Mines of Ghun'Gob

Overview
The Tandala Depths are seeded with tunnels and passages that twist and wind through the dense rock. Intense darkness rules here. Only the natural wealth of the earth occasionally pierces through this veil. It was the Ylossian dwarves who first held these caverns and consequently their wealth. Like many a ruler though their grip eventually waned making way for new residents, new masters of the depths. Enter the Gob-Oc orcs or - as Santharians say - goblins. This nimble, long exiled folk took control of these subterranean territories after the mysterious disappearance of the Ylossians.

Ghun'gob, the name of this place that remains most prominently, is the name given by the goblins who once lived in these tunnels. Roughly translated from Tharian the name implies "Cursed Cave". Though the long abandoned darkness once more bears testament to this name, it was not always this way. In the past these mines bore more fruitful and celebrating names. Presently though, these too have faded from the tongues of surface-walkers and cave dwellers alike. Now long forgotten these names only linger inscribed in the walls of the long-winding tunnels.

Helvíl Ypherén, an elven traveller on a mission for the infamous Compendium, took it upon himself in xxxx to inspect and attempt to chart these nearly forgotten mines far in the goblin territories of the Tandala Depths and now counts amongst one of few travellers who survived this dreaded place.

Description
What little and scarce information has managed to escape the bowels of the Mines of Ghun'Gob was collected by the due diligence of Compendium researcher, Helvil Ypherén. A dedicated explorer, he followed up on the rumours and myths, setting out to investigate the true extent and purpose of these fabled Mines of Ghun'gob. This brave researcher went on a mission to establish documentation that would once and for all shed light into these dark parts of the Tandala Depths. In a historic context such a report was of great value to the Compendium given the, at the time, recent resurgence of the goblins onto the surface of Sarvonia. This surfacing came after a 200 year period of isolation which almost erased the goblins from living memory on the continent of Sarvonia.

Helvil's findings hoped not only to identify and map the area, but to interpret these findings. In Helvil's own words:

"When I entered Ghun'gob I have searched most of the tunnels' rooms and passages, or at least those I could reach. Most of the rooms did not interest me aside from the fact that they belonged to the network of the mines and served certain obvious purposes. Many of those were empty, or did not contain anything exceptional nor valuable, others however triggered my curiosity. There were rooms that were still filled with goblin made objects but some of the things there did not look like goblin designs, a fact, which poses a lot of questions."

What little information has made it out of these mines is recorded in the chronicled investigation of Helvil.

Updated 12/02/2014

"The Northern Gates - It would appear that whoever built these extensive tunnels wished to protect the northern side well. The gates are durable and show evidence of having withstood time until recently. In a feral yet natural kind of way they still retained their original beauty compared to gates at the south of the mines. It is this comparison which hints at these mines having been established pre-goblin occupation of the Tandala Depths. Having been part of the invading force from the north, the gob'oc would have had nothing to fear from the north. And yet these vast northern gates suggest otherwise..."

"The Southern Gate - The so-called Southern Gates can be found on the south-eastern side of the Hár mountain range. While some ancient Erpheronian texts reference this place. The historian Ethelim Herengwar speaks about the "dark hole of the greenskins near the mouth of the Rayne [river]". However, it is uncertain if the gates I have come across do indeed belong to the goblin mine of Ghun'gob. Unlike the gates at the north, these gates now lie in ruin and are impossible to enter - the tunnels have crumbled. Only a part of the gate survived against the tests of time and of the harsh wars that might have occured in this area. Maybe the demise of Ghun'gob had its origin here. At any point, the crumbled and defeated state of the southern gates correctly reflects the south's original hatred for these greenskin invaders...

When I entered, I felt that the air grew thicker and heavier. I carved with my sword in the nearby wall; a warning to those who are foolish enough like me to enter the dark places of Ghun'gob. Beware travellers! Lighten your footsteps for you might disturb the silence that resides in Ghun'gob. There are more fouler things in here than you might expect..."

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Location
The mines of Ghun'gob are located in the east of the Tandala Depths, entombed deep under the Tandala Mountains on the northern face of the River Rayne’s valley. This system of tunnels and caverns once ran far and deep under the Hár mountain. There at least four recorded entrances to the Ghun’gob Mines. The main entrance is a well hidden little gate, tucked away between landslides off old, and tumbled rock outcroppings. This gate is north facing and emerges out into a calm side-valley that grows out from the main Rayne Gorge.

Though none will willingly look to enter this place, it is said that it is incredibly hard to find. So much so that it has been said that this northern gate still bears remnants of the Diorye’oleal dark elves‘ magic, which shrouded countless of the entries into the Tandala Depths in a somewhat extreme attempt at securing the wealth of the Ylossian Dwarves that slumbered somewhere in its depths. The other three entrances only resemble collapsed entry points or mere cracks in the rock, closed by the forces of nature reshuffling the land. Mapping their locations though, it becomes apparent that the goblins had an elaborate defence system for these individual segments of their empire. Set to emerge high on the mountain side these entry points open up to small plateaus from where the valleys below could be keenly observed. At the same time, and immensely interesting, these sentry camps suggest that the goblins did at one point fear attack from within the Tandala Mountains, as opposed to the SWIII situation where both sides clashed on either side of this mountain range, struggling over the southern and norther gates into the Tandala Depths.

People
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Function First and foremost, the Ghun’Gob mines are considered a part of the extensive network of tunnels and caverns that aided the greenskin invasion of southern Sarvonia during the Third Sarvonian War. Though not directly in line with the marching direction of the vast armies, Ghun’Gob might well have served as a defensive position, a hub along the path into the south, for the treck through the dark Tandala Depths was long, arduous and full of hostile environments.

Another theory suggested that the Ghun’Gob Mines are purely the creation of the Goblins, who dug into the rich rock here while their empire was on the rise, expanding deep and far into the Tandala Depths. Now a days these mines are clearly in undisputed goblin territory, this race of small greenskins having a firm and unrelenting grasp on the Tandala Depths. From accounts though it is obvious that the Ghun’gob mines, though within goblin territory are not used by their masters. As dark and looming as they were described, the mines remain sealed and unapproached by the goblins. The sheer extent of dread these caverns must bear is highlihted by the fact that not even the promise of treasure lures this usually eager and cunning race into its depths.

Myth/Lore Rumor and mystery surrounds the creation of the Ghun’gob mines; who first dug these tunnels, was it the Ylossian Dwarves, or did these mines come about during the expansionistic rise of the goblins as a major race in Santharia? Scholars are split about the evidence at hand, and justly so. Above all though, researchers claim that these tunnels were created by the Ylossian dwarves who worshipped the dwarven half-god Aephesvil. They support this argument regardless of the fact that documents clearly only proved their existence in the west of the Tandala Depths. The main evidence for this argument are unique columns unearthed within Ghun’gob that clearly indicate dwarven craftsmanship.

At the same time though in recent years, as more and more is learnt about the goblins as a race, word surfaced about the existence of a goblin warband that so strongly revered the dwarven skill and craftsmanship that they turned to imitating the dwarves in all their ways. Goblins of this warband are known as ___. This immitating life style could possibly have extended to their architecture, and thus explained the columns. Whether the ___ were in fact responsible for these dwarven structures or not remains unclear though, since relations between goblins and the outside world are only just flourishing.

Regardless of its origin it is strongly believed that these tunnels played a role in the Third Sarvonian War. Through these dark and twisting caverns, hordes of greenskins swarmed through into Southern Sarvonia. In this regard, the Ghun’gob mines play a vital role in assessing the history of the goblins as a race. If these mines were purely of Ylossian design, then according to history, the goblins and greenskins should have never been able to find the entrances – according to history, the Diorye’oleal dark elves lay powerful magical spells on these entry points. This was after slaughtering the Ylossian tribe. Since their network was extensive and not easily transversed by outsiders, the dark elves cast these spells in order to prevent any others from entering the mines, and possibly coming away with the fabled treasures of Aephesvil before they themselves did.

To this day, these deep and haunted mines remain abandoned. No goblin or free-willed creature will venture into these dark, menacing caverns and tunnels. Even young goblin children have learnt not to use the Ghun’gob as a test of bravery. All but the brave Compendium researcher Helvil lacked the courage to enter these foreboding recesses of the past. Who knows, maybe luring within the dark corners of this abandoned area of the Tandala Depths there still lie dark and twisted creatures that have yet eluded exposure to the outside world.