Khondorth

The Dwarven fortress of Khondorth is within the Duskfar region, built into the side of the mountains on the western border. Khondorth is one of the largest civilizations within the region, offering security and stability to the region. There are approximately five thousand inhabitants.

### Government

Tuvrag Grasten is the king, and has been the king for 200 years. He inherited the title from his father, Doragnik. The Grasten family has maintained the title in Khondorth for millennia, ever since the kingdom was established by Kudoki Grasten. Khondorth used to be a minor civilization within the continent of Gahari, until 400 years ago when Doragnik Grasten extended the borders to include a caravansary and a teleportation circle, creating a formidable trade empire.

Khondorth is also the host of various yearly political summits between civilized races within Duskfar. The purpose of these councils is to negotiate trade contracts and to share information, for the good of the savanna. The races included at these summits include dwarves, tabaxi, and occasionally kobolds. Humans from King's Bay occasionally visit these summits as well, though they are capable of protecting themselves and may skip a year.

### Travel

The fortress contains a teleportation circle inside their caravansary, where all people entering and leaving the region are interviewed and frisked for any contraband. Contraband entering the region includes bombs, poisons, any magical items that pose a threat to the region, and any tomes relating to fiend worship, most notably the \*Grimoire of Yeenoghu\*. This is due to the overwhelming Gnoll population in the area which could become even more troublesome with this information.

Contraband leaving the region is slightly different; dire armadillo plates, gnoll hearts, and any live animal (specifically baby kangaroos) carry a heavy fine as well as imprisonment. Poisons are allowed through that have originated from creatures of the region. Diseased people are also not allowed to enter the region through the teleportation circle, and any diseases contracted within the Duskfar savanna must be treated before leaving, as some debilitating illnesses have been restricted to this territory.

Not only do the dwarves maintain the teleportation circle and migration, but they also serve as a control point for caravans across the region. These caravans within the Duskfar region are typically controlled by the Khondorth dwarves or the King's Bay humans, with some rare exceptions from civilizations that are deemed not profitable enough to maintain a caravan to.

### Religion

The Khondorth dwarves do not have a primary deity that they worship, they instead have followers of most lawful gods within their walls. There is not enough room within Khondorth to devote a temple to each deity, so there are instead two temples and one school; one for gods of natural phenomena and one temple for gods of industry and concepts.

The natural phenomena temple is within a grotto, with moss growing along the wall and a natural spring creating a pool. Glowing fungus also line the walls, creating light in the room. There are specific altars for each deity, with a small clergy for each specific god. This temple is used less than the temple of more industrialized gods, but each god represented within this temple has at least twenty followers.

The industrial temple is closer to a normal temple, but with careful craftsmanship and dedicated restoration teams. There are marble pillars within the room, with chiseled limestone lining the walls. Gold and silver are inlaid within the walls, creating intricate accents. Like the nature temple, each god of industry has a different altar. The goddess with the most following in this temple is Ardaru, due to the orderly nature of the dwarves.

### Diet

Khondorth Dwarves have a varied diet, consisting of all major food groups. Entire caverns are created within the mountain that are dedicated to mushroom growth, which is a common ingredient in their cooking. The caves have built-in shafts from the surface to allow air in, which also provides small amounts of sunlight to growing rooms for potatoes, carrots, and other tuberous vegetables. This sunlight is not sufficient for the growth of fruit or many other varieties of vegetable, which are grown outside. These farms are kept within the walls of the fortress, as without the walls the dwarves would have difficulties maintaining them.

Dwarven hunting parties are sent out into the savanna to gather wild fruits and hunt for meat, with dwarven favorites including wild swine and oryx. There have been attempts at domesticating these wild swine, but there is still debate about whether these swine are worth the cost of caring for them. Warthog and painted dog training programs have proven successful, and are being used by these hunting parties to track prey. Wild fruit trees are maintained by these parties, and are harvested as necessary for oranges, dragonfruit, and dritesnaps. Dritesnaps are an extremely bitter relative of the pear, which is usually used to produce the alcohol famous to the Khondorth known as \*Drape\*. Most fruits are imported through trade however, as Duskfar is not a great place to grow most fruits.

Water is a constant struggle within the region, but the dwarves have worked out a trade deal with humans in the King's Bay, wherein the dwarves receive water and the humans receive Grasten mined within Khondorth. If these plans fall through, the dwarves do have specially crafted wagons designed to hold 2000 gallons of water that can be driven to the ocean to collect saltwater to be purified. These trades are conducted weekly through the teleportation circle. These shipments do occasionally contain aquatic life, particularly crabs and flounder, which are a delicacy within dwarven culture.

### Scaly Presence

Kobolds are present within Khondorth, because they provide multiple benefits to the dwarves. The kobolds create traps for sections of the city that need extra protection, and also manage sewage systems. They also take over mining operations at night, when most dwarves are sleeping. Mining operations at night are watched over by a dwarven overseer, because the mining focus changes to gemstones and rare ore, as opposed to creating living space. Some of the more studious kobolds are put through dwarven schools.