The engineer marched side by side with his apprentice Gimgum "Soft Thumb" who, after a few stitches and an arm splint, had finally recovered enough to embark once more with his master.
Gimgum, entered this venture with some trepidation. Things had almost gone very badly for him last time he stepped out with the clan. He was wary of another mishap but, frankly, the gold on offer was too good to turn down. The dwarf mining companies might take unnecessary risks with their prospecting missions and miners but the rewards far exceeded any remittance you could expect from any other job.
There was an unusual quiet across most of the marching Dwarf host. Only the drunken laughter of the slayers broke the mounting tension. Gimgum was pleased the reckless warriors had decided to come on this mission. Sure they could be dangerous in a beer keller after 20 pints of Bugmans but the Slayers were as reliable as Gromril platemail. Everyone knew that the Slayers were verging on the insane and all they yearned for was a glorious death in battle or another pint. However mad they were, Gimgum found it reassuring to know, a Slayer unit had never run from a fight, regardless of the dangers.
The Dwarfs were now twelve days into their march and each day the lands about them had seemed to become ever more devoid of life. The surrounding landscape seemed grim to the Dwarfs, they hadn't seen any animals for three days now, save for some migrating geese high up in the skies. The trees around all looked dead or dying and there were only occassional patches of green grass clinging desperately to life. Even the sun seemed to be dimmed and the lands seemed to exist in a constant state of dusk.
The nights were cold and were becoming colder even though they were moving south into, what should have been bright, lush valleys. The whole experience was wearing Gimgum down, even his master Gurnisson seemed less than his normal self. Gimgum's blood was running cold and he had started to fear that his fate was catching up with him and this expedition was all a terrible mistake.
The clouds continued to darken as the Dwarfs marched ever onwards...
