The Old King's Road

Hail the King, lone husbander of none,
Who sowed no seed, yet reaped the world's span.

He broke no mare, yet we are mounted all—
We ride his burden, we ride his thrall.

When bridles are broken and hooves are unshod,
What bore us in silence shall trample as god.

— The Husbander's Song

The Old King's Road stretches roughly 2,000 miles across The Crescent in one continuous line that curves between all five major cities. Built during the Old King, Malachar Vel'tareth's, empire, it remains the only reliable route for heavy trade and the safest passage between settlements.

The road forks at Thar'kash, where three routes split toward Cairune, Ecleptara, and Illyndra. Otherwise, it's essentially one long highway that's accumulated patches, repairs, and improvements over centuries of constant use.

Original sections still show the master stonework - blocks fitted so perfectly that grass won't grow between them. These stretches need almost no maintenance and handle heavy traffic without complaint. The problem is that maybe half the road maintains this quality. The rest is a patchwork of local repairs using whatever stone and techniques were available at the time.

How the Road Works

The road exists in three basic conditions at any given time. The old stone sections work perfectly and probably always will. Regular sections built with decent materials and maintained properly handle normal traffic fine. Then there are the problem areas - places where the road needs constant attention or develops issues faster than anyone can explain.

Road Wardens patrol the network, but they're stretched thin across 2,000 miles. Most travelers learn to read the road conditions themselves and plan accordingly. Merchants from The Concord build extra time into their routes because you never know when a previously solid section will develop problems.

Wardstones

Ancient monoliths line the road at irregular intervals, each standing roughly twice the height of a person. Constructed from whatever sturdy materials were at hand, typically a dark basalt-like stone, they present the familiar image of deep black sentinels. Despite their obvious age, they show remarkably little weathering and remain mostly intact except for the intricate runes carved into their surfaces. No two stones share the same runic patterns, though scholars claim to see recurring symbols without agreement on what they mean.

Local superstitions vary about what the runes represent - some say they're prayers, others claim they're warnings, still others insist they're maps to places that don't exist. Those who can read Old Common sometimes find fragments of text worked into the runic patterns. The translations are rarely comforting: "Remember the weight of stones" or "The old paths remember their purpose".

Thaddeus Quill

"Historical records describe numerous cases of individuals attempting—rather foolishly, I might add—to 'blow to smithereens' individual wardstones. The results were invariably just charred grasses and embarrassed would-be demolitionists. The stones themselves? Not so much as a scratch. How they achieve such resilience remains a mystery that eludes even the most clever of current minds, among which I include myself."

— Mysteries of Infrastructure, p. 47

The stones emit musical hums that experienced travelers learn to interpret - changes in tone or rhythm indicate developing problems. Steady, musical tones mean you're safe, but when stones develop a rhythmic pulsing hum, trouble is coming. When stones go completely quiet, smart people turn around or at least prepare for a fight.

Wardstones failures have become more common over the past year. The pattern seems random - stones on busy routes fail as often as ones in the middle of nowhere. Road Wardens patch them with special clay that works temporarily, but veteran Wardens will tell you they're patching holes in a dam without knowing where the pressure's coming from.

Current Problems

The road has become less reliable over the past year. Sections that worked fine for decades suddenly develop potholes, washouts, or worse problems without warning. Merchants have learned to budget extra time for delays and detours they can't predict in advance.

Monster activity has increased, especially near failed wardstones. Most encounters are just nuisances that slow down travel, but entire merchant caravans have disappeared on routes that used to be completely safe. The connection between broken wardstones and monster problems is obvious to anyone who travels regularly.

Weather seems to affect the road more than it used to. Sections that needed repair every few years now require attention every few months. The old stone segments handle it fine, but everything else degrades faster than Road Wardens can keep up with.

Economic Reality

The road is still essential because there's no alternative. The Crescent's entire economy depends on being able to move goods between the major cities, and the Old King's Road is the only route that can handle the volume.