The Peacehammers, the Great Rift's aerial defense forces, house their hippogriffs in great roosts high in the city. Numerous grooms, trainers, and even some druids are on hand in the aviaries to care for these creatures. Though the skyguards take their mounts out on regular patrols and allow them to feed on the wild herd animals that roam the plains, an incredible amount of fresh meat must be brought to the aviaries each day. Most of it is obtained in Hammer and Anvil from the hunters of the plains tribes who come there to trade.
A fortified city and the capital of the surrounding dwarven lands. The city extends far more horizontally than vertically, being made up of soaring towers, multilevel streets, and underground tunnels. The city is ruled a council known as the Deep Lords, whose identities are kept secret. Non-dwarves are not allowed into the city proper, but are allowed to visit the less vertically built foreign quarter known as Hammergate.
The Dwarven city of Eartheart is actually separated into two major sections. Eartheart proper is a walled fortress city with soaring towers and ramped, multilevel streets. Outside its walls is the tent-city of Hammer and Anvil, where outsiders come to trade. Eartheart is only partially visible from the plains around the Great Rift, since many of its levels are below ground, accessible only via spiraling staircases.
The Lord Scepter of Eartheart, Mariochar Bladebeard, rules the city on behalf of the Deep Lords. Aided by the troops known as the Steel Shields, he runs the place like a military compound, though the city contains far more civilians than soldiers.
Eartheart serves as the gold dwarves' connection with the rest of the world - a place where they can store trade goods and provisions and also maintain an army that can deal with outside threats before they ever reach the Great Rift. Many dwarves - both gold and shield - who come and go from the Great Rift prefer to live in Eartheart rather than elsewhere in the canyon or its subterranean environs.