The Gnomes in the Walls
Additional information about hex 29.14
Far, far in the past, before the gods went to war, the one called Alberon who was not yet a god commissioned the construction of his city walls. It was the dwarves he called upon to make them, for none build like the dwarves, but it was the giants who provided the materials. In exchange for a marvellous gift, the giants agreed to supply the dwarves with Giants' Mortar. It was well known in those days that this was a euphemism; the giants had the same mortar as everyone else, the difference was in the gnomes who came with it.
Inside the walls of the City of Many Windows were built a thousand tiny tunnels and chambers for gnomes to dwell in. Such is the skilled masonry of the gnomes that they are able to sustain the walls they inhabit indefinitely, rebuilding any breaches and repairing all wear and tear. Those who made war on the giants in those days would knock down their walls with catapults on one day, only to find them totally rebuilt on the morrow. Thus it was that the City grew proud of their fearsome battlements.
But much later, during the Chimerical Siege and after the Shutters had been closed, it was the walls that betrayed the city. At the crucial moment, when the armies of Blackhorn (39.32) surrounded the city, the gnomes betrayed their ancient contract and let the walls crumble. Only through the efforts of the Soiled Champion was the attack subsequently repelled. During this battle it was the dwarven quarter of the city that was hit hardest, being almost completely razed to the ground. Even to this day few dwarves dwell in the Shuttered City. The dwarven king, Daram Os, was mortally wounded, but with his dying breath he cursed the gnomes who had betrayed him. Butchered by the vengeful men of Shuttered, the gnomes' spirits were trapped in the walls and forced to continue in death the work that they failed to complete in life.
Today, it is whispered that the ghosts of the gnomes can still be heard tapping on the inside of the walls on moonless nights. As the Shuttered City sinks into the earth, the gnomes build the walls up higher, giving the impression that they are not sinking at all. The deep dwarves who visit the walls on a yearly basis are not architects; they are descendants of Daram Os, ensuring that his death-curse remains strong.
Hooks:
- What was Alberon before he was a god?
- What was the gift given to the giants? Is it still around (i.e. stealable)?
- Who made war on the giants in those ancient days?
- We know that Blackhorn's Maze was an outpost for the minotaur army, but who was Blackhorn himself? (Herself?)
- Who was the Soiled Champion and how did he repel the minotaurs?
- What is built on the dwarven quarter of the City now?
- What would happen if the descendants of Daram Os were interrupted? Would the gnome ghosts be released from the walls?
- There are other wall-dwelling gnomes even in the present day. What do they think about the walls of Shuttered?
Additional information about hex 29.14
Far, far in the past, before the gods went to war, the one called Alberon who was not yet a god commissioned the construction of his city walls. It was the dwarves he called upon to make them, for none build like the dwarves, but it was the giants who provided the materials. In exchange for a marvellous gift, the giants agreed to supply the dwarves with Giants' Mortar. It was well known in those days that this was a euphemism; the giants had the same mortar as everyone else, the difference was in the gnomes who came with it.
Inside the walls of the City of Many Windows were built a thousand tiny tunnels and chambers for gnomes to dwell in. Such is the skilled masonry of the gnomes that they are able to sustain the walls they inhabit indefinitely, rebuilding any breaches and repairing all wear and tear. Those who made war on the giants in those days would knock down their walls with catapults on one day, only to find them totally rebuilt on the morrow. Thus it was that the City grew proud of their fearsome battlements.
But much later, during the Chimerical Siege and after the Shutters had been closed, it was the walls that betrayed the city. At the crucial moment, when the armies of Blackhorn (39.32) surrounded the city, the gnomes betrayed their ancient contract and let the walls crumble. Only through the efforts of the Soiled Champion was the attack subsequently repelled. During this battle it was the dwarven quarter of the city that was hit hardest, being almost completely razed to the ground. Even to this day few dwarves dwell in the Shuttered City. The dwarven king, Daram Os, was mortally wounded, but with his dying breath he cursed the gnomes who had betrayed him. Butchered by the vengeful men of Shuttered, the gnomes' spirits were trapped in the walls and forced to continue in death the work that they failed to complete in life.
Today, it is whispered that the ghosts of the gnomes can still be heard tapping on the inside of the walls on moonless nights. As the Shuttered City sinks into the earth, the gnomes build the walls up higher, giving the impression that they are not sinking at all. The deep dwarves who visit the walls on a yearly basis are not architects; they are descendants of Daram Os, ensuring that his death-curse remains strong.
Hooks:
- What was Alberon before he was a god?
- What was the gift given to the giants? Is it still around (i.e. stealable)?
- Who made war on the giants in those ancient days?
- We know that Blackhorn's Maze was an outpost for the minotaur army, but who was Blackhorn himself? (Herself?)
- Who was the Soiled Champion and how did he repel the minotaurs?
- What is built on the dwarven quarter of the City now?
- What would happen if the descendants of Daram Os were interrupted? Would the gnome ghosts be released from the walls?
- There are other wall-dwelling gnomes even in the present day. What do they think about the walls of Shuttered?