Excavator

From a collection of well preserved and maintained Recorder Orbs in the mining town of Caernelli, located at the base of the Tuagledd Mountains and south east of Mt. Merlin itself.

An image wavered to life, revealing a pair of rugged boots scuffing into the ground. Sound, slightly distorted, played of the dirt crunching and loud cloth rustling before the image swung wildly in a blur. When it steadied, the freckled face of a young ratfolk girl smiled and a hand came up to ruffle her windblown hair into some semblance of order.

“Oh, it’s working now! Uh…uh…right! Hi! I’m Dina Awbrey, senior apprentice to Master Oric Carew of the Caernelli Mining Institute.” The view suddenly panned to show a sweeping image of a distant town and quarry nestled against the base of the mountains. By the angle, Dina was hundreds of feet up the mountain above the town. A gloved hand came into view, pointing at one of the distant buildings. “Right down there.”

The image panned again with the sound of rustling cloth and the slight creak of well worn leather. By the time the view settled, Dina was making final adjustments of the straps of a bulky pack. A compact shovel, a pickaxe, spare boots, some metal contraptions, and a significant amount of rope were all easily visible. She clapped her hands together and gave the recorder orb a thumbs up.

“Ready to go! I’ll prove to old dog Carew that there’s more to this mountain than the stone and iron in the quarry!” She pointed dramatically up at the mountain peaks just as the orb gave an alarming warble. “Oops, time’s u--” The recording cut off suddenly.

Several following recordings chronicled Dina’s journey up the mountain and some of her…interesting attempts at cooking while camping. The next interesting recording was much more harrowing.

“Woooah! O-ooooh! Uh--okay! I’m OKAY!” Wind hissed across the sheer cliff face and snapped at loose clothing. The image wobbled for a moment before it stabilized, showing an impossible angle of Dina clinging to the cliff with both hands and her boots sporting attached climbing cleats. She was holding the recorder orb with her tail. Rope dangled beneath her down a hundred foot drop, secured in place by the occasional piton.

“Almost fell there!” Dina shouted over the wind with a laugh. “UH…I’m about halfway up this cliff now and my boots are working GREAT! Really gonna need to thank Patrick for them. And these new pitons! They don’t budge at all!” She demonstrated by leaning back and tugging aggressively at the rope securing her to the cliff face. 

“Anyway! Right up there is the cave I spotted yesterday. The one with that glint.” Still leaning out, Dina pointed above her and stretched her tail out for a better angle. The very faintest impression of a shadowed outcropping could be seen. “I should be up there in time for lunch--” A gust of wind swung Dina and she scrambled for a good hold on the cliff. “If this wind doesn’t knock me down first!” The orb’s view swung and then suddenly darkened with a cacophony of rustling before the recording stopped.

The next recording began with Dina grinning and tapping a vein of metal glistening in the sunlight. “I knew it. Orichalcum, it has to be.” There was a snap and hum of an artifice device activating and a bright light shone down into the cave. More lines of mineral gleamed. The light shifted sharply as Dina moved the source into view. It was a leather cap with what looked like the barest bones of a Northi Lantern attached to it. She tapped the top and the dull sound of metal covered in leather echoed.

“Patrick called this a ‘hard hat’. He’s thinking of trying to get all the miners to wear them, but it’s not really working out. He did manage to fit a lantern on it though, kinda heavy, but being able to see with hands and tail free is great! Anyway, I’m gonna get a couple samples of this near the entrance and see what else I can find deeper in!” The image cut off.

There were no further recordings but there was a collection of custom made tools and various samples displayed. A folding shovel, a reinforced pickaxe, the climbing spike attachments for her boots, the self expanding pitons, and the hard hat with the mounted lamp. Refined versions of them could be purchased at the Institute to support more Excavator activity in the mountains, led and taught by Master Dina Awbrey.