Gauntlgrym

Gauntlgrym was an ancient dwarven city that fell into ruin before the memory of any living dwarves. The city was the capital of the Delzoun.

Via the Underdark, Gauntlgrym connects with Deepearth, Nuur Throth, a long and treacherous tunnel to the Great Worm Caverns and an even longer tunnel to Shadowdale.

Its location was lost for centuries, alleged to be north of the River Dessarin, near the valley of Khedrun in the Savage Frontier.

Entry points
There existed a river of magma that originated within Mount Hotenow, which, in 1480 DR, was connected to the Great Cavern (and therefore Gauntlgrym's main entrance) via winding tunnels.

There also existed a number of tunnels from the Underdark, beneath Gauntlgrym, that led upwards into the city, bypassing the main entrance, and these were used by the duergar to enter.

Architecture
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.

Ecology
The city was, at first, occupied only by dwarves, but during its rise to power, it gained in notoriety and developed populations of humans and elves too, until its fall to the orcs.

Great Cavern
The Great Cavern contained Gauntlgrym's main entrance and was a very large natural subterranean structure, covered with stalactites and stalagmites, with a lake at its centre.

Iron Tabernacle
The Iron Tabernacle, situated at the heart of the city, was Gauntlgrym's temple, although it covered a huge area containing a number of cathedrals, and was adorned with sculptures and intricate knotwork.

It also contained a switching station which acted as a central hub for the magical automated mine carts that were used to transport ore across the city, via an extensive series of mine cart rails.

A large crypt lay at the lowest part of the Iron Tabernacle, with burials ranging from simple ones to large sarcophagi, buried with full details of lineage. The crypt was protected by ghosts who would attack those who were not respectful of the dead.

Mines
As of 1480 DR, duergar mining activity was underway in the depths of Gauntlgrym. At first utilising the dwarven mines of the city, which were of traditional dwarven design, there were also much more dangerous duergar mines which were, in places, almost vertical, with makeshift homes at the bottom of some pits, to improve efficiency. Some of the deepest pits reached the large underground magma lakes of Mount Hotenow.

Shrine of Sacrilege
As of 1480 DR, a duergar shrine to Asmodeus had been constructed in one of the deeper pits within the mines, by using materials taken from the Iron Tabernacle, such as icons of Moradin.

Early history
The building of the city was commissioned by the arcanist Maerin of Illusk in -335 DR. He tasked several dwarven artisans of Delzoun, including Immar Fardelver to begin construction of the subterranean city in the Crags east of Illusk. The job was completed within 4 years and Maerin invited humans from Illusk and netherese refugees from Runlatha and Sundabar as well as the Delzoun dwarves of Clan Goldspire to live in his new city. The Dwarves discovered a sleeping primordial who had escaped the sundering of Abeir and Toril named Maegera the Inferno. In a daring and ingenious move, the dwarves developed a power tap that took the fiery energies of the Dawn Titan and used them to power the city's forges and magically ward Gauntlgrym from its enemies.

Fall to the orcs
In -111 DR Gauntlgrym and Illusk both fell due to the orc hordes descending en masse from the Spine of the World and Ice mountain ranges. Exactly who betrayed the secrets of the city's location and how to bypass the primordial-powered wards is unknown but after several frenzied attacks, the city fell. Gauntlgrym was resettled with the aid of Highlord Narandos of Illusk in 141 DR but by 153 DR the city fell again, this time to the illithid and numerous lycanthrope thralls. The few survivors were taken in by the Gray Wolf Uthgardt tribe and the city forgotten about.

Rediscovering Gauntlgrym
In 1357 DR the Company of the Gryphon rediscovered the city but it was still ruled by the Illithid. They spent a huge amount of money on weapons and armour in Waterdeep and went back to loot the treasures of the city, but not one of them returned, nor did any news of Gauntlgrym resurface over the next decade.

Only part of the city was controlled by the illithid, the rest was controlled by several wandering banshees.

The Knights of Myth Drannor discovered Gauntlgrym on one of their many adventures. It was reported that they were able to make their way through the Underdark back to Shadowdale from Gauntlgrym.

The illithid residing there were undertaking research into cross-breeding illithid and derro. Their attempt proved successful in 1363 DR but the illithiderro or "madminds" bred too quickly for the mind flayers to control. They craved freedom as well and rebelled against their masters, hunting down and killing every single one of the mind flayers and their thralls. Since then, the madminds spread through Gauntlgrym's lower levels like a plague, but didn't reach the uppermost level which contained a company of bugbears, goblins and leucrottas who were led by a Baphitaur and called themselves the Hargrath.

Bruenor Battlehammer
Bruenor Battlehammer made it his life's quest to rediscover and claim the city in the name of the descendants of Delzoun and believed that Mirabar was also looking for this place, but that Gandalug Battlehammer knew more than anyone about it, although he was deceased by the time that Bruenor began his quest.

Bruenor eventually became obsessed by his quest, abdicating his throne and searching for it in person. The nation of Thay beat him to it though. In 1451 DR their agents followed tree-like roots coming from the Host Tower of the Arcane that went through the ruins of Illusk which eventually led to the city.

The agents, as part of a bigger plan, hired the dwarf Athrogate and his companion Jarlaxle to escort them, bringing along Valindra Shadowmantle and a band of Ashmadai. . It was all a ploy by the agents to release Maegera in the hope that his power would kill enough people for Thay's necromancy to spread to the Sword Coast. Some of the Ashmadai became trapped in the Great Cavern when the entrance tunnels filled up with magma.

Athrogate was tricked and part of the city was damaged in Maegera's unleashed fury. Eleven years later Maegera began to stir again and dwarven ghosts sought out Delzoun dwarves to save what remained of Gauntlgrym. Bruenor, Drizzt Do'Urden, Athrogate, Jarlaxle, their ally Dahlia Sin'felle, the Axe of Mirabar and a group of Clan Battlehammer dwarves from Icewind Dale made their way to Gauntlgrym to stop the primordial from reawakening while Ashmadai cultists and Maegera's elemental-kin tried to foil their efforts. Bruenor succeeded though and, for the time being Gauntlgrym would be safe.

Rediscovery
By 1480 DR Gauntlgrym had been rediscovered by dwarven prospectors from Neverwinter, returning to the former Jewel of the North with a detailed written guide to a ruin occupied by dwarven ghosts, Ashmadai cultists and infested with Dire corbies. The cultists tracked and killed all of the prospectors and destroyed almost all of the books that had been written, though they couldn't find them all.

The book revealed that the entrance cavern was partially flooded and littered with the bleached bones of humanoids. Luminous lichen and ancient, but still functional, magical lights illuminated the place. Dwarven stonework still survived in the tunnels that existed within the numerous stalagmites and stalactites the balconies atop which rusted ballistae sat, marking them as guard posts. Beyond those, sealing off the far end of the cavern was a wall made with stone blocks, enchanted to hide and protect the city proper.

A large pair of mithral doors flanked by towers which will only open for true Delzoun dwarves opened into a heavily trapped corridor lined with murder holes. Beyond were worked lanes, temples and grand palaces where the ghosts of the former residents still roamed, roused only by overt aggression.

Below were the extensive mines and the forges which, in 1480 DR, still functioned with the unwitting aid of Maegera. Dire corbies had created a kind of rookery in the upper reaches of the forge but were trapped down there so could not escape to higher levels. They had established a rudimentary tribal culture in their imprisonment and attacked anyone who entered their territory.

Duergar occupancy
The duergar began inhabiting the lower depths of Gauntlgrym when they drove out the derro who had been there before them. As of 1480 DR, they were mining hellthorn, iron, mithral and silver.

The duergar kept slaves to assist with the labour, such as kobolds for mushroom farming and dire corbies for cart pulling, and, in smaller numbers, ashmadai and drow.