© Daniel S. Wall, 5/18/2026
Report on The Grind assembled for the benefit of the Library Philosophic
Written by Professor Piebald Hackmaster, Esquire.
(sundry commentaries attached)
I have seen The Grind in person, I have seen it from each side of the conflict, having made my way to the front lines of each of the three fighting factions at one time or another. I served briefly in the dwarven military in the early days of my career. Later I visited the elven lines as a military advisor, and I once entered the field from the orc lines as a hostage negotiator. Each time, I saw enough to understand the general tactics of each force along with the state of morale of the troops. Ine one respect, at least, I must say that they were all remarkably similar. To say that all of them held a bleak point outlook is quite an understatement. In all the time I spent on this theater, I don’t think I have met a single soldier that held out any hope, not for victory, and not for their own personal future. If ever, I met an exception, it was surely a fresh recruit who would surely die of his erroneous outlook soon enough.[1]
Never in my life have I seen a place so devoid of joy. It is a place where people go to die, where lives are wasted and forgotten. I wish I could find something positive to share in this report, but I simply cannot. This place should not exist. That is does is an indictment of all that is meaningful.
It is true that each of the armies in The Grind are actually in the service of the kingdom of Argensloft, which is to say that they are collectively the bane of peace-loving peoples all over the Sunset Isles. One might count it as a good thing that they are so busy killing each other, else they would surely be put to work inflicting great misery on others. Still, I wouldn’t count on this stalemate keeping these armies out of other people’s business indefinitely. The day will come when they bring this misery to someone else.
Why do these armies fight?[2] [3] [4] [5] Nobody knows, least of all those fighting in The Grind themselves. What must at one time have been an minor dispute between allied forces has long since become a source of eternal hatred worthy of rival kingdoms. Each of the armies has long since lost any sense of the common cause they might have found with one another for generations now, those fighting in The Grind sacrifice everything to gain a few hundred feet of ground, only to lose roughly equal amounts of territory in short order. It would be sad were those fighting in this war not so very hateful to begin with.[6]
***
So what are the differences between the forces in question?
The dwarven trenches have been carved directly into the earth. They garrison their troops in small, shallow, dungeons just a little behind the front lines. These small dungeons always have at least two exits, one toward the front lines and one toward the rear. Most often they will also have an exit heading out to each flank.
The dwarves are of course joined by dark elves, giants, and a variety of creatures from mountainous territories. Most of their allies are at least as tough as the dwarves, but their forces do not lack for magical powers. It’s a tough combination to face, great strength and great magic. If anyone gets to have their cake and eat it to, it is an army of dwarves accompanied by their favorite allies.
***
The elves typically make their own fortifications out of hedge-rows thick enough to block arrows and bolts. They have been known to carve a hole or two in these walls, a fact which has escaped more than a few of their foes, usually in their last moments of life. The elves place their garrisons in tree-houses set back a ways from the front lines. They run wooden walkways from tree to tree, and some lead well back to the greater forests far from the battlefields. Any enemy that reaches far enough into their territory to encounter the trees must be doing very well. Any enemy doing that well is also likely to run out of luck soon enough.
How do the elves manage such fantastic facilities in the midst of a wasteland? This is difficult to say, but I estimate it takes about 3 months to turn a dwarven trench into a sylvan fortification. I seems to take about 4 to 5 months to do the same for territory taken from the orcs. How much of the extra time is spent clearing traps and how much of it is spent trying to get something to grow where such filthy creatures had once dwelled, I do not know.
Elves are of course joined by a variety of fairies, leprechauns, gnoles, and other woodland creatures. They certainly do not lack for magic. Theirs is not the toughest army on the battlefield, but it is certainly the most one most likely to turn an enemy into a newt.
***
The orc trenches have also been carved into the earth, just as the dwarven trenches are, but for obvious reasons, the orc trenches are deeper. The orcs do not usually bother with underground garrisons, but they have been known to use them in turf recently taken from the dwarves. The orcs are just as bad at maintenance and cleaning as one might expect them to be, so their trenches are always filthy. Often, they are also in disrepair, a fact which the orcs seem to regard as an good thing. When a section of trench deteriorates sufficiently to make it an opportunity for their enemies, one can bet that the orcs have filled it with a number of trap, and planted enough forces around it to punish any enemy foolish enough to try and gain ground.
The orcs are joined by a variety of wretched creatures, from kobalds to goblins, ogres and so many more. Their forces are of course quite weak on magic, but they never lack for strong bodies to throw at an enemy.
***
Two additional features of The Grind are worth bearing in mind. The first of these would be the prevalence of spiritual warfare on the battlefield, and the second is a weird quality to the setting itself, one for which I have never heard a satisfactory explanation. Together these help to shape the horrors of the war into a uniquely horrible experience for anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in its battlefields.
As to spiritual warfare, it is morbid icing atop this terrible cake. Soldiers on all sides of the battlefield have not only to contend with the blades and darts of enemy solders, they must deal with the spiritual attacks by witches and other terrible practitioners of distant attacks and stealth magic. The end result is a level of malaise wearing down the morale of troops until they no longer hope to survive the next battle.
As to the odd phenomenon mentioned above, I do not really know what to say about it. I have experienced it myself, and yet I know not what it is. Simply put, those who have left the region for a time and come back commonly remark about changes to the landscape, the shape and nature of the trenches, and even the nature of location vegetation. Those who have been present in the Grind the whole always reply in complete dismay, having experienced no such changes themselves. A wounded soldier in the dwarven forces once returned to the trenches to find a major garrison shifted half a mile to the east, and yet his companions could not remember the engineers reworking any of the trenches, let alone digging out a new bunker. I can assure you that similar stories have been told about territory held by each of the major armies. It seems that the region changes without being noticed by any of these present. Why, I do not know. I am guessing, it has something to do with the work of the witches.
The end.[7]
[1] Of course, there is hope in The Grind. One can always hope your enemies will die before you do. Some people might not find that a pleasing thought, but what else can I say. There is no pleasing some people!
– The Late Birgfester Miergrobbin, erstwhile Corporal, attached to Garrison 34 of the Dwarven Line.
[2] I can assure you that it is the fault of the dwarves. Any suggestion to the contrary must be regarded as a slander upon the nature of truth itself.
– Jared Leafeater, Elven Scout.
[3] Leafeater knows damned well that the entire conflict began with a terrible act of betrayal on the part of an elven general. If only he and his people would own up to their sordid history, perhaps we could all put this behind us.
– Matt Bastardson, Captain, Dwarven High Command.
[4] Leafeater makes perfect sense, served up in a stew. He mattered once, but he needed more salt.
– Dictated by Grunt Kneecapper, Orc War Chief.
[5] It is the Tierzen who are clearly responsible for this war. They are the source of the conflict. I do not know how or why, but one finds them at work in each of the major factions, always behind the scenes, and always in leadership roles. If you are looking for a source to blame for the horrid stalemate that is The Grind, it is in the kindred of Tierzen.
– Eleasie Nuehiean, Elven Ranger.
[6] It hurts my heart to read such a terrible statement here. Whatever their connections to the awful kingdom of Argensloft, the poor souls wasting their lives in this terrible war are living things. Surely, they must have some redeeming virtues! We should have compassion for these poor souls instead of rooting for them to waste themselves on such a meaningless war. I have to believe that there is some good to be found in these trenches. We should all wish to nourish it with our own goodwill! I will be sending all the good vibrations out that I can muster, and I sincerely hope that other readers will do the same. Let’s plant a little love-berry in those trenches!
– Alyra Kine, Healer
[7] What the present author misses here in this otherwise excellent report, is the role of wildings in shaping the fortunes of this war. A coalition of Vek and Centaurs often work as mercenaries for the kingdom of Argensloft, bringing a range of allies along with them, but these forces work all sides of The Grind. To know which side will gain the most ground, one has only to learn which side the wildings are working for. To know when a trend will end, one has only to discern the moment the current mercenary contracts will end.
– Anonymous