The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

74
the collapsed tunnel was abandoned every time it was
mentioned, as that would mean directly exposing House
Pelshothe to the shangu yet again. Resigned at last to their
fate, the rulers of the House chose to remain where they
were, to regroup and rebuild until they felt they were strong
enough to brave the Underdeep again. They named their
new settlement Roszhan.
As they explored their surroundings and took stock of their
resources, the Pelshothe drow made a sobering discovery.
Despite the plentiful food, water and air to care for the
immediate needs of the dark elves, there was little enough
else to be found in these tunnels. The most abundant
resource that they possessed were great beds of clay around
the great river. Coal was present in plenty as well, along
with a number of gemstones, but the best efforts of the
Pelshothe craftsmen were unable to locate any metal ore
at all.
This situation became rather more pressing
when the Pelshothe learned they were not,
after all, alone in this place. The eerie stillness
of Roszhan was broken with the sudden
attack of creatures the drow had never before
encountered. Though far less dangerous than
the shangu, these morgoshe (see page 226)
were savage foes and the Pelshothe paid a
heavy price to drive them from Roszhan,
forcing them to retreat back down the waterfall
from whence they had came. Though the brief
but brutal war supplanted every other priority
for a time, its aftermath made the absence of
metal ore in the tunnels around Roszhan all
the more pressing. The warm and constantly
wet environment was quickly taking its toll
on the weapons and armour the Pelshothe
did still possess, threatening to rust them into
uselessness.
Drow craftsmen and mages set to work
expanding the tunnels, creating great galleries
in the stone as they searched for iron or
even copper to forge into weapons, dumping
hundreds of tons of stone down the waterfall,
but the quest was in vain. The morgoshe were
not enthused about the new drow practice
of pouring rocks down on them and another
war between the two races began, ending in
bloody stalemate for both sides. Even with
weapons scavenged from the dead morgoshe
however, the situation was becoming dire for
the Pelshothe.
A young mage and alchemist named Vezzia na’Pelshothe
came up with the solution to the dilemma. She reasoned
that it must be possible, through alchemy, to create an
alternative to metal. After several failed attempts with
bone and na’orsuin, she realised she was ignoring the
largest resource the Pelshothe had at their disposal, the vast
beds of clay in and around the river. Perfecting the process
of alchemically treating the clay took some time and the
end result was not quite as strong as steel, but soon, the
Pelshothe had at their disposal a virtually limitless resource
from which to craft ceramic weapons and armour, as well
as dozens of other items.
The morgoshe soon returned to make war on the drow once
again, but this time the dark elves were better prepared.
Driving the fish-men before them in retreat, the drow at
last discovered the network of hidden passageways and
ladders the morgoshe had used to reach them. Pursuing