Calimport

The capital city of Calisham, King Rexarius's empire in the making.

Through Rexarius' ceaseless efforts to conquer the warm, fertile lands beyond the city and expand his empire, Calimport is growing richer and richer by the day. It is now the biggest trading port aside from Skyport. Great trade alliances connect these cities.

## The Tyrant-King Rexarius

Technically, the Tyrant-King Rexarius rules Calimport and Calisham. Honestly, though, Rex is bored by the day-to-day workings of the nation, so he leaves most of the actual paperwork to the regent.

The regent is often assassinated and/or eaten. The regent changes a lot.

### **Goals**

Rexarius wants to:

* Conquer the remaining villages and cities in the Sea of Burnt Sand.
* Expand his territory as much as possible.
* Demand tithes and sacrifices from his citizens.
* Ascend to demi-godhood.

### **Godhood**

Rexarius believes that if enough people worship him strong enough, he will ascend and become a demi-god. This is a popular belief, and might in fact be true. According to legend, this is how the god Vecna came to be.

In order to ascend to godhood, Rexarius demands worship, tithing, and sacrifice.

### **Sacrifice**

Rexarius demands sacrifice from a wide variety of people. For example, whenever someone becomes regent, he demands they sacrifice the thing they love most. Past regents have sacrificed spouses, lovers, children, property, or body parts.

According to local belief, the best sacrifices are meaningful and personal. A beggar donating his last copper coin to temple is more meaningful than a rich man donating a hundred gold. Because of this, Rexarius often demands people sacrifice their loved ones-- or other cruel and outrageous things.

Mishka, for example, is forced to kill the person he loves most once every ten years or so.

## Notable Locations and People:

* The Gatchina Temple, the Rexarius temple in Calimport. Headed by Abdi Al-Ghali, an elderly cleric with prosthetic legs and a helpful iron golem.
* The Anisa Al-Din Palace, which has the Anisa Al-Din Temple inside, where clerics are forcefully brainwashed and converted. Headed by Mother Regina.
* Jasmilia Basha, who appears to be working for the royal family as some type of inventor and alchemist.
* Kazha, a young man who appears to work for the royal guard and claims to be a traitor.

## Information Goro has acquired:

### **"How old and strong is the dragon?" Lina rolled and got a 2.**

No one is sure how old Rexarius is. One day he crawled out of the desert, wounded and bleeding, and a tribe of Calishami took him in and tended to him. They believed if they saved the dragon, he might ally with them and become their protector. Instead, when he regained his strength, he enslaved them. He has been conquering towns and villages ever since.

### **"Does the dragon keep slaves? Lina rolled and got a 10.**

The dragon lives in the Anisa Al-Din Palace, where the regent of Calimport also resides. He stays in an enormous set of caves carved into the nearby cliffs connected to the palace. He has servants and slaves that polish his scales, bring him sacrifices, and tend to his hoard.

### **Has anyone fought the dragon before? Lina rolled and got an 18.**

Yes. Like most dragons, groups of adventurers have tried to break into the dragon's lair and fight it before. All of them so far have died.

Once, a previous regent of Calimport organized a coup to overthrow and kill the dragon. He dosed a servant boy with poison and then offered the boy as sacrifice, hoping to kill the dragon. However, before the servant boy was eaten, he threw himself at the dragon's feet and told the dragon about the plot. The dragon devoured the regent instead, then saved the servant and promoted him. The servant boy was promoted and made into the dragon's personal assassin.

According to rumor, the dragon has a small group of 5-10 assassins that work as his secret police.

Because Goro is a cleric of Mask, he also heard a "secret" rumor from the other initiates at the temple-- information not normally available to other characters. According to rumor, there is a man currently trying to assassinate the dragon. If you go to the quarry outside Calimport at night, there is a secret cave marked with Mask's symbol on the wall. You can leave a message for him there and potentially meet him.

### **Are there any legends or myths about the dragon? Lina rolled and got a 17.**

There are many legends and myths, but none of them are particularly helpful.

* Many superstitious people in Calimport believe that the secret police can listen to you through mirrors.
* Rexarius has no known age. He crawled out of the desert, heavily wounded, fifty years ago. Something in the desert must have almost killed him-- potentially a bigger monster or potentially a bigger dragon.
* Rumor has it that Rexarius has a soft spot on his belly where he's missing scales. Goro rolled high enough, however, to know this is false information designed to throw off adventurers who fight him.