Kingdom of Steel

The Kingdom of Steel is the newest of several Dwarven city-states within the Drazia Dynasty, established in 5874 SU. The kingdom is situated in the southwest corner of the Dynasty, bordering the Kingdoms of Mithril and Iron to the north and east, Grecca to the south, and Duthgar to the west.
The entrance to the Kingdom of Steel is rather unassuming, built halfway up a hill which, on approach, appears to be little more than a stone wall constructed from piled rocks. However, there lies a ditch before the wall which can only be seen from within a few feet of the wall and effectively doubles the wall's height to about 12 feet. From behind the wall, the loose piles of rock are revealed to be crafted and carved in such a way that they form a perfect interlocking pattern, making the structure as strong as any castle walls that use the traditional mortar method.
At the midpoint of this outer wall is a cobblestone bridge that crosses the ditch. Anyone who crosses this bridge and passes through the outer wall is immediately faced with a thick wall with only one low opening that even most dwarves would have to stoop to pass through, not much wider than their shoulders. To the left and right of the opening are funnel-shaped passages that narrow down to a point that only a single cart could pass through at a time. The passages are flanked on either side by a number of arrow slits at different heights which allow specially crafted spears, long enough to reach the opposite wall, to be thrust through. Passing through the low opening in the thick inner wall reveals a large set of very ornate doors which, according to the Kingdom of Steel, are only for the use of the king and lead straight to his private chambers. In reality, the only thing behind those doors is a small cavity packed full of gunpowder and multiple traps of various kinds, all designed to set off one of the many barrels of gunpowder and start a chain reaction until all the gunpowder has exploded, guaranteeing the death of whoever was foolish enough to open the doors. Luckily, since the whole ruling family has little to no reason to ever leave the kingdom, and because the concept of a private entrance for VIPs isn’t unheard of, this lie is rarely questioned and very easy to keep.
Category:Drazia Dynasty