Gracklstugh
Gracklstugh (pronounced: /ˈgrɑːkʊlstuːg/ GRAK-ul-stoog), the City of Blades, was a Duergar city on the shores of the Darklake in the Northdark.
Infrastructure
Gracklstugh was a cavern city that sloped down on the eastern side to join the Darklake as a subterranean port. The city was lit by the firelight of smelters and foundries mingling among stalagmites. The air smelled acrid and was filled with industrial sounds: fire, steam, and iron ringing.The persistent smog that filled the cavern could cause a persistent and sometimes fatal cough, known as grackle-lung.
Laduguer's Furrow, also known as "the Cleft," split the city in half north-south. Bridges connected the higher city to the lakeside districts. The west side was off-limits to foreigners.
History
Gracklstugh was founded in −3717 DR by duergar escaping the fall of Deep Shanatar and the subsequent enslavement of many gray dwarves in Oryndoll.
In −3392 DR, King Horgar Steelshadow II began uniting the duergar clans in and around Gracklstugh, creating the Deepkingdom. Over the past few centuries, however, the Deepkingdom narrowing its reach to the city itself and its close environs.
The Deepkingdom's might began falling during the Deepbear Battles against the quaggoths from −1803 DR to ca. −1350 DR.
Around the 14th century DR, King Tarngardt Steelshadow (grandfather of Horgar Steelshadow IV; king since 972 DR[5]) was manipulated and controlled by the Council of Savants. Upon his demise, Horgar IV took the throne but recognized the threat of the savants and planned to kill or at least expel all the derro in Gracklstugh.
In 1372 DR, Horgar used the Silence of Lolth and the weakness of the followers of Lolth as an excuse to attack the Drow city of Menzoberranzan and thus cement his power over his lairds. He allied with Nimor Imphraezl of the Jaezred Chaulssin to further his goals. Under his prompting, Horgar led his army to success against the drow at the Pillars of Woe and gained additional allies: the Scourged Legion of Kaanyr Vhok and the traitorous drow House Agrach Dyrr, also aligned with the Jaezred Chaulssin. Referred to as the Siege of Menzoberranzan, the allies then marched against the drow city and besieged it for several months.
On Ches 28, 1373 DR, the Silence of Lolth ended and Lolth's priestesses regained their powers. Kaanyr Vhok subsequently recalled his forces to Hellgate Keep; the remaining duergar were easily defeated and turned back. The siege officially ended on Ches 30.
As the duergar army retreated, Nimor swept in and killed Horgar Steelshadow IV.
Following Horgar IV's death, Horgar Steelshadow V ascended to the throne.
After days of walking in the deep, dark places beneath the surface, I was led, in heavy chains, to Gracklstugh, on the shores of the Darklake. I was set to work almost immediately at a forge, to pump bellows, heft ingots, and carry barrels of quenching oil. The place is called the City of Blades, for good reason: the fine steel of the duergar is impressive, considering the quality of the iron they were starting with. Hammering, refining, and careful polishing gave the metal the strength and sleekness necessary, and diligent sharpening added wicked edges to many of the blades I handled. The duergar make their homes mainly beyond a great wall, which I never passed through. To the north, the floor of the cavern that contains the Darklake hovers dangerously low, such that in some places it is barely ten feet above the water’s surface. The whole of the great cavern glows, and the continuous flow of hot iron through the city gives the illumination a yellow cast at all times. It is frightening, if you forget where you are. More than that, it is hot. After a month or so of working under a minor smith, I quarreled with the apprentice set to supervise me, and he dared me to test the strength of his new blade. It broke, as I expected, but did the job well enough. The duergar didn’t seem to be angry that the apprentice lay dead at my feet, but it was only a short time thereafter that I was dragged off to the market to be sold. As it happened, a human was in the city on some diplomatic mission. I caught his eye, and he purchased me.
Type
City
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