Characters:Dun Barethsol:Thorig Axehaft
The Dwarvish city of Uzdun'kal and the many surrounding villages, smithies, mines, and outlets to the upper world, are ruled by a council of clan elders, but even among these, special honor is given to the the eldest, who holds the title of Lord of Uzdun'kal. Like every other Dwarf in Uzdun'kal, the Lord works with his hands on a daily basis. He is a master blacksmith and tends to come to council sessions somewhat dirty. Among Dwarves, this habit causes no problems. However, a non-Dwarf might tend to view his untidy presence as a statement about the dignity of his person and clan. He makes up for the dirt and smell of working the forge by being very dignified before non-Dwarvish folk and rather polite to them. This capacity for dignity and politeness when meeting strangers is part of what keeps the Lord in power. Despite his sometimes work-worn appearance, he is the best Dwarf in Uzdun'kal for meeting with outsiders.
That dignity is very much a part of his motives now. He is the oldest in Uzdun'kal, and remembers a time when the Dwarvish numbers had not dwindled so much. He does not want the shame of Bjarn Fingolson's behavior to tarnish the reputation of the Dwarves any farther. Thus, he sends out Erek Stonebreaker to the Elves and Ynar Hammerhand to find a likely, hopefully trustworthy, human adventurer to recover the gems. He decrees that the human brave enough to undertake the task be given greatest courtesy and the best that the clan can offer. He also determines to speak to the adventurer in person. So decreeing, he set to work to make with his own hands a weapon befitting a hero, as he hoped the adventurer would prove to be. The weapon he crafted is now known as Thorig's Mace. He choose not to set runes of offense and destruction upon it, thinking that such a thing would bring out the darker tendencies in a Human. Instead, he crafted it so that it could not be broken nor worn down by any force. He may also teach the Adventurer how to maintain all the weapons she comes by. This task is generally taken up by his Captain of Arms, but in the case of Thorig's Mace, he may see to the training personally.