This fortress enclave of House Deneith serves as a staging area for goblin mercenaries who wish to work for the house. It provides a stable and secure haven for travelers passing through the region, provided you’re on good terms with House Deneith.
In the lowlands of the Northern Plains of Darguun, about a hundred miles north of Rhukaan Draal, rests the heart of the Ghaal'dar nation: a massive obelisk worn down from a single piece of uplifted shale known as the Gathering Stone. A remnant of a darker, earlier age, the Gathering Stone remains the inveterate site for goblinoid tribes to congregate and trade, find spouses, drink, fight, and talk politics.
Following the final collapse of the Dhakaani Empire, the Gathering Stone became vital to the survival of the savage goblin tribes. In those dark times, the stone marked a centralized gathering place for orphaned refugees and weaker clans to seek the safety of others. There, smaller tribes merged, adopting stragglers and absorbing them into their midst. Conversely, remaining too long at the stone became a dangerous proposition for those without the support of a strong tribe. The stone became a hunting ground for emerging warlords who relied on slave labor to provide food and equipment for their growing armies. During this time, warlords enslaved many of the weaker goblin tribes, although this practice slowed in later years.
As tribes expanded, they began infringing on each other's territories. Frequent skirmishing forced neighbors into crude intertribal alliances, spawning loosely organized hordes. Again, the stone became a pivotal location where warlords formed and broke treaties based on fierce competitions and ritual displays of fortitude dedicated to their many deities. Eventually, the hordes solidified, giving rise to the stabilizing force of the Gbaal'dar. Still, warlords nursed bitter rivalries, supporting martial endeavors by continually demanding tribute from weaker tribes. To assuage their random pillaging, weaker tribes made pilgrimages to the stone to leave the warlords tributes. Most paid in valuable metals, weapons, and grain, while others performed elaborate ceremonies that included the live sacrifices of both livestock and slaves. Even today, the custom of leaving tribute to display fealty remains, and while Lhesh Haruuc (the leader of Darguun) staunchly denies that his people practice humanoid sacrifice, it still occurs in small covert ceremonies keeping with the ancient tradition.
Currently, the Gathering Stone functions as a mammoth exchange where almost anything can be purchased or traded. Throughout the year, thousands of goblinoids make the pilgrimage to the stone, transforming the site over time into what it is today: a massive disheveled campground draped in a sea of hide tents, mud hovels, and bonfires. The heavy traffic has ruined the surrounding region, leaving a wake of trampled ashen soil.
Tribes territorially claim their ancestral sites, maintaining them throughout the year or returning to them season after season. The constant flux of congregants makes finding precise locations near the stone impossible, so the concept of an ancestral site pertains more to a tribe's relative proximity to its neighbors than to an actual place.
Pathways marked by torches fashioned from pitch-filled skulls divide the campsite. Refuse and filth collect in large piles, despite the dozens of upturned stumps filled with brutal stinging fire ants that act as garbage disposals. Pocking the ground, shallow pools collect rain and waste, their stagnant murk croaking with bloated carrion-eating flogs. Hunting the frogs has become a favored pastime of goblin children, who consider the small creatures a delightful snack and often trade them as currency. The remaining earth is lifeless, eerily highlighted by flecks of bone that glimmer in the moonlight like seashells on a beach.
Closer to the stone, the throngs draw tighter, devolving into a swirling chaos of putrid, sweat-drenched goblins all pushing and clamoring their way toward the center. The ceaseless ruckus of the crowd thrums like a sour harp from war chants and howling children. Even miles away, the echoes of distant martial music—the low-pitched bellowing of horns and the fevered drumming on husks of felled trees, burnt hollow and skinned with hairless hides—carries on the wind.
At the nucleus of the excitement stands the storied Gathering Stone. Black flies swarm the slick, russet shellac of dried blood that reaches halfway up the fin shaped stone. Wrapped around its perimeter he dozens of grisly piles of bones, skins, and scalps left as tributes in homage to the strength of the hundreds of goblin tribes swearing fealty to Lhesh Haruuc.
In recent decades, the Gathering Stone has seen a new development. In 970 YK, House Deneith established a fortress near the great stone, a center for recruiting and training goblinoid mercenaries. While some dislike the presence of humans so close to this sacred site, Deneith brings considerable wealth to Darguun, and service with House Deneith provides good steel and a chance to shed the blood of outsiders.
The Kurmaac
The goblinoids of Dhakaan were a civilized people who placed great value on order and discipline, yet their powerful nation was shattered by the daelkyr and the hordes of Xoriat. In the end, it was the orc druids—always considered to be superstitious savages by the Dhakaani—who brought an end to the Xoriat incursion. As the crippled nation collapsed into chaos, a new tradition arose: the druidic path of the Kurznaac. Although inspired by the ore mystics, the Kurmaac were also influenced by the horrors of the daelkyr war, and they adopted a darker path, combining the way of the druid with blood sacrifice and brutality.
For millennia, the Gathering Stone remained under the capable guardianship of the Kurmaac tribe. When Lbazaar and Malleon the Beaver came to Khorvaire, they drove the bulk of the goblinoids into the mountains and beneath the earth. But many among the Ghaal'dar remained true to the Kurmaac traditions. Following the liberation of Darguun. the descendents of the Kurmaac returned to the Gathering Stone and resumed their role as guardians. While the Kurmaac pay respect to Lhesh Haruuc, their first allegiance is to the stone and their ancient traditions, as interpreted by the tribe's spiritual leader, or mogruut—a title that loosely translates as "supreme sentinel." The tribe's current merged is a feral hobgoblin who has forsaken his former life, family, and name to bear the auspicious title.
The Kurmaac people maintain little contact with other tribes beyond the limited exchanges that accompany their work at the stone. One exception appears to be the Kech Volaar clan, with whom they frequently exchange lore and other information. Conventional accounts purport the two tribes likely share several common ancestors. Others speculate the Kurmaac form a covert sect of the Kech Volaar, maintaining the ruse of independence to create the illusion that it upholds tribal neutrality. The dirge singers of the Kech Volaar say they are intrigued to learn about the history of the fallen goblins, but that the Kurmaac are primitives who have abandoned the traditions of the empire for ore mysticism. If the Kech Volaar do wish to spread their Dhakaani traditions among the modem goblins, however, recruiting the guardians of the Gathering Stone would be a vital first step.
The Kurmaac are not bound to a single bloodline. They evolved from remnants of many shattered tribes. Most secretly loath the Rhukaan "Dash, the powerful tribe of Lhesh Haruuc, because of Haruuc's efforts to move away from the past, including his support for the Sovereign Host Despite their ties to the Kech Volaar, the Kurmaac are likewise largely hostile towards the emerging Dhakaani clans. The Kurmaac believe that the Dhakaani Empire was flawed and deserved its ate. The path that will truly lead the people of Darguun to greatness is the way of the Kurmaac, and the druidic cabal at the heart of the tribe intends to wrest power from Lhesh Mame and restore Daargun to its proper path. While they lack the necessary forces to do so, their influence at the Gathering Stone allows them to encourage the lesser tribes of the Ghaal'dar to return to ancestral law and politics.
The Blind Forum
In order to assuage negative accusations that a central leadership encourages the degradation of clan tradition, Lhesh Haruuc instituted a policy sanctioning any individual accused of a crime or demanding a legal settlement the choice to demand resolution under the ancient law known as blind forum. Individuals agreeing to settle disputes through blind forum forgo a civilized trial and instead partake in competitive skirmishes or brutal ordeals that settle petty arguments, territorial disputes, trade and hunting rights, and even marriages. Sentinels orchestrate the blind forums, first listening to all contested disputes individually and then arranging contests accordingly.
Once the sentinels choose a contest, those involved are bound to complete it or face immediate execution. Under the ancient tradition, a winning contestant isn't perceived as innocent. Instead, the victory proves the individual's actions justifiable, even those that contemporary law considers atrocious. Aside from the Rhukaan Taash clan, most goblinoids eschew contemporary trials, favoring the age-old disputesettling contests used by the Kurmaac.
Political speech also falls under the jurisdiction of the blind forum. While Kurmaac law encourages all to speak freely within the radius of the stone, theoretically bestowing political asylum to those who speak against Lhesh Haruuc or other powerful tribe leaden, charges of treason are quickly levied against such individuals as soon as they leave the campgrounds. To avoid such a fate, the individual may request a contest to prove his speech justified. While such a ruling does little to prevent the assassin's dagger, it successfully prevents immediate and public execution. The only other safe option for those engaging in brash politicizing is to remain within the jurisdiction of the Gathering Stone. As a result the grounds host a small but permanent colony of political antagonists.