Philosopher's Information Concerning Ursk

Dear Delwath, and companions,

You wish to travel to Ursk, and explore its cities undetected. A foolish task. Do you speak the language? Do you know the local dress and customs? You blaze with magic - how will you evade the Okolov, the Eyes of Vedmakov? What do you understand of the cold north, the icy winds that blow from the dragon wastes, the frozen rivers, the rime frost forming strange figures on the frozen mountains? Stay in the soft lands of the south, where you belong.

But we have made a trade, so I will answer.

Ursk is a sparsely populated land, a harsh land, not a land for soft southerners to linger in. Most of the hardy folk of Ursk live in villages and small towns, scattered along the coast and the major rivers of the interior. On the eaves of the forests and foothills of the mountains, you may find many a smallhold where folk care less for the formalities of the cities, and the Eyes of Vedmakov are rare.

The three major trading cities are dangerous for foreigners. Zakat, Praznitsky, and Marinsk have foreign docks, but the Okolov are ever-present, watchful for strangers who may attempt to sneak into the city from the docks. Unless you have a way to fool the Eyes, without the use of magic, you will be caught. Should you wish to try, Marinsk is the safest choice. It has the smallest foreign port and the fewest Eyes, and the Sovo flows through the center of the city. Approaching underwater via the Sovo may only have a small chance of success, but at least it is not guaranteed you will be caught and put in service of the Okolov against your will. The Okolov would find people of your talents to be quite useful, but I expect you would eventually die fighting dragons in the north in their service.

Vorongrad, the home of the Urskan navy, is a fortified city on the rocky cliffs of the eastern part of the country. The nine towers of Vorongrad watch in all seven directions. Vedmakov itself is even more hopeless, unless you wish to simply present yourself to the mercy of the Okolov.

Yamgov has grown well beyond its walls, and the farmers and fisherfolk and foresters of the hinterlands of Yamgov have little to do in the frozen, snowy winter but drink and gossip. Who knows what a bored forester may be persuaded to do? But to reach Yamgov, you will need to travel more than a hundred miles across the lands of Ursk unseen by the Eyes. Or, if you approach from the west, evade the giant shadow bats of Lord Rhodar von Glauer. Which I doubt you can do.

Zvervinka, on the Ket, is the center of trade in dragonhide, ice worm scales, remorhaz hearts, and other treasures of the frozen north. It is fortified, of course, the people of Ursk are not foolhardy and some winters there are nasty things that sneak downriver. But the northern frontier is a different place. Here is where the wealth of Ursk is made. Trade with the Vargaldi is not unheard of, and here, of all places in Ursk, the Eyes are more concerned with the danger from ice worms and dragons than foreigners. That does not make this a place you can just walk into, far from it. The walls are well-defended and the guard is strong and the danger of the wilds is quite real. You will probably die frozen in the northern wastes should you try to make your way down the Ket to approach Zvervinka.

I wish you luck in your adventures, and consider our trade concluded.

Signed,
The North Wind
On Behalf of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Philosopher’s