Antarctica--Neuschwabenland, 1923

The hollowed hole was enormous, spreading out at the base of the stairs, much bigger than was necessary for what the chamber was home to currently. Herr-Doktor Werther von Kroen drew the ermine-lined seal-skin coat about him in a futile attempt to stave off the cold. The fur piping about his raised hood had not cut the frigid wind that howled across the ice above, allowing gusts to stab Kroen’s eyes. Sheltered now from the tundra outside, tears escape. . .