Stonehell: An Introduction

The dungeon today known as Stonehell sits in a box canyon, about 3 hours walk south west from the gates of The City. Between the dungeon and the city the Old King’s Road dips down and passes through the southern tip of a swamp. Rising out of that swamp the terrain becomes more rocky, with mountains off in the distance.

The hills around Stonehell are dotted with ruins. Directly above the dungeon is what once was an old watch tower, but is now little more than a few low walls, but it does sport one of the entrances to the dungeon, leading into the bandit caves above the mushroom caves on the first level.

Numerous other caves have been carved out of the hills, some are occasionally inhabited, and a few open up into smaller dungeons that so far seem unconnected to Stonehell itself. Old ruined wizards towers, a haunted windmill, and an old silver mine have been occasionally visited by local toughs looking to get a reputation. Somewhere, believed to be in the swamp, is the former lair of the dragon that terrorized the countryside a century ago.

The early history of the upper level of the dungeon stretches back about 400 years. Some caves were picked to be used as a prison by an advisor of the The Pontificate As more prisoners were fed into the caves they were given tools to dig deeper and expand the space. And did they did. As more and more people were imprisoned, they brought their skills to the dungeon. Dwarves, halflings, religious cults, hedge wizards, and then the diggers hit natural caves, and beyond those are older passages and halls from civilizations that are unknown to most on the surface world.

200 years ago, the Pontificate fell, and the prison opened. Few emerged, and many who did we descendants of those imprisoned, and had never seen the sun. In the following decades, various humanoid clans, cults, and bandits have called the dungeon home. Recently Eiric, Flinger of Fire and her party release a long imprisoned mummy priest of the Black Sun, who swept through the upper levels of the dungeon before he was destroyed by a group of adventurers passing through the area. Since then a new tribe of kobolds has moved in, a troll worshiping goblin tribe has arisen, and the undead are mostly quiet.

Within The City, the Mage Eiric has purchased a small estate, and is currently supervising the construction of her new manor house. Kili the dwarf has a successful money lending business established, and is also growing the cult of the Great Old Ones using the Cult of the Black Sun’s now abandoned temple. Karl the dwarf has a semi-fancy millinery. A-A-Ron is running a thieves guild in town (possibly the largest?). Sir Orpheus now sits upon the city council.

And then there is the dragon... Recently bested by some adventurers, it hasn't been seen in several weeks, much to the (temporary) relief of the City's merchants and shippers.