®

Wesselbaum's Wild Guide:

Volume 1
 Greetings, Dear Reader,
For those of you not fami
liar with my work, I am
Corvis University. Associate Professor Lynu
s Wesselbau m of
It has been my privilege to
study under the masterfu
Pendrake, a genius of the l guidance of none other th
field of Extraordinary Zo an Viktor
most traveled men to ever olo gy, adventuring scholar,
live. and one of the
Inspired by the greatness
of my mentor, I have made
our world. After the uphe it my mission to explore th
aval of recent years, Immo e far corners of
and while some of what we ren has undergone many
long held true remains so tra nsformations,
once-familiar places. In an , there have been startling
effort to follow in the foo ch anges in other
those who would venture tsteps of the great professo
beyond the security of ou r and to inform
visit some of the far-flung r cities, I have embarked
locales of our continent. Th up on a pilgrimage to
remains the same, what ha ere, I intend to observe an
s changed, and to shed lig d report on what
ht on the changing face of
This journey is not one wi Immoren.
thout its perils. To reach
untamed lands, venturing so me locales, I must cross vast dis
into the unknown with lit tances of
firearm, and my wits to pr tle mo re than a sturdy sword, a
otect me. reliable
If you are reading this vo
lume, then it must mean
least for now. For while I that I was successful in th
cannot promise to overturn is endeavor—at
perilous location lurking every stone in the land or
in wide-ranging nations to visit every
as long as I am able. I fea and wild places, I promise
r not the forgotten Orgoth to keep at this task
worshippers, nor the isolat temple, the abandoned ma
ed village of the Tharn, be chines of Cyriss
benefit from my venture. cause I know that you, de
ar reader, will
In this first expedition, I
plan to set out to the badla
those I believe I can survive nds and borders of western
. From Corvis, I will trave Immoren—at least
the Bloodstone Marches, an l up the Black River to Rh
d out across the scouring ul, down into
defined border in the world sands of the Bloodstone De
: the great Abyss. sert to the best-
Author’s addendum:
A planned stop into the na
tion of Ios was tabled at
Edrea Lloryrr, who descr this time on the advice of
ibed it as an my companion
“errand that would be un
dertaken only by a fool wh
So, I’ll leave that one asid o wished to die swiftly.”
e for now. Once things ha
visit upon my return? ve settled in the elven natio
n, perhaps I will
Until I return, dear reader
, I remain your loyal Asso
dearly hope the following ciate Professor Lynus Wess
pages aid you in understan elbaum. I
all inhabit. ding—and surviving—the
new world we

Signed,
Lynus Wesselbaum,
Professor (Associate), Corvi
s University

THE IRON KINGDOMS – WESSELBAUM'S WILD GUIDE: VOLUME 1

 ®

Ternon Crag

Wesselbaum's Wild Guide

 n among my fellow
so m ew ha t tarnished reputatio
Des pi te its
on Cr ag ha s pr ov en itself a resilient
Cygnarans, Tern ne first came to th
e fa ce of m an y pe rils. When the skor
in th ou gh perhaps som
ev ai led — th
west, the Crag pr my. So, too, did th
ag nu s’ conn ec tion to the invading ar
to M Cl ai m in g. I do wond
ut of th e
weather the fallo t se t th eir sights on this semi-l
ha ve no
it is the grymkin de fin iti on of wickedness di
ap s th eir
community. Perh
—Lynus Wesselbaum
the common notion?
E
ast of Corvis and the Cygnaran border stands
the town of Ternon Crag. Settled in 569 AR to
serve the needs of miners and prospectors exploring
the Greybranch Mountains to the east, the town’s
population boomed from its modest beginnings as news
of a diamond discovery reached the far corners of the Iron
Kingdoms. Calling themselves “Craggers,” the populace
often refers to their rough-and-tumble home merely as “the
Crag.” Ternon Crag’s dubious honor of existing outside the
reaches of king and country has also attracted its share of
scoundrels. Ancient ruins, abandoned mines, and caverns dot
the surrounding region and the nearby Bloodstone Marches,
all awaiting intrepid explorers to unlock their secrets.
HISTORY OF
TERNON CRAG
The region of the Greybranch Gap was of interest to
adventurous miners several years before a town formally
existed here. In 569 AR, a loosely organized group of business
owners, including those who would eventually found the
Greybranch Expeditionary Company, decided to exploit the
area more systematically, setting up permanent structures
on the best grounds they could find nearest the active claims.
These buildings replaced the temporary shops that had, until
recently, been set up on wagons, tables, and blankets along
Comb’s Beacon River. Little more than a few ramshackle
shops and shanties at first, the tiny settlement grew as
entrepreneurs and miners heard about the opportunities
the Greybranch range had to offer. It has always been in the
interest of these inhabitants to stay beneath the notice of
Cygnaran nobility, thereby avoiding taxation and “draconian”
laws. Since the town’s foundation, the archduke of the
Eastern Midlunds showed little interest in the remote and
challenging area, and the trials of the Claiming have only
reduced the resources needed to police such a remote location
even further.
From its rough roots as a mining town, Ternon Crag
expanded slowly, eventually establishing a ferry landing on
Comb’s Beacon River banks in 574 AR. In its short lifespan,
the town served as a temporary home and haven for naïve
prospectors, driven miners, and even the occasional madman
intent on reaching the Bloodstone Marches. The Crag’s
population has fluctuated considerably as mines run dry and
new veins are discovered, but it has always remained just
prosperous enough to endure.
Fire has burned the Crag to the ground twice now in its
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
2
community history. The first fire (575 AR) was caused by a particularly
e rambunctious bar fight on the site of what is now the Gold
of th is wa s du e Standard. Many lives, and nearly every building in town,
e
ey were lost that night. The second fire (596 AR) began when
er , th ou gh , wh y the strong Bloodstone Marches winds spread an accidental
awless blaze from a blacksmith’s shop. When Ternon Crag was
ffers from rebuilt the second time, all smithies and foundries were
forcibly relocated to the northeastern side of town, far from
other structures.
In the past, the iron mines, panning near Scarleforth
Lake, and treasure hunting guaranteed the town’s continued
existence. This prosperity lasted until four of the largest iron
mines were depleted between 599 AR and 602 AR. Then, in
602 AR a series of unexplained disappearances besieged the
Crag, many of which were attributed to skorne infiltrations
as the warriors from the eastern deserts sought to find
footholds in the west. After the disappearances, the town’s
population dwindled in a few short weeks.
The almost empty town struggled for survival until 604
AR. However, when diamonds were discovered to the north,
news of the discovery spread throughout the Iron Kingdoms.
The inevitable diamond rush that followed breathed new
life into Ternon Crag, swelling its population to over 5,000
in two years. Since then, those pursuing the diamonds have
come back empty-handed, sometimes afflicted by what
Craggers call the Panner’s Pox. This strange skin affliction
seems to hit hardest those who would explore too close to the
Castle of the Keys—if they return from there at all.
The independent frontier town has also attracted a new
assortment of scoundrels, ne’er-do-wells, and traitors wanted
by the crown of various nations. Ternon Crag has become
a questionable refuge for these sorts, as their presence
also draws those who would either join them, hire them,
or hunt them.
THE TOWN “CHARTER”
AND THE MARSHAL CHIEF
During the Crag’s early years, order was enforced with sword
and pistol. Shopkeepers hired bodyguards, while miners and
treasure hunters learned how to use their picks and shovels
for more than just moving earth. Tensions escalated quickly,
and with the fire of 575 AR, the cycle of violence that had
been settling in had become too much for many in the town
to bear. Motivated by their business interests, the Crag’s
shopkeepers, farmers, and mining concerns came together
and drew up a list of mutually agreeable unofficial laws that
came to be known as the “Charter” of Ternon Crag. They
also created the post of marshal chief, a position equal parts
marshal and mayor, entrusting it with powers of governance,
enforcement, and imprisonment as laid out in the Charter.
The current marshal chief, Brue Westrone, has held
the position since before the Claiming. Injured during an
opportunistic attack on the Old Gaol, Westrone has delegated
growing law enforcement duties to Chief Deputy Jarnish
Mohktur. Though Brue has always been honest in his
governance of the Crag, his dwindling visibility, coupled with
the warcaster Asheth Magnus’ growing association with the
Cygnaran crown, has shaken his power base and drawn into
question his ability to continue to lead.

Adventure Hook
Marshal Chief Westrone is not without resources,
though he has begun to question the loyalty of Chief
Deputy Mohktur. He has informants around town who
tell him Mohktur has taken to enforcing “laws” against
select prospectors and their parties that has expanded
land acquisition opportunities for others, most notably
a former gunslinger named Gallant Goyle who is more
claimjumper than diamond miner. Westrone might be in
the market for a small band to look into Goyle and, by
extension, Mohktur. That said, Westrone suspects both
are aware of his suspicions and might use violence to end
any investigation into their practices.
THE TERNON GAOL SIEGE
During the Claiming, when the majority of mercenaries were
drawn away from the township, the criminal elements of
Ternon Crag saw an opportunity to wrest control from Brue
Westrone and seize it for themselves. In a brazen assault on
the Gaol, an organized group of scofflaws and ne’er-do-wells
from the South Crag and the outskirts of town set upon the
building in an attempt to murder Brue Westrone and his
chief deputy. Locking themselves in Brue’s quarters, the pair
of lawmen fought off the assault on their lives with shot and
sword for nearly an hour before Steelhead reinforcements
arrived from the chapterhouse to intervene.
Adventure Hook
Chief Deputy Jarnish Mohktur, an egocentric trollkin,
suffered a minor injury during the assault, but in his mind
it was beyond tolerance. Thus, he has been looking for
revenge against one of the lead organizers of the siege, a
cutthroat named Dylano Kortano (male human (Cygnaran)
gang cutthroat), who is said to be a carrier for musk, a
disease similar to Panner’s Pox. Many miners in the area
catch musk by prolonged exposure to gasses underneath
the soil around Ternon Gaol. Mohktur wants one of two
things from Dylano Kortano: his death or his cooperation
in taking over the marshal chief position from Brue
Westrone. For his part, Dylano Kortano, who is perpetually
drunk to diminish the pain of musk, would very much like
Mohktur to simply “forget” about what happened during
the Gaol siege and perhaps consider moving on to another
township to stake a claim as the head marshal.
TERNON CRAG TODAY
While diamonds support the town materially and draw
plenty of hopefuls willing to gamble their health and that of
their families on the prospect of striking a new payload and
getting rich overnight, the vast majority of people who find
themselves rolling into town do so for what it represents:
a fresh start outside the jurisdiction of a crown. This
romanticized idea of what Ternon Crag is expected to have
recently found fresh friction when pitted against the reality of
what Ternon Crag currently is.
Brue Westrone, previously an exemplar of independent
law, has recently been accused of being a puppet of the
Cygnaran crown, having leaned heavily on the Steelheads
to maintain order in the wake of an attack on the Gaol.
Many see this as a life debt owed to the Steelheads, and
by extent, their primary patron in the area, the warcaster
Asheth Magnus.
With growing unrest among the populace, the station of
marshal chief has been brought into question, and a new
appointment by hook or by crook to wear the star seems
inevitable. While several prominent figures within the Crag
seem to be angling for a run at the seat, none have officially
thrown their hat in the ring, seemingly currying favor within
town until the iron is hot enough to strike.
Various entities jockey against one another for either
power or land—and, in some cases, both, leading to a sort of
lawlessness buried and hidden within the structure of law and
order. While most are big fish in a small pond, most of those
who look for control in the town have greater aspirations.
WEATHER “Yes. All of
n be su mmarized as
of Ternon Cra
g ca daytime
The weather ’s po u ri ng rain. The
h ot , it streets
n’t scorching icken on the
it.” When it is enough to roast a whole ch
are ld. No matter
temperatures to w n be co m es wickedly co re you: you’ve
t the are for, I assu
while at nigh tions you prep
elbaum
er con di
—Lynus Wess
what w ea th
ng.
prepared wro
Harsh winds blow from the Bloodstone Marches through the
Greybranch Gap year-round. The winds bring dry heat and
vicious sandstorms in summer, forcing Crag residents to bar
their doors and shutter their windows for protection. Flash
flooding is common during the fall, as the ground, baked to
a hardpan during summer, is drenched in rains falling too
fast for the soil to absorb. Craggers have long since become
accustomed to this harsh environment, storing rain and
river water in underground cisterns beneath buildings or in
above ground sheds to shield their wells from the worst of
the sandstorms.
With the altitude comes a winter harsher than most
Cygnarans are accustomed to. Temperatures can dip to
freezing after sunset, and the Bloodstone winds take on a
knife’s edge chill. More than one prospector has been found
frozen to death, unable to stay warm while working his claim,
occasionally even outside the winter months.
Adventure Hook
Longstanding rumors around town say that an
overenthusiastic miner whom they nicknamed
“Diggerydo” came to the Crag a year ago, pursued by a
bounty hunter named Winslow the First Twin. Diggerydo
was eager to hire help in excavating a hidden treasure
from the Marches, but no one joined him, warning him
about the coming winter storms. Nevertheless, Diggerydo
trekked off into the mountains just as a major blizzard
ripped through town. In the midst of the storm, Winslow
arrived as if the weather made no difference to him.
Locals allege that Winslow had only one eye; the other
was some sort of mechanika he used for tracking. After
claiming his twin would come along behind him shortly
and would “have questions” about who helped Diggerydo
escape, Winslow headed into the storm, not to be seen
since. His twin—be it male or female—has yet to arrive.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
3
 LAY OF THE TOWN
According to the Ternon Crag Charter, the town’s borders
range from “…the eastern bank of Comb’s Beacon River to
the Greybranch Gap; south of the Chutman Mine and north
of Brenell’s farm.” Today, most Craggers have no idea exactly
where Brenell’s farm was once located, so instead they use
“Old Thom” Jasper’s land to mark the southern edge of town.
Long abandoned, the Chutman Mine is no longer used as
the town’s northern boundary. Instead, the Crag’s graveyard
serves as that marker. The town is loosely divided into three
sections, although the inhabitants do not clearly delineate
these areas: North Crag, South Crag, and the Outskirts.
Adventure Hook
A handful of small-time miners are looking to open up
the Chutman Mine again, believing it to be a hiding place
where Asheth Magnus left behind some of his local wealth.
They’re looking for a team to organize the expedition,
aware of the rumors about bodies from the graveyard
floating in floodwaters within the mine but dismissing
them as a false story but a calculated deterrent.
NORTH CRAG
Roughly defined by Craggers as “North of Pip and Pop’s”
and “south of the graveyard,” the North Crag is the heart of
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
4
Ternon Crag. Centered around a crossroads that separates
Sanity’s Bastion and the Last Gambit before spreading in
arterial fingers throughout the rest of the settlement, the vast
amount of official commerce for the town, its mines, and its
expeditions into the Bloodstone Marches is performed here.
It also houses the town’s middle-class residences, including
shopkeepers, craftsmen, and those prospectors who found
enough treasure in the earth to buy their way into the
district. With few exceptions, anyone with any clout in the
town lives in the North Crag, often looking down on those to
the south or the outskirts as hopeful transients at best and a
dangerous new potential criminal element at worst.
With the majority of buildings pressed close together and
the historical tendency for the town to go up in flames, a
robust volunteer firefighting team has sprung up within the
town based out of the Smokehouse—a small building in the
sequestered area to the northeast where forges and foundries
are required by local law to be set up. The occasional narrow
alleyway runs between buildings with a barrel invariably set
near the mouth to catch the rainwater of the area’s torrential
gully washers for use in firefighting, public hygiene, and
hydration in a pinch.
A few businesses, like The Gold Standard, boast a second
story, while others have fenced in the area behind their
buildings. Most businesses avoid adding a second story for
fear of instability during windstorms.

Adventure Hook
Three buildings have suffered fire damage in recent
weeks, the third burning completely to the ground and
killing four courtesans who ran a business out their back
door. The locals all suspect arson, and a handful are
banding together to hire investigators to find the culprit.
They are led by Malachai Deed, a former priest of Menoth.
The other two buildings housed a small mercenary trio
looking for work and a makeshift distillery preparing
rotgut booze for the locals. While Malachai Deed pushes
a theory about one of the local blacksmiths resenting
his business’ treatment, in fact it’s Deed himself who
is the arsonist, burning down locales housing those he
deems immoral.
TERNON CRAG STABLES
Just south of the ferry landing on the Western edge of town,
the Ternon Crag Stables offer lodging and tack for the
horses of visitors and locals alike. Once run by their father,
Sline Cavatto (male human (Tordoran) scout), Andrea and
Gabriele Carvatto run the day-to-day business. Andrea, the
older sister by a handful of years, handles the customer-
facing portion of the business, managing the finances and
discouraging any potential horse thieves with her late father’s
scattergun while her sister tends to the care of the animals
and grounds.
Adventure Hook
The sisters always have menial work available, but those
with a stronger arm may inquire about the “beast” that
seems to be spooking the horses at night. Andrea believes
it’s a dedicated horse thief, but Gabriele swears that it’s
something much worse.
HAMMER AND GAD OFFICES
The Hammer and Gad offices overlook the western edge
of town. What began as a loose association between the
wealthiest mine owners and the shopkeepers in Ternon
Crag developed into the Hammer and Gad Company. The
Hammer and Gad owns all but a few of the more significant
iron ore-mining concerns around the Crag, as well as many
of the businesses in town. These interests are all marked with
the crossed hammer and gad symbol of the company. When
the town began to dry up a decade or so back, Shanyks di
Sharr and Jarosh Kutsov quickly snapped up mining claims
and titles to shops from owners all too willing to sell. This
canny move put the Hammer and Gad in the unique position
of monopolizing nearly all trade in and around the town.
Their sixth leading member, the late Darnin Hull (male
human (Cygnaran) infernalist), saw fit to will his rambling
estate northwest of town to Asheth Magnus, thus challenging
his place in town.
This led to a period in which the Gad had remained
uncharacteristically quiet in town affairs. It wasn’t until the
aftermath of the Claiming that the engines of monopoly
fired up once more. In their first principal act since Darnin
Hull willed his estate, the coffers of the Gad opened up to
buy out the struggling Pip and Pop’s Trade Emporium for a
song. After acquiring the struggling business, its storefront
was quickly shut down, leaving the Gad-owned Spider’s
Prospecting Supply as the largest general store in town.
Adventure Hook
Shanyks di Sharr and Jarosh Kutsov both live in terror of
the late Darnin Hull—because Hull is no longer late. At the
height of the Claiming, Hull returned to Ternon Crag as
an infernalist, a loyal servant of the monstrous infernals
ravaging the land for the souls of men. Hull’s objective
was to claim all of Ternon Crag for the infernals, but he
started with di Sharr and Kutsov, who were not so easily
taken. They overwhelmed him in short order. Still, afraid
of bringing the wrath of the infernals down on themselves,
di Sharr and Kutsov opted to capture Hull instead of kill
him, and they elected to hide him in the basement of
Pip and Pop’s Trade Emporium after they shut it down.
Unbeknownst to them, Pop Moran, one of the emporium’s
former owners, had nowhere else to go after the buyout,
so he has been hiding out in his old business…and serving
as eyes and ears for the infernalist Hull held under the
abandoned business’ floorboards.
THE GOLD STANDARD
One of the most prominent buildings on the cross, The Gold
Standard offers two stories of the cleanest rooms and best
food to be found in Ternon Crag. The aging Drewson Cabe
(male human (Cygnaran) bandit captain) prides himself on
ensuring a clean, affordable stay for his guests, though little
more. Although it pains him to do it, Drewson begrudgingly
refers travelers to the Flophouse when his rooms are full,
though these days, he reckons that a person might be safer
sleeping on the docks.
There are rumors that Drewson aims to run for marshal
chief. While well respected and in possession of a sterling
reputation, Drewson’s age leads many to fear it would
prevent him from performing some of the more demanding
physical tasks the position requires. Despite this, he offers
the promise of stability and a crackdown on the criminal
elements in town.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
5

SANITY’S BASTION
This rowdy, two-story saloon is the largest and loudest in the
Crag. Drinks flow freely for the bar’s diverse clientele, who
all fight to be heard over their own drunken deafness and the
howls of the trollkin who make the bar their primary haunt.
The saloon’s batwing doors do little to prevent those sounds
of merriment from spreading to every corner of town—so
little, in fact, that the buildings directly adjacent to it have
built fences between their businesses that grow in strength
and height proportionate to the saloon’s rise in popularity.
Brawls are common, often drawing Jarnish down from
the Gaol to ensure that maimings and deaths are kept to a
minimum. The bartender, Nikolo (male human (Khadoran)
veteran), keeps his Khardic war axe hanging in a place of
reverence above the bar, reminding patrons to avoid getting
too rowdy with the furniture and staff. Most Craggers
know better than to ask him about the axe or his past, and
his glowering countenance usually stops those who do in
their tracks, but Nikolo is not above tossing out those who
need a reminder.
The Bastion has gained a reputation over the years as one
of the best places to gamble. Cards, dice, drinking contests,
and a bewildering array of other games of chance can be
found at all hours of the day, with particularly high-stakes
games peppered throughout. These games draw gamblers
from across the Iron Kingdoms to the tables, bringing with
them strange and rare items to place as collateral.
Adventure Hook
Treasure maps are a common wager in the Bastion, but
most are rejected as worth less than the paper they’re
written on. Yet there’s been a strange wave of frenzy of
late as most of the local gamblers try to lay their hands
on a map called the Afterlife, an allegedly blank scroll
contained in a case made of human bone. It’s said that
the closer one is to death, the more one can see written
on the map, and the map is one’s means to avoid that
imminent death. It’s currently in the hands of Satine
Marker, a woman of sufficient years to probably read the
entire map but who uses her son, Milos, to wager it over
and over again. Milos cheats, of course, but no one can
prove it, and so no one else has put their hands on the
map in months.
Mercenaries often use the Bastion as their improvised
office, with Alten Ashley being the most recognizable. The
monster hunter can be found here, nursing a drink and
boasting of his exploits when not in someone’s employ.
Ashley is particularly friendly with many of the town’s
trollkin, who look up to him for the mercenary service he has
been rumored to provide to the wilderness kriels.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
6
Sanity’s
to sh ar e a me al with Mister Ashley in
It was a great joy ide, which
d me a sig ne d co py of his Survival Gu
Bastion. He off ere has already
un ab le to ac cep t. Professor Pendrake
I was regrettab ly tors’ copies,
of th e do rm itory with his contribu
filled an entir e ro om belcher’s back.
uld be th e straw that broke the
—Lynus Wesselbaum
mo re wo
and I fear one
THE LAST GAMBIT
Sitting on the other side of the cross from Sanity’s Bastion,
the Last Gambit sits in steadfast defiance and challenge to the
joy of the other saloon. The crowd within the Last Gambit’s
walls is a stark contrast to the crowd just across the street.
A somber pall is cast over the common room where alert,
shifting eyes look to the tables beside them as if they were
about to pull a gun on them at any time. And that’s how
Megan MacCabe (female human (Cygnaran) noble) likes it.
When the previous owner had been found dangling within
the mine shaft next to the Pit, MacCabe stepped in to keep
the Last Gambit in business. A shrewd businesswoman with
little tolerance for nonsense, she has gained a reputation for
serving stiff drinks and a stiffer right cross.
While the locals had begun to avoid the bar for several
years while Asheth Magnus’ loyalist mercenaries were using
it as their watering hole of choice, some have again started
to patronize the saloon in an attempt to avoid the increasing
popularity and crowds within Sanity’s Bastion.
Adventure Hook
Hagar Craig—who calls himself “Crag’s Craig”—is
a gunslinger who has followed on the trail of other
gunslingers to Ternon Crag with a specific mission on
his mind: to gun down one hundred rivals and establish
sufficient reputation to merit his silhouette on bottles
of 100 Notches, a popular uiske in Khador. He’s acquired
eighty-eight confirmed kills already, and he’s constantly
looking for new targets or those who can lead him to
them. He’s also not above killing someone less than a rival
and faking their reputation in order to elevate his own.
PIP & POP’S TRADE EMPORIUM
Once the busiest general store in town, this squat, shuttered
building still bears the previous occupants’ name in faded
paint on a swinging sign hanging above its door: Pip &
Pop’s Trade Emporium. Abandoned since its acquisition
and subsequent closing by Hammer & Gad, the building has
become a sort of landmark for Cragger directions. Serving
as the de facto “border” between the North and South Crag,
being “south of Pip’s” has become shorthand for undesirable
real estate.
Raising Caine
A warcaster who previously served the Cygnaran military,
Allister Caine has been seen around Ternon Crag sporad-
ically in the years since the Claiming. Some locals believe
that he and his two gun mage companions, the surviving
members of the Black 13th, have taken up residence in the
abandoned trade emporium.

PYKE’S POULTICES
Having come to town just a few years before the Claiming,
Latan Pyke (male human (Cygnaran) commoner) has now
become a feature within the Crag. His apothecary, located
in a small building tucked away behind the more prominent
buildings on the main street, has become the premier healing
house of Ternon Crag, offering poultices, salves, bandages,
splints, and even minor surgeries. Through the request and
funding by Marshal Brue, Latan Pyke spearheaded the efforts
to halt the Panner’s Pox outbreak of 608.
While the Pox is far from eradicated, Pyke uses a
combination of alchemical reagents native to the area
around Lake Scarleforth to manufactures a salve that closes
the painful lesions the disease produces, allowing those
who have contracted the disease to live a semblance of an
everyday, asymptomatic life. This salve, known locally as
“Pyke’s paste,” has become a miracle cure for the superstitious
in town, many of whom believe there’s some sort of divine
intervention at work.
Though Pyke himself thoroughly denounces the practice,
some miners and prospectors have taken to adding the
paste to their meals, believing it to make them less likely
to contract the Pox to begin with. This increased demand
even among the healthy means the unscrupulous are always
looking to brew their own paste, though none of them have
neared making anything that could be generously considered
a medicine. This doesn’t stop them from peddling it as such.
Both Pyke and his imitators require a constant stream of
supplies, often employing adventurers to fetch ingredients
too dangerous for them to procure themselves.
Adventure Hook
Pyke uses some chemical supplies that come from mines
abandoned for causing the very disease he’s treating. Just
the same, he has zeroed in on a specific interconnected
series of mines and caverns where he expects to retrieve
a healthy stock of ingredients. Pyke knows these mines
are home to notably unpleasant bands of gobbers
that now suffer the disease, making them contagious,
aggressive adversaries. But Pyke will only reveal this if
it’s to his benefit; otherwise, he acts as if any obstacles
in the caverns will be as much a surprise to him as to
those he hires.
STEELHEAD CHAPTERHOUSE
The Steelhead Mercenary Company Chapterhouse is an
imposing stone edifice on the eastern side of town. Built
by the Steelheads themselves, the two-story stone building
houses the barracks, armory, and training hall for the
mercenaries. Steelheads patrol and train on the grounds at all
hours—only the most foolhardy (or drunk) dares to intrude
on the chapterhouse without prior notification.
Steelhead Mercenary Company. As the local chapter of the
Steelhead Mercenary Company, Stannis Brocker’s men are
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
7
 well-trained and equipped to follow Magnus into battle when
needed. When not assigned to a battlefield, these mercenaries
spend their days drilling and carousing in the town’s taverns.
The Greybranch Expeditionary Company has hired dozens of
Steelheads to serve as guards for their various interests.
Recently, the Steelheads have been contracted out by
Marshal Chief Brue Westrone to handle various security
contracts within the town that he and the few security forces
at his disposal cannot govern themselves. This, coupled with
the timely save by the Steelheads during the Gaol siege, has
brought questions about where Brue’s loyalties lie. Given that
the Steelheads as a whole also provided noteworthy military
aid at the famed Battle of Henge Hold, in which the infernals
acquiring human souls were thwarted, Westrone expects
exemplary service from the Steelheads in Ternon Crag,
unaware that only one of their number participated in and
came back from the Henge Hold battle.
Adventure Hook
Quentin Forester is the sole Steelhead from Ternon Crag
to participate in the Henge Hold battle, and he uses that
experience to finance his days and, more important, his
nights. He has earned the nickname “the Gentleman
Soldier” for his daily attire of big city fashion. Yet Forester
does more than tell war stories for a pint; he is believed to
have brought back treasure from the battlefield in Henge
Hold, including a relic foretold by the so-called prophet,
the Hermit of Henge Hold, to be either the salvation
or the damnation of Ternon Crag. Forester has neither
confirmed nor denied this, but if plied with the right social
niceties, he might be willing to reveal if it’s located locally
or in the mountains…if it exists at all.
SPIDER’S PROSPECTING SUPPLY
The largest general store in town since Pip and Pop’s was
bought out and shuttered by Hammer and Gad, Spider’s
Prospecting Supply is, ironically, run by the gobber Pip.
After Oren “Spider” Trembault’s death during the Claiming,
ownership reverted to the Gad. After several struggling
years plagued the general store, the responsibility of staffing
it bouncing between various Hammer and Gad members
with mixed success. However, once Pip was (forcibly) made
available to work, the position was offered to him with a
handsome salary to bring his network of rare goods suppliers
to work for the Gad.
While he hasn’t been inside for several years, Pip swears
that there’s something odd going on with his old storefront.
Guards have been seen stationed at the abandoned store
recently, as well as reports of strange flashes of lights and
sounds coming from within in the dead of night. This is all
tied to the foolish actions of Shanyks di Sharr and Jarosh
Kutsov (see Hammer and Gad Offices).
WILLITT AND SONS’ JACKWORKS
Situated in the northeast alongside the other smelters,
foundries, and forges, Willitt and Sons’ Jackworks is the
only public facility in Ternon Crag to service steamjacks and
other complex mechanika. Subject to constant abuse by the
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
8
weather—most notably dust storms pushed through the Gap
from the Marches to blast their exteriors to a mirror shine
and stick and grind in the joints as well as flash floods that
turn that dust into mud that works its way into the gears—
steamjacks face a bevy of issues that less harsh environs don’t
present. This specialized knowledge has put Otis Willitt
and his son Karl in high demand by the more affluent folk
in town. Each of them is a mechanikal wizard in their own
right. The pair are only matched by their cosmopolitan
counterparts with shops worth easily double what either of
the Craggers will see in their life.
Adventure Hook
Otis in particular is always on the lookout for cortexes,
knowing they can singlehandedly turn massive profits for
his business. While he avoids the Hull Estate’s possible
loot for obvious reasons, he’s heard tell that a “’jack
carnival” is camped beyond the Crag’s borders en route to
bigger cities on the horizon without any consideration for
stopping in Ternon Crag. This carnival allegedly showcases
both museum-worthy and newer model steamjacks and
laborjacks (as well as oddities picked up along the way)
and offers ’jack rides, demonstrations, and games of
chance to acquire the latest craze, collectible ’jack cards.
Most important, the carnival carries cortexes, ones Otis
wants enough to hire mercenaries to go “shopping” for
him—with gold or without.
THE HULL ESTATE
One of Magnus’ many bases of operations scattered around
the Iron Kingdoms, the Hull Estate had once stood in brazen
defiance just beyond Cygnar’s reach, a beacon of Ternon
Crag’s independence. However, many see it as precisely the
opposite: a show that the crown will still take its due, no
matter where you go. Although he rarely stays here, Magnus’
soldiers keep an aura of constant readiness about them, as if
he may appear and order them to move out at any moment.
Magnus maintains an extensive armory and a ’jack foundry
on what was once the Hull Estate. Darnin Hull thought to
confront Magnus when he first arrived, demanding he take
his brand of revenge somewhere besides Ternon Crag. Hull’s
subsequent murder stands out as one of the most callous acts
of violence ever witnessed in the town. Unchallenged after
that, Magnus moved into the Hull Estate, which boasts its
own river docks. Craggers lock their doors and move a little
quieter when they see a steamboat docked there.
Magnus has also convinced Brue Westrone that he has
no desire to rule such a “backward dustbowl of a town” like
Ternon Crag but has let the marshal chief know he will suffer
a fate worse than Hull’s if he ever crosses Magnus or his men.
When the notorious trollkin mercenary and fell caller
Greygore Boomhowler’s crew is in town, they bunk at
the Hull estate. This allows him to enlist trollkin from the
Krieltowners to replace those lost in battle. Boomhowler’s
a practical trollkin—he sees the Krieltown trollkin as a
renewable resource, nothing more.
 Despite Asheth Magnus’
it appears that he maint
return to the good graces
of Cygnar, Adventure Hook
ains ownership of the Hu Prior to Westrone’s promotion into the position of
conversations with the loc ll Estate. My
als suggest he still retur marshal chief, prisoners were occasionally “forgotten” in
to do…well, whatever it ns periodically the Gaol’s more remote cells, their corpses left to rot in
is a man of his experien
deigns to do in a backw ce and station the darkness. Yet at least one of them—a female trollkin
ater like Ternon Crag. I
the estate as a sort of con suspect he keeps named Gwendolyn Gearwrecker—has no intention of
tingency plan, should he
another falling out with experience being forgotten anymore. She haunts the Gaol, looking
the royalty of Cygnar.
for the deputy who locked her in chains, telling her at
—Lynus Wesselbaum the time, “Nobody cares what happens to trollkin.” She
was once a companion of Braylen Wanderheart, and
Gearwrecker will try to get a message to Wanderheart
through either mortal or supernatural means, the former
CRAG GAOL if she can recruit a messenger, the latter if anyone tries
The Ternon Crag Gaol sits on a low hill just northeast of to stop her.
the town’s center, looming over the town. Built on the
remains of a crumbling Idrian ruin, the Gaol serves as an
administrative office, courthouse, and prison. Brue Westrone
(male human (Cygnaran) city watch captain) and his SOUTH CRAG
chief deputy, Jarnish Mohktur (male woodland trollkin Except for a few notable large landholders, such as “Old
mercenary veteran), also reside here. Those who have had Thom” and the town’s few successful farmers, most of
the honor of being a guest of the Gaol attest to the horrible the South Crag is considered less desirable real estate.
conditions of the prison located in what was once the ruin’s This stretch of land is far more exposed to the elements
dungeon. Brue has intentionally prevented updating the of the Marches and has less stable ground for permanent
dungeons, knowing a few nights’ stay in them has turned construction. Newcomers, river panners, and other poor
around more than one lawbreaker in his town. wretches reside in the South Crag, often abiding by the
The ground level of the ruin contains administrative ramshackle housing that must be repeatedly kept up against
offices, Brue’s and Jarnish’s living quarters, as well as a the wind and shifting soil. A few good plots of farmland
bunkhouse and kitchen for visitors and the occasional have been carved from the elements here and to the south,
deputized citizen. protected by retaining walls and providing crucial local
These days, Brue is seldom seen outside the Gaol, nursing a produce for the town, which otherwise relies heavily on
debilitating injury to his leg that he suffered during the Gaol imports. Even the best farms in Ternon Crag are considered
siege. Since then, he has sent Chief Deputy Jarnish Mohktur frugal in Cygnar and require considerably more labor to
in his stead. Jarnish is an enormous trollkin with a booming, yield decent crops. Most houses are wooden single-story
commanding voice that demands attention, which serves him affairs with the occasional second story denoting some level
well when breaking up fights at the local saloons. of affluence.

THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG

9
 KRIELTOWN
In the Crag’s early days, trollkin were welcomed into the
community with open arms. Their strong backs and hearty
endurance kept them in high demand for construction jobs
in town and mine labor. With the influx of trollkin refugees
several years before the Claiming and more since, however,
all but the oldest and most influential trollkin Craggers have
become second-class citizens in the town’s eyes.
When the trollkin kriels of the Thornwood relocated at the
suggestion of King Leto, not every kriel or shen heeded the
call. Several struck out on their own, with some finding their
way to Ternon Crag searching for a new sense of purpose.
Settling with their own kind, the trollkin created a small
community the Craggers call Krieltown. This hodgepodge
of shanties, tents, and houses served as a focal point for the
trollkin community, including a small shrine to Dhunia.
Since their humble roots, Krieltown has boomed much like
the greater town of Ternon Crag. Tents have been replaced
by permanent wooden housing, packed tightly together in
a highly flammable slum. The small shrine to Dhunia has
grown, gaining a small chapel that surrounds the shrine itself.
Corgen Fellstrider (male woodland trollkin tribal warrior)
has stepped forward as a spokesperson for the small borough
since before the Claiming, acting as an elder for the greater
township to speak to when there is an issue with a member
of Krieltown.
Recently, Corgen has been in many of those talks. Since
the Trollkin gunslinger Bannock Grimshaw rolled into town,
there have been whispers of acts against the government.
Rumored to be the mastermind of the Gaol siege, who hid
behind the actions of the rogue miner Dylano Cortano when
the accusations began, it has never been proven in enough
capacity to take action against him.
Both Corgen and Bannock are expected to participate in
the upcoming Marshal Chief election.
On a semi-regular basis, Braylen Wanderheart, a
trollkin outlaw, passes through Ternon Crag with a chip
on her shoulder that she’s yet to cash in. She has made it
clear repeatedly that she knows an old compatriot named
Gwendolyne Gearwrecker was last seen in the Crag before
the Claiming and has since disappeared. She wants to know
what became of Gearwrecker and who’s responsible, as
she is certain it’s someone in the Crag. It seems no one in
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
10
town knows for sure what became of Gearwrecker, but
Braylen Wanderheart believes she can find the answer if she
pressures the right people.
Adventure Hook
Wanderheart is familiar with most of the faces in Ternon
Crag, so anyone she can identify as a newcomer is above
suspicion and therefore a likely ally in finding her old
friend. Whether through goodwill or coin, she’ll approach
anyone she thinks might be able to uncover the mystery of
Gearwrecker’s disappearance and the responsible parties.
“OLD THOM” JASPER’S PLACE
Old Thom was one of Ternon Crag’s oldest and wealthiest
residents, making his fortunes prospecting decades ago.
His stout and comfortable house is located at the southwest
of town, with its own well, furnishings shipped in from as
far west as Highgate and Mercir, and Thom’s collection of
fine wines. The bulk of his lands are found on the outskirts
under the shadow of the Greybranch Mountains, southeast
of Krieltown.
His house stands empty since his disappearance shortly
after the Claiming, his lands defaulting back to the township.
Rumor has it that an inheritor from far off is on their way to
claim his holdings, but no such inheritor has shown yet.
Adventure Hook
If enough drink is applied to some of the locals after
hours, the story of Old Thom’s journal will come up. He
apparently kept a log of many questionable activities going
on in and around Ternon Crag, presumably to coerce or
otherwise blackmail residents into doing his bidding. With
his disappearance, the journal also seemingly disappeared,
though few have ventured to search his former residence,
guesthouses, barns, wine cellars, and other facilities to
look for it. Some are afraid of local repercussions; others
are afraid of his so-called inheritor (rumored to be
high-ranking Cygnaran official) while others still believe
Old Thom just conveniently vanished of his own accord
during the Claiming with every intention of returning.
Still, the journal is considered a prize worth pursuing by
a hired hand…

THE “PIT” CHAPEL
Settled on the precipice of an abandoned mine-shaft, the
white-clapboard cruciform building of the Pit Chapel is the
Crag’s sole official house of worship. A nearby shack, fallen
into disrepair and beaten by time and weather, once housed
the man known only as “the Preacher.” Rumors abound in the
town about the man’s sudden disappearance, ranging from
the infernal (“I hear he had struck a deal with the infernals to
lead his congregation into the Pit and offer their souls to his
master, but when the time came, he got cold feet and only
went himself”) to the mundane (“Well, I hear that he ran off
with a panner’s daughter”). Regardless of the truth, when the
Preacher abandoned his flock, a new shepherd took his place.
A devout Morrowan, Rowan Caldwell (male human
(Cygnaran) acolyte), stepped in to steer the rudderless
congregation. With an ever-present sunburn on his hairless
pate, the father’s neck and back are bowed by the combined
weight of time and an eclectic collection of holy symbols he
uses for his sermons. As the sole leader of organized faith
in town, Rowan carries with him a spread of menofixes,
Morrowan symbols, and even the occasional Dhunian
runestone, which he shifts to present the proper holy symbol
for whomever he’s speaking to.
This attempt to balance faiths within the town has caused
the Pit to become a town hall of sorts for the community,
creating an atmosphere of a civil meeting rather than the
rousing religious experiences that previously occurred in the
building. Several of the old flock seek to return to those fiery
sermons and are looking to create a second, competing chapel
within the township.
Adventure Hook
Rowan Caldwell is a target of assassination, though the
locals who are banded against him haven’t the fortitude to
call it that. They’d be just as content, they say, to see him
driven out of town. The leader of the group is Malachai
Deed, a former priest of Menoth, who has a penchant for
arson against those he deems immoral. This same group,
while seeking to oust Rowan Caldwell, are also searching
for the local arsonist, never knowing he is in their midst.
If pressed, Malachai Deed might even imply the arsonist
is Rowan Caldwell, committing these acts under the same
motive that drives Deed himself.
THE OUTSKIRTS
The outskirts of Ternon Crag serves as the gateway to the
various mines and claims beyond its reach. It includes fewer
permanent residences but many temporary mining camps.
These are used by those who cannot afford to build in town
or prefer to stay closer to their claims. ”Old Thom” used to
own most of the best land, though his actual residence was
in South Crag.
Some trollkin refugee groups have settled in this area,
including those who are reluctant to join Krieltown. This
area also includes the town’s graveyard and the Flophouse,
which used to be an upscale bordello that eventually went out
of business as claims in the area didn’t pay out as expected.
The area has also been settled by several families with tribal
roots who have integrated into the town and mostly given
up the traditional ways of their ancestors. This includes
northern Idrians, Sinari, and Radiz, who have found good
work in the Crag, albeit for meager pay.
THE FLOPHOUSE
Once an exclusive, high-end bordello, much of the interior
of the Flophouse has remained the same over the years, even
after being converted into an inn. Cushioned, worn-out
furniture is arranged carefully around small tables within
the common room where the owner, an ogrun woman
named Jessken (female ogrun commoner), fusses over
her guests. Well-meaning and honest, a rare pair of traits
in the Outskirts, Jessken does her best to make a little go
far. Offering dirt-cheap prices, dubiously clean rooms, and
safety within her walls, Jessken protects her patrons with the
ferocity of a mother bear.
Adventure Hook
Recent increases in bandit activity in the area have
forced Jessken to seek out hired help to guard the
Flophouse itself and root out the sources of banditry
in the countryside. She is also aware of the religious
types in town who judge her business harshly, though
many of them—including Malachai Deed, a former priest
of Menoth—have slipped into the Flophouse wearing
poor disguises.
to stop by the
ragements from locals
Despite the many encou moments within
s that I spent no coin or
establishment, I confes not visit this place,
that on the record: I did
the Flophouse. I want com es secondhand from int
erviews
—Lynus Wesselbaum
led ge I ha ve of it
and any know
its walls.
conducted well outside
The scholar doth protes
t too much.
—Edrea Lloryrr
TERNON CRAG GRAVEYARD
Serving as the northern marker of the town’s boundaries,
the Ternon Crag graveyard has grown significantly over the
years. Starting at little more than a dirt plot of shallow graves,
the interment needs of the Crag have caused an increasing
amount of acreage to be dedicated to the dead. Until recently,
no official undertaker served the township. The position has
since been filled by the morose Bowen Durich (male human
(Cygnaran) bandit), who remains reclusive in his tiny shack
on the graveyard grounds unless called for.
Adventure Hook
Bowen Durich is a grave robber who is terrified of the
living. He mutters his way through business transactions,
but as soon as the dead are left in his charge, he has no
qualms about robbing the corpses, right down to their
undergarments. His shack is filled with trinkets and
worthless treasures stolen from the dead, but Bowen
has deliberately left some items with the dead in their
graves—and the things he refused to touch are items
he felt were pure evil. If pressured or hired, he is able to
guide less cautious treasure hunters to those graves with
dubious goods buried alongside their late owners.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – TERNON CRAG
11
 ®

Wesselbaum's Wild Guide

 In the years since the Claim
ing, this military garrison
transformed into a city as vib has
rant and diverse as the streets
of Caspia or Berck. A whole
culture of human, Rhulic, and
other influences is emerging
here in the tunnels beneath
mountain. After hearing abo the
ut the changing face of Rhul,
immediately to witness that I set out
transformation with my ow
n eyes.
—Lynus Wesselbaum
A
stronghold commands the southern
borders of Rhul, older than the memory of the
human nations it watches and grander in its
low immensity than any fortress built by human
hands: Rhul’s great gatehouse, the Horgenhold. The fortress
and its defenders have repulsed Molgur and Orgoth and have
since stood untested by the comparatively fledgling Iron
Kingdoms. The latest army to approach the Horgenhold
was one the dwarves of Rhul did not hesitate to allow to
cross their borders: those fleeing the seemingly unstoppable
infernals during the Claiming.
Those who came to Rhul found safety beyond the gates
of the Horgenhold, but even that came with a cost. The
infernal forces were arrogantly ignorant of Horgenhold’s
past endurance when faced with a mighty force of
Orgoth; nightmarish horrors came to the gate in pursuit
of the escaping humans, only to find Rhulic ingenuity,
perseverance, and stalwart bravery could beat them back.
After a disastrous siege obliterated a trio of infernalists—
those humans cooperating with the infernal invaders in
hopes of earning glory through their betrayal—the murderous
force from beyond the known world retreated in search of
easier prey.
The main trade route out of Rhul is the mighty Black
River, a coursing waterway that runs from Armsdeep Lake
through all of Llael and then through Corvis, where it
branches into the Dragon’s Tongue River, which reaches Five
Fingers and continues south all the way to Caspia and the
Gulf of Cygnar. The Black River slices through the Silvertip
Peaks to the south of the Armsdeep, making it the easiest
path through the tall mountains that shield Rhul better than
any walls. The Horgenhold sits at the base of the Silvertips,
overlooking both the river and the narrow road that follows
it through this pass.
The Horgenhold is a sight unlike any other. Its walls are
carved from the same stone as the cliffs it rises out of, the
rough face of the mountain turned to sleek-faced bulwark.
From every aperture and crenellation, a multitude of cannon
barrels stare out to challenge any who approach. The
innumerable buttresses shoring up the exterior walls have
been likened to dozens of clenched, defiant fists, daring any
who would style themselves enemies of Rhul to approach.
The rushing Black River is bridged by the Holdspan,
an extension of the fortress. This bridge is tall enough to
accommodate nearly any vessel capable of traveling up the
river and sits above a series of iron gates that can be raised
up from the riverbed via great geared mechanisms to narrow
traffic or block it entirely. Like the Horgenhold itself the
Holdspan hosts cannons all along its length, a fair number
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
2
trained upriver to catch any vessels attempting to avoid
inspection. Few passing the imposing gate have had the
temerity to try, though the infernals put that security to the
test when their evil leaders pursued humans from across the
Iron Kingdoms as they sought refuge in Rhul. Just the same,
the Holdspan, like other Rhulic fortifications, held up to
the attacks.
The outer walls of Horgenhold seem impenetrable, but
they are only the beginning of those fortifications. The
fortress extends deep within the mountain, and every
chamber of it is built to withstand assault. Should a foreign
army manage to breach the Horgenhold, their fight would
begin anew within its walls. Its long, tight corridors are
riddled with portcullises, murder holes, and mechanikal traps.
Coded runes and diagrams are carved along the walls and
floor throughout the fortress to aid in coordinating defense;
without proper training, these marks are incomprehensible.
The entire garrison drills regularly in preparation for the
unlikely need for defense.
The chambers abutting the walls themselves are dedicated
to defense: besides embrasures for the cannons there are
armories, warjack hangars, and mustering rooms. The
next layer is chiefly barracks for the garrison’s thousands
of dwarves and ogrun. A variety of clans contribute to
the fortress defenses, and these have affiliated into several
distinct groupings and companies, each with its own housing
and facilities. These groups can become territorial, but even
lawful feuds are to be set aside while within the Hold, and
duels must be coordinated with the senior officers. Past
the barracks are the kitchens, mess halls, parade chambers,
workshops, shooting ranges, shrines to the Great Fathers,
and other shared facilities needed to keep the garrison in
fighting shape.
The fortress contains a small but fully outfitted warjack
machine shop and armory along with sufficient crew to
keep its fighting machines ready for battle. While ’jacks are
not created here, they can be nearly entirely rebuilt if the
personnel are given the time, and additional parts or supplies
can be requested from Ghord as required. These mechaniks
earn a bit of extra coin during slow weeks by hiring their
repair services to the mercenaries who stop at the fortress
for resupply. Fortress supply officers keep a close watch on
ammunition inventory to prevent opportunistic mechaniks
from undermining fortress defenses by selling off vital
powder stockpiles.
Deeper within the fortress are the levels given over to
civilian control. Here one can find a mix of dwarves and
non-dwarves, Rhulfolk and foreigners. Some are merchants
or adventurers, stopping for brief business or just passing
through. Others are the civilian part of the Horgenhold’s
infrastructure. Taverns such as the Churned Riverbed run
by Barl Stonefast (male Rhulic mercenary elite) serve ale
and pies at exorbitant prices paid by soldiers eager for a
taste of home.
These levels also house a host of refugees from across the
lands beyond Rhul’s borders. This is far from the first time
the dwarves have been put to the task of providing salvation
for foreigners; at one time, refugees from occupied Llael
arrived at the Horgenhold as well. They were admitted—after
due consideration and questioning—when Khador invaded
their homeland, and most integrated usefully with the civilian
economy under the fortress. A small human minority has
been present in Horgenhold for centuries, but their numbers
swelled considerably after the invasion of the infernals
and required additional facilities to be set aside. With the
Protectorate now in shambles, even some of their numbers
have reached the Horgenhold in hopes of repatriating among
the dwarves.
Adventure Hook
Liars sometimes lie well enough to fool even the most
suspicious hosts. Some among the former Protectorate
of Menoth followers do not believe their days are done,
and they seek to either subvert the authorities in the
Horgenhold or to recruit them for an attempt to take
the Horgenhold by force as a Protectorate holding. It
is possible the dwarven leadership in the fortress have
human spies keeping them apprised of the Protectorate
plans, though both sides would likely pay for information
about the other.
Within the bowels of the fortress are its vast storerooms
and cisterns. The enormous chambers can hold enough coal,
blasting powder, water, and dried and canned food to keep
the Hold supplied for up to a year. The storerooms are amply
braced in Rhulic fashion to minimize the chance of collapse
from above in the face of catastrophic bombardment. These
measures were put to the test in 537 AR, when an ogrun
custodian got careless while evicting a pack of skiggs from
one of the powder magazines. Thankfully the construction
held, and since the repairs the storerooms are regularly swept
for extraordinary vermin. The deep chambers are also home
to one of the banks of steam engines that powers the river-
blocking gates under the Holdspan, ensuring Rhul could deny
passage even if the machinery within the bridge itself were to
be knocked out.
Every vessel not bearing recognizable Rhulic clan
standards—and many that do—are inspected as they pass
Horgenhold. Each of the gated archways beneath the
Holdspan has a small dock for transferring inspectors. The
hold also has a half dozen paddle-wheel cutters, small boats
with oversized steam plants and light cannon mounted on
the fore, just large enough to chase down runners while
carrying a squad of soldiers and a light warjack. The cutters
sometimes conduct inspections on the river, usually if traffic
is backed up or a ship is too large to hold position under the
bridge for long.
Adventure Hook
Vessels are more likely to be searched coming into Rhul
than going out, and some smugglers and even slavers
are aware of this probability. A villainous force trying to
escape Rhul with ill-gotten gains aboard are likely to be
prepared for a confrontation at the docks—and those
who’ve hired on to inspect those vessels.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
3
 HISTORY
The Horgenhold’s history goes back millennia. There
are records of a fortification at its location as far back as
3000 BR, before the rise of the priest-kings, set there to
watch the Black River for signs of Molgur incursions into
Rhul from the south. Work on the Horgenhold itself began
around 1000 BR, when the Grand Moot noted the human
kingdom of Rynyr on the rise to the south, and decreed the
construction of a citadel.
Oversight of planning for the fortress was entrusted to
Clan Udo, inheritors to the Great Father, who is one of
three major patrons of battle. Udo’s master builders worked
with masters of Clan Orm, who specialize in masonry, to
honor their progenitor with a fortification of unrivaled
size in dedication to its purpose. Dwarves from many clans
joined the Udo in this labor, yet it was a century before the
Horgenhold was deemed functional and three more before
they considered it complete.
While the dwarve
The Rynr petty lords and kings living just south of the
and the like that yo
fortress never dared challenge the might of Horgenhold, so
truly fascinates me
its true test came in the winter of 542 BR, when the Orgoth
live within its walls
advanced into Rhul having conquered Rynr. For three
faiths, and even fo
months, the defenders of the Horgenhold battled the Orgoth
imagine what it wi
legions with hammer, sword, and axe. They fought through
and ble
snow-blinded mornings and nights luminous with the fell
fires of Orgoth sorcery. Above the din, the dwarven priests’
passionate descants to the Great Fathers and the Claywives
clashed against the chanting of the Orgoth warwitches and
the anguished battle cries of their slave soldiers. Legends
claim that when the invaders finally relented, the Black River
was so thick with corpses you could walk across it.
The Orgoth managed to penetrate the outer gates and walls
of the Hold but were brought to a halt by its array of internal
defenses. So steep were the Orgoth losses that they declared
Rhul to be unassailable and never marched on the dwarven
kingdom again. Dwarven historians refer to the battle as the
Lesson of the Horgenhold, and no other army or nation has
since dared to learn it for themselves. Although it is not well
known outside Clan Udo, this lesson has two meanings, as
the Horgenhold was almost lost during this battle. While
enemy casualties outnumbered the defenders by a large
margin, the Orgoth nearly exhausted those who manned the
walls. This was the closest Rhul ever came to facing invasion,
and it was a bitter lesson that prompted the extension and
reinforcement of fortifications.
Adventure Hook
Rumors that the Orgoth will one day return have always
been part of the Rhulic culture, but of late, Horgenhold
hosts more intense discussions about that possibility as
stories come from the other kingdoms. Some say Orgoth
relics still hidden around the fortress have begun to glow
as if sensing the approach of their original owners; others
say someone should organize an exploratory vanguard to
seek answers beyond the borders.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
4
During the Occupation era, the Horgenhold was already
the gateway for river trade between Rhul and the subjugated
human lands. The dwarves inspected all crafts approaching
up the Black River, but Rhulic commerce with the outside
was limited. The plight of their neighbors had the dwarves’
sympathy even as the Moot remained adamant they would
not risk the lives of their own citizens on any offensive
outside their borders. During the Rebellion when the humans
rose up against their oppressors, the Horgenhold served as an
occasional haven for Immorese freedom fighters, and some
of the exchanges of mechanikal acumen between the rebels
and the Rhulfolk that led to the inception of the Colossals
took place in the fortress’ halls. Today the Horgenhold is a
cannon-studded signpost warning enemies away from Rhul’s
southern borders as well as a center for recruiting.
LIFE IN THE HOLD
training,
ge in th e ki nd of military patrols,
s en ga ess, what
ul d ex pe ct to se e in such a vast fortr
u wo g those who
e civ ili an cu ltu re emerging amon
is th ditions,
str an ge ste w of di fferent cultures, tra
.A I can only
co m in g to ge th er in Horgenhold.
od is ose bonds
ok lik e in th e ne xt generation as th
ll lo
—Lynus Wesselbaum
nd s be co m e even stronger.
Command of the Horgenhold is traditionally entrusted
to the eldest sibling of the stone lord of Clan Udo. The
present commander of the garrison, Champion Gornrick
of Udo (male Rhulic tactical arcanist) coordinates the
fortress from the headquarters located in the uppermost
levels. Responsibility for the Horgenhold’s readiness and
watchfulness rests ultimately on Gornrick, but details of
the fortress’ day-to-day operations are delegated to the four
holdmasters: Holdmaster Guvul of Redhammer (male Rhulic
knight), in charge of marshaling and disciplining the bulk
of the soldiers, including the elite Forge Guard; Holdmaster
Kalmon of Rockfast (male Rhulic veteran), responsible for
the cannons and other engines of war; Holdmaster Kurtol of
Shieldbearer (male ogrun bokur), oathsworn to Clan Udo
and korune to many of the fortress’ ogrun; and Holdmaster
Dragha of Sigmur (female Rhulic veteran), in charge of
supplies and logistics. Champion Gornrick is responsible
not just for the Horgenhold itself but also for the network
of watchtowers and lesser fortresses along Rhul’s southern
border that it anchors. He prefers to spend his days touring
and personally overseeing those forts and towers and is found
within the Horgenhold less than half the time, entrusting its
general administration to his capable holdmasters.
The fighting dwarves are largely the responsibility
of Holdmaster Guvul, alongside the ogruns’ overseer
Holdmaster Kurtol. Guvul is in charge of overall military
preparedness, organizing patrols of surrounding countryside,
and authorizing mercenary contracts. He is a veteran of the
Forge Guard and served several mercenary tours abroad
throughout his career, including fighting for Ord during
the Scharde Invasions and for the ill-fated loyalists in the
aftermath of the Lion’s Coup.

Adventure Hook
Guvul doesn’t mind hiring mercenaries beyond the
borders, but as Horgenhold becomes more cosmopolitan
in the aftermath of the Claiming, he has opened his
mind more to hiring non-dwarves to serve the fortress
as soldiers. That said, the loyalty tests he demands are
strenuous and often life-threatening: clearing infernal
creatures from the hinterlands along the borders, chasing
down criminals who have fled the hold in the night, and
even policing taverns where the tempers of off-duty
Rhulic soldiers can flare.
The units stationed at the Horgenhold spend roughly
two-thirds of their time patrolling the miles of battlement
and the surrounding area, with the remainder of their time
reserved for drilling and exercising. Because the feuding that
has traditionally helped keep Rhulic clans in fighting form
is forbidden here, the holdmasters arrange supervised mock
battles every season. These battles can become quite intense
and often result in injuries or even the occasional fatality.
Such hazards are considered an acceptable risk to maintain
Rhul’s defenses.
The Horgenhold boasts acres of chambers suitable for
training exercises, from full parade grounds and firing ranges
to temporarily unoccupied barracks wings. The parade
grounds, firing ranges, and surrounding countryside allow
the men to drill their formations and practice taking the
field. Running exercises in the empty wings acclimates them
directly to defending the fortress and lets them simulate
urban combat. Periodically, temporary fortifications are
erected across the river for exercises, allowing their warjacks
to test their guns and the Forge Guard to whet their
warhammers against metal and masonry.
Holdmaster Kalmon is responsible for the guns and
walls as well as for what goes on within those walls. He
commands the engineers, artillerists, and provosts. Kalmon
was sent to the fortress from Lakeforge a decade ago as a
dubious promotion amid rumors of scandal. He misses the
workshops of Lakeforge and hopes to return there in honor
after proving himself as custodian of the Horgenhold. A
shrewd leader, he keeps the fortress’ crews of masons and
mechaniks about their business with a minimum of friction
with the troops.
Adventure Hook
Kalmon is prepared to hire outsiders to learn who is
sabotaging select guns to prevent them from firing.
Kalmon himself spreads rumors ranging from grymkin
mischief to full-blown invasion from blighted elves. He’ll
pay just to have it stop, even if no one is specifically
held accountable.
While Rhulic law is maintained in Horgenhold, the fortress
also has its own interior laws. Clan lords who have donated
warriors to the defenses have authorized their subordinates
to be disciplined by the holdmasters. Overall disciplinary
policy is left to Holdmaster Guvul, but actual policing is
performed by the Hold provosts under Holdmaster Kalmon’s
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
5
 purview. The provosts are respected for their impartiality
and dedication to keeping the peace within the Horgenhold,
which also involves scheduling authorized duels between
soldiers with irreconcilable differences. Their regular patrols
through the barracks help keep the garrison’s soldiers honest,
and they are quickly dispatched to quell the situation—with
glove and truncheon when necessary—if troops from rival
clans threaten feud. Their other main duty is policing the
civilian quarter, a task that requires greater attention than
policing reliable soldiers who better understand Rhulic law.
Adventure Hook
It is almost impossible for humans living in Horgenhold to
be aware of the myriad laws the Rhulfolk observe, which
makes humans vulnerable to deliberate deception should
a spiteful dwarf look to pick a fight, citing a possibly
non-existent law the human supposedly violated. Even
if authorities sort it out, it might well still be a source of
amusement to said authorities during the sorting.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
6
Rhul and the Menite Faith
Generally, most Rhufolk do not understand the Menite
religion, nor do they comprehend the distinction between
the Morrowan and Menite faiths. At first glance, the True
Law of the Menites seems at least loosely analogous to the
Codex of the Great Fathers. Deeper analysis demonstrates
the benevolent Rhulic religion is much closer to Morrowan
philosophies, but this is not widely understood. A religion
based on law and order seems eminently appropriate to
Rhulfolk, and thus they were willing to give Menites the
benefit of the doubt. Wider exposure demonstrated the
fundamental differences between these faiths to those
Rhulfolk who traveled abroad, but was is only slowly that
soldiers of Horgenhold came to understand the pervasive
zealotry and fanaticism possessed by most Sul-Menite
crusaders. Even with that understanding, they considered
those matters a human concern so long as the Menite
crusades made no threatening moves on Horgenhold. Their
attitude remains much the same to this day, though their
tolerance of the crusaders has increased as even the most
devout Menites cast their faith to the wind in order to be
granted refuge within the hold’s walls.

WITHIN THE WALLS
as it is, I must insist that an
As fascinatin g a pl ac e
en ho ld br in g with them wads
wishes to visit Ho rg lar that I seldom
n of ca nnon fire is so regu
into their ea rs . Th e di
t m y wa tch—it was like a gr
felt the need to co ns ul ! Deeper in the hold
l po un ds of blasting powder
powered by se ve ra
le, bu t clo se r to the walls the caco
it is more be ar ab
in g. I’v e al re ad y consulted with th
literally deaf en the constant
an yt hi ng can be done about
—Lynus Wesselbaum
specialists to se e if
.
ringing in my ears
Holdmaster Guvul commands the warjack-mounted guns
and field artillery that accompany soldiers to battle, but the
dozens of stationary cannons that cover the Horgenhold
and the Holdspan and their crews are under Holdmaster
Kalmon’s command. Every yard of rock, river, and road
within five miles of the fortress is pre-sighted for artillery,
and a sophisticated array of powerful telescopes atop the
fortress let them spot and scrutinize vessels coming up the
river well in advance. The armament ranges from pintle guns
for sweeping enemy infantry off the ramparts to high-angled
mortars and long-barreled cannons. Boats bring weapons
from Lakeforge as needed to replace older guns deemed no
longer up to snuff.
The crews drill regularly, and the road and far cliffside bear
the scars of thousands of dense cannonballs fired in lieu of
explosive shells as the Horgenhold’s defenders honed their
skills over the years. The fortress is riddled with reinforced
magazines, and a network of railcart track and gear-driven
lifts extending all the way to the bottom storage chambers
ensures that should an enemy present itself, the guns will
not go hungry.
Adventure Hook
Those cliffs and mountains that have been the proving
ground for Horgenhold artillery tests have, in the past,
been home to creatures with some intelligence—and
enough to drive them to retaliation. Any crew sent out
to gather spent ordnance from the testing range might
find themselves unexpectedly confronted by angry and
vengeful monsters emerging from the mountainside, such
as the subterranean dregg.
The ancient walls of the fortress that have stood for
generations continue to endure with little need for
maintenance. Most of the daily work of the Horgenhold’s
engineers and mechaniks goes into the modern features of
the fortress, like the lifts, the gates on the river, and the steam
plants. The systems are doggedly reliable and have built-in
redundancies, so service in the Horgenhold is not especially
challenging for a mechanik or engineer. Many are glad when
they are detailed to travel with mercenary units on defensive
postings abroad, where they can advise and oversee their
comrades’ safety in the field.
Holdmaster Dragha’s own small army of dwarves
and ogrun coordinate procurement and distribution of
consumables and equipment throughout the Horgenhold,
which is no small task in a fortress its size. Essential supplies
are delivered regularly from deeper in Rhul according to
yone who
contracts with various clans, great and small. Most of the
of cotton to stuff
supply contracts are generations old, and a few small clans,
notably the Obdurr and Whitghrd, have built their entire
eat metronome
reputations on regular deliveries to the Horgenhold. Barges
offload barrels and crates onto the docks across from the
phony is quite
Hold, where stout ogrun stevedores and squat laborjacks
ree different
whisk them across the bridge and down into the supply
chambers in the bowels of the fortress.
Adventure Hook
A simple sign on the docks reads “BEWARE CASK IMPS IN
NEW CARGO,” with a contact name of Tarval Grimtake, an
ogrun supervisor looking to hire inspectors to go through
incoming deliveries in search of the pesky nuisances. But
there could be nastier stowaways in new arrivals…
Dragha’s predecessor was known to use her position to
play favorites with units in the garrison, leaving a reputation
on the supply division that she was not thrilled to inherit.
Under her, the goods are counted, catalogued, and distributed
with stern precision. Skimming provisions or sloppy
bookkeeping can land an offender’s entire unit in hot water
and result in them being docked ale or hooaga. For all that
she can be a stern taskmaster, Holdmaster Dragha’s honesty
and competence in the task of keeping the fortress fed and
stocked have earned her the genuine respect and devotion of
her staff. Some of the ogrun under her have even gone so far
as to swear her their korune.
BLOOD AND COIN
Like Hammerfall to the west, the Horgenhold is a center for
mercenary organization. In the Rhulic tradition, units within
the garrison are available to be hired for contracts abroad.
This provides the soldiers and their clans the opportunity for
good income. It also provides valuable combat experience
for the troops, something hard to come by in a fortress
unassailed in nearly 1,200 years.
The dwarves of Horgenhold once hired out to any party
in the Iron Kingdoms willing to meet their price, but the
infernal invasion tainted their diplomatic temperament.
The perception that humankind created a self-fulfilling
prophecy of a disaster that came right to the dwarven gates
does not sit well with most. Additionally, Rhul has long
had mutually profitable financial dealings with Khador, but
unlike their warm, neighborly relationships with Cygnar and
Llael, the dwarves and the cold-hearted Khards have never
been particularly fond of each other. Trade and commerce
with Khador continues from other quarters in Rhul, but the
Horgenhold keeps itself apart from these dealings.
Today’s Forge Guard carries the same name as the
defenders who joined in fighting off the Orgoth in the Lesson
of Horgenhold. Like their forebears, the Forge Guard focus
their training on fighting man-to-man in close ranks. Some
purport that generations of distrust of the Khadorans shaped
the Forge Guard’s contemporary armament and doctrine.
They are a favorite of commanders expecting to face
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
7
 Khadoran Man-O-War shocktroopers in particular, as the theaters. Some bunk rooms remain simple hostels, while a
Forge Guards’ thick plate armor allows them to close ranks handful have become expensive hotels with brick walls and
under fire and their piston-driven mechanikal warhammers soft beds instead of curtain partitions and simple cots.
are built to topple and smash. This sort of talk has diminished Many of the civilians in the fortress are dwarves, there to
in recent times as the Horgenhold becomes more diverse in satisfy the eager market of the garrison, but a sizable minority
its population—with the infernal threat behind them and new are humans or of other races: merchants and mercenaries,
rumors of the Orgoth abound, many dwarves now look to a refugees and roustabouts, and many who sought refuge
future conflict not with the other kingdoms but with forces during the infernal invasion who opted to stay instead of
from abroad. returning to their homelands afterward. Gaining entrance
to the fortress remains simple for those traveling the road.
witnessed them
n g to behold. I’ve As long as they pass inspection—which now includes some
rd ar e so m et hi g or marching
The Forge Gua ar e simply trainin enquiries about one’s stand during the infernal debacle, as
en w he n th ey resolve and
in battle, but ev ey do so with an iron the dwarves think of it—and consent to staying out of the
ress’ w al ls , th ese soldiers,
along the fort ion . T o think that th ve garrison’s way, travelers are welcome. Stopping by boat is
almost machin
e-like pr ec is their armor, ha
of st ea m au gmentation to st am en t to common but can be difficult for a lengthy stay, as the Hold
without the be
nefit soldiers is a te has limited mooring for overnight visitors. When the few
Khador’s steam
lbaum
w it h

—Lynus Wesse
e- to -t oe
fought to ation. piers here are full, ships must anchor their vessels in the
h and determin
Rhulic strengt river and cross by dinghy or raft back to the bridge. A gobber
going by Predd (male gobber bandit captain) does good
business ferrying travelers to and from their boats by raft.
CIVILIAN LIFE Coal and provisions can be expensive at the Horgenhold,
so captains with ample fuel prefer to steam on through to
AND THE SHADOWS Armsdeep Lake. This is a long and difficult stretch of river,
The civilian levels are a lively place, full of sights, sounds, and however, and Horgenhold makes a tidy profit from the
smells that cannot be found elsewhere in the austere fortress. inevitable resupply that must take place here.
One of the vaulted parade chambers is now a bazaar thick The local taverns are a good place to look for mercenaries.
with tents and stalls offering goods from throughout Rhul Holdmaster Guvul negotiates contracts for formal military
and abroad. Mess halls have been converted into taverns units like the Forge Guard, but smaller companies and
and restaurants, and mustering rooms have been turned into irregulars like the famous Gorten Grundback or Herne

THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD

8

Stoneground can be contacted through civilian channels.
Many mercenaries hire locals here to represent them when
they are working abroad, thus maintaining a steady flow of
offers. Horgenhold’s position on the border has also made it
an occasional gathering point for human mercenaries hoping
to be noticed by brokers come to hire dwarves. Additionally,
Holdmaster Guvul sometimes hires freelance mercenaries
to participate in training exercises with the garrison in
order to expose them to fresh foes and techniques. Those
participating do so at their own risk, of course, as there is no
guarantee of safety.
Adventure Hook
Many former Khadoran soldiers, often feigning to be from
other nations, are eager to be hired for work, and so long
as there is coin, most of them will do whatever is asked.
A few have even been offered a payday for betraying any
of their own national kin who are plotting or scheming
within the Hold itself. Boriska “Six-Fingers” Vulgarik is one
of those who will do anything that comes with the right
amount of coin. Some suspect she is a double agent for
both the Khadorans and Holdmaster Guvul. And she never
tells the same story twice about how she lost two fingers
on each hand.
INTRIGUE AND
SKULLDUGGERY
The goings-on of a fortress of the Horgenhold’s importance
attracts the scrutiny of Rhul’s noble spymasters, Clan Jhord.
The young Bartan Ghrdlar (male Rhulic spy) is Clan Jhord’s
chief agent in the Horgenhold. Dispatched to the fortress
by his mentor and father-in-law Bulin Jhord, Bartan shares
Bulin’s hatred for the guild of freelance Rhulic spies called
the Glomring. The skilled Bartan was raised and trained
in the covert intelligence climate of the Rhulic capital but
is inexperienced and does not yet fully grasp the subtler
interactions taking place within the fortress town. To
impress his father-in-law he dedicates resources to harrying
the Glomring that might be better utilized watching the
horizons for invaders, be they domestic or foreign. At this
point in their subversive game, Glomring agents routinely
outmaneuver him, but that may change in time.
The Glomring has been operating in the Horgenhold for
as long as it has been watching the Black River, though the
Hold has little in the way of the inter-clan competition the
mercenary shadow clan traditionally exploits. Instead, the
lurkers who come to the Horgenhold make their services
available to fellow dwarves in their competition with
foreign interests. Their most experienced member, Nollos
Domescaler (female Rhulic spy), attempts to keep an eye on
all the covert activities in the fortress, maintaining a who’s
who of agents and their identities as well as mentoring
younger lurkers and helping manage their contracts. Rather
than taking on contract assignments of her own, Nollos is on
retainer with Holdmaster Kalmon to keep shadow business
to the shadows. The boat would be rocked if Bartan Ghrdlar
were to discover this arrangement, but Nollos is very good at
giving him the runaround.
Though the fortress has officially severed ties with
Khador’s military and refuses to enter into new large-scale
contracts, Khadoran citizens are not forbidden to visit and
trade; they are merely unwelcome. That hasn’t deterred Kayaz
Pavel Krinitskiy (male human (Khadoran) gang underboss)
from expending a small fortune in Khadoran silver fruitlessly
attempting to establish profitable trading arrangements in the
Horgenhold. Krinitskiy has spent more than two years in the
Hold ignored or derided by his hosts, who gladly take his coin
but offer him decidedly unfair terms for his goods. Since his
arrival he has been carefully watched by the provosts, Clan
Jhord agents, and the Glomring, who all are wary of kayazy
interloping in the Horgenhold’s affairs. Krinitskiy seems to
be harmless, however, merely a cheerful drunk known for
making his rounds among the merchants with his daily offers
of negotiations before settling into his cups at the tavern. He
jokes that his profitless mission continues as a bureaucratic
oversight, the obvious explanation for why after two years of
no profits and now being stranded behind Menite lines, his
sponsors in the Strevnost Public Trade company continue to
send him capital and rotate out his bodyguards.
Unbeknownst to their doddering charge, the bodyguards
sent by Krisnitskiy’s sponsors in the Motherland represent
the real kayazy interest in the Horgenhold. A mix of talented
spies, thieves, and assassins, the kayazy agents are active
participants in the Horgenhold’s covert scene. Clan Jhord,
the Glomring, and the holdmasters suspect their true nature
but tolerate their presence as long as they aren’t caught acting
directly against their hosts. These agents are involved in a
complicated but subtle game of diversion, misinformation,
spying, and counterspying: trying to ferret out details of
the holdmasters’ mercenary dealings while the holdmasters
endeavor to maintain secrecy and discretion. This might
eventually escalate to violence, but until the agents are caught
in wrongdoing they are protected by Rhulic law.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
9
 Adventure Hook
Khadorans in the Horgenhold are aware of the prejudices
against their people, so many have deliberately disguised
their accents and traditions to assimilate as much as
possible. Most Rhulic citizens in the Hold look the other
way even when the accents are poor, thin disguises—
anyone willing to try so hard to hide their entire past,
the Rhulic believe, should be granted some degree of
tolerance. That said, a strong story persists that a Rhulic
serial killer going by the name of Bolshslep (Khadoran for
“no longer blind”) has begun to murder even innocent
Khadorans in the Hold. He carves a Khadoran flag symbol
somewhere on the dead bodies. Even the Rhulic rulers
want him stopped. Who could track him down?
Given the delicacy of the situation the kayazy agents have
not sought to gather intelligence about Rhulic security,
but they are keenly interested in Cygnaran and Llaelese
activity. They keep a close watch on the human population
of the fortress, particularly new visitors. The bladesmen
led by Capo Sergei Relnov (male human (Khadoran) gang
assassin) are consummate professionals, and they clean
up after themselves well. When Llaelese freedom fighters,
Protectorate mercenary brokers, or Cygnaran merchants
with eyes too wide for their own good go missing in or
around the Horgenhold, any bodies found are discovered
miles downriver with their identifying features removed—if
they are found at all.
The kayazy policy of respecting their hosts is in danger of
changing. The latest bodyguard rotation brought a disguised
THE IRON KINGDOMS – HORGENHOLD
10
agent of the Greylords Covenant, Magziev Ihrin Kosposin
(female human (Khadoran) mage). One of Relnov’s recent
victims, an unhealthily nosy Illuminated One, carried
evidence in his journals of a secret cache of Orgoth relics
hidden somewhere in the fortress’ storage chambers.
Kosposin’s task is to locate the artifacts—prizes the dwarves
claimed after the Lesson of Horgenhold—and smuggle
them back to Korsk. Unbeknownst to her, safeguarding the
trove of cursed trinkets is a sacred task handed down by the
caretakers of a particular shrine to the Great Fathers. The
duty currently lies with the priestess Juror Anlost Huldr
(female Rhulic priest) and her husband Gerhard (male
Rhulic knight), a veteran Knight of the Patriarchs. Kosposin
is not the first human to come sniffing after forbidden power
in the Horgenhold’s cellars, and the last one was not the first
that Anlost and Gerhard laid to rest.
Adventure Hook
Kayazy agents are not above spreading rumors about the
possible return of the Orgoth, and some of the locals have
banded together to hire individuals to actually sort out
those rumors that came from beyond the Horgenhold
from those that have nefarious origins within its very
walls. However, those who get too close to the kayazy
rumormongers may find themselves in a direct and
possibly bloody conflict with the kayazy agents who prefer
to remain anonymous…
 ®

Wesselbaum's Wild Guide


-skorne to pass through the
Since its creation, the only non uals,
aside from a rare few individ
gates of the Abyssal Fortress, was at
ersal of the skorne army, I
did so in chains. After the rev h my
see this unique complex wit
last given the opportunity to
—Lynus Wesselbaum
restraint on my per son .
own eyes—and with nary a
their skorne counterparts in a sudden series of attacks. Iosan
soldiers drove east across the Bloodstone Desert, driving
back the Army of the Western Reaches in a punishing,
fighting retreat.
The last days of this conflict took place in the heart of the
Abyss, on territory that was once the elven empire of Lyoss.
While there were significant losses on both sides, when the
battle ended, it was the Iosan forces that prevailed. The Army
of the Western Reaches had been pushed back across the

T
Abyss, and the Iosans held the Abyssal Fortress.
he Abyssal Fortress is a massive complex of
dark stone built on the precipice of the Abyss in
the heart of the Stormlands. The fortress links to HISTORY OF
bridges that span the Abyss, the great chasm that
splits Immoren into west and east. This fortress was once
THE FORTRESS
the staging point for a seemingly endless tide of would- Two short years after crowning himself as the Conqueror and
be conquerors and warbeasts from the Skorne Empire. Supreme Archdominar of the skorne people and founding the
Construction began on the fort in 600 AR, shortly following Skorne Empire, Vinter Raelthorne turned his attention west.
the completion of Conqueror’s Bridge on the eastern side of He had no desire to live out his days among the skorne; he
the chasm. wished to reclaim his throne in Cygnar. The first hurdle he
The fortress was intended to be the residence of the faced was the chasm that spanned the continent.
Conqueror, Supreme Archdominar Vinter IV. He directed Commanding the construction of bridges to span the
an ever-growing Army of the Western Reaches from within Abyss, Vinter sent many thousands of enslaved people
its walls, choosing its targets in the west. Vinter might have
remained in the fortress as well, were it not for his skorne
underlings turning on him and eventually driving him back
out into the wastes of the Stormlands.
The fortress remained far from the front lines of battle
for most of its existence. Many skorne thought it to be
impervious and untouchable, but those assumptions were
shattered with the sudden betrayal of a temporary ally.
In the final days of the Claiming, the Iosans turned on

THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS

2
to their deaths. The perilous Stormlands and its strange
inhabitants claimed many lives, but just as many builders died
under their taskmasters’ whips. Vinter demanded nonstop
work and rapid progress, no matter how many lives he took
in the effort. By 603 AR, three years after construction began,
the Conqueror’s Bridge and Abyssal Fortress foundations
were complete. Vinter immediately led a vanguard across
the Abyss and to western Immoren but commanded his
archdominars to see that the construction was completed.
That construction was ultimately finished after the Second
Unification, a period when Vinter put down the Betrayers,
rebellious skorne lords who acted against him in his absence.
Once the building was complete, Vinter chose to occupy
the Abyssal Fortress and would stay there for the remainder
of his tenure as the leader of the skorne, which came to its
end in 608 AR.
Before and after Vinter’s reign, the Abyssal Fortress was a
critical point in the skorne supply chain to the Army of the
Western Reaches. Whole cohorts would gather and train
there before marching on the west. Warbeast paddocks were
filled with creatures ranging from the small reptile hounds to
gigantic mammoths. Chymists toiled to produce munitions
for the venators and artillery crews that would pass through
the fortress. From its completion in 604 AR until just
recently, a tide of skorne also passed through its walls.
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
That changed in late 615 AR when the Iosans took hold of
the fortress. A significant force of Dawnguard, supported by
elements of House Ellowuyr swords and many Houseguard
soldiers, marched on the Abyssal Fortress.
After weeks of a fierce siege in which myrmidons battered
the walls of the fortress and Vyre electromancers struggled
to keep the worst of the storms at bay, the Iosans drove the
last of the skorne from the Abyssal Fortress and claimed it
as their own. Having endured the skorne attack on their
homeland, the Iosan occupiers resolved never to let the
invaders return to it. The Iosans quickly set about repairing
the damaged defenses and tightening their hold of the Abyssal
Fortress, thus cutting the skorne off from invading the west.
This decision was further cemented with the death of the
gods Scyrah and Nyssor and the transformation of the Iosan
homeland: with nowhere to return to, these Iosans looked at
the fortress as their new home.
Infinite Power!
When the skorne first built the Abyssal Fortress and its
connecting bridges, they installed numerous lightning-
grounding rods along the structures to redirect the fury of
the Stormlands. Not only do the rods shield the fortress from
electrical storms, but they also conduct that energy through
runes carved into the bedrock on which the fortress sits.
A handful of electromancers from House Vyre who live in the
Abyssal Fortress see this network of channeled lightning as a
potential asset. They have petitioned Dawnguard Captain Syvas
for the resources to convert the network into a defensive
weapon that they can control. While intrigued by such a
weapon’s possibility, Syvas has been reluctant to give over
many resources for such an untested project.
LIFE IN THE FORTRESS
It is not easy living in the Abyssal Fortress. It was not built
for self-sustenance and relied heavily on supplies from the
eastern interior. Lacking regular provisioning from outside
its walls, the Iosans have had to get creative with how to
sustain themselves.
Water is no issue, fortunately. Constant rains lash the
fortress due to the strange weather phenomena of the
Stormlands, and the skorne constructed the fort with
extensive water capture and filtration systems in place. The
discovery of ponds on the lower levels, stocked with fishes
from Mirketh Lake, was a fantastic boon to the elves. So,
too, were the slave pens, which the skorne had filled with
western captives. Once freed, many prisoners— Iosan and
Nyss—chose to remain and aid the defense of the Abyssal
Fortress. Having suffered firsthand the indignity of slavery by
the skorne, the formerly enslaved people help guard against
the east to protect others from the same fate.
For other sources of provisions, the fortress’ occupants
turned to a somewhat reliable though unpleasant food
source. The warbeasts kept in the fort are now treated as
livestock, providing tough—but not inedible—meat. Lys
healers who traveled with the army have taken on a new role
as beast tenders. They strive to maintain the delicate balance
of livestock in the beast paddocks, providing meat that is
rationed carefully among all of the fortress’ inhabitants.
This food supply is supplemented by tribes of efaarit, the
nomadic inhabitants of the Blasted Desert who trade with
the fortress, bringing in food for the warbeasts, occasional
bushels of cactus fruits, and other local goods in return
for the bones and hides of slaughtered beasts. Due to a
lack of a common language, the efaarit and Iosans have a
nebulous understanding, communicated through simple
signs, pictographs sketched into the dirt, and other wordless
negotiations in the fortress’ inner courtyard.
For the most part, life proceeds in the fortress as it
would in any of the Aeryths of Ios, if a bit more focused.
Soldiers patrol the ramparts of the fortress to keep watch for
approaching enemies. They rest in the fort’s barracks or train
in one of its large training yards. But in the Abyssal Fortress,
every soldier must also work as a civilian: cooking and
cleaning, slaughtering and butchering, repairing damaged
myrmidons or gear, turning open squares into farmable land,
and on and on it goes.
Senior-most Dawnguard Meryll Syvas (female Iosan
dawnguard sentinel) has implemented a rotating service
schedule to keep from overtaxing the soldiers. Units are
moved in a cycle of patrol, reserve, and civilian life, changing
roles at the start of each month. While they are on reserve,
soldiers are encouraged to practice new skills like carpentry,
stone working, farming, and similar crafts. The formerly
enslaved people are vital to this practice, as many were
civilians in their former lives and bring with them a varied
set of backgrounds and talents.
THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS
3
 NEW FRIENDS Edrea inform
The efaarit have been a vital resource for the Abyssal ed me that th
was notewor e relationship
Fortress. The nomads don’t interest themselves in the affairs thy, to say th
e least. She a
between the
Iosans and ef
insular and dmitted to h aarit
of Iosan or skorne but are keen to keep trading with the isolationist n er people’s re
willing to br atures. That gularly
fortress. The Halshu tribe, in particular, has ingratiated eak bread w the defender
for a steady ith the nom s of the fort
itself with the fort’s inhabitants, going as far as to help repel intake of su ads demonst were so
for them sin p plies but als ra te s not only th
o how much ei
attackers who attempt to cross the bridge from the Defiant ce the death
of the gods. the world ha r need
Plateau to the east. The Halshu regularly ride out into the s changed
desert to gather resources and make contact on behalf of the
—Lynus We
Abyssal Fortress, and Meryll Syvas regards them as a key sselbaum
asset for the continued survival of her people. The efaarit,
in turn, look at the Abyssal Fortress as a kind of oasis in the CONFLICT
Stormlands, a place where they can shelter against the worst The skorne are not content to let the Iosans hold their
of the storms and live in relative comfort, even if just for a fortress. Instead, they regularly launch attacks across the
few weeks out of the year. Conqueror’s Bridge and the Defiant Plateau to the east,
putting a steady strain on the defenders. Early attacks
were large and aggressive, but the Iosans used the narrow
Citizen Soldiers Conqueror’s Bridge and their superior ranged firepower
While the Dawnguard are the undisputed masters of combat
at the Abyssal Fortress, the Houseguard and the formerly
to drive the attackers back. Since then, the strikes have
enslaved people are its most influential citizens. become less frequent and smaller as the skorne attempt
different tactics.
Like the liberated inhabitants of the fortress, the Houseguard
are drawn from diverse backgrounds and possess knowledge
of life beyond just warfare. As the Abyssal Fortress has grown THE NIGHT OF BLOOD
into its own somewhat self-sufficient community, the value of
these diverse experiences has proven invaluable. Houseguard SHADOWS
soldiers who were, in their past lives, masons, farmers, tailors, In 617 AR, the fortress almost fell to an infiltrating force of
and otherwise have leveraged these skills for the good of the bloodrunner assassins. Under cover of an intense storm, the
community, consulting with the freed citizens to compare and
bloodrunners made the crossing from the Defiant Plateau
expand their skillsets.
unseen and scaled the curtain wall of the fortress. These
Together, these groups work to teach the Dawnguard assassins sought to destroy the gate mechanisms of the
soldiers their various trades. Classes are held regularly in the
fortress’ eastern defenses and had almost achieved their goal
workshops of the fortress, with Houseguard struggling to
teach career soldiers the crafts of civilian life. before they were discovered. During the conflict, sixty of the
defenders died before the last bloodrunner was slain.

THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS

4
 This event has come to be known as “the Night of Blood
Shadows” and is referenced to remind the defenders that their
foes will employ any weapon in their arsenal to reclaim the
Abyssal Fortress. Those who died defending the eastern gate
are memorialized on its walls, their names carved into the
rock as a reminder of the cost of insufficient diligence.
FEATURES OF
THE FORTRESS
The Abyssal Fortress has transformed during its time in
the Iosans’ hands. If the skorne were ever to reclaim it, they
might find it almost unrecognizable, as the elves slowly
convert its interior spaces for their ends.
The fortress is roughly divided between facilities for the
military garrison and those required to support it, but this
is not a clean division. The military facilities often butt up
against those intended for more civilian use.
THE FANE OF THE HEROES
The death of Nyssor and Scyrah was not easy for the
defenders to bear. Word reached the Abyssal Fortress about
the death of the gods one year after the initial occupation, as
Iosan refugees sought out their own kind across the land.
The Iosans had converted one of the interior halls of the
fortress into a temporary fane of the goddess Scyrah, but in
the months since, its purpose has become quite different.
In this modest chamber, the defenders pay their respects
to the fallen soldiers who have perished in clashes with
the easterners. Sillith Graccys (female Iosan priest) holds
memorial services here, giving an unembellished account of
the lives and deaths of those who have passed in the years
since the Claiming.
Adventure Hook
Sillith Graccys wishes to honor a recently deceased
Houseguard rifleman who singlehandedly killed an
attacking skorne tyrant before his death. However, the
rifleman died when an archidon swooped out of the sky
to fling his body from the battlements and into the Abyss
below. Graccys wants to lay the heroic Iosan to rest with
the other heroes of the fortress and pleads for anyone to
be willing to delve into the chasm to recover his remains.
ARMORY
The Dawnguard used up many of their resources in the initial
siege of the Abyssal Fortress and a significant portion of
their reserves in the time since. However, the defenders of
the Abyssal Fortress are adapting to their circumstances in
surprising ways.
When the skorne abandoned the fortress, they left behind
a vast wealth of weapons and ammunition in its armory.
Reivers and shot, hokar explosives, and dangerous chymical
shells in great numbers were left for the Iosans to claim.
To ensure that the limited supply of ammunition is
not depleted, Dawnguard Captain Syvas has ordered the
defenders to familiarize themselves with these foreign
weapons. Iosans who show skill with the reivers and flayer
THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS
5
 cannons train their fellow soldiers on the unusual devices.
Meanwhile, Arms Master Tylth Waelyn (male Iosan guard)
has set out to convert as many Dawnguard sword-cannons
and Houseguard rifles as he can be powered by the explosive
gas hokar. Similarly, he has toiled nonstop to retrofit the
praetorian and venator armor left behind into something
closer in form and function to traditional Iosan armor.

MYRMIDON WORKSHOP
Shas Luynmyr (male Iosan arcane mechanik) is the senior
mechanik at the Abyssal Fortress. He struggles to keep the
myrmidon force, currently standing at ten light and four
heavy myrmidons, in working order. Luynmyr is a skilled
craftsman, but even he has been forced to cut corners and
make do with limited spare parts. He has struggled to train
several dozen assistants from the Houseguard soldiers in the
fortress, which help him in his seemingly endless work, but
he is still forced to work with insufficient supplies. Several
of the myrmidons are earmarked for disassembly so the
mechanik can have a set of spare components to work with,
but he is reluctant to make such a sacrifice.

Adventure Hook
Luynmyr needs spare parts, tools, and raw materials. He
has a standing bounty for any myrmidon—functioning
or not. The mechanik does not concern himself with
how someone acquires these supplies, observing a strict
“no questions asked” policy. Dawnguard Captain Syvas
supports the mechanik in this and is ready to trade for the
full value of any chassis, cortex, or weapon system using
the fortress’ limited supplies.

ARCHIVE OF LYOSS
Occupation of the fortress has given the Iosans a rare
opportunity. The Stormlands encompass what was once the
heart of the old Lyossan Empire. Ruins of the ancient elven
homeland dot the landscape, and a devout group of Seekers
set out on regular expeditions to uncover their people’s past.
Two of the nearest cities, Geryloss and Anifaryl, remain
tantalizingly just out of reach. The former is isolated on a
plateau in the center of the Abyss with no known means
of reaching it, while the latter is deep within skorne-held
territory in the east on the Plains of Sortaan. However, this
will not stop the renegade Seeker Cyvross Ferryll (male
Iosan raider captain) from attempting to reach them. The
Seeker, who has become something more of a wastelands
bandit than a searcher for truth, makes frequent journeys
into the Stormlands, looking for ways to reach the ancient
cities of Lyoss.
He has had some minor successes. Scouring the western
side of the Abyss, Ferryll has uncovered dozens of smaller
Lyossan ruins buried in the sand. With fellow explorers and
efaarit guides, the renegade Seeker has pulled millennia-old
artifacts of the Lyossan people out of the dunes and brought
them back to the Abyssal Fortress for study.
CIVILIAN QUARTERS
The majority of civilian space in the Abyssal Fortress has
been carved out of the vast slave pens in the bowels of the
fortress. The bars, manacles, and torturer’s tools that once
filled this space were pulled out and smelted down to produce
weapons, armor, and tools for the defense and continued
sustenance of the defenders. The occupants have taken great
pains to transform these formerly inhospitable places into
dormitories and homes.
It may have seemed an odd choice to take the liberated
slaves of the Abyssal Fortress and return them to the area
where they had previously been imprisoned, but the choice
was a practical one. As some of the deepest levels of the
fortress, they are also the best protected in the event of an
assault. Even the mighty cannons of the heaviest mammoths
cannot penetrate so deeply into the fortress. When one of the
many attacks from the east occurs, those who cannot fight
move to these lower levels, waiting out the assault until a
signal is sounded to indicate safety.
FARMS
Shortly after capturing the Abyssal Fortress and evaluating
its stores, the Iosans began the work of self-sustenance.
Stones from many of the vast mustering fields were pulled
out to repair damage to the walls, exposing the soil beneath.
Laborers were freed from the slave pens, and Houseguard

THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS

6
soldiers toiled to turn up the soil, mixing fertilizer from
what limited supplies they had at hand—reptile hound guano
BEAST PENS
Two massive pens on the northeast and southeast side of
proving to be one of the most effective—and transformed
the fortress hold a diversity of eastern creatures, including
the open fields into farmable soil. In these, they planted
reptile hounds, titans, and razor worms. When the Iosans
crops from the fort’s supplies and developed one somewhat
first arrived, there were other creatures present, such as
unanticipated plant.
the insect-like aradus and the basilisks of the east, but these
The Mazak vine is unique to eastern Immoren. This tough
were quickly determined to be too dangerous to keep and
plant can thrive in arid soil and produces a sweet citrus-like
were put down.
fruit that can be eaten raw or brewed into a surprisingly
The pain-conditioned creatures proved initially difficult
pleasant wine. Unfortunately, the Mazak fruit has a
to control, but talented Lys healers have worked since the
dangerous side effect. Mazak vines have distinct differences
occupation to undo the skorne’s cruel conditioning. Pain
between male and female plants. The female vines produce
hooks have been removed, injuries salved, and the Lys healers
fruit, while the male vines are a dangerous, thorny plant. The
have worked to establish a less hostile bond with the beasts.
seeds of Mazak fruit cause living creatures to produce a subtle
That is not to say the creatures are treated like pets.
pheromone in their sweat that then draws the male plants
Instead, they serve a vital link in the continued existence of
closer in order to strangle the creature and draw nutrition
the Iosans, providing much-needed meat and trade goods.
from its blood.
Master Healer Aesha Breir (female Iosan commoner) urges
The Iosans have taken great pains to cull male plants that
her people not to attach too much to any of the creatures and
grow in the gardens, keeping only a few male vines in a
exercise caution when handling these wild beasts.
distant part of the fortress so the female vines can be hand-
Of course, these creatures are not just used for meat. While
pollinated. Those with horticultural experience have been
there are no Iosans able to bond with the creatures in the
tasked to produce a seedless variety of the plant through a
same way as skorne warlocks, there are some who see the
careful selective breeding process.
value of using them as trained attack animals, and even a
small—considered by some insane—cohort of Dawnguard
Adventure Hook destors who have begun to explore using titans in particular
There has been an unusual death among the gardeners as a new type of mount.
of the Abyssal Fortress. Ystith Larisar, one of the senior
growers, was found dead near the male Mazak vines.
Further examination revealed that she had recently Adventure Hook
consumed several Mazak seeds, prompting her death by Master Healer Breir has discovered an infection running
the vine. However, Ystith was known to be exceedingly rampant through the beast pens. This disease seems to
cautious when dealing with the Mazak vines, and some afflict the young titans, causing them to suffer respiratory
have begun to murmur that foul play was involved. Ystith’s failure after a prolonged illness. She believes that the
wife Tanyr suspects a fellow gardener is to blame and is infection was caused by some tainted grain brought in
willing to pay anyone who can bring her proof. by an efaarit caravan recently, and she needs someone
to track down the elusive desert-dwellers to discover
where they harvested it. Breir believes she can produce a
remedy for the infected calves if she has a sample of the
tainted grain.

THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS

7
 s
rdinary zoolog y, the beast pen
As I am a student of extrao opp ort uni ty to
ed me the rare
of the Abyssal Fortress afford
eas ter n Immoren when not driven hope. They claim, perhaps rightly, that it would be better to
observe the creatures of ips.
abuse of a beast master’s wh think of those captives as dead and fully cut off the skorne
mad with pain hooks and the of a tita n cow
ost gentle nature once and for all. Pointing to the attacks that come across the
I was taken aback by the alm n
I can onl y imagine what other easter bridges and their limited supplies, such doubters think Syvas
tending to her young. diti oni ng
en freed of the con is only putting them into greater, unnecessary peril.
beasts must truly be like wh
—Lynus Wesselbaum
Yet she remains resolute. Whether skorne war parties
of the skorne.
muster on the Defiant Plateau, and regardless of however
often minor skirmishes occur between the easterners and
her defenders, Syvas leaves the way open. Her decision has
THE DEFIANT PLATEAU proven the right one, at least for a few individuals. Since the
Iosan occupation of the fortress, escaped slaves from the east
AND CONQUEROR’S BRIDGE have made their way across the Blasted Desert and to the
The bridge of the Abyssal Fortress stretches across the Abyss fortress on a half-dozen occasions. These former slaves are
and onto the Defiant Plateau, which is linked to eastern taken in, regardless of their origin. While many are human,
Immoren by the vast Conqueror’s Bridge. These two stone trollkin, and even some gatormen, there have been a few
spans are the only pathway between east and west that an Iosans and Nyss among them. All have spoken of the cruel
army could use to cross the otherwise impassible chasm. taskmasters of the skorne and shared stories of elves who still
In the early days of the occupation, Dawnguard Captain suffer under the yoke of slavery to the east.
Syvas considered using the cache of hokar explosives in
the fortress to destroy one or both of these bridges. After
extended deliberation, however, she chose to leave them Adventure Hook
intact for one significant reason. One of the escaped slaves to reach the fortress, a
During the skorne attack on Ios, the Army of the Western gatorman named Har Scartail, shared a story of a nearby
labor camp in the Blasted Desert. The slaves are being
Reaches took many soldiers and innocent civilians as spoils
forced to mine out obsidian, and Har described many
of war. No matter how unlikely it might seem, Syvas hopes
elves among them. Syvas is preparing for a sortie to
that the Abyssal Fortress will receive reinforcements and liberate these slaves, but she needs a group to provide a
can launch an offensive into the east to liberate those distraction so she can get her forces past the fortress on
who were taken. the other side of the Conqueror’s Bridge.
Many of her fellow Dawnguard believe this is a foolish

THE IRON KINGDOMS – ABYSSAL FORTRESS

8
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System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt,
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© 2022 Privateer Press, Inc. The following terms are © 2001–2022 Privateer Press, Inc.: archon, argus, athanc, blackclads, bog trog, boneswarm, bratya, burrow-mawg, cephalyx, The
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Published under Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, LLC.

THE IRON KINGDOMS – WESSELBAUM'S WILD GUIDE: VOLUME 1