the center sl ab
The Center Slab, also referred to as the Heart, marks
the widest and most varied rung on the journey through
Kraghammer, and is stratified between the the resi-
dences of Kraghammer’s dwarven elite and its wealthy
merchant class. At the exact center of the slab—dwarves
are very particular about geometrical symbolism—is the
Pyrethrone, seat of the Ironkeeper. Radiating out from
the Pyrethrone are the various fortress-manors of the
dwarven noble houses, with several Carver barracks in
easy reach.
Just below, the outer rings of the Center Slab are
occupied by most of the city’s non-mining businesses,
from smithies, breweries, and jewelers, to tailors,
butchers, and even tinkerers like the gnome-run Crack-
sackle Union. The Hunter’s Club is also well known as
the chief provider for non-imported meats to the city,
sending parties atop the mountain or in the nearby
Torian Forest for wild game. The extravagant marble
temple known as Allhammer’s Will stands on the
center slab of the city, the grandest of all shrines to
the most worshiped deity under the mountain. Enor-
mous in size and impeccable in detail and architectural
design, this hall calls artisans and crafters throughout
the city for inspiration.
Of the five noble houses, only two conduct their affairs
entirely in the Center Slab. The magically talented Lord
Steddos Thunderbrand and his family are known to rarely
leave their mansion, except on business with the Iron-
keeper. Wallera Glorenthar used to oversee the combat
training of all Carvers within Kraghammer, but the scan-
dal that rocked her house has called her leadership into
question. She is currently on leave.
the bot toM sl ab
The Bottom Slab, or the Pit, is the industrious center
of Kraghammer, boasting the most blast furnaces per
square mile in all of Tal’Dorei, courtesy of the Bronze-
grip Metalworks and their competitors. The expansive
Keenstone Quarry is chief among the numerous mining
operations that have tunneled through the depths of the
mountains—depths plumbed by Vox Machina early in
their adventures as they searched for Lady Kima of Vord,
an adventure that saw them overthrow the duergar of the
Emberhold and the hateful aberrations of Yug’Voril. A
network of fungus-farming paths called the Glowgrove
works its way around this level, passing through all sorts
of caverns. The mushrooms are harvested by the Toppers,
the dwarven agricultural league that got their name from
the small topside farms they tend above the city.
Three of the five dwarven houses has business interests
in the Bottom Slab, though they direct its operations
from the next tier up. Nostoc Greyspine is the grim
overseer of Keenstone Quarry; he swears that his rela-
tionship to Ironkeeper Gradim Greyspine gives him no
special privileges. Haddi Bronzegrip is the foredwarf
of the Bronzegrip Metalworks; she claims to be the
wealthiest dwarf in the North. Blenton Zuurthom is
an architectural savant, and one of the older and kinder