02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

210 Iron Kingdoms
108.1.141.197
Menite priests led their people in the construction
of a mighty walled fortress on a round dome-shaped
hill of granite, and many hill-fortresses, called
drons, emerged during this time. The outer walls of
Krepoctya still stand to this day, although the interior
is largely empty except for a few piles of rubble where
lesser buildings have long since crumbled. The hill
itself is much smaller than it once was, and local
legend claims that it is slowly being claimed by the
Devourer Wurm’s coiled movements underground.
Many narrow tunnels, most barely wide enough for a
Khardic man, are painstakingly carved into the granite
under the old fort. The city was originally built around
Krepoctya Dron, but when Queen Cherize rebuilt
and redesigned the city, its center shifted further
downstream leaving the city’s namesake on its eastern
edge instead of at its heart.
Wraithash Wood: The small stretch of dense
woods that once bordered Cherov-on-Dron has long
since overgrown into the area where Vladykin’s oaken
citadel once stood. The woods dug deep into the ashladen
soil and grew seemingly much faster than the
other local vegetation. The trees themselves have taken
on a darker tone to their foliage, and wildlife seems to
avoid the area altogether. Superstitious rumors claim
that the woods are haunted by the nobles who burned
to death during the fire that consumed the citadel,
and it is said the spirits hunt the living to ease their
eternal torment somewhat .
Hellspass
In Power: Great Princess Regna Gravnoy
Population: 8,000 human (mostly Khard, some
Skirov and Umbrean), 3,000 ogrun, a few hundred
dwarves
Military: Hellspass is garrisoned by a small Winter
Guard contingent.
Imports: Food grains, raw metal
Exports: Blacksmith goods, hand-forged weaponry,
metal and mineral ores
General Description
The Dwarves of Rhul originally built the stone city
of Hellspass as a gesture of honor to the ogrun, but
men have forgotten the original name of Hellspass
and the Ogrun will not speak it. The town itself has a
very long history that dates back to 1308 BR when the
local ogrun tribes came together and commissioned
hundreds of Rhulic engineers to sculpt a “city worth
spending eternity within.” The dwarves obliged and
built the city now known as Hellspass.
The ogrun used it as a combination of fortress and
tomb for their dead; they buried thousands of their
kin in the catacombs beneath the stone city. It was not
until 1141 BR that the Khardic Empire discovered the
city in their travels and demanded fealty by show of
taxation. The Ogrun ignored such petty claims by the
humans. The Khards briefly attempted to negotiate
with the ogrun, but conflict ultimately erupted. For
twenty some years the Thundercliffs hosted bloody
battles that cost many thousand men, ogrun, and
dwarves their lives. Eventually the dwarves recalled
their support of the region and advised the ogrun to
do the same. The ogrun were powerful warriors worth
five men in battle, but even they could not withstand
the concentrated onslaught of the innumerable
legions of the Khardic Empire forever. The Khards
were simply too many and too determined, so the
ogrun forces yielded in 1118 BR with the condition
that the catacombs remain sacred and unmolested.
The Khards agreed.
The ogrun stayed in the city to protect their
ancient fortress and the tombs of their ancestors from
grave robbers, and they have learned to become allies
with their rulers. Today the city is largely a mining
facility that sends hundreds of tons of ore back to
Skirov and Khardov for processing. Metal ingots
arrive by the wagonload so that the ogrun smiths in
the surrounding settlements can fashion excellent
weapons and other components. Recent hostilities
with the south have focused their talents on the mass
production of blades and axes.
Hellspass is a cold and windy town. It smells of
progress, and most of the original Rhulic construction
still stands as a reminder of its history. Some ogrun still
occasionally come to Hellspass to bury their dead in
the catacombs and to gaze upon the enormous fortress
that now looms vacant on the horizon.
Noted Persons
Great Princess Regna Gravnoy (female Skirov
Ari9): Comely in her large, full framed figure,
Princess Regna rules the entirety of Gorzytska through