At first it’s just a white blot in the shimmering haze of the horizon. But as you approach, the blot resolves into a cluster of white stone buildings surrounded by a wall. You also see the first sign of human life for miles: armored soldiers walking along the top of the wall.
You approach closer and see that your initial impressions were false in at least two respects: The figures shuffling along the top of the wall have a gait matched by no living human. And many of the white stones aren’t stones at all. They’re bones—human and otherwise.
Fort Bones is the farthest extension of Karrnathi power on Khorvaire, an armed camp that projects force not only into the Talenta Plains, but beyond into Valenar. As the sign above the main gate says, “Welcome to the edge of the sword.” From Fort Bones, Karrnathi commanders and grizzled mercenaries play a deadly cat and-mouse game with Valenar riders across the Talenta Plains—which are not without dangers of their own.
Fort Bones hasn’t been attacked since the end of the Last War—it’s more of a jumping-off point for patrols into the Talenta Plains and incursion into the deserts of northern Valenar.
The Valenar elves have such fast horses that an attack is always possible, however, as are attacks from the halfling tribes. (Karrnath has permission from the major halfling tribes to patrol the western regions of Talenta, but not every tribe was party to those negotiations.) Every soldier at Fort Bones figures that if an attack comes, it’ll arrive without warning—and the nearest Karrnathi units are three days away on the fastest horse. After a few weeks at Fort Bones, new recruits start reflexively scanning the horizon for the telltale dust cloud of cavalry on the move.
Source: Dungeon 195
Once the seat of the county, the town of Orozlsom was—like Fort Zombie —transformed into a critical military base. Gyrnar ir’Shult, the Shield of Odakyr, abactor of the Blood of Vol, and co-creator of the Odakyr Rites, was sidelined by Warlord Kaina ir’Durna at the onset of the war. Warlord Kaina took charge of the southern offensive, but he was a dedicated Vassal who failed to respect Seeker rituals. This was disastrous, causing a surge in Mabaran energies that spread plague and famine throughout the Karrnathi forces and stalled out early attempts to assault Metrol. When the Blood of Vol was instated as the state religion, Gyrnar ir’Shult was returned to his post; the keep and the center of the now-abandoned town was renamed Fort Bones, as Gyrnar vowed to use necromantic science to ensure that the “bones of every Karrn that had fallen would serve as a wall to protect those still alive.” Actual bones were not incorporated into the structure until it was rebuilt after the devastating assault in 990, when Valenar druids invoked an earthquake to level the keep and what remained of the town. After a Karrnathi reprisal, the bones of the slain elves were mixed into the mortar and the fort was rebuilt, a free-standing monument to death and necromantic innovation.
Source: Cultures of Karrnath
Fortresses such as this one dot the hilltops of Karrnath, watching for signs of enemy encroachment even since the Last War has ended. Fort Bones’ garrison consists primarily of Karrnathi undead soldiers. No lights glow here, as these undead rely on darkvision to see.
Source: Rising from the Last War