Deepburrow
(Upper Great Bhaerynden)
Located along the northern frontier of Luiren in the shadow of the Toadsquat Mountains, this halfling town is not a true Underdark community. Most of Deepburrow lies on the surface, but a deep ravine running through the center of town provides access to extensive caverns some 500 feet below. These natural caverns link to the Underdark and provide the halflings of Deepburrow with easy access to deep mines and subterranean trade goods.
Deepburrow (small city): Conventional; AL NG; 15,000 gp limit; Assets 8,484,000 gp; Population 11,312; Mixed (strongheart halfling 68%, lightfoot halfling 11%, gold dwarf 9%, ghostwise halfling 7%, gnome 3%, human 1%, half-elf 1%).
Authority Figure: Albur Willowywalk (LG male strongheart halfling cleric 7 of Yandalla), Master of the Burrow.
Important Characters: Nemuel Fadinglight (CG male ghostwise halfling barbarian 8), Captain of Guards; Chalice Appleton (NG female lightfoot halfling rogue 7), Chief of Scouts; Hanovan Urburwick (LN female strongheart halfling expert 2/cleric 3 of Yondalla), Chief Illuminator; Beldon Oftenhand (N male lightfoot halfling bard 4/rogue 3/shadowdancer 4), Guildmaster of the Slickers.
Town Guard: The town guard consists of more than 100 halfling veterans (generally Warrior 1 to Warrior 3), along with a handful of clerics and sorcerers who share guard duty on a rotating basis.
Slickers: This highly efficient thieves' guild is devoted to fleecing foreigners and traders from other lands. Its membership includes more than a dozen rogues, bards, and experts.
Few halflings have any great love of the lightless depths. In fact, Deepburrow exists only because its mines are among the finest in Luiren. The caverns for miles around it are rich in gemstones, gold, and copper. The industrious stronghearts work these mines from dawn to dusk, but most return to surface homes at the end of the day, climbing back up the hundreds of wooden stairs that scale the side of the gorge in the middle of town. A few hundred of the town's hardier souls (mostly dwarves and gnomes) have made homes out of dry, secure caverns at the bottom of the gorge.
The caves below Deepburrow were originally carved by the cold, swift stream (the Deeprill) that runs through the gorge. The halflings have excavated extensively beyond the start that nature gave them, linking Deepburrow with ever-deeper cave systems. Unlike the yawning caverns and meticulously worked architecture of other Underdark communities, the halflings prefer to create small, rounded rooms in rapid succession. Most of the walls in such excavations are covered with wood paneling or plaster. Wide, horse-drawn lifts ferry people and cargo to the surface, and a rail system runs on each level of the cave system to transport heavy loads.
The lowest level of Deepburrow has an unusually large population of ghostwise and lightfoot him compared with the rest of Luiren. The ghostwise halflings seek the mysteries hidden in the depths, while the lightfoots are fascinated with the strangeness of it all. A group of lightfoot halflings and gold dwarf spelunkers are now busily engaged in mapping an underground passage between Deepburrow and the Great Rift.
While the caverns nearest to the gorge are relatively safe, Deepburrow's subterranean neighborhoods are not free of danger. Giant spiders and deadly fungi are common problems below the city, and at least two ropers are known to exist within an hour's walk from the bottom level. The halflings haven't yet had to deal with intelligent, mobile opponents such as drow or duergar. Nemuel consults with dwarven allies about once a month on defensive matters, but he knows that the city is seriously unprepared for the challenge of fighting orcs, goblins, or drow.
The Slickers
Deepburrow houses a thieves' guild known as the Slickers. The guild members use Deepburrow as their home base and funnel stolen goods from other places through the city. They routinely cache big hauls in the Underdark, below the bottom level, until the heat dies down. Most Deepburrow residents, including Albur Willowywalk, have heard stories of the Slickers but think they're just fictional. Nemuel and Chalice are the only two nonmembers in Deepburrow who know for sure that the organization exists. These two have an understanding with Beldon that in exchange for being left alone, the Slickers won't steal from Deepburrow and will aid the city if their help is ever needed.
Important Sites
Deepburrow is governed (as much as any halfling town is governed) by the Willowywalk clan, which founded the town and opened its mines more than four hundred years ago. By tradition, the head of the Willowywalk family holds the title of Master of the Burrow. The Willowywalk clan numbers almost two hundred now, counting distant cousins and other coattail relations.
The Deeprill Gorge
Slicing through the center of town like the cut of a giant's axe, the Deeprill Gorge is a narrow, mossy crevice into which the stream known as the Deeprill disappears underground. The Deeprill flows for many miles beneath the foothills, carving out an expansive, living cave as it winds south and east from the gorge.
The gorge is about 500 feet deep from the rim to the stream below. Wooden steps wind from top to bottom, secured to posts that have been firmly driven into the rock. Several horse-drawn hoists also descend to the cave entrances below.
The Deepingwander
The lowest layer of Deepburrow's cavern system is akin to the subbasement of a tall building. Few people go there, and there's not much for a casual visitor to see. The tunnels are cramped here because they are sized for halflings. Many are no more than 2 feet in diameter, which is a little tight even for halflings.
Deepburrow's connections to the greater Underdark lie beneath this level, so the halflings have taken steps to prepare the Deepingwander for defense against an attack from below. Each major area of the bottom level is separated by 20 feet of tunnel, and all tunnels are rigged to collapse with a trigger. The ghostwise halflings come and go in grim silence, and even the lightfoots are businesslike as they tread its passages. A local merchant named Hans Greenbanks runs an excellent spelunking supply shop here, and anyone departing for the greater Underdark from the Deepingwander leaves thoroughly prepared.
Willow House
Most of the Willlowywalks live in the magnificent, rambling Willow House, a sprawling old building that has undergone countless additions and improvements over the last few generations. Willow House perches atop a low hill that provides a good view of the nearby hills and forests, but it is actually a fair distance from the gorge. Honored guests in Deepburrow are encouraged to stay here as long as they like, since the younger Willowywalks have an insatiable appetite for stories of far travels and daring adventures.
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