Valine, Garden City of Undermountain

An unexpected oasis in the inhospitable Fungal Forest, Valine sports all manner of flowering lichens and fungi in a wide array of colors and forms. The city hosts the largest known settlement of Myconid in Undermountain, and it is commonly regarded as the homeland of that race.
Valine is the only known place where more than a few dozen Myconids gather in one spot. Small thorps or individual circles of Myconids exist elsewhere in Undermountain, but these distant outposts frequently send offspring here for protection under the calm, watchful eyes of the Circle of the Depths.
Valine is organized around the druids who make up this organization. Every citizen of Valine acknowledges the authority of the druids. Circle members are free to commandeer the city’s guards and resources as they see fit, and any three Circle members acting in concert are empowered to decide any issue of law, justice, or trade on behalf of the entire organization. However, ultimate rulership of the city still resides with the soverign of the colony.
Valine’s first and most impressive line of defense consists of plant creatures roaming loose in the city and the nearby caverns. Undermountain variations of shambling mounds, phantom fungi, and assassin vines make up the bulk of this force, and roperlike plant monsters guard the main entrance. These plant creatures never bother residents, but they relentlessly attack any other creature that enters the garden city.
Water trickles down from cracks in the ceiling, nourishing the jungle of plant life that grows on the walls. The liquid collects in a scummy moat around the edge of the city’s circular cavern. Large patches of luminescent green fungi at uneven intervals on the floor and ceiling provide light for the cavern. It doesn’t light the entire city, but creatures with low-light vision can see clearly here.
The main entrances to the city are covered by a 6-inch thick curtains of hanging vines known as ironvines. True to their name, ironvines have the hardness and hit points of iron when interwoven, which they are at all times. Any death or disintegration effect affects only one of the thousands of ironvines in such a curtain. About 20 assassin vines and 50 shrieker fungi laced into the curtain’s outer layer provide active defense and an audible warning when creatures approach. Meanwhile, the lower edge of the curtain trails away inside the cavern to form a bridge over the moat. If the curtain is killed or removed by attackers, those attackers will also kill their quickest path across the water.
Visitors who approach in peace are removed to a sequestered area, away from the roving plant creatures just inside the main entrance. Anyone needed by the guests is brought to them in sequester, rather than allowing the guests to move about the city of their own accord. Though seemingly isolationist, the druids here prefer to pick their battles, and do not shy from them when necessary. Some even leave Valine and travel across Undermountain, restoring damaged areas and teaching other folk to respect the natural world.

Type

City

Location under

Undermountain