Zarduundrum

The impregnable fortress of the duergar. For an aeon the duergar have remained behind the walls of their fortress at Zarduundrum. Since the overthrow of their Illithid masters, the duergar have built up the fortifications of their city, and once satisfied, locked the gates. The only contact anybody had with them was with the slave market outside the stone gates of Zardunndrum. Nobody knew what was happening inside, since the only ones who entered were duergar and the slaves that they purchased, and once a slave was purchased (generally from a drow) they were never seen again outside the fortress. Ever envious of the duergar's steeders (spider mounts), the drow have tried to infiltrate Zarduundrum since before living memory (of drow, which is long). Their failure thus far has created a sort of mystique about the fortress city which the drow have come to refer to as "the stone curtain." When the gods went silent, a small party of duergar paladins left Zarduundrum seeking answers, and in their efficient and straightforward way established a humble outpost at Alakezan's Beacon. The duergar do not purchase icons from the establishment at the Beacon, choosing instead to carve them themselves from stone behind the safety of their walls, a feat few others have accomplished.   Recently, small groups of militant duergar have left the city following rumors gathered at Alakezan's Beacon. These groups referring to themselves as "The Inquisition," have begun raiding stations in the Deep Lines, accusing dwarves and humans of being under the influence of mind flayers. Methodically, they move from outpost to outpost chasing rumors and accusations, seeking their hated former masters. Nobody expects where they will strike next.   Inside the outer walls, the fortress of Zarduundrum consists of a series of perfect nested cubes, hewn from the rock itself. Between the layers of stone is a self-sufficient ecosystem of fungus and recycled water, all manned by slave power. The duergar occupy themselves with military drills, mining efforts, and construction of additional layers of stone around their fortress, slowly (and cubically) expanding their territory into the earth.   Within the center cube lies the bank of Zarduundrum. It is here that the cold calculous of the underdark’s slave trade is counted and calculated. The preferred coinage and currency of the bank consists of unmarked, smooth gold disks, as the duergar have no interest in symbology, only material. The bank of Zarduundrum often acts in place of a central government, ruling the slave industry (which is to say, all duergar industry) with an iron fist, and strict financial regulation.   Since the spells fell, the slave market outside the city has become a shanty town of sorts full of humans and dwarves seeking food and protection, some willingly selling themselves into the relative safety behind the walls of Zarduundrum. The duergar regularly raid this camp to discourage the presence of this new unwanted neighbor, as does the Census who are angered by human attempts to escape their control.