Red Stream of the K'Thoni River

The Red Stream of the K'Thoni River, called such because of the Killgold House colors, the famous red and gold, is colloquially known as the drowning river or the lords' river. It is the northern stream of the river along which the Killgold family has built several properties; these include the Killgold Kanor, the Amber Palace, Sinners Fort, and a few more. The locals in this area, charmed by their overlords' benevolence and generosity, have taken to calling it the lords' river. This is a consequence of most of the land on the banks of the river now being the direct property of the ever-wealthy Killgold family, and specifically the three oldest of the children, Karma, Kaitlyn, and Kamiel. The river is typical. It supplies East Omeni with water, and the lords there have built and installed several aqueducts to distribute it to their subjects. It is also used as a highway to and from the capital when the royal roads prove to be to slow and the ferrymen here work for the Killgold's too. The water is clear and drinkable thanks to several purification spells used on it every day by mages employed by, who else, but the Noble Killgolds. The river and its story are boring, as the family runs a tight shift, and that doesn't lend itself well to urban legends. There is one tale, however, and it is where the other alias of the drowning river originates, and that is the story of when the Red Stream truly ran red. If the old storytellers are right, it goes like this: Siras II Africani took issue with the Noble Killgold's autonomy in the region and decided to do something Africani about it. He called upon three hundred of his best men and set off to show the head of the Killgold family, Lady Kardi I Killgold, what he thought of her pseudo-independence. Lady Killgold, known for her extensive spy network, one the Killgolds still use, received intelligence of the show of force one whole day in advance and formed a plan. While walking through the Whiteroot forest, it is said the three hundred men slowly began to disappear. One by one. Then by the twos, then in groups of three. The last ten of Lord Africani's men vanished as he sat on the forest floor cursing the gods and clutching his sword. Then he heard screaming, the screams of three hundred men suddenly submerged in cold water, the gurgling and choking sounds of drowning amplified by the stiff quietness of the forest. He got up and ran to the river, knowing what he wished not to know and expecting at any moment to be hit with the gruesome vision of his greatest warriors meeting a cold, soggy death in enemy territory. He cleared the last of the trees and was greeted with the banks of the Red Stream. It was empty. Not a man inside. Africani or otherwise. But there was the sound. Before he could begin to ask questions, his head left his body in one quick swipe from Lady Kardi herself. His head dropped in the river, and the sound stopped. The men were never found, neither body nor armour. But every now and then they can be heard drowning.