Bator – a mining town of dark dwarves
The dull thud of pickaxes, the crackling of bonfires, the flickering glow of Sard. Bator exists in eternal night, sustained by blood, sweat, and stone dust.
Bator is a grim, isolated settlement of dark dwarves (duergar), hidden in the stone depths of the Underdark. Here, luck is not believed in, change is not expected, and dreams of something greater do not exist. Here, people simply work, trade, and die, because that is the way of things.
Located on the edge of the Serades River chasm, it resembles a massive, somber fortress embedded into the rock. The duergar houses (around 40) are built of black basalt—low, sturdy, as if carved directly from the mountain itself. The air is thick with the soot of smelting furnaces, and the only source of gentle light is the faint glow of Sard, illuminating the northern slopes.
The only road leads to a single destination—Dergorai, along the Stone Path. Every few days, caravans leave laden with the precious crystal and return with slaves, tools, and provisions.
Structure and Daily Life
Bator is divided into several key zones:
- North – Sard Mines. Open-pit quarries where the sound of pickaxes is eternal. The ground is laced with the yellow glow of the crystal, seeping through the cracks in the rock.
- Center – Duergar Residential Quarters. Around 40 stone houses, tightly packed together. There are no decorations, only heavy iron doors and protective runes engraved on doorsteps.
- South – Administrative Center. A cluster of buildings where ore is evaluated, slave records are kept, and security matters are handled.
- West – Serades River. A bottomless abyss where the dead, the defiant, and the useless are discarded. None return from here.
- East – Caravan Gates. Massive steel doors leading to the Stone Path. Here, caravans gather, and contracts with Dergorai merchants are forged.
The workday begins before the night fires die out. Slaves line up at the mines, overseers bark orders, and merchants negotiate the next shipments. Bator never rests—as long as Sard is being mined, it continues to live.
Key Figures
Surim – Head of Bator’s Guard
“Stealing? Betrayal? Kill them. We have no other problems.”
Surim is the embodiment of law and power. Harsh, laconic, and ruthless, he ensures that caravans leave on time, mines remain operational, and order is maintained.
Key Locations
Sard Mines – The Heart of Bator
“Pickaxe. Stone. Blood. Repeat.”
The northern part of the town is occupied by open-pit mines where slaves pry the Living Crystal straight from the rock. Sard glows with a yellow light, casting its eerie shimmer into the hollow eyes of slaves, who toil day and night to extract it.
The mines are never empty. Work is constant; only the bodies change.
Tavern “Elf’s Skull” – The Core of Duergar Life
“When you drink here, be sure—you won’t end up in the next cup.”
At the center of Bator stands its only drinking establishment—the “Elf’s Skull.” A rough building with iron-barred windows and a heavy door, its interior is thick with the scent of smoked meat, mushrooms, and strong ale.
Above the entrance hangs a real elf’s skull, yellowed with time. They say his last words were curses against the duergar.
Here, deals are struck, debts are settled, and smuggling agreements are made. Guards, overseers, merchants—everyone passes through the “Elf’s Skull.”
The tavern’s owner, Grorn “Seven Fingers”, is an old duergar with burned hands and a perpetually suspicious gaze.
Slave Barracks – A Prison Without Walls
“Some suffocate in chains. Some—from their absence.”
To the southeast stands the only building for slaves—a low, bleak hall where nothing can be heard but coughing and groans.
There are no beds, no personal space—only cold stone floors.
They are fed once a day—just enough to hold a pickaxe.
Guards stand at the doors at all times, ensuring that no one gets any ideas about escape.