Hollow Mountain
Hollow Mountain
Hollow Mountain is the last bastion of the Burning Legion, and their secret ace in the hole. It is a giant mine nearly three miles deep build into the cliff-side of the Brimstone Hills, Southeast of the city of Gem roughly a week’s travel. Although the original builders are lost to the sands of time, the construction of the inner mine has withstood the test of time and probably dates from the First Age or Shogunate period.
A gigantic wall fortress covers the entrance to Hollow Mountain. A long narrow canyon a mile long leads to the cave entrance down into the lower portion of Hollow Mountain. Two nearly unbreakable stone walls 35 feet tall set a half mile into the canyon of the cave entrance effectively cap the entrance, remnants of the original fortress that stood here. The gap in the two walls is covered by two giant stone doors moved by a clever system of winches that the burning Legion restored in the original months after their battle with the Despot’s troops. Catapults and two firedust cannons cap these walls, and 10 men on patrol for intruders always man them. No farther out patrols exist, as the canyon itself is well concealed, and extremely hard to find without a guide.
Natural airshafts allow fresh air to reach the lower levels of the mine.
At the heart of the mine lies an uncapped Fire Demesne (4) in a pool of deep lava. Due to the nature of the mine and the inaccessibility of the Demesne, as well as the difficulty in constructing a Demesne that far into the earth, it lies uncapped and open still, unclaimed. The domain around the Demesne has warped and shaped under the intense flows of Essence in the rock. Strange landscape dots the lower levels of the mine. In places lava seems to eternally drip and gather in pools like rain drops running down stalactites, not burning the rock as it touches. In the exact center of the mine is a giant lava lake nearly two miles across. Within in the lake is a fire elemental of some power who seems to maintain the area. The elemental has never spoken or otherwise communicated to any visitors to Hollow Mountain, and is very rarely visible at all, typically submerged deep in the lava pool. Small, circular stones that look similar to lava rock also roam the main tunnels and side tunnels occasionally. These rocks exhibit some semblance of sentience, but are quiet timid. They roll through many of the lower tunnels of the mine, and frequently can be seen “swimming” in the lava pools as well.
The extreme heat in lower-level tunnels prohibits deeper exploration by any but an Exalted able to resist the fierce heat. Through the main shaft leading to the lake of fire are hundreds of offshoot tunnels winding and spiraling through the mountain. Many simply connect to one another, and several are dead ends. The remaining few open into relatively large caverns, most about 25 feet across and 20 feet high. These caverns are perfectly smooth shaped stone, dotted with large piles of placed rocks throughout the space. The purpose of these caverns remains a mystery.
Many of the dead end tunnels near the lake have veins of glittering rock. The walls of these tunnels have a red metallic sheen, not quite like gold in its natural state. When these rocks are carefully ground and mixed with sulfur they produce the combustible material known as firedust. Both materials are found in abundance in Hollow Mountain.
The mountain itself seems to posses something of a mind of its own, as tunnels open and closes with some degree of frequency. Finding the main shaft is never hard, but many of the tunnels that exist one month do not the next, making map work exceedingly tough.
Mining work progresses nearly non-stop in the mountain. Although very hot by most standards, the side tunnels that produce firedust are relatively cool typically. Slaves are used to mine the rock from the caverns, but the work itself is relatively light, but plentiful. Near the top level of the mine is a large circular barrack where slaves are kept, with another barracks for Burning Legion soldiers close by. Aside from the barracks, two dozen other rooms exist, most unused. There is a kitchen, a washroom, a sparring room and a large communal relaxation room. A single large room is also set aside as Ajilon’s. Cushions are the only plentiful furniture within Hollow Mountain, although other furniture does exist. Given the prevalence of stone, much of the décor is composed of stone benches, tables, and chairs, usually draped with pillows.
Two large warehouse-sized rooms store most of the gathered fire rocks, and a third warehouse holds a large supply of sulfur mines from the top of Hollow Mountain. A fourth warehouse room with a narrow chimney serves as the workshop for refining the ore. Here large slow mills grind both sulfur rocks and fire rocks into firedust. A primitive steam engine collects heat from a flue and turns a simple turbine that works the mill.
Water for the turbines and the entire complex is provided by two large aquifers dug into the ground near the entrance to the main shaft of the complex. The water is relatively clean, but possesses a sulfurous mineral taste, and is typically purified before drinking. It can be consumed without purification but tends to cause stomach sickness and bowel problems if done so for a prolonged period.
There are typically just over 100 miners in the mountain, and approximately 20 domestics, women who cook, clean, and service the men. If any of the women are to become pregnant they are packed up on and sent with the next shipment of firedust, to be resold to the Guild. Pregnancy remains relatively rare in Hollow Mountain, and only two men have had to be disciplined for attempting to hide children in the complex. Relations with the women must be consensual among slaves, and gentle among soldiers. Abuse is not tolerated, and soldiers face stiff penalties for violence upon the women. With the miner’s violence as discipline is more tolerated, but within stiff limits, and any soldier known to take too much pleasure in disciplining slaves is transferred outside to wall duty and away from the slaves.
Five soldiers, whom verify current mining locations on maps updated daily, escort the miners down to the excavation site. All personnel are under strict orders to avoid the Lake of Fire, and never bother the sentient stones that occasionally roll through the tunnels. Workers and soldiers alike give passage to these odd creatures, and try very hard to be as unobtrusive as possible to avoid provoking the Elemental of the Lake. There have been no conflicts between the demesne denizens and those manning the Fortress yet, as the activity areas only border one another.
Although not explosive, firedust rocks remain combustible if exposed to a spark, in which case it flares hotly, and can cause severe burns. Miners are very careful of sparks while striking the deposits, and accidents are relatively few. Ore is shipped up the main tunnel using a system of pulleys connected to tracked carts. The carts are raised to the main level three times a day, which also mark the three breaks allowed to slaves.
At any given time in Hidden Fortress there are 20 men on duty, 10 resting, and the other 10 away escorting a caravan on the two week trip to Chiaroscuro, where the shipments are picked up by Cathak merchant ships. A portion of the Jade exchanged with the Cathak ships is then immediately invested in supplies and new slaves to be taken back to Hollow Mountain. The soldiers escorting the caravans are under strict silence, and know very well their survival depends on few knowing the location of the mine. The return route from Chiaroscuro is always a winding looping path to both loose pursuit and confuse new slaves being taken to the complex.
