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[Founder of Kazad-Grund]

The Great Hold of Kazad-Grund

Name:Kazad-Grund

Lies: at the east edge the Rib Peaks next to the the Desolation of Drakenmoor

King: Throndin Ironbeard

Population: About 6.000 dwarfs and 1.300 halflings.
The Dwarf hold Kazad-Grund (or the hammer fort as a manling would say) lies far out in the Rib Peaks. It got it´s name from a stoneformation that resembles a hammer, The Duraz-Grund (Hammer rock) can be found within an hours walk from the hold. In Kazad-Grund there lives both Dwarfs and Halflings, this has created a few traditions that can be seen as untraditional or even mad by other dwarfs, this includes their famous goblinsoup and the great farmlands outside the hold. Becouse of those farmlands the hold is sometimes called the farming hold by outsiders...something the people of Kazad-Grund (both halflings and Dwarfs) dislikes. The current king of the hold is Throndin Ironbeard and his queen is Borgomina Silverhair.

Edit...This should give a better version of the picture for download http://www.mediafire...i...tr2&thumb=4, I will try to add the history too but there are many handwritten papers to get into the machine before I can post them.

Edited by Founder of Kazad-Grund, 20 March 2009 - 02:10 PM.

[Barafo Steelfounder]

A good start. The Halfling incursion into your lands may need a tad bit of explaining further down the line, but all things considered, an admirable start. Needless to say I have already sent my chief runner, one Undi Fondrigsson, with well wishes and possible trade agreements detailing likely routes between our Holds; seeing as were narry' too far from each other.


Yours, Barafo Steelfounder, Loyal servant to the Slayer Kings, Guardian of Peak Pass.



I hereby bestow my testament that this letter is and was signed by Steelfounder hands, and bears with it all future and present implications as per the text.

~ Ondrgrim Stoneheart, Runepriest, Chief of Scrolls.

[Founder of Kazad-Grund]

A good start. The Halfling incursion into your lands may need a tad bit of explaining further down the line, but all things considered, an admirable start. Needless to say I have already sent my chief runner, one Undi Fondrigsson, with well wishes and possible trade agreements detailing likely routes between our Holds; seeing as were narry' too far from each other.


Yours, Barafo Steelfounder, Loyal servant to the Slayer Kings, Guardian of Peak Pass.



I hereby bestow my testament that this letter is and was signed by Steelfounder hands, and bears with it all future and present implications as per the text.

~ Ondrgrim Stoneheart, Runepriest, Chief of Scrolls.

Further descriptions of the halflings are in my history but as it currently is 16 handwritten pages it might take awhile, the story is that a loing time ago a halfling named Fred Mustardo ventured into the mountains, he found the first king of Kazad-Grund close to being killed by a dirty trick played by a Nightgoblin warboss, he and his band of halflings kills the boss and our king swears that they will return the favor, Fred asks to get it written down so that his friends back home can belive him. about 1000years later some halflings find the document and as the moot is unsafe now (pre-empire) they decide that they could move in with the dwarfs...they venture there and are ofcourse allowed to live in Kazad-Grund so that they won´t die at the hands of greenskins and beastmen, the traditions have later been developed along with the three clans, the bloody spear clan, the singing pie clan and the Ironsoup clan.


You´r runner is well met and trade agreements are a possibility...our hold is rich on bronze, grain and vegetables but it is other resources can be found as well.

[Lord Ironaxe]

By an amazing coincidence, Duraz Kazad is only on the other side of the mountain from your Hold. We make natural allies against the grobi who infest the region!

I'm bored, so I hope you'll forgive a short story:



Skalf Twofingers ran through the mounatin passes, his jerkin soaked with sweat and the glare of the setting sun in his eyes, but he would not stop. He had ben tasked by Lord Ironaxe to deliver a message, and by the honour of his ancestors he would not fail the king of Duraz Kazad. He pounded across loose slate, constantly on the lookout for grobi or bandits. The warriors of Duraz Kazad did their best to keep the mountain passes open, but this far from the Hold--further than Skalf had ever been before--there was no telling what could be lurking.

He had hoped to get to Kazad Grund before nighfall, but it looked like he'd have to stop once more and continue in the morning. As zelous as he was to complete his mission, he was not fool enough to venture through the mountains at night without his armour or, preferably, a band of warriors to acompany him.

He sighed as eventually the bleeding red ball of the sun sank behind the mountains. Twilight fell over the pass, casting strange shadows. Birds sang in the pine forest that ran along one side of the valley and Skalf guessed that he could get a good meal there with his traps.

It was cool, almost cold under the shadowy canopy of trees. He wandered through them, noticing animals fleeing his presence out of the corner of his eyes. He followed his ears to find a small stream that sprung from a crack in the mountainside, then filled his waterskin and unwound his snare. This would be a perfect place to catch animals coming to drink.

After setting the trap he wandered through the trees until he found a small clearing. Pine-needlescovered the floor like a blanket, green and brown and gold, filling the air with their woody scent. Though he wouldn't be truly comfortable until he was a good hundred feet below ground, Skalf could apreciate the natural beauty of this place. He tore a few branches down from the trees and piled them together to make a fire. It took several minutes to light the pile of sticks, but when there was a spark he piled pine-needles and smaller twigs onto it until it blazed brightly. The air was soon full of the sweet scent of pine-smoke.

Skalf pulled out his pipe and wadded the last of his tobacco suplies into it. He hoped Kazad Grund would have more. Going without tobacco always made him grumpy.

The long day's journey, and all the days' before that, had exhausted him more than he had realised. With the warmth of the fire and the sweet taste of good pipeweed, he felt his eyes droop...

He awoke to a clawing hunger. It was dark, now, and his fire had died. Cursing his own lack of endurance, he stood up gathered an armfull of sticks to build the fire up again, then he went off to find his trap.

There was nothing in it, and it had been snapped. At first he thought that it might of trapped an animal bigger than it could hold, and resigned himself to another night of stale bread, but then he noticed the bloodstains around it.

He bent low to take a closer look, his eyes adjusting to the faint light of the moon. There, hidden amongst the pine needles, was a knife. A crude knife, just a slip of iron bound by cord and attatched to a bone handle, but a knife nonetheless. Its blade was bloody.

"Goblinwork," he cursed, fear filling his heart. There were goblins about, the knife proved that. He ran back to his small camp and rumaged in his sack until he found his hammer. The weapon was small, barely more than a forge tool, but the way its steel blade glittered in the firelight filled him with hope.

He kept his back to the fire to preserve his nightvision and glared out into the blackness. Where they still here? They couldn't of seen him, or he would never of woke--maybe they had left?

He smiled and welcomed the rush of relief at the thought. That was logical. He took a step back, but forgot he was still by the fire. He yelled out as the flams licked his legs and leapt back forward, cursing his clumsiness.

Suddenly, there was a screech from further down the valley. It was a noise that was ingrained into every dwarf's psyche after centuries of viscious war.

"Goblin," Skalf said, swinging his hammer round in an effort to keep his courage up.

"Come on then! I'll send you to Grimnir's fury!" he yelled out a few moments later, trying to break the terrible silence that hung around him like a shroud.

Then they appeared. There were three of them, dressed in a rag-tag assortment of armour, fur and hide. Their faces were wicked, with long hooked noses and beady black eyes. One had a crude short-sword in his hands; the other two had spears tipped with stone.

"Valaya preserve me," Skalf prayed as they came closer. "Ancestors shield me."

The goblins cackled, sensing his fear. The lead one suddenly darted forward, and Skalf had no time for prayer.

In a move drilled into him relentlessly by Duraz Kazad's longbeard instructors, he parried the blow and dodged back. The goblin whooped and his comrades egged him on. Sword met hammer in an explosion of sparks. Skalf was stronger and his weapon was far better quality, but the goblin had a terrible speed. He danced in and out, jabbing at Skalf and dodging any feeble return attacks. Skalf was pushed back, desperate to avoid the darting blade.

The goblin seemed to grow weary of the sport and leapt closer to finish off the fight. It raised its sword above its head and brought it down. Skalf cried out and leapt to one side, falling to his knees.

There was a scream. The goblin had fell into the fire, unbalanced by Skalf's desperate dodge. Skalf saw his chance. Before the goblin could get out again, he rose off his knees and brought his hammer down in a two-handed swing that shattered the foul creature's skull. Shards of bone went flying everywhere and the goblin's small amount of brain was splattered.

The two remaining goblins cried out as they saw their leader die. With warcries to their green gods, they charged in. Skalf backed away, dodging their blows, but he was outnumbered and their weapons had far greater reach than his own. He yelled in pain as one sharpened rock sank into his shoulder and the goblins whooped, delighted at the torment they had caused.

Skalf tried to flee, but he dared not show his back to the enemy. He knew he was going to die, and his message would be undelivered.

"Come on then," he bellowed, his hammer raised high, "I'll show you how a dwarf can die." The goblins came closer.

Suddenly, one of them fell over. It took the amazed Skalf to see the arrow protruding from his back. The other goblin screeched in fear and turned to flee, but as it fled for the treeline arrows shot out from all around. With a terrible cry, the greenskin crumbled into the dust, bleeding from a dozen wounds.

Skalf fell to his knees with the sheer joy of having survived. "Thank you!" he called out to his mysterious rescuers. "Thank you so much!" Then his words caught in his mouth. They were notv dwarfs at all, despite their small stature. They had no beards, and walked bare-footed, and their weapons were not crossbows but small bows.

"Grombolgi-kazan?" he asked, fearing that he was dreaming.

Their leader grinned at him. "You're going to Kazad Grund, then?"

That turned out a bit longer than I expected, but I enjoyed writing it which was the main thing. Consider it an alliance request to your king (or queen?). I would of went further, but I don't know enough about your Hold to want to describe it.

Ok, ok, onto what you want to hear. I really like your background, but you have to flesh out some things as well. It's a good idea, one that I've rarely seen before, and I want to know more about this! Do the halflings live underground with the dwarfs or outside the Hold? Maybe they could have their burrows, carved from stone, near the surface of the mountain, so they're reminded of their homeland?

Oh, and I remind you that before Sigmar's time, the halflings would of just had furs and stone weapons, probably. In fact, I think they were yet to come to the Old World at that time... I can't imagine them surviving long in a land plagued by Orcs. Maybe you could adjust your story a bit so it was a meagre thousand years ago or so that they came to Kazad Grund?

In any case, I really like your idea. I hope when you've fleshed out your background, you try writing some stories about it, and if so you should definately post them on the Black Library forums, the official home of WHF and 40K fiction. It needs more fantasy stories, specifically dwarf fantasy stories because dwarfs are awesome .

Oh, and I loved your map. If you ever had time, would you consider drawing up a map for me? I need one for my WHFRP campaign, but I have to use Paint becaus I don't have a scanner, so you can guess what that looks like .

[Founder of Kazad-Grund]

By an amazing coincidence, Duraz Kazad is only on the other side of the mountain from your Hold. We make natural allies against the grobi who infest the region!

I'm bored, so I hope you'll forgive a short story:
That turned out a bit longer than I expected, but I enjoyed writing it which was the main thing. Consider it an alliance request to your king (or queen?). I would of went further, but I don't know enough about your Hold to want to describe it.

It was great...I really liked that story it is characterfull and is a great way to introduce Kazad-Grund and it´s halfing populance, I am quite sure these was Bloody spear halflings, they are the most warlike ones.

Ok, ok, onto what you want to hear. I really like your background, but you have to flesh out some things as well. It's a good idea, one that I've rarely seen before, and I want to know more about this! Do the halflings live underground with the dwarfs or outside the Hold? Maybe they could have their burrows, carved from stone, near the surface of the mountain, so they're reminded of their homeland?

They live underground with the dwarfs but many of them work up in the surounding farms, there has been times when they lived in the farmhouses but it is not safe.

Oh, and I remind you that before Sigmar's time, the halflings would of just had furs and stone weapons, probably. In fact, I think they were yet to come to the Old World at that time... I can't imagine them surviving long in a land plagued by Orcs. Maybe you could adjust your story a bit so it was a meagre thousand years ago or so that they came to Kazad Grund?

I know, the reason that they moved here was that they found the moot unsafe, after Sigmars time it was protected by the empire but not then, the halflings of Kazad-Grund are ofcourse more dwarflike than imperial halflings as a consequense of this.

Oh, and I loved your map. If you ever had time, would you consider drawing up a map for me? I need one for my WHFRP campaign, but I have to use Paint becaus I don't have a scanner, so you can guess what that looks like .

I can quess what it looks like and I quess it´s not pretty, I can probobly help you with maps that one was made from the one in the 6,5th edition rulebook by...something wich I don´t know the name of in english which is simply that you use almost transparent paper, places it above the thing and draws according to the pictures (which you see through). I´ll check Duraz-Kazad up if I can find you´r information and then I might even add it to one of the maps I have done (if it´s close enough)


I have written more about the hold and I will try to get all my text into the computer soon, that is the annoying part with using pen and paper, it´s harder to post at forums.

[Lord Ironaxe]

Can't wait to read more .

[Founder of Kazad-Grund]

Can't wait to read more .

Good thing I have written ALOT today then...that was 16 pages of handwriting it took a while to get it into this damned machine.

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