Bulghardem

### Information

The Bulghardem frozen lands to the west are considered the home of Blitzerabi and the fatherland region of the Palefoot, when they are drunk singing, many sing a song that express longing of their native lands. Many are the sagas that are told following the stars on those horizon counting tales of marvelous places, terrible creatures and the feats achieved by the gods and their children. Yet, these are stories belonging to an ancient world, before the great war with the dragons and before many of the floods, that only the most dedicated book keepers hold dear in their memories and past on written tradition from one generation to another. The territories are separated by clear ground formations: To the East, the Pikes; the biggest mountain range in the overworld called so because the elders said the army of the ancients held their steel up in every peak keeping all sorts of evil at bay. Groenkust, domains of the boat trees and the sea bordering with the Foxhole Woods, the Chestnut Wilds and the Strangers’ Coast; the most active places for woodwork, trading and combat training. In the north, there is the Miner’s Fever, a dangerous mountain pass of extremely irregular soil, but it is the zone preferred by miners to extract riches from the underground. Only veteran expeditions, well equipped and having soldiers at disposal, enter these regions to extract the most minerals, gems, and other resources. Sadly, due to permanent exploration, widespread use of dynamite and openings of the underworld, it has become more and more dangerous endeavor over time due to the access to monsters, eventual demons, and the monsters’ incursions. Somewhere in the dark below exist chambers of chaos where the power of magma reigns supreme, monster roam the tunnels in search for satiating their hunger. And at time, remnants of the Dread make themselves at home as cultist savages who see demons as their real masters.  The last area is the Low Woodlands, also near the border between Bulghardem and Greysdale. Although the Bulghardans tend to avoid foreigners, this ancient route is one of the few accepted as part of the kingdom. Still, all Palefoot travelers choose to rest and stay with their comrades in special inns, avoiding mingling with the population.

**Important Places**

**The Hero’s Statue:** A statue made of ageless bronze in remembrance of Tuvaic the Warbender; one of the greatest Ordic soldiers in the Sagas.  Most noted for his efforts in the Clash at Digset Summit. It is said that Tuvaic held an entire Dreadland platoon off at the foot of the mountain for several hours while the injured soldiers and supporting entourage escaped. Not only that, but it was crucial for the hordes to follow the dispersing army into Morymer’s Trap, because once the Dread had gone deep into the Ordic Bastion they were sealed off by the pure living forces of mages who channeled all their power into a permanent arcane lock. The barrier remains to this day but every year a little weaker. Those who know about this story say that eventually the dread will be able to come back to the overworld unless they are wiped off before the seals magic are dispersed.

**Fortress of the Ancients’:** Here is said to be where the ancient Brazen-Hearth soldiers sealed the Dreadlands off from the Overworld. Some say ancient powers and energies lie dormant in the stones. This is a prison for all evil forces that in the past tried to scourge the earth, but being their unrelenting force to great to annihilate, several powerful mages decided to bring about the forces of the dread to one of the greatest fortresses of the Palefoot. Due to the situation, only veteran adventurer’s who defy the Dread are recommended to go in, since the place is plagued with monster, traps, and many sorts of black magic. Outside the fortress, the place looks mostly abandoned by even animals and the vegetation is withered out.

**Skyforge:** At the top of the mountains, partially a cave and a small fort, the Palefoot have established an important mining and blacksmith operation outpost. Most rooms are natural cave chambers adapted to the necessities of the locale with some outside housing beyond the protecting there akawIt is not big, since most Palefoot prefer to live in farms, ranches, and cabins of their own territory, still it is a hub for trading and crafting. Most people say they have the cheapest prices on iron and tools, whereas food is the best item to sell since farming, foraging, and hunting are nor primary to the Skyforge’s identity. Many foreign rangers travel the zone collecting food for the community and sell it at a high price, not to mention the gains obtain by the exportation of spices. Whereas the prices for common equipment is cheap, the expenditures start when adventurers’ start looking for magical items that they find of good quality, but that are only bought by substantial money from auctions.

**Magma’s Forge:** Strange enough is to dare adventure to go deep into the earth, however there is stranger. Magma’s forge is a settlement in the middle of a enormous dungeon, the residents are in their majority mercenaries, sells words or adventurers attending for a good pay. The reason they are gathered in a stone barricade among magma cores, sharp stalactite and hard rock is because sits the most powerful natural forge made of obsidian rock. The most powerful weapons known to the overworld come from here, buy only the greatest blacksmith dare to work with it. This site is heavily guarded, and it is a precious place. To have access here, you must be extravagantly wealthy or be close to the high-ranking officers of Bulghardem. This place is ran by no other than the legendary Menervas, blackhammer.

**Important People**

* **Tuvaic the Fifth:** The strong bloodline of the old hero is preserved in the Palefoot community. Every oldest brother of the hero’s family generation is henceforth called Tuvaic, although each one very different to their predecessors, has inspired each one of them to be a superior citizen. The second Tuvaic was a class master blacksmith with a gallery of precious crafts, the third a renowned sailor of fortune with endless tales of the sea, and the fourth, still alive but in his golden years, a brew master able to create the Burning Ale; an almost essential alcoholic tonic able to keep all cold away.  The Fifth has gone back now to become the Warlord of Bughardem and has recruited the biggest army come back to root, training as a footman and getting ready to reclaim the Fortress of the Ancients’. Some say his campaign is unnecessary and suicidal. But his bravery in combat and charisma has raised way more supporters than detractors. In the region, his leadership is controversial, finding mort inhabitants cheering him and other condemning his boldness.

* **Menervas, the Blackhammer:** First lady to achieve the position of Great Master, she had to work hard in her rankings and show her worth beyond the stereotypes of a male dominated art. Contrary to most beauty standards, Menervas grew up to be tall, muscled bound and tough, leaving as her main feminine attribute a beautiful long ruby-colored haired that she carefully protects when in the foundry and eyes of pure ocean blue. She was the first female Blacksmith to pass all the arduous training, specially for the intervention of many trainers who established test that is required her to do more beautiful contorts in weapons, use more difficult to mold metals and to create her own instrumental assets.  Currently, she sits a top of the blacksmith masters and takes her time to arm Palefoot troops with intricate and beautiful armors.

* **The Expectant:** Old as the wars he once fought, the expectant has had innumerable name over the years, confusing himself by many different people over the eras. Yet, he is known to have witness the great events over the years. He was there during the fall of the great dragon. He was there when the flood started. He accompanied the Huma into the underworld and later helped them retake their land. He has been an adventurer, a soldier, a troubadour, a sage and even a fisher, but now in the oldest years of his immortality he just awaits. Unexpectedly, as the overworld was taken, revelations of the future made him change his allegiance and join the Dread efforts, as if in supporting the demons he was protecting something. As if he could see a better future, he helps keep the Dread activities under a veil of mystery and is known for destiny to talk to him.

**Dolvaine, the Dust-Scratcher:** A workaholic always tempering his multiple pickaxes against the rock-solid forms of the mountain caves, underworld, or rivers, Dolvaine is the most experience miner. Somehow, mining has become a way of life as complex as the tenets of many religions. He feels that becoming a miner, it is becoming someone who dares nature. Even though his advance age and small frame, he is one of the strongest people in Bulghardem, being known to carry myriads of gems, minerals and monsters’ remains on his back like there is no problem. He is also one of the wealthiest people to ever live, however he spends all his fortune in training new miners, keeping the tradition of old age alive, in quality instruments and making the town of Skyforge more prosperous. He is the accepted leader of the town as he complies with the two requisites for Palefoot: a wise age, leadership, and tradition.