Suul-dhurn and Vamag are linked to the individual who carried the Kuileondo

from the ruins of Angbad at the end of the 1st Age (ref: "The Kin-strife")

Vamag is linked to Adunaphel both before and after she became a ring-wraith
(ref: "Southern Gondor")

Khurd was the site of a Numenorean settlement, which was destroyed during
internal conflict in Umbar following the sinking of Numenor. It becomes a
haunted ruin. Its destruction also is the catalyst for revising the social
designation of who is a Numenoran.

Aelin Kelia (no teaser - I need to look at a map to refresh my memories)

Saarkana is a Numenorean fortress on the northern edge of the Talath Naur and
is nominally under the control of the Captains of Dusalan.

Cuiverant is a remnant of a much greater forest.

Dusalan is a former Numenorean logistics base for building the Hyarmen in the
2nd Age which became the largest continuously inhabited Numenorean settlement
south of the Nen Umbar. It is a rival of and partial counter force to Umbar
at various times in history.

Dusalan
Dusalan was part of the Numenorean Umbar territories during the 2nd Age.
Unlike Umbar, some Numenoreans from Dusalan did join the Last Alliance.
It's linkage to and conflict with Umbar varied throughout the Third Age. It
remained semi-independent to fully independent from Umbar throughout most of
the 1st millennia of the T.A. It was conquered by Gondor and was part of
Gondor's Umbarean territories up until the Kin-strife. Subsequent to the Kin-
strife, Dusalan again regain semi-independence from Umbar (the degree of
independence varied with the power and focus of the Umbarean Captains of the
Haven). With the return of the Cult of Melkor to Umbar approx 2000 T.A.,
Dusalan became the refuge of those who refused to live in Umbar under the Cult
but also refused to return to Gondor.

Dusalan was never "reconquered" by Gondor, like Umbar was late in the 2nd
millennia of the Third Age, and remained independent from Umbar for the
remainder of the Third Age (it became a "city state" controlling trade on the
Hyarmen, the Gondeithel river valley, the coasts to the north and south of the
city, and misc. other territories in the general area). In the early 4th Age,
Dusalan allied with Gondor against Umbar and was placed under the
administrative control of Umbar, but with significant local autonomy. Most of
the key people King Elessar placed in control of Umbar were drawn from the
Numenorean population (Umbarean and Gondorean) of Dusalan, many of whose
families had fled to Dusalan to escape the Cult of Melkor.

Khurd
It's taking me a bit longer than expected to wade through the materials I have
with me. Khurd is a major player in the immediate period before and after the
loss of Numenor and from Gondor's second occupation of Umbar in T.A. 1840 to
the Fourth Age . I really don't want to bog you down with all the in-depth
history of Umbar which is what I started writing for you before I stopped. I
am refocusing on the more narrow effort of describing the site (past, present,
and future) and summarizing the significant events that occur there.
Hopefully, I will finish tomorrow or Wednesday.
I can provide the basic summary for Khurd, but will supply a better summary in
a week or so.

Khurd - this is a Sakalai name for a Numenorean estate town which in the days
of Ar-Pharazon became a site of a Temple to Mulkher (Ad. "Melkor").
Just prior to the sailing of Ar-Pharazon's fleet to Aman, a great atrocity
occurred here as many Sakalai were sacrificed on the alter to Mulkher or
burned in sacrificial pyres. The identification of the estate town as Khurd
only dates from this time. The word Khurd was associated with an early 2nd
Age servant of Melkor who escaped the fall of Angbad. He came to the Nen-
Umbar region and preyed on the Sakalai that lived there. The Numenoreans at
the end of the Second Age, wittingly or unwittingly, recreated many of the
same sacrificial rituals and methods used in the region at the beginning of
the Second Age. After the fall of Numenor, the temple was destroyed and the
site abandoned. For two thousand years it was considered a haunted site and
was not reinhabited until the second fall of Umbar to Gondor in T.A. 1810.
Refugees fleeing the Gondorians resettled the site and the name reverted to
its original Numenorean name of Azrunarika-tarik. The town of Azrunarika-
tarik remained inhabited and, with the assistance of Dusalan, independent of
Umbar for the remainder of the T.A. Note that many of the refugees fleeing
the returning Umbareans and, more specifically the return of the Cult of
Mulkher, in T.A. 1940 came here, swelling the town's population.

* * * * * * * *
One quick note regarding Numenoreans after the fall of Numenor. In Umbar,
Azrunarikca-tarik, Dusalan, Harnendor, and other areas I have worked on, the
descendants of the Numenoreans almost universally referred to themselves as
Numenoreans or Adunaim (Elvish or Adunaic - depends on how anti-elf the
Numenorean is). Appellations, such as Corsairs, Black Numenoreans, etc...
were given by others to specific Numenorean groups, generally to disparage
their Numenorean ancestry (they aren't REAL Numenoreans). Numenoreans in
Umbar affiliate themselves with Umbar but still consider themselves
Numenoreans/Adunaim, not Umbareans (that appellation is given to "lesser"
men). What distinctions the Numenoreans in Umbar use to differentiate
internally groupings largely date to ones that existed prior to the fall of
Numenor (the Uinendilli, the Adunaim 'nAru (Ad. “Numenoreans of the King”, aka
“King’s Men”), Balkumagâni (Ad. "Shipwrights"), etc....).

* * * * * * * *

A quick summary of the Aelin-Kelia

Aelin-Kelia

The Aeilin-Kelia (?Pool(s) of water that flows into the abyss?) is the source
of west fork of the Cuiverant. The plateau where the dry lake is located is
higher than the coastal areas where the Cuiverant flows, but is separated from
the Cuiverant by a higher plateau/ridge topped with a small forest (the ?Taur
Cuiverant?). When significant rainfall occurs in the drainage basin of the
Aelin-Kelia, much of the water flows north into cavern system (initial entry
into the caverns is through a 100'+ deep vertical hole (the abyss?) that
brings the water to the Cuiverant. The remainder evaporates, leaving a dry
salt lake. The feeder streams are typically dry, but water flows near enough
to the surface to support vegetation (trees, shrubs, and grasses) along the
stream bed. Occasionally, a small pool of water can be found along these
feeder streams
?Taur Cuiverant?

The forest atop the plateau/ridge between the west fork of the Cuiverant and
the Aelin-Kelia is not an orc stronghold. There are a variety of reasons for
this which I will try to explain in a more detailed summary and in the Dusalan
info. It is possible that the cavern system (the one that the waters of the
Aelin-Kelia flow through to the west fork of the Cuiverant) under the forest
may, at certain times, be a refuge for bandits, orcs, and other bad guys.

* * * * * * * * *

I've found two major versions of my position on the forest at the headwaters
of the West Fork of the Cuivierant. In both cases the forest is called the
Taur en Draughuain (S. "Forest of the Wolf Hounds"). It is not actually named
for anything in the forest, but for a Numenorean population sub-group known as
the Draughuanedain (S. "Wolf Hound Men") that settled the Cuivierant river
valleys back in the Second Age (the forest filled the valleys back then).

The first version is a bit more mainline Tolkien.... An elven colony of

Nandor who have lived there since the First Age with a Noldor "refugee" from
the fall of Eregion arriving sometime in the Second Age.

The second version actually has the orcs and trolls you and your players were
looking for. However, this is a big time deviation from mainline Tolkien
thinking.... In my "no evil thing cannot be redeemed" thinking at the time,
several "defective" Olog-hai and Uruk-hai flee the Witch King's army and find
their way to this forest remnant and become its guardians.
Their defect is a mental reversion to their original ancestral "stock", i.e.
before Morgoth was able to twist their ancestors into orcs and trolls.

I plan on sending your both. If you want to have lots of fun with your gaming
group, the orcs and trolls they hunt are really the "good guys"...well...sort
of...they did learn a lot of nasty things as elite members of the Witch King's
forces before they went AWOL.

If you want to have LOTS of fun...the Noldor elf and Nandor elves are also
there and have accepted the defective Olog-hai and Uruk-hai into their
community.

Here's the info on Taur en Draughuain. It is divided into three parts. The
first is the generic description of the forest and its geography. The second
is the "mainline Tolkien" info describing the Elven inhabitants. The third is
the "defective Olog-hai and Uruk-hai" inhabitants description. No section is
fully detailed as would appear in an adventure module. This is "gazetteer"
level info.

* * * * * * * * *

Taur en Draughuain

The forest is the only wild remnant of the greater forest that stretched along
the coastlands from Harnendor to the south past the Nen Umbar to the
Cuivierant river valley. All other forestlands, particularly those around the
Nen Umbar, are managed plantations. Many plants and small animals originally
endemic to the coastland forests can now only be found in the Taur en
Draughuain. The rare Thoronaur (S. Fire Eagle) nest here in numbers greater
than anywhere else in their range. Small deer, fox, and rabbit are abundant
and can be found both within and outside the forest boundaries.
Other creatures, such as lesser pine owl are only found within the heart of
the forest.

The 50 square miles of the Tuar en Draughuain sits atop a ridgeline that
separates the Aelin-Kelia from the west fork of the Cuivierant. Due to forest
being pushed back by farming along the banks of the Cuivierant and the arid
desert around the Aelin-Kelia, the forest is now only watered by rainfall.
Those trees still thriving in the forest are adapted to the cyclical wet and
dry seasons, largely pines at higher elevations and oaks at lower. A few
hollows, meadows, and other microclimate zones allow trees like willows and
aspens to grow. The fringes of Taur en Draughuain is more of an open
woodland, with grassy areas interspersed with the oaks and pines.
The interior has a dense canopy and a limited undergrowth except along the
small, seasonal watercourses and the occasional meadow.

The Taur en Draughuain is named for the massive wolfhounds brought to the area
by a group of Numenoreans who settled in the Cuivierant valley during the
Second Age. The Draughuanedain prefer the woodland over farmland and often
take their hounds into the forest. Any evil thing that enters the forest is
hunted down in quick order.

* * * * * * * * *

The Elves of the Taur en Draughuain

A small community of Nandor dwell in the heart of the Taur en Draughuain in

caves ringing a small permanent pond and meadow (the meadow floods during the
wet season). Here they live a rustic existence, largely cut off from their
kin elsewhere in Middle-earth. As the Numenorean King's Men became more and
more antagonistic towards elves, those living in and around Umbar fled for
other lands. The Nandor dwelling in the Taur en Draughuain are the only
surviving community. They do not reveal themselves to anyone, though some of
the Draughuanedain know or suspect their existance (the Draughuain know the
elves are there, but steer their Edain partners away from the Nandor).

A single Noldor elf dwells in the forest and is slightly more open towards
visitors. He is a former smith at Ost-in-Edhil who survived the ruin of
Eregion, though his wife and children did not. He maintains as small house
and smithy near the Nandor community and crafts items as his mood suits him.
The Draughuanedain are his main contact with the outside world and he trades
for supplies not available from the Nandor or the resources within the forest.
He is also the conduit by which the Nandor trade with others. He dwells
alone, with no servants or assistants. His home is a melancholy place where
he mourns those he has lost. Each and every piece of his dwelling place has
been hand crafted by himself alone. None who visit him wish to stay overlong,
as his sorrow imbues everything.

* * * * * * * * *
*

The Olog-hai and Uruk-hai of the Taur en Draughuain

Three Olog-hai and seven Uruk-hai dwell in the Taur en Draughuain. Unlike
others of their kindred, they do not serve any dark power. The Witch-king, in
his attempts to breed a more intelligent and capable Troll and Orc, attempted
to revert to earlier archetypes from Morgoth's breeding experiments. This
resulted in both substantial failures, such as uncontrollability , and
spectacular successes which became the core stock for his breeding programs.
Then there were the apparent successes that failed to perform as anticipated.
The Olog-hai and Uruk-hai that fled to Taur en Draughuain fell into the latter
category. A total of 11 Olog-hai and 17 Uruk-hai originally were of this
archetype, but only those that made it to the forest have survived.

Like all their kindred, greater intelligence allowed for increased "education"
and training by the Witch-king's servants. Oddly for them, it prompted more
of a desire to learn than to destroy. In Taur en Draughuain, they dwell in
caves near the southern treeline abutting the Aelin-Kelia.
They have a variety of items they appropriated from various treasuries and
armories prior to their departure from Angmar in the mid- 15th Century of the
3d Age. They live a fairly quiet existence as they attempt to discover what
they really are and their place in the world. Yet they value their privacy
and isolation and intruders are dealt with in accordance with their intent
(i.e. peaceful herbalists will be discretely diverted to another local while
hostile orc and troll hunters will become dinner).

* * * * * * * * *

Limited info on Dusalan.

The city of Dusalan was built by the Numenoreans as a logistics base for the
construction of the Hyarmen. As such, it is a planned city with a large man-
made harbor. The natural anchorage to the north of the mouth of the
Gondeithel was completely obliterated by the Numenorean construction. Given
that it was designed and built after Adunaphel's rebellion, both the city and
the harbor are protected by extensive fortifications. Much of the labor used
to build the original city and the Hyarmen near Dusalan were captured troops
from Adunaphel's army. Dusalan was protected by the Iath Gaer from the
devastating waves caused by the sinking of Numenor (the Iath Gaer didn't fare
as well).

* * * * *

I will also try to send some pictures which will help illustrate what I am
describing.

As for orcs and such, I never really envisioned their presence in the area in
any significant numbers, particularly not anywhere near the Hyarmen.
Possible places for a limited presence might be along the western edge of the
Talath Naur. Umbareans (and Dusalani), even evil types, are more likely
to want/desire human servants, lackeys, etc.... I have to check my notes
at home to see if I had any orcs at the "monestary" at the eastern end of the
Lhachladmen (south fork of the Annabrith). I did have this as a bad guy site.
Limited info on Suul-dhurn.
One of the two dwelling places of Khurd (Vamag was the other) in the early 2nd
Age, from which he preyed on the Sakalai until he was slain by Aldarion and
his sailors.

Limited, but expanded info on Suul-dhurn. This is based on my best notes.

I am trying to lock down my best physical description of the site any
"residents" of the ruins. More info later:

Vamag was the original dwelling place of Khurd when he arrived in the Nen
Umbar region following the fall of Angband. It is here that his earliest
blood sacrifices of the Sakalai occurred. However the coastal location was
too exposed for one accustomed to dwelling in the Thangorodrim. In emulation
of his former master, Khurd built a palace/fortress on top of and within a
mesa to the south of the Nen Umbar. The primary approaches to the mesa were
highly defensible, yet afforded Khurd easy access to the Nen Umbar. As the
highest point of land in the area, the site provided excellent views of anyone
approaching particularly by anyone traveling along the trail later known as
the Rath Dirnen. Suul-dhurn was destroyed by Aldarion and his sailors after
Khurd attacked the Numenoreans at the site where the City of Umbar was later
built.

Limited info on Sarkanna.

Sarkanna is a ancient 1st Age site. A 2nd Age Numenorean fortress overlooks
the site. The fortress is on the eastern edge of the territories claimed by
Dusalan (Dusalan territories include the entire Gondeithel river valley.

Limited but expanded info on Sarkaana. This is based on my best notes. I

linked Sarkaana to the fortress in some docs, but not in others. I do not
have a good basis for the origin of the name. This is my current summary site
description. More info later:

Sarkaana is not a ruin, but an extensive surface and underground mine system
in the northern Talath Naur. Significant prospecting occurs throughout region
bounded by the southern and eastern headwaters of the Gondeithel.
Sarkaana is the largest of all the mining operations in the area. The region
produces silver and copper, some gold and semi-precious and precious
gemstones. Additional veins of rare metals also dot the region. The metals
and gems are distributed among many small deposits. Sarkaana is one of the
few areas where these small deposits are concentrated enough for major mining
operations. The site was extensively mined by the Numenoreans during the
Second age and many of the primary mine workings date from this time.
As the years have passed, veins and deposits are harder to find, so the mine
undergoes major boom/bust cycles throughout the Third Age, but does remain in
near continuous operation well into the Fourth Age.

The Numenorean fortress of Alkarondasure (Ad. "Castle/Fortress of the Sea of

the Sun"?) is controlled by Dusalan and is the primary settlement in area,
supplying both mining operations at Sarkaana and elsewhere in the region.
Within the fortress is one of the few permanent surface water sources in the
northern Talath Naur. A garrison protects Sarkaana and the farming, ranching,
and mining in and near the upper Gondeithel. Threats include weather, raiders
and bandits, and the occasional Cold or Desert Drake. This fortress and the
taxes it collects are a significant source of income for Dusalan, one that is
well guarded and defended.