Gracklstugh
History
Gracklstugh (pronounced: /ˈgrɑːkʊlstuːg/ GRAK-ul-stoog7), the City of Blades, was a duergar city on the shores of the Darklake in the Northdark.
Party History
The party decided to come to Gracklstugh to get better equipped and try and find a way to escape the underdark. As they entered the city a gate Sergeant Gorglak requested a bribe in the form of exotic weapons from them, the convinced him to let them go through and they'll pass him what he wants later. Not long from entering however they were arrested by the Stone guard for breaking the very strict laws of the city.
They were held prisoner for a time before being released with a deal from Errde Blackskull, they would act as the stone guards agents for a time and in return gain free passage from the city as well as equipment and gold. They were tasked with investigating the Derro population and hunting down a courrier called Droki, as well as weeding out any corruption in the city.
As they moved around the city there was an attack by a rampaging Stone giant whom they defeated, for this they were granted an audience with the leader of the Stone giants Stonespeaker Hgraam. They were gifted a magical stone crystal as well as a task to discover the cause of what had caused the sudden madness of the stone giant. After some investigating they determined it was due to demonic magic in the city.
The party had also gained the interest of the city's forgewyrm Themberchaud who wanted the party to act as his eyes and ears in the city to discover who might be plotting agaisnt him. Unknown to him the party had also been hired by the Flamekeepers- those who acted as Themberchaud's caretakers, to locate and return a stolen red dragon egg that would act as Themberchaud's replacement as he had grown to strong to control.
After descending into a series of underground caverns below the city the party stopped a mad Derro plot to use the red dragon egg to induce Themberchaud into madness and destroy the city. During which they also discovered that Bupido was a sadistic serial killer that killed their previous companion Eldeth who's ghost had requested the bring her shield back to her home in Gauntlegrym back on the surface. However when they informed the dragon about his egg and replacement he fell into a rage and vowed to destroy the city. Hogie in the destruction that took place as the forgewyrm first started his rampage managed to hatch the egg in the dragons fire breath.
The party joined forces with the Stone guard to defend the Deepking from the dragons rampage and managed to subdue him and convince him to surrender. After the battle and a rest they were granted an audience with the king so he could express his gratitude, during this however they discovered that the King's consort was a succubus who had been manipulating him. The party forced her to retreat and earned great status within the city. In the aftermath Moss decided to stay in the city and work with her new lover Errde Blackskull while Hogie decided to venture the underdark to raise the dragon cub.
Inhabitants
The city was mainly home to duergar, but there was a sizable minority of derro who lived there, as well as a number of durzagon, orogs, and stone giants. A third of the total population consisted of slaves, namely goblins, shield dwarves, orcs, svirfneblin, and humans.
The city hosted many visiting merchants, especially drow, duergar, and kuo-toa. Foreigners were required to obtain writs of passage for passage through the city (beyond the docks district) and its territories.
The current King of Gracklstugh is Deepking Horgar Steelshadow V, with Themberchaud as the current forgewyrm, with Stonespeaker Hgraam as the leader of the Stone giants community and Errde Blackskull as captain of the Stone guard.
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