Elivert The Undercity

Where all the unwanted ones end

Elivert, also known as the undercity, was created quite recently, although no specific date is known. People of Laani that weren't accepted by the majority were forced to live off of petty theft and hit jobs for a long time. After so many years, a group of them finally snapped and, led by someone known as Beel, travelled outside the city to find new shelter. They didn't want to just get out however, they wanted to get revenge on the pains caused to them by the city. They wanted to reclaim it as their own. After a while of looking for the perfect place, they stumbled upon the cave system that stems underneath Laani. It is where the small bandit group settled down. In time, more people came down there, with the same goal of someday getting revenge. Currently, the Undercity is the end goal of most mercenaries from around Laani, nowadays known as the capital of thieves. Let crime reign!

A mercenary's dream

As a direct opposite of the city of Laani, mercenaries of Elivert often take on the less heroic jobs, the ones that make you appear as villains in bard songs. Beel, who became the guildmaster of Elivert, gathers gossip from the upper city and other major cities of Laani, listening to people foolishly saying they want someone else dead. He grants their wishes.

Anarchy

The city doesn't have any written laws, people there take care of themselves on their own. Even though it's a community of mostly thieves nowadays, they are out there to protect their own people and don't like it when they feel threatened. After all, there are also people who have never committed any crime, merely being hated for who they were.

Instead of using money, people of Elivert prefer trading with wares instead. Some still accept monetary payment, but those people are mostly travelling merchants that have an actual use for gold. In taverns, people are welcome to pay with both money and wares. Performers are able to stay at them for free quite often, which made joining bands very popular. Of course, if your music gets booed, you will be expected to make up for hurting people's ears!

Even though there aren't any written laws, there's quite a few unwritten ones that every citizen should remember.

1. Always carry a knife by your side. People of Elivert are mostly your friends, but scum appears in all communities.
2. Do not let people get away with hurting others. If you are found guilty of not intervening in any way, you are considered just as at fault.
3. Even if you were forced to live by committing crime on the surface, do not steal from your fellow under-citizens. Especially not from people who are there out of necessity, not to become mercenaries
4. Help those in need, do not be selfish and hoard food and water to yourself. Leave just enough for yourself and share the rest.
5. Do not assume the other person is a criminal. People have many different backgrounds which should not be judged. We are all here to get revenge for how we were treated on the surface, our criminal ways are just how we do it.
6. Do not go to the North, where the actual scum of this city lives. You do not want to be associated with rapists and cannibals.

The Guild

The guild is the central spot of Elivert, mimicking the upper city. The building was actually there already when the caves were first found. Although a ruin, they worked hard to repair it and call it their home. The people that first founded the city still live in the same guild, although some rooms are repurposed as storage rooms and such.

Parodying the guild from above, there's also many trophies and papers displayed on the walls, although instead of maps and quest notices, there's headhunt notices, wanted posters, and remains of the people they have hunted so far. In the middle, there's the desk of the guildmaster, self proclaimed mayor, Beel. The desk looks very out of place, as it is an old outdoor toilet repurposed as one. He sits there fortified with wood, so the only thing one can see is his green, glowing eyes.

The flies

The entirety of Elivert is filled with flies. It is not due to the place being filthy, however. The flies act as Beel's spies, flying around and listening to conversations, then forwarding them to him. While they don't spy on the citizens of Elivert, they gather information from the people aboveground, collecting possible hit jobs and information on what the government is up to.

The City

Elivert, despite being such a new and rather crudely constructed place, has quite a few points of interest for both potential new visitors and locals. It largely mimics the upper city, most likely because people wanted to feel like they were home.

The Marketplace

Just like the upper city, the undercity has its own marketplace as well. Most of the wares sold there are weapons and food, with a few special travel caravans that still accept money as payment. It's also where you can buy black market things, which are not available aboveground, like drugs. Although people in Elivert don't mind it when you consume illegal substances, you will be taken care of if you are a danger to yourself and others.

Fern's Ferntastical Wares

A very crudely crafted tent, with a bunch of wooden boxes used as the counter. The shop is owned by Fern, a small snail creature, who is very well known among the locals to be a fraud. Whenever he doesn't want to scam you out of money, however, he can bring you some of the rarest items out there. Magic items, exotic weapons, potions, Fern's got it all! If you can pay. Despite being a local, Fern really likes money, so paying him large amounts of it has greater chances of him not scamming you.

Another thing he does is usury. While some people think they can get away with not paying off debts because of Fern's size, they shouldn't judge a book by its cover. He will get his money back eventually. He is probably one of the wealthiest people currently living in Elivert.

Monty's Emporium

While his shop is on the outskirts of Elivert, rather than in the Marketplace, he is still a quite well known merchant. The mole-mutant usually sells rocks and minerals in exchange for simple trash and materials. He can also provide directions to many places around the city, due to travelling a lot. At a fee, he may even let someone use his pathways to get to places fast and safe. Despite having his mole-hole very close to the North, people still come to him quite often, being able to travel through his tunnels is worth the risk.

Nomad Munitions

A legendary in the mercenary world gunslinger, sometimes stays in the undercity for a while to sell his wares. The elf named Hakul Tai'mavar sells handmade guns of high quality, and equally high prices. Those who can afford them however, will find themselves wielding some of the best weapons there are to offer. His weaponry is very modern, surprising even the best of craftsmen in the country.

The Taverns

The undercity has some very thriving taverns, as there isn't anyone to stop them from drinking so much and having tavern brawls. Another thing that makes them very special, is that above ground alcohol is rather rare there. Instead of making wine out of grapes, they use mushrooms and moss, as well as copying many dwarven techniques of creating ale. 

The Fiendish Foot

The tavern is owned by E'Elmir, a fiend who was told he's the devil and got blinded as a way to “remove his evil powers”. It is a rather homely place, quite well maintained for how crude the undercity is. The building is comically tall, slightly leaning in one direction, although it is just sturdy enough to not fall apart. The main giveaway of the fact it's a tavern is how loud the inside is, and the three old beer mugs that are hung above the doorway. At night, many bands come here to play their music, such as Fiendstrings, an all fiend band that performs aggressive and political music about oppression they and many other citizens of the Undercity go through.

The alcohol and food of The Fiendish Foot is quite peculiar and unlike anywhere else. The main cook there is Oogugbu von Kiszon, who is an ork, a forest ork to be specific. Obviously the food prepared by him doesn't waste anything, involving all parts of an animal in his dishes. Eyes, bones, tendons, all cooked. Interestingly, the ork doesn't eat any meat himself, as he is a vegetarian. Thus, he offers vegetarian options as well.

Necrovivre

A bar for evil wizards only. Owned by someone known as Gretta Tittybangbang, who made the tavern after an accident that granted her the name she has now. Drunken spell battles are very common in the place, despite Gretta not liking magic duels as much. The drinks in Necrovivre are often enhanced with magic, with a taint-mix being their most cursed one, as it can actually cause mutations to consumers. They also make familiar shaped cookies, like owls and frogs.

The Ballroom

A tavern where, instead of alcohol, music is the most important attraction. Somewhat of a competitor to the Fiendish Foot, The Ballroom is a home to many modern day artists, which play genres of music that were invented a very short time ago, magitechno and folktronica. The place is full of magitech gear, all for amplifying sound to make it louder and fuller, sometimes even distorting it. It's where an Orbitor was used for the very first time, which is a magitech instrument, made of a glass or crystal magic orb, overfilled with Taint to produce a low pitched buzz whenever anyone puts their hands or fingers in its close proximity. Because of the high amount of magitech gear in the area, there's been a few instances of mutation incidents happening. The most popular band that plays there is the Thunderbards.

Other places of interest

The boulder

It's been there since the very beginning, it was split in half once, it came back whole the day after. No one knows why it's there. No one knows why it can become whole again.

Religions

The religions that are most commonly worshipped in Elivert are quite different from the ones aboveground. They mostly focus on war and strength.

Temple of Marzanna

The temple is a small, crumbling down church, made out of gray bricks and wood. A single tower is attached to it, with a bell hanging from its ceiling. Most of the stained glass windows are broken and "All hail the Lady" is written above the entrance. There is only one priest there, known as Malasartes, who takes care of the church.

Shrine of the Great Blazing One

A small shrine with many candles lit in front of a golden idol. Two heavily armored guards stand on the sides of it at all times. The golden idol represents a burning hand of the Great Blazing One. The Great Blazing One of course refers to Svarozhits, the God of fire and war. His followers call themselves the enlightened and believe that war will set them free. A small group of them is currently stationed in the city in case they plan a raid on the upper city.

Organisations

There's quite a few organisations scattered around the Undercity, most being criminals. However, despite their common interest being power, they all have different ways of achieving it, and different end goals.

The North

The northern section of the undercity is “so bad that even the worst of criminals don't go there”. It's where a hideout of three brutish warriors is placed, the men being Rey, Pac and Witos. They are the bosses of a gang of cannibalistic organ traffickers, which everyone fears. The braver warriors of the undercity are trying to get rid of them with no effects. Sadly, a creation of such a group was expected, given the anarchist ways of Elivert.

Elven Rebels

The elven rebels are a group of elves that want to reclaim a part of Laani as their own land, due to their own home being stolen from them years ago during the Varenmere fights. Because of their sparse amounts, they are very well prepared to make casualties as low as possible. Led by Vivienne “Harpy” Flamelilly, the group is well trained in all fields of combat, melee, ranged, and even magic. Harpy trains her people in melee combat by herself.