Ironfang Keep Ironfang Keep was an ancient keep in northern Faerûn . Geography . The stronghold lay in the northernmost parts of the Earthspur Mountains at the cascades where the White River fell into the Moonsea . History . The Keep was so old , that even the oldest elves remembered their grandparents talking about it . There were legends among dragon s which indicated that Ironfang Keep already existed around - 25000 DR It got its name due to massive iron deposits near the Keep . But no one dared to mine them , because most feared the presence of the Keep and its inhabitants . Ironfang Keep was originally one of twelve fortresses constructed by the fire giant s of Helligheim on its southern border . During the Thousand Year War between Ostoria and the draconic forces of Garyx , Ironfang Keep was the only one of these fortresses to survive being destroyed by the dragons before the First Rage of Dragons ended the war . The Keep was sealed by giant runecaster s when the inhabitants of Helligheim decided to retreat to the north a century or two after the end of the war . It stood empty until - 981 DR when a greathorn minotaur named Haask claimed it as the capitol of his burgeoning empire called Grong - Haap . Grong - Haap fell after Haask disappeared in - 350 DR and after it dissolved , Ironfang Keep was forgotten . Legend claims that an arcanist from fallen Netheril was the next creature to enter the Keep but he was supposedly later found wandering Thar , utterly insane . Orc s from Vastar told tales of entire orc tribes in the area being abducted by shadowy creatures . Myriad elves , giants and even some dragons also disappeared in the region . Beastly hybrid creatures were encountered in its vicinity , which led credence to rumours of someone experimenting on living beings within the Keep . Ibixian s , first noted near the Keep in 703 DR , were thought to be one of the results of these experiments . Ironfang Keep became a place of mystery to the peoples of the Moonsea . In 1288 DR , the barons of Mulmaster organized an expedition to investigate and loot the keep . As if in response , the local gnoll population rose up against Mulmaster in a fifty year campaign of raids against the city which only stopped upon the last baron ' s death . Mongo , Blood of Ghellin claimed to have ventured inside and met its inhabitants when he appeared in Suzail In 1367 DR , badly beaten . Delirious , he was put to bed , but the next morning , his remains were found splattered all over his room with no clear signs of violence . Inhabitants . It was suspected that mysterious mage s lived within Ironfang Keep . But it was unknown who they were and what objectives they had . They were thought to be so powerful as to keep the Cloaks of Mulmaster and even the Red Wizards of Thay from disturbing them . If asked about the keep , the mighty wizards , Khelben " Blackstaff " Arunsun and Elminster , only shook their heads and said nothing . From time to time caravans stopped at the door of the Keep and brought cargo , but not one of the merchants saw any of the inhabitants . Some surviving visitors to the Keep remarked that the mages seemed to practice their magic during the night , however it was hard to tell what kind of magic they used or to even try to dispel it . Some thought the inhabitants were a school of users of the Shadow Weave or shadow adepts , maybe even both .