Gol Murak

"Negotiations with the dwarves proceed exceptionally well. While they are too proud to admit it, their desperation is obvious - the creation of the Grand Road could decide over the survival of their entire nation. We were promised a staggering amount of precious metals and jewels, and secured the cooperation of a number of old and infirm dwarven mine overseers and engineers. While these are not strong enough to do any engineering work by themselves (otherwise they would probably have been sent to the front lines already), their experiences will be invaluable in this project. I recommend hiring as many translators capable of speaking dwarvish as soon as possible.
On a related note, I disagree with board member Ficaccio about trying to gain even more concessions from the dwarves. They are honorable and will abide by any agreement we make with them, but if the
Grand Road is to become a success, we need them as willing trade partners, vital way station, and strong allies - and we won't get that if they become resentful of the terms we impose on them."
- Bartolo Gandobardi, Letter to the Chairman of the Grand Road Rail Company of Alassia


Capital:
Population: 2,347,840 (dwarves 96%, gnomes 3%)
Government: Monarchy with strong clan influence
Imports:
Exports:

Gol Murak is a kingdom under siege. The dwarves are threatened by enemies from all directions, whether the surathi from the south, the goblin, orc, and kobold tribes from north, or the daresh and other subterranean monstrosities from below. The inhabitants are a fatalistic and dour lot, and are distrustful of all outsiders.
However, in the recent decade a small ray of hope has come from the Grand Road, as the transcontinental subterranean railroad built by the Parginian city of Alassia slowly nears Gol Murak. This railroad, if it reaches them, would create a safe and fast supply route for the beleagured dwarves and help their war effort immensely. While some dwarves distrust the humans and demanded to keep the humans away, saner heads have prevailed, and the dwarves do their best to keep the passageways around the Grand Road clear of enemies. However, this shift in the dwarven forces has not gone unnoticed by the Snake Kingdoms, who are pressing the dwarves harder than ever - sensing that if they don't crush the dwarves now, they might never get the chance.

Industries

Life and Society

Government and Politics

Groups and Organisations

Religion

Important NPCs

Major Geographical Features

Important Towns and Cities

Akthūl (Large City, 278,613): The southernmost city remaining in dwarven hands, Akthūl is a city under constant siege. Young dwarves are constantly sent of to this city to fight on the front lines, but the rate of attrition is greater still. Akthūl was never intended to be a fortress town, and thus its defenses have some flaws mercilessly exploited by the invaders, and it is a testament to the ingenuity and tenacity of the dwarves that they have held it for so long. But with the recent renewed fury of the surathi, many are afraid that the end is near.
Barandul (Small Metropolis, 523,117): The capital of Fol Murak, Barandul still stands proud and defiant against the invaders, even though its gargantuan halls seem increasingly empty as more and more of the population have gone off to die in the war. Apart from being the seat of the king, the city has the vital job of producing the tools of war for the soldiers of the kingdom. Its mines are worked frantically, even though they are beginning to exhaust themselves, and its smiths work day and night to create more axes and armor for the troops.
Karbazulān (City, 193,745): This city serves as the main agricultural center of Gol Murak, and its gigantic subterranean mushroom farms feed much of the kingdom. However, these days the mushrooms are mainly tended by dwarves unable to fight in the war because of injuries or old age, and its output has declined markedly over the course of the last century.
What's worse, in recent months the farms have come under attack by a large variety of giant insects and similar pests, threatening the harvests. Surathi influence is suspected, but not known for sure.
Narūl (City, 117,822): The main religious center and necopolis of Gol Angor. Most dwarves want to be buried in Narūl if at all possible. If their body is irretrievable (usually because they have fallen in battle behind enemy lines), their families pay the priests of Narūl to light a candle and periodically exchange it with new ones to keep their light burning forever. With the constant war against the Surathi, there are now many huge halls in the city which are filled by an ocean of candle-lights.
Uzulār (Small City, 52,892): The site of the most abundant gem stone mines in the Known Lands, the name of the city is known to jewelers far and wide, and its products can still command premium prices. However, with the ongoing distractions of the War (and now, the Grand Road), both the quantity and the quality of its output have declined. As with Karbazulān, the city is now inhabited mostly by people unfit to fight for one reason or another.
Currently a human mining company is offering to mine the gem lodes for the dwarves in exchange for a cut of the profit, but the negotiations with the proud dwarves are proving difficult.
Zunal (City, 175,331): The northermost city of Gol Murak, Zunal has long served as a trading outpost with other races. In old times it was responsible for much of the wealth of the realm as traders came from faraway places to barter for dwarf-made goods and gem stones. But over the course of the last two centuries its fortunes have declined, as less and less dwarves can be spared to produce tradeworthy goods.
Now Zunal has become the intended way station of the Grand Road in the dwarven kindom, and its fortunes might yet be reversed. But now many surathi infiltrators mingle with the foreign traders, and assassinations and other acts of sabotage have become frequent.

Important Sites

Dundulir: The dwarves of Gol Murak did not always dwell exclusively underground. In old times, there were many settlements built mostly on the surface of the mountains, and Dundulir was the greatest of them. But 1,200 years ago, Gol Grungor signed a treaty of mutual support with the Atalan Empire, which at the time was at war with the blue dragons of the Desert of Thunder. The dragons retaliated, and destroyed the city of Dundulir in a single night. The shocked dwarves retreated underground and broke off all contact with the surface. The ruins of Dundulir, of which no dwarf will speak to outsiders, remain, but they have become the abode of fell beasts, and now small groups of surathi seeking new entrances to the dwarven realm.

Regional History

Adventuring in Gol Murak

Adventure Seeds



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