Kantaria

1. Groat’s Smithy: The former workplace

of blacksmith Tychus Groat, this smithy

is now little more than a ruin of

blackened wood and stone.

2. Harbor: The Taldan soldiers following General

Kantarikos dug Kantaria’s harbor out of the banks of

the Sedna River before the town was even founded. Its

docks, originally little more than a humble assemblage of

wooden planks, were constructed for the disembarkation

of soldiers. Iomedae ordered the docks fortified during

her rule of Kantaria, and a solid stone wall and gatehouse

were erected west of the harbor to ward off river pirates

and other aquatic threats. Up to three riverboats can

moor at the docks at one time. Usually the watercraft

found there are supply ships making their way to the

Menador Mountains or hauling trade goods back to

the heartlands; even after the arrival of the Glorious

Reclamation, Chelish ships are still permitted to

dock in Kantaria as long as they pay a fee and submit

to a rigorous inspection to ensure their cargoes are

not bound for House Thrune or the Imperial Army.

Kantaria’s harbormaster, a former river pirate named

Jonas Reikman, manages the docks and oversees the

searches for the Glorious Reclamation, just as he did

before the Iomedaeans’ arrival.

All sorts of tales surround Kantaria’s harbor, the most

popular being that it conceals a cache of lost Iomedaean

relics. According to local legend, Iomedae herself stood

vigil on the newly constructed harbor walls, wielding

a longbow to devastating effect against a rising tide

of aberrations from the river. It is said that some of

Iomedae’s arrows, now holy relics of the goddess, still

survive somewhere in the depths of the harbor.

3. Healthy Heart Alchemicals: Run by the

chirurgeon Linton Demeer, a member of

Kantaria’s governing council, Healthy Heart

Alchemicals is a stopping point for most

townsfolk in need of magical healing. The

shop is stocked with a seemingly endless

supply of curative and restorative

potions, as well as an assortment of

more potent alchemical concoctions.

Up until recent events, many Kantarians

preferred not to show favoritism to the

churches of Asmodeus or Iomedae,

instead buying their healing from Healthy Heart. With the arrival of the Glorious Reclamation, citizens are more open to acquiring services from Nevilindor and the clerics at Valor’s Fastness,though the church still sends those with minor needs to Demeer.

4. Inheritor’s Square: Named for Iomedae, Kantaria’s

main square was used for public excruciations and

other punishments prior to the arrival of the Glorious

Reclamation. Now, the square is home to a vibrant,

open market, bustling with trade. Every Oathday,

the square hosts a larger gathering, as farmers from

outside town and miners from the nearby Menador

Mountains come to barter food and ore for equipment

and supplies.

5. Iomedae’s Home: When the mortal Iomedae lived

in Kantaria, this simple, single-story wooden house

was her home. Maintained regularly by the clergy at

Valor’s Fastness, the residence has remained intact for

nearly 900 years ago, a fact the locals attribute to divine

providence. For the price of 1 silver piece, visitors can

get a short, guided tour from local vagabond Pious Pete,

who bills himself as an “amateur historian,” though he

is known for blatantly exaggerating and misrepresenting

Iomedae’s life in Kantaria.

6. Kantaria Historicum: Both in their late seventies,

Anselm Mathis (CN venerable male human bard 5)

and his husband Gebhard (CG venerable male human

expert 6), have run this combination library and

bookstore for the past 50 years. Avid collectors of books

and documents, the two men met during a literary

conference in Westcrown, and eventually joined their

wealth to purchase a plot of land in town and open

the Kantaria Historicum. Having come under scrutiny

more than once by the Order of the Pyre during the

Hellknights’ infrequent visits to Kantaria, the elderly

couple surprised the town’s populace when they

unexpectedly produced hundreds of hidden tomes

in the wake of the Glorious Reclamation’s arrival.

Previously seen as heretical, these new additions to

the Kantaria Historicum represent a wealth

of information on the various religions

found throughout the Inner Sea region

and beyond.

7. Labor Guild: In the aftermath of

the Glorious Reclamation’s conquest

of the town, dozens of Kantaria’s

slaves found themselves freed and

without purpose. To fill this void,

long-retired dwarven foreman

Durgal Mircask (NG male

dwarf expert 4) created the

Labor Guild, based in the

town’s former slave auction

house. Managing several

accounts, Durgal receives work

orders from townsfolk, farmers, and

external interests alike. Using an

allocation system based on factors such as seniority,

experience, and physical aptitude, Durgal doles out jobs

for those seeking work. In exchange for this service,

Durgal takes a small portion of laborers’ wages, using the

funds to finance larger business opportunities for those coming to the guild for aid.

8. The Little Uskwood: Although this inn appears to

be built from shoddy gray wood, the Little Uskwood is

actually constructed from lumber imported from its

namesake—the Uskwood in shadow-touched Nidal to

the north. Built to accommodate travelers journeying

between Nidal and the Chelish heartlands, the inn’s

gloomy ambiance seems depressing to many Chelaxians

and other visitors, but Nidalese guests find the

atmosphere comforting and refreshing. Currently run by

Loredana Viorica, daughter of the inn’s founder, the Little

Uskwood has seen minimal change with the Glorious

Reclamation’s arrival in Kantaria,

9. Narikopolus Manor: Built from austere red brick, this

large mansion is the manorial seat and official residence of

House Narikopolus, the archdukes of Menador. Nowhere

near as opulent as the noble homes seen in larger Chelish

cities, Narikopolus Manor is nevertheless the most

impressive private dwelling in the town. The Glorious

Reclamation claimed the manor when they took Kantaria,

and Rassophore Faydreth Zaine, the order’s resident

wizard, now makes his home here. The Iomedaean knights

confiscated countless magic items during Kantaria’s fall,

and many of the most dangerous objects were brought to

the manor for personal inspection by Zaine.

10. Shrine of the Hammer: This small chapel was once

dedicated to Aroden, but in the wake of the Chelish Civil

War, it became Kantaria’s temple of Asmodeus. Since the

arrival of the Glorious Reclamation, however, the site has

been repurposed once more, this time as a shrine to

Torag, tending to the spiritual needs of Kantaria’s

small but growing dwarven community.

The leader of the shrine’s congregation is

Kalcyra, a dwarven inquisitor. Dubbed

“the Just” by her allies within the Glorious

Reclamation, Kalcyra hopes to

train new disciples to follow

her beyond the borders

of Kantaria and into the

infernal heart of Cheliax.

11. The Sweetest Drop:

Owned by a reluctant

member of Kantaria’s

governing council, Jana Holdus,

the Sweetest Drop is both a tavern

and an inn. Jana prefers to run

her establishment more as a

drinking hole, sending customers

who just want a soft bed to her competitor, Loredana

Viorica, at the Little Uskwood. Jana doesn’t see much of

a financial drawback from this act of generosity, as many

of her more vivacious patrons inevitably spend the extra

coin to sleep at the Sweetest Drop rather than risk an

embarrassing walk home in the dark.

12. Sword Towers: Three stone watchtowers overlook

Kantaria from the north, west, and south. Each tower is

capped with an oversized stone sword similar to the holy

symbol of Iomedae, pointing toward the sky. Iomedae

herself oversaw the towers’ construction, and when the

sun sets, the swords glow with the light of continual flame

until sunrise. 

13. Valor’s Fastness: Originally the site of General

Kantarikos’s command post, Kantaria’s temple of Iomedae

sits atop the highest point in town. Reconstructed and

renovated countless times in the centuries since the

town’s founding, the fortified temple now boasts strong

walls of whitewashed stone and a 115-foot-tall spire

topped with a dome of red tiles. Valor’s Fastness is the

focal point for the Iomedaean church and the Glorious

Reclamation in Kantaria, and currently houses many of

the knightly order’s troops. Due to the ongoing war, the

fortress is off-limits to citizens except for weekly prayer

sessions held in the temple’s sanctuary.