Since the dawn of time, say the priests of the Small Demons, the Troglodytes
had dwelled in the dwarven halls of the Mountain of Fire. Pickings were
rich and the dwarves - "fat and complacent" - easy prey for a few well armed
Trog hunters. Then the wizard came from the south and the dwarves fell
before him. Great in his evil, he scoured the halls for recruits and the
Trogs suffered under his bullying minions. One clan, led by the devious
Akhuz of the Golden Spear, fled the Mountain of Fire, across the plain
of green blades.
Here, the clan came across a faint stench of evil wafting
up from an outcrop of rock and Akhuz investigated, discovering an ancient
crypt. They took up residence and the Clan of Akhuz was born, a warren
of tunnels infesting a dank backwater room of the crypt. They were not
alone however, for haunting the central tomb was an evil malicious spirit
that the Clan soon learned to avoid. In addition, numerous beasts wandered
in from the waving green blades, making their lairs in other rooms, and
if this wasn't enough, the occasional Big Folk ventured into the stone
chambers, killing some of the resident creatures but causing the Trogs
to seek shelter in their tunnels. The most powerful of these Big Folk,
a bearded sorcerer with a gilded staff, came across Akhuz one day, who
was out on a solo hunting expedition, back in the days when Ilkya the Hag
was but an apprentice priestess. Akhuz, confidently brandishing his Golden
Spear, challenged the sorcerer and was slain for his troubles. His magical
spear was lost and the tribe floundered under a series of despotic chieftains
following his death.
The latest in this long line of ratbrained tyrants
is Chief Vurg, an old yet ruthless Trog of ever-increasing girth. His last
dictate was to send the three greatest heroes (some would say Vurg’s three
greatest rivals) on an expedition to explore the nether reaches of the
crypt in a bid to recover the Golden Spear, that Vurg claimed to have seen
in a holy vision. These heroes, Bosha the Bad, Gazoul, and Kursh Notch
Ear, failed miserably, with only the now insane Gazoul returning, screaming
about flaming eyes and magical rings. He disappeared shortly after, presumed
drowned in the Well.
YOU are Skuznut, the fourth greatest hero of the Clan
of Akhuz, although somewhat given over to drunkenness following the deaths
of your comrades, and your mission is simply to survive a day in the life
of a failed, has been Trog warrior.
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