River Caves Beneath the Necropolis (Patreon)

Built along the south bank of the Ranánga River is Sokátis, the City of Roofs. The city’s necropolis is on the north side of the river, beyond the steep stony banks. There are a number of small caves along the banks – most of which are well known to the villagers of Tálesh Kü which abuts on the city of the dead. One particular set of caves reaches to the basement of an old mausoleum between ancient Éngsvanyáli pyramids. The pyramids have been left untouched, but a number of mausoleums and sepulchers from more recent eras have been torn down and rebuilt over the years coinciding with larger ditlanas* in Sokátis proper.

(For those not familiar with Tsolyani culture, with cities stretching back ten thousand years, urban renewal typically takes the form of tearing down much of the city and rebuilding it, often filling over old structures with new ones, leaving a series of old basements, sub-basements, and even old roads beneath the street level of the modern city.)

One of the smaller secret societies dedicated to Sárku (calling themselves the Court of Darkness, named after the Engsvanyáli obelisk in honour of the Dark Trinity in the city proper) meets in the old substructures. They are well-enough connected that the one time that noxious oozes moved into the caverns they were able to get the Legion of the Phalanx of Heretlékka of Sokátis (34th Imperial Heavy Infantry) to clear it out.

Those seeking the aid of the members of the Court of Darkness (or seeking to unmask them) will sooner or later learn of their meetings in the buried mausoleum – the perfect place to confront them, assault them, or beg for their aid.

The 1200 dpi version of the map was drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and is 14,400 pixels (48 squares) wide. To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 3,360 pixels wide or 6,720 pixels wide, respectively.

https://dysonlogos.blog/2021/05/23/river-caves-beneath-the-city/