The Crawling City is a city-state on the Amber Steppes of Ghur. It is built on the back of the Great Worm Shu’gohl. High aloft the Amber Steppes the city has weathered the tide of Chaos that have flowed around it on the Steppes. As the other Great Worms it is ever-moving and isolated, Shu’gohl is unique in so that it leaves a poisonous trail after it. The ground goes black and anyone coming in contact with it wither, eaten from the inside by black worms.
The city itself is built around the bristle-like hairs of the worm that have been hollowed out into towers, connected by hanging bridges. On top of the towers were large barrels collecting rain-water that was filtered down to farms inside the towers. There are also forests of frayed hair on the back of the worm, which are used as timber. The worm’s scales are quarried to be used as stone. Mirror plates also hang from the towers which reflect lantern light both down into the streets, and up into the heights helping to make Shu’gohl as bright as day even at night.
It is several days hard riding from the city of Excelsis, mostly through orruk territory.
Locations
At the head of the worm is Sahg’gohl the storm-crown of the city-worm, built by the first inhabitants that found their way up on the worms back. It is a temple to Sigmar were a Realmgate is situated that used to lead to the Luminous Plains in Azyr. The city-section closest to Sahg’gohl is called the Setaen Palisades, here are the towers higher than anywhere else and the noble families of the city live in the highest tiers. The outer city is called the Dorsal Barbicans.
As the worm crawls across the steppes it devours all in its way, settlements and even cities and those end up on Olgu’gohl, the belly of the worm known as the Squirming Sea. According to the Mappa Vurmio the remnants of Geistmaw, a Skaven settlement can be found lodged into its shores.
Libraria Vurmis a great library with ancients texts from all over Ghur is located in the Crawling City. The Vurmites, an order of holy warriors make their base here and are devoted to maintain this library.
The central plaza is lined by statues of great heroes from the city’s history whilst guards, mostly freeguild, stand watch, tired or thirsty travellers can even collect water from bronze taps of great barrels which are scattered about the central courtyard. These barrels are rain siphons, communal property and much larger version atop each of the setaen towers. The water collected in these is filtered down to the fungal farms in the dorsal districts, and the breweries and steam-houses of the anterior.
A group of the tallest of the bristle-towers have been converted to provide substantial aerial docklands – mainly for Kharadron Overlords traders, they are built from hair, skin-plates and other assorted materials, stretched in the round.
Inhabitants
The city, once freed from the Skaven, is highly cosmoplition and as well as traders, priests of many religions for all faiths are welcomed, although only one is truly honoured – Sigmar who the inhabitants call Sahg’mahr, as is evident from the many wayshrines in the streets. A visitor could expect to see Nagashites, white-robed and golden-masked Hyshites and even covens of wild-haired forest-brides singing eerie hymns in praise of the Lady of Leaves, all in the same area.
Corrupted Leviadon
There currently exists a corrupted Leviadon stuck in the Setaen Palisades. Team Sparkles is currently investigating the situation
