Shamash Kush
This strong kingdom of hill dwarves is located northeast of the Antioch City-States and southwest of the Gulf of Ur. They claim a large area of the northern foothills of the Scythirian Mountains and occasionally have border disputes with the city-states when those expand too far in the direction of the kingdom.
The dwarves are not entirely isolationist and do trade with the humans in the surrounding areas. For many generations, they preferred the humans to come to them, but just recently (in the last 200 years or so), dwarven traders have gone out seeking to buy and sell for themselves. In part, this is a response to a few unscrupulous humans who didn’t give fair value for dwarven goods. More than that, though, it is a conscious policy to be more aware of what is going on in the world outside the dwarves’ sturdy but rather restrictive walls.
The hill dwarves have two towns — locations where they allow humans to enter and trade. In the direction of Ur is the underground market town known as Ark-Nazm, and in the southwest toward Shiamun is Onz-Khadam. The towns are similarly constructed, with great defensive gates and fortifications, an entry cavern (with stabling for merchants’ animals), and another strong inner gate. Through that is a long passage into the hill to an open area with booths and even wooden buildings — the trading town itself. Those going there, though, should remember that even when friendly, these dwarves are never off their guard.
One merchant, on his first visit, spent two days in cordial and profitable trading. As he described later, he was leaving when he was horrified to discover that the roof of the long tunnel — which appeared so solid from beneath — was actually nothing but a slab holding up tons of loose rock that could become a deadfall trap at any time. The dwarves of Shamash Kush made no effort to hide the trap from those in the market town; it was clearly visible from the inside of the trading cavern as he approached the tunnel again. It is details like this that remind humans that the dwarves can get along without them just fine and are prepared to do so at any moment.
Region
Shamash Kush, Dwarven Kingdom of
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