Dwarves of Ice-Cloak

Who can withstand the vengeance of dwarven kings? The life of a dwarven prospector is one of shame, loneliness, and a constant battle for survival. Striking it rich is the only way for Naen to keep his bones from bleaching in the sun without heritage or memory. When riches finally fall into his hands, he encounters a group of indentured servants fleeing from a vengeful master. A dwarf-maid named Jade leads the refugees, but she has her own desires for her future and they don't seem to include Naen. Yet in the face of the brutal wilderness, they need help to survive, and the experienced Naen could give it. When spring comes, should he leave them to their fate and return to the wilds alone, or should he stay with the outlaw dwarves and face the coming onslaught? Mocked as the King of the Cripples, the epithet could become Naen's true heritage as the ragged refugees prepare their mine to withstand the vengeance of dwarven kings.

Destiny is a double-edged blade. The Mountain of Ice-Cloak is beset by the ürsi scourge. Every spring they raid flocks and scour the valleys. Migration and trade have slowed to a trickle. Queen Jade was a warrior in her youth, but now a disease gnaws at her bones. As she weakens, the folk favor her eldest daughter to lead them. But prince Firehelm believes Ice-Cloak needs a warrior, not a healer. He wishes to strike back against the ürsi, discover their nest, and gain the folk's favor. When Queen Jade gives Firehelm permission to raise a personal guard, a young dwarf named Korin joins the cause. Beset by uncontrollable tremors that impair his practice of other trades, Korin hopes a warrior's calling may give him purpose. Caught up in friendship, leadership, and fell deeds, Korin follows the prince north to the brink of ancient legend-and perhaps their folk's destiny.

There is no avoiding what is to come... The Gate of Ice is the only way in or out of the mountain, at least that's supposed to be true. There's a second gate, a smuggler's gate dug in secret over decades by a Southcaver named Yale. The Southcaver dwarves might not be the most reputable in the mountain, but they have a certain tenacity and rebellious streak that Yale depends on. Topaz, a Southcaver smelter's daughter, decides to accept proposals of marriage. She doesn't anticipate getting mixed up with the existence of the Second Gate, much less the fate of the whole mountain. But with King Ringhand trying to close in on the elusive Smuggler Prince, neither she nor Yale can avoid what is to come.

She didn't expect to see old tales and old terrors draw breath. Over nine hundred years have passed since song and hammerfall rang beneath the snows of Ice-Cloak. The remnants of the dwarves live in exile in the human kingdoms, eking out their survival as itinerant tinkers and farriers. The young dwarf-maid Tourmaline dreams of better things than mending pots for the humans. When horror strikes her caravan, she and a desperate band of dwarves escape into the wild north in pursuit of a fool's hope. Ice-Cloak and its heroes might be little more than old forge tales, but that doesn't make Tourmaline yearn any less to live the life of a true dwarf beneath the stone.

A New Epoch for the Dwarves of Ice-Cloak When a young dwarf named Yorvig travels to a mining claim in the wilds of the Red Ridges, he learns by hard experience that his fellow prospectors are more focused on ore than survival. Thinking he alone can hold disaster at bay, Yorvig plots his way to becoming captain of the mine. He only expected to lead in a fight against starvation, but far greater danger arrives in forms both fair and foul. The mine grows beyond what they ever imagined, and while Yorvig's authority must grow with it, the challenges of love and loyalty will not make it easy-nor will the old foe who is determined to drive their folk from the Red Ridges for good.