Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #203

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #203 

July 22nd, 2023 

• Number: 203 

• Name: Sequential Dive on a Site of Interest: West Rift Ventures of Carasta Part 7: All Fall Up and Down 

• Location:  Center of the Narrows between the Sleeping Woods and the Furnace 

• Population (approx.): 515 

• Brief: What does the future hold for West Rift and Deep Mining Station 4A? Here are some events that could be part of the future for the site:  

• The expedition is surprised when a small delegation apparently from The Sleeping Woods (#62) appears at the gates of West Rift. The Elves wander the area, taking particular interest in the size of the rift, but say nothing and depart soon after their arrival. 

• Magma rises within the rift, raising the ground and hinting at a potential volcanic eruption. The miners have a limited amount of time to react, make ready and potentially evacuate. 

• The “Gatherer” Baron Peregrine (#28) makes a surprise attack on West Rift hoping to seize much needed coin and resources, plus make a statement to Carasta regarding control of the center of the Narrows. 

   The excavators of the ruins accidentally uncover and activate a group of the guardian constructs, leading to battles in the caverns and a frantic escape to the surface. 

• An earthquake shakes the site and causes cracks and fissures to open throughout the ruins and the mines. One fissure connects to a nearby underground stream which begins to flood either the caverns or pours into the rift, leading to steam explosions when the water meets the magma below. 

• During the distraction of one of these events, Jansire and the Ebon Fangs make their move, making it appear the cook is lost and perhaps dead in the confusion, but departing with a substantial number of valuables.
  

• Geography: As of this moment, West Rift and Deep Mining Station 4A cover most of the 250 yards between the original campsite and the rift. West Rift has turned into a bustling boom town centered around the expedition headquarters, surrounded by businesses of various sorts, those encircled by hours, hotels and boarding houses. The trail from Woodland Path (#98) has been transformed into a broad avenue capable of supporting the heavily armored wagons previously seen on the road from Deep Mining Station 3A (#23). It passes by West Rift and ends at the warehouses and furnaces of the mines at the rift.  

• The shafts into the cavern of the lost city have been converted to elevators and a grand staircase descends into the depths between them. The excavated chamber is about 50 yards across, and new finds are reported almost daily. The mines have expanded to 4 levels of galleries into the earth, connected to the surface by two heavy freight elevators, a fast personnel elevator and two staircases affixed to the rift walls. A platform sits on columns above the rift floor, supporting drills that drive into the rift floor to sample the magma below.