Elvish Ruins

High in the mountain pass between the east side and dry side lies the ruins of the ancient elvish capital city of Sinensis. The city has been covered by a massive ancient rockslide, and the mountain peak above the crater has a large crater, weathered but still recognizable. It’s unclear exactly why the elves abandoned the city, but legends tell of a great monster that burst out of the mountain, destroyed Sinensis, and disappeared back underground.

Over the centuries, various groups have mounted expeditions into the ruins to recover art and artifacts. Unfortunately, this work is highly dangerous and there are rumors of a wide variety of dangers in the subterranean remnants of Sinensis, to include ghosts of the previous citizens.

Hot springs and the crystal clear lake next to the ruins make the city a popular stop for travelers between Camellia and Wolff Point, but groups that have tried to stay longer than a few weeks have been found dead in their sleep.

Buried City

Some homes and buildings are accessible deep under the rubble with only minimal damage while other buildings were completely obliterated. Portions of the original streets remain untouched or have been excavated by various expeditions throughout the centuries. In these uncovered buildings, any treasure or art has been removed and taken to the homes of tea families in Camellia or smuggled out of the region.

The expeditions have only been able to uncover the buildings on the outskirts of the city and a handful of buried streets. Efforts to excavate deeper portions of the city have resulted in mysterious deaths as teams worked toward certain portions of the city. Further expeditions have largely been abandoned, with only a handful of sporadic efforts to quickly extract a handful of valuable artifacts, predominately coordinated by smugglers.

Spectral Guards

Survivors from failed expeditions are rare; however their stories are consistent. A few nights before the expedition members died, lights appeared, seeming to come from deeper below the ruins. The night before the deaths in the expedition, guards or party members who were up late saw spectral figures brandishing weapons at the entrances to the buried ruins. The few survivors all recount being woken by screams of terror in the night and seeing their fellow party members clutching their heads as spectral elves in intricate armor stab ornate weapons into their minds.

Royal Armory

Legends describe an ancient armory deep inside the ruins of Sinensis. This armory is rumored to hold the arms and armor of the royal guard, to include some magical artifacts. Some of the expeditions into Sinensis have been searching for this room, expecting to find great treasure among the weapons.

The floor of the armory is supposed to have a massive inlaid mosaic map of Theaceae and all of the elvish ruins throughout the region. Other expeditions into Sinensis have been specifically looking for this map, hoping to find untouched treasures in lost ruins hidden in Theaceae.