Chương 80: The mine, the road and money.
The social, political, economic stagnation and decline that followed the Great War affected Udoris throughout the first decade following the great conflict and had a critical impact on technological progress, trade and social organization.
Technological developments that affected the course of metal production were only feasible within a stable political environment, and this was not the case until the continent began recovering from the aftermath of years of warring and bloodshed.
Before the war, the output of metal was in a steady decline and constraint in small scale activities. Miners adopted methods much less efficient than those of recent times and ores were extracted only from shallow depths.
The vicinity of the mine to villages or towns was also a determinant factor when deciding about working on-site, because of the high cost of material transportation.
By the start of the Great war, economic and social conditions, that dictated the increased need for ores in agriculture, arms, and infrastructure, started to favour metallurgy and a rapid but reckless general progress was noted.
Starting from the first decade after the war began, smelting sites were multiplied and new untested methods were quickly put into use upon showing the slightest signs of promise. New mines were discovered and exploited, like the well-known copper mines of Goslar, close to the town of Bouzoretbo in the south-eastern parts of Quilton, east of the Aiga Mountains.
Open-cast mining and metallurgical activities were mostly concentrated in Aries and Verum.
The Quilts, Ariens, Ivonnittes but mainly Verumitte miners and metallurgists became the new pioneering generators of metal production.
Underground mining work in shafts, although limited in-depth, was accomplished either by fire-setting for massive ore bodies or with iron tools for smaller-scale extraction of limited veins. The sorting of base and precious metal ores was completed underground and they were transferred separately
However, a significant hiatus in underground mining was noted during the early middle part of the Great war because of a series of historical events with severe social and economic impacts. The Fall of Syril (2229–2230 P.S.), a once major ore supplier, displaced about one-tenth of the Udorian population, the assassination of king Stefans Zoroaster (2232 P.S.), the collapse of the Algrim - Lunao alliance (2235–2237 P.S.), and The Burning of the trade cities of Witeron that amongst others caused a severe economic crisis (2237 P.S.), with a dramatic influence in the metallurgical industry and trade.
Due to this chain of unfortunate incidences, the great demand for metals during the war, e.g. for armour, could not be met due to the lack of manpower and capital investment causing the once decisive battles to result in long, drawn-out affairs, inadvertently lengthening the war.
It was only by the end of the war that Udoris recovered. Great capital expenditures were invested and more sophisticated machinery was developed and installed in underground mining, which resulted in reaching greater depths. The application of water and animal power necessary for draining water out of these deep shafts also soon became widely accepted.
Metallurgists throughout Udoris were tasked to move within different regions. Verumitte metallurgists in search of rich precious metal ores, for instance, took the leading part in mining and affected the course of metal production, not only in East and South Verum but in almost all Central Udoris.
The urban expansion that began shortly after the great war and the dominant role of towns provided metallurgists with the right environment to develop and improve their technology. Metallurgists got organized in guilds and, usually, their workshops were concentrated in town peripheries
In Udorian societies, liberal and mechanical arts were considered totally different from each other. Metallurgists, like all craftsmen and artisans, lacked the methodical intellectual background but they were the pioneers of causal thinking, based on empirical observation and experimentation.
- Excerpt from 'The buried treasures', written by great Algrian scholar, Upper Harz.
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Somewhere at the foot of the Aiga, northeast of Greenfields.
…
Robert stood reading through a parchment sheet as a crowd of serfs dug out a small stream in the distance in front of him.
By his side, a middle-aged man stood watching the men work. Occasionally he would shout out orders to the men in front as they worked tirelessly.
The butler quietly read through the scroll, a small frown creased his forehead.
A few moments later he looked up towards the pit being dug out and sighed wearily.
"How much limestone do you think can be mined from this place in the long run?"
He asked, turning to the man by his side. "The young master is investing a lot in this place, I hope the investment is truly worth it."
The man by his side shrugged.
"I don't know, I am a stonemason, not a miner. But the node looks like a pretty big one so it should probably be a lot. Maybe."
Robert sighed again rolling up the scroll and stuffing it in his coat.
"I hope so."
Patting the mason on the shoulder he said with a slight sneer.
"Now you know you are not a miner? If I remember clearly, weren't you the one bragging foolishly a few days ago to the Lord about how well you would handle this project?"
The mason shrunk slightly at the reprimand but a shameless smirk crept up his face.
"Don't you dare!" Robert said glancing at the man.
"Hehe, sorry." The mason chuckled awkwardly as he hid his smile.
"But really, are you sure this is the best method to go about this?" Robert asked glancing at the open cast mine being dug in front of him. Several serfs dug through the muddy earth exposing the ore underneath.
A stream once flowed right above it, washing down chunks of the lime beneath down into the Strega river which emptied it. But now a small dam has being constructed upstream along with a ditch to circumvent the flow around the ore vein and back unto its natural course.
Earlier the young master issued a request for the formation of a search party to find this vein. And after a short week and fifty men, mostly hunters and herb pickers from the town who were familiar with the mountainous terrain, the ore was found.
That was easy because they only had to follow the stream up to the source. But the task had only just begun.
Now Robert was tasked with supervising the construction of a mine and a transport route to move the limestone back to Greenfields. And looking at the long list of unchecked checkboxes and the estimated cost of each for only this project, the butler only felt the weight of this assignment grow heavier.
"Yes." The miner nodded. He cleared his throat and feigned a serious expression.
"I had a few miner friends back at Stonehelm, so I picked up a thing or two about their trade whenever we had drinks together at the local tavern."
"Really?"
"Hmm. Also, don't forget I was the one in charge of constructing Greenfields iron mine, so I also have plenty of experience myself."
"Yeah, I almost forgot." The butler nodded.
"You what?"
"I forgot."
"How can you forget something so important?"
Robert shrugged.
"Well, I was still at the capital when the mine was constructed and when the Lord finally did move here you had been sent to Stonehelm and only visited once every two years for maintenance work."
"But still-"
"I forgot," Robert said, silencing the stonemason.
"That aside, do you not think it would be wiser to hire a real miner or even better a Foreman(1) to handle this project?" He sighed.
"Hey! What do you mean? Are you saying I am not good enough?" The mason argued.
"That's not what I am saying." Robert sighed.
"You have seen the projects the young master had planned for just the first quarter of the year, right?"
"Yes." The mason nodded with a thoughtful expression. "The Marquess seems to be a very ambitious person."
"I think so as well. In a few months, your hands would most probably be filled with more work than you wish was possible. By then wouldn't it make more sense to have more people to share the burden?"
"I guess so?" The mason said with uncertainty in his voice.
"But I am sure you know how hard it is to hire a skilled professional like myself. I am not bragging or anything, but the only reason I agreed to come this far north even with the ongoing war was that you requested."
"It would be a very high task to ask others to do the same. Especially now that the conflict has begun to simmer down."
"I know."
Robert nodded and fell into contemplation once more.
The miner glanced at Robert who had fallen into contemplation and spoke hesitantly.
"I heard that the Lord inherited the deeds to a salt mine somewhere in the capital which was meant to belong to Duke Hera. Although salt and limestone are two very different things, they do share a lot of similarities so maybe the foreman in charge of that could prove useful here as well."
"Where did you hear that?" Robert asked with a stunned look in his eyes. As far as he knew that was supposed to be confidential information available to those of relevant authority.
The mason didn't notice the odd look in Robert's eyes and continued speaking.
"I heard some of the men talking about it in the miss Bolly's tavern. They appeared to be one of those newcomers."
"The craftsmen that were sent along with the ships from Ilpedro?"
"Yes." The mason nodded. "Also they mentioned that the ships were also meant to belong to the Heras, as a reward for something I can't seem to remember. Is that true?"
Robert's eyes narrowed.
"I am not sure." He lied.
"I will ask my master when we return."
"Sure, don't forget to update me though." The mason nodded before shouting a warning at one of the serfs who had begun to slack off.
'Hmm, I have to inform the young master about this development when I return.'
Robert made a mental note.
He glanced back at the mason before speaking.
"I am sure you can handle the remaining tasks on your own, right?"
"Of course."
"Remember, the road to Greenfields has to be completed as soon as possible. It took us nearly two weeks just to get the men here by foot, although it would have been twice as fast on horseback, we can't afford such a delay when it's time to transport the ores back."
"I understand." The mason nodded.
"Also keep an eye on the serfs' camp. If there is any trouble you can call upon sir Justin or his friends over there, they have plenty of experience on how to deal with troublesome peasants." Robert added gesturing with his chin towards the four knights lazily lounging underneath a tree's shade.
"Aye."
"I am off then," Robert said walking towards the knights.
"Take care!"
"I am about to take my leave, my good sirs," Robert said as he undid the knot that leashed his horse to a nearby tree.
"Oh, okay," Justin replied sitting up.
"Vanir!"
"Huh?"
"Please escort sir Robert back to the town. Also, take care to deal with any bandits along the way, we wouldn't want those bastards developing any unnecessary interest here."
The named knight grunted acknowledgement before getting to his feet. He was a head taller than the already tall butler, with a much bigger, muscular physique and had a head full of slightly darker brown hair.
The two mounted their steeds and speedily rode southwards, in the direction of Greenfields.
Time was money and there was still quite a lot that had to be done.
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DISCLOSABLE INFORMATION:
(1) - Foreman or manager is a title given to an individual in charge of managing and supervising a mine. They are usually individuals with years of experience mostly from being miners themselves. But due to the hazards of mining very few people live long enough to gain that title, hence their rarity.
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