Grim faced men of rock and stone
Solemn gods and freezing bone.
These Reg saw within his dream,
and coldness gripped his heart.
"Go!" they bid him, "Go now North!
Passed the wolves in dim unknown!
Toward endless ice and hero's throne!"
and terror filled his soul.
"But how my lords?
How will i know?
I have neither maps, nor shields, nor swords!
How will I keep the way to go?"
Spoke Reg.
"Where the sabre falls," they said,
"is where you, reg, will make your stead.
Bring with you six, that you make seven,
and march until you dream."
Log of the Expedition leader, 1st of Granite, 1051, early spring. =========
I must admit I had my doubts about this venture myself when we first set out. I wondered sometimes, as we trecked for these last few months across an endless expanse of snow and ice, if I wasn't just a dwarf gone mad. I left everything behind for this, and all on the whim of what I had thought to be an odd dream. But I could not shake from myself the powerful urge to continue North, and now it is vindicated.
Last night I had the dream. I had often imagined what it would be like, pondered if I would know it for what it was. I realize now that the gods are not so opaque as to make their intentions unclear. And indeed, how obvious it was! In it I was standing among my comrades where we had lain near the wagon that night to rest. Then, as now, I could see a short rise in the ice, just high enough for a single level to be dug out of it, but that was not what held my attention. No, my eyes were affixed to a great star, plummeting from the heavens.
At first it was little but a glimmer amidst the endless stars of the night, competing with the great aurora that constantly shimmers and snakes through the sky in the long nights here. But it grew, grew brighter and larger as it fell. Grew until it outshone the aurora, bent it, replaced it with its own. And then it crashed into the ground, cutting the earth like an adamant blade though goblin’s hide, throwing rock and ice high into the air. I remember thinking that the ice looked like blue fire as it fell, catching the light from the thing, which bathed the glacier around it in a bright light, the color of trolls blood.
My companions still slept then, and it was only I that saw as the light remained but the aurora shone brighter, undulating and reflecting in the things surface so that it looked as if it was pulsing, flowing, something alive. And then I saw, my mouth fell agape and I saw. For the great object that towered above me and cast the land in blue was nothing less than a great, polished sabre, the blade buried deep in the ice and the earth. It must have been taller than the greatest of our finest halls, and it was decorated along the hilt with great intricacy, of a craft finer than even our most skilled of masters could muster.
Truly, it was a thing of the gods.
And truly, it had not all been madness. For I know now that this is where we will make our stand, or perish in the attempt, because this is the place that the gods have dictated to me. We are all unskilled in the matters of carving the earth, or anything even remotely useful, peasants every one of us with the exception of myself, but we are all eager and willing, We go now to our god given task with trepidation, fear, and faith. For this is The Sabre of Ice, this is Ast Ushil! We go now. Strike the earth!
Notes ===
So welcome everyone to this new little community fortress. I settled on a haunted glacier that should have some magma, and decided I’d share the fun.
Two dwarves are already accounted for (myself and a friend that wanted in on it), but there are still five up for grabs. There are four lady dwarves and one male, and all of the dwarves save the expedition leader (a trader by way of having novice appraiser) are peasants. This allows for some flexibility in profession choices since I can start them down whatever path is needed without any pre-existing skills to favor. It’s also just that way for the sake of the story.
On another note, this is my very first post here, so hello to all you all out there. I’ve been playing for a while now, and have been a long time lurker on these forums. I finally decided to give this a try after recently reading Nist Akath and Boatmurdered and the like.
Anyway, the game is go, just waiting for some dwarves now. Here’s to some epic.
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Topic: Ast Ushil, The Sabre of Ice (community fort) (Read 1202 times)