Towns along the way
There are no large cities between the Customs House and the City. But there are a handful of villages living along the Road. Here are some sample names to choose from as needed.
| Town | Signage miles to city | Miles to city | Miles from Prata Phoenix |
| Evera | 734 | 860 | 20 |
| Stridon | 631 | 800 | 80 |
| Calagash | 551 | 720 | 160 |
| Uzinaz | 496 | 660 | 220 |
| Epontes | 431 | 580 | 300 |
| Anipur | 344 | 480 | 400 |
| Phalacrina | 297 | 420 | 460 |
| Occasus (Westfall) | 173 | 280 | 600 |
| Singare | 91 | 210 | 670 |
| Cittareale | 49 | 170 | 710 |
| Lekus | 35 | 160 | 720 |
| Ubres | 25 | 140 | 740 |
| Dentru | 5 | 110 | 770 |
These are vaguely Roman, and vaguely Sumerian. There may be the occasional name that doesn’t match, settled by travelers from some other culture that got lost on the Road. Population is 2d100. Much of this travel can be handled through a simple description of the dusty, unused road, and a litany of the tiny towns, once they heal up from the jungle, punctuated by the occasional random encounter.
East of the Jungle: Encounters
Encounters occur on a 30% chance every three days. The road east of the customs house is not heavily traveled. The land is mostly sparse fields of wild grass interspersed with low mesas and hills and the occasional small copse of cypress, fig, or yew trees.
| 01-35 | Terrain/Weather | 35% |
| 36-60 | Traveler | 25% |
| 61-75 | City | 15% |
| 76-85 | Animals | 10% |
| 86-95 | Ruin | 10% |
| 96-00 | Bug | 5% |
Terrain/Weather
| 01-38 | Sandstorm (d4 hours) | 38% |
| 39-66 | Thunderstorm (d6 hours) | 28% |
| 67-86 | Dry thunderstorm (d8 hours) | 20% |
| 87-94 | Saltmarsh (d4 miles wide) | 8% |
| 95-98 | No sun (d4 days) | 4% |
| 99-00 | Broken bridge (d1000 yards long, d1000 yards deep, d100% gap) | 2% |
Encounters: Traveler
| 01-30 | From local village | 30% |
| 56-85 | Kish | 30% |
| 31-55 | Sidewinder traveler | 25% |
| 86-95 | Angwat | 10% |
| 96-00 | Mansio Solis | 5% |
Travelers come in groups of d20.
Encounters: City
| 01-40 | Mananubi (d20) | 40% |
| 41-70 | Dragon messenger | 30% |
| 71-90 | City traveler | 20% |
| 91-98 | Mirage of the city (d100 miles) | 8% |
| 99-00 | One of the twins | 2% |
Encounters: Animals
Gazelles are 2-3 feet tall and run up to 40 miles per hour. Eland are 5 to 6 feet tall and can jump 8 feet from a standstill.
| 01-22 | Eland (d12) | 22% |
| 23-42 | Gazelle (d100) | 20% |
| 43-58 | Springhare (d100) | 16% |
| 59-72 | Jackals (d12) | 14% |
| 73-80 | Locusts (small swarm) | 8% |
| 81-87 | Jaguar (d2) | 7% |
| 88-92 | Yellow Forest | 5% |
| 93-97 | Sidewinder animal | 5% |
| 98-00 | Locusts (large swarm) | 3% |
Encounters: Ruin
Use the Traveler table for the kind of ruin.
| 01-35 | Caravan (d100 people) | 35% |
| 36-65 | Ghost of the Isanta Express | 30% |
| 66-80 | House (d20 people) | 15% |
| 81-90 | Village | 10% |
| 91-95 | Town | 5% |
| 96-99 | City | 4% |
| 00 | Great city | 1% |
Autumnal Swarm
| 01-25 | Swarm hosts (d20) | 25% |
| 48-72 | Circus followers (d6) | 25% |
| 26-47 | Circus performer (d6) | 22% |
| 73-92 | Swarm pupae (d4, see traveler) | 20% |
| 93-00 | Butterfly warriors (d12) | 8% |
Sidewinder cultures
Sidewinder cultures on the road are all from iconic cities. Any of these will be a variant of the city and culture from our world.
| 01-10 | Babylon (Sumerian) | 10% |
| 11-19 | Cartoril (Elven high city) | 9% |
| 20-27 | Ninevah (Arab) | 8% |
| 28-35 | Memphis (Egyptian) | 8% |
| 36-44 | Alexandria (Egyptian/Greek, mingling of scholars) | 9% |
| 45-52 | Athens (Greek, philosopher-state) | 8% |
| 53-59 | Rome (military empire) | 7% |
| 60-68 | Byzantium (dying flourish) | 9% |
| 69-73 | Florence (Italian, renaissance of civilization) | 5% |
| 74-77 | Beijing (Chinese, decadent empire) | 4% |
| 78-81 | Tokyo (Japanese, god-emperor) | 4% |
| 82-85 | London (English, naval empire) | 4% |
| 86-88 | Berlin (German, cabaret decadence) | 3% |
| 89-93 | New York (American, mercantile power) | 5% |
| 94-00 | San Francisco (American, counter culture) | 7% |
Sample Names
The names from the Glendale Train side of the abyss all work fine here. There will also be names from Kish and from the side roads here.
| Male name | Female name | Family name | ||
| City | 1 | Aranthur | Arathia | Apucu |
| 2 | Aule | Corona | Calisna | |
| 3 | Laris | Larthi | Hathli | |
| 4 | Nerie | Panatia | Hermenas | |
| 5 | Plecu | Pinaria | Larania | |
| 6 | Sethre | Semni | Papni | |
| 7 | Venel | Tita | Satlana | |
| 8 | Teitu | Vela | Visnai | |
| Kish | 1 | Abuwaqar | Ahunasha | Anaharani |
| 2 | Anepada | Ashkilgir | Ekurgal | |
| 3 | Belshunu | Beletum | Erelatari | |
| 4 | Damqishu | Daqartum | Iliddinam | |
| 5 | Ekur | Enatum | Ilumkabta | |
| 6 | Etum | Eshargamat | Kiengirdal | |
| 7 | Gazualum | Iltani | Lulualbanti | |
| 8 | Ilakabu | Ishtessa | Maresetim | |
| 9 | Kugal | Kammani | Mudamiqum | |
| 10 | Lushalim | Liwiresagil | Ninmunuzi | |
| 11 | Mezizi | Munartum | Samasreum | |
| 12 | Nabilil | Nakurtum | Samastilasu | |
| 13 | Pirhum | Nuraum | Silizi | |
| 14 | Rabishu | Shiptu | Sinasarid | |
| 15 | Sidu | Shubad | Sinremeni | |
| 16 | Shulgi | Sinada | Tinasabi | |
| 17 | Tubit | Sumira | Urmami | |
| 18 | Ugish | Umirat | Urnungal | |
| Celtic | 1 | Bradan | Boudefa | Cathasach |
| 2 | Drustan | Feidlimid | Logare | |
| 3 | Haerviu | Luigsech | Ninilan | |
| Egyptian | 1 | Ako | Amonit | Ibenre |
| 2 | Djal | Kebi | Kubai | |
| 3 | Odji | Paniwi | Mkhaiep | |
| 4 | Rasui | Shanefer | Sutanu |
The Customs House
After the jungle are low hills. The moon returns to normal, a single moon taking 28 days to cycle through its phases. Beyond the hills, a lone prefect collects customs for a kingdom long dead. Inspired by A Few for the Road, by Michael Curtis, in Fight On! issue 5.
The Westgate Customs House is about a hundred miles from Prata Phoenix. A single cheerful man, Coron Ardelis, watches the gates. He takes the toll from travelers and waits for his relief. He knows it will come: his father told him it would, and his father before him. “The city always survives.”
The toll is one dupondius per person, with a 1.5% tax on all goods and slaves. He has a library of books detailing the worth of various goods that might be brought in to the central city, and he will happily discuss news and the minutia of taxes while he looks up anything he doesn’t know. He has a dip pen, and an inkwell out back (the red inkwell ran dry, but the black inkwell still produces ink for his inkpot).
Let’s see. Caravan passage, individual passage, ambulatory group, ah yes, here we go. Ambulatory group. Okay:
What are your names?
Where were you born?
Where are you traveling from?
What is your business in the realm of the twin city and tree?
What have you to declare?
How many have you killed? Just so far. One? Two? Three to five? Six to nine? Ten or more?
Which of you can write? Sign here. Your own script is fine. And here’s your proof of entry, I’ll need each of you to sign or at least place a mark on it.
He will provide a receipt for their taxes, which can be used to avoid paying taxes on the same goods a second time. If they refuse to pay, he will, in order and insofar as it makes sense, first offer them alternatives and then take down their descriptions for later use.
They can withhold information, but lying on the form requires a willpower roll at a penalty of 4; on a failure, they tell the truth.
Ask them for their paperwork. If they can prove that the goods do not need to pass customs (for example, because customs have already been paid or that they were declared on exit from the central city), they don’t have to pay.
Ask them if they have a needs-based exception. If they say yes, he will bring out a series of forms and affidavits that they will need to fill out and sign.
Take their names and descriptions for the tax enforcers. There hasn’t actually been any enforcement for his entire lifetime, but he has the records ready for when they arrive, and will warn them that the centurions will learn of their crime. He has never seen a centurion and knows them only through the legends told of the city by his grandparents.
The Pax Urbana
The Pax Urbana is stronger here. Willpower rolls from here on out are at a penalty of 4.
Quaestors of the city
If they pay their toll and customs, he will give them a receipt. He will then ask (if it hasn’t already come up) if they are heading for the city. If so, he will ask to deputize them as quaestors, financial supervisors. As quaestors, they will be entrusted to take their taxes to the city and deposit them with the aurarium—he’ll return their taxes to them in a bag stamped with the seal of the city.
Oath of the City
I, ____ of ____ of the [far] gates of the Road do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that I will serve the Pillar and the Tree in the office of Quaestor of the City, with integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding the roots of fairness and according equal respect to all travelers; and that I will to the best of my power cause the peace to be kept and preserved and duly maintain the taxes of the city; and that while I continue to hold the said office I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties thereof faithfully according to the tablets of the twins.
Dinner with Coron
He has a wife (Turia), and two children (twins Davin and Tatiana, both 7). If the characters are polite, and mention a need for rest, he’ll invite them for dinner. They have a harpsicord; it’s slightly out of tune.
The circus came through a several years ago. It took hours to go through their paperwork, but it all checked out; they paid no taxes. Everything they brought with them was accounted for.
If they are chasing someone, such as Joe Lakono, he has also come through recently. Nice guy, talked too much. His real name will, of course, be on the public record, assuming he failed his lying roll.
Remember that people generally stay on the road, so as to take advantage of the Pax Urbana. The Pax Urbana is stronger at the customs house area. The willpower roll to start an aggressive action is at a further penalty of two. The prefect is well aware of this, and will refuse to leave the area of the road’s influence, which extends throughout the customs house.
Who else has passed this way?
What they signed for and how much they paid is private information; who they are and where they came from is public record.
| Teferi Dambo | Aprilis 19, 10981 |
| Tamas Yanko | Iunius 18, 10983 |
| Lyuba Lalow | Iunius 18, 10983 |
| Tawno Lalow | Iunius 19, 10983 |
| Gyorgi Simz | Iunius 20, 10983 |
| Manuwa | Quintilus 2, 10983 to Quintilus 19, 10983 |
| Tuliniraw | Quintilus 2, 10983 to Quintilus 19, 10983 |
| Owadaranu | Quintilus 2, 10983 |
| Brocchus Aelius | Sextilus 12, 10984 |
| Macer Aelius | Sextilus 12, 10984 |
| Albus Antonius | Sextilus 12, 10984 |
| Galeo Memmius | Sextilus 12, 10984 |
| Seamus Clanricarde | Martius 21, 10986 |
| Rigan Clenriquen | Martius 21, 10986 |
| Shalmansar | Iunius 5, 10986 |
| Buwiro | Aprilis 7, 10987 |
| Akuba | Aprilis 7, 10987 |
| Kibo-nuro | Aprilis 7, 10987 |
| Leñuba | Aprilis 7, 10987 |
| Strado Fabius | Maius 2, 10989 |
| Corvin Gellius | Maius 2, 10989 |
| Dani Ezil | October 7, 10989 |
| Lako-no-cjaw-tawhiri | October 2, 10991 |
The dates are in Coron’s handwriting. The current year is 10991. The people of the road use a calendar of ten months, though the months have begun to get out of whack. Martius (for Mars), Aprilis (for the forgotten god), Maius (for Maia), Iunius (for Juno), and then the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months: Quintilis, Sextilis, September, October, November, and December. Ten months of thirty or thirty-one days each, and a winter of sixty-one days in between December and Martius.
About five years ago, a Seamus Clanricarde came through, with a cart and a stone pillar (the latter information is private, however). An old man. He had a young woman with him, Rigan. They argued a lot.
Joe Lakono, with a capybara draft animal and a chest of tablets (the latter information is private). Joe’s real name is Lako-no-cjaw-tawhiri.
How far is Prata Phoenix?
“Officially, it’s ten miles up the road. Off the record, it’ll take you about two days of travel on the road to reach the gates.”
The mile marker here is “759 m.p.”
Prata Phoenix
The great city that the engineer spoke of is dead at the edge of the jungle. The tracks are rusted and torn, but the road goes on.
Peco said that his grandfather had driven the Phoenix Meadows line, but Phoenix Meadows has been abandoned for a thousand years or more.
Cross-continental transportation services.
The phrase means “Red Meadows” in the Ancient tongue.
Prata Phoenix is forty-five miles from the Customs House. And just across the lake, circus lights and music drifting in on the mist.
If you’re looking for a more extensive adventure, and you didn’t use it in the jungle, Prata Phoenix could be on top of the Caverns of Thracia.
The city is otherwise abandoned. There are farmers nearby, in the red fields surrounding the city, but no one lives in it. Only a few mananubi skulk in the shadows, at night.
It is 880 miles from Prata Phoenix to the City. The signs, however, say 749 m.p.
