Vel'Serin

The Spire - Matron’s Palace

A massive stone spire that towers over the great caverns of Vel’Serin, its height bringing it almost to the very ceiling of the great cavern. The Dark and terrible seat of power for House Uldren that in many ways mirrors a similar dark tower directly above it on the surface. Its jagged faces and towers shimmer with the dancing purple light of windows that pockmark its exterior, crystals of a similar purplish hue flare and pulse with arcane power, set into alcoves and atop soaring buttresses around the Spire’s base.  

The Ivory Sanctum

Once an ancient burial site for the Drow of Vel’Serin, it has long since been forgotten and has been taken over as the secretive headquarters of the local White Hand syndicate. Located on the outskirts of the vast cavern that houses the city, the entrance can only be reached by climbing up a hidden stepway of shallow stairs and well-worn handholds carved into the stone of the cavern walls.   Once at the top, the party will be greeted by a large black-iron door set into the stone at the end of a small landing. The door is covered in grotesque depictions of violence and piled corpses tangled in delicate webs depicted with silver stringing. All of this surrounds a large humanoid skull, its mouth agape, instead of the usual 2 eyes, there are many, arranged like that of a spider and set with large polished rubies the color of blood.   Only someone marked with a mark of The Hand may enter, by placing their marked arm into the open jaws of the skull. A price in blood is required to proceed.  

The Halls of Proving

  The first floor of the Sanctum is the ancient burial catacombs, A twisting maze of stone corridors, the walls of which are lined with carefully stacked bones of those who have been ritually interred here. The White Hand has adapted this area into both a training ground for its would-be members as well as a first line of defense for intruders. The halls are filled with deadly traps and strived monsters who stalk through the pitch black catacombs.  

Undertown

The ghettos below the streets of Vel’Serin where the Deep Gnomes and Duergar live as servants and slaves to their Drow masters. It is a complex network of tunnels and warrens that have been carved out through the years by those that live here. The streets here are dangerous and mostly lawless, the drow houseguard do not patrol here often, and when they do, in large numbers. What little law exists here is upheld by gangs led by petty duergar warlords who fight and vie for territory and meager scraps of authority. In this unforgiving place, rumors of hope have begun to circulate of one who will unite the gangs and lead the people of undertown to freedom and prosperity, The Queen Below.   Evidence of the once great kingdom of Blackrock can still be found amidst the squalor of Undertown. Though mostly in ruins, some of the older construction still remains, and deeper below are still the long forgotten and mostly unexplored ruins that once comprised the city.   It is down within those ruins that the Queen Below holds her court, and where her supporters gather in strength, biding their time.  

The Queen’s Court Tavern

Once a proud temple to Deep Duerra before falling into ruin and becoming abandoned. Now it has become a tavern of sorts within undertown, a local legend of sorts among the downtrodden populace. The tavern was once called The Wrong Lantern tavern, but has since been changed by the owner after it became the hideout of The Queen Below.   The inside is dimly lit, dusty and open. A large great hall once used for worship has been filled with a collection of odd tables and chairs that cluster around the large cracked pillars that hold up a drooping roof. In the center of the room, ancient stone pews have been arranged around low stone tables and rotting crates to serve as benches for patrons playing cards and drinking away their misery.   A long, low stone bar has been set up where an altar may once have rested at the far end of the hall, banners of dark grey, blue and bronze hanging on the walls behind it, above stacks of assorted liquor casks.  

Nal’Xadesk Circle - The Spire Ward

Area surrounding the base of The Matron’s Spire. This ward is largely reserved for houses in high standing and those most loyal to the Uldren House. Large manor houses, opulent dens and businesses catering to the wealthy are broken up by beautiful gardens and shining amphitheaters. The area is patrolled often by House Guards and Inquisitors alike  

The Spiregleam Bazaar

A raucous, almost carnival-like collection of tents, shops and stalls make up this sprawling marketplace at the outer edge of the Spire Ward. Here noble-born and commoners alike jostle through the crowded alleyways in pursuit of all manner of goods and services not easily found elsewhere. The smell of exotic spices and perfumes, cooking food and unwashed bodies collide with the almost overwhelming array of lights and sounds. Street vendors hawk their wares alongside the rapid paced chatter of slave auctions in progress. Here and there, the music of street performers drifts through the cacophony, often accompanied by the graceful movements of dancers or the satirical jabs of duos of actors engaging in play-like performances.   

The Obsidian Grove

A large natural amphitheater set against a wall-like edifice of gigantic stalagmites towards the outskirts of the city. Surrounding and soaring above the descending steps carved into the living stone of the world are canopy-like formations of glittering obsidian that resemble the gnarled, leafless branches of ancient trees long dead. From these mineral limbs, long streamers of cloth in black and deep purple have been strung up, some hanging loose, drifting in the cavern winds, others bowed between massive obsidian branches. Tiny motes of dancing light hang in the air, like fireflies frozen in time, gently illuminating the vast space of the amphitheater. At the very bottom, a raised disk of polished obsidian, 20 feet wide, is surrounded by a dancing ring of deep violet flames, their firelight slithering across the stone surface, revealing centuries of blood long dried across its surface.   The Obsidian Grove has long been the ritualistic venue for duels to be settled between high standing noble houses, several drow have even ascended to the seat of High Matron by spilling blood within the Grove. It is not often used, since most in drow society prefer to work their schemes in the shadows, but on rare occasions, settling one's affairs here in the grove, under the eyes of the city, can send a message stronger than words.   In times of strife or uncertainty, many of the people of Vel’Serin will be drawn to the Obsidian Grove as a place where the fate of the city is decided, often with bloodshed.