Maleachiathi

Maleachiathi

Maleachiathi is north-east of Sercwinewold and Cometwight. It is north-west of Hotat Priors and south-west of New Walda. Its northern most tip straddles the Rhûnaer Ocean

### Inhabitants

Mostly Orcs

This mountain pass has been overrun by Orcs who are attempting to secure their freedom from past transgressions by building a highly fortified Orc stronghold with direct access to the eastern ocean.

## Description

Maleachiathi is a partially underground Orc village. The outside land and pastures are laboured to by slaves who tend to the crops and animals that feed the tribe.

Off the edge of the canyon, dangling across a three-hundred foot drop above white water rapids far below, jury-rigged wooden structures (strung together with silk rope, undoubtedly stolen from traders that pass through the canyon) jangle precariously in the wind. Cloth wrappings protect the structures from the elements.

Every encampment is divided along lines of worship. Those who revere Gruumsh, Ilneval, Bahgtru, and Luthic are given the best parts of the lair, while the followers of Yurtrus and Shargaas are relegated to the deep, dark recesses of the site, away from the rest of the tribe.

At the center of the camp is the tribe's war hearth. Once a war hearth is lit, the priests of Gruumsh keep it continually burning, for it represents the rage within Gruumsh's unblinking eye. The ores converge on the hearth to celebrate victory and to feast after a kill. If a tribe moves its camp, coals from the hearth are kept glowing within shells and pots so they can be used to start the war hearth at the new encampment.

### Main Chamber

The warriors that worship Gruumsh and Ilneval occupy the main area of the complex, a large cavern that has the war hearth at its center and a shrine to Ilneval along the perimeter. The focal point of the shrine is a blood-covered sword mounted on the wall.

The area also includes a pile of broken femurs that represents a shrine to Bahgtru. The worshipers of Bahgtru are mostly young, brash ore warriors, eager to prove their strength and bravery to the elders of the tribe. Even if space is available in the stronghold, they often live outside the entrance in crude bivouacs and roughshod fortifications, protecting their elders by guarding the stronghold's vulnerable spot.

Off to one side of the chamber, away from where the warriors are quartered, is the fighting pit, a sunken and fenced-off area where ores settle their differences or engage in contests of strength.

### War Chief's Quarters

Adjacent to the main chamber is the room where the war chief resides, holds council, and hands out blessings or punishments from Gruumsh. The best loot and trophies of triumph are piled in this room and considered to be the property of the chief. A fire, not as large as the war hearth, burns in its center.

Next to the chief's enclosed sleeping area is a shrine to Gruumsh consisting of a crude stone effigy of He Who Watches, surrounded by bloody offerings.

### Caves for Followers of Luthic

Ores who worship Luthic are sequestered in a cavern off the main chamber, where they protect the young and supervise food stores. These ores take control of prisoners brought back from raids, using them as slave labor to dig out new living space and do other menial tasks.

Most of Luthic's faithful reside in this area, close to the whelping pens where young ores are kept until they grow old enough to contribute to the tribe. When they're not being worked, slaves are housed in a small adjoining chamber and watched over by a group of cave bears that Luthic's worshipers keep as pets.

Many of Luthic's priestesses have their quarters in a nearby cavern that holds the tribe's shrine to Luthic. She is represented by a crude stone statue with claws covered in charcoal and a body smeared with red ochre.

### Caves for Followers of Yurtrus

Followers of Yurtrus reside on the threshold of where the deep area of the cavern system begins. They are the keepers of the dead, and the entrance to their realm is festooned with piles of bones and skulls. An altar to Yurtrus, made of stone with a hand painted in ash and tallow on it, stands in a cramped chamber apart from the main living area that is lined with skulls and bones.

### Caves for Followers of Shargaas

Followers of Shargaas dwell within the most remote area of the stronghold, immersed in darkness and feared by the rest of the tribe. The tribe's altar to Shargaas is a bloodstained rock.

The stronghold depicted in the map features a number of small passages that lead away from the depths of the lair and eventually provide egress to the surface. The members of the tribe's Shargaas cult, which call themselves the Red Fang of Shargaas, take advantage of these secret tunnels to raid the outside world and bring back prisoners.

The members of the Red Fang use giant, carnivorous bats as mounts, that allow them to gain silent access to any location. Those who think they can hide under cover of darkness or escape invisibly are easy marks for the Red Fang's bats, which locate their prey with highpitched clicks and shrieks, then swoop down and snatch up their prey with razor sharp claws.

Bat riders of the Red Fang return from their raids the same way they exited-through a crack in the cliff face far away from their lair. tunnel leads through layers of damp stone and crystallized minerals before eventually opening out into their subterranean domain. Captives are used as food for the brood of giant bats that roost in the rookery or are kept as slaves to be worked or used for barter.

## Orc Society

First and foremost, Orcs are a culture of warriors. The Ko’raha, or “life struggle”, is an integral part of Orcish culture and it is considered the most important part of every Orc’s life. It is understood as a life-long battle fought between an Orc and his environment, the enemies of his person and his people, and all other common hardships of Orcish life.

Competition and fighting are, thus, the staples of Orc life. Whether in our lands or in their own, they fight violently, often, and with everyone they can. Fighting outside of battle is often a ritualistic affair, to calm an Orc’s blood-lust and rage, though often it comes down to simply being angered by mistreatment or ignorance of Orcish ways.

Orcs do not regard gender as being of any importance, as is to be expected for a warrior culture. Women and men are equal in all respects and both are trained to fight from an early age. The only significant difference between the treatment of women and men is that women are allowed to retire from fighting temporarily to breed and raise children as a new generation of warriors. They are expected to return to battle when their children are grown and they cannot or choose not to bear more.

## Orcish Feasting and Cuisine

Orcs feast typically after the conclusion to a successful raid or during a ritual or marriage ceremony. Feasts are uncommon in Orc lands due to the scarcity of food amongst Orcish tribes.

Normal etiquette in feasts exists, though information we have on it is scant. It is clear that the chief is given the finest pieces or each meal prepared and the first course of every meal. Meals are typically shared between multiple persons and refusing to share is considered a great offense.

Fights or duels of honour are typically resolved during feasts, as are other personal matters between Orcs, such as marriage proposals. This may sometimes lead to situations where guests invited to the feast die or are severely injured. Regardless of beliefs or intent, it is considered rude to interrupt such fights.

Apart from this, there are no known concerns about behaviour during a feast, though all precautions should be taken to avoid being challenged to fight.

### Common Orc Beverages:

* Goat’s Milk – A common beverage served to slaves. Refuse if served, as drinking it diminishes your status.
* Sheep’s Milk – A beverage served to infant Orcs.
* Goat blood – A common Orcish beverage. May be difficult to drink.
* Orcish Ale – A very strong beverage brewed from a variety of barley, spices, fungus extract and the extracts of a certain fish.
* Mucus Wine – A very strong wine made from the mucus of a species of glow-worms that Orcs keep.
* Fungus Wine – A wine made from a mixture of fermented extracts of many species of cave fungus.

### Common Orc Food:

* Cheese – A common food for slaves. Refuse if served, as eating it diminishes your status.
* Fried Meat – A variety of meat, served hot and typically spiced with many varieties of spices. Eating it “with the skin turned black” is considered a show of good taste, as orcs prefer it well done.
* Jellied Meat – A cold dish of meat coated in a layer of glow-worm extract that provides an intoxicating spice and preserves the meat. Typically taken on journeys.
* Meat pie – Spiced pie served with meat.
* Roasted glow-worm – A hot dish of young glow-worm, with it’s skin cut open and it’s small amount of meat and organs exposed. The skin is poisonous and only the innards are eaten.
* Goat liver – A hot dish of goat’s liver. Similar to the Varian delicacy, though much spicier and much more cooked.
* Hra’shor – Spiced Orcish bread. Very filling and typically taken on journeys.

## Notable Locations

### Battle Pit

The Pit is a 50 ft. wide, 15 ft. deep underground arena used as a punishment for law breakers, political opponents and any others identified as dangerous individuals. The arena houses monsters that were deliberately mistreated and set loose upon lightly armed opponents. Either party or both might even find themselves poisoned before the competition. The winners of fights within the pit are set free, but such occasions are rare; the ogres, hill giants and other exotic monsters within typically dispense crude and brutal orc justice.

The only punishable crimes in the village are those perpetrated against powerful figures such as Chief and his advisors. The Chief, however, has the final decision on whether transgressors find themselves in the Pit and what they would face when they get there. The Pit is also used to settle disputes among citizens and these contests are invariably fought to the death.

## Notable Inhabitants

* Thrak Ragetooth (chief)
* (shaman)
* (lesser chief)

## Things to Find

1. Rusty, iron shackles that are human-sized are found lying in a small bush. They have traces of blood and skin on them.
2. Fat, skin, blood and bones from whatever game animals the orcs are eating discarded here and there.
3. Occasional pools of foamy, foul-smelling vomit containing indistinguishable chunks of either meat or bone.
4. Smashed crates and barrels from raided caravans and ships.
5. A fire pit burned down to glowing coals.
6. Numerous broken arrows and spear hafts litter the ground, along with the occasional shattered shield.
7. A felled tree with numerous branches of various sizes hacked off it blocks the main path.
8. Traces of orc blood and a few teeth from some minor brawl.
9. A 15' deep pit covered with a rectangularly-shaped, heavy wooden lattice work that serves as a place to keep prisoners of the clan.
10. One full and stinking latrine barrel for every 20 orcs in the band.
11. Dead goblin, halfling and/or kobold slaves.
12. Leather tanning racks with hides stretched out across them.
13. Discarded armor pieces and other assorted leather or clothing trash.
14. One yurt-like tent for every 2 orc warriors in the band.
15. A small anvil and a few simple smithing tools.
16. Clan totem poles or displayed banners in various colors.
17. Pony/mule hoofprints, deep wagon wheel ruts, and dung.
18. A simple altar to Gruumsh of the One Eye covered in burnt sacrificial blood.
19. Piles of decapitated, enemy heads arranged in unrecognizable patterns.
20. A weapons rack filled with wicked iron weapons for every 5 orc warriors in the band.