Hold of Nirud

One can often smell the city long before laying eyes upon it, thanks to the vast plumes of smoke spewing from its enormous kilns.

Even before reaching the city proper, travelers emerge from the forest to find themselves in a barren landscape. Enormous quantities of wood are consumed daily to fuel the city’s industry, and vast areas surrounding Nirud have been completely deforested. At the edges of this desolation, one sees slave work parties felling trees, alongside small but enterprising groups burning charcoal for trade.

Further into the scarred land, the terrain is riddled with pockmarks—remnants of countless pit mines dug to reach the ore beneath.

Then, on the horizon, a great black cloud appears: smoke billowing from countless massive kilns. The city itself, ringed by a towering wall, sits atop a hill. From a distance, it could almost be mistaken for an enormous termite mound—if not for the gleaming golden structure that crowns it.

As you approach the main gate, you pass between statues of two giant woodlice—the emblem of the dwarf-king beneath the hill. Here, his authority reigns supreme.

Nirud is something almost unheard of in the cursed realm of Tenehu: a dwarf-led kingdom where most of the subjects are human.

The city is built atop and around an ancient dwarven hold of the Clan of Nirud. Beneath this hold lies a deposit of both tin and copper—an incredibly rare find. This abundance has allowed the dwarves to produce vast quantities of bronze artifacts, highly prized by elven princes and traders alike.

Over time, increasing numbers of humans have come to dwell here—some willingly, many not—serving as a vital labor force for the dwarves.

Through their mastery of craft and flame, the dwarves have constructed great kilns capable of smelting vast amounts of metal. Each sub-clan of the Hold controls its own kiln, and their patriarchs are known as Forge Lords. These family units fiercely compete to outdo one another in craftsmanship. Though rivalries occasionally turn violent, they all rally beneath the Great Patriarch in times of crisis.

To his human subjects, this ruler is known as the King Under the Golden Hall, for the original stone marking the entrance to the hold has since been enshrined within a grand rectangular hall, clad in sheets of gold.

Most humans in the forge-city arrived as slaves, traded or captured to labor in the kilns. However, those who labor diligently and earn their master’s favor may be granted freedom. These freed slaves often remain in service to the dwarves and are rewarded with important positions and greater comforts than those still stoking the forges.

Many soldiers serving as men-at-arms to the various Forge Lords are descendants of these freed slaves and are trusted to maintain order within the city.

After the Holy Capital of Hurriaä, Nirud is the most populous city in Tenehu—and perhaps the wealthiest. Trade caravans flock to its gates from all corners of the cursed realm, often bearing orders from elven lords.

Though war is rare—few dare attack this rich and formidable bastion—when it comes, the dwarves don their heavy armor and march alongside their human men-at-arms under the banners of the Forge Lords. Towering siege engines, dragged into battle by slaves, unleash deadly projectiles upon their enemies, protected behind a wall of shields. This tactic proved devastating in the War of the Five Princes, centuries ago, and has deterred any major invasion since.

Now, the armies of Nirud patrol the kingdom’s ever-expanding borders—for one never knows what dangers lurk at the edge of the forest.

— From the Tablets of Imilik