* Restricted Information: Dwarves only
The Mountains of the Dwarves (Khazād-Valga in Khuzdul, the language of Dwarves) lie due North East of Mount Anar, and stretch for some 1500 to 2000 miles (the distance between the vertical gridlines in the above map is 400 miles) from the shores of Dwarf Bay in the South West to the Wall at the Edge of the World in the far North East. The main range consists of the Taramkhazād-Valga in the South West, rising to over 20,000 feet, and the great snow-covered peaks of the Gabilkhazād-Valga to the North East, rising to over 30,000 feet. North of the Taramkhazād-Valga runs a line of active volcanoes, an important source of coal for Dwarven industry, which separates the fertile valley of the Gaprillīki to its East from the Desolate Coast to its West. South of the Taramkhazād-Valga lie the mountains of the Gasrāk, rising to some 10,000 to 15,000 feet. South of the Gabilkhazād-Valga a connecting ridge joins the great Mountains of the East, separating the Jungle from the lands of the Kayani. Where the Gabilkhazād-Valga fall away towards the Wall is known as the Kum-Valga (Mounts' End), which rises again in the Underworld beyond the Wall as the Mountains of Flerrig.
The Gabilkhazād-Valga is the Kingdom of the Mountain Dwarves (Gabilkhazād in Khuzdul), ruled by the King of All the Dwarves from the great underground fortress-city of Gabilkhazād-Dūm. Mountain Dwarves are also to be found at the adventurer fort of Dwarf Hold (Gathol-Dvįlin in Khuzdul) on Mount Anar and there are Mountain Dwarven sailors at Barrakizdīn. The Mountain Dwarves are very Lawful, and are great SARAN worshippers. They are also noted Demon Summoners (unlike in the Valdrean Empire, there is no ban on Demon Summoning amongst the Dwarves). The Gabilkhazād-Valga is the source of all (some say most) mithril, the strong but light and flexible metal from which the Dwarves forge the finest weapons and armour. The King of All the Dwarves has a legal monopoly on mithril: only he may own it, and anyone else requires a Royal Licence to mine or exploit it.
The Taramkhazād-Valga is the Kingdom of the Hill Dwarves (Taramkhazād in Khuzdul), ruled by the King of the Hill Dwarves from the underground fortress-city of Taramkhazād-Dūm, second only to Gabilkhazād-Dūm. The other main Hill Dwarven towns are the black city of Tumunzahar, a coal-mining town on the edge of the volcanic belt, and the port of Barrakizdīn on Dwarf Bay. There is an isolated colony of Hill Dwarves in Flerrig in the Underworld. The King of the Hill Dwarves owes fealty to the King of All the Dwarves, sworn years ago in the Pact that finally settled the Dwarf Wars. The Hill Dwarves were never actually defeated in those wars, and maintain they simply agreed to the Pact to prevent two races of SARAN-worshippers from fighting each other. But after a few drinks the old rivalries can surface again.
The Petty Dwarves or Gnomes (Gizdīm in Khuzdul) dwell in scattered villages across the Gasrāk and its foothills, and around the fringes of the Khazād-Valga in Gaprillīki, the Kum-Valga and Flerrig in the Underworld.. Isolated families farm and hunt in the forests and grasslands to the South East. The Gnomes are independent-minded, and have no king. But so far as the Mountain Dwarves are concerned the Gnomes too are vassals of the King of All the Dwarves, and most villages pay their tribute when the King's tax collectors or press gangs arrive in force.
The main trade route through the Khazād-Valga is the Dwarf Road, a well-engineered paved road that connects the main cities mentioned above, with numerous hairpins and tunnels on the climbs. Lesser roads and mountain tracks conect to other settlements, with tunnels to those built underground. On the main roads ox carts or mule or yak trains are used to move goods. Off the main roads the best ways to get around are on foot or mounted on domesticated Giant Goats.
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