Caverns of Pain

The Orcs in the southern part of the Misty Mountains were not so well organized as their northern brothers. There were several tribes scattered throughout the mountains mainly on the eastern side. The most well established and largest of these was the Barz Thrugrim (or. “night-murderers”) tribe whose main hold was in the Misty Mountains at the northern horder of Fangorn near the springs that eventually yielded the Limlight. This hold, called The Caverns of Pain by the Orcs, was a large complex that was carved out of preexisting caves during the Second Age. One of the builders was a particularly adept and cruel Orc craftsman that made the gates of the complex resemble the withered stumps of two trees representing Laurelin the Golden and the White Telperion after their demiseat the hands of Morgoth and Ungoliant, complete with the spear of Morgoth still embedded in them. The sight of these effigies was meant to demoralize Elves who might attack, and so far, they had worked. The few times that the Elves of Lórien did pursue the Orcs back to their hold they stopped in disgust after seeing the gates. The Orcs regularly defiled the trees with waste to make the sight evenmore disgusting and more useful.