Part 14: 1412-The Second Birth of Vigny Rolfsdottir

The Second Birth of Vigny Rolfsdottir




As 1412 began, Queen Dagmaer prepared that her summonings should be performed across the Great Sea in Ironbay, which yet was a small village, though it grew swiftly enough as its district thrived. By Secondmonth, in fact, Ironbay could be considered a true town, a commercial center for its district that was trading mithril and silver across the Great Sea. The kingdom continued to see improvements made across its span, while the Royal Army was borne over in portions to Westerland to pacify that far land.



By Fourthmonth, the Queen's continuing researches gave her the insight to call upon the Serene Mother to clothe a spirit of the dead in new flesh, returned from their final reward to once more breathe the air of Myrror. With this new lore, Queen Dagmaer immediately set to work to restore Vigny Rolfsdottir and her scouts from the dead, a fitting reward for their excellent service.




While Dagmaer worked at this act of magic over the next months, report came in Ninthmonth from the outlying district of Ironbay that a company of dwarves-at-arms wearing the device of Stonehome was marching east across the desert, and perhaps soon would reach the town. The two companies of infantry and two cannon yet transported to Westerland prepared to serve their duty, should the intentions of this company be ill. The month following, as the soldiery of Stonehome marched closer to Ironbay, Vigny was restored to life, clothed in a new body formed in Ironbay, and joined by the scouts who had fallen with her. Through the Queen's magic was gear sent to them from Goldwash, that they might arm themselves for battle.

You can transport magical items from point to point immediately by teleportation, but this costs mana.





The Royal Army marched forth to meet the company of Stonehome's troops in the hills southwest of Ironbay, and there they demanded that the dwarves of Stonehome give an accounting of their business. They could give no satisfactory answer, and cannon shot and crossbow bolt cut them down.







This host then marched into the mountains, there to confront the walking dead that haunted the ruins round about an ancient temple. Over half the dead were destroyed at range, and those that remained were swiftly defeated by the infantry as they met the dwarven lines. The Army, searching the ruins, found many precious treasures, as well as a great store of enchanted glass crystals that the Queen claimed to fuel her magical work.




With this victory, the Army marched northwest into the desert, seeking out a rocky outcrop from the desert that served as a den for a great pack of the bears of Nature, as well as three towering creatures of loose sand, soil, and stones that loomed over the field. Although their substance was loosely-packed and they were far from impervious to harm, their great size and weight and the immense damage they could take presented a grave threat to the forces confronting them.





The bears suffered grievous losses on the approach, and those that remained broke against the infantry. As the great giants of sand and stone advanced, so too did the infantry, seeking to shield the cannon from the terrible blows of the giants. Cannon shot and the efforts of the infantry sent one toppling to its destruction, but the infantry had suffered a number wounded or slain by their foes, and the Queen did seek to lessen their losses inasmuch as she could.






The remaining giants fell swiftly, with about a sixth of the infantry left slain or wounded beyond the ability to serve after the battle. What was discovered when the giants fell was a wonder. A fine sword of great magical virtue was hidden away in the crannies of the earth, as were ancient scrolls and texts that, returned to the Queen, explained much about how the favor of the Sagacious Counsellor might be called up for all the inhabitants of a town, granting them wisdom in their stewardship of their wealth and resources, and helping the folk of the town achieve even greater prosperity than before. Dagmaer, seeing the great value of this to her people, set aside some of the time she had once been spending on research that she might better perform this magic more swiftly, as she began to work to set this magic wheresoever she could.



While all this has come to pass, the exploration of the lands and seas of Myrror has not ended, and a clearer picture of the shape of the world slowly emerges.

The Kingdom of Greater Dvergursheim as of Twelfthmonth 1412



The town of Goldwash continues to grow and prosper, its various artisans, merchants, and savants plying their trades for rich reward. Roundships bound from Dvergursheim to Osterland make port regularly at the town, and the fine metalwork of Goldwash is unparalleled in the kingdom.



Stonegate still grows, although it is a sleepier and poorer town than is Goldwash. Its temple serves the whole population of the town well, letting them give honor to the Four Bright Gods. The town earns much coin from the fine glass and glassware produced by its artisans, which can now be found across the kingdom.



The expanded temple in Ironbridge is completed, and work is under way in Ironbridge that it might be prepared to recruit and arm heavy infantry at need, lest some threat to the kingdom arise. The town grows swiftly, as the rich country of the Blackwater valley supports much settlement and traffic in the district about, and honey, milk, meat, grain, and fish all are abundant for the folk of the district.



The use of steam power in Stony Peak and its surrounding district has greatly helped with its mines and with construction, and great loads of iron ore are delved from the ground in the hills about the town. With this wealth of ore, metallurgy and alchemy grows in importance in the town, and the foundries and workshops of alchemists are nearing completion here.



Skilled smiths now serve the growing town of Snowy Point, and the shops and traders of the town prosper, the furs trapped here traded north for the goods of the wide kingdom. The fields and pastures of the district about are beginning to enjoy new improvements, with better cultivation, manuring, fences, and so forth helping ensure rich supply from the farms and ranches round about.



The treetop houses of the dark elves grow more common in the western reaches of Dvergursheim, and perhaps soon Darkshore will grow to a true town better-able to serve its district.



The library in Blademarsh has been completed, and with recovery of the lore of the dark elves, it starts to become clearer that Osterland was not, in ancient days, a dark elven land, but rather was a place that some dark elves fled to from their old imperial territories as Myrror fell into chaos and the dwarves who had once settled Osterland perished in great numbers. The town also now supports a major sawmill, which provides lumber for the use of the town from the timbering in outlying forests. The temple to the Great Lady here is being expanded, with great quantities of lumber and silk being used to make a fine and impressive structure in the treetops of the town.



A thriving marketplace trades the wares of Fangrock and offers such imported goods as are found in the town, and the merchant caste of the dragonkin here thrives. The district round about grows ever better cultivated, providing maize, fish, meat, and the fiery spices the dragonkin love to the town in slowly growing amounts.



Improvements to the farmlands round about Bloodrock have ensured rich supply of food to the town, and its wineries, slaughterhouses, and food markets ensure this bounty is processed and sold smoothly. With this abundance, the town has been growing more swiftly now. Like Blademarsh, its temple to the Great Lady is being expanded and more richly furnished, providing comfort and divine favor to the town.



Like Bloodrock, Leer has seen food markets and other such businesses arise, helping handle the abundance of the riverlands about the Crimson River and the improvements the farmers in the district have made to their lands. The town also now hosts a major sawmill, cutting lumber to be used in crafts and the building of the treetop platform-buildings of the elves. This supply of lumber has helped allow the start of a project to expand the temple here, in honor of the Great Lady and the blessings she offers.



With the growth of Darkhold's markets and the greater use of coin in its district, now every corner of Osterland makes more use of coin than barter, and the land prospers for it. A small temple to the Great Lady is being constructed, a long, low wooden structure with many tapestries on the walls and bright fires warming it, for the elves here judge that to half-bury it under sod would be an affront to the beauty it is meant to honor.



The business of Easthold thrives, and the busy markets of the town handle great sales of mithril, of coal, and of the produce of the rest of Osterland to Dvergursheim. Its district has been coming under better cultivation, and the food markets to deal in this improved output have been growing in the town.



Ironbay, though but a small town serving its district, has prospered with the rich investment made by dwarves of the kingdom and with the great wealth of its district. Builders and smiths labor in the town, the farmlands round about have been well-cultivated, with mills and granaries, and a busy dockside market deals in silver and mithril back to the home kingdom. The settlers of the district have been working to further improve the cultivation of the district, someday to offer even richer abundance to the town.



The kingdom's finances are more secure than ever, and the shift of Queen Dagmaer's priorities has permitted her to gather more magical power to herself to fuel her work. The Royal Engineers are laying the beginnings of a great road across Westerland through the hills southwest of Ironbay, while the Royal Army is yet to return from its expedition to the desert.

1412 has returned Vigny Rolfsdottir to our people, and 1413 holds promise of shining prosperity for the kingdom. Might Greater Dvergursheim ever prosper into the future!