Medinat Muskawoon

Medinat Muskatwoon was a small city in the kingdom of Bakar, around the lake Me'at Halwa. It became a ghost city not long after the river dried; the wizard Martek used its ruins to hide the Star of Melos-Pelar.

Description
The limestone causeway narrowed closer to the city, but never became narrower than. It led into the northern city square: there stood an obelisk, tall and  at its base, with several inscriptions by Martek cryptically stating the way to recover the Star of Melos-Pelar. The causeway ran between the ruins of the Medinat Muskatwoon government building, and the Pasha's palace. East of the causeway, in an otherwise clear area, only two buildings remained recognizable in any way: the Temple of Horus and the Temple of Prometheus.

West from the causeway, counter-clockwise from the center, lay a ruined egyptian-style Temple of Osiris, a ruined Finnish temple of Untamo, the Baths of Drusus, and a ruined celtic temple of Dunatis. The Temple of Balder in the city still stood. Continuing counter-clockwise one could find a Roman-style sandstone hippodrome, and a greek-style black marble Collegium; both were thoroughly ruined, but still stood somewhat recognizable. The Temple of Ra was next, followed by ruined baths; almost due south from the center of the lake was another building full of baths, known as the Baths of Persepolis.

On the south-eastern quadrant were a Palaestra, three arabic brick caravanserai, another bath known as the Baths of Kordek, and finally a ruined greek temple of Tyche.

Location
The City of Medinat Muskatwoon lay on the banks of the lake Me'at Halwa, in the middle of five hills in the Raurin.

History
The natural limestone roadbed on the northwest of Medinat Muskatwoon's hills made it a natural location for a city. Travelers from all over the world at the time brought their wares to Medinatin before carrying them through the rest of Bakar. Though it never grew past a square mile, Medinat Muskatwoon grew into a thriving cultural hub, becoming a metropolis on its own right. After the death of Amun-Re, when the river Athis stopped flowing, the Me'at soon dried as well, the small streams that fed it becoming insufficient. Without the river, trade across the desert slowly dried up as well, and thus travel, gradually making it more and more difficult to relocate from the city, encouraging the gouging of the inhabitants, leaving at every turn only the poorest and most desperate.

The last caravan to arrive became overwhelmed by a violent mob of frenzied, desperate citizens, craving water so badly as to drink the blood of the camels. The remaining population died not long after. Medinat Muskatwoon became a ghost town, visited by adventurers looking for treasure and magical items; they returned telling stories of ghosts that craved moisture, and other kinds of undead. This is how Medinat Muskatwoon came to the name of "Cursed City of Stone".

50 years after the last inhabitants walked the city, the efreet Pasha Khalitarius took up residence there, organizing the undead of the city into his army, the Malatath. At some point after that, the wizard Martek came to the city together with a small caravan to challenge and stop the efreet. The efreet's army waged a slow, torturous war of attrition on the wizard's caravan, slaying one of their guards every night, then their camels, then draining their water, until Martek finally confronted the efreet in single combat. He emerged victorious, but the flames burned the city, and in fact, the surrounding area, for 20 years after their fight.

Martek decided to turn the ruins of the city into the hiding place for the Star of Melos-Pelar, creating with his magic a number of puzzles based on the temples of the gods in the city.

Notable Buildings

 * Temple of Ra
 * Temple of Balder
 * Temple of Horus
 * Temple of Prometheus

Baths of Drusus
A greenish stone building by, it was now open save for the walls and vaulted ceiling on the northeastern end. Two wraiths remained in the building; there were four golden links hidden in the drains.

Baths of Persepolis
These baths were one of the first bathhouses to be built in the city, reflecting a very simple architecture. It was a low, grey stone building with a low, red tile roof that blended with the distant mountains. The entrance was in the northeast wall. Within, 16 columns held up an open, sloping roof. The interior of the building was lined with white marble. It had four pools, one in each corner but the northwest, and one in the center. Four golden links were hidden there, doubling as the drain grates of the bath.

Baths of Kordek
The baths of Kordek were the newest of the baths still remaining in the city. It was cross-shaped, with a ceramic dome top. The exterior was rugged and simple, opened on the north and south with broad, squat arches. These baths were the only ones at the time to allow women, though they were segregated, and they had been built over a sulfurous spring. There were four steps up at the entrance arches, and then four steps down into a semicircular pool on each side. At the center were two golden grate-shaped pieces.

Ruined Baths
Only one of five vaulted roofs held aloft by simple columns remained now, covering a large circular pool. As of the time of Khalitarius' release, the body of a dead adventurer lay close to the pool, holding a golden object in their hand. Three wraiths dwelt there.

Collegium
A collegium's facade still endured; it was made of black marble. Only part of the back half of the building endured still, most of its domes gone. Near the base of an outside wall, some slate had been attached; a unique spectre lectured there on the subject of the meter of poetry in an ancient language. Though dull, it could answer questions about the city, though it wouldn't answer more than one question per person, instead hurling invective at anyone who interrupted its lecture twice.

Palaestra
The palaestra was a square building on a side made of grey-pink stone, covered in attractive frescoes of young men in various games and gymnastic activities. It had arched entrances on the north and south walls, and a peaked clay-tile roof, longer on the south end than on the north. Inside, it had a peristyle courtyard and a pool, now dry, which was inhabited by centipedes as of the mid-14 century DR. In its time it provided a colonnaded area for lounging, reading, and athletics. Three golden links were hidden there.

Hazards
Apparitions of the city in its time and undead were almost the only creatures populating the zone, save for a smattering of centipedes in the Palaestra. The undead included ghosts of a mob, thieves, or fighters, wights, and wraiths.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Desert of Desolation