Zepha Nesendya al-Faltarnis's Collected Letters and Maps

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A collection of letters, tables, maps and personal observations of -

Zepha Nesendya al-Faltarnis
  Apprentice and understudy of
    Akemmakhte al-Ipuy
    Royal Scribe of the Tomb

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Akemmakhte al-Ipuy
Royal Scribe of the Tomb,
In service to his Royal Highness,
Sultan Osman al-Maribid, Sixth
May the spires sing his praise.

Master,

On the 15th day of Tammuz IY 7789, I arrived in good health and vigor to his royal highness's satrapy, Ephia's Well. After making it through customs using the dinar I had allotted for bribes I proceeded to secure for myself a place of lodging within my current means.

As is the custom, and as a practice recommended in "A Traveler's Guide to Ephia's Well," I then spent the next few hours performing menial tasks for the local folk, thus familiarizing myself with the social dynamics of the Well and ingratiating myself to them.

After that dreadful affair I cleaned myself and presented myself in good fashion to the Scribes of the Sublime Garden and upon presenting my letter of recommendation was integrated into their local ranks.

The settlement is in a mixed state of mourning and celebration after a recent battle, which marks the conclusion of a years-long war against the barbarian clans. From what I have ascertained, the final battles occurred in Bet Nappahi and claimed many lives - and ended with the devastation of much of the place before being consumed by an ash storm of terrible prominence. I lament the date of my arrival, as had I arrived a few days earlier I would have been able to take measurements of that ancient place.

A local archaeologist of some meager repute has announced several expeditions in the coming days. I have attached myself to one of these expeditions to take my measure of both the people and to begin my preliminary cartographic survey. My opinions of them are as follows:

They are crude, brutish, they dig and excavate with the grace of a graverobber, and are prone to stating the most outlandish things about history as if it were uncontested fact. But I cannot fault their efficiency and the speed at which they excavate ruins, even as I lament the damage they do in the process.

While I was doing that, I also took the time to examine the maps of the local cartographers, and my opinions of their works are thus:

The works of the "Torchbearers" describe well the roads and local landmarks. One could sufficiently navigate by them to the cities and locations described upon them, however, there is a lack of details off of the paths. They are well rendered and serve adequately as guides for merchants and travelers.

The works of one "Narwen Alendiel" are a more artistic affair - but I would dread using them for any purpose where accuracy is called for. Landmarks and geography move from map to map, there is no fine consistency in the details. One can get the general idea that there is a canyon ridge somewhere in general relation to another landmark, but where exactly it is remains up to question. Distances expand and contract from map to map - only their relative direction to one another seems to be consistent - and even that is not always true. Still, they are well presented and nice to look upon.


Your apprentice,
Zepha Nesendya al-Faltarnis

PS. Some woman here makes falafels with pork. What manner of barbaric place is this?

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Herodes Dioatus al-Faltarnis
Faltarnis Spice and Powder
Guldāra


Dear Father,

My studies have taken me from the Grand Academy and the wonders and splendors of Baz'eel out to the backwater of Ephia's Well - a small place with delusions of grandeur.

It is a far thing from the splendor of the Summer Palace that was, of which I have seen etchings and poems extolling its beauty, but a squalid dump where uncouth people spit upon the streets (not that I would call them streets - sand covers most of it) and screech and grandstand upon the bellows all matter of nonsense at all hours of the day. One can scarcely get any rest if they keep their stone chip anywhere near their persons here.

Still, I am excited. It seems there shall be plenty of opportunity to practice and hone my trade to perfection and earn my master's approval. I still await the arrival of my tools which shall arrive with the rest of my luggage.

I have regrettably become embroiled in a bit of drama. There are two falafel chefs on opposite sides of the settlement. Sometimes my sorcery gets away from me, and in this case I have told both of them that I enjoyed their falafel better than the other's.

However, this is a lie.

The woman, Xin Yu, mixes her falafels with meat. Pork.

Mro Po's is the superior falafel.


With the appropriate amount of love,
Your daughter,
Zepha Nesendya al-Faltarnis

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Royal Scribe of the Tomb,
Akemmakhte al-Ipuy
In service to his Royal Highness,
Sultan Osman al-Maribid, Sixth
May the spires sing his praise.
Bazeel


Master,

See enclosed my first draft of my initial survey of the Fortress of Ephia's Well, as well as a rendering of the gate itself showing the Stonefolk's Masonry style, rendered in the oblique. A more detailed ground survey will follow, which shall denote the heights and declination of the land surrounding the fortress; however this effort is hampered by the presence of the refugees as well as the late arrival of my instruments (which, at this time, are still yet to arrive.)

I believe that my attempts to have the refugees moved away so that I may conduct a proper cartographical survey of the topology will not be well received by the authorities that be. I will, of course, do my best.

There have been many funerals, and such an outpouring of emotion that even I found it at times difficult to retain composure.

Diplomatic efforts are underway. I have helped compose a letter to the Taridut people in the Bazeelian Formal Written Style For Speaking With Cultured Barbarians.

I am also investigating the cause of the unusually large number of elves migrating to Ephia's Well this month, which is Tammuz. I plan on incorporating the Elven Migration Patterns in my Greater Regional Survey.


My efforts as a scribe have gone largely well received.

Your apprentice,
Zelpha Nesendya al-Faltarnis

Ephia's Well
Fortress of Ephia's Well
Krak des Roses

Initial Survey Report
Zelpha Nesendya al-Faltarnis
Apprentice Cartographer


The Fortress of Ephia's Well was constructed during the illegitimate rule of the self styled Prince Orentes the Second in an attempt to emulate the glamor and history of Sultan Osman II, The Builder.

The exact years of the construction of the fortress are lost, it is known that it occurred between IY 7707 and IY 7722. Principal construction was carried out by Stonefolk Stonemasons, it is unknown if any of the Stonefolk who participated in its construction are still present as the Stonefolk are notoriously tight-lipped about such details. Secondary constructions and fortifications were later conducted by the Orentes people, and then by the Cinquefoil Rose occupying force during the Years of Belligerence prior to the signing of the Accord.

Outer wall construction is done in the "Stonefolk Masonry Style", consisting of irregular blocks of stone (primarily Sandstone, with a lower foundation layer of Granite) cut and fit with extremely tight tolerances. They are fitted without the use of mortar, cement or other bonding agent, relying solely on weight and friction for stability.

Stonefolk Masonry has some benefits over the styles practiced by other developed peoples (who mostly favor more regularly shaped bricks laid out in the Regular Horizontal style) and some drawbacks, which I shall cover in brief here. Weight and pressure is less equally distributed downwards, leading to areas with greater stability and resilience than may be found in other masonry styles, particularly in the joints. This stability is "unpredictable" to the lay-person, meaning assailants can have difficulty identifying weak points to exploit or focus upon. The smaller stones are usually considered weaker but are difficult to exploit because of their reduced size. The counter-side of this defense is that an assailant can "accidentally" strike a weak-point at random.

The primary weakness of this masonry style is the lack of bonds between the stones - resulting in the upper stones, which have only their own weight to hold them in place, being more vulnerable to pressure attack than the lower stones. If one is unable to breach a Stonefolk Wall by force, and unable to go around it, then the commonly employed technique is one of "Toppling", whereby the upper stones are targeted and knocked down or pulled down with many ropes and grapples, then the same is applied to the next highest bricks. Each upper stone is more easily dislodged than one might find in another masonry style - but the overall process to produce a breach large enough to exploit is time consuming and physically demanding.

The walls of the fortress are largely intact - leading me to believe that the fortress walls were not forcibly breached during the Battle of Reclamation conducted by the Janissaries of the 4th Legion.

There are traces of plaster about the wall, particularly within the joins between different stones. There are accounts of the opulent and gaudy nature of the Orentes people, as well as accounts of the luminous glory of the gate, which leads me to believe that at one time there was an outer façade layer of glazed clay and quartz. This façade was likely damaged during the Battle of Reclamation and subsequently looted in its near-entirety in the aftermath. Small traces of blue and yellow glazed ceramic have been found in the sand near the gate.

Two obelisks and two stone statues, not pictured in the rendering. Believed by this cartographer to not be part of the Stonefolk Construction but artifacts excavated from the buried depths and placed here for ceremonial purpose.

The gate itself consists of a two layer defense, a reinforced portcullis and a large door. The gate is wide enough for three (human) men to march abreast in order, and for four or five to do so with some "squeezing."

The two manned towers provide adequate firing arcs to fire upon the inner gate as well as the outer gate. Additional barricades, stone and wooden merlons, provide cover from opposing archers.

The roof of the fortress provides a platform adequate for various war machinery. Currently it is adorned with some of the devices that project the Astronomer's "Shade", which we were not allowed to inspect in great detail. The upper floor of the fortress features many arrow slits which could have been used to unleash salvos of arrows over the walls.

Ground - A flagstones walkway from the Fortress Gate to the First Outer Gate, in great disrepair. Sand, consisting of silicate, ash, minute traces of quartz and other minerals, fills the rest of the courtyard. Unknown if sand was originally part of the design or if it has filled the courtyard due to neglect and disrepair.


First Outer Gate and Wall
I have decided to count and number these walls going "outward" from the gate, rather than going "inwards" from the exterior.

The First Outer Wall forms and surrounds an inner courtyard before the Fortress proper. This wall is largely intact, and is notably much thinner and less stable than the walls of the fortress itself. The gate itself is large and very tall, to the height of four men (I must ask forgiveness for these imprecise measurements as my instruments have yet to arrive) and this gate is reportedly often destroyed in attacks, requiring its frequent repair and replacement.

Two embattlements on either side of the gate would have allowed many archers and siege weapons to be brought to bare, however at this time they remain undefended and largely claimed by the throngs of refugees. Shrines and memorials have been erected on the south facing embattlements.

Of note is one of Osman IV's fabled puzzle chambers upon this wall, in a tower west of the first outer gate. It is reportedly still operational. I have yet to determine if this was its original location or if this was somehow recovered from the Summer Palace and relocated here.


Second Outer Gate and Wall
Largely destroyed - remnants of this layer of defense can be found in the forms of large towers and the crumbling remnants of walls between them. The size of the towers lead me to believe that these were parts of the outer city wall fortifications, however there are some signs of habitation and fortification even further out. The towers are largely intact, and raise several stories in the air - however without any defensive fortifications about them or a nearby garrison them they are vulnerable to attack. The towers are currently claimed (and fought over) by refugees.

There are some traces of the outer wall which now serve as makeshift embattlements.

There are no traces of the outer city gate.

Of note is one statue of a giant by the western embattlement, toppled over such that its foot projects high into the air, called "The Defeated Giant"

There are many buildings of various states of repair between the Second Outer Wall and the First Outer Wall. All is claimed and fought over by the mass of refugees.