From the Introduction: After a day surrounded by dense fog an even worse fate has befallen this viking ship. An ice storm has piled up drifting ice around the ship and formed it into an almost unbroken sheet of ice threatening to crush the ship. The icy ground around the ship is treacherous. Not everywhere is it sturdy enough to carry the weight of a grown man and trying to free the ship with axe and flame is dangerous work at best. Still it has to be done as the sailors fate, should the ice crush the ship, would be even more dire.