Gauntlgrym Gauntlgrym was an ancient dwarven city that fell into ruin . The city was the capital of the Delzoun . Geography . Location . Its location was lost for centuries , alleged to be north of the River Dessarin , near the Valley of Khedrun in the Savage Frontier , though it was actually much farther to the southwest . Entry points . Bruenor Battlehammer rediscovered Gauntlgrym through a cave entrance in a stony ravine in the Crags outside of Neverwinter . This entrance appears to be the closest to the city ' s " front doors . " There existed a river of magma that originated within Mount Hotenow , which , in 1480 DR , was connected to the Great Cavern ( and therefore Gauntlgrym ' s main entrance ) via winding tunnels . The river was guarded by Karrundax , a young red dragon . A number of tunnels in the Underdark , beneath Gauntlgrym , led upwards into the city , many of which bypassed the main entrance . Via the Underdark , Gauntlgrym connected with Deepearth , Nuur Throth , a long and treacherous tunnel to the Great Worm Caverns and an even longer tunnel to Shadowdale . Description . The city was built on a huge scale , with many doorways constructed at a size that would allow even dragon s to pass through . Doorways were constructed from iron , mithral and stone . These doors were designed to be opened only by a Delzoun , and were both magically sealed and tremendously heavy . The city was adorned with icons to the Morndinsamman ( dwarven pantheon ) and other dwarven heroes . Inhabitants . The city was , at first , occupied only by dwarves , but during its rise to power , it gained in notoriety and developed populations of human s , elves , gnome s , and other races , until its fall in - 111 DR . After that , it was resettled briefly by humans until it was overtaken by illithid s . In the 15th century DR , Gauntlgrym and its mines were occupied by a number of factions . In 1463 DR , a group of drow took up residence around the forge . In 1479 DR , the illithids who once resided there returned , mutated , plaguechanged and under the control of the Abolethic Sovereignty , who sought to control Maegera . The duergar remained , expanding the tunnels beneath the city at the behest of Asmodeus , while also mining for precious metals , including hellthorn . The dwarf - turned - vampire Thibbledorf Pwent protected the cairn of Bruenor Battlehammer and regularly killed or turned all the drow he could get his hands on . In addition , there were the ever - present threats of Delzoun ghosts , elemental servants of Maegera , and a large colony of dire corbies who stubbornly refused to be eradicated . History . Rise and fall . In the age of Delzoun expansion ( - 22900 DR to - 1100 DR ) , dwarven miners first dug the tunnels and chambers that would become known as Gauntlgrym . The dwarves found unusual veins of magical ore , but in their digging , they encountered the trapped Dawn Titan ( fire primordial Maegera . After that disastrous encounter , the deep tunnels were closed . Centuries or millennia later , the primordial was rediscovered by the arcanist Maerin of Illusk . He convinced the dwarves of Delzoun to build a city around the mines of Gaunlgrym in order to harness the power of the primordial to create exceptional pieces of metalwork . Construction on the city began in - 335 DR as a joint effort between the human wizards of Illusk and the dwarves of Delzoun . Maerin and the elven wizards of Iliyanbruen extended the reach of the " roots " of the Host Tower of the Arcane in Illusk to carry the cooling waters of the sea to the primordial . The famed dwarf artisan Immar Fardelver was involved in the construction of the city itself . The city was completed fourteen years later in - 321 DR and became the home to dwarves from Clan Goldspire , humans from Illusk , and Netherese refugees from Runlatha and Sundabar . The city fell during the Orc Marches of - 111 DR but was resettled in 141 DR , this time as a vassal of Illusk , who again aided the dwarves in their efforts . Unfortunately , after an invasion in 153 DR by lycanthrope s and illithid s a mere twelve years after its resettlement , the city was left to the mind flayers for the next millennium . Many refugees of Gauntlgrym , infected with lycanthropy , fled to the Gray Wolf Tribe , spreading their curse to the Uthgardt . Illithid rule . The illithids ruled over the city for over a millennium , keeping to the lower levels while leaving the trap - filled upper halls empty . They would later use the city as a base from which to attack the Kraken Society , who had managed to injure their elder brain and managed to abduct and brainwash one of their own in 1278 DR . They would also find unexpected numbers when they accepted refugees from destroyed Phanlinksal in 1339 DR , who aided them in their main goal which seemed to be the creation of half - illithid hybrid creatures . The Knights of Myth Drannor would be only the second surface group to uncover Gauntlygrym , the first being the Company of the Gryphon . The Knights had found a previously undiscovered route through the Underdark from Shadowdale . A group of goblinoids called the Hargrath later took over the upper levels . In 1363 DR , the mind flayers of Gauntlgrym created the first illithiderro , or madmind s . The madminds , who could breed amongst themselves , did so quickly and outnumbered their creators in only a few years . They successfully rebelled against the illithids , slaughtering most of their former masters and enslaving the duergar before coming to infest the lower levels like vermin . Waking of the primordial . In 1451 DR , Maegera was awoken due to the machinations of Dahlia Sin ' felle , an agent of distant Thay . The subsequent volcanic eruption destroyed the nearby city of Neverwinter . When Sylora Salm tried to destroy the burgeoning settlement of New Neverwinter in 1462 DR , she was stopped by the combined efforts of Jarlaxle , Athrogate , Bruenor Battlehammer , and Drizzt Do ' Urden . In an event later known as " the Summons , " hundreds of dwarven ghost s emerged from Gauntlgrym and approached the descendants of Delzoun to beseech their help in repelling the invaders . The dwarves of Clan Battlehammer in Icewind Dale heeded the call and helped turn back Sylora Salm , Valindra Shadowmantle , and the Ashmadai , but not before Bruenor and his faithful shield dwarf , Thibbledorf Pwent , were fatally injured . Q ' Xorlarrin . In 1463 DR , a group of drow from House Xorlarrin , led by Ravel Xorlarrin , captured the forge area of the complex at the behest of Matron Zeerith Q ' Xorlarrin , having been secretly prodded to do so by House Baenre . The purpose was to create a sister city to Menzoberranzan that was free of the direct control of House Baenre and that would provide many valuable forged goods . Additionally , the city had the potential to afford greater rights to drow males and drider s , as well as to improve access for Bregan D ' aerthe to send trade goods from the surface back to the Underdark . A brief setback occurred shortly after the occupation began when Brack ' thal Xorlarrin , the house elderboy , succumbed to the whispers of Maegera and tried to release the primordial once more , coinciding with an attack from a contingent of Shadovar led by Herzgo Alegni . By 1484 DR , the drow had secured the area around the forge and some of the lower mining tunnels , where they forced slaves to work . That year , House Xorlarrin received official approval to leave Menzoberranzan for the new settlement , which was named Q ' Xorlarrin . Not long before Matron Zeerith was set to arrive , drow troops ( under the command of House Baenre ) captured Artemis Entreri and his companions and tortured them or set them to work . The reborn Companions of the Hall , who entered Gauntlgrym to free Thibbledorf Pwent from his vampiric curse , learned about Entreri ' s captivity and set out to rescue him . In the ensuring fight , the drow were forced to retreat temporarily and many of the settlement ' s rooms were destroyed . However , Zeerith and Matron Mother Quenthel Baenre arrived and presumably moved to rebuild the city . The Canticle of Gauntlgrym . All dwarves are said to know an ancient poem that has helped ensure the legend of Gauntlgrym in dwarven memory .