One of the Lost Holds, Rilduk is now explored by one of the teams sent out from Gorok-kar to cleanse it. Initially they were making good progress, and there were hopes that the hold could be reopened for this year's Day of Heroes. However, recently the expedition is coming under attack from spirits and golems which are clearly of dwarven manufacture but of unknown origin, and in addition explorers have also fallen victim to sophisticated traps which are also of recent origin.
The truth is that the hold is still occupied - by descendants of the original dwarven inhabitants. When Negroth the Doombringer lay siege to the hold, a lord of the Fair Folk took pity on them and gave them the opportunity to flee to his realm in Faerie. However, he found that he enjoyed their company and thus convinced them that the surface world was a wasteland occupied by Negroth so that they would remain dependent on him and make frequent journeys to his Faerie realm to replenish their supplies. Over the centuries, the dwarves were gradually altered by the energies of Faerie until they look half fey themselves and would initially doubt that ordinary dwarves they encounter are "real dwarves" as well. Still, the Fair Folk lord wants to prevent the expeditionary force from interacting with "his" dwarves and has thus convinced them that the invaders are some sort of trick by Negroth, and thus they will do everything to defend their home from them.
Adventure Ideas
Designer's Notes & Resources
Thanks to one of my players for coming up with this.