Velious · The Scars of Velious
Thurgadin
Thurgadin is the city of the Coldain, the dwarves who have lived for ages on Velious: a mine-like warren carved into the peaks of the Great Divide and reached through a secret door behind a waterfall.
A hidden refuge
A classic zone atlas tells how the Coldain came here. Their old home was overrun by the frost giants, and they fled to the Great Divide, settling out of sight in the hope that their enemies would leave them alone. That older home survives as the Crystal Caverns, once called Froststone.
Their story, and the long war with the giants of Kael Drakkel, is told in the Coldain of Thurgadin. The Coldain honour Brell Serilis, the god of the underfoot.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Thurgadin · EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Crystal Caverns
Carved like a mine
The Atlas says the city feels as if it was dug like a mine, by very skilled miners. Its tunnels wind in a confusing, maze-like way that keeps bringing visitors back to spots they have already passed, and private homes, shops and other important places are scattered throughout. An old mine the Coldain no longer use is home to strong creatures, which may be why they left it.
The front and back doors are guarded by a bridge over a deep chasm, ringed with slippery ice. Anyone who falls and survives lands among powerful, aggressive creatures at the bottom.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Thurgadin
The Coldain
a player guide describes a thriving city of shops and taverns, a library and a bank. The Coldain are wary of outsiders, but will let you in as long as you have not already made enemies of them by killing their kind outside.
The Atlas adds that, having had little contact with the wider world, they treat all outsiders with the same caution until someone proves to be a friend or an enemy. They are masters of many crafts and keep skills the rest of Norrath has lost. The city’s monsters run from about 30 to 35 in the caves, and the dwarves themselves from 30 to 45.
Sources: Allakhazam: Thurgadin (zone) · EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Thurgadin
The way in
There is only one approach. In the Great Divide a waterfall falls over a secret door; through it lies the main entrance. Deeper in, the home of the Coldain king is Icewell Keep, which a player guide lists as the city’s other neighbour.
a community wiki gives the same links, the Great Divide and Icewell Keep. A player guide rates the city 30 to 45.
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Thurgadin · Project 1999 Wiki: Thurgadin · Allakhazam: Thurgadin (zone)
Lore tied to this zone
Sources: EQ Atlas (eqatlas.ca): Thurgadin · Allakhazam: Thurgadin (zone) · Project 1999 Wiki: Thurgadin