Part II:The Old Ways
22nd of Slate, 371Ral and her underlings had not made it far from Tradeplay the previous evening. They had set camp for the night next to the Touchy Guts stream just beyond the outskirts of the hillocks.
The first rays of the sun cast a warm light on the group of three dwarves and a jaguar man as they huddled next to a campfire. The fescue grass and other vegetation was coated with a thin layer of hoar frost. Even though it was mid-spring, the nights were still cold in these parts. But that was something Ral was accustomed to after living most of her life close to the Incidental Points.
Ral took a hefty swig of dwarven ale for breakfast -- a proper way to start a new day -- as she once again explained the plan and what her associates should look for.
“Now then, gather round closer,” Ral said as she fiddled with a short stick with her hands, “What you should look for during this expedition is certain kinds of formations of land, for there are many things we must consider for a location to be suitable for mining operations.”
She began sketching a triangular shape in the dirt with the stick, “Mountains, hills, valleys and plains. All these are potential options, but some are more laborious than others. Mountains we can rule out, for there are none where we are headed. The rest, all of them are possible, and of these hills would be the easiest choice.”
“However, it is unlikely we will encounter good, ore-filled hills near the Lakes of Saturninity. It is more likely that we find veins in the plains and valleys carved by river and stream. While such places will make delving into the earth harder, since we'll have to think of the need to drain the mine shafts, it will certainly be easier to find ore from lands where the soil has been removed and swept away by torrents.”
Ral drew a squiggly line and some crude arrow-like images, which supposedly represented trees, as she continued, “Tree, river and road. Those too are what we need to consider. Roads we can rule out, for there are none in the wilds. So, we will rely on the river. And that is good, for running water is what we need. But that is not all we need. For we need wood, lumber from trees: underground timbering, pump machinery, buildings, smelting and assaying. Wood is needed for that...”
The lecture went on for closer to an hour before Ral was done and ready to begin their trek into the wilds.
The journey took them north following the stream through the Plain of Corridors thick with ginkgo forests and grassy plains, boulders of dolomite dotting the landscape here and there amidst fields of blooming flowers.
It was a pleasant day to travel for there was nary a cloud in the sky and the spring sun warmed the travelers kindly. It was refreshing and a welcome change even for a dwarf accustomed to life deep within the earth (though to be fair, these dwarves were more of the hill variety than the ones living in the mountain halls deep under).
The stream they followed had not entirely thawed as of yet, and sheets of treacherous ice covered the water still in many a place.
Further to the north and west they noticed movement approaching them from the northeast, turning to follow their trail.
The travelers decided to stop and investigate. Who was following them out here in the wilds?
A large hairy humanoid crept through the dense vegetation towards the group. It was thin to the point of being malnourished, its brown hair looked mangy and the cold, azure eyes of its ape-like face gleamed with malicious intent: it had found a tasty meal.
“Sasquatch!”, Rith the jaguar man yelled out loud as he fired an arrow from his bow he had at ready.
The arrow hit its mark, digging deeply into the right side of the ape-like creature as Ral, Tulon and Edëm rushed to fend of the assaillant.
Ral swung her pick, hitting the creature in the leg with a sound of cracking bones. The sasquatch fell over.
But as it fell to the ground it grabbed Ral by her ankle. With a resounding snap, Ral's ankle gave in and she, too, fell down with a scream of agony.
She did not give in to the pain, and instead punched the skinny sasquatch in the head, causing it to release its hold.
That gave Ral an opening to swing with her pick and she clove the creature's right foot asunder.
From there on the ape-being was quickly overwhelmed by its prey and soon it lay on the ground unmoving, its body mutilated with scores of nasty wounds.
“Agh, my ankle,” Ral gritted her teeth as she tried to stand up, “Can one of you give me a hand? It seems that bastard got me good there.”
Rith walked to the dwarf, extending his hand and helping her up, “A vicious and feral one that was.”
“I thought these creatures were rare, barely nothing more than a myth,” Ral said as she eyed the mutilated corpse, “Yet here we are, and the first being we encounter in these blasted wilds is one.”
“It looked malnourished and hungry,” Rith explained, “They are normally reclusive beings avoiding anything that might cause them trouble. But it is not unheard of that hunger drives them to acts of desperation.”
“Well,” Ral said and grimaced as a wave of sharp pain hit her as she tried to stand with her mangled ankle, “Now it knows that it's best not to hunger for dwarf flesh. It got what it asked for.”
By the time they reached the border of the Forest of Constructing, Ral was able to walk on her own. Fortunately the damage to her ankle hadn't been as bad as it looked at first: only a minor sprain.
The weather was still fair and the day young as they walked along the bank of the stream, thickets of bamboo rising against a slope on the west.
Their packs now filled with fresh sasquatch meat, they made their way further north, keeping their eyes peeled open for any signs of precious minerals.
When they reached the Kind Lakes, located south of their destination, the weather had changed. Grey clouds now covered the sky and a heavy rain poured upon them, soaking them wet and chilling them to the bone.
“Damned rain, damn weather,” Tulon cursed as she pulled her wombat leather cap tighter down, “Miserable. Damp. Wet. As if the lakes and rivers didn't have enough water already!”
“Yes, it is wet and cold,” Ral replied to her, “But you very well better get used to it. We won't be returning to the warmth and coziness of the hillocks any time soon.”
“Oh to be back at the hearth of the drinking mound, warming my toes next to the fire...”, Edëm joined in the lamentation of Tulon.
Pfft, I'll never get used to the complaints of these mud-loving bastards, the jaguar man Rith thought as he listened to the others. He was used to life outdoors and could not understand why the typical dwarf hated the weather so much -- why, many of their hill-homes and tunnels in the rock were wet and damp! It's not like a little rain was so much different... Except that it was refreshing and not musky and dank like their cramped homes with heavy air.
As they came closer to the Lakes of Saturninity, they heard strange squishy voices from the stream. A group of three odd-looking creatures shaped like sponges with arms and legs were embroiled in a curious discussion.
The travelers decided to steer clear of these weird beings.
The sun was in the west when they caught the first glimpses of the waters of the Lakes of Saturninity in the north.
They would certainly reach the shores before nightfall, but surveying the land had to wait until the next day.
And indeed, they reached the lake before the dark of night enveloped them.
Walking under the shade of willows and plum trees they approached the water. Ral breathed in deeply of the gentle, cool breeze blowing from the east.
“Well,” she began as she put her hands on her hips looking to the horizon, “This is it. This is where we'll begin to survey the land.”
She turned to face the others and continued, “Remember what I said. Keep your eyes open for any signs of fragments or juices of minerals. Check sand and soil to see if there are traces of metals or gems.”
She paused for a moment, pointing at one of the swampy pools close to the shore, “If any springs or pools have strange color or taste, their waters may carry juices. The shores of the lake, however, are not the best of locations to find these riches. Even if the streams discharge into it.”
She then looked to the east where a gentle slope rose next to the shore, “There, look at that slope. Any water trickling or stream running down it may carry with it traces of minerals. These are the places where we shall begin our work.”
Looking west and noting the position of the sun, Ral continued, “But that is for the morrow. Now we should set camp before night falls. I feel sore and tired after the events of this day. As I expect you lot do too.”
They set up camp in a small nook in the slope with the broad canopy of an old, gnarled oak giving them some cover in case foul weather came upon them
“...And the elf said: are you going to eat that?”, Rith finished his joke. Edëm laughed heartily, “Ha ha ha... You're funny as always, Rith.”
“Well, did you hear the one about the orca and the gray langurs?”, Rith continued his joking.
“The what? Orca? What blasted manner of creature is that?”, Tulon asked the jaguar man. She had never heard of anything called that and surmised it was yet another creature made up by Rith.
“You know,” Rith turned to Tulon looking confused and taken aback, “Ah, never mind. You already ruined the joke...”
23rd of Slate, 371Fair weather continued the next day as the group of prospectors began their search for the perfect spot for the perfect mine.
Ral didn't expect their venture to be an easy one, for as she looked more closely at the surroundings, she realized that this was not the kind of land where ores of iron -- which the king and baron much desired -- would be found in abundance. With luck they might find a barely profitable vein or two, but even then they would have to deal with the ground waters. The soil appeared to be of such a nature that it drank water with an unquenchable thirst and would disperse it on any who would breach the top layers.
They searched and searched, through plum and oak forest they went, entering the hilly bamboo thickets of the Forest of Constructing, drawing ever the closer to river Swayedcrypt.
No obvious signs of ore were visible. If there was any to be found -- which there must be, for why else would they have been sent to this area? -- it would be deeper in the ground. Possibly even beneath all the layers of soil, which appeared to be thick in these fertile lands.
Ral walked to the bank of the river Swayedcrypt and sighed.
The more she saw of the lay of the land, the more convinced she became that there was no easy, nor profitable, source of metals to be found here. She knew that on the other side of the river, to the northern shores of the Lakes of Saturninity, veins of red ironstone -- hematite, as scholars called it -- were to be found with but a glance of the naked eye. Of course she hadn't personally seen it, but word from that village of those disloyal capybara folk had it that the place was rich with it.
And yet those no-good rodents had not put it to use, nor filled the polite requests of the good-hearted baron to transport
his rightful wealth to the capital. It just lay there in the rock, wasting. A blasphemy against the very will of the Silvery Mines, for he had gifted it to the children of the mountains. To be used in ways that would please the gods and bring praise their way.
“Look, I'm telling you,” Ral heard Edëm speaking to Tulon and Rith behind her with anxiety and excitement in his voice, “I felt a twitch. A tingle! In the tips of me moustache! Next to that stone slope over there yonder.”
Ral turned to look and noticed Edëm motioning to the west. Indeed, they had walked by a bare rock slope as they came to the river, but the stone, or soil around, showed no signs of metals or gems.
“Aye, there's mighty precious metals to be found there,” Edëm continued clenching his fists in front of him, “It is the divine guidance of the Golden Rock that brought us here! And now I felt the signs of it. In the true old and
proper dwarven way--”
“Oh, come now Edëm,” Ral scoffed at the superstitious fool, “While the gods righteously deserve praise, the 'Old Ways' you tout of have been left behind for a
reason. They hardly were reliable methods, but when even once of several hundred attempts they led to riches, it was seen as undeniable evidence of how such ways works.”
“But,” Edëm replied confused and insulted, “Of course it showed that such ways were true! What, you with all your science, well, have we found anything? No. Nothing. 'Look for juices', 'look for foul smells' and so on. Bah! What else is that than an insult against our gods who have created us with the ability to
sense the very veins of metals with our hair?”
“Alright, alright!”, Ral barked at Edëm, “I've had just about enough of your yammering! We'll do it your way then! Prove me wrong. Explain to the baron
and king then why we are not able to deliver.”
Ral seethed with anger as Tulon and Rith looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders while trying to avoid the conflict between the two miners.
“Here, take my pick,” Ral offered her bronze pick to Edëm, “You be the first to strike the earth. We could do without all this damn tangled greenery.”
Edëm clutched his own pick tightly against his chest, refusing Ral's pick, “I have my own trusty pick, and yes, I will do as you say. Mark my words: the tingle I felt was true!”
“No doubt,” Ral replied, already calming down, “Well then, this is where we begin and set up our outpost. At least there's water and plenty of lumber.”
“Not to mention the bounty these woods has to offer!”, Rith finally dared join in, raising the yet-to-be-butchered body of a giant coati he had hunted with Edëm before their arrival at the river.
While Edëm's methods were not something any self-respecting scholar would accept, Ral knew deep down that this was as good a place to dig as they could find in this area. If they dug deep enough, they were bound to hit hematite. Possibly they'd have to dig all the way to the upper caverns, but she knew they'd find it: the stone beneath the basin of Swayedcrypt was known to have large veins of the red ore of iron.
And when they would finally find it, she'd have to constantly hear how the Old Ways are true and really work. But she'd rather face that than return with empty pockets and drained coffers to the baron...
And then be sent to the hammerer.
=====
Okay, second part there.
I'll try to finish this side-venture tomorrow (hopefully), so we can get back to the capies (with Suwu and company being first).
Maybe these prospectors aren't the most interesting of characters, but this expedition will maybe make sense in the future (provided things go the way I expect, which they certainly will not)... Also, a brief glimpse into the mindset of the dwarves of Ustuth Ïdath (or how I perceive them).
We'll see how setting up camp goes since I'm planning to use advfort for some "prospecting". At least with Suwu's camp things went quite smooth with it, though I didn't use it much. I think smelters was something I didn't manage to get working with it. So, going to be making some backups on the way in case something gets messed up.
Guess that's all.
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Topic: Waterlures - A Capybara Man Fortress & Adventure [DF 0.47.05] (Read 83778 times)