Crushbone

Crushbone is the home of Clan Crushbone and their ruler Emperor Crush. Located to the north of Kelethin along the northern wall of The Greater Faydark.

Crushbone is the stronghold of the orcs of Faydwer. The blue-skinned orcs worship Bertoxxulous but have formed a treaty with Innoruuk's children, the dark elves. Located in the cliffs north of the Greater Faydark, the Crushbone Orcs raid Kelethin quite often. They send many troops in attempt to chop down the massive trees that support the city. Emperor Crush also sends forth bands of orcs to capture elves and dwarves to work as slaves in the mines that supply the clan with weapons and armor. The elves of Faydwer will look amiably upon any who slay these orcs, especially those that return with proof of the death of the High Priest, Emperor, or Ambassador D'Vinn. D'Vinn is a dark elf that resides within the citadel. He was sent by Queen Cristanos Thex of Neriak to negotiate with the orcs. The dimwitted orcs get funding and better weapons, while the dark elves get an army of minions attempting to exterminate the high elves and wood elves without ever having to leave Nektulos Forest themselves.

A view looking at Castle Crushbone

Level of Monsters: 10-20 Types of Monsters: Orc pawns, Orc Centurions, Orc Legionnaires, Orc Slaver, Orc Oracles, Orc Emissarys, Royal Guard Notable NPC's: Orc taskmaster, Orc trainer, Orc warlord, Ambassador DVinn, Lord Darish, Retlon Brenclog, Emperor Crush, The Prophet Adjacent Zones: The Greater Faydark Name in /who: crushbone ZEM Value: 2.13 Type Outdoor Expansion Classic

Map

1. Camps inhabited by Legionnaires 2. Castle Crush, where Emperor Crush, Ambassador DVinn, Emissaries, The Prophet, and most high levels spawn 3. Slave Cabin, with inhabitants needed for Screaming Mace Quest 4. Slaver Caves, with slaves outside 5. Slave Pits with 6. Trainer Hill ("Where camping was born...")

Safe/Evac Spot

Entrance: (Y) -644.00 (X) 158.00 (Z) 4.00

Dangers

The zone is inherently dangerous. If you are not at least level 4 then you will want to hunt in Greater Faydark until then. It is recommended to be level 6 to be able to safely hunt here.

There are a few wandering orcs throughout the zone. So once you settle in at your camp you will want to watch out for the wanderers.

Another danger is the number of higher level mobs that there are. close to half the zone is made up of level 10 or higher mobs. So be on the look out for Legionaries, elites, Oracles, Slavers, Taskmaster, D'Vinn, Lord Darish, and Emperor Crush

If there are a lot of people in the zone hunting then this can create a rapid respawn rate. This can overwhelm the lower level groups. This also leads to many trains to the zone line by groups. So if you see "Train to Zone" or something similar over shout you better keep your head on a swivel. The trains have been known to wipe out several groups wandering back to their spots.

Benefits

Despite the dangers here the benefits are worth the risk. Many of the low level quests in the area, to include the newbie armor quests, require you to go here. One of the most popular quests is to collect the Crushbone belts and Legionnaire shoulderpads to turn into the Warrior guild in Kaladim.

One of the biggest reasons that this zone is a great place to level is the inherent experience bonus. This experience bonus was hard to beat for the longest time. It wasn't until the Mines of Gloomingdeep was released (source?) that this zone was a hotspot for experience. It is still a decent place to get quick experience until the low to mid teens before moving on.

There are a number or gear drops for everyone. You can get the Shiny Brass Shield from the Orc trainer or if you want to take you chance you can take on D'Vinn and try to get his Dragoon Dirk. The Dwarven Ringmail Tunic also drops here from Emperor Crush.

The orc oracle's drop an Illegible Scroll which can be turned in at East Freeport, West Freeport, High Keep, and Northern Felwithe (General Jyleel at 10, -201) for coin and random low-level spell scrolls.

The zone can accommodate several groups. Camping areas include the entrance (to include Orc Trainer @ 6 on map), wall / slaver pits (outside castle by the bridges and area 5), slavers / tents (numbers 1, 3, and 4), and throne room (2).

Traveling To and From

The only entrance is through the tunnel at the northern wall in The Greater Faydark. If you are at the northern lift (Orc Lift) for Kelethin you simply need to run due north. If you are at Felewithe you will want to run north along the wall and then west once you get to the northern wall of the zone.

Garden Variety's Glorious Adventures and Travel Guide to Crushbone

Very few that enter Crushbone ever come out alive - it is not a place you want to visit without a coterie of well-armed friends by your side. According to lore, the various canals in this area empty out into an underground river that eventually leads to the Ocean of Tears (though nobody I have come across has ever actually found such a place - if it exists). Ambassador D'Vinn, the deadly, cunning, and notorious emissary of Neriak, has taken up permanent residence here in the Crushbone Citadel. Although ordered here by Queen Cristianos Thex of Neriak to maintain communications and liasion with the orcs, many say that his royal bloodline gives him a dangerous claim to the Teir'Dal throne. He can often be spotted in the tower with Emperor Crush himself, scheming against their Feir'Dal and Koada'Dal enemies.

The unfortunate elves, dwarves, and gnomes who are doomed to spend the last of their days in the slave pits may have interesting things to say to those adventurers willing to listen (and to find the keys that will unlock their shackles and set them free).

Forageable Items

None.

Beta Lore

Editor Note: The following was distributed during beta and tells the story of the founding of Crushbone.

The Orcan Exile

Little more then three months after their betrayal of Dagnor and their march to the east, the newly freed orcan slaves were left stranded with no place to call home. None of the orcs had ever lived without the watchful eye of an ogre master looking over their shoulder, so now they were like children: wandering without knowing exactly what they were to do. The dwarves had made it clear in their pact that, while the kingdom of Kaladim was responsible for freeing the orcs, they were still very much enemies. It was not an option for any of the orcs to return west, so they eached began plotting for a new place to live. The decision was split three ways and the orcs began to revert back to the methods of their ancestors: splitting into three differing clans. One clan marched north, taking residence in the familiar northern peaks of Rakthok's ridge and away from the careful eyes of the dwarves. The second clan decided to make the grassy fields of the loping plains their home. Even today this clan remains there, looting and plundering any caravans who happen to pass by. The third, and the largest clan, was lead by a young orc named Gharol. He convinced the majority of the orcs that true riches lied to the fertile lands of the east. There, he said, the orcs would find their new home and the crushbone clan, as he called his followers, would grow strong. It was at this time, as the crushbone clan started making their way further east around the wayunder lake and straight for the greater Faydark, that the elven lord of Kelethin began to take notice of their advancement. The elves of Kelethin were tentative at first and the lord of Kelethin, an old elf by the name of Carandril, sent many messages to Gharol to ask what his plans were in moving his clan eastward. To this day no scholar can really be sure if Gharol was able to decipher the letters or not, as it is general knowledge that most orcs can't read a word of any written language, but it is certain the orcan lord was angry to find that another race had already taken residence in the eastern lands.

Carandril never saw any messengers he sent out again, as they were all killed by Gharol immediately as the letters were exchanged. Acting purely on his instincts, the leader of the crushbone clan told his followers of this "new" race and how they had "stolen" the east from the orcs. Gharol then started to plot a new plan which would entail the complete destruction of Kelethin and the enslavement of the elven race, as he thought kelethin was the only city of elves and the center for the entire elven empire. Both assumptions were false and the forces of Gharol were met with bitter, however surprised, resistance on the borders of the greater faydark. Most of the orcs leading this first attack were killed and the rest were turned quickly away. Angry at this new defeat and jealous of the elven strength, Gharol started to plot a new system of attack. He understood that most of his soldiers had been slaughtered from elves high in the treetops who would rain showers of arrows down on his forces. So for the second attack, Gharol put his orcs into a long line of attackers, gave each soldier his own makeshift torch, and then ordered the entire host to run into the borders of the greater Faydark and burn whatever they could touch. The Crushbone orcs set fire from everything to the tops of the trees to the grasses on the forest paths. Nothing but ash was left in their wake. The elven archers high in the trees were burned to death and the remaining elven soldiers, horrified and shocked at the tactics of their strange enemy, began to make a hasty retreat. The wood elves would later call the incident "the great burning." Gharol, seeing how effective his new methods were, gathered his clan into many small camps around the greater Faydark and ordered the construction of hundreds of torches for a second assault.

The lord of Kelethin, desperate for help, sent word of his plight to the heart of the empire: Felwithe. The first elf to take interest in Kelethin's request was a young soldier named Edril. Edril had lived his entire life in Felwithe, schooled by the best teachers and raised in a wealthy family. Around his 30th birthday, young by elven standards, he admitted himself into the imperial school of soldiery where he impressed his teachers with both his knowledge of military science and his deadly accurate fighting skills. After graduating and performing many deeds of merit in the imperial army of the elves, he was chosen as a personal guard of the emperor at the unprecedented age of 50. What brought him everlasting fame among the elves, however, was not how he excelled in schooling but what he chose to do for Kelethin. Going straight to the emperor himself, Edril asked that he be allowed to lead the attack against the orcs. When the emperor granted his wish, Edril hand picked 100 of the best elven warriors and the best horses, and rode quickly to the woodland kingdom of Kelethin. He was met at Kelethin with a large reception, but decided to ride through quickly. He was there for only one purpose: to make a name for himself by destroying the orcs. Little more then two days after arriving in the city, Edril and his men rode outside the greater Faydark and headed directly for the first orcan encampment. It was the middle of the night when Edril made his first strike, and the orcs were completely caught off guard. Edril's men rode straight over the orcs, slaughtering every clansmen they saw with little casualties of their own. Edril is said to have fought like a madman, tallying over 20 kills himself. Without even stopping to catch their breath, Edril's soldiers rode for the next camp so as to keep the element of surprise. One by one the camps of the crushbone orcs were destroyed quickly and brutally. The orcs, still preparing for their second assault on Kelethin, were always caught by surprise. Edril and his men moved from one battle to the next so quickly, the elves called them the legion of wind. The strategy worked perfectly: Gharol was never able to get word of the new attackers in time to plan a defense and so most of the orcs were slaughtered. The final battle, lasting longer then the rest, was against Gharol's own camp. Many of Edril's warriors were killed in this fight but all of the orcs, including Gharol, were driven away to the deep growth of the wild Greater Faydark.

Here they have made their makeshift kingdom. When Edril returned to his kingdom, he was proclaimed high protector of Kelethin with over 150 kills to his name alone. This would not be the last time Edril's name was written into elven history, however. It is believed that only weeks later after their retreat, Gharol was killed by his own followers. The fourth age ended in war and death with the promise of a new beginning. The petty squabbling of the elder races on the continent of Faydwer had ended tragically and none of the kingdoms would ever fully recover. The seeds for revenge had been sewn and the entire world had changed for all the elder races. With the immigration of the dark elves to Neriak on Tunaria and of the ogres to Oggok, new lands had been discovered and none of the elder races had the power anymore to stop the kingdoms of the gnomes and halflings of expanding nor did they have the strength to control the ever increasing population of the humans. The fourth age was a time of death, sadness, and change for Norrath.

Bestiary

Found 0 NPC's that spawn in Crushbone.

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Items

Found 0 items that drop in Crushbone.

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Quests

Found 0 quests that start in Crushbone.

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