When the dwarves reached the surface after their years in the Underdark and realized the destruction that had occurred in their absence, they began to rally up any races that were still viable and were able and willing to fight against the dark armies. They left their homeland of Deepholme and traveled west along the Breach until they finally settled along the edges of the Evermarsh. It’s there where they met a group of thriving gnomes and halflings living in a city they called Ballagard. Their scouts had seen a large group of people traveling and reported back to the city on the coast; those groups of people were the dwarves who had not been seen by any other races in over a hundred years.
While the gnomes and halflings went on their way in their beautiful coastal city, the dwarves made a new home on the mountain ridge they called Amberstone. At this point the dwarves began to set up a liaison with Ballagard where they and the gnomes could trade alchemical and technological secrets; while the dwarves had been increasing the development of their alchemy and producing a new power sources, the gnomes had been discovery the art of mechanika themselves in the form of clockwork technology. These technologies combined were able to catapult the allied races into the forefront and give them a fighting chance against the Drow armies.
After establishing their safe-haven in the northwest corner of Illdarin (for the dwarves had never forgotten what world they came from and what this land of Vlos’eairthil would be once again) the new self-proclaimed Rebels of Vlos began to reach out to any of the survivors from the Dark War invasions. Small groups were sent out to find any humans, elves, halflings, and any other races that had suffered at the hands of the Drow and bring them back to Amberstone, until enough people were gathered that a resistance force could be built up. Until then, they would build, plan, and grow so that everyone in the haven of Amberstone would be safe and secure.