Uthodurn

Uthodurn

Population: 26,240 (56% dwarves, 36% elves, 4% gnomes, 4% other

races)

Government: A diarchy between the dwarven and elven monarchs

rules over the populace, each leader supported by a council of
nobles who share the responsibilities of overseeing the city and its
functions.

Defense: Uthodurn maintains a well-trained army of Glassblades to

keep the peace and stations scouts and skirmishers across the
Flotket Alps. Nobles also employ bodyguards.

Commerce: Most basic goods and services are available. Uthodurn's

isolation means that imports are limited and inns for outsiders are
scarce.

Organizations: Numerous temples dot the Volition Disc area of the

city, and competing guilds do business under the oversight of the
councils. Hidden agents from the Tribes of Shadycreek Run have
begun to find their way into the city.

Hidden among the icy peaks of the Flotket Alps, the northernmost
dwarven stronghold of Wildemount is ensconced in the base of a
steep mountain valley. Uthodurn is a bastion of dwarven culture,
home to a secluded people who've endured the freezing
temperatures and continuous snowfall across the mountains and
surrounding lands since they founded the stronghold nearly eight
hundred years ago. The dwarves of Uthodurn are sharp of wit, hairier
than their southern brethren, and as unyielding as the rock they live
in. The Queen of Uthodurn broke from stubborn dwarven traditions
and opened the city's doors to thousands of elven refugees following
the destruction of Molaesmyr nearly three centuries ago. While there
have been moments of conflict between the dwarves and elves as
ancient grudges are briefly revived, the society within these fire-
warmed stone halls has grown into a unique union of both cultures.

A Harsh Environment
Beyond the iron doors of the city, the wildlands surrounding the
underground stronghold are brutally cold and battered by cutting
winds. The people of Uthodurn hunt and track in bursts, like sudden
flurries of snow, stalking the wild white bison and cliffneck goats
that call the Flotket Alps home. The dwarves and elves of Uthodurn
have adapted to their environment, becoming skilled hunters and
trackers as well as hearty travelers used to persisting through
extreme conditions. As the hunter's saying goes, "squeezing water
from a stone might be hard, but snaring a rabbit from the Flots is
harder." A strong martial force is necessary to combat dangers such
as frost giant clans and snow-faring goblinoid bands that hunt
throughout the slopes and caverns of the mountain range, and the
masters of Uthodurn have trained fierce warriors and spellslingers.

TH
E FIERY VOLCANO KRAVARAAD LOOMS OVER THE SNOW-COVERED FLOTKET
ALPS, HOME OF THE DIARCHY OF UTHODURN

Dual Societies, Dual Skills

Uthodurn has the unique distinction of being the only place in

Wildemount where dwarven and elven lifestyles and traditions come
together within one location. The resulting collaborations have
created incredible new crafts and means of circumventing the
challenges of the region. Dwarven carving techniques blend with
elven arcane knowledge to elevate architecture and excavation
capabilities. Historical knowledge of the local vegetation meets
refined herbalism to cultivate and grow cold-resistant crops. The
crafting and smithing techniques of each lineage entwine and
complement one another, making Uthodurnian goods that pass
beyond the Greying Wildlands valuable indeed.

Love Knows No Bounds

Dwarves and elves have lived together under the same roof and
banner for centuries within Uthodurn. Over those years, they have
forged ties of mutual respect, and romances and unions between
elves and dwarves have also become increasingly common as the
years progress. Though such partnerships were initially considered
scandalous, they came to be met with tolerance, and eventually
celebration. While an elf and dwarf may indeed produce offspring,
the curiously stubborn nature of both ancestries produces a child
that is either an elf or a dwarf, though a child of either race often
inherits minor physical attributes from the other parent. Such
children are affectionately referred to as attalwen, or "two-hearted."

Strike It Rich

The Diarchy of Uthodurn rewards those who discover magic items in

the wastes of Foren, driving Uthodurn's most experienced — and
most desperate — explorers to Syrinlya. Uthodurn doesn't have the
funds to support a full expedition in Foren, so they provide
incentives for citizens who gather such items. The city provides free
transportation to and from Syrinlya, in addition to rewarding
discoveries, because they are desperate for items that could provide
them with more resources, guard them from an invasion from the
Dwendalian Empire or the Kryn Dynasty, or help cure the corruption
in the Savalirwood. A handful of scholars believe the source of the
Savalirwood's corruption might even be tied to something within the
ruins of Aeor.

Government

The stronghold of Uthodurn is ruled by the dual monarchs, the dwarf

Queen Simone Fruunast and the elf King Imathan Talviel, who each
oversee their own small council. Most matters of the city and its
provinces are handled by these councils, and well-trained soldiers
and rangers called Glassblades — named for their signature weapon
design, which resembles jagged glass — act as enforcers of order
and law.
Crime

Uthodurn society is far from perfect, and a seedy criminal element

exists in the shadows under the mountain. Guildmasters who seek
to surmount their rivals are known to resort to theft and bribery,
while some honorless nobles have occasionally embraced the
effectiveness of blackmail, and even murder, to gain power and
wealth. Curious spies and thieves from Shadycreek Run have also
sneaked or lied their way into the hearth-lit halls, and a small surge
of crime might be imminent.

Geography

Above the entrance to Uthodurn stands a series of small

watchtowers, which surround a cluster of livery stables that house
thick-coated, hardy horses and cliffneck goats. The entire city is
built around a vertical pit that descends straight down from a half-
valley, with numerous tunnel doorways locked with cap-like iron
doors, creating a wide, downward spiral of carved stone, ruddy iron,
polished marble, and cold subterranean waterfalls lit by ever-burning
pyres. The city's sections are divided and marked by sets of wide
pillars that hold aloft steel gates that can be dropped to seal off
entrances and defend the deeper regions of Uthodurn.

The top level of the spiral, called the Volition Disc, is the widest and
oldest of the regions. Many citizens live along the outer walls of the
Volition Disc in a unique mishmash of old, angular stone abodes and
lofty elven homesteads. The district is bisected by a central road
called the Auger Trail, which is both a thoroughfare and a forum,
lined by tables, benches, and peddlers' carts. Many construction
businesses have small building yards here, while the upper, or
Topper, mines work hard to pull iron from the surrounding rock. The
main Glassblade barracks are centered around the entrance tunnels
that descend into the city.

Below the Volition Disc, in a smaller spiral, lies the Deliberation

Disc, or Liber Disc as it's often called. The Liber Disc is lined floor-
to-ceiling with homes, emporiums, forges, and taverns that fill the
air with the scents of cooked meats and boiling tubers. Many
Uthodurnians come here to shop, enjoy the bustling atmosphere, or
unwind with a hearty ale or piquant wine. Foreign travelers may be
tickled to come across dwarves dancing to uncharacteristically
whimsical elven music or elves enjoying dirty barroom games.
At the bottom of the city, the Grand Disc contains the Luddenbrock
Mines that pull precious metals from the deeper veins of the
mountain, as well as the Grandcast Citadel where the dual
monarchs rule their people. The citadel itself is an impressive
palace carved into the central stalactite pillars to resemble an
inverse tower, with marble walls that make it look like a frozen,
underground tornado.