Chapter Six: The Lost Knowledge of Chardok
The first thing Caradawc learned about Chardok was that nobody truly understood it. The city rose from the mountains like the remains of a forgotten empire. Massive walls guarded ancient roads. Vast halls disappeared beneath the earth. Every adventurer arriving at its gates carried stories of hidden treasures, ancient magic, and lost knowledge. Most of those stories proved wrong. The reality was far more dangerous. Chardok was not a dungeon. It was a city. A living fortress defended by disciplined Sarnak warriors who fought with intelligence, organisation, and ruthless determination. The first expeditions ended badly. Groups entered with confidence and returned battered. Others failed to return at all. Healers exhausted themselves keeping wounded companions alive. Warriors fell. Spellcasters vanished into the darkness. The city resisted every attempt to uncover its secrets. Yet the adventurers kept coming. From Antonica. From Faydwer. From Odus. Every road in Kunark seemed eventually t...