Geography:It-lal
Contents
It'lal Overview
It-lal is the surface drow first home from the second age.
The group finds themselves standing next to one of five large stone archways arranged arnaged in a semicircle on a large open plaza. The multicolor gate way fills the center archway of the five. None of the other four stone archways have any trace of magic about them.
The Plaza of the five gateways, is a large oval shape and is lined with large stone statues of drow and a reptilian like humanoids. The air is thin like your are high in some mountain and the plaza has a thin layer of dust with a few scraggly plants eking out an existence in the cracks between the stones.
The Gateway Plaza faces the rest of the city. It rises up above you looking to be built out of the top of the mountain forming two peaks covered with terraces, pathways, and ruins of old buildings. You can also see some to the roadways disappearing into the mountain side. Most of the terraces seemed to be built for growing things and still support a lush growth of overgrown bushes and short trees.
The city seems to be built as four levels, with each level getting smaller and higher. The final level is split between the double peaks of the mountain like two islands. The Gateway Plaza is on the lowest level. The land seems to slope down quickly from this level and a sea of clouds surround the lower level stretching out. A few nearby mountain tops can be seen rising above the surface of the clouds. You have no idea how high this city is or what lies below the ocean of white.
The buildings and walls have a very weathered look, but no signs of resent habitation can be seen. The nearby buildings or ruins look to be mostly stone walls left; any wood or organic parts long since gone. The city could easily hold many houses of drow much like the city of the drow in the under dark.
Observations made by Larien and Grif: "Flying around It'lal, Larien sees they are somewhere on the western edge of a mountain range. As the warm most [air] hits the mountains it forms clouds and rains a lot at the foot of the mountains. Through the clouds she has seen deep green valleys to the north, west, and south. Some large rivers and light glinting off a large body of water from the far west. Mostly [it's] more mountains to the east, Northeast and Southeast." (see Friday February 6th, 2009 3:07:32 PM post)
Development in It'lal During the First Six Months
Over the past months since It’lal has been rediscovered three drow houses have resettled portions of the ancient city along with several business and shops.
On the first level around the Gateway Plaza the bulk of House Brafah has settled in quickly built homes.
House Bancurpi has setup a compound to the north east of hydra lake.
House Mylyl retains there small subterranean home on the third level under the northwest mountain top.
The Rising Sun, an elegant performance hall is located on the second level east of the main roadway on the south side of the hydra lake. The Halfling master bard, Giovanni, owns and runs it with the help of his almost 100 followers--nearly all of which are drow. It boasts a stuffed 8 headed Cryo hydra in the entrance.
The main tavern The Slaughtered Lamb in It’lal is situated on the main road on the first level just north of the Gateway plaza. It is a quaint place with good food and beverages run by a drow couple. It is rumored several of the Shadow Guardians are silent partners who frequent it often, and Giovanni plays a masterful lute on the weekends, rocking the house. As you first enter the establishment you come face to face with a stuffed Chimera looming over you.
Another place of note is on the northeast side of the second terraces, where the Shadow Guardian druid Eclip along with his brown bear has setup his home within in a cave and garden area out side. The cave contains a rather large natural pool and was once the lair of three Cryo-hydras.
Many other merchants have setup shop and small farms have started to spread out.
Interestingly enough the primary language used in It-lal is Wolden Below (aka Under-Common). There is only a 20% chance that a surface drow will also know common.
Details about It'lal's main road
Friday July 10th, 2009 12:04:47 PM
"There is an ancient road which twist and winds the side of the mountain, you will need to explore to find out who is there what [danger] there is and what opportunity [is] there for both allies and trade. We think it was originally a main trade route, perhaps the people It'lal traded with are still there."
Monday July 13th, 2009 12:03:33 PM
"At the edge of the city where some guards stand is the ruins of an old road that winds back and forth in long switch backs down the side of the mountain. The road is old there are stones in places which have fallen from above and parts are overgrown with brush. A few places the road is more than half crumbled away leaving a foot path with shear drops down."
ADM Andy's comments:
I always assumed that the "edge of the city" meant the southern tip, below the gateway plaza, and that the road then drops down and winds it's way west. If so, then the main road and the road that DM Kent (not DM Jay) referred to are one and the same. This seems to be confirmed by something that DM Kent said:
Thursday July 29th, 2010 10:30:10 PM
(Ooc: The gate in question is indeed the gate that controls access to the trail down the mountainside, but then also lead up to and into the Gate Plaza and further into the city.)
Details about the Gateway Plaza teleportation keys
Friday July 10th, 2009 12:04:47 PM
"Giovanni, using his legionary bard powers of trivia recalls all that he knows of the dagger keys and the key stones. He knows that the dagger key, key stone along with a drawn gateway circle pattern are needed to establish an open gateway to one of the five arches. It is strongly suspected that a particular key and stone are attuned to a specific gateway arch in the gateway plaza. The key and stone have an affinity for one another and one can be used to find the direction to the other. There are five gateway arches in the gateway plaza so it is strongly suspected there are five sets of dagger keys and key stones. The whereabouts of the five sets are mostly unknown. It is assumed Atrea now has one. One set was know to be in the reptilian city drow consulate before It'lal was abandon[ed]. One set was though to be used by the drow to leave It'lal for the underdark. The location of the other two are unknown due to them being moved from original location when war broke out."
ADM Andy's comments:
One of the missing keys, but not the one held by Atrea, was subsequently used by kobolds to attack It'lal when the Shadow Guardians were traveling to the Floating City. The attack was repulsed, the key taken from the kobolds, and a counter-attack made on the kobold city. The key is now held by the It'lal Council, however the key is apparently damaged in some way (that's all we were told). The kobolds live deep below It'lal, and apparently there are no tunnels linking the two cities, so teleportation is the only practical means to launch an attack.
After that attack, the Council found a way to block the use of all the gates, as they found it totally unacceptable to have random key-holders gating into It'lal whenever they wanted (Atrea had used the same strategy with the key she stole). Last we knew, the Council was researching a way to "reprogram" the gates, so that It'lal could control the use and destination of the gates.
