Part 5: 1403-A New Found Land

A New Found Land



As 1403 began, Queen Dagmaer called upon her power to create a being of magic, a mindless spirit-puppet woven into physical form from her power to serve as her eyes in far places. Under her direction it floated westward over the sea, there to seek new discoveries.

A Magic Spirit is a very weak magical creature whose primary purpose is to merge with magical nodes. It also makes a decent scout.



In Secondmonth, this spirit passed by a small island to the west of the newly-named land of Dvergursheim, discovering it to be dominated by another of the shimmering magical pools whereby the power of Sorcery entered the world. As powerful spirits of Sorcery guarded the island, the spirit moved on to the open sea, rather than pausing by the pool.



While the spirit set on its journey, the inhabitants of Dvergursheim were not idle. Great investment was made into the shops and tradesdwarves of Stonegate, bolstering the wealth of the town, while, by mid-year, Goldwash underwent a revolution. Nenna Ingvarsdottir, a mining engineer working in the silver mines of the town, perfected her design for a steam pressure boiler to run pumps to keep lower mine tunnels from flooding. It was not long before this innovation was applied also to tow along heavy-laden carts in the mines and river barges for heavy loads. The power this provided made for an immediate explosion in the output of the mines, and in the town's ability to handle short-range transport of heavy cargoes. Two months later, a project to gather copyists and make copies of every book owned by an inhabitant of Goldwash was completed, and new copies from this library began to be scribed for those who commissioned a book for their own use, while dwarves might visit the archives to browse the books on the premises. The written word became far more available to the inhabitants of the town.

Dwarves now have at least a limited exploitation of steam power, even though a true industrial revolution isn't really within the scope of the game. Keep in mind that dwarves are not 'steampunk gadgeteers', it's closer to very early real-world industrial technology. Despite this, gunpowder remains undiscovered in the setting.





Even as the Library of Goldwash was completed, Queen Dagmaer's puppet-spirit reached the shores of a land far to the west. Although the area it explored was rich with ore and game, the land was also dominated by terrible monsters that put the worst threats of Dvergursheim to shame. Amongst the ore of this far new land were deposits of a bright white metal called mithril, which old books claimed might be used to create an alloy of strength, sharpness, and hardness like or perhaps even finer than that of steel, while having scarcely half the weight. Unfortunately, the secret of this alloy is lost, and would need to be rediscovered even were mines to dig up the metal were established.

The Kingdom of Dvergursheim in Twelfthmonth 1403



Goldwash is a bustling place, enjoying all the riches of its mining and crafts and a center of such learning and culture as Dvergursheim enjoys. Steam barges bring in ores from the mines of Silverpeak and Goldenheart, which are converted by the tradesdwarves of Goldwash into treasures, tools, and weapons for the folk of the kingdom. Its port sends some wallowing roundships about the coast to Stonegate, though these clumsy vessels are not suited to the open sea nor to war. A band of intrepid settlers have just left the town, accompanied by Vigny Rolfsdottir, her scouts, and a company of swordsdwarves, and Queen Dagmaer has set to recruiting a new company of swordsdwarves to reinforce the garrison.

'Roundship' is the general medieval term for a ship propelled by sails rather than by oars. For most of the medieval period, roundships were not at all suitable to military use, but they served well as cargo and trade ships.

Settlers in Master of Magic cost a unit of population from their source town when they are completed, as well as three gold and one food to upkeep. They are a reasonably expensive proposition. We can also see two book icons at the bottom of the display of the outputs of the town, indicating two points of spell research generated by the town.



The business of Stonegate has prospered with new investment, and more coin has flowed into the town to hasten the further development of food markets, agricultural improvements, slaughterhouses, and breweries. It conducts a little trade with Goldwash by sea, and awaits a connection by road.




The first paving stones of the road across the Red Desert have been laid, and before 1404 is out the road should stretch from Goldwash to Stonegate. The kingdom is well-supplied with gold and silver, and the people prosper. Queen Dagmaer is slowly hoarding power for future wonders, although the works she must maintain slow her gain of magical power. A caravan of settlers has just set out from Goldwash guided by Vigny Rolfsdottir, seeking the rich and fertile valley of the Blackwater River to the south.



The new land to the west is a place of promise and of peril. Queen Dagmaer's puppet-spirit roams to gather information on this far country.



Scholars of Goldwash have estimated the circumference of Myrror through the measure of shadows in Stonegate and Goldwash and the use of trigonometry. With this estimation, they have begun a grand project to scribe an accurate map of the world as it is known, with blank spaces reflecting the territory yet to be discovered.

Both Goldwash and Stonegate have much ahead of them as 1404 approaches. We can only hope that we people of Dvergursheim and our Queen Dagmaer continue to act with the wisdom the times demand.