Local Map Key (C.700BT)
1. Logging Area. The Jarin cut timber for use in the Khuzdul smelting operations. They prefer to cut trees close to a river or stream. The logs are limbed and rolled into the river. They are then lashed into rafts and floated down to the kyg. The largest trees are reserved for making dugout canoes.
2. River Shem. The river is the easiest and fastest route for communications. The Jarin make extensive use of dugout canoes for travel up, down and across the river. Most Jarin settlements are along the river or its larger tributaries. The Shem River is rich in fish. The Jarin use nets, weirs, traps, spears and hook and line, to catch all manner of fish, including trout, salmon, pike, eels and sturgeon. The northern slope of the hill fort is covered with racks for drying fish.
3. Charcoal Stacks. Smelting ore requires huge amounts of charcoal. The Jarin log the timber and float it down to the kyg. It is stacked into huge conical piles, covered with dirt and slowly fired to turn it into charcoal.
4. Irkhar Kyg. The mine/trading post was established c.3300BT. The location was chosen because of the large ore deposit directly below the rock outcrop. The kyg is home to about seventy Khuzdul at any one time.
5. The King's Road (The Silver Way). This ancient route dates from the founding of the kyg. It is an extension of the great highway from the Kingdom of Azadmere to the lowlands. Originally the King's Road terminated at what is now Naniom Bridge, however when Irkhar Kyg was established, the highway was extended. The mine is now the new terminus. From here, travellers can easily travel down the river to Meyvinel (Tashal) or begin the long, cross-country trek to Kiraz.
6. Vegetable Gardens. The Jarin maintain vast gardens, both to feed themselves and the Khuzdul. During the day, women and children work the gardens, tending the plants and removing weeds. It is hard work, but the ground is exceptionally fertile and easy to work.
7. Common. This large open field is the common land. The herdsmen and shepherds, mostly teenage boys and old men, tend the herds of cattle, horses, sheep and pigs.
8. Fields. The clan farms its fields in common. A healthy mix of rye, barley and oats ensures that the harvest will be sufficient to feed the village, even in a bad year. These fields are recently cleared and the soil is deep and fertile. When the soil becomes tired, the Jarin move on to new plots, returning after a few years.
9. Corral. The large log palisade is used to keep all of the clan's animals. Cattle and horses are the most prestigious, though sheep and pigs are more important for food.
10. Shaman's Hut. The shaman is believed to have supernatural powers and be in contact with the spirits. By tradition, he is forced to live outside the fort.
11. Tyglin Hill Fort. This is the chief stronghold of the Clan Melaudd. Originally constructed c.1150BT, it is surrounded by a stout twenty-five foot high palisade made up of two layers of closely set peeled logs with a five foot wide interior wall walk. Each of the large, round, thatched huts is home to an extended family of around twenty individuals and their prized animals. The clanhead has the largest hut, at the very top of the hill. Locally, he can muster about forty warriors (hunters), with another forty militia, suitable for defence only. The clan's full strength, including allies, is several hundred warriors.
When the population starts to strain the size of the fort, the clanhead selects half-dozen families to start a new village. This new group becomes a sub-clan, or sept, of Clan Melaudd. By regularly "spawning" new villages, the Melaudd's have successfully expanding their sphere of influence throughout the Shem River valley. The clan's extensive network of political alliances is reinforced by regular intermarriage between allied clans, with women going to live with their husband's clan. Given the clan's enviable relationship with the Khuzdul, fine tools and weaponry and large network of allied clans, there is no shortage of clans wanting to ally themselves with the Melaudds.
12. Aril River. A minor tributary of the Shem, the Aril has excellent fishing and is a sheltered spot for the storage of the clan's boats.
13. Dugout Workshop and Storage. Given the importance of water travel, making and maintaining dugouts is a high priority. The largest tree trunks are floated down the Shem to the Aril River. There, they are pulled out of the water and carefully hollowed out. Fine Khuzan adzes make the job fast and easy. Melaudd dugouts are known for their fine design, stability and speed, the result of some design innovations suggested by the dwarves, including high prows, keels and flat bottoms. Some are as long as thirty-five feet by four feet wide and have short masts and small sails. Two dugouts can be lashed together to make a floating platform for bulky cargos or fishing.
14. Ford. The King's Road ends in Irkhar. However, there is a forest trail south to Meyvinel for those who would rather not chance the river. The ford is shallow and easily crossed. The trail follows the Shem, so it is difficult to get lost, but it is narrow and not maintained. It is impassable to carts and wagons, so travellers must use walk or use pack animals. The humans prefer to travel by boat. The elves do not require a trail. The majority of dwarves travel northwest to Kiraz; the primary users of the trail are the remaining Khuzdul who have business in Meyvinel or further south in Evael.
Local Map Key
Ground Floor
1. Entrances. The mine's first line of defence is concealment. There are only two entrances to the mine. The primary entrance is large enough for a fully loaded wagon to pass through easily. Although the outer door is a perfect match for the surrounding cliff, but it is frequently left open and there are wagon ruts leading directly to it, so it is not difficult to find. Adjacent to it is a smaller sally port. It is rarely used and few but the Khuzdul know of its existence. 720TR: There are no external clues to the existence of either door. After over 1300 years, nature has completed the Khuzdul's masterful job of concealment. The main entrance has been barred from the inside and cannot be opened. The portcullises are jammed in place. When Calsten stormed the castle, he used directions and a key provided by the dwarves to enter through the smaller sally port to the left.
2. Killing Zone. The original builder of the kyg was paranoid, even for a dwarf. Isolated from Khuzan lands, he designed and built an elaborate entranceway to defend the kyg. It begins with two heavy portcullises and murder holes controlled from the room above. Then, attackers must pass through a long corridor with deadly overlapping fields of fire from crossbow galleries on either side. The main door is at right angles to the entranceway making it nearly impossible to use a battering ram. Any who try will be subject to fire from the crossbow slits behind them. Two more crossbow slits overlook the hallway leading to the secret sally port. 720TR: Little has changed since the dwarves left. The outer concealed door is bolted from the inside. The two portcullises are made of an unknown alloy and are as strong as when they were installed. The main doors' oak core has rotted to little more than dust and its iron cladding has turned to rust. A single touch will cause it to collapse.
3. Guard Room. Four guards stand duty here at all times. The facilities are basic, to keep them alert and ready for action. They have a trestle table, stools and a brazier for warmth. A powerful ballista is mounted on a pivot directly facing the portcullises. It can fire either iron bolts (as big as spears) or four-inch stone/lead balls. 720TR: The room is completely empty. All furniture, fixtures and the ballista have been removed.
4. Armoury. The mine maintains an extensive supply of weapons, including chain mail armour, plate helms, steel shields, swords, axes, spears, crossbows and huge stocks of quarrels. A secret door hides the room. All of guards and miners know the secret to open the door (simultaneously pressing the lowest block on the door with your foot and the middle block with your hand). 720TR: The armoury has been emptied. All that remain are stone balls for the ballista, the slightly corroded steel heads of the thousands of crossbow quarrels and one rust free Khuzan short sword (WQ +4) that had fallen behind a chest.
5. Miners' Hall. The miners use this room during the day when they are filthy from tunnelling. They take their midday meal here. The skilfully crafted fireplace keeps the room comfortably warm, which is much appreciated after toiling in the damp, cold mines. In the corner is a thick metal door with a fiendishly clever lock that guards he entrance to the sally port. The head guard and chief miner hold the only two keys. 720TR: The room is stripped of furniture. The sally port door, made of the same alloy as the portcullises, is as solid and secure as it was 1400 years ago. The hinges are dry and squeal loudly when the door is pushed open. One key is held in the Azadmere Royal Archives. The other was lost when King Aidrik II was killed. It has never been found.
6. Baths.Mining is hard and dirty work. The mine's well provides plenty of clean water to soothe their parched throats. After a long day, the miners like to relax beside a warm fire and take a relaxing bath. Water is brought from the well, heated over the fireplaces and poured into the bath. Each bath has a drain leading to the river. 720TR: The rooms are stripped bare. The only indications of their intended use are the depressions and drains of the baths. The water in the well is clean and pure, but the winch is rusted solid.
7. Stables. This room is used to house the horses, mules and donkeys that haul the wagonloads of ingots to Azadmere and operate the mine's mechanical water pumps. 720TR: The room is empty except for a few extremely rotted remnants of the stall walls.
8. Mine Head. This room is the centre of dwarven mining operations. Thick stone pillars and arched roofs support the massive weight of the hill above. Ore is brought up from the mines in carts that run on iron rails and wooden ties. The ore is sorted, broken into smaller pieces and fed into the smelter. 720TR: The wooden ties have turned to dust, with rust encased rails on top. Stacks of unprocessed ore sit on either side.
9. Mines. Two main shafts descend from the mine head. The right branch curves to the north (just off the map). The left branch extends south. Because of the high water table, the walls drip continuously once you descend below the level of the Mine Head. Regular maintenance and constant pumping are required to keep the shafts from flooding. 720TR: Without the Khuzan pumps to keep them clear, both shafts have flooded up to about 10 feet below the ground floor (approximately -7 feet).
10. Smelter. Once the ore is broken into small pieces, it is loaded into a large ceramic crucible that sits above a forced air charcoal furnace. The furnace is lit and stoked by a massive, chain driven bellows. Fresh air is drawn through two shafts drilled horizontally through the rock to the cliff face. A fume hood collects the smoke from the furnace and gases from the crucible and draws them out through a cunningly designed chimney. The ceramic crucible reflects and intensifies the heat, causing the metal to melt and impurities to float to the surface. The impurities are skimmed off and discarded. When only pure metal remains, the entire crucible is tilted on its hinges and the metal poured into ingots. Fresh ore is loaded into the still red-hot crucible and the cycle begins again. While being operated, the smelter must be tended day and night and demands huge quantities of charcoal and ore. It is only fired when sufficient quantities of both have been stockpiled, about once every two months. 720TR: The airshafts and chimney have been blocked up. The crucible is intact, but has fallen on its side and is half filled with hardened clinker. The metal components of the smelter are rusted solid.
11. Guard Quarters. This room is reserved for the mine's eight full time guards. They alternate 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Because of their schedule, they prefer to live separate from the miners. The door to their quarters is steel and remarkably soundproof. 720TR: This room is empty. Its purpose is unclear, but the door is intact.
12. Storage Room.The warehouse is sufficiently large to hold enough food for the Khuzdul to live on for an entire year. The dwarves buy most of their food from the local Jarin, though delicacies and special items are brought back with the wagons returning from delivering ingots to Azadmere. 720TR: This room has a few piles of debris identifiable as crates and barrels, but nothing intact.
Second Level
The second level of Irkhar Kyg, as it appears in 720TR, is shown in the Gardiren article (page 18) available from CGI.
1. Master Forge. Although Irkhar Kyg is primarily a mine, there is also the requirement to make and repair tools. This is the responsibility of the master smith and his journeymen and apprentices. His forge is in a prestigious location on the second level. The doors diminish the sound of his work somewhat, however dwarves appreciate the sound of metalworking and the doors are often left open. Two crossbow slits overlook the kyg's main entrance. Normally, they are covered by camouflage shutters, which match the surrounding rock perfectly. 720TR: All tools and materials have been removed. The forge's chimney has been filled in with a spiral staircase leading down from the castle above. The crossbow slits have been completely filled in. The doors and even hinges have long since turned to dust and been removed. The room is now the Earl's pantry containing a fortune in spices in sealed waxed casks.
2. Dining Hall. The centre of life at the kyg, the hall is the place where the dwarves gather to relax and socialize after a long hard day in the mine. The entire population of the kyg can eat here at one time. 720TR: The room has been divided into three separate rooms, a crypt, armoury and chapel. The room's original function is not obvious.
3. Kitchen. This spacious room has two large fireplaces for preparing meals. The head cook and three assistants are kept busy preparing nutritious and filling meals for the hungry miners. The cook deals extensively with the Jarin, purchasing fresh and preserved meats in addition to fruits, grains and vegetables. The miners are well-fed and so are happy and hardworking. 720TR: This room has been converted into the Earl's treasury. The chimneys, like all the others in the complex are filled and sealed.
4. Upper Storeroom. This room is used to make and store ale, and for the day-to-day foodstuffs. Items are brought up from below on the lift and stored here until needed. 720TR: The door between the kitchen and upper storeroom has been blocked off. The room is used as a wine cellar. The hallway immediately outside and to the north of the door to storeroom has also been walled off. The work is so carefully done, that there is no indication the hallway ever continued further north.
5. Lift. This room contains the mechanism for the lift, which is used to bring heavy items such as crates of food, barrels of water and other goods up from the ground floor to the living quarters. The lift uses a sophisticated system of counterweights, gears and chains. It allows one Khuzdul to easily (but slowly) lift up to 1000 lbs at a time on the lift. For every turn of the four-foot diameter wheel, the lift rises four inches. It takes 45 turns of the wheel to raise the lift to the second floor. 720TR: The dwarves walled off the lift room before their departure. Long ago, the lift mechanism collapsed into a pile of rusted and unidentifiable components on the floor of the Mine Head below.
6. Vault. This small room is used to store silver and gold for trade with the Jarin. The original builder was a very paranoid dwarf. He installed a secret passage from the east dormitory through the vault to ensure he could escape in event someone tried to lock him in his room. It is rarely used, though the head miner and smith know of its existence. 720TR: This room is now used as a buttery. In 120TR, using a key and map provided by the dwarves, Calsten led his men through the sally port (ground floor), up the stairs, into the dormitory and through this secret passage. From there, they snuck up a ladder through the chimney of the old forge and into the keep. In about 200TR, King Kalabin lured one of his more troublesome nephews down into the cellar, promising to show him the secret passages below the castle. The young man was never seen again. No one ever dared ask the King what happened to him.
7. Guard Room. Located over the main entrance, this room controls the raising and lowering of the two portcullises. Two murder holes, covered with thick stone slabs, allow defenders to drop stones, pour boiling water or shoot crossbow quarrels on the invaders. Two crossbow slits provide a good view of the front of the hill. 720TR: The hallway to the portcullis room and the two crossbow slits have been seamlessly walled up. The portcullises are locked in the down position. The winches have rusted to dust. The stone doors over the murder holes are intact, as are the large piles of head sized stones stored as ammunition to drop on attackers.
The room is also home to "The Eye of Irkhar", a unique Jmorvi magical item. With only four crossbow slits facing the front of the hill, the Khuzdul required a way to see who (or what) was around kyg, especially above the doorway. The Eye functions as the magical equivalent of the psionic power of Clairvoyance. It allows the user to see as if he was a bird flying 40 yards directly above this room. Handles on the right and left are used to swivel the Eye 360o to see in any direction and to tilt from level down to 85o (almost straight down). The Eye allows the user to see clearly, making every night look as if it was a bright and cloudless night under the full moon. It allows the dwarves to safely (and secretly) inspect the area around the kyg before opening the door. The Eye is suspended from ceiling between the rear portcullis and the back wall. It is permanently tied to this location. If it is removed (unlikely without damaging it and rendering it useless), it will only ever show the area around Irkhar Kyg. It is a permanently enchanted artifact and requires no charges to function. 720TR: The Eye of Irkhar is covered with a thick layer of dust, but is otherwise completely intact and functional.
8. Master's Quarters. The eastern private room is the quarters and office of the Head Miner. He is in charge of the kyg. The small room beside him houses the chief cook and three assistants. The western private room is the quarters of the Master Smith. He is second in command of the kyg. His two journeymen and two apprentices sleep in the room next to his.
9. Dormitories. The Khuzdul of Irkhar Kyg put little thirteen bunk beds each. The miners occupy the eastern dormitory; the "refiners" (dwarves who work in the smelter) occupy the western one. The division is flexible; many dwarves can do either job, as required. The dormitories are large and comfortable, but lack fireplaces or braziers. The Khuzdul don't seem bothered by the cold. Most spend their time congregating in the dining hall and come here only to sleep. Just outside the doors of the dormitories, a broad, steep staircase leads down to heavy barred doors of the ground floor. 720TR: The rooms are stripped bare and there is little to indicate their intended use. The doors blocking the stairs have collapsed into a heap of rust and dry wood fragments.