Ashen Dragon-Chapter 670 - 79 Plans and the Blackstone Mountain Range_2

They seek to combine the power of Nether Magic with the leading brain of the Heart Stealer, naming it "Sovereign God," in an attempt to climb to the top of the world.

However, the Heart Stealers are both the exploited and the ones who seek to exploit, using the Karlsas Crown to find an opportunity to break free from their chains and restore the glory of the ancient Heart Stealer Empire.

The Goddess of Magic, God of Justice, and even the Lord of Hell, all infused their own strength to seize benefits opportunistically.

Amidst this tangled and complex situation, it is obviously irrational to reveal one’s true form rashly.

And as for the Hermit, or what Cassius must do, is to thwart the plan through the hands of the players, stir up the situation, fish in troubled waters, and snatch the crown of Karlsas at the last moment.

According to his plan, by that time, the Ashen Empire would have also completed its conquest of the Thrace Kingdom, and could head west under the guise of "resisting the invasion of the Heart Stealers," taking over Victoria Port.

"Karlsas Crown, Victoria Port, the legacy of the Heart Stealer Empire... I want it all."

Thinking of this, the Hermit gripped the bronze scepter in his hand, a hint of imperceptible greed flashing in his pale green pupils.

...

To the northeast of the Fianso Continent lies the Black Stone Mountain.

This mountain range, stretching thousands of miles as if it were an ancient, slumbering beast, is the location of the High Mountain Kingdom, the shared home of the dwarves.

Made from countless tough, black rocks, it is concealing countless precious ores within, hence the name "Black Stone Mountain."

Harsh cold winds and howling gales, a majestic fortress stands in the depths of these winding mountains—Aivendel, the greatest bulwark of the Northern Shield Dwarves, meaning "The City that Never Falls."

Its exterior walls are built of weathered boulders, ancient yet sturdy. Moss grows between the stones, with traces of time leaving faint marks on every brick.

The fortress gates, forged from hard oak and steel, are adorned with the crest of the Dwarf Royal Family—a shield crossed with a warhammer.

On the rock walls beside the gates, carvings of the heroic tales of dwarven ancestors are found, and the door knockers are shaped like two enormous iron fists, tightly clasped together.

Atop the fortress, standing nearly a hundred meters tall, is a statue of Moradin, the God of Dwarfs, lifelike as if scrutinizing every visitor.

Inside the fortress, a maze of passageways filled with the unique, robust, and boisterous style of dwarves, stone corridors connecting room to room, with torches burning brightly above, casting warm light onto the ground.

The busy silhouettes of dwarves are especially lively under the flame, with the clear ringing of their hammers echoing around.

At the top of a tower in the fortress, a dwarf clothed in a thick fur coat and wearing a mithril crown looks down upon his subjects at the foot of the mountain with a solemn expression.

He is Ed Klein, the ruler of Aivendel, the King of the High Mountain Kingdom, venerated by the many dwarves within the realm as "King Ed."

Sighing, an aged dwarf behind him says, "Your Majesty, all the envoys we sent out have returned. The Three Great Kingdoms are mired in constant squabbles, indifferent to our fate.

And the Elders of Serinia treat the sacred covenant of millennia past as a joke, Gush’s vile offspring are poised to return with a vengeance, we..."

His name is Bjorn Riley; over two hundred years old, he is a senior minister of the High Mountain Kingdom.

Ed’s voice thunders with indignation, his dense beard almost exploding, and even his hand gripping the warhammer trembles.

"Those arrogant, decaying elves dare to do this! Do they not fear divine retribution?"

"If it weren’t for us dwarves standing guard in the North with our flesh and blood, blocking the Orcs’ numerous incursions to the South, would they have their current peace?"

Bjorn stepped forward, presenting an elegantly written letter: "Your Majesty, even though the elders of Serinia are unwilling to help, their queen is willing to send troops, only asking that we wait..."

"The Elf Queen?"

The Dwarf King snorted coldly, disdainfully saying: "What use is her personal letter? Nothing but a puppet put forward by the Elf elders."

Bjorn softly reminded: "Your Majesty, the ’Twilight Blade’ who single-handedly slew the Red Dragon is a staunch supporter of the Elf Queen. She is a powerful Legendary Paladin.

If we could win her over, it would be no small help to us."

Aiden then slightly mollified, nodded slightly: "That’s good, reply to that canary of a queen, say that we require the support of the Twilight Blade.

However, even if she’s a Legendary Paladin, she is but one person after all, and cannot completely change the overall situation.

Moreover... the Orc army is about to arrive, I fear it would not even take half a day for them to be at our gates."

Ed looks toward the North, on that desolate plateau, patches of mottled torrents have already appeared — those were the legions of Orcs.

For thousands of years, Aivendel had been invaded by Orcs more than a dozen times, but was never captured, only making the fortress stained red by the enemies’ blood time after time.

But now, with the Fianso Continent mired in chaos, the High Mountain Kingdom is fighting alone for the first time.

He gripped the steel hammer in his hand, his tone resolute and forceful: "It’s come to this... We can only rely on ourselves now.

Bjorn, go and gather our warriors, have them assemble at the foot of the mountain."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In just a moment, the Dwarf King arrived atop the towering walls before Aivendel.

At the foot of the mountain, under the watchful eyes of the Statue of Moradin, were packed dwarf warriors clad in heavy armor, wielding hammers, many of them mounted on rams.

There stood the High Mountain Kingdom’s most elite troops — the Shield Guard Army, this army composed of those wearing the most...

Mithril Hall is located in an underground area called Frost Hill, deeply hidden under the Fourpeak Mountain. Its main entrance is in a mountain pass called Keeper’s Dale, to the northwest of River Surbrin, marked by a towering ancient boulder. Since reclaiming this fortress sixteen years ago, Bruno Warhammer has made significant changes to the town’s original layout.

A pair of massive granite doors replaced what was once the main secret door. And the upper levels of Mithril Hall still remain a labyrinthine array of corridors and tunnels, designed to divert intruders from the lower living areas and lead them into numerous traps. The dwarves restored many ancient traps to full working condition, as well as added new ones to make the upper hall even more deadly to potential invaders. The middle level of the hall includes the Mithril Vein, which named the fortress, beneath which is the Undercity, where living chambers can accommodate more than twice the number of dwarves currently living there. The dwarven homes are built into the bedrock underneath the mountains and connected to the surrounding layers of mines.

The dwarves sealed off the tunnels leading to the lair of the Shadow Dragon "Shimmergloom," and they are incredibly cautious when mining the Mithril Veins nearby. To prevent the return of gray dwarves, who once tainted Mithril Hall, Bruno’s followers established a defense system by sending warriors on regular expeditions to scout the nearby Underdark for potential enemies.

Brief History

Broadcast

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The recent history of Mithril Hall has already been introduced in "Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting" (translator’s note: the history following is from the FRCS):

Mithril Hall was once the greatest stronghold of the Northern Shield Dwarves. About 180 years ago, it fell into the hands of a Shadow Dragon named Shimmergloom, who was released from the Shadow Plane and entered Faerun when the Hammer Clan dug too deep while mining Mithril. Shimmergloom killed most of the dwarves and, along with his Shadow Monsters and gray dwarf minions, took possession of Mithril Hall’s treasures. Things changed in 1356 DR when Bruno Warhammer (NG male shield dwarf 1