Kendragund

Kendragund is a monstrous, squat, four-towered castle with a stone wall. It marks the site of Iuz's first great step in the conquest of his lands–forcing the Urzun orcs to serve him. Old orcish shamans within the castle still tell the young of Iuz's first arrival here with a force of fiends, and the mighty magic he displayed to the orcs. Fiends and enslaved giants erected the stone walls of the castle complex in one day and night, and even the orcs were impressed. This great fortress of over 5,000 orcs is proud and arrogant. It guards the entry to the northern passes and each square tower boasts a huge catapult with a pair of ballistae.

The orog chieftain here, Kreshenk, is a monstrous, battle-scarred war veteran of the Furyondian campaigns with the strength of a hill giant. With Iuz's resident senior priest Sverdlin and the mage Zuberin residing in Kendragund, both discipline and morale are well maintained. Zuberin plays a key role in the giant-capturing activities of the Urzun soldiery, by providing magical restraints in the form of iron bands of Bilarro, a giant-sized net of entrapment, and charm monster spells. Sverdlin uses detect charm spells to ensure that captured giants stay loyal to Zuberin and also makes sure the Urzun don’t go marauding into places where they shouldn't. Kendragund has some 600 human and demihuman slaves, none of which are dwarves or gnomes. Many are Furyondian or Highfolk natives kept as hostages or for ransom. Others suffer a more unpleasant fate, such as being thrown into the battle amphitheater, where they have to bare-handedly fight a manticore with clipped wings, a captured hill troll, or an owlbear from the Vesve. The Urzun are cruel and brutal, and delight in such pleasures.

Kendragund orcs patrol the passes which lead from this point or make forays to recruit or wipe out "free” humanoids. Powerful orogs are dispatched on giant and even troll-capturing expeditions. The strongest orogs are also used for strikes against fomorians. In addition, the soldiery forms a reserve for the western and northern keeps and provides escorts for priests travelling from this citadel.