Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #230

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #230 

August 19th, 2023 

• Number: 230 

• Name:  Deep Dive on a Site of Interest: Among the Taodean Hills and Dales – Part 6 

• Location: In the Tuton Maug along the border with Noldrune 

• Population (approx.): 60-75 

• Brief: Most of the mines of the 4 City-States are run by the Mining Guild in association with the applicable local government. But there are some less scrupulous miners who wish to either take unacceptable risks or avoid sharing the proceeds with the governments and guilds or both. The Titan’s Trove Mine was abandoned by the Guild 43 years ago after a partial collapse killed several miners, but not forgotten. Now ex-Guild miners, equal parts desperate and greedy, returned to the site 5 years ago and reopened the mine, carefully picking their way around the collapsed sections and opening new tunnels and shafts. 

• Neras Marbledew, 15, Halfling, is a message and errand runner for the Titan’s Trove Mine. He is still growing, so he is relatively short but quick. He has curly blond locks and dew-colored eyes. Neras wears leather pants and a plain tunic. He wears hiking boots even though they slow him down because of the terrain. Neras carries a pair of knives in case he runs into any trouble. 

• The foreman of Titan Trove Mines purchased Neras when he was five years old. They immediately put him to work, running messages up and down the long corridors of the mine, picking his way around the rubble and scrambling through partially blocked tunnels. His lightweight was a benefit as some of the main tunnels are weak and might collapse under heavier feet. Neras knows everyone that works at the mine, as he has delivered messages to them. He has grown into a fine young hobbit, and the mining company is considering promoting him to a miner or a line cook.  

• Neras is an orphan and does not know who his family is. One day, Neras hopes to look for his family. The miners of the company have treated him fairly. One of the older miners has recently taken him to her home and given him a place to sleep and some other teens to hang out with. Neras likes the other miners and his new family but longs for at least one person to connect with him. 

• Geography: From a distance, Titan’s Trove Mine resembles a ruined tower. The circular building over the main shaft is approximately 25 feet in diameter and the remaining walls are 3 stories tall (40 feet to the last remnants of the roof). The surrounding hillside, facing southeast hence concealed from those passing through on the road to the north, is mostly covered with scrub, small trees, brush and long grasses, easily concealing the remains of the old mine and the huts and tents of the new mining company. The miners smuggle their ore on to the plains overland rather than hazard encountering traffic on local roads and sell or trade it in numerous small settlements.