Eventually, resourceful lizardmen found the citadel's submerged structure. What was not beyond their ability to access was infested. Overpopulated, they raided to maintain their stores of food and supplies. Fearing an infernal beast to the East, they made war with the few Deep Folk of the Iron Crown Clan. The Deep Folk had begun to migrate into the area around 296. They were part of the migrations after Kelanor II took the throne in Validor and Saditar Stonesplitter took the throne in Bandoraparg. The Iron Crown Clan moved into the area in the name of expansion as well as to claim an overdue inheritance. They became privy to the location of a mine, (old even by their reckoning), and sought to tap its resources. With a map of Monitor's Watch (unwillingly surrendered by a lizard man scout), the Deep Folk decided to establish a stronghold in the Eastern “Iron Crown” Mountains.

In the year 326, the Iron Crown Clan began construction on Thane's Drift Hold. The stronghold was finished in Phoenix of 526. With his Clan Council convened, the Chieftain set about making plans for the mine's engineering.

Gyonin Greybearde led the first trip into the swamps where the mine lay. Resting one eve, Gyonin's companions awoke to the war cries of their leader. By the time they could join the fight, Gyonin's life had been claimed. Strewn about the area were the unclothed bodies of humans. One body, the last of Gyonin's conquests, was shifting from wolf form to that of man. Gyonin's daughter went to claim her father's weapon. Knowing his demise was the only thing that would separate him from it; she found consolation in that it lay near a concealed cave opening. The access to the mine was found, its secrets known only to the Deep Folk, and named Greybearde's Fall.

The mining party's return was muted further, by information gleaned while they were away. A child astrologer had made her way into Thane's Drift. Claiming to live in the unoccupied fens to the Northeast, she spoke of having seen the completion of the stronghold, as well as the coming of many hailing from the kingdom of Evendarr. The FenWytch recommended the services of a human forester, as liaison, once the expansionists came. He would be known by the name Rognar Hollowman. Once their visitor was dismissed, the Clan Council began the debate about the formation of an alliance with newcomers. It was decided that a summit was the next step toward resolving the problem of sharing these lands.

By 580, two things of consequence had occurred. First, the militaristic lizardmen had grown in power. Their proximity to the old chaos magicks had twisted and augmented their abilities. Warfare with them raged year-round. The Iron Crown Clan, desired alliance with the settlers from Evendarr. The number of enemies they faced was beyond even their formidable might. Secondly, a town had already been founded to the East. Laurel Ring belonged to the wayward farmers and hunters of Evendarr. Settlers had come out of the South, near Hawthorne's Bluff. Thinking to push farther, the Fool's Marsh claimed many of those that thought to forge ahead. Those who survived tried to turn back to Evendarr, stumbling into the Spired Thickets along their way. Comforted by the spirits there, those who remained established a small community that would serve as Evendarr's waypoint to the West. Deterred by the mysterious mists northwest of their beloved wood, the citizens of Laurel Ring traveled no farther. With the guidance of the Fae Princess, they upheld an honorable and benevolent community.

In 596, dark times came over the Iron Crown Clan. The Lizardmen were still intent on warring with the Deep Folk of the Iron Crown Mountains. Tribes of Orcs, Goblins, and Ogres soon joined them. The Clan’s Battle Spelunkers quickly put down the first major force.

Months later it was discovered that the tribes were just a precursor to a force of Dark Folk bent on claiming Thane’s Drift for themselves. The tribes were meant to ‘soften’ the stronghold’s defenses. Initially the Dark Folk started raiding but gradually began to build the size of their engagements with the Clan’s forces. Eventually open war was declared on the Dark Folk. The war quickly went bad for the Dark Folk once the full force of the Clan was put to use until a mysterious plague began to affect the stronghold. The affects were strange, random, and seemed to change over time. One minute one of the Folk would be nauseated and the next, fly into a berserk rage. This plague began taking a terrible toll on the Iron Crown Clan. It was the first time in the history of the Deep Folk where Father might have to defend himself against Son or Mother against Daughter. In some cases, Family had to slay Family. Luckily Callem Roseweaver, a human battle-companion to Spelunker Warmaster Garric RuneHammer and a growing Master of Ulin’s Magic in his own right, discovered it was magical in nature. It took the combined efforts of Callem Roseweaver and an Earth Guild Master, Darlock RockMuncher, to discover the plague came from certain magical weapons captured from the Dark Folk. The Dark Folk had planted these weapons in order to weaken the stronghold’s forces. Callem and Darlock then created a ritual that would remove the plague. Darlock conducted the ritual and cleansed the stronghold. The Clan’s forces regrouped and launched a counter-attack that broke the back of the Dark Folk forces and drove them out of the area. The decimated and weakened Clan then focused on rebuilding and debate arose anew regarding the upcoming summit.

Chieftain Jord's cousin and Mastermason, Haldern, a rogue by nature, debated that safety and profit would be the boon of an alliance with the coming Easterners. Warmaster Garric Runehammer insisted that his encounters did not bode well for the security of their endeavor. The counsel of Clan-Friend Callem Roseweaver, Garric's battle-companion, supported the declarations about those from the East. Troubled by her new position, and the loss of her father, Lady Greybearde remained neutral throughout the Council's discourse. Ultimately, the opinion of Chieftain Jord convinced all present, the summit would go forward as originally planned.

In preparation for the summit, a village was founded Southeast of Thane's Drift. Rognar Hollowman oversaw its development. It was completed one year ahead of schedule, in Gryphon of 601. Nothing that Rognar, nor anyone else, could have done would prepare the delegations for the slaughter that would occur upon their arrival.

The eve of the summit, the Evendarr contingent arrived under attack. Rognar, along with a handful of warriors, came to their aid. Two delegates and Rognar were the only ones to walk away from the attack. Werewolves had staged somewhere near the Lake of the Moon, south of The Road of the Sunken Way. All that fell were either dragged away or raised as undead. Battle also raged from the North of town. The Deep Folk had pushed through an ambush (with the aid of a pair of particularly hungry Gryphons), fighting their way to the safety of the walls of the village. Chieftain Jord, his Warmaster, Garric Runehammer and Clan-Friend Callem Roseweaver staved off the magicks of their assailants. The villagers came to help, but were sorely outmatched. Similar to the attack to the East, the fallen were raised from the dead. Combat raged until dawn, its end heralded by Chieftain Jord’s slaying of the lizardmen's Chaos wielding leader. Far to the West, the defense of Thane's Drift was likewise drawing to a close. The efforts of Haldern and Lady Arron had served to see the stronghold unscathed. The FenWytch had also managed to preserve the sanctity of the Earth circle, against an onslaught of swampland creatures.

The Alliance was formalized over countless tankards of Ale and Mead. The village has ever after been known as The Drunken Commons. Bearing news about the success of the summit, as well as an apparent conclave of necromancers, the Delegation from Evendarr returned home. The papers bearing the names of Thane's Drift's knighthood arrived safely, alongside the signed documents that acknowledged FenGate as part of the Kingdom of Evendarr. Just as Thane's Drift would serve as her capital, so would the ideals of the Deep Folk rule accordingly within this Duchy of Evendarr.