Category:Thunderspire

 Beneath the stormy peak of Thunderspire Mountain  lies the Labyrinth, an ancient, ruined minotaur city. For over two decades, an order of wizards called the Mages of Saruun had controlled the Labyrinth’s upper levels, creating a relatively safe haven called the Seven-Pillared Hall. Here, underground denizens come to trade with the mages and with a small number of surface-dwellers who are in the know. Humans, halflings, muls, dwarves, duergar, goblins, orcs, troglodytes, and others came to the hall to barter under the watchful eyes of the Mages of Saruun and  their towering Minotaur constructs. In recent events, a group of adventurers came to the Thunderspire Labyrinth, foiled the plot of one of the mages to unleash a bronze warder army upon the vale, and took control of the small trade village. Under the rule of Ivgaar and his comrades, the Thunderspire has gone from a center of trade ruled under fear, to a growing community.

About
A small town built from the ruins of an ancient minotaur city, Thunderspire serves as a center of trade between the Nentir Vale and the denizens of the underdark.

Population: 2300 ; another 100 or so live in the countryside within a few miles of the town. The people of Thunderspire are mostly humans, muls, goliaths, dwarves, duergar and halflings. Travelers of all races pass through, including orcs, drow, and trogoldytes. Thunderspire has recently seen an influx of settlers from the surrounding settlements after the new Bronze Warder army restored a measure of peace to the surrounding lands. Word has begun to spread of the opportunities under the Thunderspire mountain, as well as the generosity of it's new masters.

Government: A council consisting of the heroes and their consorts oversees the governance of the Thunderspire, though they leave much in the matter of commerce to the Mages of Saruun.. The adventurers have decided to keep the ceremonial figure of the Ordinator Arcanis for the purpose of dispensing justice and law.

Defense: The Thunderspire Guard numbers 25 guards and 350 bronze warriors, though many of the latter have been dispersed amongst the other settlements in the vale. The adventurers, their cohorts, and the Mages themselves serve as a strong deterrent to would be criminals.

Inns: Halfmoon Inn;

Taverns: Halfmoon Inn taprooj; Rothar's Taproom

Supplies: The Customhouse, The Deepgem Company, Bersk the Wainright, House Azaer, Rendil';s Curios and Relics, Dreskin's Provisions

Temples: Temple of Hidden Light (Erathis, Pelor, Path of LIght)

Thunderspire's Story
Hundreds of years ago, minotaurs founded the city of Saruun Khel in the depths below Thunderspire Mountain. Saruun Khel soon became the center of an oppressive  minotaur kingdom that subjugated neighboring lands. However, three centuries ago, a battle for the throne of Saruun Khel erupted into a vicious civil war. Out of anger at the minotaurs’ growing devotion to the deity Torog, the demon lord Baphomet cursed them with mindless fury. Thus, when one faction was defeated, the survivors took to  battling one another until only a few minotaurs remained in the ruins of the once-great city.

Over the following centuries, adventurers came to  explore the labyrinthine ruins of Saruun Khel, seeking forgotten treasure. Few of them survived. About 25 years ago, three wizards—Hasifir, Niame, and Samazar—came to the mountain. Accompanied by retainers, the wizards spent long months in the ruins. Among the magic items they recovered were several command amulets, which allowed them to control the bronze warders, minotaur constructs built in the city’s heyday. The wizards used the bronze warders to clear the upper level of the ruins, establishing a stronghold there—the Seven-Pillared Hall.

In the last two decades, the original founders formed the Mages of Saruun, and established the Seven-Pillared Hall to provide them with safe access to the denizens of the Underdark. The mages cleared an ancient subterranean highway carved by the minotaurs, allowing denizens of the deep to trade with them and select other surface-dwellers in the black markets of the Hall.

Today, dwarves, duergar, drow, and more creatures come to the Seven-Pillared Hall to trade gems, gold, rare ores, and other goods. Under the watchful eyes of the hooded mages and their bronze servitors, an uneasy peace endures in the Hall while perils lurk in the shadows of the Labyrinth beyond.

In recent events, a group of adventurers came to the Thunderspire Labyrinth, foiled the plot of one of the mages to unleash a bronze warder army upon the vale, and took control of the small trade village. Under the rule of Ivgaar and his comrades, the Thunderspire has transformed from a center of trade ruled under fear, to a growing community.

Key Locations
Fallcrest is divided into two districts by a steep bluff that cuts across the town. The area north of the bluff is known locally as Hightown. This district survived the city’s fall in relatively good shape, and it was the first area resettled. To the south of the bluff lies Lowtown, which tends to be newer and poorer. In the event of a serious threat, people retreat up to Hightown—the bluff and the town walls completely ring this part of Fallcrest, making it highly defensible.

1. The Minotaur Gate
The Vale Road meets the Minotaur Gate about 4 miles from the Trade Road. This was the grand entrance to Saruun Khel. The road enters a 50-foot-tall stone archway hewn out of the mountainside. A towering minotaur statue stands on each side of the entrance, glowering down at travelers. The Vale road was recently rebuilt and is now well paved with stones from the Thunderspire's mines.

2. The Road of Lanterns
Beyond the Minotaur Gate, the Road of Lanterns slopes into the mountain. Green light from copper lanterns dimly illuminates the road, which leads about half a mile into the mountain, sloping steadily downward over several switch-backs. The road is a brick-vaulted passage, 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall at its apex. Seventy-seven demon statues, each over 10 feet tall, stand watch along the corridor’s length.

3. The Seven Pillared Hall
The heart of Thunderspire’s upper level is the Seven-Pillared Hall. Dozens of lanterns hang from the walls and the thick pillars of this great chamber. The chamber walls have been fashioned into building facades, so the Hall appears more like a city square than an underground cavern. Merchants conduct business in the Hall, at the behest and with the permission of the Mages of Saruun.

4. Old Bloodreaver Hideout
This chamber off one of the passages leading to the Seven-Pillared Hall was being used as by a small team of Bloodreavers charged with keeping an eye on activities in the Hall. This chamber has been cleared and has not yet been re-purposed.

5. The Deep Stair
This passage descends sharply from the Seven-Pillared Hall into the lower levels of the Labyrinth. From here, explorers can reach the Houses of Silence, the Well of Demons, various cisterns, and passages leading off into the Underdark itself. Many side chambers have been carved from the Deep Stair’s landings.

6. The Road of Shadows
Leading eastward from the Seven-Pillared Hall, the Road of Shadows wends through rubble-filled halls and a con-fusing maze of passages and storerooms. The Road of Shadows skirts a massive chasm and eventually intersects a tunnel that leads to the mines of the Grimmerzhul duergar, 30 miles away. Passageways frequently branch off the road, including one that leads south to the Horned Hold.

7. The Shining Road
This path leads north from the Seven-Pillared Hall into some of the more magnificent ruins of ancient Saruun Khel, including the Avenue of Glory. Like the Road of Shadows, this road leads through a maze of ruined chambers and passages in the Labyrinth. In the north part of Saruun Khel, it widens and leads 40 miles to the Silvershield Hold, home of the Silvershield dwarves.

8. Avenue of Glory
The Avenue of Glory is 50 feet wide and 80 feet tall, running north and east for about a third of a mile. More than one hundred mighty statues depicting minotaur heroes, fearsome monsters, and great demons line the avenue. Some have fallen and lie broken on the ground or have been defaced and damaged, yet the Avenue of Glory remains an impressive sight.

9. The Chamber of Eyes
This area features a ruined shrine. It is located about half a mile east of the Seven-Pillared Hall. It used to serve as the lair of the Bloodreavers, until they were stamped out by the Godsworn.

10. The Horned Helm
Formerly a defensive keep to guard the southeastern approaches to Saruun Khel, the Horned Hold served as a stronghold and slave pit for the Grimmerzhul duergar. It is built above a massive chasm that runs north to south at the limits of the ruins of Saruun Khel. After being cleared by the Godsworn, this Horned Helm served as an early base of operations. It is now occupied and cared for by Silvershield dwarves, in exchange for a share of their profits.

11. The Well of Demons
A set of chambers sacred to the demon lord Baphomet, the Well of Demons was once a place for the warriors of Saruun Khel to prove their prowess. For a time, it served as the lair of the Blackfang gnolls, but was destroyed during demon attack in 90AN.

12. Cisterns
Below the ruined city lie three great subterranean lakes. These lakes once supplied Saruun Khel with drinking water. Lizardfolk, troglodytes, and grells infested the lakes and struggled for supremacy on the levels beneath the ruins of the city, until they too were cleared by the Godsworn and their followers.

13. Hall of the Broken Dragon
A colossal statue of a dragon lies in fragments on the floor of this great hall. Kobolds, drakes, and gricks used to lurk in the passages nearby, and many of the kobolds look upon the broken statue as a religious relic.

14. House of Still Breath
Crypts of minotaur nobles fill this multichambered area to the far west of the Seven-Pillared Hall. The crypts now serves as a Monetary for the Order of the Still Breath, a fellowship of monks who study Kelemvor's teachings. This chapter of the order was founded by Arauka en'Talwin and her mate, INSERTNAMEHERE.

15. Palace of Zaamdul
Once the home of Saruun Khel’s ruling high priest, the palace suffered heavily during the city’s final war. Today, demons and undead creatures occupy its ruined walls. A few minotaurs frequent the area, searching for ancestral treasures and relics of power that might help return them to their former glory.

16. Tower of Thunder
A long stairway climbs up to an old watchtower that stands on the surface, near the pinnacle of the mountainside. Most of the time, the tower rises into the ever-present clouds and lightning flashes, its very foundation shaking with the continuous rumble of thunder. The Tower of Thunder now serves as the home to many of Ivgaar's goliath followers, and serves as a temple to Kavaki.