Gullhond

Gullhond was born into the Algetir clan when it was located within a city-state on the southern shore of what is now Tuatha'Nell, just south of the Dwereth border, and was then part of Dwereg territory. His birth name is not recorded, but he took the name Gullhond when he became an adult, and immediately began work as a high administrator within the court of his uncle, king Fjothr. Within only 50 years he was one of the expected heirs to the throne, but opted to form a settlement in the north, in an effort to mine the precious metals there. This missive was funded by Fjothr, on the condition that it be repaid with interest, and that the king would retain the right to recall all settlers if they had not repaid the debt within 100 years.   The mine, later to become what is now called a Holt, had an initial population of 50, consisting mostly of miners and engineers. After 10 years of construction and exploration, the mine began to operate profitably, and its population grew as other Dweregar in the region joined it in the hopes of earning fortune and renown from its production. Gullhond repaid his debt after only 38 years of operation, and was widely regarded as a shrewd and wise king. In this time, he also repelled several minor attempts at robbery or sabotage from neighboring Dwarven clans.   After 113 years of the holt's operation, it uncovered a treasure of unequaled value: a Philosopher's stone, a lodestone exuding alchemical Raw Magic. As was his right, the king claimed this item as his own, since it was produced from his mine, but promised his citizens that it would be used to grow the wealth of the holt and that all would benefit. He took the stone into his palace and spent several months studying it, with the aid of several eminent alchemists; after this time he developed the secret to reliably transform items into gold, and demonstrated this by transforming his entire palace, though structural engineers complained that the soft metal would eventually collapse and the building was now unsafe.   In the immediate aftermath of this event, the holt's economy soared, as it was able to produce humungous volumes of gold, limited only to the amount of material that could be touched against the stone's surface. While other settlements in the region complained that the price of gold was crashing, the wider world continued to clamor for gold and much of it was exported to distant lands.   After only 3 years of this, the situation changed. Gullhond had spent the entire time holding the philosopher's stone almost constantly, refusing to let it leave his grip for any reason, though he occasionally moved it from one hand to the other to alleviate cramping. A gradual change came upon him, which was only apparent when it was almost complete: his own body became as gold. Eventually he seemed to be a living statue of pure gold, but still ambulatory and able to speak. He no longer needed to eat or breathe, and began to claim that he had alchemically ascended and become a pure being.   Gullhond's advisors and the holt's various alchemists began to worry about this unprecedented transformation, as it seemed to be accompanied by a change in behavior. Gullhond became more obsessed with his wealth, reluctant to part with the gold that he made even though he had no need for more of it, nor anything to spend it on. He also experimented with transmutation of the living; many citizens volunteered for experimentation, hoping to also become as living gold, but when transformed, they only became inert statues. Nevertheless the king became more certain that he would achieve success, until he finally subjected his own family and personal servants to trials, all of which failed.   While the holt was still extremely wealthy, his citizens mostly endured this behavior, but eventually Gullhond began to hoard all wealth without reason, refusing to let any gold leave the holt. Without the export, the economy crashed, and many fled the holt immediately. A few remained, hoping to get by from gems and other metals, but many of these were also seized and transformed into less valuable gold.   119 years after the beginning of the mine's operation, Gullhond was sealed into his chamber by his guards, who then collapsed the already badly damaged outer structures of his palace and left the holt. The rest of the population followed, then or soon after, and to this day the holt is abandoned, though it still contains a few small seams of valuable gems and minerals. Folk tales insist that Gullhond is still alive, but that his home is cursed, and any who enter will find there more wealth than they are able to endure. A handful of treasure-seekers have entered in the time since, and none have yet returned.