When the Eternal party last saw Albany on Eternal Day 265, it consisted of a small New Avalon-controlled garrison and a Mountain People village. Sometime between then and Day 600 or so, a small army of invaders conquered Albany and rebuilt it from the ground up.
The invaders -- who now call themselves Albanians -- are led by a powerful psionist named Tatyana. The Eternals have deduced that she and her psionic followers used mindream techniques to brainwash the residents of Albany and turn them into loyal citizens. It was this mindreaming that drove the Druidic Oracle mad, so that he destroyed himself.
The Eternals also know that the Albanians fly around on huge birds, seating two riders each. And they use sensitive watchbeasts as guards.
With the last contact between Eternals and Tatyana's folk, the party had ransomed Kazz and the Oracular Regalia at a great cost, and agreed not to return.
There are two parts to Albany as it has been restructured by the new rulers: Hightown and Rivertown.
On this map, one hex equals 100 ft. Click on the map to load a much larger version.
Albany proper, the Hightown, sits atop a high bluff that overlooks the Great River. Sheer cliffs protect the town from the river, and the new Albanian rulers have constructed a solid stone wall to defend the town from land attack. If the wall were a complete circle, it would have a diameter of 1,400 ft.
The jungle has been cleared beyond the town walls to make fields. Farmers live within the town walls and venture out to work. A mix of Old Empire and Cam crops are grown.
Within town, almost all buildings are made of wood. The ones nearest the town walls are barns, sheds, and residences. Close to the center of town are a Pale God temple, workshops for artisans, a hall, and stables. At the center of town are five stone buildings.
As a rule, only citizens of Albany are allowed within Hightown.
Just downstream is Rivertown, which is open to anyone (although only certain citizens of Albany are allowed to visit). Rivertown consists of wharves, an inn, warehouses, merchant offices, government buildings, and so on. All these buildings are wood.
It is possible to walk up a narrow, steep road from Rivertown to the top of the cliffs. Caravans bound for the Dwarf Realm go this way, through a gate of iron bars. The top of this road does not actually enter Hightown itself -- it goes around.
Merchants doing business here pay a toll to dock, store goods, and pass through onto the Dwarf Road. Citizens who are merchants (now consisting of a few converted New Avaloners) pay a smaller fee.
Five stone buildings are at the heart of Albany's Hightown. The central, round 100 ft diameter building has a Great Hall on the first floor. Below, passages and rooms have been carved out of rock, but to unknown purposes.
The four square 50 by 50 ft buildings consist of barracks, beasthouse, psionic school and lab, and a temple to the god of the Invaders.
Here is a detailed map of the heart (one hex equals 10 ft.):
Site Map | 14 April 99
copyright © 2001 by Michael Moran Alterio, Michael Babriecki, Harry Ching, Stephen Martin, and Donald R. Parrish III (all rights reserved)