Alright, speaking of the expedition nearing its end, let's see just how much this single expedition has accomplished.
We cleared Und-Uzgar of Skaven, opening up the potential to have secure passage between Barak Varr and Karak-Eight-Peaks. Hopefully, the connection between Und-Uzgar and the rest of Karak-Eight-Peaks will be excavated quickly allowing the expedition, or those that remain, to properly project force over the Death Pass ensuring the safety of the supply caravans coming to resupply and rearm the hold.
We broke through the East Gate, allowing the expedition access to the greater Karak-Eight-Peaks, and, more importantly, we were able to hold it. Now with the door to the Karak opened, more troops and supplies can flow into the Reclamation force, so long as it can be protected during its travels through the small section of the Death Pass that we can project force over. It was the triumphal start of the Dwarven reconquest, and the battle will be sung about for centuries to come.
We recaptured Karag Lhune, which held an incredible amount of symbolism for the dwarves. Now names can be etched on the Hall of Oaths again, the process of cleaning out and sanctifying the temple to Grungni can begin, ancestral weapons and wealth can be used, but, likely most importantly, it was the first Karag reclaimed of Karak-Eight-Peaks which tells everyone that it is possible to begin reclaiming the hold. The Dwarves, for the first time in living memory, are winning rather than slowly dying from attrition.
We than recaptured Karag Nar in a brutal battle where Kragg the Grimm himself struck down countless Greenskins, humans once again demonstrated the valor that led to the ancient dwarven/human alliance, and dwarven artillery reaped a terrible toll on the Greenskins. While this climactic battle was taking place outside, dwarven soldiers were killing and dying to provide room to retreat back into the Karag so that the army outside could seek refuge behind dwarven fortifications. And then the Greenskins broke, and the mop-up began.
Two Karags are now King Belegar's, a full 1/4 of the peaks in a single expedition. The East Gate remains his, as well as the ability to project force over the relevant part of Death Pass to protect his supply line. Kvinn-Wyr is a neutral zone that protects our south-western flank with an entire ecosystem of trolls, which leaves five karags, the Citadel, the Underway, and the City of Pillars left to reclaim. With a mass of Greenskins in the Citadel having either died or fled into the surrounding land, the Citadel is open to attack and conquest.
While the time frame for all of this happening is a bit ambiguous, the frantic pace the Dwarves have been doing things leads me to believe that it's been only a couple of weeks at most. This much being done is a phenomenal amount of progress in the time frame. But it is, ultimately, an unsustainable amount of progress in the given timeframe. Three massive battles in such a time frame (East Gates, Karag Lhune, and Karag Nar) are going to take a toll on the readiness of the troops. Hopefully we can do a final push for the Citadel, as that would be a cherry on top of the fantastic progress of the expedition.
Longer-term, the reclamation of Karak-Eight-Peaks is looking like it will have sufficient resources, supplies, and troops to secure what they have gained and then start pushing for more. Unbeknownst to anyone, Karak Azul is sending a whole throng to help with the reclamation of Karak-Eight-Peaks. This will be much needed fresh bodies which can be put to work securing the ground already gained, and possibly even helping conquer even more territory. With the wealth from Karag Lhune and Karag Nar secured, proper payment of the soldiers can be made, and King Belegar will likely have a sufficient amount left over to start hiring mercenaries for more manpower.
Additionally, should we successfully conquer the Citadel, there may still be lesser vaults still intact there. Given this statement,
His final destination, the King's Armoury, was a topic of some concern for you. Belegar had made a fair few promises on behalf of the legendary riches of Karak Eight Peaks, but the main treasure vaults of the Karak were almost exactly opposite the Expedition, under Karag Zilfin, and the lesser ones were within Kvinn-Wyr and beneath the Citadel.
Getting access to more funds can only help King Belegar further fund the reclamation of Karak-Eight-Peaks and will provide some financial security for this whole endeavor.
However, there is still a lot of work to do for a total reclamation. Five more karags need to be cleared of Greenskins and Skaven, and another needs to be cleared of trolls. The Citadel has not been conquered yet, and for all that this is an opportunity we still need to do it. Then there is the Underway and the City of Pillars, filled with Skaven and Greenskins. Not much have been seen of the Skaven, which is both a relief and a concern, but the Reclamation will need to deal with them sooner or later. Furthermore, there is Karak Drazh to worry about, but such worry will likely deal with their potential raids of our supply train or reinforcing the Greenskins already here.
The Reclamation is surrounded by enemies and has a lot more work to do, but it is simply amazing how much King Belegar has been able to do in such a short time frame and with the wealth he has reclaimed, he is in a position to fortify and then launch more expeditions from a position of strength within the very Karak he seeks to put fully under his rule.
