Gretretka

Gretretka is an ancient Underdark city populated by duergar, some second class non-duergar citizens, and slaves. Located where the Gretr Road meets the Impassable Sea and only two weeks' journey from the surface, it is a major trading hub for residents of the Underdark.

History
Gretretka is an ancient city, with all but its most recent history lost to the sands of time. The duergar may prize tradition, but this does not mean that they invest in history. Details are insignificant; the important thing is to preserve the spirit of the past. Most duergar know that the city - and possibly the entire cavern in which it and the Impassable Sea are housed - were created by Laduguer and given to the duergar as the place on which they work.

Geography
The duergar city is perfectly located for a major Underdark settlement. The Gretr Road meets the Impassable Sea at a river delta: numerous tributaries flow into the Sea in and around Gretretka, enabling both aquaculture and industry. The largest of the rivers, the Cramelia, travels alongside the Gretr Road in the sections closest to Gretretka; it bisects the city, dividing it into two primary sections and enabling fast waterborne travel from the south (by the Gretr Road) to the north (the delta). Between the rivers and tributaries are large expanses of water-smoothed stone leading down to the water's edge. The duergar have built their city up from these natural foundations, constructing tall (often adjoining the ceiling), functional buildings sensibly arranged.

The Cramelia River splits in two at the centre of Gretretka, dividing and around a massive column connecting the floor to the ceiling before rejoining into a single flow. This column is a duergar holy place: it houses the Church of Laduguer and the Agor.

The lands of the delta form a natural limit beyond which the duergar cannot expand, forcing them to build up (the aforementioned tall buildings) and in: the cave walls abutting the city have been continually excavated over millennia, giving them the consistency of swiss cheese. While there are two primary exits to the city - the main gate guarding the Gretr Road and the Sea Gate leading to the more open expanse of the delta - these cave wall excavations mean that there are in fact many ways for small groups of well-guided people to get in or out.

A slow eternal lava river, the Arborak, flows past Gretretka and further underground. It parallels the Cramelia but then diverts from it before hitting the Sea. The presence of the lava flow enables much of Gretretka's industry.

Demographics and Language
Approximately 15,000 duergar dwell within the city's walls. In normal times some roam outside for reasons of resource gathering or trade, but most return to their homes inside at the end of each "day." (The Church of Laduguer is responsible for maintaining the city's clock: it dims the bright lights of the central column to structure time.) The duergar are served by approximately 10,000 slaves of non-duergar. Approximately 1000 non-duergar residents - largely but not exclusively traders - make their homes in Gretretka as well.

Duergar speak undercommon and duergan, a variation of undercommon incorporating elements of all of the languages that have historically flowed through Gretretka.

Economy
Before the siege, Gretretka was a thriving, well-rounded city-state. Its economic power is derived in large part from the duergar's enslavement of other Underdark races. Slavery is indeed so significant to the economy that duergar coin represents portions of slaves, or, more precisely, portions of their hourly capacity to work.

Politics and Government
Gretretka is governed by the Gerousia, a gerontocratic council of 101 of the oldest Citizens of Gretretka. Because duergar women tend to outlive duergar men by several decades, it tends towards matriarchy.

Meetings of the Gerousia take place in the Agor, a sacred space carved into the pillar in the middle of the city.

There are three primary factions: the Traditionalists, the Liberals, and the Abolitionists. The Abolitionists were, until recently, largely underground. The return of Olga Blackreach after a 200-year absence triggered their re-emergence into political prominence. The Traditionalists hold the balance of power. Traditionalists hold that work must be directed to the Glory of Gretretka, while Abolitionists argue that work is valuable in itself. This is a debate that no one but Olga Halfhand and her fellow Abolitionists will entertain: the Liberals take the Traditionalists' understanding of work as common sense. The ideology justifies slavery.

Duergans adhere to the Old Laws. These include Hospitality (accept all so that they might behold the great work Gretretka), the Sacred Space (the Agor is sacrosanct), Gerontocracy (rule by the oldest and wisest), Duergan Supremacy (other races may be enslaved), and - above all - Work.

Interpreting the Old Laws is sometimes complex. A Captain of the Duerguard, for instance, might have to decide whether the Law of Gerontocracy suggests that a detained gerontocrat should be permitted to leave their confinement for the purposes of conducting the official business of the Gerousia and whether this gerontocratic right should extend to their compatriots - a quandary raised during Doc's second trip to the Duerguard Headquarters.

Much of the discourse of the Gerousia in normal times concerns the work of interpretation. In troubled times, these interpretations direct the city-state's political positions. The Traditionalists, for instance, have suspended the general application of hospitality to all (restraining it only to those officially approved by the city guard) because they claim the openness of hospitality poses a threat to the primary law, work.

Defense
Gretretka is enclosed on the north by the Sea Wall and on the south by the Road Wall. Both feature large, heavily-guarded gates controlling access. The Sea Wall is a recent construction; the Traditionalists recently advocated for and successfully constructed it, closing passage to the city from the Impassable Sea and provoking the kuo-toan siege.