Beginner's Guide to the Caves

The Beginner's Guide to the Caves

RECENT HAPPENING

The Caves have a heavy focus on explorers and adventurers journeying deeper into the dangerous lower tunnels to brave the fog in search of new habitable caverns or lost artifacts, and this has been true for the thousands of years since Upper Rightway was first founded. Recently, however, things have begun to fall apart. The fog, generally considered a natural force that kept to itself, has become animated, either by some magic or awakened by the constant expansion into ever deeper caves. Whatever the cause, it's recently begun to push back, resulting in the fall of the Aerie and the loss of thousands of lives. In addition to this, strange new beasts have begun to emerge, more powerful than the lesser monsters that have left the fog in the past, wreaking havoc among the cities of the Caves.

Under the combined pressure of the fog and the beasts, cracks have begun to appear in the society of the Caves. Advocates have begun to pop up for halting expansion and exploration, instead favoring a shoring up of existing cities while scholars search for a cure. Still others argue that a true solution can only be found deeper in the tunnels, which some argue will only further anger the fog.

The majority of the people of the Caves are, of course, completely unaffected by these political struggles, despite the increased hardship. Cities continue to expand, magical research progresses, and life goes on, albeit a little more slowly.


THE GROUPS


These are the things known publicly about each of the major factions of the caves. While they all have their own secrets and agendas, at least a few things are known about each group.


The Chroniclers

The Chroniclers are one of the most pervasive groups of the caves, with eyes and ears nearly everywhere. They're also one of the most trusted groups of the Caves, famously willing to offer assistance when needed, even if a reward seems unlikely. The Chroniclers are also the go-to people for having information transmitted between towns, with a complex network of telepaths relaying messages across the hundreds of miles between some towns. The Chroniclers work to maintain their image of forward-thinking and selfless helpfulness, and have done a very effective job at it. To those who have worked closely with them, the Chroniclers are oddly distant. While their existence is core to the functioning of the Caves, since travel between cities is generally slow and treacherous, they generally abstain from interaction with the populace at large. Though the Chroniclers have been known to send teams to explore particularly interesting or noteworthy ruins, these are rare. The Chroniclers have a surprisingly tense relationship with the Curators, though why is unknown to any outside of the upper levels of their two groups.


The Torch

The Torch is a unique organization among the caves. Prospective Torches earn the right to bear a Torch through a rigorous training process involving service under a senior Torch in the depths of the Caves for extended periods of time, learning the hazards and true dangers of the Caves. Following this training process, they are issued their Torch, a rare, small chunk of the white rock that lights the living caverns of the Caves, embedded in a gold ring bearing the symbol of their company. After their initial training, Torches operate freelance. Sconces, the armories of the Torches, can be found in every city of the Caves, with a few hidden throughout even the darkest areas. While these are closed to the general public, Torches may access them at will, provided they assist in the later restocking. Torches are considered by and large to be absolutely reliable by the public, famously brave in the face of danger, but rarely to the point of foolishness. They have clashed famously with the Guardsmen in the past, though both organizations claim to have moved on. They work closely with the Smiths, assisting in the safe transport of goods to even the most remote parts of the Caves.


The Smiths

Far from limiting themselves to the lives of simple craftsmen, the Smiths take a surprisingly active role in the day to day life of the Caves, as opposed to what might be expected from their title. The Smiths are unparalleled explorers of lost cities and ruins, trained from their early apprenticeship to recognize the make of magical artifacts from all across the planes, as well as the best ways of disabling or otherwise rendering them harmless. While they work to maintain their public image of obtaining knowledge for the practical benefits it provides, anyone who is even passingly familiar with a Smith knows that their organization is driven just as much by their thirst for knowledge as it is by their desire to improve the standard of living in the Caves. The Smiths have two public leader figures; Halfwing, a tengu and the official owner of the Arcane Forge, a bird with a shrewd eye for business and the author of much of the magic that keeps the caves running, as well as Flametongue, the oldest living being in the caves and a seasoned adventurer, though he has since laid down his sword in favor of perfecting his weaponsmithing. The Smiths have historically gotten along with most groups, though being around for as long as they have means they've had both open conflict and alliances with every major group in the Caves.


The Cult of the Flame

The Cult is one of the stranger groups in the Caves, at least in the eyes of the public. They're one of the most active groups in terms of exploration of the deeper caves, searching for lost relics from the formation of the Caves. While most other groups focus on finding artifacts with immediate practical value, or that might help to uncover secrets to driving back the fog of the Caves, the Cult focuses on artifacts that don't seem to hold much value to others. Shrines to forgotten gods, artifacts connecting to planes that no longer exist, these are the sorts of things that the Cult makes its business. Despite their strangeness, the Cult is home to some of the most powerful beings in the Caves, being particularly popular with true immortals and powerful mages, though they tend to be extremely strange. The Cult gets along well with the Torches, and has recently had pretty brutal clashes with the guardsmen on their stance over further expansion into the Caves.


The Death-Colonies

The Death Colonies are a remote, out of the way part of the caves populated by mortals who didn't want to go when their time came. The Colonies are run by the Keeper, a figure who does his best to keep out of the public eye and has so far done a very good job. The Colonies themselves sit in a rather unique position, being inhabited by things incapable of dying, stuck somewhere between life and undeath. The Colonists are strange beings, for the most part living in a sort of lethargic half-paralyzed state, and most people of the Caves don't really know what to make of them. Individuals have made investigations into the colonies and the Keeper over the centuries, of course, but they've never turned up anything interesting on the colonists and even less information on the Keeper himself. The process by which mortals become Colonists, and indeed almost everything about the colonies and the Keeper, is almost entirely unknown. The Colonies are one of the few bastions of safety remaining in the Caves; having remained largely stagnant over the centuries, they have very little to lose to the newly aggressive fog. The Death-Colonies have historically never really had any particularly standout political affiliations, instead largely keeping to themselves.


The Guardsmen

If there is a backbone to the society of the caves, this is it. The Guardsmen are one of the smallest groups in the Caves, but arguably one of the most important. The Guardsmen handle the minor natural threats of the Caves, the spawn of the fog that occasionally finds its way into the more settled areas, as well as the more significant threats such as rogue mages or particularly lethal new arrivals. The Guardsmen hold themselves to a strict code of honor, and actively strive to maintain the integrity of their forces, and this constant scrutiny no doubt contributes to their ever-shrinking ranks. The Guardsmen have historically had the most conflicts with the other groups of the caves, holding a staunchly conservative approach towards expansion and exploration, though they have no qualms about working with other groups should circumstances demand it.


The Thieves Guild

The Guild is an all-encompassing organization, the head of which is not known to the general populace. The Guild runs an inn in every city of the Caves, and this is often the busiest building in the entire city, housing and serving as a waypoint for traveling adventurers and explorers. These are the highlights of Cave life, serving as a hub for bards to share tales of the dangers of the caves, for travelers to share news of what's happening in other cities, and for adventurers to share recent discoveries or newly gained knowledge with each other. The Guild's inns are the closest thing the Caves have to a sacred place, where everyone is welcome and conflict is left at the door. The Guild itself is arguably the most influential organization in the Caves, despite having no official higher representatives. The word of the Guild is relayed by the innkeepers, generally retired adventurers who aren't ready to quite give up the Caves just yet.


The Curators

The black sheep of the Caves, the Curators are the closest thing anyone has to a magical warehouse. The Curators themselves are a secretive bunch, and tend to keep to themselves unless they want something from you. The Menagerie, their base of operations in Hope's Point, is one of the stranger buildings of the Caves. While the Torches guard their armories carefully, the Menagerie is on an entirely different level, kept sealed off from civilization by a series of wards and traps as old as the Caves themselves. Curators are rarely seen outside of Hope's Point, though groups of them can occasionally be seen traveling to newly discovered ruins or recently uncovered magical sites. The Curators tend to not get involved in politics, though when they do they get very involved, acting with surprising speed when they choose to.