DM Rumours of the Upperdark

[Ghost]

Some days ago, the Svirfneblin of Rockrun closed their kingdom completely, the Tunnelrunners turning away all outsiders, including other Deep Gnomes. Today, the illusory walls near Rockrun faded out of existence, revealing the settlement empty. No traces of where the gnomes went, nor any of their belongings left behind save three graves and two shrines to Callarduran, holy sites.

Rumours begin to spread around the Upperdark. The Titanfist duergar immediately send scouts to check out the place, weighing the potential for reclaiming their old kingdom. There's talk of a new king, though no names have been mentioned yet.

But there are other interested parties as well.

Nearby ((DM map)) a large number of various creatures in the underdark, lead by a powerful ulitharid and his three illithid lieutenants have set up a temporary camp. Any who come near former Rockrun will be spoken to telepathically by one of the three illithids warning them that this is now Supreme Mindlord Scperxatl's realm. And that those who aid him in driving out competition will be welcome within his realm to trade and do business once it is established and fortified.

Another group, known as the Company of the Blue Lantern, lead by a half sapphire dragon presenting himself as General Morex Ulharaurix. He leads a host of warriors, many of them earth genasi. Allied to this group are three human warriors of the Ibrandulin order Knights Fallen, and five drow: A priestess of Eilistraee and her four rangers. General Morex has made it clear that he seeks to establish a safe haven, well defended against the dangers and evils of the Underdark. For now, they are camped in some tunnels east of Rockrun ((DM map)).

(( Hello, players of the upperdark and underdark. Today begins a plot (that I intend to keep relatively short) to resettle Rockrun. How Rockrun is ruled and what it looks like after this plot, depends on how the players of the upperdark and underdark act and who they side with. This plot will be my main focus until it is completed, and I have some devs on hand to help me out when the time comes to complete the plot.

As you no doubt will notice after the update this Sunday, Rockrun is completely empty of NPCs. This is in other words only temporary, and the old functionalities will return (or be replaced by similar things - or some of them may be moved elsewhere and something entirely new will appear in Rockrun) at the plot's completion. This is your chances to affect how this place will be shaped.

I will be running random stuff in the area in the days to come, but also if you have specific actions you want to perform and can't catch me online, send me a PM and lets schedule it! ))

[Ghost]

A group of duergar warriors can be found lying dead in front of the entrance of what once was Rockrun. Most of them slain by conventional weaponry, but a few of them stripped down to their bones with magic, a curse lingering upon the remains. In the area where the bodies lie, residual magical effects can be found as well. Something terrible happened to these duergar, and the Titanfist have become more scarce and defensive because of it.

[Ghost]

The titanfist who vied for power in Rockrun now seems scattered and disorganised again. Whispered rumours in the upperdark is that the king and his closest advisors were killed by a group of dwarves from the surface. The tension grows now, between the remaining two groups - the Company of the Blue Lantern and the illithids under Supreme Mindlord Scperxatl.

[Ghost]

A half-sapphire dragon wandered through the old Titanfist mines, seemingly on his way to the surface, leaving a trail of corpses of Titanfist remnants in his wake.

[Ghost]

The battle of Rockrun

Magical explosion, blade against shield and cries of war echoed throughout the tunnels near Rockrun, as a great battle for its dominion began. Within Rockun, the soldiers of the Company of the Blue Lantern and their close allies had taken a great risk: They had run in and started to barricade and fortify, locking the entirety of Rockrun dimensionally, so no armies could be teleported in behind them. A funnel - a bottleneck was created. Even so, when the attack began, many soldiers fell, and the defenders had to retreat back to the next barricades, and then even further back.

Finally, however, the plan they had made with the dwarves of Kraak Helzak came in from behind the enemy ranks, flanking them. Victory was within reach!

And then, the illithids themselves arrived, with more mindthrall warriors, flanking the dwarves. They had anticipated this move - or perhaps someone had tipped them of? Even so, the combined might of the defenders and the dwarves proved too much for the illithids and their remaining forces. And so the Blue Lantern took a victory. However, it was a costly one, and many earth genasi and dwarves alike fell.

---

After the battle, the Company of the Blue Lantern sent soldiers to aid carry the fallen dwarves back home in dignity and honour.

Now begins the rebuilding of Rockrun. Proper fortification and resettlement. General Morex Ulharaurix can be seen wandering around - sometimes hand in hand with the drow priestess of Eilistraee Yluene, and other times side-by-side with his good friend Knight-Captain Gybbs of the ibrandulyn Knights Fallen - speaking with his people directing them and aiding them where it is needed. The sapphire-half dragon carries a solemn expression however, mourning the deaths of many of his soldiers and his new dwarven allies. Celebration will come later, perhaps. Now, there is work to do.

[DM Winter]

The caverns of the Upperdark mostly experience frequent but mild earthquakes, with a few strong ones that collapse routes or fill the caverns with rubble.

In a peculiar event throughout the caves, some plants go through all their life stages in a matter of hours. From a sprout and seedling to a fully formed tree that soon withers and dies, leaving behind seeds to restart the process.

The old Rockrun, now being rebuilt by the Company of the Blue Lantern and its allies, sees itself mostly intact. Though in a harmless occurrence, many of the rocks around the settlement turned strange colours, from green to blue and yellow, and even pure white or black. One even had a stripped pattern. And another tasted like very well seasoned meat. The genasi that found that out was laughed at. Many others tried the rock soon after.

[Ghost]

A rumour spreads from the now settled Rockrun that it is to henceforth be known as Blue Lantern Keep. With the rumours come also a calling from its leader, General Morex Ulharaurix, that they are looking to hire legal experts to help them formulate the local laws. Prospects for this are asked to write an application for the job.