During the weeks that led up to the Expedition's arrival in Zigilgund, much had transpired. The party heard rumors of a Dourhand uprising, seen evidence of the orc Crugzag's presence and nearly run out of food on several occasions. Thanks to Thirdal's skills in tracking, accuracy and swiftness with his bow, the party did not go hungry for long. It was the rumors and sightings of Crugzag that worried them most. So, in a state of worry and dismay, the members of the Zigilgund Expedition finally arrived at their destination.
Paying their respects to the leaders of Zigilgund, the expeditionaries set up camp and rested for the night. As the sun set and fires lit, they conversed and shared memories of the Order and all that had transpired since the Founding. Dagdalin seemed rather distant, though he participated in the discussions and shared his own memories. One by one, the dwarves wandered off to bed or simply fell asleep where they were. Brotis was the first to wake and began the day by starting breakfast cooking and waking the others.
After breakfast was over and cleaned up, Dagdalin called the dwarves together to plan what they would do about the Dourhands that had taken over the mines and how they would deal with Crugzag should the orc show himself. After several hours of lively and even argumentative discussion, it was decided the dwarves would storm the Mines and clear them out. Crugzag would be dealt with when he came, if indeed he did show up. The dwarves put on their armor and gathered their weapons and made for the Mines. This would be a day to go down in history, regardless of what happened below the snow covered surface.
When the dwarves entered the mines, it was eerily quiet. Not a Dourhand was in sight, though the Expeditionaries saw their handiwork everywhere in the graffiti covered walls and trash piles. The graffiti condemned the Longbeards as dictators and ill tempered drunks, which the party knew to be lies. Thirdal found evidence of a hidden path that the Dourhands had recently opened and it seemed likely recently taken to hide from the invaders. Dagdalin and Thirdal led the party through the passage as they looked for any sign of their quarry. After a few hundred feet, the dwarves saw a haggard group of Dourhand dwarves gathered in a large room that made them all appear even shorter and smaller than they were. Dagdalin called a halt and asked who was the leader of the Dourhand's group. One stepped forward, introducing himself as Innabar, cousin to the late Harrowtin leader, Dwargrimgar. The Expeditionaries fumed at this, and before Dagdalin could stop them, they charged into the gathered Dourhands, killing most of them outright. A few survived the initial onslaught, though they were gravely injured and it was soon clear they would not survive long. As the party regained their collective composure, they looked to Dagdalin for what to do next. He ordered them to make the injured dwarves as comfortable as they could so that they could answer for why they'd taken Zigilgund's mines and caused so much hurt to the dwarves who resided there.
This took up the remains of the day, and most of the next day. It was learned that after Harrowtin's defeat in Ered Luin, the Dourhands had lost everything left to them in Middle Earth and had no place to go. It was decided that Innabar would lead a group to Zigilgund to offer to work the Mines for the dwarves there. When the residents of Zigilgund refused them, Innabar's party took the mines by force and began to raid the city for supplies. When the Zigilgund dwarves realied they could not withstand such an assault alone, they sent word to Dagdalin, Torbor and Thirdal, asking for aid. Thus the Expedition was formed and set out for the north.
Once the Expeditionaries were satisfied with the answers they'd gotten from the Dourhands, they began to dispatch their former foes. A few objected to this, but as Dagdalin pointed out, the Dourhands were going to die from their wounds anyway. It was a mercy to end their lives now rather than to let them die in agony. Once this was done, the Dourhands were entombed in an unused cavern that was afterward sealed off and marked as a tomb. The party returned to Zigilgund and reported on what transpired and all they'd done and learned. The leaders of the city thanked the party and set out a feast in their honor as all rested and reflected on the events of the last few months.
The next day, it was decided that the Expedition would head home so that they might return before winter arrived in Ered Luin. Before preparations were complete, a commotion was heard at the gates to Zigilgund. The dwarves rushed to see what was going on, and soon saw what had stirred up the guards...Crugzag had turned up, calling for the dwarves of Khuzd Belkur. Stepping forward, Dagdalin asked what the orc wanted of them. Crugzag responded with a challenge of a fight to the death in the mines. The huge orc wanted to take on all of them at once. Even with as big as he was, ten dwarves would be difficult to overcome. Why would he do this? The dwarves were suspicious, but they accepted the challenge. Rushing to grab their armor and weapons once again, they met Crugzag deep in the Mines, near a deep pit.
((To be continued...))
