Stonegate

Description
Stonegate is a keep located in a mountain valley south of Lost Hope Bay and north of Lock Lake. Created by the Shadowlords to be their citadel, this foreboding structure later served as a refuge for several different groups throughout the years, slowly fading into the surrounding swampland before it was at last reclaimed by the spirit Hawkwind.

Age of Enlightenment
Stonegate was crafted by the Shadowlords during their ascent to power under Blackthorn. Guarded by the daemon, Balinor, this grim fortress served as the terrestrial home to the three evil shades, and it was here that they kept the Sceptre of Lord British, which they had stolen from emissaries attempting to deliver it to Lord Malone. Needing the sceptre's power that they might restore the true king to his throne, the Avatar ventured to this hellish keep to reclaim the artifact, facing deadly traps which could be surpassed only by the magic carpet.

Eventually the hero managed to permanently dispatch the Shadowlords, leaving the keep abandoned for several decades thereafter. By the time of the gargoyle war, however, the ruins of Stonegate were inhabited by a pair of cyclopes and their adoptive human son. The Avatar would again have cause to sojourn here in search of the Vortex Cube, which the unusual family had found locked in the castle's basements.

Age of Armageddon
Over the centuries, numerous other groups laid claim to what remained of Stonegate, including a colony of wingless gargoyles and a line of noblemen descending from Lord Vemelon of Jhelom. In time, however, the fortress fell prey to the floodwaters of the nearby Bog of Desolation, and again lay abandoned as time and the elements reduced it to desolate ruins. During their adventures regarding the Black Gate, the Avatar would have the opportunity to revisit Stonegate, and could find therein the enchanted Magebane, although removing the sword from its resting place would provoke the nearby bones of the dead to rise and attack the hero.

Years later, for reasons not entirely clear, the spirit Hawkwind would claim Stonegate as his own and rebuild it to such an extent that it resembled its previous splendor, turning the citadel into a bastion of virtue that would remain free from the Guardian's wicked influence. It was here that the Avatar would reenter Britannia for the last time, guided by the voice of the mysterious Lord of Time as they prepared for their final confrontation against the red titan.

Ultima VII (SNES)
Stonegate appears in the SNES Port of Ultima VII as a dungeon. It is relatively unique among the dungeons of this game in that is has no special artifact within its depths. Nevertheless, a fair amount of gold and potions may be found by those willing to explore it.

Ultima V

 * Balinor
 * The Shadowlords

Ultima VI

 * Mama Cyclops
 * Myles
 * Papa Cyclops

Ultima IX

 * Colando

Trivia

 * In Ultima V, the optimal time to attempt to retrieve the sceptre is during the hour of midnight (when the Shadowlords cannot move), or after the all three Shadowlords have been destroyed.
 * In Ultima V, magic spells and scrolls are ineffective in Stonegate, being absorbed in an effect similar to the Palace of Blackthorn while Lord British's crown is in the dark lord's possession.
 * Stonegate was slated to take a more prominent role in earlier drafts of Ultima IX, developed under Bob White's tenure as lead designer. As well as the player's introductory environment in Britannia, the restored citadel was to have been the epicenter from where the Guardian—befittingly, an amalgamation of the three Shadowlords in this telling of events—cast forth the Glyphs of Corruption in the Avatar's absence and, in turn, inflicted the eight devastating columns upon the land, as alluded to in the game's manual. Furthermore, the finale of this version of Ultima IX was also to have seen one last appearance from Stonegate, atop which Lord British and the Avatar would unleash the Armageddon spell upon an evacuated Britannia in a grim, irrevocable measure to destroy the columns and the Guardian, conclusively ending the red titan's inter-dimensional reign of terror.