Karaz Azgal

## History

### Karak Izril

Karak Azgal, Hoard Peak, was originally known as Karak Izril, the city of Jewels, the richest and most powerful Dwarfen Hold apart from the mighty capital of the Karaz Ankor, Karaz-a-Karak itself. In those golden days beautiful jewels were mined from rich veins in gigantic natural caverns.

### The Fall

In the dark days, nearly 3000 years ago, after the fall of Karak Eight Peaks to the north, a great Cataclysm struck the great city of Karak Izril. These massive earthquakes caused the land to crack and shatter, opening up the natural caverns of the city to attack from the Enemy. The Greenskins came first, attacking the city from above. After the Greenskins came the Skaven who swarmed through the underway, destroying everything in their path.

The full story of the siege and loss is long and the source of many ancient grudges but, in the end, Karak Izril was lost. The carcasses of Orcs, Goblins and Skaven were piled high at the feet of the doomed Dwarfs as they fought to the bitter end.

As the last Dwarf was killed, the invaders searched for the Dwarf treasure but found none. Before the end, valuable and ancient artifacts had been either taken with the fleeing population, or hidden, scattered around by the Runesmiths and engineers, and the most valuable and ancient artifacts sealed away in a great vault by the last remaining Runelord of the Hold, Stormbeard Forgekeeper, who renamed the Hold Karak Azgal.

### The Coming of the Dragon

After the Dwarfs had abandoned the hold, a Dragon moved into the city, making the old caverns its lair. As Dragons are wont to do, it collected all the treasures of the ancient hold in a great horde near the surface and slept there for many year.

### Skalf the Dragonslayer

Though the Karak was lost, it was never forgotten, and stubborn Dwarfs always return. It was a dwarf named Skalf who returned and slew the dragon. In the fight, the caverns the dragon was using to store his horde in collapsed, and those treasures were forever lost. However, though the horde was lost, the Karak was retaken. The ruins of the deep hold were unsafe - over run by foul things. Therefore, Skalf founded a city on the surface above the ruins and called it Skalf's Hold. Skalf became king of Karak Azgal and Dwarfs and their human servants began to return to the mountain hold. In time, another settlement grew at the foot of Skalf's Hold called Deadgate.

## Karak Azgal Today

The two main settlement of Karak Azgal are Skalfs Hold and Deadgate. The King of the Hold is Thorgin Dragonslayer. To enter Karak Azgal, one must arrive through Dragon's Tail Pass. Here there is a large wall and a gate manned by dwarf soldiers. If an Elf enters the gate, an alarm goes off caused by a rune in the shape of an elf ear.

Tiered farms on the slopes around Dragon Tail's Pass go someway to feed the population of Deadgate and Skalf's Hold. Most of the new metal that is used in the many workshops of the hold is mined in the Norgunson Mines, to the east of the hold.

## Going into the Deeps

For the main article of the Ruins of Karak Azgal, see here. Many adventurers come from miles around to venture into the dangerous depths of the hold in search of treasure and glory. All adventurers get taxed on their way into the deeps and also on their way out. The main entrance into the hold is Zambor's Well in Skalfs Hold. There is also an entrance in Deadgate in the Mausoleum.