The Dragonback Tale
Almost 1500 years before the crowning of Sigmar, a massive orc Waaagh! drew a bloody scar across what is now known as the badlands. On its path, the Waaagh! found a relatively young dwarven hold located in the Dragonback mountains, named Ekrund. Months of fighting followed between the belligerent greenskins and the stout dwarves, yet in the end, the dwarves were defeated. What few survivors remained fled across the Black Gulf while the greenskins plundered their hold.
Since the fall, several dwarven expeditions have attempted to retake Ekrund, but so far none have succeeded. More and more grudges were piled upon existing ones, and the legend of Ekrund grew with each century.
The tale of Ekrund's fall is well known among dwarves, and while they are not quick to speak of their shame, the stories have reached the ears of man as well. The thought of an abandoned hold, infested with greenskins but otherwise untouched, has sparked the greed of a group of enterpreneurs from Marienburg. These northerners have allied themselves with Tilean mercenaries and Arabyan corsairs, promising them a share of the loot for their help in clearing the mountains and capturing the dwarven hold.
The dwarves of Barak Varr, meanwhile, have heard of the manlings attempting to claim Ekrund for themselves and responded with outrage. Ekrund is a dwarven hold, and no man shall set foot within its sacred halls as anything but guests of the dwarves. Diplomacy between Barak Varr and the Marienburgers has failed; the dwarves are unwilling to allow the humans even a foothold in their city, while the manlings have nothing less than full ownership of the hold in mind. Grudges have been sworn, skirmishes have occured, and now finally Barak Varr, Karak Hirn and Karak Izor have sent a joint expedition to Ekrund, with the intention of ridding the Dragonback mountains of both greenskins and humans.
Meanwhile, to the south, a new Waaagh! is brewing. Fed up with fighting other tribes, the greenskins horde is moving towards the Dragonback mountains, planning to kick out the weedy goblins infesting the hold and claim it for themselves. Once Ekrund is in their hands, they plan to construct a fleet of Waaagh!ships there, and take the scrap wherever they feel like. But the greenskins are not stupid- the Waaagh! is still building steam, and waiting for either the humies or the stunties to secure the mountain (or worse, for some upstart gobbo to declare himself warboss and kick out both of them) will mean the Waaagh! will crumble before it gets started. And so they rush across the desert, eager to sink their choppaz into man, dwarf, gobbo, or anything that stands in their way, really.
Will Ekrund be returned to the dwarves, fall into human hands, or will history repeat itself and see the Waaagh! victorious? Only time will tell...