Ironrot
Location: The northern end of Ercus’s desert upon a plateau, where the once powerful Andalora stood.
Population: Close to 1 million goblins and ogres live here.
Description: Old, militaristic buildings scrap and splay across the earth. Cobblestone roads exist, but in poor conditions. Some buildings still managed to stay in tact, though, revealing the original architect’s intent. It was built in uniform with streets named numerically. Pieces of Andalorian Knight armor are still used, but not in the way they were once intended. Tower shields are often used as doors; chest armor and helmets are sometimes used to keep some goblin buildings together. Various rags and cloths gathered from across the world are used with wooden poles to build goblin kiosks. Many airships, together or not, scatter across the once beautiful city. Buildings that have stayed together since Andalora’s fall have been somewhat “restructured” by the goblins and ogres. For example, where doors once were are now just holes. Fallen buildings have been haphazardly rebuilt in a fashion that anyone –but- a goblin would have better sense than to enter them. The streets are covered with various kiosks of goblin design, mostly of which sell completely useless trinkets and false artifacts. Up and inside the plateau’s cliff are holes where airships often stay. Long, elaborate bridges and ladders climb up the cliff to the city itself so that goblins and ogres alike can reach their ships.
History: Where Ironrot now stands is where Andalora once stood. The city itself began with many nomadic thieves and gypsies who were being chased for far too long. They disguised themselves as a budding town full of farmers and the like, and it worked against those that were chasing them. It was also the perfect place for a thief to guard themselves against fellow thieves, being that there are limited directions one must defend against upon such a high plateau.
Over time, the thieves and gypsies changed to warriors and builders, always conscious and fearful of others stealing their beloved treasures. Towers were erected across the edges of the city and eventually barracks were built, as well. They became so hardened and selfish over their treasures that Andalora eventually became a place that not many would merely wander into. They became warriors for hire, especially during the Battle of the Apocalypse. They sided with Rein, as he paid much more than his adversary. They did not fight as well as they could, though, and this was something that Rein and his men noticed very early on. The Andalorians were sent back to their homes with only partial payment, and it is rumored that soothsayers cursed the land and the people within it. Betraying the darklord is not something one nation can do alone, after all.
After Rein’s fall, Andalora stayed in relative peace, sometimes squabbling with various miscreants that truly thought they could acquire their treasures. None passed the walls, though, and the treasures quickly became myth and legend, even if they were not so valuable after all. At that point, it was a matter of retrieving the treasure that was more important than the treasure itself.
But before anyone had succeeded, a battle erupted that even the impenetrable city of Andalora could not expect. Rythe, the Voice of Rein, had crossed paths with Andalora on business terms. A guardian of the Earth followed the Voice of Rein to Andalora, as it was Rythe that had destroyed his beloved Baranar’s Forest and brought it to ash. They met in the center of Andalora, which at the time held an enormous sundial as an ode to Mercu. While the guardian of Earth brought complete brute force, it was the Voice of Rein’s thoughts that brought the city to rubble. It was as if space and time had been bent and warped. Stairways lay scattered in the sky and doorways led to nothing. Little is known what happened to the guardian of Earth, but Rythe’s story traveled and destroyed other places of the world at the time.
Almost immediately after the city was obliterated by a man’s mere thought, goblins and ogres traveled from all traces of the world. The fallen city of Andalora became an open treasure chest, after all. They were forced to gather there for years to come as there were so many piece of treasure, remarkable or not. They turned many airships into homes and houses temporarily as the gathering ensued. It took many years for the remnants of magic to dissipate, but even then, the goblins gathered.
Just as the treasure of Andalora began to fade, the ogrin realized how many of them gathered. A culture began to grow and bloom – well, as much as a goblin’s culture could, anyways. An ogre by the name of Ironside Ironrot gave the newly developed city his own name, and the other goblins and ogres didn’t complain. The city continued to grow, mostly untouched over time. It has now become the city of the ogrin. They finally have a place to call home.
Current Leader: Ironside Ironrot is still technically “leading” the city, although it is the market itself that has the most power. During the gathering of treasure, Ironside acquired a ring that could not fit his finger. It has brought him remarkably long life. He hasn’t aged a day since.
Military: Although nothing has ever been specified or developed, the army within Ironrot is a strong one, being that it is completely filled with ogres and gun-heavy goblins.
Empire: No empire controls Ironrot, although some trade openly with the ogrin.
