Greysmere

This brooding dwarven stronghold marks the point where the Cairn Hills briefly become mountains at their juncture with the Abbor-Alz.

Its entrance lies at the head of the rockbound mountain lake that gives the place its name. Surrounded by high mountains, the only overland approach is along one or the other shore of the long, winding lake. At the end of the lake, the trail climbs through a steep series of switchbacks to the Stonegate, the entrance to dwarven Greysmere. During the march along the lake, a traveler is clearly visible to the sentinels at the gate.

The gate is a massive slab of granite, rolled into place on a series of smooth logs. A pair of dwarven fighters stands just outside the gate. A score of their fellows await within, for at least 15 or 20 dwarves are needed simply to open the gate. Virtually anyone who does not ap pear threatening is admitted under the standing orders of Greysmere 's unusual headman.

Dwarves: AC 4; MV 6; Fl; THAC0 20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 + 1

Fionor the Rude, Headman of Greysmere: AC 0 (plate mail +3 MV 6; F10; hp 76 (Con 17 THAC0 11; KAT 3/2; Dam ldl0 +6 (halberd +2 and Str 18/ 76)

Fionor comes by his name honestly, for he is indeed one of the surliest and most unpleasant hosts a traveler could ever hope lo sup with. For all that, however, he allows the gates of Greysmere to open for such travelers and provides them with rest and sustenance, even a place to weather out one of the sudden blizzards that sometimes ravages the high country. Fionor is a crusty old veteran of many a campaign, and counts dwarves, humans, halflings, and even elves among his friends and former companions. It is perhaps thts background that has given him such an undwarflike generosity with his hearth and home.

In any event, whenever Greysmere shelters a guest, Fionor insists that the traveler dine with him. He will regale him with a volume of tasteless stories, bawdy jokes, and world-class belches, until such time as he passes out from an excess of drink.

Greysmere itself, while not large, is a good example of dwarven stonecraft and fortification. It is very old, but sits in a relative backwater of dwarven commerce. Thus it has never outgrown its present location.

The Stonegate is the only entrance to the surface, and its steep approach makes it virtually invulnerable to overland attack. Even should the gate be breached, the attackers would have to crowd onto a ledge barely ten feet wide in an effort to force their way into a narrow corridor crowded with dwarven defenders.

The community shelters nearly 400 dwarves, roughly organized into a huge clan. Great underground living halls shelter as many as 50 dwarves each, though the elders in each family have private compartments withtn those halls.

In addition. there are several huge meeting halls for feasting and arguing. A huge cavern provides a military training ground for aspiring fighters, and a practice chamber for the veterans. In a pinch, Greysmere could put a company of 200 doughty warriors into the field.

The lower reaches of Greysmere encompass several vast fungus-farm caverns and a large fish-breeding pool in which blind trout are raised by the thousands, adding an important supplement to the dwarven diet. Also below the living level runs a series of mine tunnels excavating a rich vein of iron ore. A complete underground smelting operation purifies the metal, so that the dwarven smiths can craft their weapons, tools, and armor. These products are the pnmary commodity of Greysmere, on those rare instances when the dwarves trade with the outside world.

While entrance to the world of sunlight is quite restricted, Greysmere offers several passages branching to distant reaches of the Underdark. In addition to the small mining operation maintained by the dwarves, they have tunneled far underground to a source of prime limestone. Here they quarry blocks of this material and, with great effort, roll them back to Greysmere for building and sculpting.

In addition, still deeper caverns lead to regions of unknown depth and dark terror. This is a mazelike network of natural caves, however, and traversing it from top to bottom is a matter of great difficulty.

Still, rumors persist among the dwarves, telling of a vast, underground ocean and whole cities of races that never see the sun.

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This forbidding dwarven citadel is described in GoF, pp. 26-27. A fortified mine complex of some 400 dwarves, Greysmere also includes underground fisheries and- fungus farms, and passages leading to the Underdark over which the dwarves maintain strict watches. Greysmere pays neither tribute nor tax to Greyhawk, but it has signed a pact offering military aid in time of war. In return, information collected by the Mountaineer Militia concerning events in the area is supplied to Greysmere's rulers (rather belatedly most of the time).