Prelude: The Reclaiming of Karak Varn

Down in the great dwarf hold of Zhufbar, the king and his council have decided now is the time to reclaim the lost hold of Karak Varn for Karag Angor. Ever since its fall to the night goblins and skaven multiple attempts have been made to regain control of the hold and its gromril mines, but these have had limited success. Now the king of Zhufbar has decided to throw his hold’s full weight behind the effort and has called for any of the hold's lords and thanes who wish to volunteer their resources.

Leading one of the spearheads in this effort is Thane Volgrim Jormgard Thorinson, first son of Lord Thorin, lord of the Blackstone clan of Zhufbar, a clan that traces much of its ancestory to Karak Varn. Thane Volgrim’s first task given him by Thorin is to establish a staging camp near Karak Varn where Lord Thorin hopes to receive those dwarfs under his command and any others that can be recruited to the cause. Volgrim chooses a site near Dukor Garungi, a mine once run by Volgrim’s great-grandfather on his mother’s father’s side, with the purpose of reopening the mine to help finance their cause.

While the thane’s vanguard army continues construction of the base camp in the valley near the mine, Volgrim discovers to his displeasure that his great-grandfather’s mine is already being worked. Men from the small town of Strausbruck in Stirland, about a half a day’s ride on horseback away, have set up a small mining operation within the seemingly abandoned site, known to the men of Stirland as Boulder Pass Mine. Volgrim remains optimistic though, surely the men will recognize his claim to the ancient dwarf mine….