The Halls of Alabaster
A creation of the legendary mage Alabaster, the Halls lie directly below Carandor’s capital of Golgatha, where massive stone gates guard the path into the mountain. The Halls were once covered in alabaster, the Great Mage's eponymous building material, but it has all been long-since salvaged from the upper levels by enterprising nobles who used it to build their villas in the Noble District. It has been centuries since the Magewar whenthe Nine were defeated and pushed back into the Halls. They haven’t been seen since, and many suspect that they are dead, long since swallowed up by whatever depths corrupted them.
Large enough to be a country of its own, and with power to match, the Halls of Alabaster are one of the only places in the world actively defying the rule of the divines. To this day, no god holds sway in the Halls. The entire area is shielded with epic wizardry, rivaling them in power. Attempts to divine information about the particulars of the Halls results in nothing at all, and trying to cross in or out of it by teleportation always results in a misfire, often placing you somewhere you didn’t intend to be. Short-range teleportation works as normal, but if your intended destination is more than 300’ away or outside your line of sight, lethal misfires are likely to occur.
Sealing the doorways to the Halls has not worked to contain its dangers. If adventurers don’t enter the halls regularly to clear it of monsters, they always seem to somehow find their way to the surface, causing chaos. A network of secret passages between the Halls and Golgatha are suspected. Mad rumors describe the Halls having an intelligence to them,insisting that they not be ignored.
The Halls are centuries-old, and anything but dead. Though its exact population is unknown, it’s said to be unfathomably immense. Every level is distinct, and filled with its own unique inhabitants, most of which are monstrous. Each level hosts a different mixture of opportunities, challenges, and riches, from marvelous magecraft to glittering hoards of gold. Treasures and dangers alike seem curiously placed within the halls, as if to both keep people out with its dangers, and lure them in with its treasures. Most Carandorians never enter the Halls themselves, content to live vicariously through adventurers.
The Halls are made up of an unknown number of levels. The most stalwart proponent of pacifying the Halls is the Church of the Pantheon, who have been at it since the end of the Second Magewar. Despite their sponsorship, no-one has made it more than a few levels down. The levels that have been cleared are mysteriously repopulated, year after year.No-one has ever discovered the true purpose of the Halls, and they remain as enigmatic as the day they were discovered.Though the Halls are never safe, it’s known that their level of danger noticeably increases as you delve into the lower levels. Many have been lost to their unknown depths and cavernous corridors, even Champions of the Cup. Contact with races of the Underworld has occasionally been made within the Hall,sparking rumors that the Halls connect to it, or could be one of the same. The Halls have been known to surprise and even overwhelm experienced adventurers. Many champions of the Cup participate in the following year's tournament, or make appearances for die hard fans once the ceremony begins. Not all who are victorious celebrate within their means Over confidence has claimed many souls within the Halls, and previous winners of the Cup are no different. Some rest comfortably, retelling the story of their time in the sun at taverns across the city, while others return to the depths only to never be heard from again.
The Halls are a mystery, in every sense of the word, with no clear resolution to them. Though no question is without an answer, is Adranon truly ready for secrets which could shake the very foundations of man, the earth, and faith?
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