[b]2540[/b] - Word reaches Barak Varr that Karak Anudrek has been secured, but is

still under attack from all sides. For the next three years, the hold regularly
sends a relieve force to the rebuilt karak.

[b]2541-2543[/b] � News of Wurrzag�s choice for the Wun Troo Git finally reaches
the Badlands, sparking all-out war between greenskins attempting to join Goomb�s
swelling horde and those furious that they were not picked. When the dust settles,
the savage orc warboss Grobthakk reigns supreme. He delivers a bloodthirsty but
completely incoherent speech and turns the dozens of tribes under his banner north,
although his precise intentions are unclear.

[b]2542[/b] - Duque Valdez, ruler of the princedom Matorea in the border princes
region, launches a raid via land and sea against Barak Varr, figuring to make use
of the dwarf hold's temporarily decreased number of standing troops. The quite
delusional duque does not realize that even with their diminished numbers, Barak
Varr still outnumbers his "army" some one hundred to one. Thus ends the princedom
of Matorea, which itself is prompty invaded and annexed by emir Baruaqhi of
Kyphris, a princedom just north of Matorea.

Thane Bronbaril Glamerstone of Karak Hirn is wed to Ulla Jotunndottir of Karak

Izor, the daughter of a respectable merchant. Their union cements the relation
between the two dwarf holds.

[b]2543[/b] - Karak Hirn and Karak Izor are simultaneously attacked by forest
goblins from the forest of gloom. The goblins, led by goblin warlord Snapparag,
suffer heavy casualties but manage to break through the defenses of Karak Izor.
However before the hold's inner keep is breached, the goblins receive word that
Snapparag has been killed at Karak Hirn by Bronbaril Glamerstone. Infighting begins
among the goblins, and the dwarves are able to drive them away.

[b]2544[/b] - Barak Varr experiences a windfall when humans from the Old World and
Cathay begin a period of heavy competition in trade by sea. The dwarves profit
greatly from the situation and freely trades with both sides.

High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer sends an expedition to Karak Vlag to see what has
become of the lost hold. The expedition returns later that year, reporting that no
dwarves- living or dead- have been found. They also report that the remains of
thane Anarbarziz's throng of Karak Vlag was found just north of Karak Ungor, at
Uzkul-ak-Dreng. No trace was found of any attackers. The High King decrees that the
hold is to be retaken.

Orc warlord Gorfang Troll-Eater of Black Crag gets his boyz together, bent on
adding Karak Eight Peaks to his domain. The dwarves at the hold's upper levels, led
by high thane Belegar, are forced into a desperate battle on two fronts- against
the orcs from Black Crag and the skaven and goblins of the hold's lower levels.

Waaagh! Grobthakk encounters its first real challenge in the ruins of Mourkain.
Packs of ghouls ambush and devour outlying and isolated elements of the horde. The
losses are more than made up for by tribes of marsh-dwelling boggarts.

[b]2546[/b] - Karak Azgal comes under attack attack by the orc Waaagh! Grobthakk.
Despite the dawi efforts, the shanty town of Deadgate is lost to the greenskins.
Fortunately the hold itself is able to hold out during the following three year
siege.

High thane Belegar of Karak Eight Peaks is killed by Gorfang Troll-Eater. The
skaven, thinking the dwarfs are defeated, turn their attentions towards driving out
the orc warlord and succeed, Gorfang screaming his rage at the skaven all the way
back to Black Crag. However the skaven were mistaken; high thane Belegar is
succeeded by his grieving, thane Danubrak. The new high thane quickly reorganizes
the hold's defenders and strikes at the skaven by collpasing tunnels through which
the skaven supply their armies. He then quickly picks off the weakened skaven one
by one, returning Karak Eight Peaks to its status quo.

Thousands of orcs and night goblins from the depths beneath Karak Azgal flock to
join Grobthakk�s banner. The Waaagh! remains in the mountains for quite some time,
content to fling rocks at the starving dwarfs and bicker with one another.

[b]2548[/b] - Karak Vlag is inhabitable once more, although it will take many
decades if not centuries to restore the hold to its former glory. Thane Thorrik
Ulfwick is chosen as high thane of the karak, for his performance during the war in
the north. He develops diplomatic ties with the Kislevites of the Sverdlovsk
Oblast, and, eventually, high thane Nurild Gruinsson of Karak Anudrek.

[b]2549[/b] - Karak Azgal is relieved when Waaagh! Grobthakk finally abandons the
siege of the dwarf hold. The Waaagh! finally departs the Badlands, crossing Blood
River into the Border Princes. Three of the squabbling self-proclaimed nobles that
lay claim to those lands combine their forces in an attempt to stop them. Their
heads soon adorn the savage orc�s crude totem.

Barak varr spots Waaagh! Ghrobthakk on the horizon, moving north. For reasons
unknown, the Waaagh! mysteriously leaves Barak Varr in peace.

In Karak Varn, mercenaries led by Pietro Costar of Verezzo descend into the bowels
of Karak Varn, eager to find Grin's crag. This fabled narrow path leads to the gate
of Kellar's Keep, where Kenaron, the champion of the Emperor in ancient times was
felled by Chaos. Costar seeks to retrieve the hero's blade, Rotschlaeger, which is
said to be especially lehal to the undead terrorizing his city. The are guided by
the dwarf Zundri Blackstone, who greedily seeks the mines rich mines of high thane
Belorn, last king of Karak Varn. They battle the vengeful spirit of the Chaos
sorcerer Borokk at the hold's east gate before finally retrieving the legendary
weapon.

[b]2550[/b] - Fourth Battle of Black Fire Pass. Grobthakk fills the pass from end
to end with tens of thousands of battle-hardened greenskins, seeking to crush the
defenders consisting of Imperial troops and regiments from Karak Hirn with pure
brute force. His simple strategy is very nearly effective, laying waste to untold
regiments. Grobthakk himself manages to kill X, but is buried beneath tons of rock
as Imperial Engineers trigger an avalanche atop his personal guard.

Admund Hechler, grey wizard and former Supreme Patriarch, travels to Black Water
and takes up a hermit's life in the shadows of Zhufbar.

Dwarfs of Zhufbar, having learned of Costar's discovery of Kellar's Keep, send an

expedition to investigate the ancient keep. None of the dwarfs survive, however.

[b]2551[/b] - Skaven lay siege to various holds of the dwarves, who are united
under the peace of fourteen.

In the vaults, Karak Izor is unable to withstand the skaven's ferocious assault.
Bronbaril Glamerstone of Karak Hirn rushes to the beleaguered hold's aid but
arrives too late to save them. Swearing a mighty oath of vengeance, he sends the
lion's share of his throng back to Karak Hirn while he and one hundred rangers
swear to kill every last skaven in Karak Izor.

In the north, Kraka Drak easily shrugs off the worst of the attack and rushes to
the aid of Karak Anudrek. The two dwarf armies crush the skaven between them at the
gates.
Skaven led by warlord Skreeskit make a seemingly half-hearted attempt at besieging
Karak Azgal. The confidence of the defenders is shaken when their high thane is
found dead one morning, the foul symbol of the horned rat carved in his chest.

The harbors of Barak Varr come under attack by a fleet of skaven plagueships.
Despite the ferocious attack, the dwarves refuse to retreat even though the plains
east of their hold are seemingly left in peace by the skaven.

The greatest part of the skaven forces, however, is committed to Karaz-a-Karak and
Karak Kadrin. The ratmen gain no ground here, but instead keep the dwarves
contained inside their holds, preventing them from sending aid to the other holds.

[b]2552[/b] - The forces of Karak Anudrek and Kraka Drak travel south to assist
Karak Vlag, which has come under attack by skaven of clan Moulder. High thane
Thorrick welcomes the aid provided by high thane Nurild, and together, they spend
the next year securing the three northern dwarf holds against the skaven onslaught.

Skaven led by warlord Kriktub emerge from the ruins of Karak Varn to attack the
dwarves at Zhufbar. Instead, they find a mysterious old man heading an army of
undead dwarves and monsters. An hour later, Kriktub is torn apart by a partially
decomposed hippogriff, and his army is eliminated.

Thane Bronbaril Glamerstone returns to Karak Hirn, having slaughtered every last
skaven at Karak Izor. He returns just in time to take part in the final battle for
his home. While unable to penetrate the mass of skaven surrounding the karak,
Bronbaril and his rangers are in a perfect position to take out several artillery
batteries and a grey seer, giving Karak Hirn a chance to stave off the skaven
attack. While unbroken, the skaven take a tremendous beating, and when Bronbaril
returns to his hold, he is hailed as a hero.

The battle for Karak Azgal begins in earnest. Clan Skryre's weapons blast gaping
holes in the hold's walls, after which the grey knights of the ascension court
advance against the dwarf defenders. The defenders cannot hold out and are
eliminated. However, the advance of the grey knights and clan Skryre is stalled
when the two factions bicker about who should be given the right to rule the karak.

Barak Varr claims a bitter victory when one of their Ironclad flagships, the Ruvalk
Karaz, detonated at the heart of the skaven fleet. The skaven are broken, but at
the cost of one of the dwarves' most ancient ships.

[b]2553[/b] - Led by Bronbaril Glamerstone, the forces of Karak Hirn repel the last
of the skaven besieging their hold. They immediately send word to the surrounding
Karaks and find that Zhufbar is also free of invaders. Together, the two karaks
travel to Karaz-a-Karak and lift the skaven's desperate siege.

The northern karaks- Kraka Drak, Karak Anudrek and Karak Vlag- send their forces
south to aid Karak Kadrin in finally repelling the skaven.

Forces from Karak Azul and Barak Varr move to Karak Azgal, lamenting the loss of
the hold and taking their righteous fury out on the grey knights and clan Skryre
forces garrisoning the ruined Karak.

Skaven are finally repelled after the peace of fourteen finally fails. Dwarf forces
quickly mop up the remaining pockets of infighting skaven.

Thane Anja of Zhufbar is found dead at the hands of an assassin. A human guest of
the hold later provides proof that the assassination was performed by an elf from
Naggaroth.
Zhufbar, supported by forces from Stirland, confronts necromancer Admund Hechler
before he invades the Empire with his army of undead monsters and dwarves. His army
is defeated, but Hechler is last seen fleeing to the darklands. The necromancer's
actions leads Zhufbar to enter his name in its book of grudges.

[b]2554[/b] - A time of rebuilding commences as the dwarves begin picking up the

pieces after the skaven wars. Bronbaril Glamerstone, in recognition for his
valorous actions at Karak Izor and Karak Hirn, is given the title of high thane of
Karak Izor. Dwarves from Barak Varr begin rebuilding the ruins of Karak Azgal.

Asrai of Athel Loren perform a seemingly random attack on Karak Norn. Later that
year high thane Silverfist enters Athel Loren with a small army of rangers and
ironbreakers to exact revenge for the attack, only to return a week later, claiming
no blood was shed and scrapping the matter from the book of grudges.

Night goblins warboss Gashnap of Red Eye Mountain travels to Karak Vlag and lays
siege to it. However, the goblins shatter on the hold's walls. Gashnap returns to
Red Eye Mountain to find it is under attack by dwarves from Karak Kadrin. This
oversight, and his inability to take Karak Vlag, lead to Gashnap being murdered by
Thrabrut Spinebreaker, his second in command. However by that time the dwarfs have
already conquered the upper levels of Red Eye Mountain.

Thrabrut Spinebreaker retakes the upper levels of Red Eye Mountain, trapping the
dwarfs in the lower levels. He subsequentially has many of the hold's corriders
collapsed, killing the dwarfs but also many goblins trapped underneath.

[b]2555[/b] - Goblin warboss Gubzum Eyestabber of the Necksnapper tribe works his
night goblins into a Waaagh! and directs it towards Karak Izor. High thane
Bronbaril Glamerstone of the keep, well aware that his force is not yet capable of
defeating the horde of goblins, commands his forces to retreat behind the walls of
the karak while he leads a force of one hundred rangers to harass the Waaagh! with
guerilla tactics.

[b]2556[/b] - Fed up with chasing ghosts while staring at the walls of Karak Izor,
Waaagh! Gubzum instead travels north towards Athel Loren, intent on "showin' da
stinky elves wot's wot".

[b]2557[/b] - Tomb King Amenemhetum of Zandri sails for Barak Varr at the head of
an extensive fleet, demanding the dwarves leave their hold and surrender it to him,
as the land rightfully belongs to him. The dwarves of Barak Varr offer their reply
in cannonfire. A lengthy siege breaks out, which eventually forces Amenemhetum to
retreat. However, Barak Varr only narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of the
Tomb King, and ever since has a very pressing entry in its book of grudges
detailing the tomb king's attack.

Gubzum Eyestabber returns to the Vaults after his Waaagh! failed to make much
progress into Athel Loren. There he resumes control of the Necksnapper tribe,
mostly because there's too few goblins left to oppose him.

[b]2560[/b] - Dwarves of Barak Varr receive a request from Imperial colonists to

join them on an expedition to the east. However the dwarfs are in poor shape after
Amenemhetum's attack three years earlier, and can only afford to send minimal
support.