Journeys through the Radiant Citadel

Pronunciations

The Siabsungkoh Pronunciations table notes how to pronounce key names in this adventure.

Setting the Adventure

The Dyn Singh Night Market could be any city's bustling trade district. Use the following suggestions to help contextualize the market and all of Siabsungkoh in a wider world:

• Through the Radiant Citadel. Residents of the Radiant Citadel seeking a different selection of goods than those available in the Trade Discal might be referred to the Dyn Singh Night Market. Those who travel to Siabsungkoh arrive a quarter mile from the market, which is impossible to miss.
• Eberron. Given its eclectic array of goods, vendors, and colorful magical signs, the Dyn Singh Night Market could be part of Sharn's Tradefair Market, with the overseeing Dyn Singh Merchant Collective being House Cannith, House Ghallanda, or some combination of other dragonmarked houses.
• Forgotten Realms. The Siabsungkoh valley might appear amid the Cloud Peaks of Amn or along the Vilhon Reach. The Dyn Singh Night Market can make a distinctive addition to any region known for trade.

Visiting the Night Market

Before starting the adventure, use the following hooks or work with players to determine why the group has come to the Dyn Singh Night Market:

• Connoisseur. The group seeks a rare treasure, local delicacy, or expert artisan available only at the night market. Alternatively, they want to sell a possession to or obtain an appraisal from a merchant with an unusual specialty.
• Market Regular. A character grew up in the land surrounding the night market, and visiting the market is an important part of their life. Coming to the market and showing it to their friends is an exciting treat.
• Trade Expedition. The characters represent their homeland, a group with which they're affiliated, or the Radiant Citadel. They want to establish trade with a vendor at the night market or obtain goods for those in need.

Rival Vendors

Dyn Singh Night Market vendors Lamai Tyenmo and Kusa Xungoon inherited a long-standing rivalry between their families, but they want to move past it. Circumstances and family grudges conspire to exacerbate their enmity. In the course of the adventure, the characters are drawn into their conflict.

Exploring the Market

Read the following text once characters reach the Dyn Singh Night Market:

Give the party the opportunity to wander the market and visit some of the aforementioned vendors or stalls. Indulge in descriptions of colorful magic lights and glowing vendor signs; tempting street foods; and the array of peoples who make up the crowd, from humans and gnomes to kobolds and orcs.

Caught in the Middle

As characters explore the market, read or paraphrase the following:

Gammon Xungoon (chaotic good, kobold commoner) stole a bunch of green onions from Lamai Tyenmo. Gammon believes Lamai first stole these onions from his mother. At the moment, neither is interested in listening to reason.

Gammon clumsily collides with a random character, bounces off them, and falls to the ground. A moment later, Lamai catches up and attempts to yank the green onions from Gammon's hands while railing at him. A character can separate the squabblers by intervening physically and succeeding on a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check or by engaging diplomatically and succeeding on a DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

Less than a minute later—whether or not the characters get involved—Gammon's mother, Kusa Xungoon, appears from the surrounding crowd.

Family Feud

Kusa Xungoon intercedes between Lamai and her son, sternly telling the gnome shopkeeper, "That's enough, Lamai! You're behaving no better than our parents did: stealing from me and attacking my son!"

This kicks off a fresh bout of arguing, with Lamai claiming she saw Gammon steal the onions (which is true). Gammon accuses Lamai of first stealing the onions from their seafood cart and knocking it over (which is speculation). Rapid-fire, increasingly outlandish indictments and assumptions follow. If the characters don't interrupt the argument, Kusa notices one or more of them. Read or paraphrase the following text when she does:

Kusa and Lamai argue in front of the characters, upping their offers to include as much as 100 gp, as well as increasingly grandiose delicacies and family cooking secrets such as a feast of thrice-fried tarrasque trout or the secret of making bewildering mobius noodles. Both vendors are eager to prove the other is to blame for the vandalism and sabotage both of their market stalls have been suffering. Neither has entertained the notion someone else might be to blame for their ill fortune or that other shops might also be affected.

Kusa and Lamai stop bickering either when the characters interrupt them or when their argument meets an appropriately ludicrous climax. At this point, the party can choose to ally with one or the other for a 100-gp reward and a lifetime supply of free meals at their employer's cart. The request from either vendor is the same: investigate the shopkeepers' stands and the surrounding market and prove their rival is sabotaging them. The shopkeeper will take any evidence the characters find, present it to the Dyn Singh Merchant Collective that oversees the market, and have their rival banned from the market. If the characters don't want to pick sides but agree to investigate, both shopkeepers convince themselves they've successfully hired the party.

If the characters refuse to get involved, one of the shopkeepers approaches them later under calmer circumstances, restating their concerns about their shop's safety while making their offer again.

Around the Market

Following the heated exchange, the gawking crowds and shopkeepers disperse. The characters don't get far before another market vendor approaches them. This human man wears a flashy green shirt with a high collar and gold filigree trim designed to look like hot peppers. He smiles while shaking his head as he approaches and introduces himself as Kasem Aroon, one of the owners of the Spice Brothers stall.

Learning More

If the characters ask either Kusa or Lamai why their fellow vendors are loath to get involved in their investigations, the shop owner explains other vendors view the characters as outsiders. During the conversation, they mention the following points:

• The vendors probably see the characters as nosy strangers and want to protect their own.
• Reputation and being part of the market mean a lot to local vendors.
• There's an easy way to quickly get a reputation in the market: participate in the Market Games.
• The Market Games are prestigious events held at the market's center. Winners are temporary, minor celebrities throughout the market.

The shop owner speculates other vendors would view the characters as more than just visitors if they win some Market Games. See the "x" section for more details.

Wynling Mischief

The characters aren't the only ones roaming the night market. After each Market Game, or whenever the characters are away from the Tyenmo and Xungoon shops, roll on the Market Mischief table to see what trouble the wynlings cause.

Participating in the Games

Characters who wish to participate in the Market Games need only show up at an event tent and ask to compete. The Market Games run several times throughout the evening. The rules for the three Market Games appear in the sections that follow.

Characters who win a Market Game gain 1 renown with the Dyn Singh Night Market's vendors (see the "x" section). As characters gain renown, the market's vendors share more information with them (see the "x" section). If a character participates in and loses all three Market Games, they still gain 1 renown, as locals respect their tenacity. If a character wins all three challenges, vendors are impressed and call them reah, which means "coals of the same fire."

Aroon Family Pepper Challenge

The Spicy Brothers, Kasem and Vi Aroon, are energetic and eccentric lovers of all things spicy. They sponsor the Aroon Family Pepper Challenge in the southwest event tent. This test of fortitude and willpower was created by their father years ago, and it's a tradition they've kept up now that they own the family business.

One of the Spicy Brother's assistants, a human garbed in a garish red-and-green uniform, welcomes characters who seek to participate in the Aroon Family Pepper Challenge. The assistant outlines the rules:

• Participants sit at a table with a basket of mixed peppers and several pitchers of milk.
• During each of the event's three rounds, participants must select one pepper from the basket and eat it.
• Any participant who eats a pepper each round without reaching for milk or leaving the table until the three rounds are over is declared a winner.

Violence and magic are not permitted during the event, but no one checks for magic effects cast prior to the competition.

If the characters agree to the rules, the assistant asks them to wait a few moments for the next event to begin. If four or more characters choose to participate, they are the only contenders in the event. If fewer characters take part, other locals (commoners) join the event from the audience, ensuring there are at least four participants.

Battle Prawn Challenge

[image: Jagged Koi Prawns are just one unexpected danger of the games at the Dyn Singh Night market]

Sid Squid's Trusty Leek sponsors Battle Prawns: The Shrimpening. Sid's shrimp cakes were voted best dish during a festival competition last year. This challenge, held in the northern event tent, tests participants' inventiveness and versatility as they prepare giant versions of his signature dish.

The tent is decorated in a nautical theme, heavy on rope decor and brass fixtures. Sid (chaotic good, human noble) and five assistants, all wearing yellow chef's outfits, eagerly invite visitors to participate in Battle Prawns. If characters ask, Sid explains the challenge is simple: assist in making a gigantic shrimp cake in record time. Participants must rapidly prepare prawn meat and chop beans for the sous-chefs. If they perform these preparations fast enough, they might complete the recipe in record time. Unless the characters specifically ask, no one mentions the unusual prawns used in this challenge (see the "Battle Arena" section).

Up to four characters may participate in the event. If fewer characters take part, some of Sid's assistants (commoners) join them to create a team of four. No rules forbid magic during this event.

Characters who participate are invited to don yellow aprons that match those of Sid and Sid's assistants. The next challenge begins shortly.

Hide-and-Seek Challenge

The Hide-and-Seek Challenge is sponsored by Madam Kulp, who creates luxurious fashions from silk spun by tut-krogh caterpillars. Her event takes place in the eastern event tent. This challenge doesn't have an audience.

When the characters enter the tent, read or paraphrase the following text:

Madam Kulp is an elderly gnome woman (neutral noble). If the characters accept her challenge, she hops up and opens a trapdoor at the center of the tent. A ladder descends into a dark, messy room full of boxes and furniture.

Madam Kulp explains that below are a series of rooms where several tut-krogh caterpillars (use the lizard stat block) are hiding. Her challenge is simple: descend the ladder and bring back four caterpillars within 1 minute. Any number of characters may participate, and they may use magical assistance as long as the caterpillars aren't harmed—Madam Kulp is adamant about the caterpillars' safety. If the characters agree to these rules, they may descend into the maze when they are ready.

Character Advancement

The characters all gain a level after group members participate in the three Market Games. If they don't complete three Market Games, characters gain a level once they reveal Kasem is the source of the disruptions at Tyenmo Noodles and Xungoon Family Seafood.

Vi Aroon

Kasem's twin and co-owner of Spicy Brothers, Vi Aroon, loves what he does. He knows nothing about Kasem's plans but can be convinced to share the gossip on the What Vi Aroon Knows table.

Madam Kulp

Madam Kulp is a gnome seamster who works with the silk of tut-krogh caterpillars. She can share the gossip on the What Madam Kulp Knows table.

[image: Madam Kulp]

Sid Squid

Sid Squid owns the Trusty Leek, a stall near whichever shop hired the characters. They are the head of one of the market's newest families—a band of adventurers turned business owners. Sid can share the gossip on the What Sid Squid Knows table.

Other Vendors

Many vendors within the Dyn Singh Night Market have general knowledge about the Tyenmo and Xungoon families as well as recent thefts in the market. These vendors can share the gossip on the What Other Vendors Know table.

Investigating Kasem

If the characters suspect Kasem of inflaming the Tyenmo-Xungoon rivalry, they might investigate him further. The brothers have a tent for storing supplies and conducting business next to their Spicy Brothers stall. Characters who visit the shop can slip into the tent by succeeding on a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check. The tent contains business records, cots for both brothers, a large crate marked "peppers" that holds three straw-lined bird cages, and a box of persimmons.

Kasem used the cages to smuggle the wynlings into the market, and the creatures use them as tiny homes. Persimmons are rare in the market, but they are one of the wynlings' favorite foods. Kasem uses the fruit to encourage the wynlings to harass his targets, promising them the treats when they do good work or stashing them in other vendors' stalls. While the cages and fruit aren't enough evidence of Kasem's wrongdoing on their own, they might help the characters reveal Kasem's plot.

Revealing the Wynlings

The characters might suspect Kasem is using a creature to harass the Tyenmo and Xungoon market stands—either due to stories from vendors or from what they've witnessed themselves. If a character casts detect evil and good near one of the sabotaged stalls, it reveals the presence of a Fey creature nearby, a wynling drowsing on a nearby stall roof. If approached, the wynling turns invisible and flees.

A character can convince a wynling to reveal itself by going to either Tyenmo Noodles or Xungoon Family Seafood and holding out a persimmon. Doing so causes at least one wynling to appear and try to take the fruit. A character can befriend a wynling once it reveals itself by succeeding on a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If characters who can speak and understand Sylvan ask the wynling questions, the Fey creature squeaks the following details in reply:

• Kasem found the wynlings in the nearby mountains and brought them to the market recently.
• The wynlings live with their friend Kasem at the Spicy Brothers tent.
• Kasem offers the wynlings persimmons to do errands and to play in certain places (usually the Tyenmo and Xungoon stalls).
• The wynlings aren't malicious; they're just playful and really like persimmons.

The wynlings have no loyalty to Kasem, but they also don't understand why anything they've done is wrong. If the characters show the wynlings to Lamai or Kusa, the vendor is surprised and wants to know why the wynlings are harassing her. The wynlings explain they've only done what Kasem asked them to—thinking it was all good fun. If Kasem is confronted with the wynlings, the creatures are clearly friendly with him. Kasem then confesses he sowed discord between the Tyenmo and Xungoon families to make it easier to buy their stalls.

Confronting Kasem

If characters challenge Kasem with details they learned about him from local vendors, he laughs them off, explaining the market is full of gossip. A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check realizes Kasem is hiding something. If the characters confront Kasem with multiple accounts or pieces of evidence, they can coax a confession from him (see the following section). If characters take a more hostile approach, Kasem defends himself. Kasem has the statistics of a noble and calls out to three wynlings (presented at the x), who appear and aid him.

Rivals Explode

If the party fails at the Market Games or reaches dead ends in its investigations, the Tyenmo-Xungoon rivalry comes to a head when Lamai and Kusa get into a public scrap at one of their stands. While the shop vendors fight, any character can make a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check to notice Kasem watching with a smile. Not realizing he's being watched, Kasem offers a persimmon to something unseen on his shoulder and the fruit rapidly vanishes. Characters who confront Kasem with what they saw and succeed on a DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation) check convince him to confess to everything in the "x" section.

Siabsungkoh Features

Those familiar with Siabsungkoh know the following details:

• Hallmarks. Siabsungkoh is a land known for its cosmopolitan markets and its people's tight family bonds and ties to nature.
• People. Siabsungkoh is a cosmopolitan area inhabited mainly by humans with dark, wavy-to-curly hair, brown eyes, and skin tones varying from medium tan to deep brown. Alongside humans, dragonborn, gnomes, kobolds, and orcs number among the land's most populous residents.
• Languages. Maynah, which translates to "river tongue," is the native language of Siabsungkoh. Most locals also speak Common and Draconic.

Noteworthy Sites

Siabsungkoh features lush, tropical jungles surrounded by mountains. The valley is small but buzzes with energy, as both locals and tourists frequent the markets that serve as a hub of community life.

Life in Siabsungkoh

The following truths are known to those who live in Siabsungkoh or travel through these lands.

Legends of Siabsungkoh

The oldest legend of Siabsungkoh tells of a young sorcerer, Phi Maymoon, who made a pact with nature spirits to protect Siabsungkoh from invaders that were closing in from the west and south. In an act of desperation, Phi climbed Avyrn Mountain and pleaded with the spirits to protect the land's people. The spirits answered Phi's call. With their combined power, they shifted the earth around Siabsungkoh to form jagged mountains that blocked the invasion. This exchange of power was not without a cost—Phi traded their life to form the barrier that protects Siabsungkoh. Phi's magical power lives on in the mountains and is supposedly the force that gives lau-pop flowers their remarkable glow. To this day, many honor the spirits of Siabsungkoh by tending gardens of lau-pop flowers or climbing Avyrn Mountain to leave offerings to Phi.

Adventures in Siabsungkoh

Consider the plots on the Siabsungkoh Adventures table when planning adventures in Siabsungkoh.

Characters from Siabsungkoh

If players want to create characters from Siabsungkoh, consider asking them the following questions during character creation:

What is your family known for? Are you artisans, chefs, outcasts, or something else? What sort of reputation does your family have?

What have you done or refused to do in the name of your family? Did this protect your family or yourself? Did this change your relationship with your family?

What is your connection to the Dyn Singh Night Market? Does your family have the favor of the families that run the market? What do you look forward to buying whenever you visit? Do you oppose the market's expansion or welcome it?