The Depths

"Magic is a special and fickle thing. Sometimes it manifests in people, they become magicians. Sometimes an object, called an artifact in this treatise. Very rarely a location becomes magical. These places of arcane power are special, powerful, and dangerous if not careful."--Klax Morrow, Secrets of the Arcane 

The Depths is a term used by scholars to describe the winding interconnected caverns far beneath the surface of Altmar. Their true origins are unknown and are difficult to explain naturally.

History
The Depths are a seemingly natural set of caves and caverns that cover the whole of Altmar, though far beneath its surface. One theory is that the caverns were used as roads between dwarven strongholds beneath the mountains and other parts of Altmar. Indeed many dwarven settlements have been uncovered that have many interconnected passageways through them. As a result, most of the information about the Depths comes from dwarven scholars who study the phenomenon, or from the testimonies of the few dwarven clans that still make their home underground.

In any case, to those who know of The Depths, it is quite clear that the areas underground are very dangerous and filled with many subterranean beasts. As such, very little is known about them, but some intrepid scholars do brave the perils of the underground network from time to time, and even fewer return with concrete data.

Threat From Beyond
The Legends of Altmar first entered The Depths as they explored the ruined Shrine of Exodus. They made their way through the winding passages into the Fungal Halls, where they met Sovereign. Continuing their descent into the darkness, they fought many monsters and eventually reached the old dwarven capital of Duuravhiin. After meeting Argorok and retrieving the Earth Stone, they headed back up to the Shrine of Exodus.

Denizens

 * Notable Denizens
 * Sovereign
 * Argorok
 * Lesser Denizens
 * Rhemorazes
 * Trogoldytes
 * Piercers
 * Ochre Jelly
 * Hook Horrors
 * Violet Fungi
 * Myconids

Trivia

 * The Depths shares its name with an area from Dark Souls, though the name is the only thing the two areas have in common, other than being the residence of a dragon.