Mort Mine

Although Mort Mine is not the only mine in New Terra, it is assuredly the largest and quite possibly the oldest, established in the year 12. All sorts of metals are dug up within the mine; coal and lead are found in the upper layers, gold, silver and platinum at levels below that and, more recently, adamantium has been found in the lowest level of the mine. Every now and then, precious stones such as ruby, opal or even diamond will be found. The mine also boasts its own mint, where Sanctuary commissions the production of New Terra’s currency, the golden ‘seed’. The mine is well guarded by both Sanctuary’s military and the privately owned Mort Mine guard.

As long as anyone can remember, the mine has been owned and operated by the grouchy halfling named Mortimer Kusp, or ‘Mort’ for short. Mort has the reputation of being a stern but fair boss, with a no-nonsense attitude.

Two types of people work within the mines: paid workers and criminals sentenced to the mines. Those who work the mine of their own free will are paid a very reasonable wage, as Mort pays commissions on precious stones; the more valuable the stone, the larger the commission. Mort also employs many different types of metal workers, masters of weapon forging and armour smithing, who take the raw iron ore from the mine and craft steel equipment, the best in New Terra.

The mine has had a mostly untroubled history. In the early years, the odd monster or two would be found in the depths and a team of Hunters would be sent to clear them out. As time went on, monsters became less and less common. The large number of guards at the mine and the mint were enough of a deterrent for most bandits, and those who were foolish enough to attempt a robbery were easily captured or chased off. The most trouble the mine has seen is between the years 60 and 66, when gold and silver were being sent to Zion Farm en masse. The great wealth being transported in those days was too tempting a prize for bandits, and the frequency of the deliveries meant that each wagon could not be protected adequately. Many wagon loads of precious metals were lost during those years, at least until Mort developed his armoured wagons.

By the year 62, and with rumours that Zion Farm would be building a second weather dome, Mort was fed-up with losing wagons and gold. Several tactics had been tried previously, such as dummy wagons that were empty or attempting to row a barge up The Wound, but no idea had really worked. So, Mort put to work his best blacksmiths to fabricate fortified wagons of iron. The large, heavy wagons were heavily armoured, locked from the inside, and boasted a mounted large crossbow on top, which swivelled 360 degrees. No normal horse or oxen could pull such a wagon, so Mort made a deal with Zion Farm: if they wanted his gold, they’d need to summon him Guard Drakes to pull the wagons. Zaálder Féir, the Red Wizard in charge of constructing the weather domes, agreed to these terms, and provided the valuable dragons scales needed for the ritual of summoning. And that is how Mort Mine came to have armoured wagons pulled by Guard Drakes.