In summary,Iton successfully led The Mines of Artifice for almost 6 years. Over 5000 gems were extracted from the hillside, cut into beautiful shapes, and displayed in gigantic hoards, waiting for the first visit from the Queen. Astoundingly, the miners claim this haul is perhaps only 1/6 of the total gems present in this area, such is the richness of these mountains.
Almost 200 Large gems were produced, and many of these were masterwork. A total wealth of ~4million dwarfbucks is itself impressive, however the fact almost a half of this was found in the value of the gems alone, is wonderful.
During the final few years, multiple interesting artifact weapons were produced. First,
A certain Degel produced an artifact steel short sword. Second,
This warhammer references the golden crossbow produced at Riverend.
These two artifact weapons, as well as the golden artifact spiked ball, were stored in the center of the main vault of jewels, waiting on pedestals for a brave adventurer to steal or request their use.
At one point we were attacked by this
who killed our mercenary captain, who bravely appeared first at the scene.
A sad day for all involved, included Iton, director of trade, who had known the captain for many years previous to this venture.
Maloy the Kobold Catcher found that, upon realizing his presence in the hills, the local kobolds simply stopped showing up. This meant his various intricately produced trap components were now useless, collecting rust and dust. With nothing better to do, Maloy spent the remaining 3 years getting into petty arguments and fist fights with the other denizens.
Though, it should be mentioned, the ONE time he tried to cut some gems, he produced this beautiful sheep figurine:
The miners faced strenuous work and constant strain, which proved too much for this one:
Kogan stumbled obliviously around the vault of jewels, scattering the gemstones at his feet, moaning, searching for purpose. Surrounded by the fruit of his labor he was too dissociated to appreciate the glimmering hoard.
The final overview of the vaults:
Here is the main vault. Clear, Green, and Red Zircons on the sides, with miscellaneous precious gems below. The pedestals all display large gems, while the central room contains artifact weaponry.
All in all, a proud success for the kingdom. Not much in the way of story inspiration, really. . . more of a proof of concept for the industrial extraction of gemstones . . .
I look forward to any adventurers who attempt to retrieve these artifact weapons.
save:
https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16181