With his latest Black Library audio drama being released as part of the 2019 Black Library Advent Calendar series, I got in touch with author David Guymer to find out a bit more about what we can expect from the three-part Age of Sigmar story Heirs of Grimnir. Seeing as David has written rather a lot about slayers, fyreslayers and various other varieties of dwarfs (and duardin) over the years, I asked if he would also offer some of his thoughts on Age of Sigmar duardin, old-school Warhammer dwarfs, and how this story fits in with the rest of his Realmslayer series.
As you might have guessed from the title of the interview, this also sees the debut appearance on Track of Words of voice actor extraordinaire Steve Conlin. As well as providing the public face of legendary Games Workshop founder James Workshop, Steve plays the lead role in Heirs of Grimnir and an important role in Realmslayer, so it only seemed appropriate that he should contribute…in his own inimitable style…some insights and additional thoughts to the interview. You’ll see some of Steve’s comments scattered throughout, and then a few specific questions for him at the end.
Without further ado, let’s get straight on with the interview.
Track of Words: What’s the elevator pitch summary for Heirs of Grimnir?
David Guymer: As the Ulrika or Thanquol books were to the original Gotrek & Felix series, it’s a trio of spin-off stories about one of Realmslayer’s most popular characters
ToW: Without spoiling anything, who are the main characters and what do we need to know about them?
DG: The main character is a fyreslayer runeson named Forn Aruksson. He’s the sixth son of Aruk-Grimnir and so has his work cut out if he means to make a big enough name for himself to outdo his brothers and become runefather someday. The story also prominently features a couple of his older brothers, Drukkur and Brezarrk, and the elderly battlesmith, Skorun Firebrand, as they set on a quest to prove their worth to be called Grimnir’s heir.
ToW: Where and when is it set?
DG: It’s set in and around Karaz Unbak in the Salamander’s Spine, Aqshy, some time after the events of the first Realmslayer audio.
ToW: Speaking of which, this is billed as “a Realmslayer audio drama” – for anyone who hasn’t listened to them, can you talk a bit about the previous two audios you’ve written in this series?
DG: Realmlsayer sees the return of the Old World’s most famous curmudgeon (and Slayer) to the Mortal Realms. With a new group of companions he sets out to put this new world to rights and discover the fate of his lost remembrancer, Felix Jaeger. In the sequel, Blood of the Old World, Gotrek has come somewhat to terms with the Age of Sigmar, enough to share a mug of ale with a savage orruk anyway, though not quite enough to let anyone call him a ‘duardin’, and undertakes a new quest to seek out an ancient treelord and recover his lost axes.
ToW: How does it fit in (in terms of timeline, themes etc.) with the two main Realmslayer stories?
DG: As I mentioned it comes after the first Realmslayer and isn’t really connected at all to Blood of the Old World. Thematically, Realmlsayer was quite strong on what it is to be a fyreslayers, or an Heir of Grimnir, if you will, so this continues that, albeit from a lower level than Gotrek’s possibly-almost-demigodhood.
ToW: Should fans check those out first, or does Heirs of Grimnir work as a standalone story?
DG: It should stand perfectly well on its own. There are some references to ‘that doomseeker’ and Firebrand got the odd mention in Realmslayer, but to all intents this is its own separate story.
Steve Conlin: Forn’s separate story. Forn’s spinoff. Basically, Forn is the Angel to Gotrek’s Buffy. Broddur is Cordelia.
ToW: How did you find writing a duardin audio drama without Gotrek? Was it refreshing to write something a bit different, or did you miss his imposing presence?
DG: I can’t say I thought too much about it. But Steve Conlin’s Runeson was the standout performance of Realmslayer for me [High praise, considering that cast!], veering between forceful and hilarious, and often both, such that I had to check my script in places because I was certain I hadn’t written anything quite that good. It was partly because of Forn, I think, that we all agreed that it had to be Steve who voiced Hamilcar Bear-Eater in the audios I wrote for that character. Going back to visit Forn again was a lot of fun, partly because I knew that Steve was going to do something brilliant with him.
SC: It’s all the writing; I just sprinkle myself on top. I’m charismatic salt. Or talented pepper. Sexy mustard.
ToW: You’ve written quite a lot of dwarf/duardin stories now, in both the Old World and the Age of Sigmar. What appeals to you in particular about these characters?
DG: I love the down-to-earthedness, the roughness. I realized early on, way back in my Thorgrim/Headtaker days, that writing dwarfs meant you could get away with more light swearing that could otherwise. Gav Thorpe has spoken in the past about how British they are with their grumbling stoicism and ‘grin and bear it’ attitude. Which is, fundamentally, enormously funny. There’s a deep sadness to them though which, in combination with the humour, makes for great stories.
SC: David has a particular gift for striking the balance of that dichotomy – the boisterous gruffness and inner sadness. I put down a lot of his scripts laughing, but also wanting to give him a big hug.
ToW: What are your favourite dwarf-related stories from the Old World, and why?
DG: It’s too long ago that I read them for me to pick a particular favourite, but I loved all the Nick Kyme/Gav Thorpe stories in the old Dwarfs omnibus [Now reprinted as Masters of Stone and Steel] and regularly consult the Grudgelore appendix whenever I ill-advisedly decide to compose another song in Khazalid. I did one for Realmslayer. There’s another one in Heirs of Grimnir. I’ve just written a third for my current project!
ToW: What makes a duardin different to a dwarf, in your opinion?
DG: This isn’t an easy question to answer as there is no typical duardin. The fyreslayers are combative and mercenary, but fiercely honourable, albeit with no time or patience for nursing grudges the way their distant ancestors once did. The kharadron on the other hand are frontier spirits, explorers and traders and inventors, far more adaptable and innovative than Old World dwarfs but with a much lesser sense of honour. The Free Cities duardin of the Ironweld and the Dispossessed are probably the closest the Age of Sigmar comes to old dwarfs, but the loss of their ancient empire and freer mingling with humans and other races have left them quite different.
The duardin of the Age of Sigmar are, as I see them, essentially Warhammer dwarfs with one or two characteristics dialled down and another couple ramped up.
SC: Duardin are louder.
ToW: Who make the best antagonists for dwarfs/duardin, and why?
DG: What I love about dwarfs (and I’ll just use ‘dwarfs’ for now) is that they fight pretty much anyone the same way. Beards front, shields up, stand your ground, wait for them to break. For myself, I like to pit them against something I’ve never seen them deal with before, and see how they cope.
SC: I’m looking forward to the inevitable fyreslayer vs. orruk drama, when Matt Renshaw [BL’s audio producer] is forced to watch me wrestle myself, juggling voices like a drunk squig hopper.
ToW: If someone wanted to start reading or listening to Age of Sigmar stories, how would you convince them to pick duardin stories in particular, over all of the other factions they could go for? What will they get that they don’t from other stories?
DG: The duardin, even the fyreslayers and the kharadron, are arguably less fantastical than many of the other races in the Age of Sigmar. If you’re looking for something more down-to-earth and a story about a people that can do poignant and fun, then the duardin might well be for you.
ToW: Are there any particular writing challenges that duardin pose, and which make writing about them tricky?
DG: The hardest part of writing any Tolkien archetype, dwarfs included, is creating something that hasn’t been done before. Duardin are cantankerous misers who love a drink, but it’s too easy to produce another Gotrek Gurnisson or a Gimli. I like playing with the established traits to come up with something that conforms to the stereotype while also being different.
ToW: How did you find writing a three-part audio? What different challenges did it throw up compared to writing a single hour-long story?
DG: I love writing audio, and I’ve been fortunate enough to do quite a bit of it since writing Realmslayer. The challenge here was the same as for any low word-count story, which is fitting everything in! Each chapter is only 3500 words which amounts to about 20 minutes, but each is its own sub-story with a beginning, middle and end. It’s hard. Putting it together into an overarching narrative was actually the easy part.
ToW: What do you hope Age of Sigmar fans will get out of Heirs of Grimnir and your other Realmslayer stories by the time they’ve finished them?
DG: A healthy appreciation of the fyreslayers, I hope.
SC: Khazuk.
ToW: Do you have plans for more Realmslayer stories still to come?
DG: I have plans! But no one to show them to just yet.
ToW: Steve, how do you see the character of Forn?
SC: Hm. Difficult to answer. When we meet Forn in this, his spinoff, he’s definitely in the middle of a personal journey. His best friend is gone, his beloved magmadroth is gone, and he’s no closer to making peace with his place in the world. Forn, by his nature, is anything but hopeless though. It feels to me like Heirs of Grimnir lives very much in the wake of Gotrek storming through the Fyrd, upsetting the status quo. Recording it, there was a real sense of the Aruksson brothers being off balance, and Forn seems to be waking up to the idea that the world he knew isn’t as rigid in its rules as he once thought. In short, Forn is angry, confused, and still mostly naked.
The legendary James Workshop Steve Conlin himself
ToW: Where do you look for influences when preparing to play a role like this?
SC: Influences are a funny thing when approaching a part. For me, once I know roughly what a duardin (or whatever it is I’m playing) usually sounds like, it can then be a race against my own procrastination to get a grip on who I think the character is, before I see or hear or fall over something that colours my take on them. When I’ve got that firm handle on a character, then sure, I’ll steal anything that catches my attention to fill out their quirks or mannerisms. When I was working out how we were going to tackle those amazing Khazalid songs, I had one particular muse: 1968’s BBC The Hobbit radio drama – a drama almost as good as Heirs of Grimnir.
ToW: Steve, you sound like you’re having fun while voicing Forn – what did you enjoy the most about voicing this character?
SC: The shouting. And, urgh, the camaraderie of playing a literal band of brothers with other great actors and stuff, I guess.
ToW: Do you have a favourite scene from Heirs of Grimnir?
SC: The hydra-cannon burlesque scene is fantastic. Before you ask, I don’t know why it’s set to My Heart Will Go On. [Sadly, I suspect this didn’t make the final cut. Alas!]
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Huge thanks to David and Steve for taking the time to talk to me for this interview; I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together! If you would like to read up on some of David’s other Black Library stories you can find all of my reviews right here. You can find David on Twitter @WarlordGuymer and Steve @stevpendous, so if you’re not already following them make sure you head over there to keep up to date with all of their writing and acting news. Keep an eye out as well for reviews of more of David’s stories (including Heirs of Grimnir) coming soon.
