Druvenholme
Ruled by the grim and stern King Khazad Runemaker, Druvenholme is a dwarven hold located to the far south-western regions of Meyland, embedded into the Garand's Ridge Mountains east of the Mattanyor Canyons.
Druvenholme has seen many conflicts, times of political strife, and turmoil in the years after The Green-Skin Wars and The War for the Silver Crown, but the hold of Druvenholme is nothing if not stubborn and hardened, for the settlement and its people have always returned from the brink of collapse by relying on the wealth of valuable resources buried beneath the Garand's Ridge Mountains; gold, gemstones, and valuable metals were discovered deep within them during the earliest days of resettlement after the War of Broken Chains. It is the second wealthiest hold in the Silver Kingdom, rivalling even Duunhollow.
History of Conflict
The wealth that Druvenholme possesses has not come without risk; many a green-skin has sought to plunder and pillage the stronghold for its deep treasuries before and after the Green-skin Wars, and its wealth was selfishly hoarded by the infamous Nogduur Ashbight prior to the War for the Silver Crown. Even Malinis herself ordered the plundering of Druvenholme by Frost Kobolds during her short-lived tyrannical reign over northern Meyland. The most common conflicts today occur with the many Green-skin tribes of the Drothmoore Wilds and the ogre tribes of Daran Uum and the Mattanyor Canyons. The people and culture of Druvenholme tend to be dour and stoic from years of on-and-off skirmishes and conflicts with Green-skins, and the hold maintains a standing army of nearly two-thousand dwarven men and women. Some captains and commanders of the standing army wield Greenbane Weaponry first crafted centuries ago during the Green-Skin Wars.Port Khazad
Maintaining such a standing army is an expensive endeavor, but heavy trade between the hold, Lakesvale and, most importantly, Port Morkney, has made such concerns negligible. The recent innovations in steam-powered naval technology have made the hold unique amongst the dwarven strongholds for being the only hold to possess a harbor named after the King himself. Approaching from the land there is no indication at all of the busy port that lies ahead. In fact, even standing on the cliff edge it seems to the unsuspecting eye that the ships are destined to smash themselves into the cliff face. However, the powerful tides of the Whip of Fire have carved out a deep cave system into the Garand's Ridge Mountains, and here in these great sea caverns rests a small fleet of Druvenholme's finest trading vessels, powered not by wind captured in sails, but by great water wheels and steam power. These strange steam-powered ships were the product of the dwarven Inventor's Guild.The Inventor's Guild
Druvenholme is home to the largest center of Gundrim worship, the lesser dwarven ancestral god of innovation, engineering, and Magic. Here, within the halls of the Inventor's Guild, headed by Chief Royal Engineer Grugnir Sparkbeard, the dwarves of the Silver Kingdom squirrel themselves away within their workshops and create marvels of the finest dwarven engineering. The Inventor's Guild is one of the most important, powerful, and secretive of all the craftsmen guilds within the Confederation of Clan-Crafts, whose purpose is in providing the Kingdom with the latest in a long line of technological advancements and magnificent machinery. It is from here that the Guild regularly teaches new and would-be engineers the basics of mathematics, history, and standard engineering. Most inventions pioneered by the Guild are practical: pumps to clear water from mineshafts, clockwork engines to draw steel cages up vertical shafts, and steam-powered drilling devices to penetrate the underworld. Grugnir himself ascended to his leadership role after he pioneered the creation of the Duunhollow Tramway. Most recently, the Inventor's Guild has experimented with the idea of airborne ships, utilizing the magic of erudite crystals for lift and great sails for forward motion. The Guild must constantly strive to balance the traditions of dwarven culture with the inventive genius of its members. Each engineer strives to make a lasting contribution to dwarf society, to create an invention that will ensure their name is remembered forever. As a consequence, some are tempted to press through their new designs before they are properly tested and refined or to pursue avenues of research disapproved of by their elders. Dwarves are a stolid and tradition-minded people, inclined to trust the wisdom of their ancestors and their elders rather than any new ideas or innovation. Their traditionalism carries through to everything dwarves do, including their engineering, and perhaps as a result dwarves are rival even the Imps and Demons of the Dominion of Torment as the finest engineers in the world. The superlative craftsmanship of the dwarfs results in machines that not only can perform near-miraculous feats but do so with unequaled reliability. Before an engineer submits his new design for consideration by his fellows, the nature of a dwarf's perfectionism ensures that the product is in the up-most condition.
Type
Large town
Population
10,000
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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