THE STORY OF
KARAK AZGAL
 In it's heyday the City of Jewels,
Karak Izril in the Dwarf tongue formed perhaps
the most extravagant Hold that has ever been
built. Once ranked amongst the largest and
certainly wealthiest of Dwarf settlements. It was
said that in Karak Izril every Dwarf had a large
gem as a doorknob. It was ultimately this wealth
that lead to it's downfall. With the fall of
Karak Eight Peaks many of the trade routes to the
other Dwarf strongholds were open to the Orcs who
poured through the mountain passes to assault the
neighbouring Holds.
The Orcs were
drawn by tales of the wealth of Karak Izril and
threw a furious surprise attack on the city's
gates. They massed against the north wall where
the defences were weakest. In their pride the
Dwarfs had expected attack would ever come from
that direction as it was defended in that
direction by Karak Eight Peaks which they thought
could never fall. Following the destruction of
Karak Eight Peaks the Skaven had begun to swarm
into the Southern Mountains and had for many
years been tunnelling into the deepest Dwarf gem
mines. Their leaders decided to use the Orc
attack to launch an attack of their own. The
Dwarfs of Karak Izril found themselves under
attack from their weak north wall and from the
mines below. They knew that the fight was
hopeless but they would rather die than give up
their treasure.
The Dwarf
defenders gathered in a deep vault and made their
final brave stand against the overwhelming Orc
and Skaven forces. As the last Dwarf fell they
realised their mistake. The treasure had been
carried away to a separate vault by a small unit
of Engineers lead by Runelord Stormbeard. Whilst
the doomed Dwarf warriors sold their lives dearly
to gain time, Stormbeard had inscribed Runes of
Hiding so that only he would ever know the exact
location of the door to the treasure. On leaving
the doomed city, the Dwarfs vowed to return for
their treasure. The Runelord renamed the
stronghold Karak Azgal or 'Hoard Peak' .
After the
destruction of Karak Azgal, the dragon Graug the
Terrible made his nest within the ruins. Dragons
have the ability to smell gold and precious
stones and so Graug soon discovered the vault.
These creatures use the size of their treasure
hoard to attract a mate and over the following
centuries Graug added steadily to his.
Treasure and
dragons are sure to draw adventurers and treasure
seekers. Many expeditions were sent and never
returned but it was a young beardling by the name
of Skalf who finally discovered the lost vault
and slew the dragon.
Since those days
the stronghold has become a prime target for
treasure hunters and fortune seekers. The tunnels
are full of Goblins, Skaven and other, more
dangerous m onsters, but now the dragon is gone
it is possible once more to search for gold
amidst the ruins. The descendants of Skalf
Dragonslayer have set up residence in a small
fortress outside the strongholds main entrance.
Kargan Skalfson claims overlordship of the entire
hold but has never succeeded in establishing his
rule over the ruins themselves. Instead he
encourages adventurers to come and search the
ruins, and exacts a toll on the treasures they
uncover.
Any party that
wishes to search for treasure must first seek an
audience with Kargan. If the party is deemed
worthy, Kargan will grant them permission on
condition that he keeps a portion of the treasure
they find. It pains the Dwarf to part with gold,
but it is the best way to rid the stronghold of
the hated greenskins and accursed Skaven. Of
course many warbands enter the stronghold without
these formalities. They earn the undying enmity
of the Dwarfs and are written into the Book of
Grudges. Kargan places a bounty on the heads of
these gold thieves.
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