Stonegate

Description
Stonegate is a keep located in a valley in the mountains south of Lost Hope Bay and north of Lock Lake. Created by the Shadowlords, it was later used as a refuge for several different groups of creatures though the years, until it was swallowed by swamps.

History
The keep was raised by the Shadowlords prior to Ultima V to be their fortress. With daemon Balinor guarded the front, the Avatar had to enter the keep to reclaim the Sceptre of Lord British from the Shadowlords, although deadly traps surrounded the sceptre. Without the magic carpet it was impossible to reach the sceptre; the trapdoors surrounding it would drop the entire party into a lake of lava, where death was inescapable.

After the defeat of the Shadowlords, a family of cyclops made Stonegate their home, scaring away thieves who had used the walls as their camp. In Ultima VI, the Avatar had to visit Stonegate again, to reclaim the Vortex Cube, found in the cellars below the keep.

After that time, the keep was empty for thirty years, before a group of wingless gargoyles made it their home. They in turn were chased away three years later by Lord Vemelon of Jhelom, who made Stonegate his private estate. It was their family estate for generations, before the mountains opened up, and the swamp known as the Bog of Desolation flooded Stonegate. Trolls later occupied the ruins, along with a dark mage.

When the Avatar visited the ruins in Ultima VII, they were desolate, but for the resting place of the Magebane. Removing the sword from its resting place would provoke an attack from skeletons.

Prior to Ultima IX, Stonegate was rebuilt by Hawkwind as a tower of virtue and was said to be the only place in the land free of the Guardian's influence. It is here where the Avatar enters the world of Britannia to begin his quest. The Avatar gets his spellbook here, as well as receives his first pieces of equipment. The equipment here depends upon the Avatar's character class.

Ultima V

 * Balinor
 * The Shadowlords

Ultima VI

 * Mama Cyclops
 * Myles
 * Papa Cyclops

Ultima IX

 * Colando

Trivia

 * In Ultima V, the best time to try and get the sceptre was during the hour of midnight (when the Shadowlords couldn't move), or after the Shadowlords were destroyed.
 * In Ultima VII, Stonegate can only be reached through a very narrow path of dry spots and planks through the swamp. And without swamp boots, this is deadly.