Gvanlar’s Hall is a dwarven outpost and trading hall about six leagues northeast of Llanybydder. It has been abandoned since the non-human tax was established in Endon under Guilandros II.

In its heyday, the Hall was inhabited by nearly five hundred dwarfs, a large gathering for a settlement so remote from the mines in the Iron Mountains. They specialised in the breeding and sale of cattle, a food source for the other dwarven settlements, but when the non-human tax was established by the Endonian kings, the settlement of Shepshed further down the mountain outpaced them as a cattle market and the dwarfs were forced to shut down.

Gvanlar himself was not the original owner of the Hall – in official records, the Hall is titled Mountainfoot Market – but the youngest son of the market’s last foreman, who remained in the Hall even after the market shut down. Rumour in Llanybydder states that Gvanlar, who died only recently, had hoarded and hidden the riches left in the vaults of the Hall for whichever bold adventurer that finds it.

The mountainside around the Hall is beginning to fall away: at first, this was simply the result of neglect and the slow decay of the ruin over time, but its more recent inhabitants have all but made its imminent crumbling certain. Two enormous rents in the stone cliff-face can be seen to either side of the official entrance, but these are both guarded, and have the added risk of the loose stone above and to either side.

The main entrance to the Hall is also guarded: it looks out over the plains, the players who take a moment to admire the view will note that they are almost directly above – and about one mile to the south – of the site of the caravan attack. They can also see the faint glow of Shepshed in the distance to the west.

Kobold guards mind the various entrances to the Hall, and the remainder of the tribe has made their village within. The kobolds who make up the honour guard for the dragon are fanatics: they have a much greater sense of loyalty and aggression than the run-of-the-mill kobold, and should not be underestimated.

There are four parts of the Hall: the North Crack, the South Crack, the Ruined Market, the Kobold Village, and the Dragon’s Lair.

Reaching Gvanlar’s Hall is no small feat, even for the most prepared adventurers. The overgrown mountain path, long untended, winds perilously close to sheer drops and crumbling rock faces. The faint reek of smoke often serves as the first sign of the Hall’s proximity, accompanied by the dim orange glow of the kobolds’ fires spilling out from the cracks and crevices in the cliff.

Prosperity and Decline

Gvanlar’s Hall, or Mountainfoot Market in the ancient records, was once a bustling dwarven hub, unique among its kind for its focus on agriculture rather than mining or metallurgy. Positioned strategically near fertile highland pastures and accessible trade routes, the Hall thrived as a center for cattle breeding and trade. The dwarves of Mountainfoot Market were known not only for their industriousness but also for their innovation, developing grazing techniques and husbandry practices that were the envy of both dwarves and humans alike. At its peak, it supplied not only dwarven settlements but also several human kingdoms with the finest cattle and provisions.

The imposition of the non-human tax under Guilandros II marked the beginning of the Hall’s decline. The tax disproportionately targeted dwarven and other non-human merchants, favoring human-run markets like Shepshed. With their trade routes crippled and their costs skyrocketing, the dwarves of Gvanlar’s Hall were forced to abandon their livelihoods. The settlement's once-thriving population dwindled as families left to seek fortunes elsewhere, leaving only Gvanlar, the youngest son of the Hall’s final foreman, to watch over the empty halls.

The Kobolds' Dominion

Today, Gvanlar’s Hall is no longer a quiet, empty ruin but a stronghold for a tribe of kobolds who have claimed it as their own. These creatures, cunning and resourceful, have transformed the abandoned trading hall into a warren of tunnels and chambers, blending dwarven craftsmanship with their own crude architecture. The North and South Cracks in the cliff face, formed by years of neglect and geological shifts, have become strategic access points for the kobolds. Both are heavily guarded by lookouts armed with slings, makeshift traps, and a dangerous willingness to cause collapses should invaders approach.

Deep within the Hall, the kobolds have erected their village amidst the ruins of the old market, using its stone stalls as bases for their homes and gathering spaces. At the heart of their occupation lies the Dragon’s Lair, a cavernous chamber once used as the market’s storage vault. Now, it serves as the den of a young but fierce dragon, the centerpiece of the kobolds’ devotion. The kobold honor guard, clad in scavenged armor and armed with crude but effective weapons, protects the dragon with fervent zeal. These fanatics pose a significant threat, as their loyalty to their draconic master borders on suicidal fanaticism, ensuring that any encounter with them will be a fight to the death.