The Shadow in the North

Hildraft and Surya sat and looked at the dwarves in front of them.

They were in a council chamber within Kobur - in fact, the very one where they had met the first Elves to return to Alair since the Elf Wars, seven years ago.

They'd come in response to requests for help, received from both Kobur and Kishshul. Each was losing patrols, regularly and mercilessly, in the mountains to the  east.

Both the orcs and the dwarves trembled on the lip of falling back into the old habits of thought - of blaming each other. War could result, war between two well-entrenched and prepared adversaries. But some shreds of wisdom remained, and both had called on their allies for held - both in mediating and investigating.

The King of New Tellare and the Hand of Kord had travelled into the mountains to answer the call. Sack Teleported in the next day, and the three Wind Walked north to Kishshul.

Kishshul, Erean Mountains, 7^th October 1607

Walking up to the gates of Kishshul, the three companions eyed the ancient orc fortress with interest - and also some trepidation. In the six years since Garkaur's fall the Orcs had made considerable progress, trading with  those of their neighbors prepared to take the risk, including the dwarves of Kobur.

But the old instincts died hard.

The fortifications of Kishshul showed some recent work. While better than that done by 'wild' orcs,  it was still inferior to the original construction.

Moving through the fortress, the visitors noted another change. The universal use of slave labour which had typified orc life in the past was gone without trace. All work was being done by orcs, and willingly too - or at worst grudgingly.

Great swathes of Kishshul were still in ruins, of course. Like Nisur, Kishshul's population was too low to properly people its' extents. Some parts were restored, however, and it was to one of these - a council chamber - that the three visitors were conducted.

They were met there by Thend, Death Tongue, Thunderslayer and Maurend, the four leaders of the orc nation. Astoundingly, in the five years since Surya's coronation, these four had not only managed to hold on to power, but had managed not to murder each other into the bargain; a signal achievement for orcish leaders. These confirmed the dwarf accounts of what had been happening, and produced crude but accurate maps showing the layout of the region.

Eight passes were known to cross the eastern Erean mountains, into the lands beyond. The orcs were adamant that they did not go that way; there were "bad things" there.

Reading from north to south, the passes were named Beloril, Forfind, Vlan Gera, Daresvim, Romlor, Dakhma, Anendir and Ilthan. The southern five were nominally in dwarvish lands; the nothern three were guarded by orcs. All had been the scene of disappearances.

Considering carefully, the heroes decided to begin in the north and take the Beloril Pass as their first investigation.