#wrothgar

I arrive upon the icy tundra plains of the Shatul Range to find a stronghold in a state of dismay and disarray. The clan's chief lies stricken upon his deathbed, fatally wounded defending his people from a vicious giant. Usually the clan’s warriors would keep the giants and other wild beasts at bay, but having suffered great loses of late to Winterborn raids, the chief was forced to take up the mantle himself to protect his hunters and farmers, only to find himself betrayed by old age.

The King of Orsimium had suspected disloyalty behind the reason why the Shatul clan had not sent the food that had been promised to help feed his flowering city. Kurog however sees conspiracy behind every failure and contradiction, when perhaps what he truly should be worried about are those who tell him just what he wants to hear.

The chiefs eventual death leaves two candidates vying for succession, one considered strong of body but weak of will, whilst the other, hiding behind a mask, turns out to be Chief's daughter Ushruka, returning from exile.

Traditionalists will tell you that Orcs will never follow a female, even though throughout the history of men and mer Queens have proven themselves the equal of Kings; though in truth to be considered just equal they have often had to be better. Sure, there will be some of a stubborn age who may bulk at the idea of a female clan chief, but if they want meat upon the tables through the coming winter then they had best quickly get used to the idea.

And for those Chief's joining the upcoming King's moot who would vocally oppose Ushruka’s reign, I would strongly advise them to do it from a distance.

Deep within the foothills of the Wrothgarian mountains lies a hidden Reachman lair known to the locals as the Coldperch Caverns. The remote cave system serves the Winterborn as a perfect base from which to launch raids upon the Northern roads out of Orsinium, and the hunting ranges of the Shatul tribe. But the caves are also home to another savage that even the Winterborn Reachmen fear. At its heart stands an alter belonging to a fearsome hagraven named Kraala Birdsong who is believed to have the power to transform both men and mer into birds to serve her. Indeed, her victims are not only the unlucky Orsimer who wander too close to the foothills, but also the Reachmen themselves.

It was a wood elf egg merchant back in Morkul who first tasked me to venture into these caves. He claimed that whilst he usually only deals in goose, kwama, loon, and spider eggs, the bird eggs found in Coldperch Caverns, whilst unnatural, are special and highly sought after.

I head into the caverns with the sole purpose of killing the hagraven and hopefully discovering a way to turn the birds back into people. But what of the eggs I find, even the wood elf admitted that they are an abomination? Some people believe that those who profit from a rotten deed are as culpable as the evil doer themselves. Yet the egg collector would argue that the Hagraven will do what it does whether he profits from it or not. Instead of fulfilling the merchants order, I could just leave the unnatural eggs with the Winterborn, or perhaps I could smash them all.

When every answer seems wrong, and there seems no lessor evil, I usually find it most prudent to go with the one that pays the most.