Earthspur Mountains The Earthspur Mountains , or simply the Earthspurs , and sometimes named the Giantspike Mountains or the Dragonspike Mountains , was a great mountain range in north Faerûn . It ran roughly from northwest to southeast , from the Moonsea and the Galena Mountains in the north to the Sea of Fallen Stars in the south . It had two arms : the smaller Troll Mountains and the Earthfast Mountains . This range bordered Damara , Vaasa , and Impiltur in the east with the Vast in the west . Geographical features . The Earthspur Mountains were high and imposing ; the range ' s tallest peaks were nearly 4 miles ( 6 . 4 kilometers ) high . There were few trails through the mountains , making them very dangerous . One was Three Trees Pass , a long cleft between the Earthfasts and the Troll Mountains . There was a gap in the mountains where the High Country of the Vast jutted east ; rumors told of hidden passes through the mountains into neighboring Impiltur . Further east was the High Pass west of the River Icehilt . At the center of the range , at its highest point , was the Glacier of the White Worm , from which cold winds continuously blew around the peaks . It covered an area of approximately 1200 square miles ( 3100 square kilometers ) . To the east was the Earthwood , and Lake Icemelt was to the south of this . The mountains were rich in iron and silver , in apparently limitless lodes , with some bloodstone veins . There were also small but highly pure deposits of gold in the Giantspike Mountains . Thus many tunnels burrowed into the heart of the mountains in search of these metals . Underdark . In the Underdark , the domain of the Deep Wastes stretched to the Earthspur Mountains in the east . Locations . The Monastery of the Yellow Rose was positioned on one of the mountain range ' s highest peaks , beside the Glacier of the White Worm . The goblinoid community of Brikklext sat beneath the southern foothills of the Earthspur Mountains , on the eastern side . There were a number of shield dwarf settlements within the mountains . Mining communities lay scattered across the lower slopes of the mountains , beside the tunnel entrances . Watcher ' s Mound s were a series of campsites constructed and maintained by the Disciples of St . Sollars the Twice - Martyred , from the Monastery of the Yellow Rose , and by local ranger s . They lay throughout the mountains south of the monastery , situated along the trails running down from it . There were thought to be well over a hundred of these sites ; their exact number was unknown . They could take many forms , not only mounds , such as a simple lean - to or a fire - pit with a small cave and an overhanging boulder . They were defensible campsites with shelter where a traveler , a ranger , or a monk might spend a night in safety , or a goblin or orc band might rest and defend themselves . Each site also contained a hidden cache of preserved food , water , and tools . The monks and rangers restocked these caches . Inhabitants . The Earthspurs were inhabited by orc s , goblin s , hobgoblin s , and bugbear s , and drow could also be found . Cave troll s were common in the mountains west of Impiltur as well . There also numerous other monsters . The mountains were also home to shield dwarves , such as the Ludwakazar clan . There were many hardy human and dwarven miners and prospectors working the mountains , as well as bandits who preyed on them . History . In the Year of the Wyvernfall , 512 DR , the orc kingdom of Vastar rampaged out of the Vast and threatened other lands with war . Swarming through many small passes in the Earthspur Mountains , the orc chieftain Ulbror and his horde invaded the uplands of Impiltur . As Vastar descended into civil war in the Year of Writhing Darkness , 572 DR , dwarves from the north and east expanded their mines under the Earthspur Mountains and into Vastar . The dwarves let no orc who ' d seen a dwarf remain alive , to prevent any word reaching orcish chieftains of the nature of their enemy . The unexplained deaths of large numbers of orcs in the mountains were blamed on the civil war . After defeating the orcs and bringing down Vastar , the dwarves founded the kingdom of Roldilar in its place . But Roldilar fell to resurgent orcs in the Year of the Bloody Crown , 649 DR , and many surviving dwarf clans escaped into the Earthspur Mountains . From the mid - 1350s DR , prosperous new deposits of ore were discovered in the Earthspur and Earthfast Mountains , inspiring prospectors to brave the harsh conditions and hobgoblins , hoping to strike it lucky . These new mines were predicted to fuel the Impilturan economy . In the Year of Wild Magic , 1372 DR , an Earthspurs mine broke into an old temple of Laduguer , and miners discovered more tunnels leading into the Underdark . They sought adventurer s to follow the tunnels and see if they led to duergar settlements . A local merchants ' guild even prepared a trade expedition to the gray dwarves . Miners were still working the Earthspurs by 1479 DR . However , the retreat of the Great Glacier in the 15th century defrosted a number of undead creatures , and possibly something worse , prompting an increasing number of humanoids and monsters to travel south . Activities . Mining was lucrative here but conditions were harsh and dangerous . Miners endured a lot of hardship to pursue their wealth , and the mining communities suffered high death rates . The mining communities of Dunfee in Impiltur and the Arcatan towns of Sudrav and Tomrav existed thanks to the mines here . On the other side of the mountains , King ' s Reach in the Vast grew wealthy off trade and smelting of the metals that came out , and by supplying the prospectors who found them . They went via secret routes to protect their claims and hide their finds . Rumors & Legends . Some told horror stories of human and dwarven prospectors , lone and " gold - crazed " , who attacked anyone who came too close to their claims and finds , and who lived like animals high in the mountains . Others told of so - called " gold caves " , caverns with great stacks of lost dwarven gold and guarded by dragon s or wyvern s or by gold - crazed prospectors who ' d slain those beasts and seized and guarded their hoards themselves . A few such stories turned out to be true . Lashan Aumersair of Scardale supposedly once led his followers to locate one of these gold caves and took its wealth to fuel his conquests .