Editing Landsoftheblacksea:Main Page/players/khrumm kÿhr velkr (section)

=== Part II === 

He decided to take the terrifying but necessary road that skirted between the foothills of the mountains and the inky dark of the Dire Fens – the Mirecrawl, men called it.

He hired on as a guard and smith with a caravan heading north with goods from the lands of men further south – Endeja, they called it. A young merchant, too poor to ship his goods by boat, but hoping to make enough with his caravan of expensive wines that he would never have to travel the road again – if they made it.

There were more than twenty armed men guarding the caravan – tough warriors who had seen combat, and even a few who had explored ruins and caverns and had tales to tell of the monsters and terrors they had fought.

And not just men. Like his own people, female humans apparently fought beside the men. The caravan had three women fighters; any of whom could hold her own in a fight with the strongest of the men in the group.

The journey nearly ended in disaster.

Not three days after leaving the last town in Ivepia, a band of ogres attacked them. Khrumm had read about them, but seeing them was a different story altogether. Nevertheless, he acquitted himself well in the ensuing battle.

But they lost three men before it was over.

Four days later, five more men were lost to the siren song of what sounded like the voices of beautiful women, but which turned out to be horrible, half-bird half woman monstrosities. Khrumm himself was injured in combat, and would carry a scar on his left shoulder for the rest of his life most likely.

They were nearing Seld Saufaré, a fortification at the northern end of the road that was the first outpost of the Kingdom of Athervon, when the worst happened.

From over the precipice that defined the border of the swamp – “The Fall”, the men called it – came shambling, undead corpses. One after another, bearing rusted, notched weapons and dented, ruined armor.

The battle raged as they tried to hold them back while the caravan raced ahead.

For the better part of an evening, they fought. Two of the women fell, and five more of the men.

Dawn was what saved them. As the first rays began to light up the sky, the things squealed and snarled, but then turned and fled, leaping over the edge of the sheer cliff to disappear into the darkness of the fetid swamp below.

They limped into Seld Saufaré. Of the original twenty-four guards, only nine remained, including himself.

But the shipment arrived, and the merchant paid well as he said he would. The funds were enough that Khrumm was able to purchase slightly better equipment and gear.

He began to journey north, heading towards Fhÿldrmüdhrm. He had passed through the town of Asala, which apparently had only recently had a group of fortune-seekers like himself fight and slay some kind of terror that had plagued the place for generations. There was some talk of them having discovered something of Dwarven origin during their fight with the thing – something that had come from a mine his northern cousins had abandoned, somewhere between the town and Fhÿldrmüdhrm.

With coin and a patient ear, he learned more about this mine as he travelled north.

The mines had held rich seams of gemstones, particularly ''urïru'', ''ürÿz', ''azhâ'', and ''ukür'' – what men call sapphires, iolite, tanzanite, and lapis luzi. The mine was named Uhrômunïhr - the “Blue Halls” – in honor of these veins of blue gems that glittered throughout the place.

Supposedly both ''ôru'' and ''aghün'' – silver and titanium – were also found and mined and forged into armor and weapons there.

''Aghün''. One of the fabled metals he had read about.

He could barely contain his excitement.

Finally, in one of the villages one night, a drunken man told him that he had found the entrance to the mines long ago, when he was a lad.

The rest of the folk in the room laughed – the man was not to be trusted, making up stories constantly.

Khrumm felt the tingle of excitement as he clutched the small vellum map he had traced out based on the man’s directions, his purse a gold crown lighter than it had been at the beginning of the evening.

He put his head on his pillow, looking out at the cold night sky, knowing he would be unable to sleep.

Eliriel had warned him that knowledge might take his rest from him. But he was happier than he had been since leaving his home.