Burningswift's Travels in Barisia

Dearest Alarico, I, Edroth, write to you having heard of your plans to journey soon to the city of Baris. You have likely heard much of the city of the lizardmen, but there are few who possess as keen an eye as myself, or cunning enough to search out the subtlest of secrets. I thus present to you this short work detailing my own journey to Baris the year before I travelled to the New World, that it may be of some benefit to you and our mutual superiors in the Esoteric League.
I set out from Lotium aboard the merchant galley Artiglio, and we made good time along the Wyrmsea's eastern coast, turning west on the fourth day, and arriving within sight of Baris itself on the seventh. How shall I describe our view of that city? At first I mistook it for some distant mountain range, owing perhaps to the pervading mist that ever enshrouds Barisia. As we came closer I saw that it was rather a great mesa, its cliffs some thirty metres high, and topped by venerable stone walls rising another eight. Rising even above these great walls I could make out the peaks of great stone palaces, and soaring higher still was the singular monolithic presence of the city's central ziggurat; a step pyramid of colossal size, though with its peak strangely cut short. I have no doubt the great mesa atop which the city sits is no natural formation, having likely been raised in ancient days by one of the dragon-kings that ruled these lands before the coming of men, and before the lizardfolk had degenerated past the use of masonry.
The captain of our vessel - Venanzio was his name - warned me that our approach to the docks would need to be rather circuitous, for the marshlands and shallows left only a few narrow channels of deep water which could be safely navigated. At length, we arrived at the docks and the surrounding settlement, a shanty town compared to the ancient stonework above, named by the lizardfolk Narzolorlan, supposedly as an insult to some ancient ruler of theirs named Narzolor. A single, winding path led from Narzolorlan to Baris proper, but Venanzio assured me we need not concern ourselves with it. You see, the Lotiumite merchants had long inhabited a quarter of the city and, growing tired of the long trek from the docks to their residences, had invited a number of dwarven and gnomish artisans to construct for them a number of great cranes. These contraptions, made of mithril, adamant, and that strange copper alloy the gnomes are so fond of, and powered by mighty beasts, could lift large amounts of cargo to and from the docks. That could also, as it turned out, safely carry passengers. A lesser man might have been afraid of such a notion but, trusting in my faithful captain's word, I stepped aboard the contraption, and found myself at once lifted to the city above.
The sight I then witnessed was, to say the least, disappointing. All the awe and wonder that had gripped me upon witnessing the great walls and palaces vanished like the Giants of Colicca, as I looked out onto a sea of primitive huts and longhouses. Wood, mud, and thatch were the order of the day it seemed, as I watched aghast as putrid lizardmen scurried about their unpaved streets, carrying baskets or leading their lizards-of-burden along. My one consolation, it seemed, was the foreign quarter, which was cordoned off by a low stone wall of Lotiumite make, built some fifty years before my visit, as I later learned. Here I saw civilisation in miniature, with the plastered walls and red tiled roofs of Ciprosian architecture that we are all accustomed to. Men in the dress of Lotium and Akrai, Hagios and Tolemnos, and dwarves from the corners of the civilised world moved about with purpose, contrasting sharply with their neighbours beyond the wall.
Now, dear Alarico, I suspect you may be wondering, puzzled at how the lizardmen of Baris are held in any esteem whatever? How Baris might be considered one of the Great Cities of this continent, despite its only structures of note being foreign or ancient? Well, I must remind you of the elven blood that runs through my veins, that grants me sight and wisdom beyond what many others in my position may have possessed. For I did not at once abandon all hope of the lizardmen's capacities. Indeed, before long my suspicions were confirmed when I noted that what I had assumed to be another part of the foreign quarter was walled off from the rest of the foreign settlement. Questioning Venanzio, I was informed that these were indeed the abodes not of Lotiumites, nor of Nicilians or Akraians, but of the lizardfolk merchants of Barisia themselves. Taking with me only a scant bodyguard, I ventured into the merchants' quarter, finding indeed lizardmen dressed in the clothes of men, as might be seen in some of the more cosmopolitan cities of the civilised world.
Now, the following evening I was informed by Venanzio that a great spectacle was to take place shortly, and that all the city was gathering around the great pyramid. Not desiring to miss such a wonder, but neither neglecting my own security in this untamed place, I took my henchmen with me and made my way into the heart of the city. Now, dear Alarico, I have said how the lands of Barisia are ever enshrouded in an unnatural mist, but I should now mention how during the heat of the day, this burns away in the elevated region of the city, but at night it creeps back up the cliffsides. In the foreign quarter, they keep lamps burning throughout the streets to keep it away, but where the lizardmen dwell, they dare not risk the fury of their dragon queen, whose mist it is.
I speak now of Azamasat, the great dragon queen, for good reason. I saw at this time that, in addition to the merchants, the Barisians had another elite cast. Their foremost chieftains, chests bare but arrayed in dazzling jewellery, the like of which is otherwise unheard of among the lizardmen, inhabited the ancient stone palaces that flanked the broad way leading up to the steps of the pyramid. These princes now gathered with their entourages at the base of the steps, bringing with them many gifts of sacrifice. I soon learned the reason for all this excitement, as I heard a distant roaring, and the flapping of great wings in the twilight above.
The great, jade form of the dragon queen herself landed atop the ziggurat with surprising grace, before letting out a ferocious roar that left the entire crowd grovelling before her. Daring not to stand upright, but refusing to cower utterly, I crouched down, and even in the darkness my elven eyes could see much of what transpired. One by one the chieftains climbed the steep steps, carrying their offerings of coin, gems, artwork, and myriad other valuables. After this were sent up a number of other lizardfolk, who I first took for sacrificial victims, which in a way I suppose they were. Azamasat gathered up all these gifts - lizardfolk included - in her talons and took flight once more, carrying them off to one of her hidden lairs, no doubt. What became of the chattel I do not know, though I learned the Barisians consider it a great honour to be taken by Azamasat, and that these victims often return unharmed after a number of years' service. Nonetheless, I am not ashamed to say that the experience unnerved me somewhat, and I gained a new appreciation for the presence of the benevolent bronze dragon Uhdrethar, who as I am sure you are aware resides not far north of Barisia, and they say Azamasat is ever afraid of antagonising.
I spent several days in Barisia concluding the business I had there, before taking another ship north to Tolemnos. I must warn you that I was informed repeatedly that it was extremely unsafe to leave the bounds of Baris and its docks, for in the misty swamps dwell monsters, androphagic lizardmen, and even lesser dragons beside Azamasat. This advice I heeded, and I urge you to do the same. I hope that my account has been of some small use to you, dearest Alarico, and I bid the Solars watch over you on your journey. I, Edroth Burningswift, write this with my own hand, and bid you farewell.