Boltbottom Keep
Boltbottom Keep stands like a bulwark carved from the bones of the world itself, a towering, grim fortress anchored directly into the spine of Corik's Wall. Though its design is unmistakably dwarven—stonework so tight not even frost can find a seam—it has borne the architectural scars and enhancements of over two centuries of continuous use. Walls have been rebuilt, towers reinforced, gates replaced, and arcane wards overlaid with newer enchantments, most of which remain poorly understood. The heart of the Keep remains as its builders intended: unyielding, immovable, and utterly unsympathetic to anything approaching from the south.
Facing outward toward the Pridelands, Boltbottom bristles with defensive architecture. Massive stone bastions jut from the wall like clenched fists, each one hosting rotating ballistae, cauldron-pour systems, and other siege-thwarting designs known only to the Emerald Knights. Layers of enchantments—long believed to be the final works of Corik Stonehammer himself—shimmer faintly in the sun and redirect harmful magic away from its battlements, shielding the defenders against fire, lightning, and necrotic assaults. The north-facing defenses are present but minimal by comparison; this is not a keep that expects retreat.
Within the Keep lies a fully operational armory, smithy, and dwarven forge, allowing the garrison to equip and repair arms without reliance on outside supply. Deep beneath the barracks lies a crypt—a place of reverence and silence where the bones of fallen Emerald Knights rest, some still clad in ceremonial armor. A side wing of the Keep houses a museum vault, displaying relics gathered over decades: cursed blades, confiscated magical tomes, and at least one item believed to hail from the Draconic Age. These artifacts are studied, cataloged, and sometimes feared—but never discarded.
Facing outward toward the Pridelands, Boltbottom bristles with defensive architecture. Massive stone bastions jut from the wall like clenched fists, each one hosting rotating ballistae, cauldron-pour systems, and other siege-thwarting designs known only to the Emerald Knights. Layers of enchantments—long believed to be the final works of Corik Stonehammer himself—shimmer faintly in the sun and redirect harmful magic away from its battlements, shielding the defenders against fire, lightning, and necrotic assaults. The north-facing defenses are present but minimal by comparison; this is not a keep that expects retreat.
Within the Keep lies a fully operational armory, smithy, and dwarven forge, allowing the garrison to equip and repair arms without reliance on outside supply. Deep beneath the barracks lies a crypt—a place of reverence and silence where the bones of fallen Emerald Knights rest, some still clad in ceremonial armor. A side wing of the Keep houses a museum vault, displaying relics gathered over decades: cursed blades, confiscated magical tomes, and at least one item believed to hail from the Draconic Age. These artifacts are studied, cataloged, and sometimes feared—but never discarded.
Purpose / Function
Boltbottom Keep serves as the central nerve of Corik’s Wall, acting as both the strategic command center and logistical backbone for the Emerald Knights who patrol and defend the length of the Wall. Built at the site of Graev’s Gate, the only sanctioned crossing through the massive barrier separating Ilithi from the Pridelands, the Keep’s primary purpose is simple and singular: to contain potential threats, both magical and mortal, from passing northward unchallenged.
Designed as the most fortified bastion on the Wall, Boltbottom is both a symbol of vigilance and a last bastion of resistance should anything breach the southern wilderness. It coordinates patrol rotations, manages the passage and clearance of travelers through the Gate, and stores not only weapons and rations but knowledge—maps, scrolls, and intelligence reports from across Ilithi and beyond. While other fortresses maintain the Wall’s span, Boltbottom makes the decisions, and in times of crisis, it becomes the war room from which the entire southern border is held.
Designed as the most fortified bastion on the Wall, Boltbottom is both a symbol of vigilance and a last bastion of resistance should anything breach the southern wilderness. It coordinates patrol rotations, manages the passage and clearance of travelers through the Gate, and stores not only weapons and rations but knowledge—maps, scrolls, and intelligence reports from across Ilithi and beyond. While other fortresses maintain the Wall’s span, Boltbottom makes the decisions, and in times of crisis, it becomes the war room from which the entire southern border is held.
Architecture
Boltbottom Keep is a study in durability through design—a fortress where form follows function with grim elegance. Originally carved and constructed by master dwarven engineers during the rise of Corik’s Wall, its foundations are fused directly into the stone of the barrier itself. Every arch and lintel, every buttress and parapet, echoes the dwarven emphasis on permanence, with angular designs, deeply chiseled reliefs, and stone so dense it rings like metal when struck. The walls are tiered and reinforced, allowing defenders to move between levels quickly while keeping siege equipment from gaining easy purchase.
Over the centuries, however, the Keep has been adapted and layered upon, with visible seams of newer stonework, elven reinforcements, and human craftsmanship. Each addition brings with it a tale: a collapsed tower rebuilt with dark granite, a reinforced gate designed after an orcish incursion, or the inlaid protective runes—some dwarven, others of unknown origin—that pulse softly beneath moonlight. Despite the patchwork of ages, the Keep retains an imposing symmetry, its design focused outward like a clenched fist aimed at the Pridelands.
Most notably, Boltbottom is oriented southward, its strongest defenses facing the wilderness beyond the Wall. Rows of fortified bastions extend from the main keep, equipped with ballistae, alchemical fire-launchers, and narrow murder-holes for boiling oil or molten metal. The highest tower, known colloquially as Corik’s Crown, is both lookout and command post—visible for miles on clear days. Though heavily armed, the Keep is also subtly magical; ancient wards still hum within its stones, deflecting hostile spells and protecting the garrison from the very powers the Wall was built to hold back.
Over the centuries, however, the Keep has been adapted and layered upon, with visible seams of newer stonework, elven reinforcements, and human craftsmanship. Each addition brings with it a tale: a collapsed tower rebuilt with dark granite, a reinforced gate designed after an orcish incursion, or the inlaid protective runes—some dwarven, others of unknown origin—that pulse softly beneath moonlight. Despite the patchwork of ages, the Keep retains an imposing symmetry, its design focused outward like a clenched fist aimed at the Pridelands.
Most notably, Boltbottom is oriented southward, its strongest defenses facing the wilderness beyond the Wall. Rows of fortified bastions extend from the main keep, equipped with ballistae, alchemical fire-launchers, and narrow murder-holes for boiling oil or molten metal. The highest tower, known colloquially as Corik’s Crown, is both lookout and command post—visible for miles on clear days. Though heavily armed, the Keep is also subtly magical; ancient wards still hum within its stones, deflecting hostile spells and protecting the garrison from the very powers the Wall was built to hold back.
Defenses
Boltbottom Keep was not designed to repel armies—it was designed to repel cataclysms. Built directly into the breadth of Corik’s Wall, its southern face is a masterwork of layered, overlapping defenses, each one engineered to ensure that should something emerge from the Pridelands—be it monster, necromancer, or marauding host—it would break upon Boltbottom like a wave against the cliffs.
The outer bastions are angular, sloped, and designed to catch and scatter siege impacts, each housing a rotating bank of ballistae, alchemical cauldrons, and arcane launchers fueled by crystallized power cells—remnants of old Elven war-magics. These are manned day and night, even in peacetime, and trained spotters are drilled weekly in high-priority threat identification, particularly necromantic auras and shadow-based incursions. Beneath the bastions are narrow tunnels and murder-passages, intended for fallback and counter-charge operations should the outer wall be breached.
Set into the wall itself are magical wards and enchantments etched during the final years of Corik Stonehammer’s life—runes whose meanings have been lost to time but whose effects are very much intact. These include deflection matrices that scatter area-of-effect spells, harmonic dampeners that reduce the force of concussive blasts, and wardlight fields that can be triggered during attacks to reveal invisible or extraplanar intrusions. While no modern mage fully understands how they function, none dare tamper with them. The phrase “Don't poke the stones” is a common saying among young recruits.
From the inner courtyard, quick-response teams can be mobilized through a network of interior ramps, pulleys, and dwarven-engineered lifts, allowing the garrison to redeploy within minutes from the upper towers to the gate proper. Atop the towers, signal mirrors and alchemical flare-launchers provide instantaneous communication with nearby watch-forts along Corik’s Wall and even as far as the Crystal Conservatory, should magical assistance be required.
The gate itself, known simply as Graev's Gate, is not a typical drawbridge or portcullis. It is a triple-sealed, stone-bonded passage, reinforced with runic steel and covered in overlapping magical locks—each one needing multiple keyholders, including a ranking member of the Emerald Knights, to authorize opening. On either side of the gate stand statues of Corik and Graev, hollowed out and secretly filled with reserve flamecasters—short-range magical sprayers designed to emit waves of cleansing fire in case of demonic or undead assault.
Should all else fail, the Keep's final line of defense is its collapse protocols—pressure plates and command levers hidden within the inner keep that, if triggered, will cause sections of the upper fortification to collapse inward, sealing Graev’s Gate in a plug of shattered stone and molten slag, rendering the passage utterly impassable. This would likely cost the lives of every defender within—but in the minds of the Knights stationed here, that price is preferable to a second Lyrasbreaking free.
The outer bastions are angular, sloped, and designed to catch and scatter siege impacts, each housing a rotating bank of ballistae, alchemical cauldrons, and arcane launchers fueled by crystallized power cells—remnants of old Elven war-magics. These are manned day and night, even in peacetime, and trained spotters are drilled weekly in high-priority threat identification, particularly necromantic auras and shadow-based incursions. Beneath the bastions are narrow tunnels and murder-passages, intended for fallback and counter-charge operations should the outer wall be breached.
Set into the wall itself are magical wards and enchantments etched during the final years of Corik Stonehammer’s life—runes whose meanings have been lost to time but whose effects are very much intact. These include deflection matrices that scatter area-of-effect spells, harmonic dampeners that reduce the force of concussive blasts, and wardlight fields that can be triggered during attacks to reveal invisible or extraplanar intrusions. While no modern mage fully understands how they function, none dare tamper with them. The phrase “Don't poke the stones” is a common saying among young recruits.
From the inner courtyard, quick-response teams can be mobilized through a network of interior ramps, pulleys, and dwarven-engineered lifts, allowing the garrison to redeploy within minutes from the upper towers to the gate proper. Atop the towers, signal mirrors and alchemical flare-launchers provide instantaneous communication with nearby watch-forts along Corik’s Wall and even as far as the Crystal Conservatory, should magical assistance be required.
The gate itself, known simply as Graev's Gate, is not a typical drawbridge or portcullis. It is a triple-sealed, stone-bonded passage, reinforced with runic steel and covered in overlapping magical locks—each one needing multiple keyholders, including a ranking member of the Emerald Knights, to authorize opening. On either side of the gate stand statues of Corik and Graev, hollowed out and secretly filled with reserve flamecasters—short-range magical sprayers designed to emit waves of cleansing fire in case of demonic or undead assault.
Should all else fail, the Keep's final line of defense is its collapse protocols—pressure plates and command levers hidden within the inner keep that, if triggered, will cause sections of the upper fortification to collapse inward, sealing Graev’s Gate in a plug of shattered stone and molten slag, rendering the passage utterly impassable. This would likely cost the lives of every defender within—but in the minds of the Knights stationed here, that price is preferable to a second Lyrasbreaking free.
"The gate groaned like a dying god when they opened it—not from rust, but from reluctance. Boltbottom doesn’t like to open, you see. It stares southward like an old hound who’s been kicked too many times and knows the boot is coming again. I asked the gatekeeper if it always sounded like that. He just stared at me and said, 'Only when it knows something’s watching.' I didn’t ask another question until we were two miles past the Wall." - Victoria Pendrake, 217AV
Founding Date
18AV
Type
Acropolis / Citadel
Parent Location
Included Locations
Owner
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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