Pits of Azak-Zil

Deep in the Abbor-Alz, the lost dwarven city of Azak-Zil—once a source of unimaginable wealth—vanished without a trace. Those who seek its riches face treacherous deserts, relentless hunters, and an ancient horror that does not wish to be disturbed.

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In the mid-locktime of CY 198, the Great Kingdom stood in awe as a blazing fireball streaked across the sky. The celestial phenomenon soared over the Oljatt Sea, burning a path above Sunndi, Idee, Ahlissa, and Onnwal, before vanishing beyond the Sea of Gearnat. It was seen as far south as the Olman Isles and as far north as Eastfair and Rel Mord, igniting both wonder and dread.

The astrologer Selvor the Younger, after extensive calculations, proclaimed that the event heralded “wealth, strife, and a living death.” This ominous prophecy sparked panic in Rauxes, where fearful nobles saw it as a sign of impending doom. When years passed without calamity, Selvor was banished in disgrace, his warning dismissed as folly. For over three centuries, his words were forgotten—until a dwarven sage named Jemrek Longsight sought the truth.

The Discovery of Azak-Zil

Unlike Selvor, Jemrek Longsight turned his study not to the heavens, but to the earth. Using records of the falling star’s trajectory, she pinpointed its impact site within the Abbor-Alz, east of the Bright Desert and near the Nesser River. Based on past celestial impacts, she predicted a vast deposit of pure metals—iron, gold, mithral, and possibly even adamantite.

Longsight’s discovery shook the realms of men and dwarves alike. The Iron League, the Herzog of South Province, and the Principality of Ulek all moved swiftly. Nyrond, Almor, and the Duchy of Urnst sent their own expeditions, alongside merchant houses from Greyhawk, Dyvers, and the Wild Coast. Even the new rulers of the Pomarj dispatched a force—an ill-fated band of orcs, goblins, and ogres.

But the journey to Azak-Zil was one of treachery and slaughter. The Pomarji were wiped out by a temporary dwarven alliance. Nyrond and Urnst’s forces found themselves at odds with the druids and rangers of Celadon Forest, who sought to drive them back. The Herzog’s warriors vanished into the Bright Desert, never to be seen again. All were harassed by the fierce nomads of the Abbor-Alz and raided by the Sea Princes, eager to plunder supply ships.

The Golden Age of Azak-Zil

After five brutal years, the House of Highforge, a prominent dwarven clan of Irongate, emerged victorious. They established a secretive mining colony, naming it Azak-Zil, or “Pureheart.” A hidden port, Zarak, was founded on the arid coast, and a concealed trail led deep inland. Wealth beyond imagining poured forth—iron, gold, platinum, mithral, and adamantite—reshaping metal markets as far away as Rauxes.

The dwarves’ mining operation was an engineering marvel. They excavated deep artesian wells, built vast cisterns, and carved a cliffside city into a towering mesa near the crater. At the impact site, they found a great fused basin of shattered rock, where the fallen star had struck the Oerth with divine fury.

For five years, Azak-Zil flourished. But then, without warning, everything stopped.

The Vanishing of Azak-Zil

The flow of precious metals ceased overnight. All contact with the mines was lost. Expeditions sent to investigate never returned. The roads to Azak-Zil vanished, swallowed by dust storms and the shifting desert sands.

Even mighty Clan Highforge attempted to reclaim its lost prize, pouring a fortune into rescue efforts. But dark omens and whispered prophecies warned against their efforts. An elite force was sent—they vanished without a trace. One by one, the dwarves abandoned the site, leaving Zarak a ghost town.

Since the disaster of Azak-Zil, most southern dwarven clans have sworn never to meddle with things fallen from the sky. Some believe the miners unearthed something that should have remained buried—a curse brought from the heavens or a horror awakened from the depths. Others point to nomadic legends of an ancient, inhuman race that once ruled the mesas of the southern Abbor-Alz—and still guards them fiercely.

The Lone Survivor’s Tale

Only one man has ever claimed to rediscover the mines: Pont Sandmorg of Narwell. According to his tale, the lost city stands on the eastern slopes of the Abbor-Alz, facing the Bright Desert, over a hundred miles inland. Nearby, a poisonous salt lake fills part of the crater, and massive heaps of tailings remain from the dwarves’ work. On the mesa’s southern face, he glimpsed the ruins of a dwarven cliff-city.

Yet Sandmorg and his company never reached the mines. They scavenged a few forgotten ingots from an abandoned depot but were hunted relentlessly. Savage desert tribes, packs of abnormally cunning ghouls, and something far worse stalked them through the night.

His men barely escaped with their lives after enduring “a most horrible howling, like a thousand jackals, which rose from the city at night,” followed by the emergence of “a foul apparition, too ghastly to describe, that descended upon the watchmen.”

Since Sandmorg’s return, no expedition has successfully located the mines, nor has anyone who sought them ever returned. Whatever lurks within Azak-Zil, it is not simply lost to history—it does not wish to be found.