Jhaerek the Traitor

South of the Hall of War, west of the lively stream, lies a small forest. The forest floor is very strange in that there is little dead or decaying leaves on the ground. You can see the dirt on the ground clearly enough to spot a few ants crawling about. Several centipede infested trees are lying about in front of you. The forest generates a very calm and serene setting.

Beyond the forest... is the darkness. It is almost pitch black there. You can hear water dripping in the background - echoing in the distance. The damp moisture feels like an atmosphere of a large cave. You notice that the ground is unusually hard and pieces of stalegmites litter the ground.

In the darkness stands a giant figure. Nine feet off the ground, he towers above the figures of common men and women. The giant's eyes are wide with fear. On his chest is branded the sign of a traitor. It is the sign of a black cromos. Once branded, the hapless victim will be scorned for life and kicked out of giant society. If he seeks to return, death is his only reward.

The giant's name is Jhaerek the Traitor, but many of the dwarven societies, including mountain dwarfs, call him Jhaerek the Savior ...

(to be continued)