Tenebrian Crampons

In the dark caves of old giant fortresses, the Tenebrian Fae have crampons to slip on — or even integrated in their shoes and boots to begin with — to be able to climb steep caves and walls more easily, especially in times where time is of the essence, for example when a tunnel or cave structure starts to crumble, and the Tenebrian Fae need to quickly climb upwards to avoid being crushed by the stones coming down. The crampons are spikes that get attached to one's soles, and that can dig into small crevices on the walls. Because the spikes that are all around the sole are connected with a metal structure that can carry the weight of the body, this structure allows the Tenebrian Fae to stand with a spike dug into the wall where they would have little to no chance of holding themselves up otherwise, withstanding vibrations of walls as stones crumble, and being able to race up steep walls at an impressive speed to avoid a collapse.
The effectiveness of the crampons has by now spread the word across the world, and other races started to adapt similar structures to help them explore dungeons and underground tunnel systems, or climb over the mountain passes with more speed and agility than they otherwise possess. It's not a magical item, it's not even a notably rare or innovative item, but it has saved a lot of lives throughout the centuries it has been in use.
Every Tenebrian Fae coming of age gets a custom-made set of crampons, and children learn as soon as they can walk how to put on crampons and how to climb with them, how to flee from a collapsing cave or tunnel with them, how to hold themselves in a precarious position for a longer time with the help of crampons, and more.

Item type

Tool