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The Underground Highway is a vast network of subterranean tunnels, rivers,
and passageways that extends throughout the continent of Talislanta. Ranging
in depth from a few dozen feet to several hundred feet below the surface, the
Highway is by no means uniform in construction or design. Some of the tunnels
are barely five feet in diameter; others are wide enough to allow passage of
a landark. Some run at a consistent depth for miles on end, while others run
uphill and down, winding like serpents through the subterranean depths.
Such inconsistancies can be attributed to the diverse methods used to create
the passageways that together comprise the Underground Highway. It is
estimated that no more than a third of the tunnels were constructed by
artificial means. Of these, most found in western Talislanta can be
attributed to the Gnomekin, or in the east, the Vajra. The smooth,
square-walled tunnels found in some places are also of artificial
construction, though no one knows who made these passages, or when they were
constructed. As much as 40% of the system can be attributed to the burrowings
patterns of giant land kra. Geophages, subterranoids, and earth demons
account for perhaps another 10%. The rest of the tunnels are believed to have
been formed by underground rivers, lava flows, and other types of natural
seismic and geological activity.
Of all the Talislantan races it is likely that none knows more about the
Underground Highway the Gnomekin. Their geomancers were instrumental in
opening the large section of highway that leads from Durne to the city of
Cymril, which has been used as a major trade route for over two hundred
years. This section of the Highway measures over thirty feet in diameter, and
runs at a fairly consistent depth of one hundred and forty feet. The surface
is smooth, and suitable for use by wagons and mounts; the walls and ceilings,
hewed from solid bedrock, are rough in texture but structurally very sound.
The passage intersects with two other serviceable roadways, one leading to
Vardune and Taz, and the other to Sindar, Kasmir, and Astar.
The Gnomekin began a concerted effort to map the full extent of the
Underground Highway in the year 607. To date, they have charted at least 70%
of the tunnels that extend beneath the Seven Kingdoms, and have surveyed
parts of the system extending as far east as the Volcanic Hills, as far north
as the borders of Narandu, and as far south as the borders of the Dark Coast.
Maps and geomantic studies of the Underground Highway may be purchased in the
city of Durne. The work of surveying the entire Highway continues apace, and
has generated considerable demand for qualified surveyors, geomancers, and
mercenary retainers.
©1994 SMS
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