Stouthammer Hall, or the Hall of Madt-Bekhaz, was built deep within the Blue Mountains in one cycle of the sun during the year of Nogrod’s destruction. Not far from that ancient dwarven city, a small solitary tower peeks from the snow and looks down upon the foot of the mountain from which it was hewn.
The structure itself is hidden from sight, but long did great fires burn there so that visitors could easily find their way to the massive doors of this noble house. Outside stand aligned statues of some of their kin, including one of Naugladur, King of the Firebeards in the final days of Beleriand and Lord of Nogrod. But also others stand there proudly mounted, including Marazâl, the first of Line Stouthammer, whom had served under the previously mentioned King.
This hall, no bigger than your average dwarven dwelling, might not have been as vast and full of splendour as any of the halls at Nogrod or Belegost, but it was nonetheless a valued home to the Stouthammers for many centuries.
It came with its own kitchen, sleeping chambers, library and treasure vaults, but the most important room of this old house was the Room of Fire, where many hearths filled it with a pleasurable warmth – to non-dwarves it could feel a little too hot – and where great relics hung from the walls, showing their family’s history. Here stood the great diamond shaped table, at which the Stouthammers held their feasts and meetings. Down in the vaults, which they also called the Room of Treasuries, piles of gold, gems and precious heirlooms shimmered in the cool dark.
The small tower outside was the place where they sent their ravens to carry messages to distant relatives or friends. Stouthammer Hall became a beacon of prosperity in the second and especially the third age of Middle Earth. Today, however, you'll find its fires rarely lit, as the Hall's caretakers are few and spend most of their time with their kin in Nogrod and with the Longbeards at Thorin's Hall.
All in all, this place serves as a memory of a time when the Stouthammers were a great family; home to great warriors and craftsmen. The piles of gold in their vault might be proof of a long and prosperous past, but the walls whisper the Stouthammer history like nothing else.
