Citadel of Black Ash

The Citadel of Black Ash was an underground temple to Gilgeam located in the eastern Smoking Mountains in the land of Unther, East Faerûn. Its entrance was a pair of large blackened steel doors shielded by an overhang of rock, all carved to resemble a fiendish visage.

Geography
Approximately 30 miles (50 km) straight north of the town of Firetrees, the entrance to the Citadel of Black Ash could be found excavated out of a cliff face on a meager ledge at the apex of a 3-mile (5-km) long valley. The ash-filled valley ran due northeast of the Black Ash Plain.

Trade
The mines beneath the temple produced gems and precious metals and were the only export of the dry and desolate enclave. The only food they could produce was either conjured by create food and water or from fungus farms.

Defenses
The broad valley leading up to the entrance was filled with powdery ash. What little moisture that reached the vale formed a damp layer beneath the dry surface and medium-sized humanoids sank to their waist in the silty mess. Both sinkholes and boulders could be found unexpectedly under the treacherous surface. Footwear similar to that used for walking on snow could be employed to avoid most of the natural hazards to traveling in the Black Ash Plain region. Giant scorpions scuttled across the surface and ant lions built conical traps for the unwary. Near the entrance to the Citadel, the valley floor sloped up steeply to the base of the cliff and the ledge of the entrance was 30 ft (9 m) above that, making it difficult to use siege weapons within range of the iron doors. Rope ladders used for scaling the cliff could be retracted in times of need.

Militarily, the Citadel was protected by the Lords of War and Victory, crusaders that were the bulwark of the church of Gilgeam, which numbered over 200 circa 1370 DR. These elite troops conducted drills at dusk and dawn on the plain at the mouth of the valley and patrolled the temple and environs in the daylight hours. The Gilgeamites also had an alliance with a large clan of fire giants from the western end of the Smoking Mountains.