The Gauze Grot

Few who set foot into the Gauze Grot live to tell the tale of its horrors. Whether they're shredded to pieces by the unseen and vicious "Screechers" or choked by the hazardous particles that obscure the cavern in an impenetrable fog, a deadly plethora of hazards await even the most prepared of adventurers, travellers and vagabonds alike. Serving as a natural frontier between the warring territories of The New Human's Alliance and The Loshmak Dynasty, it is the main reason for the ongoing stalemate of the conflict between the two nations-neither side is brave or foolish enough to cross and no other paths through have been found. Few know the secret of the fog that expands across the cavern and even fewer are aware of the necessary preventative measures to survive its toxic nature. The horrifying truth is that the space was once used as a graveyard for the Gods who were slain by The Usurper Trinity. After execution, their bodies were burnt and then plunged into the ground bound in chain. As their corpses rotted away, decomposing whilst buried in the earth, their hearts were all that remained. The heart of a God, unlike that of a lower creature, lives as its own organism. Despite this, they were extremely simple beings, more like plants with a single minded drive to survive. They grew into strange vines that clawed above to the surface; they expanded out over the ground and eventually reached the very edges of the grot. Releasing from their pores, a poisonous gas - thick and grey - rapidly filled the vast cavern as all the plants were activated in unison. Although death is not immediate within the cloud, it comes soon enough and the expanse of the gauze is so huge that no one can pass through fast enough to survive, there being no safe pockets. However, it is not completely impossible for one to live in the grot. The aptly named Screechers are one such creature that dwell within the recesses of the mist, which is precisely how a small community of runaways and outlaws came to call the Gauze Grot. By extracting the head of theses extremophiles, a person can withstand the heavy air by breathing through it and ignore the fog. But there is a cost. To breathe like a Screecher, a tube which reaches inside its body must also be inserted into a person's throat, which if removed by force will rip out, killing the user in the process. Thus, these people live permanently looking as though they were demons in a secret society of the forgotten. Some people stay underground, without masks, such as children and those unfit to hunt the screechers above the ground. Nevertheless, any one who does not live in the village is ignorant of their ways and their existence, making it the safest place for those fleeing their home, whether they be Glayshan slaves or Human criminals.

Alternative Name(s)

The Impassable Path

Type

Underground / Subterranean

Included Locations