Pride of Ikka's Tears
precarious position between Jotun, Thule, and the frigid wastes of Tsirku.
Overview
The Pride of Ikka's Tears is located in Suaq Fount in the Wintermark territory of Sermersuaq. Custodianship of the Pride of Ikka's Tears grants an Imperial title; a seat on the Imperial Bourse; and a seasonal bounty of valuable mithril.
The Resource
The Pride of Ikka's Tears was discovered in Winter 379YE by chance by a civil servant exploring the Face of Ikka. Peter of Hintown and his companions were performing follow-up investigation of the isolated site after their discovery of the ruined Gildenheim runeforge. The Imperial Senate determined to make the best use of the mithril vein the expedition had discovered, and over the next nine months work continued despite a bitter winter and the constant threat of Jotun invasion.
The mine is named in commemoration of the Battle of Ikka's Tears, a vicious confrontation between the heroes of the Empire and a Thule expeditionary force that left dozens dead on the plains below the glacier. It may be possible to expand the workings even further, but only the presence of a significant number of skilled miners will be able to determine exactly how rich this mithril find might potentially be. Further prospecting may be a little risky, however. For now, the mine workings are relatively shallow and mostly delve into the stone beneath the ancient glacier - while carefully avoiding the allegedly haunted tunnels that riddle the great wall of slowly moving ice. Expansion may prove lucrative in terms of mithril, but local Suaq mystics warn against disturbing the ancient Face of Ikka unnecessarily.
For the moment the worst threat the miners there have had to deal with are the dire beasts of the northern wastes - mostly inquisitive dire penguins and grumpy dire walrus - along with the occasional sighting of a prowling glacier cat or hungry winter bear. There are two potentially more serious problems with this seat which might need to be addressed in the coming years.
Firstly, its proximity to Jotun and Thule lands cannot be understated. The Empire is already at war with the Jotun, and in the event of a renewal of hostilities with the Thule it would come under immediate threat. Peter of Hintown and his Suaq advisor, the architect Ana, have both sent strongly worded recommendations that the Empire consider building a fortification in the Suaq Fount to help protect the new mithril resource (and in Peter's case, the historical artefacts of the Face of Ikka).
Secondly, the mine stands on the very northern edge of the Empire in an area known form troll ruins and exotic artefacts. If any horror emerged from Tsirku, or from within the glacier, then the mithril mine would almost certainly be straight in its path Template:Bourse Seat