November 2009

Underfoot: Unfolding the Lore

The Cooling Chambers

Water, boiling from the lava that is the life’s blood of the Underfoot, pours into the Cooling Chambers from a sinkhole in Brell’s Rest. The water is cooled by Brell’s servants as it flows through the chambers and eventually grows cold enough to turn to ice. This water can be sent to other realms during its cooling stages, as needed.

The main population of the Cooling Chambers is a group of Coldain (Ice Dwarves) that are perpetually cooling the water that flows away from the central core, by means of a series of endothermic reactions. The ice is used to keep a massive necromantic beast frozen in a jagged glacial iceberg floating in the lower lake.

Unfortunately, some of the Coldain have rebelled against Brell’s influence because of the meddling of the first creation. One of them has learned to harness the power of the beast and is siphoning power away from it in order to fuel his own malicious schemes.

The Coldain are not comfortable in the top half of the Cooling Chambers but no one can perform as well as they do in the chilly depths of the Chamber. They are primarily workers, intent on their tasks, but many have gone rogue. Some rebellious workers are still, to all appearances, at work, but grudgingly. Others are roaming the passageways causing havoc.

Undead of all types can be found throughout the Cooling Chambers. The workers react with terror at the sight of the undead and flee their approach.

Thorbin the Elder
An ancestor of Coldain Guard Thorbin of Thurgadin, Thorbin the Elder was a close companion of Dain Frostreaver II, and was killed in battle with the Kromrif, when he sacrificed himself so that a troop of Coldain warriors could escape to a nearby rally point in a battle outside Kael. Thorbin dislikes spending time at the hot springs entrance to the Cooling Chambers but he can withstand the heat, if he has to. No one else in Brell’s Realm is as skilled and adapted to the work in the depths of the Cooling Chambers, where the air itself turns to ice.

Valcamph Shadowfrost
Valcamph Shadowfrost is the Grandfather of Valdicar Shadowfrost, a famous adventurer living in Thurgadin. He runs the main Alchemy area in the Cooling Chambers, overseeing the delicate mixing of materials needed to create the reagents for the cooling process. Valcamph is even more of a playful rogue than his grandson, and still longs for his adventurous days in the frozen wastes of Velious. Valcamph thrives on assigning foolish, dangerous tasks so that he can live vicariously through others experiences.

Tasnise Underbelly
Tasnise Underbelly, Ancestor of the Underbellys of Thurgadin, was the inspiration for the dark studies that Dalgrim Underbelly undertook. Unlike his grandson, Tasnise was brave enough, or foolish enough, to dive headfirst into necromancy and death worship. He walked a fine line between worshiping Brell and secretly lusting for the power that Bertoxxulous promised him. In the end it was Brell who claimed his soul when Tasnise died, but his heart secretly belonged to Bertoxxulous by that point. Brell claimed him as an act of spite toward Bertoxxulous, as revenge for trying to steal one of his priests.
Tasnise has not forgotten his love of darkness. He was the first creature in Brell’s domain to hear and respond to the First Creation’s call. He hides in plain sight in the Cooling Chambers now, to all appearances a faithful servant of Brell. But secretly he plots to overthrow the Lord of the Underfoot, in the service to the First Creation, so he can return to Norrath and raze Thurgadin, dreaming that it will then be rebuilt as a haven for Bertoxxulous.

Only Brell’s will prevents Tasnise from leaving the Underfoot and taking over Thurgadin.

Taelin the Fearless
After years of living in obscurity within the thieves’ guilds of Freeport, Taelin Barnoc has come to the Underfoot to start over. Determined to reverse his fortunes, he gave himself the moniker Taelin the Fearless. It wasn’t long before he bumped into Rodrick Cleanheart, who convinced Taelin to take on the undead currently running amok in parts of the Cooling Chambers. However, once Taelin realized the danger involved, he became anything but fearless. He stands at the entrance to the tunnels, too afraid to return to Rodrick with the task unfinished.

Entarr Coldheart
The ancestor of Captain Dunstan Coldheart of the Froststone Keep found in Crystal Caverns, Entarr Coldheart was a close companion of Dain Frostreaver I. Entarr died of old age in Froststone before the founding of Thurgadin. Though long dead, Entarr is still fiercely proud of the Coldain race.

Underfoot Lore: Brell’s Rest

Brell’s Rest is the place where the worthy of Brell’s worshippers go when their time on Norrath ends. Some worshippers are given places amongst those of the Underfoot, to work on the world, but few find such a thing to their liking. Many spend their afterlife in an “ideal” setting for their race. Dwarves, gnomes, gnolls, kobolds and others all live in or around Brell’s Rest or in the Shining City just out of sight on the sphere above. However, most of the residents of the Rest are gnolls and kobolds. The dwarves tend to stay in the city brewing beer and crafting things in stone and metal, while the Gnomes tinker, though some of them also wander the land to see what’s up out there.

There is much conflict between the gnolls and kobolds in this domain, since conflict is what they love. Their violent and destructive tendencies tend to keep them out of the Shining City.

There is also an arena dedicated to battle in Brell’s Rest. Here groups of warriors challenge each other to games to prove their superiority.

Trouble in Paradise

Gnoll and kobold warriors have clashed joyfully on the battlefields of Brell’s Rest for millennia, but recently the kobolds have found fewer sparring partners. The gnolls have been acting stranger and stranger, as though they are hiding something from the rest of the realm. Most aren’t speaking at all, but those who do will only whisper of one they call “The Destroyer” or “The Undying One,” their faces twisted by equal parts fear and adulation. Whoever or whatever “The Destroyer” is, the gnolls do not appear to have it under their control just yet.