The History of The Drained Seas of Marimoor

The Spires of Necromunda have a flow to them. Water from the top spires trickles down through the hive, as pipes leak and wastewater is flushed downhive, and purified water is pumped back up into the top spires of the hive. Not all of it goes back up. Some of it trickles down so far, through even the Underhive, and arrives at the Sump.

After thousands of years the water had coalesced into underground aquifers. Thus began the Sump Seas of Marimoor, located under the Mynerva Cluster of Hive cities. The Sumps underneath those hives did not contain the pumping stations robust enough to keep the lower levels from flooding completely. Some hab domes completely filled with the runoff from the upper levels. Eventually the combined flow of the multiple hive cities of the Mynerva Cluster merged to form the Seas of Marimoor.

As the Sumps sunk beneath the surface ever deeper and into the Seas of Marimoor their treasures and forgotten caches became lost to time. Some compartments were fortunately sealed, and the detritus piling around them further locked their contents away, protecting them from the ravages of decay. Others were completely ruined by the ravages of corrosion and time.

Inexplicably the Seas of Marimoor began to recede. At first, it was thought to be a mistake in the data. As the years marched on, the amount of this reduction began to accelerate. Entire levels of the Sump began to reappear after being drained from millenia-old runoff. Pathways in the Sumpways began to appear, and soon pathways began to be found and plotted by enterprising Sump Prospectors.

Word began to spread. Tales of forgotten treasures unearthed by these prospectors reached far and wide, eventually reaching the ears of the Lord Helmawr himself. The Noble houses of Necromunda, eager to please their Overlord, were quick to assemble envoys to represent them in these unspoiled frontiers. They chartered expeditions to the drained sublevels with instructions to secure any resources for the glory of the respective Houses.

Rumors travel faster than a Promethium fire extinguished with water in the spires of the Hives and it wasn't long before criminal elements began to extend their own influence into the Dead Sump Seas. With Recidivist activity surging, Helmawr decided to send a token of his influence in the form of Palanite Enforcers to restore order.

Now the Sumps are embroiled with conflict. The rackets of the Underhive have begun to exploit the untold riches being exposed. The Enforcers are in equal parts imposing the will of their Lord and cutting off a piece for themselves. The Guilds are sponsoring multiple gangs to expand their own interests. Amidst all the commotion, dark forces are making their own machinations. Through it all, Archeotech and lost treasures are abound, and ripe for the taking for those who survive!