Haywall Deep



The Great Dwarven Forges are a sight to behold. Each forge takes dozens of dwarven blacksmiths, hundreds of assistants, and powerful, ancient magic techniques to operate. There are several found throughout Durgran, none so large or infamous as the one found just a few hours outside Haywall Deep.

But that forge isn't working at the moment. Or rather, not the way it should, at least. The Hammer of Kasdall was stolen nearly five hundred years ago by an ancient black dragon working for the The Brotherhood Of Atrix, a group of dark elves and cultists who worshipped Draqa, the Titan of the Grim Dawn and one of the Twelve Demon Princes of the First Age.

Galdramaour was able to fell the beast that took it, but its body and the hammer tumbled through the clouds to the ground and were never recovered, lost amidst the smoking rubble and charred landscape scattered about the upper reaches of the Emberspine Mountains. King Tharivol immediately offered a king's ransom (by human standards) to whoever finds the hammer. Many parties have gone in search of both beast and bounty over the centuries, but few have ever returned.

For centuries the forge lay dormant, unable to refine any ore the dwarves continued to mine out of the Greystone Mines. In its absence and in need of a way of sustaining the many settlements and townships in the region, the people turned to farming. The weather was naturally temperate this close to the Emberspine Mountains, and provided an ideal climate for year-round crop rotation. Until recently.

About a month ago, the Greystone family — a group of five, spoiled and entitled siblings who are the current occupants of the town's keep and overseers of the family mine — suddenly returned to town after a lengthy holiday and made a deal with a wealthy Tiefling from the Eastern Continent who'd arrived in town only just before they did. Rrath offered what no one else had been able to do — to restart the forge without the lost hammer.

The people of the region were proud of the prosperous agricultural industry they'd managed to develop, some for generations at this point. But that regional pride paled in comparison to the lust that intoxicated the Greycastles over the idea of one of the Great Forges being able to process as much ore as they could haul up out of their mine.To this day, no one is sure of exactly what deal was struck, only that Rrath left town quickly. And after almost five hundred years, the forge is operating, even if only at minimal capacity. How it's operating is a closely guarded secret, with only select people having access. There are rumors aplenty over the what, where, and why of it all, some probably closer to the mark than others.

King Tharivol is now in the waining years of life and allows the reward offer to stand, still hoping to see the forge active at full capacity once again before passing on and handing the crown to a successor. Occasionally an adventurer or team of adventurers with delusions of grandeur will come through Haywall in search of the prize. If anyone in the tavern catches wind of their intent, they'll generally buy the soon-to-be-departed a round of drinks, and give them about two weeks before adding their names to a long list that someone started carving into the wall behind the bar.

Should the Hammer of Kasdall ever be recovered, the deal with Rrath will be nullified, and the lucky party will inherit a vast fortune, as well as the gratitude of one of the most powerful and longest reigning patriarchs in the history of the great dwarven nation of Durgren. But even after all this time, and with that much at stake, who would be crazy enough to try?

Current Political Climate & Rumors
Haywall Deep is still governed by a council of elders, mostly dwarves, though their monthly meetings more often than not turn into drunken brawls. The only serious item that plagues the council at present is why all the crops in the land have started dying, slowly, browning and withering over the course of several weeks. A druid who settled in Haywall several years ago set off east and into the foothills in search of a local druid enclave found there, in the hopes that they would have some insight into what might be causing the blight.

1. the Headless Hydra
A large tavern across the square from Greystone Keep. The most common place for travelers to stay while in Haywall Deep.

2. Breleth’s Place
A gambling hall and drinking establishment. They have very strict rules and criteria for while you're there, including no weapons inside. The gambling hall downstairs is also protected — at no small expense — by a permanent Antimagic Field, to prevent anyone from using spells or enchantments of any kind to cheat.

3. Temple of Valo
Not as large as the temple in Seahold, but still one of the largest compounds in the town. It houses a stable, barracks, chapel, and its own small forge and blacksmith's shop.

4. Shrine to Amarant
An enormous, open-air slab of stone, the Shrine contains several forges, and a large altar for sacrifices. It is covered in its own set of protective runes, and designed so that the entire population of the town and anyone working the mines would be able to fit on top, and safe from harm once the defenses were activated. The ability to use this defense was lost centuries ago, but recently rediscovered by Sibyea, an elven high mage who gave her life trying to defend the town from a band of marauding gnolls that swept through the countryside. She was able to impart the knowledge to her assistant, Morwen, another elven sage.

5. House of Elamine
A humble little place, but well maintained and always with a spare room. Thankfully there's not much call for the house of healing, but the followers of Elamine serve the town in many helpful capacities.

6. Ugarth’s Apothecary
An orc who has been well trained in shamanism and the occult, Ugarth is well known in the community for his potions and ability to mend just about anything. He's incredibly intelligent and well-spoken, but puts on a front of being an ill-educated "wild" man to those he's never met.

7. Stonebender Smithing
The Stonebender clan has run this blacksmith shop for hundreds of years. They are as grizzled and tough as the stone upon which the city rests.

8. Military Barracks
The barracks is currently all but empty, though it occasionally houses a battalion of the Shieldguard. The only current residents are a handful of the town's guards, as well as a few members of the Order of Trentham and their charge, a consul from Drevni.

9. Greycastle Keep
The Greycastles home, though once a great hall for dwarven feasts

10. Boathouse & Docks
Pretty self-explanatory.

11. Mirabelle Bridger’s Farm
A family of halflings was once responsible for directly overseeing the farmland directly around Haywall Deep. Mirabelle and her children have tried every natural and supernatural remedy they can find, but nothing has stopped the land from degrading into a barren waste.

12. Vacant Warehouses
These warehouses used to store all of the raw ore that made its way down from the mines. They are vacant now, as far as most people know, though the occasional rat can be seen coming or going, some much larger than others.

13. Adinar’s House
The head of the city's guard and defenses, Adinar maintains a modest residence, open to visitors and visiting dignitaries who prefer not to stay at the Temple or one of the inns.

14. Gypsy Encampment
The current location of the The Shady Lark Merchant Consortium, this roaming band of gypsy merchants are an eclectic group, often a little too much so for mainstream mercantile gatherings.