Shipley

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Shipley as seen at Nerdtopia

Shipley is one of Quelmar's many reclaimed populations of creatures, monsters, and beasts.

Shipley was assembled by the attendees of Nerdtopia 2023, it was a land of tomatoes and potatoes, of salsa and crabcakes, and of a vicious dictator and leader, who ruled with an iron claw until the last days of Shipley.

About

Shipley was an underground dungeon located somewhere in Quelmar, though it was also known as the Fancy Dungeon of Fairy-Tales, perhaps due to it's oldest known inhabitant, a nameless, monstrous dragon.

History

It is known that the earliest inhabitant of Shipley was a dragon, and that it is possible that humans originally moved into and settled in the cavern system due to the hoard and loot that the nameless dragon once held here. The humans left behind few relics of their time before being driven out by the returning monsters, who hoped to claim Shipley once again in the name of all things creature and beast.

The Smash Brothers

When the humans left, one of the relics that was abandoned and left behind was the exclusive rare Nintendo GameCube, a mysterious magical device that brought together friends and communities through the joy of nonstop action and digital experiences. The monsters loved to gather for a competitive Smash Bros. Melee tournament, and being able to play together in the early days brought the community together happily.

Years later, a plague of attention-deficiency swept through the city of Shipley, and as the monsters struggled to focus on repairing their city, they discovered that they could treat the symptoms with lots of video games, once again the Smash Bros had helped put Shipley right again.

The Soire

Shortly after moving everyone into Shipley, it was decided to hold a party in town, and the monsters brought out their best hats and coats and tails (sometimes literal tails) to celebrate the founding on the new community.

Residents

Tim

Tim is the Angry People-Eating dwarf, and the first resident to arrive in the dungeon. Tim had high hopes and dreams for the dungeon of Shipley, but realized that the dream of a monster utopia was at risk when it was discovered that fellow resident Crab Face had been hoarding resources (ESPECIALLY the Old Bay) from the rest of the inhabitants of Shipley. Tim published an article on the Crab Face horde, and went to bed that night, only to realize that Crab Face was not to be messed with. Tim was found dead in the morning, death by a hundred crab stabbings. The rest of the dungeon town were so heartbroken by the town's first murder that a mural to commemorate Tim, the original Shipley dreamer, was constructed outside the ruins of his slowly decaying (former) nursing home.

The Arcane Coalition

The Arcane Coalition of Prestidigitation Masters were a team of 3 strange humanoid creatures who worked at the nursing home, ensuring that it was repaired and cleaned and ready for Tim's residence. It is possible they struck a deal with Tim to upkeep his house in return for their life, as Tim was known to eat people of all kinds. Knowing their place in this monstrous society, the Arcane Coalition mostly kept to quiet sidelines of Shipley, only emerging in rare occasions to help with vital aid or magic rituals as necessary.

It is believed at least one of the coalition took a side job working at Crab Face's Taco Stand. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, a batch of mixed cleaning and magic chemicals one evening, at the height of Shipley's most chaotic and ungoverned days, led to their demise.

Crab Face

Another of Shipley's original residents, Crab Face emerged out of the city's toxic lake, massive in size.

Crab Face was revealed to have been a hoarder shortly after Shipley was established, when it was discovered that Crab Face hoarded the entire city's collection of Old Bay spices. This was revealed when Tim (see above) spotted Crab Face's hoard and ratted him out to everyone in town. The result is that Isicor and Time punished Crab Face, taking away the old bay and forcing him to only eat bland food for the rest of his days. This began a slow and and steady burn of Crab Face to realize a new dream of his own: to dominate and control the entirety of Shipley.

Eventually, Crab Face would take control of the city, commanding, domineering, and killing all his opposition, until the fateful day that he died suddenly in the early morning hours. His body would be taken to the city's bonfire and a party would be held in his honor, known as a "Crab Boil".

The day after Crab Face died....the humans arrived to retake Shipley. It's unknown if they were successful, but it's clear they were waiting for Shipley's largest and most powerful monster to fall first.

Doris S. Crabs

Crab Face's own personal pet human, as leader of Shipley, he took one of the strongest humans from one of the many invasions as his own pet. Doris was a vegan, which was good for Crab Face as she had no desire to eat her master, and was drafted into the war against the monsters at a relatively young age, being captured at 27. It is unknown what happened to Doris after the untimely (or very timely) death of Crab Face, the death that ultimately led to last days of Shipley as a whole.

Isicor

Isicor was a Fang Beast, also called "Teeth Incarnate". He was the embodiment of sharp mouth movements.

Isicor lived in the Cave of Dangers, which was notable for it's beautiful mailbox. Unfortunately, as Crab Face began to take unlawful measures to ensure his place at the top of the social ladder, it was discovered that a large amount of toxic water (perhaps from Potato Lake, the residence of Crab Face) had crept into the rocks of the Cave, collapsing the entrance and trapping Isicor inside for nearly all of Shipley's existence.

However, one enchanted evening, the crows, Doris, and the Arcane Coalition, suffering under Crab Face's wrath, were able to perform a magic ritual that re-opened up Isicor's cave, freeing him from his cage and allowing him to escape and possibly take revenge on Crab Face. While there is no proof that Isacor was the cause of Crab Face's mysterious instantaneous death, it is noted that Crab Face's death ocurred merely days after Isicor's ultimate return.

Isicor was the only original monster still alive when humans arrived to sack Shipley. It is unknown what his ultimate fate was.

The Crows

Arch-Enemy of Crab Face, the crows arrived early on, shortly after Shipley's first celebration of success. A terrible omen indeed, the days that followed their arrival were led with more contempt than Shipley would ever see again, with monsters quickly turning on each other one after the other. First Tim's death, then Isacor's entrapment, the Crows did their best to try to take down Crab Face as he rose his way to the top of the society, but were unsuccessful in their endeavors. They blamed Crab Face for everything bad that happened, and in return the crab shot old bay into the crow's eyes, poisoning them and blinding them forever. The town then also cooked the crows because let's face it, they were pre-seasoned.

The EyeSpi's

Watching the rise, fall, rise again, and ultimate sabotage of Shipley were the 1000 "Eye Spi's", a family of spiders who looked like eyeballs, watching from every dank and dark crevice of the dungeon's ceiling. It was said that the EyeSpis would cry venom, dripping it down onto the citizens of Shipley in subtle and nearly invisible ways. Was this venom the source of the caustic tensions and rivalries that emerged in Shipley? The jury is still out.

Jiraiya the Necromancer Elder Frog

Coming from a far off village, Jiraiya arrived weeks after he had learned that Tim was killed. It is unknown who told Jiraiya that there was a murder, but some theorize it was the EyeSpi's, who watched everything secretly from above. In any case, Jiraiya arrived in Shipley and began a ritual to bring back Tim. Jiraiya carried with him four magical flies which could each be sacrificed, their own tiny souls being lost in return for restoring the soul of another dead creature.

Jiraiya's machinations were unfortunately interrupted when one particular siege by the humans broke through the lines. Although Crab Face was able to destroy the humans, he mysteriously didn't intervene until AFTER they had attacked and driven away Jiraiya from the cavern, after which they guarded and blocked the entrance to Shipley, keeping Jiraiya from ever finishing his ceremony.

The ElephAnts

Some of the natural fauna of Shipley included a colony of radioactive ants (perhaps radiated by the toxic waters of Potato Lake), and a whole family of tiny red elephants. It was discovered the two species of tiny creatures were symbiotic, often working together, to the extent that some believe the two cultures were in fact united by love. Those who ship the Elephants and the Ants together refer to the collective group of native creatures as "The ElephAnts"

The ElephAnts bore their first cross-breed baby at the end of Shipley's existence...a baby that shocked everyone in Shipley when it looked identical to a human baby. This terrible, terrifying omen meant only one thing...humans are inevitable and will arrive in Shipley one way or another. "The Age of Monsters will soon end!" people cried in the streets. The omen soon proved to be correct as the very next day, the largest and most dangerous group of heroes and humans arrived...the story never say what happened to Shipley afterwards.

Landmarks

Potato Lake

The body of water which the original society (and perhaps even the original Dragon Hoard) was built against, Potato lake was un-special in every way, except that at some point in time, radioactive or toxic wastes had seeped into the waters, giving them special abilities.

Anti-Human Measures: The Human Mouse Trap and the Signs

After a number of small sieges and incursions from human invaders, Crab Face dictated that a trap would be built, and a number of signs erected around the dungeon, including both a massive human-based mousetrap (like the board game), and a sign warning all approaching humans that evil mean humans who infiltrate Shipley will be captured on sight. Some humans were given mercy, others, like Doris, were kept as pets...and others met an even worse fate.

The Nursing Home

Very similar to the Human Mouse Trap in function, at one point in time, enough humans had lived in Shipley that they erected a nursing home in the dungeon, where residents and visiting adventurers could be taken care of in their older days. Unfortunately, part of Shipley's abandonment came when resident Tim (see below) was admitted. He may not have been the only one in the home when he was admitted, but he was the only one left soon. Tim would continue to use the nursing home as his personal residence until his death at the claws of Crab Face.

During one siege late in the history of Shipley, invading humans were able to collapse the nursing home, leaving only the mural of Tim standing.

The Taco Stand & Giant Tomato

After taking control of the city, Crab Face kept the citizens of Shipley well fed thanks to a small farm on which he grew one giant tomato. The tomato miraculously was able to supply enough salsa to stuff endless Tacos at Crab Face's Taco Stand, the largest source of food in the cavern. Some attribute the magical size and ability of the tomato to keep feeding the citizens to it's proximity to Potato Lake, where toxic chemicals may have altered the tomato.

Bean's Park

Originally established simply as "Kid's Park", the park hoped to set a record in the area as the largest playground around, with the most levels possible. However, Crab Face believed that building a playgorund would possibly attract human kids (or any kids, Crab Face hated kids) and had the playground destroyed shortly after it's creation.

Months later, when the community had softened to the idea, and after the arrival of the elephants and ants, the playground was finally realized, and it was finished construction under the name "Bean's Park".

The Fountains

The Fountain of Oopsy-Daisies (Super Cursed)

The Fountain of Oopsy-Daises was a relic of a toilet left behind by the human settles in Shipley. The monsters refused to go near it due to it's tendency to leak and spew sewage, but they admired it's fountain-show like ability to dazzle.

The (Previously Hot Cocoa) Fountain

The Hot Cocoa fountain was built by the citizens of Shipley later down the line, as the city flourished under the ruling of Crab Face. It made steam (which could be very dangerous and even burn your hands if you weren't careful) but the fountain also had the ability to spout marshmallows! Unfortunately for the citizens of Shipley, they could only salvage a single glass cup from the ruins to drink cocoa with, so everyone had to share their cocoa drinks.

However, when the town feared that human Clowns were on the fringe of the cavern and could possibly be allured into the depths of Shipley, an executive decision was made to drain all candy from the city, including draining the chocolate out of the fountain, turning it into a simple water fountain. Though it's debated whether this was useful, there's no debate that the Clowns (who were strictly banned from Shipley) did NOT ever attack the town, perhaps proving that it was the right choice.

Stories

The Story of Shipley (by James)

Deep in the earthy bowels of Quelmar, nestled in a network of vast caverns, lay the underground dungeon known as Shipley. Also known as the Fancy Dungeon of Fairy-Tales, it had earned this reputation not by human design, but through the legends of a nameless, monstrous dragon that was its earliest known inhabitant. Some said the humans initially migrated into these caverns lured by the riches of the dragon's hoard. Over time, they built a life in these underground halls, only to be evicted by returning creatures seeking to reclaim their ancient home.

In the vacuum left behind by humans, the dungeon's new residents found a strange relic – a Nintendo GameCube. This relic, with its ability to host Smash Bros. Melee tournaments, turned into an unusual adhesive that held the community together in the face of challenges. When an attention-deficiency plague struck Shipley, it was the GameCube that became an unlikely hero, helping the monsters focus on rebuilding their city through its nonstop action and digital experiences.

The inaugural celebration of the new community was marked with a grand soiree. The inhabitants donned their best hats and tails (some literal), and partied to commemorate their successful resettlement.

One of the first to call Shipley home was Tim, an angry people-eating dwarf with dreams of a monster utopia. But his hopes were jeopardized by another resident, Crab Face, who hoarded the entire city's Old Bay spices. In a bid to save Shipley, Tim exposed Crab Face, only to be killed in his sleep as retaliation – the first murder in Shipley, marking the start of an era of chaos.

Crab Face, the hulking crustacean who rose from Shipley's toxic Potato Lake, was infamous for his resource hoarding and his tyrannical reign over the dungeon town. His eventual death led to a grand celebration known as the "Crab Boil," but also signaled the return of human invaders to reclaim Shipley.

Isicor, a Fang Beast known as "Teeth Incarnate," was an unfortunate victim of Crab Face's reign, trapped in the Cave of Dangers due to the influx of toxic water from Potato Lake. Freed by a magic ritual, Isicor's return coincided with Crab Face's sudden death, adding to the whispers of his possible revenge. Isicor was the last of the original monsters when the humans arrived to lay siege on Shipley again.

Jiraiya, the elder necromancer frog, tried to resurrect Tim but was driven away by a human siege that Crab Face conveniently failed to prevent in time. Doris S. Crabs, a human prisoner turned pet, and the EyeSpi's, a family of spying spiders, watched Shipley's rise and fall with unease.

Shipley was not without its quirks. The Human Mouse Trap and warning signs erected by Crab Face to ward off human invaders, the nursing home turned residence of Tim, the Taco Stand with the magically everlasting giant tomato, and Bean's Park all contributed to Shipley's unique landscape. Two fountains, one a cursed toilet relic and the other a hot cocoa dispenser turned regular water fountain, added a touch of whimsy and humor to the dungeon town.

But Shipley's end was heralded by an odd occurrence. The ElephAnts, a crossbreed between the local radioactive ants and tiny red elephants, gave birth to a creature that resembled a human baby. This sparked fear and unease among the inhabitants, echoing the prophecy of human invasion. True to the omen, the largest contingent of human invaders arrived soon after. The fate of Shipley after this invasion remains a mystery, its story locked away within the dungeon walls of Quelmar.