The Anvil of a People

Durad-Om is the birthplace of the dwarves, long thought to be hidden under the Antillayan Range. Yet a band of dwarven explorers, headed by Orfko-Mount-Phalden, seems to believe that they may find it far to the north, in the Ki-Rin Ridge.

The party heard a different story from Gremoira, a leader among the elves patrolling the valley. He described Durad-Om as a place that is sacred to elves as well as dwarves, and that the tales say that it would be ruinous to allow any mortal to enter it. He claimed to not know more than that; the true secrets of the place are kept by the Iorvethen’s elders. He offered to petition the elders on behalf of the party so they might learn more.

In the meantime, he has a message for Lónghua. He asked the party to create a diamond-tipped, spruce- or birch- shafted arrow with its fletching tied by horse hair, and for it to be delivered to the prefect. He said she would know what it meant, and he wished to know what she would say.

When the party delivered the message, Lónghua explained that it was a physical symbol of The Old Pact, its physical materials symbolizing the united peoples who had fought off the Lord of Agony, and that Gremoira’s was received and understood… but that the party would seek out Durad-Om nonetheless.

When the party finally located Durad-Om, they encountered Hialathar and learned much to resolve these questions. Durad-Om is the birthplace of the Dwarves, it is true, but it is also a tomb and a memorial to the garrison that occupied it and defended it in the War for Morning—many of whom were elves. This also makes it the final resting place of Tormus-Iliath, the Wanderer, which makes it a place of sanctity and power, a place worth defending.

How will Orfko and hits attendants react to this news? Can the elves be convinced to allow them passage?