Galen Hammerstone and his wife Kormlada Hammerstone are the original
founders of the Stone Clan Home.  Tired of internecine rivalries and
petty politics, they and a few other dwarves set out from the ancient
village of Rendstone, and after many months of traveling settled on the
foothills and mountainous region of the Northern Tier as their final
destination.  Although they originated from the (now long lost)
Rendstone settlement, they voted to change their clan names to
Hammerstone because they and the few dwarves that accompanied them did
little else for months on end.  After months of arduous labor and
tunneling, they broke through a final layer of rock and happened upon a
huge natural cavern.  It was here that they agreed to establish a home.

The clan struggled for several generation to eke out an existence,
occasionally losing a clan member to a mining accident or a ravenous
mountain lion.  However, they gradually established a reputation for
quality.  Within the tunnels that they mined are rich veins of ore which
still yield mineral deposits and the occasional rare, precious gem. The
craftsmen of the settlement work in the native stone and onyx, fashioning
armor and weapons (upon demand), goblets, tankards, utensils, small
statues, cameos, and amulets. These make valuable trade items, and along
with natural resources, permit the Dwarves to barter for necessities or
to sell for silver.  In addition to the many items that they fashion,
they have also acquired some fame for their fighting skills which they
occasionally teach.  Due to the longevity of the race and the relatively
few number of children that have been conceived over the years, the clan
has gradually increased in size to it's present population of about sixty.

Many centuries after the clan had established it's location, a routine
patrol found a mysterious figure, close to death, lying in the snow
several miles from the Clan Home.  After helping this person recuperate,
the Dwarves acceded to his polite requests for  quantities of diamond
dust and rare minerals.  Finding themselves able and willing to oblige
with his request, they received payment of an unusual sort.  In lieu of
the more traditional coinage (for the mysterious figure had none) and
overcoming their historical prejudice towards magic, the dwarves asked
for and received some magical protection for their clan.  Sentinels,
similar to the form of rock trolls, were conjured forth by the mysterious
visitor and to this day they guard the entrance to the Dwarven clan.

Seemingly lifeless and statue like, they will react quickly to any threat
that they are able to magically perceive.  In addition, their mysterious
benefactor created a magical door to stave off mountain lions and the
nearby marauding cave bears.  This door may only be activated by a
friendly dwarven word.

The mysterious figure would not provide his name nor his destination.
Before taking his leave, he met with Galen Hammerstone to express his
gratitude.  Declaring himself, "Twice indebted, once repaid", he
insisted on leaving a small obsidian stone with the Clan Chief.
Informing him that his gift should only be used in the direst
circumstances, he instructed the Clan Chief on it's use and left.

Some forty years later, down in the depths of a new mine, such a need
presented itself.  Whilst mining in the bowels of the mountains, the
Dwarves unwittingly opened the walls of a hatchery of a then hitherto
unknown creature.  Chased by a huge reptilian creature which froze
several of the dwarves with its icy breath, the Dwarves tossed aside
their tools and equipment and sprinted along narrow passageways and
tunnels seeking their freedom.  The Clan Chief, who was among the
miners that day, was left with little option but to invoke the stone.
Whispering "Avrak" to the stone, he only had to wait moments before
their erstwhile benefactor appeared to assist them.

Reacting swiftly to the danger, he quickly entranced the reptilian
creature and led it back to its lair where he encased the beast in a
large slab of ice.  After herding the dwarves to safety, everyone exited
the mine, which was then sealed with a rock fall.  In the confusion and
general relief, the mysterious figure once again vanished without a trace
and the once obsidian stone is naught but a dull brown stone.

To this day rumors persist that the reptilian creature, known in local
lore as "The Biter", still roams the tunnels and caverns of what is now
sorrowfully known to the Dwarves of the Stone Clan Home as the "Abandoned
Mine".  It has also been speculated that the mysterious figure was none
other than Corik of the Black Cloud, but there is no firm evidence to
back up this suggestion.

The Stone Clan symbol is a hammer and it is rumored that the dwarves
pay homage to the God Kertigen.