Triumph

The absurdly-named castle, Triumph, is of very recent construction. There are stone quarries nearby, and Ivid commanded slave laborers, criminals, and serfs to toil night and day to build it. The castle walls bear great carvings showing Ivid's imagined military triumphs in the Nyrond campaign, but the castle itself was shoddily built (the laborers having no building skills), and one of the four towers is already beginning to show signs of collapse.

The garrison commander, Gregern Damarain, is charged with assembling the villagers of Wendarn on the first Starday of each month to re-enact some victory from the war, which Ivid views with a crystal ball. Gregern has learned from bitter experience that, however faithfully he tries to do this, Ivid usually despatches a force of some 50 Companion Guard to execute some of the participants for not meeting his requirements.

Gregern and most of his men would have deserted and fled north long ago if not for the ownership of a ring of human control by the castle's resident senior priest of Hextor, who also possesses a magical rod which can summon and command an aerial servant for 12+2d12 hours, once a week. Escape attempts are thus futile.

The priest, Ratikinn Durvan, protects himself with a force of 10 orogs and 20 orcs who prowl around Triumph as if they own the place. The human soldiers here, some 300 in total, are close to mutinying and rising up to slay the orcs, but one initial abortive attempt to do this simply resulted in 22 slain soldiers and an extra defensive phalanx of zombies around the priest. Anyone slaying Ratikinn would earn the loyalty of Gregern and his men; they are evil, but most are Lawful, and if they pledged service they would be true to their word.