The Upper Cogs lie far below the towers of Sharn. While they stretch across the length of the entire city, access to the Cogs is mostly limited to Lower Tavick’s Landing and Lower Dura where deep access shafts are maintained.
The Upper Cogs are primarily devoted to industry. When Lord Tarkanan destroyed the old city during the War of the Mark, he opened channels to the lake of fi re that lay deep beneath. This lava burns with a heat that is more than the laws of nature should allow, and it is ideal for working difficult metals such as adamantine. Over the centuries, House Cannith has helped Breland develop a massive array of foundries and forges in the Cogs, combining the powers of magic and nature to create a powerful industrial complex. In addition to the trades that rely on the heat and the fire, the Cogs are home to many businesses that the people on the surface don’t want to have to see, smell, or deal with—tanneries, slaughter houses, and other unpleasant trades.
Much of Sharn’s warforged population can be found in the Cogs districts of Ashblack and Blackbones, laboring in these workhouses and forges. While they are technically free, most of the warforged don’t know what to do with freedom; they were made to follow orders and to work as part of an army. Unscrupulous businessmen have lured warforged into indentured servitude, and many are little better than slaves. Requiring neither food nor sleep, they toil unceasingly, day in and day out. Lord Merrix d’Cannith has been making efforts to improve the life of the warforged and to encourage the constructs to take more initiative. The warforged who work at the Cannith Enclave in Ashblack are treated as equals, and Merrix secretly helped establish the Red Hammer Inn in Blackbones to help the warforged there.
Physically, the Upper Cogs are a honeycomb of passages, just wide enough for the carts and caravans that transport goods to and from the surface. The heat is palpable, and smoke and sulfur scents the air. The Cogs are old, and light is provided by everburning torches as opposed to everbright lanterns; these torches are often spaced far apart, so there can be stretches of shadow between the pools of light. Merchants may hire adventurers to guard particularly important caravans, supply trains have been attacked by Daask in the past.
The Cogs lie deep beneath Sharn, below the sewers and Old Sharn (described later in this chapter). Streams of Fernian lava flow through this area, and over the centuries, House Cannith has helped Breland establish vast foundries that tap this mystic resource. Ashblack and Blackbones are industrial districts, largely inhabited by warforged laborers and miserable workers of other races. It is said that House Cannith maintains a forgehold in the Ashblack district, and that this is where Baron Merrix d’Cannith conducts his experiments.
The Sharn Watch maintains a presence in the Cogs, and overseers from House Cannith are stationed here to keep things in order. Beyond these industrial districts lies the deeper tunnels of Khyber’s Gate, a tenement district.
Blackbones has a number of remarkable locations. For example, the Pool of Onatar’s Tears is sacred to the Sovereign of the Forge. The current caretaker is a warforged priest named Smith, who believes that Onatar has plans for the warforged, and that the warforged and creatures of flesh are meant to live together.
Most of the citizens of Sharn have never been to the Cogs. The area does house the bulk of the city’s warforged population, and if you’re looking for a particular warforged, it’s the best place to start. Industrial espionage and labor struggles can add drama to adventures in the great foundries, not to mention the possibility of artificers with secret forges hidden in the Cogs.