Harkstone's Hold
The great cave of Harkstone’s
Hold itself is a grand and natural grotto, with four excavated
caverns nestled in its four corners.
The ceiling of the central
chamber is a grand dome, reaching a height of nearly 100' in the
center of the room. Numerous stalactites hang down from this sweeping
roof, in several places joining with stalagmites to form tall and
graceful columns.
Located
more than three miles beneath the surface of the earth, this network
of caverns is nevertheless a crossroads of commerce, news, and even
migration among the denizens of the Underdark. It is a place where
creatures of different races. Often peoples separated by a long
history of bloodfeud and racial war, come together in uneasy truce,
trading for goods that would otherwise be unobtainble in the
lightless passages snaking their way through the rock and dirt of the
world.
Harkstone’s
Hold is one of the few places where members of two underground races,
the drow and the svirfneblin, will meet without coming to blows. And
even here, in the market, the relations between these two ancient
enemies are maintained with as much distance as possible, each group
having a separate cave for use as a warehouse.
Two
other cultures are represented in Harkstone’s Hold, and if they do
not share as much mutual hate as the deep gnomes and the drow, their
members enter Harkstone’s Hold with weapons close at hand, and eyes
searching for the first indications of treachery.
The latter two groups are the
duergar, the dark dwarves. Hailing from caverns even below those of
the drow and the deep gnomes, and brave surface dwellers who
cHoldenge the darkness in search of the tremendous profits that can
be gained here. For those who come back alive.
Harkstone’s Hold is a
well-known gathering place in the Underdark.
The
caverns of the market can be approached from above (by surface
dwellers) through dry, dark tunnels, or via a winding and rapid
underground stream; those dwelling below Harkstone’s Hold
(primarily the duergar) can reach it only by crossing the waters of a
deep and deceptively placid subterranean lake. Routes for the drow
and the svirfneblin reach the marketplace via any of the two routes,
though the merchants of both races prefer the dry, overland route.
The Law of Harkstone’s Hold
Even in the Underdark there is
honor among thieves, and this might be the motto of Harkstone’s
Hold. There are only a few prohibited acts here, but they are rigidly
prohibited.
Anyone who attempts to violate
one of these tenets will most likely be caught; and if caught, he
will be shown no mercy.
(He will be shown the lake,
however, including its bottom, which the offender will be sent to
visit, wrapped in heavy iron chains.)
The prohibited acts:
Overt
thievery: The
goods in Harkstone’s Hold are carefully watched by their guards. In
addition, each of the mushroom grove stalls is studded with
shriekers; if anything is removed from a display by someone not
attuned to that market, the shriekers will shriek.
Disguise
of goods for barter. The use of illusions or phantasms to improve the
apparent worth of objects sold, or used to purchase, or even simple
counterfeiting, such as plating copper pieces with gold, is
considered as bad as outright theft.
Use
of magic to aid negotiation:
Again, this is considered the same as robbery, and there are enough
magic detections, proofs against charms, and the like to insure that
this is a very risky proposition.
As far as lies spoken during the
course of negotiation, the rule is, “Let the buyer beware!”
A merchant can make any kinds of
claims he wants to, without being held to them. Those who deal in the
Harkstone’s Hold are advised to carefully examine any purchased
items before the deal is closed.
Violators
of the actual covenants will, as mentioned, be wrapped in chains and
thrown into the lake. If the powers-that-be in the market decide that
the thief and his party entered the market for the purpose of
violating the covenant, then all the companions of the sentenced one
may face a similar punishment. The burden of proof, incidentally,
rests on the convict’s companions, they are assumed to be guilty,
and must prove their innocence.
By
tradition, all transactions take place at the stall of the seller. If
a trade is involved. for example, drow trading gems to the svirfnebli
in exchange for salt, then the party that wishes to initiate the deal
goes to the stall of the other. Though it has little practical
effect, it is considered a matter of some status in the marketplace
to draw the customer to you instead of you going to him.
Harkstone's
Hold
The mushroom market in the drow
quarter crouches like a huge spider over the trickling stream
coursing through the cavern.
Entrance can be gained through
any of four doors, one at each point of the compass. No portals guard
these entrances, nor are they guarded, anyone in Harkstone’s Hold
is welcome to enter the sweet-smelling den within.
Incense, made from powdered
fungus, burns in several niches around the large, circular central
room. Unlike the deep gnomes, the drow stall is centered in this one
area, where all purchases are resolved.
One
enters this sanctum through a low arch of mushroom caps; within, the
ceiling rises to a little more than 6’, so most visitors can stand
upright.
The chief negotiator for the
drow’ in fact, she must approve all sales and purchases, is
Yyssisiryl, a drow priestess who is attached to House Catanzaro, it
has alliances officially (yet who is very much a creature of House
Ildorno).
This
building serves as the headquarters for the enforcers employed by the
Harkstone to keep order in the Harkstone’s Hold. Brugg, the ogre,
leads the enforcers.
The duergar warehouse is a messy
and dirty place, fully in keeping with the messy and dirty nature of
its occupants. Like the warehouse of the svirfnebli, it is protected
by magical wards and barriers to guarantee privacy, no one can
teleport into the chamber or use spells or items of scrying to spy
upon the area.
Not that there’s much to see,
in this case.
Some
thirty or forty duergar live here permanently, squabbling and
brawling among themselves when they have no external rivals to focus
upon. They keep relatively little treasure here.the spiders of a
caravan wait around until after the sale, so that they can take the
proceeds back to Gracknulb when they depart.
4 Duergar
Market
The
gray dwarves maintain a vigorous presence in Harkstone’s Hold,
cantankerously bartering with traveling merchants and squabbling with
residents of the other quarters about such things as water use (a
steady bone of contention with the deep gnomes), excessive noise,
smoke and odors (especially the drow incense) and anything else that
serves as an excuse for a fight.
Indeed, the duergar make such
obnoxious neighbors that the other races would be tempted to drive
them from Harkstone’s Hold, except for one important fact: The gray
dwarves make the finest steel blades in the Underdark.
Duergar blades are the starting
component of the finest drow swords, and many enchanted weapons on
the surface have begun with the silvery cold, razor-sharp product of
a gray dwarf forge. Blades long and short, broadsword and rapier, axe
and dagger, all are brought to Harkstone’s Hold in well-defended
caravans. As a result, the market is one of the premier locations in
the Underdark for the trading of such rare acquisitions.
The
duergar are ruthless auctioneers, and will exploit the existing
demand as much as possible before selling their weapons, playing off
drow against human, ogre against deep gnome. In this way they sell
their goods quickly, and gain the maximum profit.
The
duergar here represent an outpost from their distant realm of
Gracknulb, a teeming city located even deeper in the earth than
Kalan-G’eld and Glimmerfell.
The
gray dwarves travel a portion of their journey by boat, crossing the
Darklake in narrow barges to landings ten miles away. From there,
Gracknulb is still a hundred miles of rough passage away, indeed, no
drow, deep gnome, or human knows precisely where the city of the
duergar lies.
The small
shrine dedicated to Lolth, Queen of the Spiders, has been established
in the Hold. Inhabitants of the Hold often stop by to drop a few
coins in the coffers and say a prayer before setting out into the
Underdark. The priestess Phaledra tends to the shrine.
The
drow contingent in Harkstone’s Hold is controlled by Kalan-G’eld.
Still, that great metropolis is some 25 miles distant, and so the
drow who control the markets maintain a good deal of independence
from their cousins in the city. The dark elves are recent additions
to the market.though they have been here for more than a thousand
years, both the duergar and the svirfnebli had traded in Harkstone’s
Hold for centuries before then.
The market represents several
opportunities for the hateful and chaotic dark elves.
The
chance to trade for items that would otherwise be completely
unavailable to them.
In
return, they offer several types of treasure, available for barter.
These include enchanted weapons and armor, useful primarily in the
Underdark, of course, though in certain instances such treasures can
be taken onto the surface.as well as objects of art, and various
types of magical treasures and spells created by the mages of
Kalan-G’eld.
7
Harkstone’s Mansion
This
building is where Severus Harkstone, lives.
People who
take up residence in the Harkstone’s Hold are welcome to pick out
any side chamber not in use. These cramped chambers are known as the
Pigeonholes. Most of the occupants are human, kobolds, or dwarf
laborers who are down on their luck and hoping to make some gold
working in the Hold.
In addition
to the Pigeonholes shown on the map, dozens more are situated higher
on the cavern walls and scattered throughout the nearby passegeways.
9 The
Deep Stair
This passage
leads to a stairway that descends about 100 feet before meeting a
well-marked tunnel that leads to the Underdark.
10 The
Half-moon Inn
This large
building sits against the side of the Hold and serves as a trading
post, taproom, and inn. The half-elves of the Half-moon family run
the place, stocking a variety of foodstuffs and other goods obtained
from Half-moon posts in neighboring lands. Unless the adventurers
decide to stay in the Pigeonholes, the Half-moon offers the only
accommodations in the Hold.
Erra
Half-moon runs the inn whose pleasant manner hides an iron backbone.
She has built the inn into a profitable enterprise for her family.
This lake is
created by the natural dripping of the surface water, here is where
the Law of Harkstone’s Hold is imparted.
The
deep gnomes maintain a steady commerce in Harkstone’s Hold; rumor
has it that the market was originally formed by the gnomes, though
its origins are lost in antiquity so it is doubtful that the truth
will ever be known.
The
gnomish portion of the market is known for several things: gems (of
course); magical items that are made of, or affect, stone and earth;
and, finally, salt. Ironically, it is the latter product that has
given the svirfnebli their important status in the bazaar, for they
have cornered the market on salt in this portion of the Underdark.
Wherever the gnomes excavate the stuff, they keep its location a
carefully guarded secret.
13
House
Catanzaro
A
merchant company headquartered in Turelve, House Catanzaro maintains
a trading post in the Harkstone’s Hold. It deals in surface goods,
such as wine, ale, leatherwork, and woodwork, trading with the
subterranean folk who come to the Harkstone’s Hold.
The
trading post is a stout building made of stone blocks taken from the
ruins of the surface. It includes living space for five clerks, four
guards, and Noristo Catanzaro.
Enclosed by
a rampart, the trading post of the Clan Horslavin duergar appears as
a fortress. The duergar trade rare ores, gemstones, liquor, poison,
and alchemical reagents from the Underdark for goods from the surface
that they can take back to their homeland to sell.
The head of
the post is Kedhira, a duergar Magus. She is curt and suspicious but
unusually civil and honest for a duergar. Four duergar guards are
always present at the post.
An
expatriate drow with an eyepatch and a predatory grin, the rogue
Relonyrd trades in old treasures from everywere. He is smug and
greedy, having left behind the Lolth-worshiping ways of his people
years ago when his family lost their status in the interminable
vendettas of drow society.
Relonyrd recovers some of his wares himself, but he prefers to pay others to risk life and limb in the Underdark. Sometimes he commissions adventurers to seek out specific treasures. Relonyrd is a great source of information about the ruins, but he doesn't offer anything without a price; the more exclusive the information, the higher its cost.
Relonyrd recovers some of his wares himself, but he prefers to pay others to risk life and limb in the Underdark. Sometimes he commissions adventurers to seek out specific treasures. Relonyrd is a great source of information about the ruins, but he doesn't offer anything without a price; the more exclusive the information, the higher its cost.
This
large building is where the deep gnomes keep their valuable objects
for barter, as well as the goods and gold that they take in
trade.
It is similar in floorspace to the other four warehouses, but is
ceiling is a little more than 3, above the floor!
Most
of the warehouse is full, mostly with salt. Blocks of the stuff are
stored in huge masses, forming narrow and winding corridors between
them. In places, loose salt is mounded on the floor, and in others it
is stored in the leather sacks that are used to sell it in smaller
quantities.
17
Surface Market
This is the
most raucous and bustling portion of Harkstone’s Hold, for this is
the area of those who long for the sun, and for the most part have
not fully reconciled themselves to life below the surface.
Of
all the quarters of the market, this is the one that most resembles a
marketplace in a city of humans’ a wide variety of goods is offered
here, and the negotiations are performed out in the open, often in
loud debate.
Though
very few surface dwellers know of the existence of Harkstone’s
Hold, those who do take advantage of that fact to bring an assortment
of goods here, and they invariably depart with a hefty profit to show
for their efforts.
The
goods from the surface are unique and, often, otherwise unobtainable
to the creatures of the Underdark. Items brought down from above
include alcoholic beverages of all kinds (with whisky preferred),
perfumes, spices, paper and wood, cloth of cotton or silk, and spells
that have been de-
18 The
Road to Surface
This passage
is 10 feet wide and about 12 feet tall.
People
of the Hold
Toreg
Toreg,
an ogre, leads the enforcers that work for Harkstone. He can
usually be found at the Customhouse, relaxing at Pigeonholes,
causing trouble at the Halfmoon Inn, or patrolling the Hold.
Severus Harkstone
Owner of Harkstone's Hold, Severus is a strange drow. He can be found at his Mansion, at the Customhouse or around the Hold.
Severus is Overlord of the drow warriors assigned to the Hold. He is a master warrior, and could easily earn a place as weaponsmaster of a high-ranking house if he chose to dwell in Kalan-G'eld.
Relonyrd
An
expatriate drow with an eyepatch and a predatory grin, the rogue
Relonyrd trades in old treasures from everywere.
Phaledra Freth
She tends the Shrine of Lolth, she never goes outside the shrine. A highly paranoid drow.
Yyssisiryl
Yyssisiryl is an extremely attractive drow female, unusually voluptuous in shape when compared to the normally slender dark elves. She wears her long white hair free flowing.
She has commanded the drow presence here for more than a century. She finds the duty enjoyable, being one of the drow who did not care for the seething intrigue and constant savagery of Kalan-G'eld.
Benrik the Wanderer
Bennik is a recent arrival from the West. Originally a resident of Waterdeep, he carries stories and rumors.
Bennik is a recent arrival from the West. Originally a resident of Waterdeep, he carries stories and rumors.
Any of his stories could prove the basis for the party’s next adventure. He also carries a bountiful supply of maps, which he is willing to sell should the PC s prove interested.
Urtbuk Blackstone
The Chief Negotiator for the duergar —and his personal bodyguards lounge around the Hold, conversing (albeit truculently) with anyone who happens by.
Kassawar Plickenstint
The chief negotiator and merchant of the svirfneblin contingent is Kassawar Plickenstint —a shrewd wheeler and dealer with a keen eye for value and a poker face that guarantees whoever sits across the mat from him will not know what he is thinking.
Noristo Catanzaro
Noristo Catanzaro, a young member of the house. Noristo
is a tiefling merchant with a sly, sardonic demeanor, and he seems to
know something about everything that goes on in and around the Hold.
Kedhira
Chief of the Horslavin duergars.
