Stone Bridge

This massive stone arch spans the River Dessarin without ceremony or accompanying settlement, rising lonely and weathered in the midst of rolling grasslands without a road or building to be seen as far as the eye can scan. Built by dwarves 5,000 years ago to link the now-ruined Halls of the Hunting Axe with forgotten dwarven holds, it’s a lonely reminder of ancient days.

The Bridge was built to span the broadest imaginable spring flood of the Dessarin. It rises in a great arc, without supporting pillars, some two miles in length and 100 feet wide, reaching a height of 400 feet above the waters of the river (at normal flow). Equally impressive are the four pylonlike sculptures, two flanking each end of the bridge, that rise 500 feet above the valley. Each weathered pylon depicts a grim, dwarven warrior waiting and watching.

The dwarves explain the awesome size of the bridge•and its continued survival, despite armies clashing on it and mages hurling mighty spells to and from it over the centuries•to the fact that it is a temple to the dwarven god Moradin the Soulforger. It’s true that some pious dwarves do make pilgrimages there, and at least once in times of darkness for the dwarves, Moradin appeared on the bridge. Local legend even claims that Moradin, when banished to Faerûn during the Time of Troubles, stood guard on the Stone Bridge, barring the passage of a number of evil avatars who sought to reach the Celestial Stairway at Waterdeep and cause mischief along the way.