South Iron Port
They told us that we'd never get our flying machine to work, and when we launched it from the highest point of the hold it may have crashed right into the harbor, but they must have felt awfully silly when just twenty-seven attempts later we managed to hit the far wall!
South Iron Port is a massive dwarven city located where the southern stretch of The Spine hits the waters of The Eastern Strait. It and North Iron Port once made up the great dwarven hold of Ironguard Hold before the cataclysm sundered the spine in two directly across their hold. Today, South Iron Port enjoys profitable trade with many human cities, where the demand for dwarven made goods is high, although they have a reputation for eccentricity compared to their brother hold.
History
Before the Cataclysm, South Iron Port, along with North Iron Port, were known as Ironguard Hold. The Cataclysm split the mountain range known as the Spine directly through the middle of the hold, shifting the northern section North and east by around 200 miles. This event was catastrophic for both halves of the hold as their underground portions abruptly became exposed to the onrushing waters of what would become known as the Eastern Strait. By the time the waters settled, over a third of the holds remaining population had perished.
After much deliberation, the dwarves, ever pragmatic, decided to make the best of their new situation rather than abandoning their ancestral hold. Zagrom UmDrung, a noted inventor and eccentric, and something of an outcast within conservative dwarven society, stepped fowards to offer his help with the reclamation. His bizarre, unconventional, but usually effective inventions would prove to be the key to reclaiming their flooded tunnels and rebuilding their hold.
UmDrung brought forth hundreds of pages of diagrams and schematics for the bizarre, unbuilt, and untested devices that he had dreamed up over the years, and simply asked for a team of dwarves to be assigned to him to assist in building prototypes. From rapid inflatable tunnel plugs to diving bells to mechanical constructs which could work underwater near indefinitely, his inventions allowed the rapid reclamation of many of the hold's flooded tunnels and saved many dwarven lives. UmDrung was soon given control of the hold's workshops and free reign to produce anything that he could dream up.
The dwarves rebuilt the exposed face of their hold into a massive port extending deep into the mountain with canals which run even deeper. Today, the dwarves of South Iron Port run a large trading fleet and are regarded as the preeminent experts in underwater reclamation, salvage, and exploration on the continent. Offsetting the admiration of their unique skills is the perception of them as eccentric and perhaps a little unhinged, willing to risk their lives testing strange and unproven technologies out in the real world.
Demographics
The population of South Iron Port is overwhelmingly Dwarven, but compared to most other holds they have a rather large percentage of non-dwarves thanks to The Institute for Dwarven Innovation. Most of the students are temporary residents who will eventually move on but some choose to stay on and become teachers, becoming permanent residents of the hold.
Government
Like many dwarf holds, South Iron Port is ruled by a council of clans. Membership on the council is more inclusive than many holds, as all clans hold seats as does the university. The clan meetings are run by representatives from the 10 most venerable clans in the Hold, but any representative may stand and present before the council.
Layout of the Hold
When the dwarves decided to build their port, they were immediately faced with a major issue: the lack of a sheltered harbor; the churning waters of the Eastern Strait would quickly batter a ship which was tied to an exposed dock to pieces. Recognising that most of the underground portion of the hold anywhere near the waters were already lost to flooding, they made the decision to write them off and carve a sheltered harbor deep into the newly exposed face of the mountain.
The Face of the hold
Standing out starkly from the smooth stone cliffs around it, the entrance to South Iron Port is an imposing fortress carved out of the solid stone of the mountainside with multiple levels of crenelated walls bristling with all manner of bizarre siege weapons poised to defend the entrance to the dwarven port. The gateway to the port is a three hundred foot tall gap in the center of the fortress, running a hundred and fifty feet into the mountain before opening up into the cavern that comprises the port. Massive interlocking gate sections descend down from the sides of the gate to meet in the center, forming an impassable barrier from the bottom of the channel all the way up to fifty feet above the surface of the water. Above this gate, bronze panels swing from each side to block off the rest of the entrance, but can be withdrawn to allow tall masted ships passage. The channel runs a hundred and fifty feet into the mountainside, lined with fortifications on both sides, before opening up into the harbor proper.
The Harbor
A massive cavern which is around half a mile wide and extends over a mile into the depths of the mountain, South Iron Port's harbor is a marvel of dwarven mining and engineering prowess. Massive stone piers have been created by carving away the stone around them, leaving wide spans of solid rock reaching out into the harbor. A bizarre mix of cranes, frames, and strange loading devices stand ready to unload any vessel which might tie up at the piers, the air filled with the odd mix of sounds and smells emitting from their various power sources. Deeper into the cavern lie the drydocks, some with relatively standard ships being laid down, and others with whatever bizarre vessels that the eccentric inventors of the university have dreamed up being built within them.
Below the surface of the water, light shines up out of thick glass windows, illuminating ships traversing the channel from below and giving them an almost ghostly appearance. The South Iron Port dwarves unmatched skill at underwater construction is on display in the many structures which line the bottom of the channel. Wide openings can be seen in the sides of the channel, and occasionally the forms of the dwarves famed underwater ships can be seen moving through them and into their hidden berths beyond.
The City
The majority of the urban portion of the hold is crisscrossed by canals, running deep into the mountain. These canals are lined with odd rails which interface with the geared drive wheels which stick out from the sides of the barges which are used to transport goods and people throughout the hold. The centers of the canals are kept free to allow ordinary boat traffic to flow and all manner of strange contraptions can be seen running up and down them, some at remarkably unsafe speeds.
The Institute for Dwarven Innovation and Invention
Founded by Zagrom UmDrung at the request of the council of clans, the Institute for Dwarven Innovation and Invention, or IDII, was designed to allow UmDrung and his apprentices to pass their knowledge to more students than the apprentice system would normally allow. Teaching at The Institute is seen as a highly prestigious position and a significant percentage of the population of the hold have spent at least a few years learning there at some point in their lives.
Schools
The Institute is divided into specialty schools and while most students will take general classes as well as a few basic classes from each school, eventually most will pick a specialty.
Amdram Goldbrewer school of Alchemy
At the Goldbrewer school, dwarves are taught how to make everything from mundane but delicious alcohol to explosives and substances which produce effects bordering on the magical.
Helmik Forgeheart school of Armor Engineering
While plenty of conventional armorsmiths have gotten their training at the forgeheart school, the construction of armor is only a small portion of what is taught here. Forgeheart students produce all manner of gadgets designed to improve the functionality of armor, from extra ablative armor to entire suits loaded with every bizarre feature that their creators can dream up.
Foddena Platebreaker school of Weaponry
In addition to conventional weaponsmithing, the Platebreaker school encourages creativity in its students and this is visible in the bizarre variety of siege weapons which both line the outer fortifications of the hold and arm the many bizarre vessels which make it their home port.
Farryl and Torryl Firstflight school of Vehicle Design
As far as the outside world is concerned, the most visible display of the eccentricity of the South Iron Port dwarves are their ships. No two are the same and they come in a wide and bizarre variety of forms, from relatively standard sailing ships with odd sail arrangements to strange sail-less vessels belching smoke and churning up the water with strange methods of propulsion.
Jargrick Runefoot school of Bits and Bobs
In the shops of South Iron Port one can find all manner of strange devices, from strange goggles to boots which use explosions to propel you further when jumping. Rare or simply unavailable in other cities, devices like this are common in South Iron port thanks to the graduates of the Runefoot school of Bits and Bobs.
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