Battle of Egrym's Dell

The Battle of Egrym's Dell was a battle between the gruakhai slave army of Chief Garak and the shukmaltarâg dwarves, fought for control of the titular town and the adjoining trade route in the western Shrouded Peaks.

Background

In 1478, the gruakhai slaves of Mundus Minor rose in a series of slave revolts and began a great war against their former human masters, pushing them southward in a conflict which would come to be known as the War of the Axe and Shackle.
The dwarves had long fostered relations with the humans, mingling in their society and providing them with the riches of the mountains and the crafts of their trade. In 1841, sevel years after the war began and the humans were severely on the back foot, the dwarves were implored to aid the humans in the war, and to join the recently created Chikukema League. The dwarves, led by Princess Bergroda, refused this offer and closed the doors of her hold from mankind. Despite this, trade still flowed, including arms and munitions which were fielded against the gruakhai.
The gruakhai were well aware of this relation, and in the spring of 1482, after fruitless negotiations to convince the dwarves to cease their shipments to the humans, the gruakhai chief Garak presented Bergroda with an ultimatum: Cease the trade with the League, or their lands too would be conquered. The princess refused, and the two were now in war.
What followed were several skirmishes in the misty foothills of the Shrouded Peaks, as well as raids against settlements and camps.
The town of Egrym's Dell was an important trade post, wedged between two steep hills and heavily forested in its surroundings. It stood on the trade route between the dwarven and human realms, a chokepoint which could not easily be traveled around. Both sides knew its importance, and as the summer rolled around, they prepared for the ensuing battle.

The battle

The dwarves were severely outnumbered by the gruakhai warriors, but their knowledge of the land and the solid fortifications of their town proved a tough nut to crack. Traps and cleverly-concealed monster nests within the hills drained the invaders heavily before they even set sights on the town, but in late summer of 1482, the gruakhai arrived with a nasty surprise of their own.
The gruakhai had arrived with a Beast of Bruada, a monstrous bear from the lowland forests which could tear down walls with its brutish strength. Lured there by the faithful of the bloody goddess, the creature wreaked havoc on both sides, and was eventually ended with a well-placed ballista shot, but its rampage had left an opening in the town's fortifications, allowing the gruakhai to pour in.
The Beast had done its job, and a great melee ensued. The fight had spread to the market square of Egrym's Dell, its cobblestones now slick and red with blood. The fighting went on until the night, when one by one, fighters of both sides slunk back to recover their dead and to lick their wounds.

Resolution

The battle proved inconclusive; both sides suffered considerable losses, and though the dwarves still retained control of the town's heart, its outskirts were now either occupied or left in ruins, and no caravans could make it through the rubble. A stalemate remained in the battle's aftermath, and the two parties re-entered negotiations with a renewed will to find compromise.
They agreed on a truce. The dwarves would redirect their shipments to gruakhai lands, and they were guaranteed terms equal or even more favourable than their previous trade partners among the humans. The gruakhai would be granted safe passage through the misty hills of the dwarves, but in turn they would maintain a respectful distance to their heartlands and holds.
Relations between the two races have since been tense, but great effort, manpower and resources have been dedicated to making sure that the conflict does not flare up again.
Since the conflict ended, a very profitable smuggling trade has emerged between the dwarven and human realms. The volume of goods is much lower than during they heyday of their trade, but those who defy the terms of the truce and risk their lives in the process stand to gain a significant profit margin.

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