Getakenak Hills

This land is rugged with harsh winters, and is under the loose control of the dwarves of Karm Lema. Other races live here as well, but it is the great dwarven city that dominates the region. Only women are allowed into the interior of the city, even among their own people. The women are priests, lawyers, and warriors. They are preparing to defend against a great invasion. They believe that an army of demons lays in wait below their city, kept back only by religious faith, and they prepare constantly for any incursion from below. Those empires that have tried to capture the city from above have never succeeded.

The city, as you would expect, is full of defensive structures, but it also contains many monuments and elaborately decorated temples. It is a beautiful place, half above ground and half beneath it.

The men live in outlying settlements in the forests and deep in mines. It is hard to say how many dwarves there are in Gatakenak, because the tunnels and mines are the work of generations and curve back upon themselves. It is no exaggeration to say the hills are riddled with tunnels, many abandoned.

The men are encouraged by temperament and custom to keep their settlements temporary. There are a number of ghost towns in the hills, but in passing through that area again you may find them re-settled.

There is a permanent port on the west coast called Turso. It handles shipments arriving from Sylva Bay and even the Feccian Sea via Uncier Ocean. The men work the port, sending shipments inland to be handed off to the women at the Karm Lema gates. The Turreb River is a very short river, fed by meltwaters from the northern edge of the Starfell Mountains. It runs through eastern Gatakenak and into the Uncier Ocean to the north. The water makes for one of the best farming regions in the dwarven lands, so many farms and ranches line its banks.

If you can make your way deep enough into the mines--a feat of both trust and spelunking--you can find the Toolstation. This marks the deepest border of dwarven mines. Past this, they say, the demons dwell. Some parties gather at this point to make ventures into the demon realm, as much of that area was once rich dwarven mines and still contains some of the riches from their wars.

Or so they say. I’m not sure what the true nature of the danger is, but when I stayed there I saw some parties return with treasure and magic, and others return maimed or not at all.