Kiris Dahn

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Kiris Dahn

Kiris Dahn, or Gorizbadd, sits on the western edge of the Nentir Vale, roughly 10 miles due west of the Ogrefist Hills and 10 miles south of the old trade road.

The town of Kiris Dahn, built by human hands, stood strong against invaders for decades after the fall of the empire of Nerath. It had magical stones — created by Tiefling artisans — that could kill anyone who attacked the town. The number of stones dwindled until all were spent.

Eight years ago, the citizens of Kiris Dahn abandoned the town when faced with invading goblin hordes. The town had endured a long decline under the rule of the Kiris family and the citizens scattered rather than follow their ruler Kiris Alkirk. Along with his advisor and seer Treona, Alkirk found a place to live in obscurity.

The goblins overran the town and renamed it Gorizbadd. The town quickly fell into ruin, since goblins were far more interested in vandalism than in proper maintenance. A faction of kobolds took over the slums while the goblins live mostly in what were once residences for the wealthier people of Kiris Dahn. Some time later, the goblin leader Hu-jat arrived and started organizing.

Geography

Kiris Down is surrounded by a fairly shallow river on all sides except the northeast. It is mostly farmland on the outskirts of town, but beyond the town limits are thick forests.

Kiris Dahn was once called the Jewel of the West. It was a beacon of civilization in the deep wilds of the Nentir Vale and home to one of the greatest libraries in the region.

For centuries, the Kiris family ruled the city and protected it from threats both outside its walls and within. The Kiris line accomplished this monumental task by utilizing artifacts known as Slaying Stones. Originally crafted by the greatest Tiefling artificers of the Old Empire, the stones removed many threats to the town over the course of several centuries. How the Kiris family came into possession of these artifacts is unknown, but it is widely speculated that they were key in the Kiris’ rise to power. They ruled the city with their ancestral line unbroken for nearly 300 years.

As previously mentioned, Kiris Dahn was widely known for its extensive library, but was also known for its bustling market district and the magnificent architecture of its temples. For many, Kiris Dahn was a shining promise of what the vale could become.

Treona's explanations

The town of Kiris Dahn was once the most prosperous and wealthy city in the Vale. Which made it a target for large bands of rogues or lesser creatures. To guard against these incursions the rules of Kiris Dahn sought out the Tiefling weapon smiths known as “The Architects of Victory”. These tieflings were experts at deadly magic passed down from the last days of Bael Turath. (M’Lok would know of this group from myth, or ancient legends) Kiris Dahn always had a strong friendship with tieflings (M’Lok can confirm that this was true when he lived here) and so were able to negotiate a price for a set of magic weapons capable of slaying our cities enemies. The Architects placed a limit on these devices though to ensure they would be used for their intended purpose and could not be used against tieflings. These items only work in or nearby the city.

Treona and the last few generations of the Kiris family believed only 8 stones were made. She recently uncovered from her reading that 9 stones were created. 7 stones were used to defend the city in their intended purpose and 1 was stolen by a courtier in a failed attempt at a coup. (The stolen stone was destroyed by all accounts, the assassin was killed with the stone in the bungled attempt to kill Kiris family member. Treona referenced a historical account recalling the life of Kiris Jura and found the section recalling his life and apparently the attempt was made while he was still very young and was the only heir to the seat.)

The Kiris family has always had the ritual required to destroy the stones, just in case. There is, of course, another way to destroy the stone….use it. The stone will crack and stop glowing and an enemy body deteriorates into ashy gravel and dark red sludge.

Treona either wants the stone back so she can destroy it, or the broken pieces returned to her as proof that the stone is no longer active. She is entertaining the idea of giving it to Copernicus

Surveying the City

The following notes were taken as we looked over the city before attempting to sneak in

The Manor

Dozens of goblins patrol this area; this is clearly a hub. The orcs (who have beaten us here) have set up immediately behind it.

Palisades

(We asked if the work being done seemed recent, as a sudden flurry of construction might suggest something is up...) Workmanship on these are varied, but they seem to be reasonably new. The gates are a couple years old probably and the walls a much newer. I did mention that it looks like the new inhabitants are trying to fix or make modifications to the buildings that were damaged. Goblins and Kobolds are lazy by nature and it is not surprising that with apparent years of work they are only this far along.

Rest of town

There is generally activity about. The area around the temple seems to be getting some attention by the creatures rebuilding. There seems to be a large congregation of kobolds by the gates.

We discovered the following:

1. You are reasonably comfortable at the guard change at the gates. Every 3 hours or so….
2. The Kiris Estate is the most heavily guarded on the Goblin/Kobold faction side.
3. The Orcs are breaking into teams of 4 – 6 and look to begin heading into the town soon.
4. The hot springs seem to be the least trafficked area of the town (pools of water, near the Kiris estate)

Hand of Fate Answers:

1. “Which building should we investigate first?”
   • The hand points at the hot springs. (The pool of water and arches on the map)
2. “Given that, where should we enter the city?”
   • The hand points at the deep woods and marshes near the hot springs
3. “Where can we find the greatest danger within the city?”
   • The hand points at the hot springs

Relationships between the races (Goblin/Kobold/Orc)

Odd as it seems Goblins and Kobolds often live in close proximity to each other and often form mutual defense agreements and often are grouped into the same “battle units” during offensives. In large groups there does tend to be a ‘ruling class’ of Hobgoblins around controlling them. Goblins are bullies and will tend to push the smaller kobolds around and end up with the better arrangements in any situation but it rarely ever comes to killing, but it’s not uncommon to see brawls break out between goblins and kobolds. Orcs on the other hand subjugate the smaller creatures and have no issue with making them slaves or killing them (or anything really) and take their stuff. Orcs are a very militant race in this world and often act as mercenaries and shock troops.