"Greatjon" Umber

Jon Umber, Lord of Last Hearth, sat at his desk as the quake set in. Banners fell from their hooks on the walls. His pitcher clattered to the floor and ale spurted in all directions.

Jon clung to his desk and prayed to the old gods that the castle would survive the quake without damage.

It stopped as fast as it had come. The clatter of the furniture stopped and suddenly it was completely quiet. Then a painful scream broke the silence.

Jon responded immediately and stormed out of his solar. On the way to the courtyard, he saw several servants lying on the ground with their tasks. As far as he could tell there was no serious injury among them.

In the courtyard of the castle, the cause of the screams quickly became clear. He ran so fast he slid in the direction of the stable.

His brother Mors was trapped under a thick wooden beam. Several men were already standing around the injured Lord when Jon met them.

They did not call him the Greatjon Umber for anything. Together with his men, he managed to lift the beam and free his brother.

Luckily his leg was just bruised and not broken.

After a detailed report from his Master of Arms, it was clear that no one had died or been seriously injured.

Shortly thereafter, Jon gathered his counselors in his solar. His brother Mors and his Maester Colrand

The three assembled men sat on wooden chairs around the large desk. They waited a moment longer for the serving girl to pick up the remains of the fallen pitchers and shut the door behind her.

The gray-haired and frail-looking Maester cleared his throat and spoke in a thin voice.

"The quake came suddenly and only lasted a few seconds my Lord." The old man shuddered

"But we were blessed with luck. Had it taken a little longer, the integrity of the castle could have been affected ".

The maester stroked his bald wrinkled chin and nodded as if he were agreeing with himself.

Jon's face was serious. Maester Colrand was right. He would have to patrol his lands. To make sure that nothing had happened in any of the small villages.

Maybe he should even send a few men towards the mountains. Something might have triggered the quake. He turned to his brother.

"I'm going to ride off the estates in the west along with a few men. I want to make sure everything is all right there. "

Mors listened attentively.

"Mors, you are the Lord in Last Hearth during my absence. Keep your eyes open. "

Mors nodded gravely.

Jon ordered a servant to bring Maester Colrand to his chambers. The old man had fallen asleep during the talk.

Lord Jon Umber left Last Hearth with a group of ten men in the direction of the mountains in the west.

King Dain

The stone door swung open as if they weighed nothing. Before Dain and his people, deep darkness opened up. The fresh air that blew in seemed to be a bit cooler. The dwarfs needed only a moment to get used to the new conditions.

A murmur went through the mass of dwarfs.

The huge stone gate had opened into a huge hall. The dimensions of the cave were gigantic. Dain's old throne hall would have fit into this room dozens of times. A small hole, miles above them at the top of the mountain, let a small bright ray of sunlight fall into the cave.

Dain raised his hand.

"Bundur, Orin"

The names echoed on the walls, producing a resonant echo.

Two dwarves, armed to the teeth, with thick brown beards, pushed their way out to the front of their king.

Both dwarves dropped to one knee before Dain.

"How can we serve you, my king?" Orin asked in a deep voice.

Dain sighed and slapped them both on the back of the head.

"Now is not the time for your antics," Dain grumbled.

The two younger dwarfs in front of him still had their heads bent, but Dain could have sworn that their barks had wobbled.

"Take a few men and explore this cave. Do not forget that we are not in Middle-earth. This is a new world. So be careful. "

Dain spoke sternly, hoping that his two pupils understood the seriousness of the situation.

Both rose and nodded. Both had trouble keeping their anticipation off their faces. The two had always been adventurous.

Dain just managed to stop shaking his head.

The foremost ranks of his people were heavily armed warriors.

Dain turned directly to them.

"The first legion secures the area directly in front of the stone gate. We will store our supplies and materials there, then we set up tents. You know the drill. I want to have decent tent rows for everyone here. "

"The commanders will report to me in an hour."

The dwarves in front of him saluted and set to work.

The construction of the tent camp was in full swing when Orin returned with his squad. It had been less than half an hour.

Orin's face was filled with excitement. He and his men nodded to him before reporting.

"From here to the wall at the other side it is about 900 meters. We assume that the cave is round. Although the walls seem rough and unprocessed, this can't be natural. "

Dain listened attentively when Orin continued.

"Directly opposite the gate where we came through is a tunnel. It is at least fifteen feet high and ten feet wide. We penetrated the tunnel a thousand feet, but have not seen daylight yet. "

"The tunnel is perfectly straight and probably leads out of the mountain."

Dain stroked his red beard. He turned to his advisor and spoke in a thoughtful voice.

"What do you think Balin?"

Balin had been his father's best friend. He had been with him all his life, and his advice was reliable.

The white-haired dwarf wrinkled his nose and spoke

"Whoever created this place, he did it for us dwarfs."

"We should carefully search the corridor. I hope Orin is right and it's an exit." The learned dwarf added.

The next days flew by. The scouts explored the rest of the big cave. As Orin suspected she was circular. The big gate through which they had come closed as the last box was cleared from the room.

The miners had already started digging the first tunnels on the sides of the central hall. Thousands of quarters and working rooms had to be prepared. A makeshift smithy had already been set up in the middle of the hall. The whole mountain was buzzing with activity.

The supplies they had brought would last a few more months. But some resourceful dwarfs had already discovered an underground river that contained a special kind of fish without eyes that tasted delicious.

Dain had set up his makeshift solar near the smithy. A heavy oak table and a few simple chairs stood on an old rug that the dwarves had found in one of the chests.

It had been seven days since arriving in this world.

At the end of the long tunnel, the scouts had discovered a massive stone gate that probably led to the outside. What astounded everyone was the dwarven runes carved into the stone.

Dain stood with Balin, Orin, and Bundur in front of the massive stone door. The runes that were carved in the door frame were written in a very old dialect and none of the dwarfs could read it.

The four were accompanied by one hundred dwarves of the first legion.

Orin stamped his axe on the ground and cursed.

"Barzuln! We've been standing in front of this damned gate for seven days now."

Orin was about to grab his ax to smash the gate. Although he had already tried that. That did not deter Orin. In his eyes, Violence was the best solution after all.

Dain put his hand on Orin's shoulder and spoke in a firm voice.

"No. Even if we could break it, that would be unwise. We may need it to defend ourselves. Just calm down Orin. We will find a way. The Gate was clearly created by dwarven hands. There must be a way to open it. "

Bundur snorted and earned a hard glare from Balin.

"As long as we have enough ale I can wait," Bundur said with his typical grin on his face.

Balin shook his head slightly.

Dain ignored the antics of his comrades and tried to remember the times with his father. For days already an old memory was buzzing around in his head. A story his father Gimli had told him when he was still a little dwarf boy.

As he ran his hand over the runes, his father's words came back to him with sudden clarity.

"When Aule created the Dwarves in Middle-earth, she knew that one day their time would expire. Since she did not want her creation to end one day, she created a sanctum at the same time. She named the place Kara Dim. The roof of the first world. "

Gimli stroked his young son over the short curly hair and spoke in a solemn voice.

"And the big goal of Kara Dim opens only when Durin's last son gives the order."

Dain remembered his father's warm laugh as if it had been yesterday. His reassuring words.

"I am sure there will be many thousand years before that happens my son."

Dain stopped dead in his tracks. He raised his right hand and spoke without turning.

"I have an idea. Ready yourselves. "

Orin and Bundur stopped their discussion about beer and shouldered their weapons.

The dwarfs of the first legion lined up directly behind their king. Each of them held a thick oak shield with Dain's coat of arms on it. A golden Warhammer in front of a round shield. Nori, the commander of the unit was a veteran who had fought in the Ring Wars. Most of the soldiers were armed with heavy double-sided axes. Some used a Warhammer like their King.

There was a moment's silence. Dain spoke in the same solemn voice his father had used.

"I, Dain, son of Gimli, last Lord of Aglarond and last King under the mountains. Command you to open! "

His words rang through the mountain like a bell and made the millennia-old stone tremble.

The stone gate responded immediately. The runes glowed briefly and the edges of the door wings became visible in front of them. On the right side of the corridor, the stone crunched and a lever became visible.

Orin looked incredulously at the lever. He threw his arms in the air and thundered.

"These short-nosed Miners call themselves Dwarves and overlook such a lever"

Meanwhile, Balin studied the lever more closely.

Dain grabbed his hammer hurricane with both hands and nodded to Balin.

With a jerk at the lever, the heavy doors opened slowly.

The fresh air that was blowing in was pleasantly warm. It had to be summer.

The doors opened completely. An idyllic valley came into sight. Dain estimated that they still were at least two thousand feet above sea level.

Nestled between white mountains peaks several thousand meters high, a deep blue lake was not far from the entrance. In the distance, Dain could see large fir forests covering the lower mountainsides.

A stream led fresh water from the lake down the valley.

The Stone Gate itself was carved into the highest mountain in sight at the dead end of the valley. The peak was so high up that clouds covered it completely. Dain spoke without lookit at his dwarves.

"Orin Go with Nori and his men and explore the valley. Go see how far it goes on. Come back to report before leaving the valley. "

Orin nodded eagerly.

Dain held up his fist to signal them to wait and said seriously.

"Be watchful of your surroundings. We do not know this world."

The Dwarves of the First Legion acknowledged his orders and set out with a joyful Orin to execute their orders.

Balin und Bundur joined Dain who leaned on the sting of his double-headed axe and studied the sight before him.

Bundur was eating a piece of dried fish he had found deep in his pockets. He choked down the last pieces of his find and said in a serious tone.

"Reminds me of the misty mountains."

Dain snorted.

"There was no such peaceful place in the misty mountains. At least I do not know any "

Bundur grunted and nodded. Balin laughed and replied.

"Well. We do not know what we will find in this new world yet."

Dain shot Balin a measured look.

"I wouldn't mind some Ork heads to bash in right now."

Balin sat down on a stone near the open entrance.

"This world feels different. I cannot say for sure what it is. But somehow I doubt we will find the beasts of Mordor in this world.

The three spent a few more minutes in silence, looking at their new home. If it had not been for the glittering of their armor and weapons, they could have been thought of as stones. Bundur started inspecting the immediate area around the gate.

Balin broke the silence.

"If we have a moment for ourselves, I can give you the latest reports."

Dain continued to look into the distance, only nodding.

"Altogether we are just over fourteen thousand dwarfs. Just over a third are women and children. The rest comes from different areas. We have miners, blacksmiths, brewers, scholars, doctors, Farmers, and even a runic smith. "

Dain nodded. "Yes I know Bjorn"

Balin fished a scroll out of his pockets and continued. "Right. With the fish in underground rivers, we have enough to survive. But I recommend sending hunting teams out as soon as we know if the valley is safe. "

Balin had a sheepish look on his face. "Dwarves who only live on fish quickly become uncomfortable. And the Brewers have already come to me with a suggestion about how they can use the sunlight with mirrors to grow hops and malt in the mountain. The beer we brought will be enough for at least a year. But it's something to consider."

Dain rolled his eyes. He appreciated a good beer as much as any dwarf. But at the moment there were more important things to consider first. He answered in a serious tone.

"They should first get together with the farmers to make sure we have enough corn for flour."

Balin sheepishly nodded and took notes on the scroll. He continued.

"Our first priority should be finding out more about this new world. As far as we know, we in the middle of a war zone. Or a nesting zone of monsters." He did not seem too concerned when he continued.

"I admit our current position is easy to defend. But nonetheless, information is now the most important thing for us. "

Dain agreed. He had respect for this new world. He had also considered the grim prospects that Balin was right and their presence in this world would a struggle for survival.

Balin and Dain discussed many more topics and spent hours in front of the gate. Bundur was by now skipping stones on the big lake. Nothing sinister jumped out of it.

The Sun was going down when they saw the first group of dwarves return.

Dain did not know what the future would bring. But whatever it was. His people would endure.