This is the tale of three adventurers (Haneul, Myeong, and Brian) from Baldur’s Gate who set out for the Spine of the World and turned the tide of a brutal war between the orcs of the Many Arrows tribe and the dwarves of Khundrukar.

In the city of Baldur’s Gate, three adventurers heard tales of a war in far away lands. They were Sulhwa the human wizard, Backee the thief of the orc tribe of Thook, and the half-orc paladin called Egg, a nickname given by Backee. Egg had recently returned from a pilgrimage in distant lands and joined Backee who was his childhood friend. These two were followers of the Rainbow God of the orcs. They were later joined by Sulhwa, who prophesied great deeds would be done by these orcs, and had therefore joined them in their plots and exploits despite his reservations. The three adventurers had met once more in a local tavern to discuss their next adventure, when they heard the rumors of a bloody conflict raging in the north.

Hidden away in the Spine of the World was the dwarven fortress of Khundrukar. This was the home of the dwarf forgemaster Durgeddin the Black, whose legendary orc-bane weapons brought the wrath of the Many Arrows orc tribe upon his people. The Orc King of Many Arrows had called upon all the tribes of the north to join him in a great siege upon Khundrukar. The war had raged for many months, but the defense of Khundrukar held firm. Now, both the dwarves and the orc tribes were calling for mercenaries to join their ranks, each side hoping to turn the tide of the war in their favor. The recruitment efforts had reached the ears of adventurers far to the south, even in the taverns of Baldur’s Gate.

Being of orcish descent, Backee and Egg were wroth at the stories of orc-bane weapons and the deaths of so many of their kin. They sensed that the Rainbow God was calling them upon an important quest. Therefore, they set out on a journey to the north to avenge themselves upon the dwarves and prove themselves in the halls of the Many Arrows tribe. Sulhwa, reluctant though he was to become embroiled in such a conflict, foresaw mighty deeds to be done by his companions, and therefore joined them on their quest.

The road to the Spine of the World was fraught with dangers. The adventurers encountered monsters on the way, fending off man-eating plants and giant spiders that lurked in the forests. When at last they reached their destination, they had gone through much of their provisions. There was no turning back—only the path forward remained.

The sky above the mountain known as the Stone Tooth was darkened, not by natural clouds but instead by the endless smoke churning forth from the secret chimneys of the forges of Khundrukar. The smoke blackened the sky so that no sunlight touched the earth. Whatever trees had remained in the landscape were withered husks on the sunless plain. Yet even the barren earth could not be seen, for it was covered with the dead stretching as far as even Gruumsh’s one eye could see. Most of the dead were orc warriors, but there were not a few dwarves among them. Such were the heaping mounds of corpses that they choked all the passes leading to the great mountain door of Khundrukar.

Surrounding the plains of the dead was an equally impressive city of tents and pavilions. This was the massive encampment that housed the orc horde whose ranks were beyond counting.

Despite their great numbers, the orc siege appeared to be at a stalemate. The orc tribes were summoning all their kindred in the surrounding regions, but no matter how many the orc horde could muster, they could not get through the mountain passes that were now choked with the bodies of the slain. And even if they could, the mountain door of Khundrukar was fortified and heavily defended. Some other approach was needed, but the orc warlords did not know what road they should take to breach the mountain walls of Khundrukar.

The adventurers from Baldur’s Gate entered the orc encampment, and straightaway they demanded an audience with the Orc King of the Many Arrows tribe.

The audience was granted, and they soon met the Orc King in his great pavilion. He was surrounded by elite warriors wearing ragged bandanas which were the mark of the king’s personal guard. At the king’s side was his fearsome great sword, and around his neck was a necklace bearing the long and ragged tooth of a dragon he had reportedly slain.

The wizard Sulhwa spoke in the party’s behalf and pledged to find a path through the plain of piled corpses so that the war could be won, for he believed that his prophecy foretold that his orc companion Backee would save the Many Arrows tribe from this brutal and endless war.

But the Orc King had other designs in mind. He had invited these adventurers into his pavilion not for their service or advice, but to serve as entertainment for his followers to distract them from the failures of the war effort. The orc soldiers of Many Arrows took the three adventurers captive and cast them out beyond the front lines of the battlefield, leaving them to slink away or die in the barren wasteland of death.

Yet the three hearty adventurers were not so easily dismayed. With their remaining provisions, they scoured the landscape in the hopes of finding a secret entrance into the halls of Khundrukar so that they might prove themselves to the Orc King and his tribe.

However, many more days passed in the wasteland without avail. The adventurers found nothing that could help them win the king’s favor. When at last their hope and their provisions had nearly run out, the adventurers made a startling discovery.

A team of five dwarf commandos were approaching the orc encampment by night. The adventurers secretly followed them back into the tent city. In their own efforts to sneak back into the encampment, the adventurers lost sight of the dwarves, but they heard rumors of dead orcs on nighttime guard duty whose armor and weapons had been stolen. The orc soldiers thought little of it, being in the middle of a brutal war. But the adventurers knew better. From overhearing these reports, they realized that the dwarf commandos must have slain several orc warriors and donned their armor. The dwarves were likely trying to sneak even deeper into the heart of the encampment. 

The objective of the dwarves became clear. They were on a mission to kill the Orc King! If the king were to be slain, the fragile alliance of the tribes under the leadership of Many Arrows would disintegrate and the siege would be lifted. Backee and Egg could not let that happen!

Not knowing where the dwarves could be found, the adventurers laid in ambush near the Orc King’s pavilion which was guarded by a pair of tall orcs. They watched as a group of three short and stout warriors in orcish armor approached the guards outside the pavilion, seemingly offering to relieve them of their post. But from the darkness, two shadows appeared behind the orc guards, and the three newcomers cast off their disguises. Together, the five dwarves easily brought down the two orc guards, who were ambushed and outnumbered. Then they rushed into the pavilion. 

But the adventurers were waiting for this moment. Now was their chance!

Sulhwa the wizard shouted in a great booming voice, “Dwarves! The dwarves are here!”

A cry went up that pierced the night, as Sulhwa’s warning was taken up by the orcs of the horde. Then the adventurers rushed into the pavilion behind the dwarves.

They found the Orc King, alone and unarmored, but wielding his great sword. He was confronted by the dwarf commandos who had him in their sights. The Orc King had been restless during the night—his own natural survival instincts kept him on high alert—but the wizard’s cry had fully roused him from his sleep. He had only enough time to grab his great sword before the dwarves were upon him. The dwarves were startled by the wizard’s cry and the shouts that were echoing across the orc encampment. They knew that they had precious little time before the orcs swarmed into the pavilion and fell upon them. They did not waste another second. They lunged forward and rushed toward the Orc King. And just as quickly, the adventurers fell upon the dwarves in the king’s defense.

Sulhwa cast a spell of geomancy that caused the earth to collapse beneath one of the dwarves, causing the warrior to sink and become trapped momentarily. Another dwarf was brought down by Backee’s dagger, poisoned with snake venom. A third dwarf was confronted by Egg the paladin who engaged in fierce close quarters combat. Yet two dwarves remained unharassed, and these warriors fell upon the Orc King, flanking him from either side.

Though he was unarmored, the king was no meek warrior. With a mighty swing of his great sword, he cleaved one of the dwarves in twain. But the other dwarf flanked him from behind and swung his dwarf mace.

With the help of Sulhwa’s magic missiles hurled from a distance, Egg brought down the dwarf in front of him. But he was gravely wounded by the orc-bane mace wielded by his opponent. These were indeed fell weapons forged by the smiths of Durgeddin the Black in the smoldering heart of Khundrukar. 

However, when Egg turned to look at the Orc King, he was horrified to see that the king, who was turning to face his attacker, had been mortally wounded. The back of his skull was broken, and grey oozing lumps fell from the gaping crack made by an orc-bane mace.

Egg had no time to think. He rushed toward the Orc King, even as the king swung his great sword wildly, catching Egg in his side. The great sword cleaved through Egg’s armor and flesh, nearly spilling his innards. Egg held in his organs with one arm and reached down with his remaining hand, scooping up the grey matter that had fallen out of the Orc King’s skull. Swiftly but firmly, he returned them to their rightful place inside the Orc King’s head. From his hand, there issued a blinding flash of rainbow light. Beneath the paladin’s hand laid upon the king’s head, both bone and flesh had been restored. The king was once again whole. His eyes were full of wrath, and they fell upon the dwarf that had brained him. With another swing of his great sword, the dwarf’s head flew across the pavilion.

Still one dwarf remained, who had been briefly entrapped by Sulhwa’s spell. This dwarf was a sly warrior and a crafty sapper. In a very short time, he had dug through the earth and popped up again, emerging behind the Orc King. He was ready to brain the king a second time, but Backee the thief was ready for him. He hurled his last poisoned dagger and caught the fifth and final dwarf in the eye, bringing him down at last.

When orc reinforcements arrived, they found the Orc King alone with the three adventurers, surrounded by dead dwarves. The Orc King admonished his warriors and announced the newest addition to his personal guard. A cheer went up in the orc encampment as the king’s saviors became honored members of the horde.

Sulhwa, Backee, and Egg were invited to the inner war council of the Many Arrow’s tribe. Their plan to unearth a secret entrance to Khundrukar was shared with the other warlords. Soon, a great number of orc sappers were dispatched into the countryside to find a hidden passage, and in time they did. The orcs worked in secret to penetrate Khundrukar’s greatest defense—the mountain wall itself. At last, they dug a tunnel into the heart of the dwarf stronghold. When the passage was ready, the horde swarmed into the earth like water through the inner chambers of an anthill. The orcs raged through the halls of Khundrukar and slew all the dwarves they could find. 

Durgeddin himself was rumored to have been killed in the depths of the dwarven halls, though no orcs who had witnessed his final moments returned to tell the tale. So fearful were the orcs of Durgeddin the Black that the place where he had made his last stand was sealed away with fell oaths by the one-eyed priests of Gruumsh.

The three adventurers who had made the victory possible were hailed as heroes by the orcs of Many Arrows. In time, Egg the paladin became the Orc King’s right hand, heir to his legendary great sword and the mantle of leadership over the entire tribe. In time, the line of Egg gave rise to future leaders among the orcs, including the legendary King Obould Many Arrows. Backee the thief was restless and set off on new adventurers, inspired by visions from the Rainbow God. The orcs bestowed upon Backee a ragged bandana in honor of the thief’s wartime achievements. Sulhwa, for his part, was satisfied that his prophecy about his orc companion had been fulfilled. He did not remain among orcs, but he too was granted an honor from the Orc King himself, who gave the wizard the dragon’s tooth necklace around his neck. Sulhwa went on to live a long and studious life, but many looked askance at the wizened wizard in later years when he was sometimes visited by orcs that brought gifts and treated him like a war hero.

So ended the tale of three adventurers whose deeds turned the tide of an orc siege and sealed the fate of the dwarves of Khundrukar. But what became of the treasures hidden in the deepest parts of the stronghold that the orcs never reached? That is a tale for another time…