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21st Malachite, 1051
Zas Oddomishlum's room,
Mountainhome
I am Zas Oddomishlum, second in command, secretary and trader of the Duthaliton Eshtan – "The Worthy Hall of Smiths" – expedition. As the name suggests, we are a group of miners, stone worker, metalworkers and engineers commissioned by the blacksmiths guild to found a smithy in the mountains. We will be mining precious metals, refining them to a pure state, then exporting raw bars as well as finished armor, weapons and other products to the Mountainhome. It is an important task, and our humble group, Duradsarvesh, is honored to have been chosen.
There are only seven of us in the initial wagon, as the rest of the crew will be arriving next year. Our leader is Atir Gutidoslan, the son of the head of the blacksmiths guild and a mechanic by trade. I hesitate to speak ill of my superiors, but just between you and me, he's a fool. I've known his father for years, and I believe he trusts me to keep an eye on the boy, to make sure he doesn't ruin everything. I will not let him down.
Besides myself, there are five others. Kivish Rovodosust is a stone worker, skilled in both masonry and engraving. I've known him for years, and his work is good. He will serve us well. Likot Agingish is a building designer, though he has taken up carpentry on the side. Kivish recommended him for the expedition because of this dual expertise, and from what I've seen I agree with his assessment. There is also Zon Zonstizash, an armor and weapon smith. I don't know him personally, but I've seen his work. He puts quality first, and I trust his smithing abilities. Iden Abanokil is a craftsman and a miner. He will be useful when it comes to trading with the elves, who may not appreciate our heavy, sharp blades as trade goods. Lastly, we have our farmer and cook, Obok Ezumenkos. He approached our team several weeks ago seeking membership, and we we initially denied him entrance due to his lack of skills needed for the expedition. After seeing his proposal for the farm system, however, we rescinded that decision and signed him on.
Our destination is an ancient volcano far across the world. It will take months for us to get there, though we've been assured that caravans from the dwarves, our trading partners the humans, and of course those elves will be able to get through on time. We have packed our provisions – food, booze, axes and picks, an anvil, some ore, ropes and some wood and charcoal to get started – and brought along two dogs to guard our entrance until the military arrives.
I will turn off the lamp now and get some sleep, as we have an early start in the morning.
- Zas
22nd Malacite, 1051
The wagon,
On the road
As I write this, we're en route to the glorious fort of Duthaliton Eshtan! Our departure from the Mountainhome went smoothly. Our wagon had already been loaded by the peasants by the time we arrived, and we only had to gather a few last minute items before setting off on the road. I was alarmed for a moment when it appeared that nobody had thought to bring a map, but then Atir fished one out of his pocket. Perhaps he's not as useless as he looks, after all.
I will probably not have much time to write while on the road, so the next entry in this log will likely be when we've arrived at our destination.
Until then!
- Zas
<EDIT>
[ June 05, 2008: Message edited by: tigger89 ]
[ June 05, 2008: Message edited by: tigger89 ]