Crookback Mountain is the largest Skaven stronghold within the Dark Lands. The mountain lies at the eastern end of Mad Dog Pass, a great spire of black rock thrusting up out of the dusty plain. Crookback Mountain is currently held by Lord of Decay Kratch Doomclaw, leader of one of the most powerful Warlord Clans, Clan Rictus. Clan Rictus breed a remarkably large number of giant black-furred warriors so Lord Kratch has numerous regiments of elite Stormvermin under his control, making him much feared by the other Warlord clans. The main functions of this particular hold are to supply Goblin slaves to the Under-Empire and to mine the rich seams of iron and copper beneath the mountain for the forges of Clan Rictus.[1a]
History[]
The mountain was first settled by Night Goblins fleeing the desolation of the great Necromancer Nagash over three thousand years ago. Several tribes lived in its caves amid tunnels for hundreds of years, constantly fighting each other and tunnelling ever deeper into the roots of that mountain. Around three hundred years before the birth of Sigmar, the Skaven began tunnelling east from the Worlds Edge Mountains and broke into the lower workings. At first the Skaven were driven back by swarms of angry Night Goblins and Cave Squigs and so were forced to withdraw and block the tunnels after them.[1a]
The Council of Thirteen assigned the task of clearing the mountain to Clan Rictus, and promised them ownership of it if they succeeded. The clan almost bankrupted itself hiring Clan Skryre Poison-Wind Globadiers and Clan Moulder Packmasters to assist them in the tunnel fighting. The warriors of Clan Rictus tunnelled back under Crookback Mountain a year after the first incursion and found the Goblin tribes already locked in a bitter war with each other. Several months of bloody fighting wiped out or enslaved the remaining Goblins and left Clan Rictus in possession of Crookback Mountain.[1b]
The Skaven make frequent raids from Crookback Mountain to the nearby Goblin lairs at Mount Grey Hag and Mount Grimfang to capture more slaves. Hundreds of Goblin slaves are sent back to the Under-Empire every year (Orcs are seldom used as slaves — though they're strong, they're also truculent and pretty impervious to pain). Others are put to work in the mines or simply eaten. The warriors of Clan Rictus are highly adept at capturing Goblins, frequently sealing them into a cave or tunnel until they are half-suffocated before clubbing them unconscious. Their favourite tactic, however, is to wait until the Goblins have a great feast and drink too much fungus wine. Then, when the last Goblin has collapsed in a drunken stupor, the Skaven creep in and quietly drag away as many Goblins as they want.[1b]
Clan Rictus also undertakes patrols through the Dark Lands to search for falls of warpstone meteors. This is very perilous as they have to move on the surface and fight off Orcs and Goblins, wolf-riders and sometimes even Chaos Dwarfs from the north-east looking for slaves. But many warpstone meteors fall from Morrslieb east of the Worlds Edge Mountains and their value to the Skaven is immeasurable.[1b]