Esset-Khal
The dwarven capital of Krem is built into the side of a mountain, its castle resting at the peak. Half the city is exposed to the sun, while the rest is carved into the rock. The mines of Esset-Khal reach deeper than any other on Thera, and rumor has it the lithid crystals there grow faster than they can be harvested. Indeed, lithids are Esset-Khal’s – and Krem’s – greatest export.
Demographics
Government
While opinions across Krem differ on the new queen, in Esset-Khal, any opposition is kept silent. Queen Ruthata, perhaps touched by her father’s insanity, believes any such slight to be indicative of treason. To even mention her father’s name is illegal, and this is most strictly enforced within the walls of the capital.
While Queen Ruthata personally led the coup against her father, and was well-liked by her followers, she has not been seen since her victory, far too busy with running the affairs of her newly acquired kingdom. In fact, all royalty and officials residing within the castle do not ever leave it. This reclusion has earned Queen Ruthata the nickname “The Queen Atop the Mountain.” Laws and policies are passed on by magical means to the New Army, who then distribute relevant information to the citizens. This system has run surprisingly smoothly for four years, a testament to Queen Ruthata’s ability to rule.
The highest political position not within the castle is that of City Operator, currently undertaken by a woman named Viablo Coldbrick. The City Operator is in charge of Esset-Khal’s mechanical workings, including occasional maintenance of the Sleeping Dragon. More often, however, her job entails maintaining the automatic transport systems, the mine elevators and equipment, and the street lighting; overseeing construction and demolition; and attending to various other minor mechanical goings-on in the city.
The Economic Overseer approves all businesses within the city, from the largest bank to the smallest cart at the Saturday market. They record all imports and exports, track the value of Esset-Khal’s special currency against the rest of Krem and the world, and personally appraise the value of especially large lithids retrieved from the mines.
The Head of Education is responsible for setting standards of education for all primary school students, as well as monitoring the Headmaster of the University of Esset-Khal for illegal or substandard education. They revise history books, approve science and math books, set milestones for language classes, and create budgets for all subjects. The arts may not be as celebrated here as in other locales, but they are not entirely neglected.
The Minister of the Arcane Arts creates penalties for those who illegally use magic, attends to children who show magical promise, and sets policies for the use of magic within the military. He approves temporary permits for non-military use of magic – though they are horribly hard to obtain – and, while not always present for the placement of magic-suppressing bracers, is the only one who can remove them (short of hiring a very expensive specialist).
The Superior Judge is the ultimate authority on the law, not just in Esset-Khal but across all of Krem. Only the most important cases are passed onto Judge Urum. In days past, citizens across the country sought the Superior Judge’s ruling; now, access to Esset-Khal is so restricted that few can obtain approval for a visit, even if their case is accepted. Like all official positions in Esset-Khal, Urum was Queen Ruthata’s choice to replace the previous judge after her victory.
All official positions have a team of underlings at their disposal, but are held personally responsible for the goings-on in the city.
Defences
The towering walls of Esset-Khal begin some half a mile from the city proper, funneling visitors towards the main – and only – entrance. Even as one walks up the mountain path, the walls slope upward ever higher, giving the impression that one is walking straight into the mountainside. The guards at the start of the wall might give a cursory glance over your papers, but those stationed at even intervals along the path thereafter will not bother you until you have reached the massive, imposing gates that mark the entrance to Esset-Khal. These wooden doors rear up some hundred feet tall, each intricately carved in the distinctly angular dwarven style to depict two blacksmiths hard at work, a dragon curled around the perimeter.
Here, you will be escorted to a room off to the side, where the Entrance Official will personally scrutinize your documents and ask you seemingly endless questions about your purpose in Esset-Khal, the length of your stay, and various other inquiries clearly answered in the documentation you provided. Magic-users will be reminded of the laws against magic and required to sign an acknowledgement form. Magical items are confiscated, to be returned on exit. Depending on where one is from, other unusual laws might be reviewed as well. If admitted, you will be escorted through a long hallway to the other side of the wall; the gates, impressive as they are, rarely open.
Inside Esset-Khal, there is no distinction between law enforcement and military; all guards and officers are part of the Queen's New Army. You will find no division of opinion here on the Queen's recent ascendence: the New Army is composed entirely of those loyal followers who aided the overthrow of the Ancient King. The Queen’s castle, shaped like the head of a dragon, sits at the peak of the mountain, inaccessible except by secret tunnels carved into the rock. Servants and officials live in the castle and do not come and go; one can only assume that magic is used to acquire food, eliminate waste, and otherwise allow the castle to function without outside interaction.
On the streets, you will be greeted with guards stationed at every corner and dozens more on regular patrol. Without ducking into some sort of establishment, one will always be under their watchful eye. The people of Esset-Khal have adjusted smoothly to this, as the ever-presence of the military is not unlike what it was under the Ancient King, but some will admit that the New Army is far stricter about enforcing even petty offenses.
While any can see that the wall is well-patrolled, the true defense of the city is bellied by its name: Esset-Khal, the Sleeping Dragon. Only once in history has the city’s magnificent engine awoken to defend its citizens, and its ancient power is so fearsome that even the Queen dared not provoke it during her coup.
Its citizens safely evacuated to within the mountain, the city begins an incredible transformation: that into a massive, mechanical dragon. Walls unfurl into wings, a single flap of which can send a battalion tumbling. The gates fold into an armored chest piece, and hydraulic lifts raise the city to unreachable heights, while the castle-turned-head rains fire on those below. So remarkable is this masterpiece of dwarven mechanics that it is said, after its first and only transformation, not a single dish in any household was broken, nor any chair an inch out of place.
Industry & Trade
Under Queen Ruthata's rule, new coins have been minted for the first time in half a millenium, but so far they are largely contained to Esset-Khal. A golden trichum, worth 0.63 SGP in the city and 0.57 SGP elsewhere, might make its way to Taligrun, and by law it must be accepted as legal tender. But in practice, many vendors will refuse the coin – its worth of 1.18 golden ladders makes converting prices difficult. The ladders, bells, and wheels that once circulated Esset-Khal have been thoroughly collected and melted down for other purposes, excepting those used by officials for external trade and conversion at the city gate. Anyone else caught with the ancient currency is fined and jailed.
Esset-Khal’s main export is lithids. Because magic is banned within the city, its top imports are fuel sources, especially coal, but also oil, lumber, and harvested lightning. It also takes in steel and other hard metals for use in its mechanical productions. Once a powerhouse for such creations, the city now hoards its technologies behind its thick walls.
The value of all goods and services are carefully tracked by the Economic Overseer. Minimum wages are set for certain kinds of labor (though many are unregulated), while maximum prices for staple goods such as flour and soap ensure that one need not be rich to be clean, fed, and clothed. All citizens in Esset-Khal must work. If a dwarf knows no trade, they are assigned an occupation.
| Item | Maximum Price | Labor | Minimum Wages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butter, 1 lb. | 5 odecs | Blacksmith's Apprentice | 2 odecs/day |
| Candles, 10 | 1 odec | Chimney Sweep | 3 odecs/week |
| Chicken, 4 lbs. | 1 glot | Construction | 5 odecs/day |
| Flour, 1 lb. | 3 odecs | Lithid Mining - Top Tier | 1 glot/day |
| Linen, 1 yard | 1 glot | Lithid Mining - Middle Tier | 5 glots/day |
| Soap, 1 lb. | 6 odecs | Lithid Mining - Lowest Tier | 1 trichum/day |
Maximum Prices and Minimum Wages in Esset-Khal
Glancing at these tables, things may seem disproportionate: it appears a chimney sweep would have to work a month to earn her family a chicken dinner. But these prices represent the upper and lower limits. A talented apprentice may earn four or five odecs in a day’s work, plus commission, and market competition means the average price of a pound of flour is actually a single odec. Furthermore, many dwarves keep small gardens and even chicken coups on their rooftops, ensuring access to fresh vegetables and at least a few eggs every day.
Districts
Entrance District
Once a hub of trade and travel, Esset-Khal's Entrance District is now a ghost of its former glory. Shops and inns sit vacant, and streets are eerily empty. The only establishments that keep the area alive are its taverns - for a tavern to go out of business in a dwarven city is nearly unheard of, though they certainly do not bring in the revenue they once did when the gates were more open to visitors.The Gilded Arena
The nobles of Esset-Khal are extremely house-proud, and are in constant competition with each other to have the wildest, most architecturally advanced dwellings under their ownership. This competition of the wealthy has earned the area the nickname "The Gilded Arena."Inside the Mountain
Even dwarves value sunlight, and while the part of the city located inside Esset-Khal's mountain does not have an official or common name, it might as well be the slums.Artisan District
Turn right onto Trudger's Way to reach the Artisan District, where craftsmen toil.Tourism
Coming and going from Esset-Khal is no small matter. An Entrance Permit and Exit Permit must be obtained separately, from the Entrance Official and Exit Official. To obtain such permits, one needs first of all a good reason to visit Esset-Khal, and Esset-Khal specifically: “I want to taste the ale here” won’t do. Admission into the University of Esset-Khal will almost – but not always – guarantee you an Entrance Permit. But, failing such a prestigious invitation, a vendor’s pass is the easiest route, and even then requires a month’s advance application for each visit, a detailed list of wares which must exactly match what is brought, proof of address and that Esset-Khal is the only city that one can reasonably travel to to sell one’s wares, the length of the visit, where one will be staying (if overnight), how much profit one expects to make, an approved vendor’s permit, and various other documents. All goods will be thoroughly inspected on their way in and out.
Other visitors will have an even harder time gaining entrance. Want to visit your ailing brother? You’ll need at least two months’ advance notice, documentation of your brother’s ailment, why he needs help, and why someone in the city can’t do it, the length of your visit (not simply “until he’s better”), how much money you expect to spend, where you’ll stay, a letter of good recommendation from a kingdom or city official, proof of identity, and probably several other documents and requirements as well.
Leaving the city as a non-visitor, however, is the hardest of all. Maintaining population is of utmost importance to Queen Ruthata. Just about the only way for an entire family to leave Esset-Khal is if their child shows significant magical talent. Individual Exit Permits – with a return date – are granted on rare occasions, but never to entire families or even couples, no matter how justified the reason. Letters in and out of Esset-Khal are carefully censored, so conspiring a fictional excuse to leave the city is out of the question. And, there being only one entrance and exit from the city, and that entrance being heavily guarded, illegal escape is near impossible.
Architecture
The city of Esset-Khal no longer accepts visitors as easily as it once did, and its once-thriving tourism industry has come to an abrupt end. However, the city is still laid out as it first was, with inns, taverns, brothels, and shops lining the main street that cuts straight from the entrance gate to the market square before splitting into two different roads. The left, aptly named Left Street, leads to the lower residential district inside the mountain, while Trudgers Way will take you through the crafstman sector and all the way into the lithid mines – though guards will stop any non-miners before the entrance is in sight.
Following Left Street into the mountain, the architectural style of the city does not change much, but the feel here is very different – not least of all due to lack of sunlight. The middle class, sitting on the transition between outside and inside, enjoy some natural light, but as individual houses turn into large tenement buildings, residents must rely on the weak glowstones embedded into the walls and ceiling. These stones produce a sickly greenish glow around the clock, and are just barely enough to see by, but do not put off nearly enough light to sustain the rooftop crops most of the lower class rely on.
If you look up at the ceiling of the encavement, you will notice a tangled mess of glass tubing, reflective strips, and cables to hold it all together. For six hours per day, imported lightning is run through these channels, providing just enough flickering, snapping light for crops to grow – though they certainly will not flourish in such conditions. For other activities, residents rely on cheap candles in the home and oil lanterns – used sparingly – when brighter light is needed.
From entrance level, you will not be at the lowest floor of the massive, boxy apartment buildings that lack the architectural extravagance of outer city construction (though they retain that angular dwarven style, in a more subdued fashion). Nor will you see the rooftop gardens a few stories above, though you will certainly hear the squawking of chickens and the occasional bleat of a goat. The cobblestone road of Left Street transitions into carved rock and then abruptly turns into a swinging wooden bridge attached by ropes to the ceiling and nearby buildings. Left Street’s bridge is in decent repair, but many others are not, and the quality of the ladders to get up and down likewise varies. It is sometimes easier and safer to walk the stairs within an apartment and cross the makeshift platforms connecting adjacent buildings than it is to walk a set of bridges and ladders, even if such a path takes longer to traverse.
Visiting a neighbor or friend is not the only reason to make such a journey: many of Esset-Khal’s poorer residents illegally sell goods out of their own home, everything from tallow candles that hiss and sputter (but are much cheaper than their wax counterparts) to tiny liths that might contain a Light or Mending spell.
Back in the outer city, the eight o’clock bell chimes, and soon the origins of Trudgers Way become clear: marching their way up the street come the workers of the upper lithid mines, weary and sore after a twelve-hour shift – but not so much that most of them won’t head straight to their preferred tavern for an hour or four. Miners of the middle sector make camp there for a week or more, while the deepest miners stay for at least a month, returning to the surface for just a few days at a time. As these tired workers make their way through the market square, merchants will just be opening their shops (or closing them, if it is evening). If it is Saturday, the square will have already been packed since 6 AM: it is the only day outside vendors are allowed in, and residents are eager not only for goods not available within the city but also for news and gossip from the outside world, of which they otherwise receive very little.
If you fight the tide of returning miners and make your way up Trudgers Way, you will find yourself surrounded first by blacksmiths, glassblowers, tanneries, and other occupations requiring good ventilation. As you enter the mountain, jewelers, weavers, and other crafstmen work by the light of oil lamps. Soon enough the buildings will pitter out, and guards will not let you any further without a Work Permit for the mines.
But there is much more of the city to explore. Go back to the gates, and this time turn right instead of heading down Main Street. Esset-Khal’s House is located here, along with various temples and shrines. Further along you will see a few dozen large houses and manors that house the city’s upper class. Dwarves prefer hard, straight lines and sharp angles, and do not tack on unnecessary architecture for the sake of aesthetics, as elves do. This in no way means that their buildings are ugly or undecorated. Traditional dwarven styles are on full display here. Bold geometric shapes interweave in cohesive patterns, while the simpler, angular shapes of the buildings themselves cut a sharp outline against a clear day sky. And this skyline is ever-changing: it is quite fashionable for any building to have mechanically moving parts, and that is especially true among the homes of the wealthy. Turrets might rise and lower as needed to house guests; the top floor might fold open on a nice day. One smaller and seemingly less impressive house is built on a platform, so that the entire thing slowly rotates day and night. Marvel at these fine examples of dwarven architecture, then turn around and head towards the last sector of the city.
The left part of Esset-Khal is where most government business is conducted. You will find the offices of most city officials, as well as the Superior Courthouse, a few banks, and most schools, including the University of Esset-Khal. Buildings here are tall and imposing, and more utilitarian than those found along main thoroughfares. Government buildings may even be said to resemble the plain apartment buildings of the lower residential district, though their construction and repair is of far better quality and materials.
Natural Resources
- Aldur Bonerock
- Ansek Strizaph
- Barhelm Silverbuckle
- Barum Oreforged
- Bestra Deepstone
- Bogli Coalsunder
- Brosum Barrelbust
- Broughoc Stonefall
- Dageth Copperhelm
- Dagoulda Strongblade
- Dakulda Stoneaxe
- Dalomek Frostmaul
- Damuri Silvermantle
- Datrid Stoneguard
- Davrec Ashgrip
- Delvia Stonefall
- Dorag Bluntmaul
- Doulmag Merryhide
- Durol Hammerbraid
- Farhild Bronzebringer
- Frilda Warhide
- Geddick Strongblade
- Girdana Leadbraid
- Glorelda Jadebeard
- Goril Ironbender
- Hengrot Nobleneedle
- Horgra Marblehood
- Huldra Shattergut
- Hulgrud Oreforged
- Jaret Blackhand
- Jorna Bronzebringer
- Kabim Ambergrog
- Khoubuk Stonefall
- Kilgri Bronzebringer
- Kordil Shattergut
- Kuthryn Duskbeard
- Kuzo Pebblejaw
- Loda Stoneguard
- Longrid Coalview
- Mardreth Shatterforged
- Moltir Wraithguard
- Muki Strongblade
- Muldri Stoneheart
- Nolgrid Steelbraid
- Nuren Bronzeband
- Odrek Shattergut
- Otrelyn Duskbrew
- Rumora Flaskbelt
- Rundra Stoneheart
- Ruthata Stoneaxe
- Sabain Stormheart
- Salzeph Brashka
- Sanean Flaskbelt
- Sigri Oakmaul
- Strothhold Grumblehide
- Thalak Stonechin
- Therrara Strongblade
- Thuseldra Ironback
- Torkrag Grimgrip
- Udoc Darkforge
- Undela Stonechin
- Ureba Steelbringer
- Urum Thornback
- Usol Steelbraid
- Uztek Shattergut
- Vasir Ironbender
- Viablo Coldbrick
- Viren Honorfall
- Viska Kulhax
- Yozri Stoneaxe
- Yuldrika Arsith
- Yursi Deepstone
The University of Esset-Khal
