Bhaghbuldar

Geography

Located northwest of the Ice-peak Concord territory, Bhaghbuldar was a shield dwarf stronghold located in the higest mountain in Toriel that became overrun by red orcs from the Thunderlord clan.
At the foot of Buldar, a carefully constructed path winds up the hillside to some unseen height above. House Zultik concealed its presence as much as possible, but years of wind and rain have eroded away its cover, leaving the path exposed and visible from the valley floor below. The path climbs to the Mountain Door, this is the route used by the orcs of the in the Thunderlord clan that choosed to stay in this cold region to come and go from their lair.

Description

The ancient city is made of three layer, the first one where the main entrance leads, called the mountain door, the second under the mountain door called the glitterhame. From the glitterhame, you can access the sinkhole and the foundry. Finally, the darkest and darker corner of the glitterhame cae system, the black lake that drain te water from the subterranean layer.

Mountain door

The uppermost level of Bhaghbuldar, called the Mountain Door, is a natural cavern that was expanded and improved upon by the dwarves, who created a series of halls and guard chambers that protect the entrance to their realm. The place is still well fortified, even to this day.
This former dwarven strongpoint is now occupied by a band of orc raiders. These raiders emerge from the Mountain Door to hunt and pillage in the surrounding area. To keep their lair secure, the orcs have blocked access to the lower levels of Bhaghbuldar, and they rarely encounter the other denizens of the cave system.

Glitterhame

Below the Mountain Door lies the Glitterhame, a large series of natural caverns in the heart of the Buldar. The caverns are beautiful: the walls sparkle and glisten with flecks of semiprecious stone, and millennia of sculpting and erosion by water have created sheets of fluted flowstone, delicate stalactites, and majestic stalagmites. Water streams down through the caverns toward an underground river far below.

Sinkhole

The stream that flows through the Glitterhame descends through the chasm to an even lower level of caverns—the Sinkhole. Here it joins a subterranean river that traverses dark caverns and forgotten storerooms before connecting with the Black Lake.
None of the monsters that inhabit the complex regularly visit this place. A narrow staircase winds down along the chasm walls until reaching bottom, where it offers access to the sinkhole, not far from the storage area.

Foundry

The dwarves lived and worked in a series of carved halls and chambers beyond the Glitterhame. Most of this part of the complex was thoroughly ransacked when the dwarven citadel fell.
Unlike the Mountain Door or the Glitterhame, which offer exits to the surface world, the Foundry isn’t readily accessible. The area isn’t abandoned, though. Undead horrors wait in its darkest recesses, and dwarf-crafted traps still work perfectly well despite their age.

Black Lake

The darkest and most remote corner of the Glitterhame’s cavern system, the Black Lake is a large, winding cavern filled with water that drains from the Dark Mere through a submerged siphon. From the lake, the subterranean river flows west through the Sinkhole, across the bottom of the chasm of the Mountain Door, and onward for about 5 miles until it emerges at the surface.
The dwarves of Bhaghbuldar never settled these caverns, although the dwarves began work on an escape route through the depths.

History

Millenia ago, the great dwarf smith Durgeddin the Black and his house, House Zultik; were driven from their home by a horde of fierce orcs and trolls. They plundered the dwarves’ ancestral halls and slew all they could catch. Fleeing his enemies, Durgeddin led the destitute remnants of his house in search of a new home. After years of wandering, the dwarves discovered a great cavern system beneath the Buldar: There Durgeddin and his followers founded the stronghold of Bhaghbuldar.
About two centuries ago, a member of Durgeddin’s clan was captured by a powerful orc tribe during a raid, and the orcs learned of their enemy’s hidden stronghold. The orc chieftains raised a great army and marched on Bhaghbuldar. In a hard-fought siege lasting months, the orcs tunneled around the dwarven defenses. When they finally stormed the place, they put all within to the sword, then carried off wagonloads of booty.
In the years since the great battle, various creatures have occupied the stronghold and used the place as a base for their raids. At other times, the caverns have lain empty except for the mindless and bloodthirsty monsters that haunt such places. Today legends of Durgeddin’s Vengeance (or the Smith’s War) and the extraordinary blades the dwarves forged in anger still surface from time to time in the lands near Buldar.

Type

Capital