The Old Hills

The Old Hills bear their name because the ruins of the first human settlements in the Nentir Vale can be found here: ancient ring-forts built by the same hill-tribes that erected the barrows in the Gray Downs. The remains of these ancient forts appear across the entire length and breadth of the hills, from near Nenlast to Raven Roost and Fiveleague House, both of which were built atop old ruins.
Nowadays, the area is firmly in the grasp of the vicious Blackfang Gnolls. Slavishly devoted to the demon god Yeenoghu, the gnolls emerge from their burrows in the hills to kill or waylay travelers. Other rumors concerning an even older series of ruins spring up from time to time. These tales, always told in whispers, speak of the ancient necropolis of Andok Sur. The place, if it exists at all, is said to be holy to the followers of Orcus.
The Trade Road crosses the area and is frequented by more than one gang of thieves. Merchants and pilgrims who manage to avoid the notice of the Raven Roost bandits still have to contend with the Wolf Runners, a widely feared band of humans and wolves that work together in an uncanny fashion along the length of the Trade Road.
-Andok Sur, the City of the Dead: Andok Sur was ancient when the empire of Bael Turath was merely a collection of loosely allied city-states. The place was established by the warrior tribes of the Eastern Valley, and dedicated to the demon prince Orcus. At the height of the city’s power, a great earthquake rocked the Old Hills. In an instant, the City of the Dead was shattered. It fell into the earth and was buried, to be forgotten by time and history. Currently, the vampire lich known as Emperor Magroth has opened it again, and undead have started to spill forth accompanied by a strange disease, the Abyssal Plague.
-Fiveleague House: Fiveleague House is more properly known as the Fiveleague Inn, a popular resting place for travelers heading to or from the vale's larger communities, located a day's journey (five leagues) farther east from Hammerfast. It's a strongly built innhouse surrounded by a wooden palisade. The proprietor is a big bearlike human named Barton. Barton makes a good show of joviality, but he's secretly allied with the bandits of Raven Roost and sends them word of travelers worth robbing who will be continuing west toward Fallcrest.
-Raven Roost: An old estate house known as Raven Roost Manor sits on a piece of prime land just north of the Harken Forest. The place is almost impossible for someone to approach without being seen—and that's just how the Raven Roost bandits like it. The manor has recently been taken over by a group of criminals and cutthroats under the leadership of a trio of shadar-kai. The bandits have a reputation for cruelty and mercilessness that extends far beyond the area in which they practice their grisly trade. -Khel Vale: A small valley with sparse vegetation lies at Thunderspire’s base, and a few shepherds, woodcutters, and trappers live there. Their humble houses are made of turf and fieldstone and are fitted with stout doors to repel predators, including bears, wyverns, and griffons.
-Thunderspire Mountain: The tallest natural spire in the Nentir Vale, Thunderspire Mountain lies on the southern fringe of the Old Hills. Its top forever encased in a raging storm, Thunderspire is a majestic sight, even without considering what lies within its depths. Beneath Thunderspire lies the ancient minotaur city of Saruun Khel. The mysterious order of merchant wizards known as the Mages of Saruun control those caverns now.

• Tower of Thunder: Also known as the Tower of Sunset, this tower overlooks the Khel Vale, and it is from this tower that the shadar-kai witch Denoa sends her gargoyle minions to harass the valley’s occupants.
• The Minotaur Gate: The Vale Road at the feet of Thunderspire Mountain 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 Road of Lanterns: Beyond the Minotaur Gate the Road of Lanterns slopes into the mountain and into the Seven-Pillared Hall. Green light from copper lanterns dimly illuminates the road, which leads about half a mile into the mountain, sloping steadily downward over several switchbacks. Seventy-seven demon statues stand watch along the corridor’s length.
• 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. In this grand plaza, the Mages of Saruun and their acolytes provide a place for natives of the Underdark to barter goods with surface-dwellers, as merchants passing along the Trade Road sometimes take shelter here.
• 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, the Court of Bones, various cisterns, and passages leading off into the Underdark proper.
• The Road of Shadows: Leading eastward from the Seven-Pillared Hall, the Road of Shadows wends through rubble-filled halls and a confusing 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.
• 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.
• 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. Most of the Seven-Pillared Hall’s residents avoid the avenue, for it is frequented by wandering monsters.
• Court of Bones: The tomb of a forgotten minotaur necromancer, which is said to be hidden in the cisterns. Adventurers who venture to the Court of Bones must first encounter Az’Al’Bani, a wight who leads four zombies through the Labyrinth and is also searching the court. Az’Al’Bani holds a silver key wrought to resemble a human thighbone that unlocks the tomb.
• Grimmerzhul: This duergar trading post is a sturdy building of gray stone carved into the cavern’s wall. Grimmerzhul duergar are part of the Underdark folk who trade with the Mages of Saruun.
• 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 lurk in the passages nearby, and many of the kobolds look upon the broken statue as a religious relic.
• Houses of Silence: Crypts of minotaur nobles fill this multichambered area to the far west of the Seven-Pillared Hall. Many of these crypts are guarded by deadly traps, demonic summoning circles, and hateful undead.
• 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 also frequent the area, searching for ancestral treasures and relics of power that might help return them to their former glory.
• Silvershield Hold: An underground dwarven mining outpost. They trade gems and precious metals with the merchants of the Seven-Pillared Hall.
• The Chamber of Eyes: At the pinnacle of Saruun Khel’s greatness, the Chamber of Eyes was a shrine dedicated to the god Torog. The petitioners of Torog are long gone. A few months ago, the Bloodreavers, a goblinoid band of slavers and marauders, discovered the site and turned it into a defensible lair. Led by the hobgoblin Krand, the Bloodreavers now plot their next round of kidnapping and plunder.
• The Horned Hold: Formerly a defensive keep to guard the southeastern approaches to Saruun Khel, the Horned Hold now serves 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.
• 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. It’s now the lair of the Blackfang gnolls.
• The Tower of Mysteries: The original purpose of this hidden tower in the lower reaches of the Labyrinth has been lost to the passage of time, though it’s believed this place was consecrated to Vecna by a culture that even predates the minotaur civilization. What matters now is that Paldemar, a renegade Mage of Saruun, discovered the place, mastered its secrets, and now uses it as a headquarters from which to launch his final plans to obtain ultimate power.