Urist Sternfeldt

An ancient dwarf clad in skins and furs, Urist Sternfeldt does not strike the casual observer as the adventuring type. Closer inspection reveals that his tattered leather clothes are thick enough to serve as armor, his staff is held like a weapon and not a walking aid, and his aged body is still, if not as strong as it used to be, well-ready for battle.

Urist's dwarven gruffness has been mellowed somewhat by age, transitioning from short-temperedness and anger issues common among younger dwarves to sheer grit and willpower, as well as a tendency to call people "young'uns". Everyone.

Everyone.

Urist is accompanied everywhere by his Grizzly Bear companion, Uvel. Standing taller than him at the shoulder and saddled for combat, the bear carries an old pair of axes attached to its saddle, as well as much of Urist's traveling gear. While the bear is just a bear, it is a steadfast companion. Urist flatly refuses to answer how old Uvel is, leading some to wonder how many "Uvel"s there have been over the years.

Astute linguists will note that Uvel is the Dwarven word for "Bear."

History
Urist is one of the few survivors of one of the first Dwarven settlements to fall to The Swamp. This fortress, Koganusân, was... well, to be honest, there was a reason Urist spent most of his time outside of it, in the wilds. Everyone was crazy over toy forges and lava and elephants, the Overseer changed every year like clockwork when the previous one either quit or went completely, stark raving mad under the pressure, and all the cheese gave everyone terrible gas. If he's entirely honest, the place won't be missed, but The Swamp did consume pretty much everything else in the general area, too, and with how strong of a connection to nature Urist developed in his long years of avoiding the shit out of Koganusân, that hurt a lot more than the fortress' inevitable collapse.

You would think the younger dwarves would learn by now to not build fortresses with no trading routes to existing settlements, but you would be wrong.