Gifts of the Ancestors — Kenneth McDonald

In the second book in the Storm Shore trilogy, set within the world of Forgotten Lore, the war between the Angyar Gyenn and the orc invaders is not going well for the embattled defenders. As the dwarves fall back on their final citadel at Caer Cargoth, Gev Lesenn, a human sailor caught up in this desperate conflict by accident, finds himself at the center of a quest for an ancient dwarf artifact that could be the salvation of the Angyar Gyenn. But Gev and the dwarves are not the only ones seeking the gifts of the dwarven ancestors, and behind the half-demon warlord that leads the orc armies is an even greater power, one with its own covetous agenda.