Soldiers of Ice

Soldiers of Ice, by David Cook, is the seventh book in the loosely related The Harpers series.

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In a snow-bound valley, beyond the aid of even the Harpers, a lone village sits in the path of the relentless advance of ice and the fleeing gnolls, pushing ever southward. Of all the Harpers, only the headstrong Martine of Sembia refuses to abandon the gnomes of Samek to their fate.

Risking her career as a Harper, Martine slides north to the valley of Samek in an effort to guide the gnomes to safety. When her plans go awry, she finds herself guest of the hermit-warrior Vilheim and distrusted by the gnomes she came to help. Torn between her future as a Harper and her sense of good, can Martine prevent a war that threatens to destroy the very villagers she has come to save?

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Summary[]

Martine of Sembia, a Harper trainee, is sent by a senior Harper Jazrac to close a rift to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice in the Great Glacier. She meets a former paladin of Torm called Vilheim Baltson, who assists her. She seals the rift successfully, but not before Vreesar, an ice elemental, escapes, taking control of the Burnt Fur gnolls and leading them to attack the nearby Vani gnome village.

Jazrac arrives and is revealed to be a coward who only sends others to carry out missions. Martine plans to give the stone used to seal the rift to Vreesar, sending him to try to reopen the rift. Krote Word-Maker, a gnoll shaman who she captured, will attempt to take control of the tribe and make peace, while Martine and Vilheim try to stop Vreesar and Jazrac teleports to Shadowdale and sends Harper backup. The plan fails when Vreesar attacks the gnomes, killing Jazrac. Ultimately, Martine, Krote, and the gnomes kill Vreesar, although Vilheim dies in the process. Martine and Krote set out for Harper business in Mulmaster.