The iron mines of Tyr are the largest of their type in the Tablelands. The presence of the ore was one of the principal reasons Tyr was established only two days' travel from the mine. Death has always been associated with the mines. Miners die from unexpected cave-ins and the natural hazards of the mines. Still others die from the “hej-kin's curse”. The “curse” takes one to three men a month. A worker who felt fine the day before may suddenly feel weakened. Some days or weeks later, he might suddenly keel over dead, a victim of the alleged curse. Miners believe ancient hej-kins cursed the caverns, but the truth lies locked within the stone itself. Unknown to the workers, the ore is of an arsenide type. The narrow eighth-of-an-inch red vein is surrounded by strata of poisonous arsenic deposits. The arsenic penetrates through all the workers' cuts caused by working with rock and stone. Undetectable, arsenic builds up in the body until achieving lethal dosage. A mine worker must make a successful saving throw vs. poison once per month or feel the poison's effects. If the saving throw is failed, the victim loses a hit point per turn until death occurs. A slow poison spell delays the effect, while neutralize poison negates the poison. A select few of the templars have guessed the ore's peril, but keep it a secret under penalty of death. Hiring priests to cure the afflicted men would prove much too costly, and would reveal the problem to all. Life is cheap on Athas, iron is not. Regardless of the danger, the red ore represents Tyr's lifeblood as the city's most important trading commodity. Recently, Urik sought to take advantage of the chaos following Kalak's death and seize the mines, but Urik's armies were repelled by the gladiator hero, Rikus, and his warriors. Although closed for a brief time, the mines have reopened and are functioning normally again. The temporary closure of this important Tyrian asset nearly bankrupted the already-troubled city. Hej-kin raids have plagued the mines. The subterranean race dwells throughout the natural catacombs that riddle the foothills and nearby mountains. The hej-kin consider the ground sacred and mount sporadic attack against those who defile their homelands. Some speculate the opening of the mine was once a hej-kin cavern home, although this remains largely unproven. The mine gouges the foothills of the Ringing Mountains north and west of Tyr like an open wound. A single narrow mountain road accesses the fortified site. Three guard outposts border the road at half-mile intervals from the mines. Each outpost consists of a small pair of buildings: One set against the mountainside, the other perilously close to the exposed drop. Bramble weed walls surround each outpost while the trunk of a stout brambletree blocks the road at waist height. The trunk lies in an L-shaped slot fitted into each of the two buildings. A combined strength of at least 40 is needed to lift the massive tree trunk from its resting place. As one approaches the mines, each guard post contains twice as many guards as the last. The smaller, first station maintains 10 guards and two “runners”. All the guards are armed with metal weapons.
Passing the third gate reveals the mining compound. The
camp occupies a plateau shelf 550 feet wide by 1,000 feet
long. The mountainside rises 500 feet above the plateau,
providing a natural barrier against attack. Opposite the
mountainside loom sharp precipices, dropping thousands
of feet to the valley floor below. The mines' gaping mouth
faces the compound 's gates. The entrance rises 30 feet
high, spans 65 feet at the base, and is cut in the shape of
a dark hemisphere against the vertical rock face.
To the right of the opening is a series of large cages,
designed to hold erdlu, kank, and heavy crodlu. Erdlu
occasionally pull small carts, but serve primarily as a food
source. Kanks are teamed in twos and fours to pull ore
carts. They are used extensively in the mines, especially in areas where the tunnel height slopes to under five
feet. The honey globules produced by the kanks provide
additional foodstuffs for the compound. Heavy crodlu pull
the large ore carts.
Beside the animal pens are a series of bunkhouses,
originally designed to hold slaves, now modified to house
paid workers. A row of covered pits, closest to the road on
the right, were once used as holding cells for disobedient
slaves. They now confine the more dangerous criminals
who are sent to the mines as punishment. To the
immediate left of the camp's entrance stands the opulent,
two-story residence of the templars who still oversee the
daily operations of the mines. Each templar is assigned
25 guards, and remains responsible for their actions. The
guards share compartmentalized sleeping quarters on
the ground floor, while the templars reside in the lavish
apartments located on the second story.
A large building to the left is used for the storage and
preparation of food. Positioned between this building and
the precipice are a huge fire pit and cooking kilns. Cooks
prepare meals for the entire camp, templars and workers
alike. The ore house stands closer to the center of the
compound. This massive, thick walled, square building
stores smelted bars of iron until they are transported to
the city. It is constantly guarded on all sides, especially
the roof. The smelter stands to its left, towards the mines.
Fires burn in the smelter day and night, separating the
iron ore from the red rock. Spent tailings (useless rock)
are then discarded down the mountainside, creating an
immense rubble field that sprawls 1,000 feet down the
steep slope. Deep rutted paths connect the ore smelter to
the mines' entrance. Carts holding raw ore rest in these
ruts as they await the smelter. There are two sizes of carts:
The large carts carry a half ton of ore and the small carts
hold 500 pounds of rock.
The templars who run the mine hire four types of
workers: guards, haulers, carriers, and miners. The guards'
duties are straightforward – they keep tempers from flaring
between workers, monitor all who come and go in the
complex, and protect the templars. Their chief duty,
however, is safeguarding the mines and the ore. There are
never fewer than 200 guards at the mines at any time.
This is a well paying but difficult job, as no amount of
bribery can secure a position as guard; they are strictly
hand-picked by Borger, Minister of Mines.
Haulers work with the various beasts, bringing cartload
after cartload of raw ore from deep within the mountains.
It is their job to work the creatures tirelessly and maintain
a steady flow of raw materials to the smelters. Because of
the expertise needed for the job a hauler can expect to
receive up to a silver a week for his work.
Carriers have the backbreaking task of bringing the
ore-bearing rocks to the carts of the haulers. They collect
loose ore into coarse, woven bags of giants' hair to be
carried or dragged to the ore carts. This job is often
assigned to criminals serving out sentences in the mines.
The pay for non-criminals is two ceramic bits a day plus
room and board.
Miners perform the dangerous job of loosening the
ore from the reddish rocks. Few of the veins are large or
easy to mine. Most appear as eighth-of-an-inch narrow
bands in the rock. Newer excavations are always the
most dangerous. As the miners delve deeper into the
ore vein, the composition of the overhanging rock can
change. Problems occur when the rock above the ore is
softer than the surrounding stone. This formation will not
support its own weight, and frequently collapses, causing
cave-ins. Miners receive extra compensation for working
in the newer digs. Tyrian miners prefer picks, hammers, or
large two-person gouges for their work. Miners who work
the new digs receive up to five ceramic bits a day, while
other miners receive one to three bits per day.
When sufficient ore has been smelted, the mining
templars send word to Tyr, and a heavily armed Royal
Caravan travels to the mines to retrieve the ingots. No one
has ever successfully raided a Royal Caravan transporting
iron. Fear of Kalak's retribution helped prevent raids in
the past. At the present time, under the reign of Tithian,
the caravan's guard will be even more formidable due to
the Tyrian king's lack of spellcasting abilities.