PM to join [Cobalt Mountains] Into the Iron Mawl of Darkness

[Ethan Ironhorse]

78th of Winter 713 AV 10th Bell Iron mine locate outside of Syliras Ethan felt every bump and creak that wagon made going across the road. The driver was a smooth handler of the team of horses attached to the yoke, and the road was relatively well maintained, still the iron cross springs had been loaded down with supplies and people to help clear the mine that had collapsed. So even though the wagon was in good repair the ten apprentices and volunteers of the Ironworks were being jostled on the wagon bed. Pick axes and shovels were carefully placed below everyone’s feet and the sound of iron hitting wood and then iron again kept Ethan awoke on the drive. It had been a long night before working the smelting pots and forges, but when the day crew came on board and told everyone of the collapse, Ethan hadn’t hesitated at all to volunteer. Mining was a dangerous occupation but a needed one, men and sometimes boys braved the locate mines for ore and coal, these were the blacksmith brothers as without them there wouldn’t be forge at all. So for a moment Ethan closed his eyes and thought about the previous night. **** Ethan felt the smoke waft up from the forge as he worked the bellows. The coal seemed to spark and glow orange as new air was fed to them. Flacks of coal ash drifted lazily upward on the hot air. In the middle of the forge were two small iron bars. Ethan was heating them up to forge two skinning blades. Unlike a weaponsmith, blacksmith blades were built for utility and strength, not for balance and penetration. That was way the tanning knives were being made from Iron. Iron rusts, but because of scrapping of the fat off the hide, it would slow down the process. It was funny, when a senior apprentice first showed Ethan how to create the knives, he had done so with copper and brass. It seemed that when Iron was less common, copper could be forge in a low wood fire and the tool given a reasonable cleaning. Of course the problem with using soft metals was that when scraping flesh and meat of the bone the knife dulled quickly. So Ethan as the fire warmed up and the iron bars began to display a red temper from the heat, Ethan picked up tongs and hammer. Picking up the iron bar, Ethan began to flatten one corner. Ethan put as much strength in his down ward stroke as possible. A small corner of the iron flattened out from the hammer blow, and so started Ethan’s work. Each blow came down in a rhythm, upsetting the metal as the curve of the blade came out. As the iron cooled, Ethan placed it back into the forge and brought out the other piece. Each of the iron bars were thin bar stock that Ros had made for spoons, knives, and razors. The large barstock was used for making chains, anchors, mainly several large mast collars. So even though a blacksmith could make knives out of that stock, it was much more time friendly to use a small bar approximately the volume that you needed. When Ethan had flatten out enough of the bar stock on each knife to create an almost thin leather width consistence he folded back on itself. Folding caused the metal to be strong in one direction or another. In this case Ethan was creating layers against where the edge would be, that way he could make sure that the tool lasted longer for the user. Slowly the folds began to mesh together as Ethan took great care making sure an air pocket wasn’t created. Finally the edge of the blade was formed and Ethan began to work with the horn of the anvil to twist the bar into a handle. It felt odd that this was going to be one of the last few pieces that Ethan made here at the Ironworks, knowing that soon he was going to head out on his own to Zeltiva. Slow the handle took shape and handle placed the blades in the cold water bucket to do the finally tempering of the metal. Both knives were covered in a dusting of red-orange rust, so Ethan took some sheared sheep wool with sand in it and began scrubbing the knives clean. It took a while working with the knives and wool to scrub the layer of rust off it. Once done, Ethan was able to work with a wetstone to sharpen the blades. Finally Ethan was able to work in a general coating of lanolin from sheep into the knives, this way the fat would protect them from rusting and moisture. As Ethan finished the knives, the forge bell began to ring signaling to everyone that there was emergency. The last time the bell and rung, an apprentice had ben scorched by the liquid metal in a pot, and it required everyone to get the boy out to the healers and stop the molten metal from further injuring people. So Ethan placed the knives down on the bench and made his way to the front of the shop. Ros was there, which was unusual to say the least. Normally, Ros would come in early to check the work that had been done that night, but that was still a few bells away. Ethan did a hasty head count and with a sigh of relief realized that no one had gotten hurt, at least at the shop. Ros looked over the crowd of apprentices and smiths that worked for him. All of them were large men having to work at the forge day in and day out. That labor which was intense required patience as well, Izurdin required that those that worked the forge were to be dedicated in their mind and body. He had tried to teach that to all his smiths. As his gaze fell on Ethan he knew that this one man had taken those lessons to heart. However, Ethan had been blessed or cursed with wondering feet, and was going to leave Ros shop for what the man said was just a season or two. Of course Ros knew that sometimes a season or two blended into a few years and then all of a sudden you had shop of your own to take care of. He promised himself one thing, that before Ethan left he would give him the secret to weapon steel as a parting gift to the man’s service. Granted just because Ethan had the knowledge to make it, it would be years of work and building the right furnace to make it. “Smith’s! I have just received word that late yesterday that there was a major mine shaft collapse. Ten miners are buried in the shafts, and teams are heading out this morning to see if they can’t dig the poor miners out. I am asking for volunteers, a few of you have done this work before, for those that haven’t let me explain why I am asking for volunteers.” Ros looked at the young apprentices making sure they were paying attention as the next few words. “Mining is a dangerous undertaking, you have to follow seams of ore which twist and turn in the mountains. As miners follow the ore, they uncover gas pockets not to mention the loose and shifting rock. Most of the time miner’s will work in near darkness of a single lamp so that if a cave-in does occur the light wouldn’t eat their own air, and all of that is a normal day. What has happen is that the major line of the mine has collapse, the head foreman doesn’t know how many side shafts are collapsed and right now he is working several camps to help dig new shafts to them. He came to me pleading for help, the two work camps in the mine at the time of the collapse were working in supposedly stable sections, and he believes they are trapped. That gives us a few days to get them out.” Ros paused looking in turn at every smith in his employee, “Now for volunteers.” *** Ethan lightly doze as the wagon finally pulled up to the trail that led to the mine shaft. Wife, Daughters, Mothers lined the trail some cooking for the additional work camps, others fetching water, some just staring up at the mountain as if it would bletch up their love one from its dark maw. A mining foreman came down from two of the women that had lost someone inside. One was a mother and wife of one trapped inside. Her tears running freely as she didn’t know if she would see either one of her family again. Ethan looked as a man covered in red dust came down to motion for them. Picking up a pick axe and shovel, Ethan motioned for some of the other men to come with him. They jumped down from the wagon and walked over to the foremen. “You must be Ros’ lads. Thanks for coming. Currently we are working a new shaft to connect to the main line. Seems the stable entrance way gave way last night before the last two work crews could get out. Don’t worry too much we will pair you all up with some of the more experienced miners and have you start to work.” Spoke the foremen as sweat poured down his brow. The foreman motioned for half the group to head over to a stack of timber that had been cut for braces in the tunnels. Ethan went over to the start of the new shaft. Men were gather around and pickaxes were being used. The hard metal spike drove itself down into the hard stone, chips flying from each strike. Sadly only three men could really work at the shaft, Ethan immediately began to take a shovel and scoop up the loose rock chips and dirt, overturning the dirt into a bucket. The crew had been working on the new shaft for 10 bells and had gone twenty feet inward, which if Ethan had known anything about mining would have been impressive. Still Ethan had come to help and that meant working hard with the axe and shovel. For the next bell Ethan hauled bucket after bucket full of dirt to the entrance. It helped cleared the way so the main crew wouldn’t stumble on their own rock chips. They had made another three feet and it was Ethan turn to set a brace and then relive one of the miners to start chipping away at the shaft. The forearm directed Ethan and a few others to pick up a timber and set it against the ceiling of the shaft. Two other men took timbers and at an angle set the square edge of the timber against ceiling beam. A man with a large wooden sledge began to hit the anchoring timbers into place. At first Ethan didn’t feel any of the pressure on his shoulder lessen, but as the timber slowly became wedged to the wall and the ceiling Ethan felt the wood strain against the stone and finally the beam supported itself against the ceiling. Ethan turned to thank the miner and saw a boy no more than thirteen with the sledge hammering the other end in. The boy had dirt and grim all over his body and showed in his demeanor that he use to it. It was then that Ethan realized that the boy was likely a miner and had come to help the families and his trapped brothers.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan picked up the pickaxe and started in at the rock. The tapered point came crashing into the large rock. Small chips of rock broke around the point and flew to the ground, while a small spark of metal came out of the tool that Ethan held. Again Ethan wielded the pickaxe and it struck slightly off the original point. However, this time a large hand size flake sheared off between the points. The forearm looked over Ethan shoulder and spoke loud enough to hear over the clatter of tools against rock. “The secret is to hit the rock with the grain. The force from the pickaxe will send small cracks down the grain line and then you need to just keep working along those line till a large piece comes out.” So arm with the foremen’s advice, Ethan studied the rock for a moment seeing that lines almost want up and down on the rock in the dim light of the lantern. The two miners to the side of him were hitting point on the rock close to darker areas, and then striking another point a six inches to a foot from their original strike. Ethan could see that a spider web of cracks radiated out from the pick axe point and that the miners knew by the look of their first hit where the next one would need to be. So Ethan tried again, aiming for a darker spot of rock and giving it all his muscles could deliver. Ethan felt the pick axe sink a full inch into the rock as hairline cracks came out about four to five inches from the point. It was then that Ethan realized that the miners weren’t just hitting random places. The rock that they were hammering had its own weak spots and that a miner needed to know about the rock he was cutting through. Strike after strike in low light Ethan made, sweat coming down his body even though it was winter outside. He slowly showed improvement as far as the pick axe and taking out rock chunks. At first it seemed he could only scrape out a small dish plate rock, but as he got better understanding where to strike the rock, soon he was taking out rocks the size of his head. For three bells Ethan worked at scraping out the tunnel, until his arms burned from exhaustion and his dirty forehead have small rivers of mud running down his face. The foreman tapped Ethan’s should to tell him it was time for a break. In that short time, the miners had been able to gain another five feet, and it looked as if there was some soft rock or dirt just ahead. Ethan picked up a bucket or two and headed out of the tunnel to dump them. As he was going out, men with timbers were coming in to support the new roof of the cave and prevent it from collapsing. Ethan allowed the men room as they carried the heavy beams forward doing their best to keep up with the flow that the foreman was settling. As Ethan exited the tunnel, the daylight blinded him for a moment. The stark white snow and greyish tents with smoke coming out of them were the first thing he saw. In addition, Ethan saw the small rock pile that was being used to gather all the excess material from the new shaft. Ethan walked over to the pile and dumped his buckets of rock. Steam seemed to rise from Ethan’s bare skin, as his overheated body cooled from the chill in the air. Seeing a small chow line, Ethan went over to it to grab some stew and eat before he went back in. Softly the woman gathered looked at Ethan as if to ask if there was any news from the new shaft. The haunted look in their eyes showed that each one of them had someone they cared about in that mine, and Ethan felt powerless to because he didn’t know how much more they had to dig or if they new shaft would connect cleanly with the old one. So he simply grabbed the stew bowl and said thank you. It was half way through the stew when Ethan felt a rumbling in the ground, his head shoot up to the mine and a large crowd of dirt and dust came out of it covering the snow in grind. Some of the women began to wail in despair, while others dropped what they were doing and ran to the mine shaft. Ethan was amongst one of those people who dropped what they were doing and ran to the shaft. The dust and dirt cloud briefly blocked his vision as well as making it hard to breathe, but Ethan could just barely make out several forms running out of the shaft. It took several chimes for the dust to settle and everyone could count the people that had come out. They had been lucky everyone had seen the rock give way to loose shale and only one person had a broken arm from it. The foreman cursed and yelled for a while. It wasn’t till a miner explained to Ethan that they would need a reimancer to keep going forward or they have to start anew. “See, the shale is just loose rock that was being held in place by the rock underneath it. When we broke it up, the shale came down on our heads. It was a relatively small pocket since everyone was able to get out of its way, but an Earth reimancer is needed to meld all the shale together and create a stable ceiling for us. The problem is that the only new reimancer we have is buried in the shafts, the old one became unstable.” The miner seemed to get quiet after making that statement as if to say they needed magic to continue, but what it did wasn’t worth the price. Everyone grew quiet as the foreman finally made a decision to see if the other work camps had a reimancer who would help. It would take a few more bells to get the mage to come back, but it was worth it instead of spending another day trying to create another shaft. So while they waited, everyone grabbed a quick nap or food in the small camp outside the mine.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan huddled out under the gray cloth temp with the other workers, drinking a warm broth trying get some of the feeling back in his hands and feet. Ethan heard soft crying in the back ground, while other women stared off into the distantance or in the fire wondering about whether their love ones were dead or alive. There were groups that clung together seeking reassurance. Ethan choose to sit with a few miners that seemed to be cradling their own tin bowls in the hands. They were all covered in dirt and stone dust, their clothes left dirty tracks on the snow and as Ethan took a drink of broth from the bowl, bits of grit and grime from his beard swirled in the bowl. As the cold wind came, whipping the cloth tents back and forth, the camp became silent. The man next to Ethan started whispering, his head was bowed down. “Semele, everyday we enter the deep dark and claw at you to get ore and stones. We know that for every rock and stone we take that you require balance for your lost. Sometimes you are satisfied by a bit of bread or cup of mead, taking what sustains us for what we take from you. You kept us in your arms doing the great valterrian, allowing those that knew your wisdom to survive the horrible upheaval, and as a miners we all know that one day you may take us from our families and friends if we don’t respect the treasure you give us. Today, I offer my meal for those trapped below. Let my sacrifice today be for the ones still breathing, so they may have one more breath. I hold my tongue in silence today, so that as my shovel and axe carry to those that are alive and fill them with hope. Bless us Semele, and bless those that are in the deep dark.” With that the man poured his broth out onto the snow, the liquid melting and soaking into the ground. Ethan felt humbled by the man’s prayer and dedication, slowly he poured out his own broth on the ground, as he did so he looked up into the old miner’s eyes and saw that dark grey wet streaks that ran down from his eyes into his beard. He simply nodded to Ethan, and Ethan nodded back hoping that their small offerings would balance the scales for Semele. It took several bells for the foreman to come back, in the cart rode another man covered in brown leather and hides. The man looked gaunt and haunted as they went up to the tunnel, the miners got up and started forming up the work teams that they had been in when the break was called. Ethan went down the dark tunnel from which he could see the hide covered men looking at the loose shale. Since Ethan was a magic user himself he could feel Djed being manipulated for what purpose and how wasn’t possible. The man looked at the foreman and shook his head. “It’s not a small pocket of loose rock, it has the feel of a natural shaft waiting to be opened. I would suggest digging eight feet to either side and then try going forward.” The forearm cursed and then made the decision. “Bring up the boards and cover this up, get the second team up here we will try to head to the tunnel.” Ethan’s team brought up boards and hammers, they began boarding up the shaft by nailing the board to the outside of the posts. Ethan helped by taking his turn holding the boards and by nailing them in. The other team had started to making head away in digging a new branch to the shaft. Time in the deep dark isn’t like time in the city or the forge. You forget about food or sunlight; all there is, is the rock in front of you and the weight of the mountain above you. Ethan hammered at the rock breaking it and cracking it open, tired hands sometimes his, sometimes others, would pick up the rock and carry it back clearing the passage way. It wasn’t till late in the night that they broke open into the main shaft cheers rose up from the mine as the pickaxe hit wood planks. Almost if they hadn’t been swinging a heavy pick axe all day the miners began to work harder and faster to clear the rock and dirt from the boards. Once done they broke through the wood planks as if they were cheap paper. The foremen came through with a canary in a wooden cage. He placed the cage on a pole and swung in into the main tunnel, seeing if the air was breathable. For a moment the Ethan held his breath listening to the bird cheep and cheep then stop. The miners grew silent worried that the bird had died, and that all they had worked for would be for nothing more than a funereal detail. Then like a beacon of hope the bird bursted out in a song, and the foreman issued the order for the more experience miners to go out and see what tunnels were clear and what branches were caved in. He gave the order with tears, and it was the first time that Ethan wondered if he was allowing himself to feel hope.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

The experience miners were called because they had the knowledge to tell the signs of a unstable ceiling or sound of shifting rock. The miner’s came forward and the foreman gave them orders. “Gentleman, we are in the mine and that was the easy part. Now we have to trust that all the rock has settled and that we don’t large collapsed shafts that have cut off our friends. James! Tryq! Your up, head down the main shaft to the cave in, if we have unhurt miners that were able to move free in the mine they would go there first and settle down. Felix! Jo! Head down the new line, Corey’s crew was working on that. If you get to a cave tap the sides with a shovel and see if the dirt and rock shift. If not wait for a metal tap. If the rock pile is small anyone on the other side should hear us and signal back. Terry! Nate! Go down the old dead shaft and be careful Ro had to take that new Reimancer with him because his first look showed unstable reinforcement.” The miners hop out of the new entrance and two of them went to either side to gain knowledge of where they were at. It was nothing more than a few chimes before they came back and told everyone where they were at in relation to the main entrance. To Ethan it seemed almost impossible how they could tell on turn from another. It wasn’t till the miners left that the foreman issued everyone out into the main shaft. Quietly he had everyone sit down as the miners went out to investigate. One of the miners motioned to Ethan and pointed up to a beam and showed Ethan some crude carvings. “It shows you the name of the shaft. The use of the mouth glyph means that we are in a main branch. The tick marks means we are three branches into it. The miners remember what shaft they are working on by reciting the glyphs. Mouth to snake to drop to grave, which means take the main shaft to the branch mark snake to the branch marked drop which will probably have a wicked drop shaft that leads down a ladder and then to a shaft that has been mined out. You occasionally check old shafts because they can open up again to some new vein.” The miners talked for a little while, when one of the miners came running back telling the foreman that they found some of the lost miners. They were injured and needed help. The foreman dedicated a several men to go help the injured out of the cave. It turned out that Corey’s crew had made it to the main cave in and after a minor collapse that they were able to dig out of. Finally the miners that were hunting down Ro in the dead end came back. The news was mixed, they had tapped the rock sides of the cave in and saw loose dirt spilling from the ceiling, but they had also heard a faint tapping. The foreman choose the Reimancer and several of the miners including to Ethan to investigate. Slowly they made their way down shafts the occasional dribble of dirt raining down from the ceiling. It heighten Ethan’s fears of another cave in, but the older miners simply ignored the dirt as if it was an everyday occurrence, so Ethan went on ignoring the fear of being buried alive at any moment. As they finally got to the collapse shaft the Reimancer motioned everyone to be quiet. The stone on the ceiling began to flow through the dirt as the Reimancer began wave his hands. Quietly foreman began to motion the group to scoop out the dirt on top, but before the first miner could reach out the stone began to crack and break collapsing more dirt and stone on the pile. The Reimancer looked over to the foreman and merely shook his head. Ethan looked up at the foreman and knew that man had a choice. Try to find some way to connect the old dead shaft in time to give them new air, or make the call that it was more dangerous to try and dig them out then save them. The weight on his shoulders was great and as he looked at all the miners around him, he made his decision. “Its too dangerous to continue. We will close off this shaft with a shire to Semele and the dead. It’s time to leave.” The foreman hung his head in shame and began the long walk out. When Ethan left the mine he looked around, for some people gathered about wifes, mothers, and daughters were rejoicing that their love ones were returned. With the foreman came out the others that were waiting realized that no one else was coming out, and in that moment joy and despair went over the camp, and all Ethan could think and feel was if he was in a cave-in who would be here waiting.

[Serendipity]

Ethan Ironhorse :

Skills

• Blacksmithing: 1
• Bodybuilding: 2
• Mining: 2
• Observation: 2
• Endurance: 1
• Construction: 1

Lores

• Cobalt Mountains: Lykolau Iron Mine
• Blacksmith blade: Utility and Strength
• Mining: Dangerous Undertaking
• Mining: Hitting With the Grain

Loot

Notes :

It was a brilliant thread, Ethan! You struck gold and got at the heart of the worries when it came to those who had trapped loved ones, and the kind of emotions and friction builds around it. Enjoy your goodies!

Be sure to PM me if you have any issues or problems with the grade!