Shmurr

What Bonds the World Together?

Most commonly used as an adhesive, shmurr is now a common material found in various parts of the world, though it originated in Dwarven Territory.

The Great Adhesive

Shmurr has a sticky property that bonds two or more items together. It is applied directly to one surface and, when touched, sticks to whatever touches it. The material is made of spider webs, spider milk, and the paste from ground-up leaves. It does not last for long if exposed to water, making it less effective in coastal regions or areas more prone to rain, but in the caves where it was first made, it works perfectly.

Type

Polymer

Odor

Acrid

Taste

Rich, sweet, and toxic

Color

White

Origin

While it is true that shmurr was made in the land of the Dwarves, it was actually first made by the Dark Elves. In the settlement that later became New Chazarre (at the entrance of a cavern beneath the Dwarven lands), the residents were finding new ways to survive in an unfamiliar land. Most had only known the comforts of the Gilded City of Camor or the Elven Forest around it, but there was little plantlife below ground, and even fewer beasts.
Food was the first thing on everyone's minds, but some focused on other thoughts. Though there were not many animals in the caves, there was one: spiders, not great to eat, but useful. Their webs were sticky, and they kept other annoyances like insects away. Study of their webs began to yield fruit when the sticky properties were reproduced in a compound called shmurr. When the milk of a spider and some plant paste was added together with the webs, the result revolutionized Dark Elven society, as they were able to use the adhesive for construction, art, and even putting together weapons and armor.
This got the Dwarves interested in the creation, and though they had already agreed to let the Dark Elves stay in their caves as a way to spite the High Elves, there was still bad blood between the two groups. Dwarven representatives visited New Chazarre, originally to try to find reasons to blame the Dark Elves for something as an excuse to be more harsh with them, but when they saw shmurr in action their tunes changed completely. The Dwarves asked for the recipe, and in exchange granted more freedom to the Dark Elves. Thanks to the Dwarves, the adhesive was then traded elsewhere to the Goblins, Draconians, Humans, and even the Elves.