3011 Gloinn

Gloinn Ludr-Grunnr of Clan Anvilbeard

(Luthr-Grunnr, ‘Deep Horn’)

Alias Gloin Indedark

Dwarven Cleric of the Southern Halls.

Gloinn Ludr-Grunnr, Second Son of Olaf Skina-Gron (Gleaming Beard)

“Silversmith” of Clan Anvilbeard.

Ludr-Grunnr, named in honour of his Great Grandfather; Baldvin Ijos-Skor (Light Hair), Warden of the Southern Gate and Charge of the Deep Horn (Ludr Grunnr meaning ‘Deep Horn’). Gloinn grew up in the relative safety of the Anvilbeard stronghold within the Dwarven city of Mattugr Fell (Mighty Mountain). Gloinn from a young age had a lust for adventure, like many of the younger generation of the Anvilbeard Clan he had grown up with legends of his Great Grandfather’s deeds in defence of the Southern Gate and idolised his Uncle Dvadi, the black sheep of Clan Anvilbeard for his love of Weapons and adventure over Gold and other gems. However he lived in the shadow of his eldest wayward Brother Darrathr, unable to best his brother’s notoriety and cursed with very mild Narcolepsy Gloinn turned his talents towards solo nightly adventures within the halls of his native Dwarven home to get away from the pressures of the day.

Gloinn roamed the lower levels and battlements of the Southern Gate at night, attired in only his night shirt and armed with his favourite wooden Warhammer and wooden Helm, a Helm that a kindly Cleric of the Southern Halls had imbued with a light enchantment to help ward off the hordes of imaginary undead that Gloinn would vanquish night after night. Gloinn soon got a name for himself amongst the Guard of the Southern Gate as his glow could be seen darting here and there amid the battlements and ramparts, the Guards often referred to him as ‘Wee Ghosty’. However as Gloinn grew older and his presence in the tunnels become more commonly known he was given the nickname ‘Gloinn Indedark’, again due to the wooden Helm, a nickname that would in years to come become his adventuring alter ego.

On his first trip to the surface world with his cousins in a Dwarven trading caravan Gloinn learned the hard way that his honourable name was not as impressive on the surface as it was within the Dwarven realm, although in his native tongue the name ‘Ludr-Grunnr’ meant ‘Deep Horn’, he found to his dismay that the literal translation in the vulgar common tongue of Ludr-Grunnr was ‘Trumpet Bottom’ a name he realised that he could obviously not use on the surface if he wished to be taken seriously. Gloinn was forced to quickly adopt a name suitable for use with surface dwellers, it was then that he first adopted the nickname ‘Gloinn Indedark’ although he knew this name itself was to a degree humorous, he also knew that surface dwellers had odd ideas about Dwarves and their names and the name Gloinn Indedark appealed to their misguided notions, having the name Gloinn Indedark readily accepted by the surface dwellers who traded with the caravan the nickname stuck. From that day on Gloinn Ludr-Grunnr went by the name Gloin Indedark and he returned to Muttugr-Fell.

When Gloinn came of age and undertook the ‘Trials of Olsen’, Clan Anvilbeards rite of passage he utterly failed in his final test, for rather than creating a work of beauty upon the Anvil containing the Anvil Stone he accidently dislodged the Anvil Stone from its home in the Anvil, fearful of the ridicule he expected he tried as he might to replace the Stone but each attempt met with failure for every time he touched the stone it would rise from its home and lay loose upon the Anvil. Knowing that failure was due but not wishing to appear before the Clan empty handed he took a stick that he found in a dusty corner and whittled from it a wand like affair of great beauty. When he addressed the Steward who stood outside the door and told him what had happened the Steward smiled upon him and placed the stone back in the Anvil. Before the Clan, when the Steward was asked what it was that the initiate had made the Steward pulled from his pocket not the wand of Gloinns’ making but a small axe head, adequate as it was for the chopping of wood it was nothing of worthy note that the Clan was expecting. As such Gloinn failed in the rite of passage and was told he could join which ever Guild he wished but was told that the Guilds of Miners, Masons, and Metal Workers were forbidden for his skills would bring shame upon the Clan.

The Steward after Gloinns judgement took him aside and said to him that only those of Olsen’s true nature could dislodge the stone and that although this was secret and should be told to none he should take great pride for the Anvil Stone had chosen him as it had with his ancestor Olsen himself. The Steward also told Gloinn that as he was of Olsen’s nature it was expected by the Steward that Gloinn was to undertake an exile when the time was right and he should travel to the surface should his mind find that idea acceptable. Fear gripped Gloinn for a life upon the surface was something he had never contemplated, he chose then that he would first  become a Guildsman until such time as the idea of adventuring suited

When the time came for him to choose an apprenticeship he chose (on his Fathers insistence) an appointment within The Guild of the Arcane Arts and was accepted into the Clerical order under the official title Gloinn Indedark of the Clan Anvilbeard.

Here Gloinn adopted a position as ‘Ward’ within the Halls of the Apothecary and it suited Gloinn well having had to tend many of his elder brother’s wounds when growing up; having also spent many a night with the Clerics of the watch as they tried to control his Narcolepsy and whilst on his nightly adventures those of the Apothecary had many dealings with him. Gloinn was successful within the Clerical Halls and although afflicted mildly with his Uncles disregard for Gold, his obsessive nature regarding the brewing of both Beers and Potions, coupled with his near Pathological hatred for anything Undead lent heavily towards his success within the Clerical field. The numerous field trips to the surface with the Apothecary made Gloinn realise that a life upon the surface was not as feared a thing as first thought and soon he longing to follow in his uncle Dvadi’s footsteps. Upon hearing that his Brother Darrathr who had failed the same rite as he the year before was to journey to the surface in search of adventure Gloinn resigned his appointment within the Apothecary and took instead to the School of the Wayfarer which allowed him to followed his older brother to the surface world, for now the time was right and the ideas suited him well.

However the Elders of Clan Anvilbeard had other plans in mind for many of the Anvilbeard young where planning to journey upon the surface and in such great number as to bring great shame to the Clan. So it was that Gloinn was charged through the School of the Wayfarers to join the newly established Anvilbeard Merchant Family line and in its company he and the wanderlust youngsters were to journey to the surface not as an adventurer as Gloinn had first thought but as a Cleric within his Clans Merchant house.

There once was a wee dwarf called Gloinn,

Who could never tell where he’s going,

He found him a hat,

That rectified that,

Now everyone sees from its glowing.

A common rhyme still sung by the small children of Muttugr-Fell, as made by the guards of the Southern Gate during Gloinns’ nightly adventures of his youth.

And so the story begins

Character Development… If it is possible to have skills in a firearm such as Blunderbuss and or Flintlocks, this would be preferable as a secondary weapon skill, Warhammer being the primary weapon of choice. Reasoning is that Dwarven defences being reliant on narrow low ceilinged corridors makes black powder weapons particularly effective, the intense noise created by one of these weapons underground is also tremendously effective at lowering the moral of an enemy force. Note… As musket balls are round as opposed to sharp, there are no issues with Clerics using these weapons as it is essentially the same as a sling stone.

Outward Appearance… Tall for a Dwarf (Although called ‘Shorty’ by his Brother) Gloin sports a Brown Mohawk hairstyle that is mirrored in his unconventional long platted goatee beard.