Part 16 - Hot pursuit
Colwyn scratches at his cheek, "Who the bleedin' 'ells is this 'ere Tarky-what's-'is-face?"
"Tarkanen." corrects the old gaffer, "Not a who, but a what. A mighty land that used to stretch between what is now Bard's Gate and Derindin. Rich and powerful, it dominated all of the kingdoms between the Great Sea and the Inland Sea, and traded with realms far beyond both. You must have passed its boundary stones on the road on your way here."
"Then, eight hundred years ago, Vaedrakil of the Iron Scales fell upon the land like the wrath of gods." One hand is raised, pointing at the sky as the old man continues.
"He burned the cities, laid waste to the fields, and slew High King Haldir's armies. For seven days he flew over Tarkanen and burned everything in his path. Then he departed, leaving the survivors to rebuild."
"But without a High King, Tarkanen fragmented, and in its place a hundred small kingdoms appeared. Some flourished, some did not, and others huddled in on themselves, like misers jealously hoarding whatever they could hold."
"Fragments of old Tarkanen still remain, like the roads and the boundary markers, which are considered to belong to all of the kingdoms. And there are the ruined corpses of towns and cities which are claimed by whoever can hold them."
Aarnr, meanwhile, wanders off on his own, looking for Gonder. As luck would have it, with so few structures, the forge is easy to find. As is the dwarf who lays on a bench in front of it, snoring loudly.