Stonefield (Hamlet)

Population: ~100 (≈60 dwarves, 30 humans, 10 others including a few gnome journeymen)

Primary Industry: Platinum mining and ore transport

Terrain: Rocky foothills below the Spurs of the Skystone and Icerock peaks, along a ravine.

Founded: ca. 125 years ago under Duke Hadran “the Ironhanded”, in partnership with the Ironspur Dwarves

Overview

Stonefield stands as one of the enduring fruits of the Ironhand Compact, the accord forged between Duke Hadran “the Ironhanded” and the Ironspur dwarves of the Skystone and Icerock spurs in the Griff Mountains. The compact, sealed in CY 449, guaranteed dwarves the right of first delve into Tenh’s northern hills and a 50/50 partnership in all precious ore recovered.

A century later, dwarven surveyors rediscovered rich alluvial and deep rock platinum veins along the Wolfsward slopes and staked a new claim — founding the hamlet that became Stonefield. It is now a rugged frontier community of miners, stonecutters, and haulers, where human families labor beside dwarves under the enduring promise of the Ironhand Compact. Though small, the settlement hums with industry, fairness, and quiet pride — a symbol of Tenh’s earliest alliances between human and dwarf.

Places to Go

1. The Deep Tap Tavern

A stone-built tavern half buried in the hillside, with ceilings just high enough for a human to stand comfortably. A roaring hearth and smoked rafters fill the space with warmth and camaraderie.

Proprietor: Sera Stonebar, dwarf brewer. Specialty: Iron-tap ale and thick mushroom stew. Lore: The foundation stone bears a runic inscription: “By hand and hammer, in good faith.”

2. The Coopers’ Hall

A long timber shed that serves as both cooperage and cartwright’s shop.

Master Cooper: Jemlin Bott, human craftsman from Ironridge. Assistants: A pair of gnome journeymen learning barrel construction and joinery from dwarven plans. Side Work: Reinforced “powder barrels” for controlled blasting in deeper shafts. Motto: “Tight seals, straight boards, fair trades.”

3. Touchstone & Crucible Mission (Temple of St. Cuthbert)

A modest stone chapel near the south side of the hills, built of the same grey stone found in the quarries.

Priest: Brother Harren Vale, human missionary of the New Flan faith. Congregation: A mix of dwarves and humans drawn to his sermons on law, labor, and order. Custom: Each miner leaves their week’s first coin or chip of ore upon the anvil altar, said to echo faintly when given in honesty. Brother Harran is mostly welcomed by the humans but tension arises between the need for farming help and mining where he and the talhund form a council to settle concerns. Harran feels there should be more an emphasis on defense and has written several strongly worded letters to Rutherton to build an outpost to secure the frontier citing concerns of hobgoblins and kobolds. There has been the occasional rumor of a giant sighting and legend of a Wyvern or dragon in the mountains to the north but no one has actually seen it.

4. Broadan & Sons Timberworks

The hamlet’s carpentry yard, operated by Tarrin Broadan and his two sons. They source timber from the scrub hills to the south, shaping mine braces, ore sledges, and wagon frames.

Workshop: Simple log-and-stone structure open to the air for drying. Notable Work: Their braces are stamped with a small iron hammer — a symbol of the Ironhand Compact. Note: The Broadans work closely with dwarven engineers to balance timber supports with stone foundations, blending human practicality and dwarven precision.

5. Darksilver Charter Mine

The main shaft of Stonefield, descending roughly 150 feet into layered rock shot with pale platinum.

Foreman: Durkan Stonebar, Ironspur dwarf. Crew: ~30 miners, divided evenly between human and dwarf. Feature: Gnome-built pulley bells and dwarven winch systems sing in rhythmic counterpoint day and night.

Hazard: The lowest tunnel, called The Silent Spur, hums faintly when struck — miners avoid it after dark. Tradition: Each season’s end, Durkan recites the Ironhand Compact aloud at the shaft’s mouth — “so the mountain remembers.”

6. The Assayer’s Table

A small, thick-walled office beside the mine gate.

Assayer: Winnet Fross, gnome metallurgist and recordkeeper. Duty: Tallies purity and weight of all ore shipments for both the Duke’s agents and the Ironspur delegation. Observation: Winnet quietly suspects that Stonefield’s platinum is purer than Ironridge’s — a secret she guards in triple-locked ledgers.

7. Waycart Yards

The oxen and mule yards comprise over 50 acres of land. Large open air stables house ox used for moving ore, stone and metal south to Ironridge and Rutherton.

Caretaker: Rugar Nenn, human drover, gruff but dependable. Routine: Rings a bronze bell thrice before dawn — a ritual known as “Hadran’s Handshake,” marking the start of the day’s haul toward Ironridge.

8. Temple of Dumathoin

Originally the first mine to break ground over 250 years ago, well before the formal charter, this now serves as a temple to honor Dumathoin and the mining charter.

The clergy is led by four talhund, all miners or gemologists by trade a century ago, now given to preserving the traditions of the younger dwarves seeking the blessing of the mountains.

The talhund have some knowledge of the tribes to the north inhabiting the Griff spurs of kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, and other humanoids. There is also rumors of a mountain clan of dwarves unfriendly to outsiders whom they search for any evidence of.

The dwarves have helped dig wells and the first, a dwarves well, sits to the west of the Temple with a cistern to collect rain and meltwater for the community known as the Tears of the Mountain. The water is free and simply requires an acknowledgement that the mountain and skies work in harmony to provide; in short, a simple prayer of thanksgiving.