Camp Dragon

🌆 Arrival at Camp Dragon

The jungle parts like a curtain drawn back by unseen hands, revealing a sprawl of wooden buildings, stone barracks, and smoke-wreathed watchtowers. As you approach the main gate of Camp Dragon, something strange happens.

You watch a pair of guards and a few passing civilians pause briefly in their step—then all, in eerie unison, raise their right palms and press them to their foreheads. It's not a salute. It's too slow. Too graceful. The motion is identical, unnervingly synchronized, and somehow wrong. It’s like they’re listening to a distant whisper at the same moment.

You get the unsettling feeling it’s not meant to be seen.

Behind them, the flame of the Crucible of Asura burns at the top of the jungle rise—impossibly tall, visible from every street and rooftop. Its light flickers in gold and crimson, casting dancing shadows across the camp that never seem to fall the same way twice.

Here in Camp Dragon, only Asura is worshipped. Her symbol—the all-seeing flame—hangs from doors, gateposts, and market stalls like a warning or a promise.

The town is divided by the winding Star River, its waters dark and swift beneath hanging jungle vines. On the far bank, the Immortals of Karsis patrol their fortified compound, keeping to themselves, but everyone knows: they are the real power here. On this side of the river, in the civilian quarter, authority is split between the mayor, Theodric Van Maeren, and the Temple of Asura—each walking their own path through a village that no longer feels fully human.

Overview

Camp Dragon is a well-organized military outpost for the Immortals of Karsis, providing both security and essential services in the heart of the jungle along the Star River, 60 miles outside of Seregon on the One Road. Divided into two distinct sections—the Immortals Camp and the Public Camp—this fortified settlement is critical for maintaining control and safety over the region's precious gem mines, Crimson Fang Ruby Mine and Emerald Cradle, both owned by The Walraven Consortium.

Public Camp

On the northern side of the Star River lies the Public Camp, which is the first sight for travelers approaching Camp Dragon from the One Road. Separated from the Immortals' private area by a wide wooden bridge, the public side of the camp is functional, offering services and facilities for miners, merchants, and travelers passing through to the mines.

Public Camp Locations - Exterior Descriptions

🛠️ Blacksmith Shop
A squat, soot-stained forge of black riverstone and ironwood, its roof belches smoke as rhythmic hammering rings out into the jungle air like a heartbeat that never stops.

🪚Carpenter: Vernor’s Woodwrights
A wide-beamed, open-air workshop with carved jungle totems supporting the eaves; the scent of fresh sawdust mixes with varnish and sap, and every post bears Vernor’s proud sigil—a chisel and sapling crossed.

🔥 Crucible of Asura
Towering above the camp from a jungle-cleared rise, this ziggurat of flame-blackened obsidian radiates heat and dread, its eternal fire licking the sky with tongues of gold and blood-red—visible from every corner of the settlement.

🌾 Farmstead
Terraced rows of hearty jungle crops wind down a gentle slope, bordered by low stone walls and scarecrows woven with charms of Asura; thin trails of smoke rise from cooking huts where laborers break midday bread.

🏘️ Guest Houses
A ring of six timber lodges with brightly painted shutters and carved dragons curling along the roofs; travelers' gear hangs from porches, and quiet voices murmur from within—though one always seems to be watching.

🌿 Herbalist
Twisting ivy veils the eaves of this moss-covered cottage, where drying herbs dangle from strings like jungle fetishes, and the door is flanked by two carved statues with bowls of crushed petals at their feet.

🍻 Inn of the Slumbering Dragon
A sprawling, two-story lodge built from reclaimed ship timbers and jungle hardwood, its sign depicts a coiled wyrm dozing on a hoard of mugs and bones—inside, laughter and the clink of tankards never truly stop, even in the dead of night.

🏛️ Mayor’s House
A polished, colonial-style residence with vine-wrapped balconies and tall glass-paned windows; guards stand at its wide gate, which is etched with the Van Maeren coat of arms—an open hand over a rising flame.

🌊 Mill House
Built atop a bend of the Star River, this water-driven mill hums with constant motion; its wheel groans under the current’s weight, and birds nest in the gears while flour-dusted workers curse the humidity.

🛒Store: Van Daalen & Sons – Provisioners
This stout trading post bristles with crates, barrels, and bundles tied in waxed hemp; a painted board above the door reads "If We Don’t Have It, You Don’t Need It!"—and the place smells like spices, salt, and dry parchment.

🐗Livery: Van Gade’s Jungle Beasts
A sprawling, noisy compound fenced in with thick bone-reinforced timber, housing everything from sturdy jungle mules to strange, tusked beasts of burden; stablehands move quickly under the watchful eye of a towering brass statue of Van Gade riding a horned lizard.

Life in Camp Dragon

Camp Dragon serves as more than just a military base—it is a bustling hub for trade and adventurers passing through the jungle. It supports the Immortals of Karsis with its highly regimented and orderly structure, while also catering to travelers, miners, and merchants who rely on the public side for shelter, supplies, and safe passage. The Nosgar tribe often visit the camp to trade goods, and the Inn of the Slumbering Dragon is known to host traveling adventurers and merchants alike, providing a crucial meeting point for those navigating the jungle.

With its location between Seregon and the mines, Camp Dragon stands as a vital checkpoint, offering both defense and hospitality, a rare beacon of civilization in the treacherous wilderness of the jungle.

🔍 Rumors: Whispers in Camp Dragon

d10	Rumor
1	“Don’t drink the well water.” Folks say the wells all draw from the same aquifer—and that the water’s been tainted with a mind-slowing drug. Those with means fetch their water from the Star River, or not at all.
2	“The fire watches.” Some claim if you stare into the Crucible of Asura long enough, it stares back—and if you blink, you’ll forget what you were doing. Or who you were.
3	“Don’t stay out after dark.” At night, things roam the camp—too quiet, too fast, and too smart to be undead. Some say they come from the jungle. Others whisper they come from under the Crucible itself. Either way, once night falls, you'd best find shelter. The Immortals of Karsis don't stop them. Some say they don’t even look.
4	“The grungs are already inside.” People used to laugh about the grungs. Not anymore. A band slipped into Camp Dragon through the Star River, took something valuable, and holed up in the Scarlet Rest Inn. No one’s dared evict them—and some say they’re not just frogs anymore.
5	“They aren’t who they were.” Folk say some villagers are being replaced or changed, with subtle but frightening differences. The only clue? Two fang marks in the throat, always healed. Always hidden.
6	“Some Immortals are just... wrong now.” It used to be you could trust the Immortals. But something’s changed. A few have gone distant, cruel, like husks wearing their own faces. But others? They seem just as confused as the rest of us—and just as scared.
7	“The jungle is hungry.” Miners and guides claim whole trails are being swallowed—trees growing back overnight, landmarks vanishing, serpent symbols carved in fresh bark.
8	“The pigs remember your scent.” They say there’s a farm near the jungle where the pigs watch you—really watch you. They squeal when strangers pass, like they’ve smelled you before. One man said the pigs followed him in his dreams. He hanged himself the next morning.
9	“There’s gold in the blackwood chest.” A drunkard swears he escaped the Van Kessel barn and saw a chest full of jewelry, coin, even a ring glowing faintly blue. No one believes him. He’s missing three fingers and won’t say how.
10	“The bells don’t just call the dead.” Carrion swine wear bells to lure the undead, sure—but a trapper found one in the jungle and said it started ringing by itself. Then he heard his mother calling. He walked into the trees and never came back.
11	“The monks aren’t monks.” Some people think the monks at the temple are imposters—shapechangers or worse. They smile too much. They ask too many questions. One woman swears she saw two monks share the same face… a day apart.