Aldurghen Stormhammer

Aldurghen Stormhammer was the leader of a small band of dwarves that established the Black Dwarf Mine a few miles east of Waterdeep circa the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR.

Description
Aldurghen was rarely seen in Waterdeep without his homemade spiked chainmail that hung to his knees. It was black and deceptively shabby, with armor plates affixed to it like patches. His black beard was always grimy from working in the mine and it surpassed his armor by hanging all the way to his ankles. When he removed his (black) helm, his face showed the same dark sheen as his armor. This was attributed to the thaolet oil used to cleanse and remove rust from armor and tools, but it was unknown if his skin was permanently stained or he just never washed his face. The overall hue of his appearance as he strode the streets of Waterdeep earned him the nickname "the Black Dwarf".

Personality
Stormhammer had a gravelly voice but a jovial, joking manner that ranged from whimsical to comically evil. He found humor in many aspects of life and used this to put people at ease before negotiations. However, thieves and malicious pranksters were not tolerated when it came to the products of the hard labor of himself and his cohorts. Aldurghen was a shrewd businessman and learned much from observing his surroundings and the reactions of others to his jests.



Abilities
Aldurghen was highly skilled in mining, iron working, armorsmithing, weaponsmithing, and general blacksmithing. He could be quite intimidating in his spiky armor, wielding a warhammer with muscles built from years of hard work.

Possessions
His personal possessions included a set of masterwork spiked chainmail and helm that he made himself, a +1 warhammer, a +1 dagger, +2 bracers of armor, and two potions of bull's strength.

Activities
In the years leading up to the discovery of the rich vein of ore that became the Black Dwarf Mine, Stormhammer and his partners dug many prospecting tunnels that didn't yield anything of value. He soon discovered that certain denizens of Waterdeep used these abandoned holes to hide things, like stolen goods that were too recognizable to safely sell and the occasional corpse. He sensed a business opportunity and started discreetly mentioning this practice around the seedier parts of the big city. Over time, he built up a very lucrative side-operation of a short-term, high-fee, storage and concealment service. Customers that needed to hide something quickly could bring the item to the dwarves and they would place it in an abandoned mining tunnel ("in back") behind a wall of rubble or bury it in one of their slag pits, no questions asked.

Relationships
Aldurghen had a good, working relationship with his four dwarf partners and many contacts, both above and below the table, in Waterdeep.

History
Stormhammer and his band originally lived in the Sunset Mountains but where driven out by the Zhentarim early in the Year of the Staff, 1366 DR or before. They began prospecting the area east of Waterdeep in the summer of 1366 DR.

Rumors & Legends
When the mine was first established around the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, some rumors about Aldurghen and his partners creating "walking metal men" and other dangerous constructs circulated around the Dock Ward of Waterdeep, but no one who visited the Black Dwarf Mine ever observed anything other than dwarves working hard in primitive conditions and few amenities.