Officially known as Aururom Keep due to the novel new material used at the time of its construction, a valuable ore by the same name. Its construction was part necessity, part experimentation, but primarily for use as a status symbol. As with any great undertaking, the cost was found to be impractical for general use and the ore stockpiled for uses in smaller strategically valuable projects.
The stronghold first gained repute not for staving off the hordes of the Underdark but for fulfilling one of the basic needs of the city, a judicial system. For those that could not pay the fines imposed upon them by law, those condemned beyond even a lifetime of service or otherwise deemed unfit for a place in society there was the gate of Aururum Keep. Such individuals would, and still are kicked out of Avalon through the keeps gigantic gateway and left to fend for themselves in the Underdark. If by some miracle the person were to survive, he would be considered a free man once more, with the same chances as any other poor destitute soul in Therafim.
Now commonly known as Beggars Gate amongst the citizenry and men on duty, Aururom Keep is housed upon a valuable trading route into the Underdark. Trade passing through is steady, and much of the exotic goods that enter the city enter through the keep. Due to the strategic and financial importance of the fortification command of the keep is considered a dubious but highly respectable position to hold, most go on to serve in the highest echelons of the military.
For the common soldiers however, this closest point to hell can often feel like drawing the short straw. It's a comfortable enough place as far as a military installation goes, but it's a place for those with hearts of stone. Many of those serving there serve by request, the kind of blooddrunk, war loving, and sometimes even slightly psychotic minds that thrive on the rush of combat and look forward to those excursions into the Underdark that occur from time to time. Rarely will you find a fledgling soldier at Beggars Gate, the post was known to swallow them up so now it's viewed as a place for veterans and the elite, similar to a branch of elite special forces.
The layout of the keep is fairly generic, however the decor is rather splendid for a military installation especially in the officers billets and command chambers. Features of most importance would be the ore that the keep is composed of, Aururom. It is a rare material that is able to reform itself after critical damage, so no matter how many times the walls might be assaulted they can reform between waves of attack. The perfect battlements. The only other well known feature of the keep by the citizenry is Beggars Gate itself, a gigantic gilded door so magnificent it basically mocks those debtors that has the misfortune to be marched through it. To anyone else, the craftsmanship would appear much more beautiful than forboding, and tells the tale of the founding of the city in its decorations.
