Aglarond, The Glittering Chambers

Aglarond is a realm of marvel carved from the bedrock of the forest by the dwarves some three centuries hence. The union between elves and dwarves has mostly helped the latter evolve technology, but some help has come from the dwarves with their cunning use of stone in plugging the Denroum volcano. - Atlas found in The Glittering Chambers

History

The Glittering Chambers were founded by 5 dwarves, including Uri, ancestor of Bref. In its heyday the city was a bustling underground metropolis of marvels full of talented craftspeople that had an active diplomatic relationship with The Empire of Coraar 'ath Revaar, who traded with the dwarves and cooperated with them to create marvels, such as the Denroum Mines. There is some evidence, reading between the lines, that the Elves considered themselves superior and carefully managed the information available to the dwarves, though a missive was found showing great affection between a Prince of Coraar'ath Revaar and a dwarven mastercrafter, so it is possible that this diplomatic relationship may have been nuanced and complex.
According to the information that the surviving dwarves had, the elves magically protected themselves and left the dwarves to suffer when a dragon attacked the Chambers close to Founders Day, coinciding with the invasion of the mushroom that infected living beings, converting them to undead puppets. The Chambers were sealed by the elves the Key left outside along with other protections to prevent anything getting in or out. It is unclear whether the Elves left the Chambers to die in order to prevent the mushroom spreading, or intended to return later.

Current Status

The Glittering Chambers lie under The Forest of Davokar as a sprawling, magnificent ruin of a great Dwarven city, accessible via an opening within a ruined building to the East of Bardh. The entry building was initially sealed by a very powerful magical shield, which has since been removed, and the interior was grand, including depictions of dwarves and elves together in cooperation.
Access to the Chambers themselves is via a very long staircase from the main building that leads far beneath the ground to a Gatehouse, where visitors used to be welcomed. From the interactions with the undead dwarves who inhabited it. this was used to receive visitors from The Empire of Coraar 'ath Revaar who came for diplomacy and trade.
The city has been cleansed of the mushroom spore infection by Oksana Bosko, Alarë Awarthiel, Moonlight Through Rain, Rah Tah Tum, Qwyn and Reb Itto working alongside the dwarves who still inhabited the ruins. As a part of this, the dragon was also destroyed, so the city is, in theory, safe.
The stone buildings of the city are still intact but have been mostly uninhabited for about a thousand years. There are artifacts and day to day items still within the city itself, and it could be considered habitable (with some cleanup and logistics). There are currently 3 adult dwarves and one baby living down there, awaiting contact from the dwarves on the surface.

Important Places

• Underground sewer hideout
• Elven sponsored propaganda library - with magical tree outside
• Healing Garden where 3 healing stones were kept
• Gatehouse

Notable information

Rebirth

The 5 dwarves who remained in the Chambers gave information that indicated that they experienced either a reincarnation process or something similar, where if one dwarf died, another would be 'born from the stone'. After the death of Callista and the 'rebirth' of the new dwarf as a baby, Siobhan commented that it was unheard to have an infant come from the stone and that the process had been a lot more difficult (possibly because only 2 capable dwarves were left), which implies that they were born as adults(?). One dwarf always had the powerful divine magical abilities that Callista exhibited.

Corruption and the Shield

While the Chambers were under the powerful seal/shield spell, there were no Corruption effects felt down there and spells could be cast as often as needed. The dwarves down there had never experienced it, and the library did not mention it. As soon as the shield was raised, Corruption came flooding in with a force felt by every living being present.

Technology

The dwarvern craftspeople in the Chambers were able to create magical marvels using Cuithger amongst other materials. There was evidence that they were brilliant enough to learn from Elven technology and surpass it, had they been given the chance.

A Snapshot in Time

When the party spoke to the remaining dwarves and investigated a library and the city, it was possible to come to some conclusions on life one thousand years ago.

• The Chambers fell before the Loss, or the Elves never told the Dwarves about it
• The Chambers fell before Corruption
• At the time of the Fall there was only one Moon in the sky in Davokar (backed up by elven ruin murals)
• At the time of the Fall the Elves and Dwarves were both far more technologically advanced than our current civilisation.
• The dwarves had no concept of Gods (in the sense of the QoL). The elven books did mention the Aboleth, in a sense, but not as a being to be worshipped.

Related characters

• Bref of Uri's folk
• Deannach
• Callista (RIP)
• Eoighain(RIP)
• Mhairi
• Siobhan
• Unnamed baby dwarf, awww.

Characters in Location

• Rah Tah Tum