MIRA BAR
Mirabar is a human city that rests atop dwarven cav-
erns. On the surface, humans dominate the population,
with some dwarves mixed in, a nd a handful of gnomes
and halflings. The uppermost level of the unde rcity is
mos tly dwarves, with some few humans. The mixing
of races is due to convenience of trade, prefe rence, or
s kill; just as some few humans like to mine, to imbibe
strong dwarven drink, and to work unde rground, so do
a minority of dwarves take to the open s ky, doing dock
work, or even manning and building ship s. The lower
levels beneath Mirabar are all dwarve n, as even the
mos t dwarf-like human can live so deep below ground
for only so long. Almost all of its citi zens, regardless
of race, honor Moradin and the dwarven gods, making
Mirabar a dwarven city in spirit and e thics, if not
entirely by population, much in the way my own Silvery-
moon s peaks to elven ideals of natura l beaut y.
Long ago, the great dwarve n kingdom of Gharraghaur
s tood to the west of Delzoun, delving mines near the
River Mirar and finding great, near-endless veins of
gem s. Like many of the dwa rven realms, Gharraghaur
fell to marauding ores, which destroyed the kingdom
and its capita l city but couldn't take advantage of the
wealth there in. For millennia the lower city lay e mpty,
until some eight hundred years ago, whe n Prince Ere-
skas of Arnn settled th e same s pot, c reating the city
of Mirabar (coincidentally echoing the dwarven "-bar"
naming convention used for citadels throughout the
North). It was only when dwarves returned to work
the mines below that Mirabar began to see its for-
tunes increase.
Mirabar is ruled by its heredita ry marchion, Selin
Raurym, who issues e dicts fe d to him by th e Council
of Sparkling Stones. The council is a group of dwa rvesEverbright
The dwarves were the first to discover the secret of treating
their metal with everbright. The technique has been imi-
tated by other races, to varying degrees of success. Armor,
weapons, and other metal objects to which everbright is
applied maintain their luster without needing to be pol-
ished, and are resistant to natural (and, in some cases,
magical) pitting, rusting, and tarnishing.CHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTH
and som e few humans elected to m a ke policy for the
city, who de termine where the output of Mirabar's mines
will be sold. Although the council has long ke pt Mirabar
associated with the Lords' Alliance, it is the marchion
who negotiates with his fellow lords. Thus far, Selin
R aurym has proved far more capable than his predeces-
sor s at m a king beneficial decisions for the city, and th e
council has given him great leeway to speak for Mirabar
outside the walls. His threat to pull out of the Alliance
following its failure to a id the northern cities against the
most recent ore hordes, though considered by some an
empty gesture, has brought Mirabar more advantageous
r elationships w ith Waterdeep a nd Baldur's Gate, some-
thing which has not gone unappreciated by the council.
The city's guard, the Axe of Mirabar, exists primarily
to deter and prevent sabotage of the mines, without
which Mirabar would collapse. The guard a lso pro-
vides swift a nd capable defense and law enforceme nt
within the city. The wealth of Mirabar is so great that it
maintains docks, s hips, and fortified harbors on many
of the is lands in the Sea of Swords, and as s uch the
city is a lways seeking magical and military support for
these defenses. Where other cities might use s uch vast
mountains of coin as Mirabar possesses on shows of
prosperity, Mirabarrens use it for more functional goals,
making sure that the city's defenses are new, that its
gates close securely when they are move d, that its build-
ings and walls a re strong and secure. Given the recent
destruction of Sundabar's s urface city at the hand of
ore armies, s uch expenditures a re well jus tified, si nce
no one in Mirabar wishes to see the surface city wiped
out. It would simply be bad for bus iness. Mirabar spares
no expense in defending its wealth, and hires as many
mages a nd adventurers as necessary to clear threats
away from roads, investiga te sabotage, a nd otherwise
protect its vital trade.
With the rise of Mithra! Hall in the last century, a nd
now Gauntlgrym, Mirabar fears its place as the armory
of the North is at risk. 'The mine rs, s me lters, and s miths
of Mirabar work ever harde r to in crease their output and
improve their craft, while th e jewele rs and ena m elers
s tudy ways to incorporate ancient techniques of melding
dwarven , human, a nd elven designs together in their
work, in the manner of old Phalorm.
Mirabarren (or to some, just Mierren) dwarves like to
cultivate long, wide (as opposed to tapered or pointed)
beards a nd tight braids of ha ir growing elsewhere than
on the chin, a fashion copied by some local huma ns.
They love polished, everbright-treated sheets of metal,
particularly copper, used as doors or mirrorlike wall-
panel inlays. They often set gems into the pommels
and nonworking ends of tools and weapons. Mierren
dwa rves tend to be we althy, to have personal collections
of unus ual and rare gems, to use seals made of gems
carved into signet ri ngs, and to be investors in ventures
(rather than prope rty) up a nd down the Sword Coast.
They are sophisticated and worldly, and they decry the
isolationist and xenophobic attitudes of some dwa rves.
Mierren dwarves demons trate their own broader
attitudes by being the diplomatic traders a nd power
broker s in trademoots a nd agreements in Fireshear a nd
Neverwinter a nd everywhe re else they can worm their