Zraz Arkord Stronghold

Deep in the forest of Shadewood Shadewood, in the side of a cliff face, there lies a deep crack, formed over many years from a river that no longer flows. the Crack opens up approximately half-way up the cliff and is completely blocked by a massive gate with two guards out the front. The structure within the stronghold consists mostly of a single thoroughfare which divides into smaller cracks following the natural formation of the fissure with minimal working from the residents.   The Orcish stronghold of Zarz Arkord houses almost entirely orcs and half-orcs. These people are particularly distinctive due to the arms and armour they possess. While the stronghold boasts a number of weaponsmiths, armoursmiths and blacksmiths, due to the rarity of iron in Shadewood, the most prized artisansin the stronghold are the bonesmiths. The armour of most of the orcs and half-orcs are comprised primarily of the bones and other remains of the creatures of the forest, with the natural magic of the corpses being augmented with the specialized magical rituals of the bonesmiths. This results in the armour being hardened to have the same durability as the finest steel. Most of the weapons wielded by the warriors of Zraz Arkord are made of iron, with bone hilts but some very few are made of the bones, claws, fangs and talons of the creatures of the Shadewood   The residents of the Zraz Arkord rarely interfere with Ashenport Ashenport. They have an uneasy relationship with he people of Ashenport; They often avoid the people there, so long as they don't cause trouble for the Zraz Arkord. They are just as likely to raid a merchant caravan as they are to help lost travelers in Shadewood.