Bolnalmak

Category	Cities
Continent	Brucrumus
Region	Clans
Alias	Carororn
Owner	Fargimdal
Population	365,000+
Founded	7 Witchrite 571 HE
Map	Narbuzad

In the Horgon Era, Carororn became the first permanent Hobgoblin settlement on Bal-Kriav. These hobgoblins hailed originally from Kriav, encouraged to seek a new domain by the two great elven empires of that world, Gwildath and Marchenir. Though typically at odds, the elven powers shared a consensus that the hobgoblin populace required management. Within the lands of Gwildath, they incentivized the hobgoblins, sometimes coercively, to make the crossing to a more suitable territory.

In 1001 HE, Carororn was established as the capital of Kuladul. The city served as the epicenter of a hobgoblin empire that commanded a substantial expanse of the Irazaggumak valley and encroached into segments of the Khizunul mountains.

In the First Epoch, Phlehorn 's eastern expansion, particularly with the founding of Harworb, led to conflict with Kuladul. Numerous battles and six wars ensued. In the last, the Sixth Siguzilbak War (776 - 784), Carororn lay besieged for five years. When Gibil-Nâru 's Whiteblood Legions captured the place, they discovered tunnels and lifts near its core, all leading into the Underdark. They were amazed by its construction, its bands of mithril, iron and lead, and the usage of a peculiar mix of gravel and stone hardened as one. The latter is concrete, a secret plundered from Nemexus. The hobgoblins referred to this as the Goo of Nemexus, which they employed in the building of Carororn's eleven great unreinforced concrete domes, and the sealing of gaps and the creation of shaped obstructions.

Much of the fighting in the Sixth Siguzilbak War was conducted by mercenary armies answering to Phlehorn. This signified the kingdom's declining influence, with others now carrying out its military endeavors. The Gibil-Nâru, the leading clan of the mercenary forces, took advantage of their victory and newly acquired prize, declaring a new dwarven kingdom. They renamed Carororn, bestowing upon it the Dwarven name Bolnalmak. On 29 Artifice 784, it became the capital of Fargimdal under the rule of its first monarch, Queen Fargimdal. The Kingdom of Phlehorn made no objections, appreciating the notion of having a militarily-inclined kingdom situated between them and the equally aggressive elves of the Rúmil Empire.

In the shadowy recesses of the Underdark beneath this city, passages extend northward and southward, both featuring roads leading to the mystical river Damazandal. During the tumultuous Siguzilbak Wars, these thoroughfares sustained Kuladul, with the Andigimok Empire providing them with vital arms and sustenance. After the collapse of their puppet state, Andigimok adopted a more direct approach, assaulting Fargimdal to gauge its resilience. In response, the vulnerable underbelly of the city was fortified. Fargimdal blocked off tunnels, filling them with the treacherous Goo of Nemexus, setting traps, and constructing defensive structures. Five hundred feet beneath the bustling streets of Bolnalmak, the heart of these fortifications was the citadel Dabul-Gind.

Bolnalmak is an expansive, multi-tiered walled city situated in the northern foothills of the Irazaggumak, where they ascend into the Gakhs. The most awe-inspiring aspect of its defenses faces northward towards Gwaellurth. The southern approach to the city traverses a rugged landscape of fractured rock and debris, rendering the area inhospitable save for the hideouts of brigands and monsters. This debris field, largely created during the city's construction and of substantial scale, has never been cleared. It stretches for four miles, with one mile of it littering the floor of the Siguzilbak forest.

The city of Bolnalmak is predominantly inhabited by dwarves and halflings. The Forstneblin residents of the city only remain long enough to exchange their goods before returning to their dwellings in the Siguzilbak Forest.

A heavily fortified city, Bolnalmak boasts a mighty garrison. They possess nearly five hundred griffon-mounted troops, dozens of hammer golems, and an array of other specialized units. The city's four outermost walls are known as the Helms of Hamgondak. The towers dotting these walls have their upper halves sculpted in the shape of massive closed-faced helmets, each distinct in appearance, paying homage to a particular hero of the Siguzilbak Wars.