Andrevel, The Town of Misfortune

"I'm not one to stop people from dying to their own stupidity, but I make an exception for exploring Andrevel." - Sun Elven Rancher

Written by: jester2b

Cover Art by: Rafael Sewa

Prospector's Lucky Find

During the Viridium Rush, prospectors wandered the open deserts of Crucible, hoping to uncover deposits of viriduim or precious metals in the red sands. Many of them had their hopes crushed as they found nothing, though a select few were fortunate enough to strike it rich. These lucky few established prosperous mining towns along the Murus and Caminingus mountains, some settlements like Ninura became thriving cities that stand firm in the Second Era. Among these thriving towns of Andrevel, named after its founder, Valdes Andrevel. Andrevel's mine was known for its abundance of iron and silver ore, which were the town's main exports. Word of the settlement spread quickly, leading many to settle in the mining town nestled along the mountainside. During this time, Andrevel was one of the largest mining towns within the Crucible desert and was on the path to expanding into a city that would rival Meranus or Dallarx. Unfortunately, Valdes's luck would run out, and the town would sink into misfortune.

Creeping Death

On one dark summer night, the town watch patrolled the streets as they usually did. All seemed normal until one of the guards patrolling the outskirts of the town began to hear noises in the nearby sand. When he tried to investigate, a Death Hound, a dog-like creature with scales, snake fangs, deadly venom, and a bladed tail, leaped out from the dark and sunk its fangs into the guard's chest. The nearby guard ran over to him and attempted to save him, but three more Death Hounds came out from the darkness. Two of them dragged the first guard in the dark and began ripping him apart; his screams of agony woke the rest of the town's residents. The third Death Hound lunged at the guard but was blocked by his shield. With its fangs stuck in the metal shield, the guard took the opportunity and stabbed the creature with the sword. As it died, the Death Hound managed to whip its spiked tail around and jab the guard in the eye. The rest of the town guards were alerted to the attack and rushed to his aid. More Death Hounds poured into Andrevel, ambushing townsmen and dragging them away be devoured. After a brutal battle, the guardsmen were able to push back against the Death Hounds' advance, but at the cost of many casualties. The screams of the beasts' victims as they were eaten alive drowned out the silence of the night and forever haunted the residents of Andrevel.
This, unfortunately, won't be Andrevel's first encounter with Death Hounds. In the following weeks, guards spotted lone Death Hounds scurrying around the town's perimeters, acting as scouts for the rest of the pack. During this time, the citizens prepared barricades and other defenses with all their resources at their disposal, dreading the day the Death Hounds attack again. Some choose to flee Andrevel to Magna'Fidem in the north or Dralore to the east, leaving the ransacked town behind them. While Andrevel never suffered another significant attack from the Death Hounds, residents were dragged away by lone Death Hounds before guardsmen could react. The hounds' onslaught only ended once the combined forces of Andrevel's guards and a group of mercenaries killed the entire pack, ending the menace of the Death Hounds for good.

Hunters in the Dark

After ending the threat of the Death Hounds, the citizens of Andrevel buried their dead and continued on with their lives. Valdes expanded the guardsmen's ranks to bolster Andrevel's defenses from future attacks. The town had garnered a reputation as a wild and dangerous place, causing many to steer clear of the mining town. Andrevel fell on hard times with traders avoiding them entirely and the mine beginning to run dry. Residents who could afford it moved out of Andrevel to escape the eventual economic downfall. Slowly, Andrevel was abandoned, its fate to be another ghost town, one of many failed left for the desert to reclaim. It was the beginning of the end for this once-bustling town.
In the autumn of 1694 AE, the miners, desperate to find anything, dug into a massive, seemingly empty underground cave. The cavern was pitch black and hauntingly silent, seemingly just an empty cave buried within the desert. As a group of miners explored the cave, they began to notice something odd. The cavern's passages looked more like tunnels than a natural cave, peaking both their curiosity and their fear. After hours of exploring, they entered a large open chamber with nothing but darkness. Slowly, the group moved in, cautiously watching their backs and ensuring they could find the way out. The silence was broken by the sickly sounds of flesh peeling and sewing itself back together and a scream that echoed throughout the cavern. A monstrous amalgamation of dead flesh charged at the group, swiping at them with its fleshy hand. As the miners attempted to flee, more of the creatures stitched themselves together and attacked. The men were grabbed and dragged into the darkness, while others were impaled by sharp tentacles. A smaller creature latched onto one of the miner's backs and impaled his spine, taking control of his body and assimilating him into the horde. Only one miner managed to escape the onslaught and return to the town to warn them of the coming danger.
Andrevel had little time to prepare, for the creatures were closing in. The miners attempted to block off both the entrance to the cave and the mine with rocks and wooden barricades, though this did little to stop the monsters. The mine was soon overtaken by the horrors, who took the miner's bodies and twisted them into abominations of flesh and bone. Larger forms made of pure bio-mass broke through the mine entrance and began their assault on Andrevel. Chaos soon enveloped Andrevel, with citizens attempting to flee into the desert while the guards fought the creatures. For each resident that fell, the ranks of the invaders were replenished by their puppeted corpses. With little hope of fighting the creatures off, the guardsmen focused their efforts on evacuating everybody they could. Andrevel was overrun in less than an hour, with the few remaining fighters ensuring the citizens escaped. Few people made it out of the slaughter alive; most of them, including Valdes Andrevel, were killed by the creatures, their flesh added to the grotesque hive to build more abominations. These few survivors made their way to any nearby town, telling stories of the horrors that had overtaken them.
As news of the attack on Andrevel spread, citizens were told to avoid the ruined town at all costs. The abominations were named The Gatherers, which became the stuff of nightmares for the elves of Crucible. The ruins of Andrevel rested in the sands, reminding all of the horrors that lurk in the deep. As of the Second Era, no efforts have been made to reclaim the lost town, for the risk of a major outbreak that could overtake the entirety of Crucible is too great. The area surrounding the ruins is blocked off by a thick stone wall to prevent anyone from entering the ruins of Andrevel and awakening the Gatherers. Deep underground, cloaked by darkness, the Gatherers wait patiently for anyone to enter their lair once again. One day a fool will breach the barrier and enter their lair, and Nostrina will be brought to its knees.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
1694 AE

Founding Date

1678 AE

Type

Town