Dakaromal - Ancient City of the
Dwarves
Steepcliff Fortress
Underground City Cutaway View
Castle Dakaromal
Visitors Tunnel from Quarters to the City proper
The First of the protective circle stones
The Crib of Dori
The Market Place at Midnight
The Secret Lowest Floor Layout
The Ancient City of Dakaromal of
the Dwarves
Lighting
Light rocks and polished metal reflectors
Finding your way around
Red arrow signs point the way farther down, blue arrows upward.
These arrows are made of metal boxes about 3" wide and 12" long.
Stained glass fronts color the arrow and they are illuminated by
small light rocks inside.
A compass might help you find your way, but the rises and plunging
spirals are perplexing. Where do you stand in relation to that room
you saw five minutes ago? How far below the surface have you come?
Unless you're born there or are close to the surface it's very had
tell.
Every so often you find an airshaft, and this answers the second
question. The holes, each wider than a man’s height, plunge 175 feet
(55 meters) straight down to Dakomel's depths. Doorways and windows
open onto the shafts at each level. Just below ground level you see
the sun above and, below, a vanishing black perspective. Far beneath
the surface, on the seventh and eighth levels, daylight has dwindled
to a bright circle the size of a thumbnail. You would see a similar
view inside a factory smokestack.
Shafts like these provid five vital services: air, light, transport,
communication, and water. The shafts bring fresh air everywhere so
efficiently that visitors can smoke on the eighth level and watch
the smoke swirl away toward the nearest shaft. They provide some
light, and in ancient times the people may have used shiny metal
reflectors to bring the light to their rooms. Many of the shafts
have footholds that allow easy climbs between levels, although it
takes courage! Still, remembering these facts you can always find
your way up and out; follow the smoke!
Fortifications
They carved each wheel out of the floor of its room, then drove a
hole through its center. During a battle, a team of men used a
wooden pole to roll the wheel down and block the doorway. After
those inside withdrew the pole, attackers faced a fearsome task in
trying to push back the immense wheel. Meanwhile, besieged residents
made spear thrusts through the hole.
The large 55 m ventilation shaft appears to have been used as a
well. The shaft also provided water to both the villagers above and,
if the outside world was not accessible, to those in hiding.
Misc
"Dujkalmanlan" is a bard that knows about Ja'kumal and will tell
them of it's history.