Kar-Durun (pronounced KAR dur-OON) is a major city on the Low Road beneath Erenon. Roughly three quarters of the city's population are ghouls, many of whom work in the lazurite mines connected to the city. Kar-Durun is one of the largest lazurite producers within the Darklands, and trade caravans regularly travel the Low Road to Kar-Durun. This lazurite is critical to ensuring peace in the city, as it lessens the ghoulish compulsion to consume flesh.
Description
The city is built within a single massive cavern, connected to the Low Road by a short tunnel. Floating magical torches throughout Kar-Durun cast a dim blue light over the city. In the middle of Kar-Durun sits a small plaza. A small waterfall from the top of the cavern drives a mechanical water clock in the plaza, providing a sense of time in an environment without day or night.
Most of Kar-Durun is considered part of the Hellbound District, a maze of low stone buildings in which the majority of the population resides. The Hellbound District is dirty and dingy, with piled up refuse lining many streets. Opposite from the entrance to the city, and elevated from the Hellbound District, lies the upper class neighborhood of the Rain District. This side of the cavern is covered by flowstone - water continually trickles down this formation onto the stairs and walkways that connect the chambers carved into the cavern wall.
Laws
Kar-Durun maintains a short yet strict set of rules:
- No one may harm anyone else within the city.
- No one may steal from anyone else within the city.
- Anyone that breaks these rules are no longer subject to their protections.
Though rather crude, these laws have helped Kar-Durun maintain a semblance of stability. A small corps of guards assist in their enforcement.
Inhabitants and points of interest
The lazurite mines, critical to the society and economy of Kar-Durun, are worked entirely by the ghouls of the city. Previously owned by the human Rizoel Ganberth, a standoff and hostage situation occurred in Y9975* after the ghouls fell short of their quotas and Ganberth refused to pay them. The ghouls, led by an individual named Eiran, captured Ganberth and restrained him amongst a significant supply of lazurite within the warehouse that serves as the mine's entrance. This situation was eventually resolved peacefully by a group of adventurers, who convinced Ganberth to relinquish control of the mines to the ghouls.
Along with a temple of Kabriri, Kar-Durun also houses a very small Antikytheran temple. This temple is managed by the awakened terracotta soldier Tsulo and poppet Yanaba, who keep a watchful eye on travelers from the Low Road. The temple is also currently home to the clockwork soldier Vim. Vim was rescued from its hideout in the mines by a group of adventurers in Y9975*, where it had been hiding from a band of Hephaistan inquisitors.
The mongreleman Harl is the current ruler of Kar-Durun. Harl prefers to maintain a hands-off approach, letting issues in the city burn themselves out with minimal involvement. Harl resides in an expensively furnished home in the Rain District, which also serves as his office.
Although Kar-Durun is primarily populated by ghouls, most of the city's guards are human. These guards wear blackened full plate armor that conceals their features, and most carry two-pronged spears. Guards assigned to keep watch on the entrance to the city from the Low Road frequently ride giant spiders.