History of Arduum
- Main Page; Keep On The Borderlands
The Dwarven City of Arduum
Located in the mountains near Switchback Keep, this city was once a magnificent dwarven stronghold, led by the dwarf hero Bazrak Firehammer. He literally carved out his small holding from the hands of the goblins in the old days, and his domain lived in peace with the nearby human lands.
But this was before the human kingdoms declined and their trade routes were once again overcome by humanoid monsters. After a few generations of less capable leadership, and with the waning power of the human kings, the small kingdom grew weak. The great halls and fortifications fell into disrepair, and when the Goblin King Garbaga rose to power, the remaining dwarves were helpless to stop him from driving them from their ancestral home.
Several groups of survivors escaped from the final defeat of Arduum, and after a season of living in the caves of chaos, have returned home.
Arduum in the dwarven tongue means "Blood Home": Ara meaning blood, duum meaning home or manor.
Human Betrayal by the house of Khazan:
Edward nods quietly. "It is not you I am worried about. You have about as much control over the hearts and minds of your countrymen as any other ruler does."
The scout sighs, rubs his stubble thoughtfully, then shrugs. "Nothing for it. A long time ago... moreso for my people than yours... dwarf fought goblin near this very city. Goblins that might have been more... well-equipped than normal. It turns out, they had... shall we say, financial backers." He reaches into his cloak and withdraws a handful of old, rolled-up scrolls. "I am... not completely trusting in my translation, but they appear to detail the efforts of human rulers long-since dead who engaged in trade of weapons and other items that the Dwarves did not want traded between human and goblin. I retrieved them from the old city, at the request of the King himself."
Edward quickly holds up a hand, expecting at least a mild outburst of explicatives. "He tells me he simply wanted to ensure old grudges did not complicate current diplomacy, and I for one believe him. He seeks what is best for his people, and believes me to be a tool to that end. So, copy what you would from these scrolls, and then I shall take them to the king two days hence... he has pledged a favor for me in exchange."
The scout smiles, a coy smile. "And when I return, perhaps we can seek out the Axe of the Dwarven Lords. Or consider burying it with whatever ungodly things live in that fissure your ancestors decided to excavate..."
Agreement with Khazan over the territories:
A couple of days of negotiations, followed by 2 weeks of details being hashed our, results in Arduum getting all below ground and north of the trade road, with agreements that it gets a tax-free surface city to administer. Dayrell is convinced that it will pay for itself, but won't fill his coffers. However, keeping the human traders flowing through is the real goal as it will keep food prices low and offer ready markets to ship out dwarven goods and products.
Khazan keeps the road, until it's handed off to Lesserpotamia, including Goblinfell as a vassal of the king. It also gets lands to either side of the road for a days journey, and rights to purse into dwarven territory. It does grant that lands that Red holds will be his alone and also grants that the high valley to the north will be left to Dayrell's discretion as to lordship. It is written in that Blackheath will pass to Khazan when rather than Edward.
