*4390th Etos of The Kingdom*

Deep in the Glorious South, a rare sight treats the dark skies. Around it, the storms rage.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/821RqYe.png?2[/IMG]

Leonard cringed with the sudden rocking of the cabin, expecting it to get worse. As always, though, it leveled off.

“Lenny, try not to piss yourself, alright?” One of his comrades said jokingly “We’re not equipped for frostbite.”

He glanced out the frost-tinted window, onto the ice plains below. “Anything but flying.”

“Would you rather a plane, fast and fatal? On foot or vehicle, we would freeze, and no ship can go this far. The airship is nice, steady. Now, get your gear. We land soon.”

~~~~

With a soft thud the airship’s wheels touched the flat ice, and the whine of the propellers died as the engines shut down. The nearby airship of the precursor to their group, a mining team, was nearly obscured by the constant snow swept by the winds.

As Leonard and his fellows exited their zepellin, the foreman of the mining crew approached.

“We’ve gone as far as our drills can get us. Cave network is roughly three stadion down, at a thirty degree incline. They said you’d come with the remaining payment?”

The exploration team leader stepped forward, carrying a case that rattled with coin.

“Here you go, my friends. May Hagne grant you good harvests.”

The miners accepted the case, and made off to their ship.

Now, their last steps done, the explorers began their first.

~~~~

Days had been spent, searching the tunnels. Consulting geiger counters, maps, and orbital scans.

With careful steps, Leonard approaches a ledge. The light from his electric torch shows a glint, not of the ice, but of metal, just at the bottom. Behind him, he heard footsteps. Gripped in panic, his paranoia got the best of him, and he fell.

He heard the crack of his legs breaking on the metal surface, but he was in no pain, curiously eying the painted steel. Just before shock, he muttered one word to his radio:
“Ferryman”