Citadel Adbar has stood in the bitter cold of the Ice Mountains for almost eighteen centuries
Citadel Adbar has stood in the bitter cold of the Ice Mountains for almost eighteen centuries, impregnable and defiant. The fortress, carved out of a mountain spur, consists of two great towers ringed with spikes to keep large flying creatures from landing to attack the structures directly. The great chimney of the citadel’s central foundry stands between the towers, belching smoke like a volcano about to erupt. Ringing the citadel is a host of platforms, battlements, and arrow slits from where defenders can fire crossbows at foolish attackers. A great drawbridge allows no one to enter the dwarven enclave except patrols and honored guests. Cleverly hidden traps await those who storm the halls uninvited, and beneath the citadel is an expansive network of tunnels and caverns designed to confuse would-be invaders. If Adbar’s defenses should ever prove inadequate, the dwarves have created a secret evacuation tunnel that stretches for hundreds of miles, connecting to passages that lie under Citadel Felbarr to the west. Adbar’s garrison offers a reward of 10 gp for each orc head brought to the city gates, or 100 gp for each giant head.
The population of Citadel Adbar was severely depleted by the War of the Silver Marches, which drew away many of Adbar’s greatest warriors, including its long-ruling king, Harbromm. King Harbromm led his knights into battle against the orc hordes invading the Marches and died on the field. Harbromm’s twin sons, Bromm and Harnoth, inherited the throne and, like their father, left Citadel Adbar to join the war. Bromm later perished, leaving the crown to Harnoth. Harnoth and his followers fought many battles during the war, but the new king made some poor decisions that winnowed the once-great Knights of the Mithral Shield down to a handful of members. Fortunately for Harnoth, the Iron Guard — Citadel Adbar’s defending army — remains strong.
What’s not generally known is that Harnoth, too, was killed by orcs toward the end of the war. To prevent political turmoil in Citadel Abdar, the elders of Adbar’s dwarven clans hired a doppelganger to impersonate King Harnoth. True power in Citadel Adbar now lies with the clan elders, who meet in secret and tell their “king” what to do and say before every one of his public appearances. The doppelganger is so smitten with its role that it sometimes forgets itself and makes decisions that the elders haven’t approved, behavior that is a growing cause of concern for some.
