D'loc Aloc and nearby geography of the southern continent
D'loc Aloc is a gigantic mountainous jungle of the southern continent which was the birthplace of Black Company wizard siblings One-Eye and Tom-Tom. The equator passes through it. It was visited twice by the Company: first during their historical northward trek, and once more many generations later during their reverse journey in Shadow Games. D'loc Aloc is subject to a very hot, humid climate, and features what Croaker described as several "excessively vegetated and overly bug-infested mountain" ranges. The jungle is sparsely populated by short, dark-skinned, peaceful natives, but is also the origin of the fearful, shape-shifting wereleopards known as the forvalaka.
Before Croaker's Annals[]
In the distant past, 54 forvalaka from D'loc Aloc somehow appeared in Beryl, a city along the coast of the Sea of Torments, hundreds of miles to the north of the jungle. This occurred during Beryl's ancient kingdom period, during the reign of Niam. For a decade, the monsters from D'loc Aloc terrorized Beryl, until they were trapped underground in a tomb-like structure called Necropolitan Hill.
The Black Company marched through D'loc Aloc during their historical northward trek. This occurred many decades, possibly a century or more, before the events of The Black Company. There, they recruited two young local wizards: brothers named One-Eye and Tom-Tom. Both men would become mainstays of the group for as long as they lived. What trouble they were running from to join the Company was never revealed. Before joining, both young brothers had been sold to N'Gamo, a wizard of significant magnitude, to become his apprentices. N'Gamo would lose an arm and a foot in an unsuccessful attempt to kill a young male forvalaka.
Shadow Games[]
| “ | Worse on our nerves... was One-Eye's suddenly inexhaustible store of praises and tales of his homeland. From my first day in the Company I had been trying to get a fix on him and his country. Every lousy detail had had to be pried out. Now it was everything anyone ever wanted to know, and more. Except specifics of why he and his brother had run away from such a paradise. | ” |
During the Black Company's march southward in Shadow Games, they briefly stayed at the Temple of Travellers' Repose. The monks from the Temple called for guides to assist the Company when they left. Two elderly natives from D'loc Aloc, Wheezer and Baldo, answered the call and helped the Company through their difficult, sweltering, bug-infested terrain.
The movement through D'loc Aloc took almost 2 months. During that time, some young local women found the exotic, lighter-skinned foreigners to be irresistible. Otto (and his men Big Bucket, Candles, Red Rudy and Sparkle), Hagop (and his men Cletus, Loftus, Longinus, and Smiley), Murgen (and his four roi men, including Shadid and Patience), and even old Goblin, "were cooperative" with the "sleek, delectable little brown beauties". Croaker resisted the temptation, however, as his love interest Lady was present with them. Wheezer departed D'loc Aloc and become a sworn brother of the band.
| Places in the Black Company's southbound odyssey toward Khatovar in Shadow Games |
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In the north and at sea:
In the south:
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