The Depths of Gratholme

The pinging of mining picks echoed in his ears out of tandem with the time they actually struck stone. Gornar took a moment to straighten his aching back and stretch. A few things popped and he let out a groan of relief. The light of a lantern grew close and the Vraji on the chain next to him clicked his tongue in a warning. The orc huffed and lifted his pick again. When it struck stone, he felt the mine shaft rumble and he looked around in dismay. Something was amiss since Caile stopped to listen too, his tufted ears twitching. “Wot’re yew tew slackers standin’ ‘round fer?” the watchman meandered into view with his flickering lantern and began to reach for his whip. Caile hurriedly shushed him as the rumbling sound came again. The human gasped at the Vraji’s audacity and raised his whip arm but before he could act, dust began to fill the tunnel accompanied by the rumbling of thunder.
Fearing for his life and his companion’s, Gornar snatched the elf by the elbow and took off at a sprint in the opposite direction of the cave-in. The scream of the watchman was quickly cut short by the cascade of stone. With his heart beating in his chest like a pursued animal, the orc rounded the bend with Caile in tow. No matter how fast they ran, the collapse caught up with them in the pitch dark as dust filled his lungs and stones pelted his weathered hide.
The last thing Gornar remembered was pushing Caile forward as the world collapsed around him.
⃟⃟⃟
“Move not, or… pain.” The elf’s soft voice cut through the haze of agony as Gornar began to wake. The orc groaned as the burning, prickling sensation set in. Caile hushed him and he heard the shifting of stone which too was accompanied by more pain. Hands grabbed him under the arms and slowly drug him away from the wall of rock where the tunnel terminated.
Mangled limbs remained where the orc’s legs once were. His breath caught in his throat as he struggled to comprehend the sight. The darkness abated as the chamber filled with the light of a tiny sun. The orc gazed in wonder as Caile knelt to examine the damage of his wounds.
“Broken.” The elf pointed to his right ankle that was twisted in an unnatural direction. His grasp on the orcish language was decidedly less broken than Gornar’s lower limbs, all things considered. Without asking, Caile pulled the shackle from his ankle and over his foot to sever their connection.
The orc roared as his legs were jostled and he collapsed back against the stone wall with tears streaming down his cheeks. Caile gently shushed him and began to stroke his arm as if he were petting a dog. It did nothing to alleviate the situation.
“I… fix.” He managed after thinking about the translation and moved the little light.
“No! No, no, no, don't set it--!”
“Shh.”
Rather than moving to set his bones, the Vraji’s hands hovered over his limbs and he closed his eyes as he began to hum and chant in his strange, otherworldly language. Gornar fell silent as he watched roots from the earth curl out of the dusty soil and around his mangled legs. Coolness like glacial runoff enveloped him and numbed the pain as the chamber filled with the smell of wild flowers. When the glow faded and the roots withered, he witnessed his legs had been made whole again.
“I fix.” Caile repeated and gave his knee a little pat.
The orc gaped as he slowly moved around, confirming that this was real. His limbs were still bruised and tender, but they were whole. Smiling weakly, Caile slowly plopped into the dirt. The little sun continued to float through the air and revealed that they were most certainly trapped down here. Gornar’s momentary joy quickly faded as he realized this.
He gestured to their surroundings in a silent question and the Vraju answered with a small nod.
“Snare.”
“Er… stuck,” he gently corrected the elf and gave him a little pat. Caile repeated the word with a little nod.
“...Thank you,” Gornar mumbled after a long moment and gestured to his legs. He suddenly felt like a giant arse that the elf knew some of his language but the opposite was not true. “I will dig us out. Worry not.”
Caile’s smile became somber and it was clear that escape may not be a reality for them. The Vraji shifted in the small space and laid his head down in Gornar’s lap. His hair was soft and his ears were downy. The orc found himself stroking his head for something to touch other than stone as he tasted the air getting stale and thin.
“Sleep. Escape come morning.”
He knew that Caile was saying that to comfort him. If they went to sleep down here, they would not wake up.
One end of the tunnel was a dead end. The other was the cave-in. The orc appraised this for a long moment and noted that most of the stone was small boulders and gravel. Even if the elf could not lift a boulder, he on the other hand could move all of these stones while still lamed.
He gave Caile’s shoulder a squeeze and rose on his legs, wobbling like a faun as he approached the rubble. The orc would not concede so easily.

Demographics

The residents of the Grathome mining colony are primarily non-human prisoners caught on Halden's borders. The rest of the population are watchmen, foremen, and soldiers meant to keep the prisoners in line.

Government

The mining colony is under the charge of Halden and is overseen by the Burgomaster of Numnige.

Assets

Grathome was once the main source of iron ore for the nation of Halden.

History

Grathome was repurposed in 398 PGS to a mining colony to put non-human prisoners to work so the citizens of the area would be able to work the fields. Vraji elves, heibtrots (hobgoblins), orcs, and others are among the imprisoned here. The prisoners suffered inhumane conditions at the hands of their captors and many died of starvation or exposure. 
In 415 PGS, the largest prisoner escape occurred when a tunnel series collapsed in the middle of the night. The human captors were unable to see in the dark and watchmen were left to die in the rubble. Led by a mountain orc and a Vraji elf, most of the prisoners were able to leave and have not been seen since. 
To cover up the incident, the warden reported all lives were lost in the collapse and the mine was shut down.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
415 PGS

Founding Date

398 PGS

Alternative Name(s)

Hellhome

Population

~150 during occupation

Location under

Ulvad