T is for Thirndoral

Somewhere in the Plers Highlands, at the foot of the Forbidden Peaks, the dwarves of Meterra have an underground town named Thirndoral. This town is hidden from the eyes of men; the dwarves do not allow outsiders, especially human outsiders, to enter their realm. The Ramai, the earlier settlers of Meterra, know well enough to avoid caves in these hills, for fear of disturbing the dwarves. The European settlers, on the other hand, are still learning this lesson. And the dwarves are unforgiving teachers.

These are not your bog-standard dwarves from Tolkien and other fantasy fiction. These are old-school dwarves from Norse sagas. Treacherous and devious, untrustworthy and greedy, these dwarves are also master craftsmen, capable of creating items of great power. It was a dwarf who forged the sword now wielded by the King, a sword whose power was awakened in the blood of a dragon. And while none can match the craftsmanship of the dwarves, their gifts and treasures come at a price many are unwilling to pay...

The dwarves are reclusive, although they do trade with the humans on occasion. They are shrewd bargainers, haggling to the last copper coin in order to wring as much from their potential customers as they can. And while their manners are most certainly lacking, their craftwork is such that they are never short of buyers for their merchandise.

The notoriety of Meterra's dwarves has given rise to a few sayings, sayings the Europeans are only beginning to understand correctly. For example:

"Honest as a dwarf": No man wants to be given this descriptor, for he will never be trusted among the Ramai again.

"Out of the mines": Loosely, this is similar to 'crazy as a fox' in today's parlance; it implies cleverness mixed with recklessness.

"Dwarfspun gold": A gift freely given, but the receiver is expected to reciprocate, usually at the worst possible time.

"Dwarven time": As dwarves are long-lived, this refers to procrastinating important tasks.

Despite the negative reputation of the dwarves, they are the demi-humans with which the people of Meterra have the most contact due to their willingness to trade in human communities (on their own terms, of course). Dwarves do not make very good adventuring companions, for they are just as likely to stab their compatriots in the back at an opportune moment and run off with whatever treasure they could grab. There have been exceptions to this rule of thumb, but not very many.