Kulkodar

*"The Kolkadar Kingdom once home to the orc tribe of Kolkadar, now home to king Kifirus, long may he reign." ~ carving at the gates of Kulkodar*

Kulkodar is a steep, rocky mountain with an abundance of sheer cliff faces and jagged peaks. Its summit is notable because winding around the spire of rock is the skeletal remains of an immense lizard-like beast of unknown origin and history. This enormous skeleton was once the seat of a thriving goliath civilization that carved out rooms and chambers from the bone and used it to craft weapons and works fo art. The word "kulkodar" is an Alivastian orc term meaning "body of a dragon".

## History

Centuries ago, Kulkodar was once home to an orc tribe of the same name. They were eventually defeated and replaced by goliaths and the location became the seat of a prosperous goliath kingdom until it was abruptly destroyed by Raunfalt under the control of Stillhavity. The inhabitants carved their palace from the bone of the creature and ice and stone of the mountain. They used hides to bridge the gaps between bone and covered the empty eye-sockets with large disks of brass. The settlement had areas for living space, livestock, and ceremonial areas.

One section was decorated with carvings depicting the history of the goliaths in habitants. The carvings show genealogy of the goliaths' herd and names and deeds of notable members as well as events from their history, particularly the deeds of their last king, Kifirus. Kifirus wielded a massive glaive, and the carvings depicted him slaying a white dragon, defeating orcs, and one particular passage even had the legend *"Forsooth the day that Kifirus brought down the great frost salamander."*

Another carved section depicted the sky castle of Raunfalt and goliath warriors raising their weapons in honor of the sky giant king. The goliaths apparently had a good relationship with Raunfalt until his corruption by Stillhavity when he came to Kulkodar and massacred the inhabitants, leaving the spirits of the slain trapped in their desire for revenge and unable to move on. King Kifirus locked himself in his throne room and threw himself on the blade of his glaive, killing himself, though it was unclear why someone of such great deeds would choose suicide over facing Raunfalt.

Kifirus' throne room was sealed with a door that required three keys in the form of carved figurines to open. These keys needed to be placed to align with three clues that corresponded to the races the figurines depicted and gives clues to how the goliaths of Kulkodar viewed them.

Orc - *The one that defies the long sleep to continue to sink their teeth into battle, whose eyes command fire and conquest.*

Human - *The one that endures all things and no things, the one who surrenders to steel crowns and items of insignificance.*

Goliath - *The one whose blood of stone and marks of faith ring true, whose strength excels beyond, who live in the belly of the beast.*

### Rediscovery

The Unexpectables rediscovered Kulkodar when they were hunting frost salamanders. They were guided to the mountain by Stir Viletusk who called it a cursed place avoided by her clan and she did not accompany them to the summit. They were not the first immigrants to find the mountain stronghold. They found the frozen remains of an unknown dwarven treasure hunter but accidentally mutilated the body so badly that their identity may never be known. An expedition of Hoketh clergy has been dispatched to the site to put the dead to rest as well as preserve the site for the study of its history.

The Unexpectables brought back a substantial amount of treasure from the mountain, including many cultural artifacts.

* Several longswords and daggers made from bone as well as several dozen bone-tipped arrows
* Kifirus' glaive and crown
* 10 clay urns of snowberry wine
* Winterfang, Bane of Tilduk - an exquisitely jeweled bone sword
* A feathered robe lined with rabbit fur - garb worn by a bride in a wedding ceremony
* A set of scale mail made from bone plates - non-magical, but surprisingly light and silent
* Winter wolf cloak with bone spikes

## Trivia

* The goliaths of Alivast have more splotchy markings compared to the regular, linear markings of Tracadian goliaths.
* Keggu of the White Snow and her brothers are distant descendants of the Kulkodar kingdom. They are now part of the Iron Claw orc tribe.