Harrowfast

Harrowfast
Basic Information
Type	Stronghold
Location	Cambro Mountains, Gwynneth, Moonshae Isles
Notableoccupants	Fey, Llewyrr elves Formerly: Dwarves

Harrowfast was a dwarven stronghold in the Cambro Mountains on Gwynneth in the Moonshae Isles, although it had been abandoned by the dwarves as of the late 15^th century DR.

Location

It sat in a mountain on the northern edge of the valley of Synnoria. When approaching from outside Synnoria, it was accessed through a narrow ravine on the mountain's eastern slope, marked by black stone covered in reliefs of ancient deities and rulers. To reach the stronghold from Synnoria required a steep ascent through the Synnorian fog beginning in the woods on the northern border. This path first involved climbing through vines and rhododendron trees, then scaling a cascade of boulders before finally reaching a set of crumbing, moss-covered steps of shoddy construction.

Structure

The main, eastern entrance was a massive stone gateway that descended down into the dwarf-cut passages and rooms within the mountain.

The Synnorian entrance arrived via a narrow gate onto a stone piazza exposed to the elements on the southern side of the mountain, which featured giant stone columns and statues from which alabaster lanterns hung from iron chains. The entrance to Harrowfast was a set of descending stairs leading into the mountain and to a cloakroom with a washbasin. Opposite this entrance, the courtyard connected via a narrow causeway to a lookout point atop a pinnacle of rock above the fog-shrouded valley of Synnoria.

Interior

New arrivals entered into a stone agora large enough to host small armies. From here, stone staircases descended further. One of these staircases (through a gate which was carved to look like a demon's open mouth) led to a bathhouse.

Down the steps from the exit to the southward lookout point and passed a double row of marble columns, there was a nearly circular council chamber hewn from the rock. It was shaped as a deep amphitheater with tiered, semicircular benches rising up the western wall. In the circular bottom of the chamber, atop a dais, sat a 20‑foot-long (6.1‑meter) stone meeting table surrounded by heavy chairs. This table was smooth marble on top but the underside was adorned with carvings of constellations, phases of the moon, and an image of the sun featuring a face with wide eyes. The whole room was lit by natural shafts leading to the outside, which also served to provide ventilation, but was dim and damp.

A great hall near the council chamber was used to host large banquets and meals. Elsewhere, marble sepulchers had been used to lay to rest slain warriors. Deeper still were guardhouses and a multitude of caves and mines extending all the way into the Underdark. The forgotten "guts" of the fortress contained a multiude of rusted clockwork machinery.

Defenses

Harrowfast was well-fortified. The council chambers included a secret trap for hasty escapes: the dais could be made to spin down a corkscrew track on iron wheels to bring anyone at the table into the depths of Harrowfast, from where the Underdark was readily accessible. Activating this escape route required closing the eyelids of the face in the sun on the table's underside, which triggered the clockwork mechanism.

History

The dwarves fled from Harrowfast in the late 14^th century DR. As of the late 15^th century DR, Harrowfast was used as an outpost by the Llewyrr elves of the Knights of Synnoria. In particular, it was used as a staging ground for Lords Askepel and Mindarion to plot the overthrow of their rulers, the leShay of Sarifal. These elves stocked the bathhouse with woven mats, pillows, quilts, and wine, and had their Ffolk slaves maintain the enclave, play music, and keep its lanterns lit.

Harrowfast was discovered to lie close to a tunnel exit dug by fomorians and their slaves that extended through the Underdark to their lands in the north, which proved fortuitous in the late 1470s DR when the elves and the fomorians discussed the possibility of an alliance against the leShay. Negotiations began after a fomorian princess, Marabaldia, was rescued from the leShay by a group of human rebels known as the Winterglen Claw. The humans, elves, and fomorians made grand overtures of working together, but these were quickly found to be hollow. Although they had amassed a combined army estimated at 10,000 strong, the three sides could not agree on what Sarifal's future should look like. This came to a head after Rurik, captain of the Winterglen Claw, and Suka, a friend of Marabaldia, were attacked by a wyvern on the lookout point, forcing them to flee into Synnoria. This accidental trespass was enough to offend the Llewyrr who guarded the valley, who attempted to imprison them. The pair slew the guards and fled, forcing a violent end to the nascent alliance.

Appendix

Appearances

Novels & Short Stories

The Rose of Sarifal