Neverwinter Stories: Heirs of Delzoun

Thousands of years ago, in an age of great empires, the dwarven realm of Delzoun thrived. Said to be the pinnacle of dwarven culture, Delzoun was a place whose citizens were happy and productive, trading in relative peace with their neighbors. When Netheril was laid low by the folly of the mage Karsus, it was not only the Shadovar that suffered.   Today Delzoun is an ancient ruin; its remains pepper the mountains and underground of the North. The kingdom's descendants, the shield dwarves, remember their former greatness in sorrowful songs and memories. Seven years ago, during the Summons, those memories returned as ghosts.   They returned in the dreams of their direct descendants, distraught. They begged for help—not for themselves, but for all of dwarfkind. They spoke of an "awakening beast" that must not be allowed to rise. With their vanishing plee, they begged for their descendants to come to them—in Gauntlgrym.   Gauntlgrym. What dwarf of the North has not dreamed of that place? Most people think it a myth or a ruin cast to rubble ages ago, but dwarves know different. Dwarves feel the truth in their bones.   For a time, Gauntlgrym was the capital of Delzoun. The underground city was the grandest settlement in the North—perhaps in all the world. Doors cast of pure mithral opened at a dwarf ’s slightest touch. A forge burned there so mighty that items of enchantment could be made without magic. So great was Gauntlgrym that humans, elves, halflings, and gnomes all begged to live beneath its roof, and were welcome.   Yet Gauntlgrym fell long ago—first to orcs, then to humans who claimed it, then to mind flayers, and finally to the mists of history. Rumors have placed it in numerous locations. Some claim to have seen it or have maps to it, but lunatics and scoundrels assert many things. The Summons drew many to search for it, including you. And those that banded together were known as the Heirs of Delzoun.   Today, your search has brought you to Mirabar, the richest city North of Waterdeep, built at the foot of the Spine of the World, where Gauntlgrym might yet lie hidden.   This city stands testament to the new era of dwarves. Working hand-in-hand with men, your people combine their industriousness with human ambition to create the most lucrative exploitation of the Spine of the World. Hundreds of miners labor deep below the earth while enterprising prospectors search for new riches.   One such honeypot is a long-rumored ruin northwest of the city. Old weapons of masterful quality occasionally surface on the market, allegedly recovered from this forgotten place. To craft something so beautiful, one would need great talent and a forge to match them—a forge like Gauntlgrym's.