Gauntlgrym

Gauntlgrym (pronounced: /ˈgɑːʌntʊlgrɪm/ Gaunt-ul-grim) was an ancient dwarven city and the capital of the Delzoun.Its location was lost for centuries, alleged to be north of the River Dessarin, near the Valley of Khedrun in the Savage Frontier, though it was actually much farther to the southwest. Bruenor Battlehammer rediscovered Gauntlgrym through a cave entrance in a stony ravine in the Crags outside of Neverwinter. This entrance appear to be the closest to the city's "front doors." There existed a river of magma that originated within Mount Hotenow, which, in 1479 DR, was connected to the Great Cavern (and therefore Gauntlgrym's main entrance) via winding tunnels. The river was guarded by Karrundax, a young red dragon. A number of tunnels in the Underdark, beneath Gauntlgrym, led upwards into the city, many of which bypassed the main entrance. Via the Underdark, Gauntlgrym connected with Deepearth, Nuur Throth, a long and treacherous tunnel to the Great Worm Caverns and an even longer tunnel to Shadowdale. The city was built on a huge scale, with many doorways constructed at a size that would allow even dragons to pass through. Doorways were constructed from iron, mithral and stone. These doors were designed to be opened only by a Delzoun, and were both magically sealed and tremendously heavy. The city was adorned with icons to the Morndinsamman (dwarven pantheon) and other dwarven heroes. The city was, at first, occupied only by dwarves, but during its rise to power, it gained in notoriety and developed populations of humans, elves, gnomes, and other races, until its fall in -111 DR. After that, it was resettled briefly by humans until it was overtaken by illithids.
After the last conflict between gods and primordials, in -31000 DR,the primordial Maegera, tired of fighting and uninterested in following its fellow primordials to the world of Abeir, entered in a coma-like sleep beneath the Crags, forming the caves that would later be called Gauntlgrym. In the age of Delzoun expansion (-22900 DR to -1100 DR), dwarven miners first dug the tunnels and chambers that would become known as Gauntlgrym. The dwarves found unusual veins of magical ore, but in their digging, they encountered the slumbering primordial. After that disastrous encounter, Delzoun sealed the tunnels and focused on expanding their empire.
Millennia later, the primordial was rediscovered by the arcanist Maerin of Illusk. He convinced the dwarves of Delzoun to build a city around the mines of Gaunlgrym in order to harness the power of the primordial to create exceptional pieces of metalwork. Construction on the city began in -335 DR[18] as a joint effort between the human wizards of Illusk and the dwarves of Delzoun. Maerin and the elven wizards of Iliyanbruen extended the reach of the "roots" of the Host Tower of the Arcane in Illusk to carry the cooling waters of the sea to the primordial. The famed dwarf artisan Immar Fardelver was involved in the construction of the city itself. The city was completed fourteen years later in -321 DR and became the home to dwarves from Clan Goldspire, humans from Illusk, and Netherese refugees from Runlatha and Sundabar.
The city fell during the Orc Marches of -111 DR but was resettled in 141 DR, this time as a vassal of Illusk, who again aided the dwarves in their efforts.[20] Unfortunately, after an invasion in 153 DR by lycanthropes and illithids a mere twelve years after its resettlement, the city was left to the mind flayers for the next millennium.[10] Many refugees of Gauntlgrym, infected with lycanthropy, fled to the Gray Wolf Tribe, spreading their curse to the Uthgardt. The illithids ruled over the city for over a millennium, keeping to the lower levels while leaving the trap-filled upper halls empty. They would later use the city as a base from which to attack the Kraken Society, who had managed to injure their elder brain and managed to abduct and brainwash one of their own in 1278 DR. They would also find unexpected numbers when they accepted refugees from destroyed Phanlinksal in 1339 DR, who aided them in their main goal which seemed to be the creation of half-illithid hybrid creatures.
The Knights of Myth Drannor would be only the second surface group to uncover Gauntlygrym, the first being the Company of the Gryphon. The Knights had found a previously undiscovered route through the Underdark from Shadowdale. A group of goblinoids called the Hargrath later took over the upper levels. In 1363 DR, the mind flayers of Gauntlgrym created the first illithiderro, or madminds. The madminds, who could breed amongst themselves, did so quickly and outnumbered their creators in only a few years. They successfully rebelled against the illithids, slaughtering most of their former masters and enslaving the duergar before coming to infest the lower levels like vermin.
Following the Spellplague of 1385 DR, the Abolethic Sovereignty sensed the presence of Maegera and wanted to harness its powers for their own ends. In order to controlling Maegera, a branch of the Sovereignty created the dreaded Symphony of Madness. The first tests of the Symphony occurred a few years later, when the Sovereignty used the Symphony to corrupt the mind flayer's elder brain, something that in turn corrupted the mind flayers, turning them into plaguechanged puppets of the Sovereignty. In 1451 DR, Maegera was awoken due to the machinations of Dahlia Sin'felle, an agent of distant Thay. The subsequent volcanic eruption destroyed the nearby city of Neverwinter. In 1462 DR, Sylora Salm tried to destroy the now ruined settlement of Neverwinter but she was stopped by the combined efforts of Jarlaxle, Athrogate, Bruenor Battlehammer, and Drizzt Do'Urden. In an event later known as "the Summons," hundreds of dwarven ghosts emerged from Gauntlgrym and approached the descendants of Delzoun to beseech their help in repelling the invaders. The dwarves of Clan Battlehammer in Icewind Dale heeded the call and helped turn back Sylora Salm, Valindra Shadowmantle, and the Ashmadai, but not before Bruenor and his faithful shield dwarf, Thibbledorf Pwent, were fatally injured.

In 1463 DR, a group of drow from House Xorlarrin, led by Ravel Xorlarrin, captured the forge area of the complex at the behest of Matron Zeerith Q'Xorlarrin, having been secretly prodded to do so by House Baenre. The purpose was to create a sister city to Menzoberranzan that was free of the direct control of House Baenre and that would provide many valuable forged goods. Additionally, the city had the potential to afford greater rights to drow males and driders, as well as to improve access for Bregan D'aerthe to send trade goods from the surface back to the Underdark. A brief setback occurred shortly after the occupation began when Brack'thal Xorlarrin, the house elderboy, succumbed to the whispers of Maegera and tried to release the primordial once more, coinciding with an attack from a contingent of Shadovar led by Herzgo Alegni.
By 1484 DR, the drow had secured the area around the forge and some of the lower mining tunnels, where they forced slaves to work. That year, House Xorlarrin received official approval to leave Menzoberranzan for the new settlement, which was named Q'Xorlarrin. Not long before Matron Zeerith was set to arrive, drow troops (under the command of House Baenre) captured Artemis Entreri and his companions and tortured them or set them to work. The reborn Companions of the Hall, who entered Gauntlgrym to free Thibbledorf Pwent from his vampiric curse, learned about Entreri's captivity and set out to rescue him. In the ensuring fight, the drow were forced to retreat temporarily and many of the settlement's rooms were destroyed. However, Zeerith and Matron Mother Quenthel Baenre arrived and presumably moved to rebuild the city.

Type

Large city