Blood, Plunder and D&D

Freddy's Dream That night Freddy dreamed. It started off as a good dream. He was back in Valoria during the heyday of Hot-Red and the Freddies , back before things had gone bad. He remembered the night vividly; they had just finished up a set at The Mended Drum , a set which had gone well. Very well. The crowd had been huge, way more than they had expected, people spilling out the door and into the alleys outside. The music was catching on. Word was getting around. Valorian Swing was becoming a thing.  They had been hanging out after the show at Hot Red’s crib in some getto ass part of Valoria, exhausted, but happy. Ozraeline was lounging on the couch, smoking something or other, and some unnamed drummer was passed out on the floor. They’d never had much luck with drummers; they came and mysteriously went with dizzying regularity. Freddy didn’t remember the names of half of them. Hot Red was pretty particular about the beat, never satisfied with anyone they hired for long. In hinds...

  You know little of  Great Mbo , my homeland, and that is not surprising, for no foreigners are permitted there. The Empire has been closed to outsiders for a thousand years, by decree of  The God-King , saving the trade city of  Bawaaba   where outsiders are tightly controlled .  Know now that b eyond these  Thousand Isles , far  to the west is a vast continent of desert and jungle, watered by giant rivers. Cradle of an ancient civilization, and home to mighty pyramid cities, powerful gods, and ancient magics.  This land, which we call Great Mbo or The Land of Seven Rivers, is vast beyond comprehension. Even if dry land ran from  The Northern Reach  to the Southern, Great Mbo would still encompass that land and call it a province. The lector-priests claim 5000 leagues span from the eastern borders of the Empire, to the far western, and no man knows the distance from the northern coast to the undiscovered southern sea, save it must...