Ssharmath is home to a transport circle of the same name.
One of the smallest cities in the underdark, Ssharmath lies to the west of the Labyrinth, former home of the Drow academies. Used as a staging post and re-supply point, it is one of the westernmost points of the empire, lying far out to sea.
As a consequence, it is also very deep, with travel to the east facing a steep climb for nearly 5 days before ages-old stone steps and sharply sloping tunnels give way to natural caverns and fissures. Normally travel is by circle only as the route through the Labyrinth is so dangerous, so the city is wholly reliant on the porters and their phenomenal carrying capacity to keep the store rooms full and the population fed.
The reliance on the circle has led to an unusual level of military presence at the local transport circle, with several platoons of troops being supplemented by priests and wizards of considerable power. Conversely, patrols around the city are very light – the tunnels to the west all begin to slope upwards and end a few days travel away, when the ancient tunnelers realised they would breach the sea bed, and the lands to the east are guarded by the twisting, deceiving nightmare that is the Labyrinth. It is thought that only two routes exist through the maze-like structure, and even these take many days to travel. All food and water for the journey has to be carried, as the rocks here are barren and inhospitable, and there is no sustenance to be found. Many attackers have been swallowed whole by this natural defence – far stronger in terms of danger than any army the Tarantulas might wield.
Previously having a tiny population, many of the refugees from shattered southern cities have fled here, and the population is burgeoning.