the monstrous
residents of the city's abandoned sections-dark nagas, minotaurs, and
vegepygmies-full rights as citizens, with most of the higher ranked
aristocrats, soldiers, head merchants, and Darkland traders being from
these monstrous races.

However, despite this, Xokur was smart enough to know that he cannot
always reveal himself to the public-he may be powerful, but he was far
from immortal or invincible. Thus, he had his guards capture **Ovuurani Donarus**, a elven woman who was once a teacher to the wizard school before it was
 shut down and converted into a church of Zon-Kuthon. She despised the
Shadowlord, for her human lover was one of the candidates assassinated
by him, and spat a large number of profanities about him. The
Shadowlord, however, played with her emotions as he made a deal-if she
would become his speaker for his actions and laws, he would allow the
church to convert a small building nearby into a new, abliet more
restricted and heavily watched, wizard school; if not, he would have his
 guards assassinate every arcane spellcaster and their families in cold
blood, including her half-elf son **Turkovv Donarus** who was only 10
 at the time. Reluctantly, the elf agreed, but with the promise that she
 and her son would stay in the Shadowlord's building from protection
against those who opposed him and his followers. He agreed, and the
half-elf was protected from any harm; but within 30 years, she had
discovered that while she was busy with Xokur's demands, the Shadowlord
had her son trained into becoming the general of his guards. While she
cannot do anything to stop her son from obediently following his demands
 of execution and hunting down the rebel group, she loathes the
fetchling even more for brainwashing her son. What she doesn't know is
that Turkovv is not brainwashed, but instead has accepted his role in
the Shadowlord's command with a soul of iron and a heart of ice.

The rebellion, a small group compromised of the entire tengu
population (or what's left of it), as well as some elves, half-elves and
 humans who had escaped slavery and oppression. Their leader, **Korizunra**, is a tengu with a love of freedom, but a true hatred of corruption and
shadows. Although he had hated the Shadowlord since he took control, it
wasn't until his mother was murdered, and his people's population was
either exterminated or exiled as punishment, is what made him wish for
nothing more than the death of it's now heartless leader. Although many
attempts at assassination have failed (either due to the Shadowlord
itself or his followers), Korizunra is determined to believe that, one
day, Xokur's confidence and bloodlust will leave him vulnerable. And
when that day comes, the light shall break through the shadows.