Witch Pipe

Witch Pipe

Witch Pipe is an active volcano sited along the eastern slopes of the Sournbracks. Like most volcanoes it begins somewhere in the deeps of the Underdark. Witch Pipe is nothing more than a cone, or pipe, in the Underdark region Phangul. It spews no lava in this region, but does warm up the waters of the Heliotrope Sea. In some areas near where it touches the sea, water seeping into pockets turns into jets of steam or pools of boiling water.

On the surface, a common misconception is that Witch Pipe is named for the Witch Horde or the many witches among the area's Theegans. The truth of the naming was that in the Horgon Era this volcano was the abode of a powerful fire troll shaman named Vuzara. As a mortal, she ruled for three decades, putting large tracts of Skycius under iron rule. Once she started getting old, Vuzara became a lich. It is thought that she learned how to do this from a set of scrolls or books plundered from what was then the ruins of Incubus. As an undead shaman, Vuzara ruled for another three centuries. In addition to an army of fire trolls and gnolls, she had a few red dragons. The hill and stone giants of the Sournbracks were her greatest foes. Many giant-built strongholds dot these mountains, with most built to defend against Vuzara's raiders. The reign of Vuzara ended when she was killed by a stone giant champion named Grazafar.

Witch Pipe has a lot of ruins on its outside and many labyrinths within it. Most of these were built during Vuzara's Reign (62 HG - 392 HG). These places are now the abodes of monsters and beasts with some of the higher ruins serving as aeries for chaos rocs, griffins, and dragons. The honeycomb of passages inside the volcano go all the way down into Phangul. They are the main reason why Theegans can be found pirating the waters of the Heliotrope Sea and living in the holds of the Underdark empire Gaereaus.

Locals say that Witch Pipe is cursed. This is because a number of liches have come to power in this volcano. Some are just a nuisance, but a few have been real problems for the region. In more recent times, two liches born to Vuzara's Curse joined up with the dragon cult at Phanaca.