Executioner

The settlements near the Eastern Range all live in fear of the Executioners, massive, armor-clad giants that occasionally descend from the mountains to spread butchery and slaughter. No one knows where these creatures originate, and though many have suggested that they are the result of some twisted ritual deep in the bowels of Rul-Anuk, even the slaving Dwarves of that great stronghold stridently resist efforts to blame them for the existence of these relentless killers.

Executioners show up in a town without warning, killing as many of its inhabitants as possible before disappearing back toward the East, into the mountains, never to be seen again.

In reality, Executioners are giants, members of an insular tribe in the heart of the mountains, known as the Bonecarvers, who consider themselves superior to the lowland folk in every way. As their young come of age, they are equipped with an Executioner's garb and sent out into the lowlands to prove their courage and ruthlessness in battle, rewarded for each skull they bring back to the tribe.

For generations, the Bonecarvers have eyed Rul-Anuk with jealousy. One day they plan to assault the Dwarven stronghold en masse, taking for their own what they consider to be a home more suited to their racial superiority.