Catacombs
People have also referred to the system of limestone caves that line the Cliffs of Talbourne behind Phelandria as the Catacombs even before they held the remains of thousands after the tragic events of 580 AC. The Guild may have disposed of a few bodies in the winding warren of tunnels over the first nearly eight centuries of the city's existence, but that hardly counts as a tomb. When Verdun scraped the city from the cliffs, however, the outer caves collapsed and filled with both bodies and debris. Even deeper in the cliff the topography shifted the seismic activity caused by collision, rendering the cartographic efforts of generations of spelunkers obsolete.
Today the Catacombs refer to both the nearly impassible, rubble strewn perimeter and the cave system proper. The perimeter remains largely untouched and unexplored, huge rock piles, dead end passages, and of course, the skeletal remains of poor souls. Unstable at rest, the perimeter resists exploration with its instability as efforts to excavate it require painstaking structural engineering to avoid tunnel collapses. Many claim that this instability, not a lack of funding, ultimately drove Nerrid archeologists away from the site. Regardless of the cause, their endeavor proved what many had expected, that this part of that Catacombs hides a trove of historical artifacts and, if one could find them, treasures of the lost city.
While the most obvious routes through the ruined tunnels around the perimeter of the Catacombs lie in Moleville courtesy of the Nerrid, others have dug out a number of other safe routes to reach the natural caves themselves. Most have their entrances hidden in the root cellars of the cliff clinging buildings, their locations rumored but rarely confirmed. For a small fee residents of buildings with such portals grant passage to thrill seekers, explorers, and most commonly members of the guild, The sheer population of Phelandria means that these caverns and paths deep within Talbourne Cliffs see a fair amount of traffic, making them emptier of dangerous creatures and other hazards common to spelunking. Indeed, the Guild's presence here may count as the most hazardous denizens as they dislike anyone intruding upon what they see as their territory. A smattering of maps even find their way in the stalls of the Market Table, though buyers have little guarantee as to whether they describe the system before or after Verdun's impact.
One of the Catacombs Many Waterlogged Tunnels
Few residents have enough knowledge to safely navigate the maze of passages. For the right price however, one might procure a guide to lead them from one part of Phelandria to another, providing a way to move through the city undetected. Stories of at least one route directly behind Talbourne Falls if true, mean that one could even travel from Evenglow to Dawnlight inconspicuously. Legends also tell of a stone gateway deep in the Catacombs that connect to parts of Tarien thousands of miles distant, though others claim to have found this gateway as nothing more than stone archway that simply leads to the other side of the archway.
Type
Cave System
Location under
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)