I almost wish the sparkling rock had not caught our eye, but so it did. Now here we are, and beasts the like of which have never been seen remind me we are strangers to this isle – and the farther north we go, both man and beast alike, become more feral and unapproachable.\n\nThe danger started simply enough – while scouring the track, Dunne caught traces of that glittering rock, the one that glitters like stars lie within. Seeing pieces of the ore lying quite thickly about, we spent days looking for a vein of the stuff and sought to mine it. To be sure, we feared the sound of our pickaxes would wake the Corrupted from the Cleave - but that was not to be our misfortune.\n\nAs we unearthed the “Star Rock” day upon day and piled it upon the wagons for the outpost, we could not help but notice the days grew colder and colder, more sharply each night. We had learned not to stray too far east and south on account of the great bears, but the sudden onset of winter was something we had not expected. Dunne had caught sight of wolves, he claimed, but he said they did not howl, nor move as he had ever seen a wolf move – he said that they looked as if they were rimed with ice, wreathed around like a coat of winter.\n\n-J. Lipscomb

Buried Constellations

I saw one of the strange wolves today. Dunne did as well, though he is not here to speak of it. It was mid-day, and I saw it all play out most clearly.\n\nWe had lifted some of the star ore to the carts, when suddenly, soundless, there was a wolf – a thing shaped as a wolf – at the opening of the mine. It was as if it had just broken free from a glacier, for spikes of ice covered its coat, as if the two were wedded.\n\nI bid my muscles to move, to run, to scream, yet I could do nothing. Dunne was not so fortunate – he issued a cry, as if to drive the thing off, and held a chunk of the starmetal over his head threateningly: as he did, the beast was suddenly upon him, its jaws at his throat. My eyes did not deceive me – I watched as frost blanketed Dunne's throat where the fangs sank into flesh and froze the blood as it jetted from his wound.\n\nI confess I did not stop to aid him – I fled into the mine, hiding there, praying warmth shall return to my bones. If I escape this place, I shall not return, for I am convinced those beasts did not arrive by chance – our working of the ore must have brought them, as if they sought to guard it against those who would take it.\n\nI hereby relinquish my claim to this mine – if others wish it, they must answer to the devils in the ice and make peace with them.\n\n-J. Lipscomb

A Wolf Wreathed in Ice

The wintry advance towards the Shattered Mountain filled with Corrupted forces

The Excavation Chapter - NWGuide Database of Lore

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