The Mines of Uoriol Prologue

Riches don’t come easy in Reanarria Bay. Hard work and toil don’t exactly provide the means required to live a life worthy of Garyn and Grug. No, the only way to get what you need is to take it for yourself; or find others willing to pay you to get what THEY want.

After happening upon each other in the small mining town of Uoriol, Grug and Garyn came to the mutual agreement that hard work sucks, and they would better serve themselves and their community by avoiding it altogether. Instead, they would offer their services as swords for hire. Not only would this be a quick way to earn money, but they could, should the need arise, skip town with a “pre-payment” for services “rendered”.

After some time, they had actually managed to earn a reputation for themselves; nothing fantastic, but it was a start. This situation was surprising, especially to Grug, who anticipated skipping town at the first job that really risked his neck. They would end up being the perfect choice for a job that could, and probably would, go sideways.

A local up-and-coming politician named Robmus Balleth had recently attempted to bribe the Mayor of Uoriol, wishing that the Mayor would turn a blind eye to a shipment leaving the town. Upon refusing the bribe, the Gnomish Mayor was put in a bit of a bind. It put him on the wrong side of someone who had been gaining favor with the people, and a reputation as a voice for business amongst the companies running the mines. If Robmus gained enough favor with the townsfolk and mining companies, he could call a vote to have the Mayor ousted; or worse, have him killed.

Mayor Nerweck Hegbel was no fool, however; he hadn’t become Mayor because of his way with words, that’s for sure. Over the course of Robmus’ rise to prominence, Nerweck had been gathering information on him just in case this type of situation ever arose. Finally, a few months earlier, Nerweck came across a piece of information that could change the tide in his favor, and Robmus’ attempted bribe provided all the impetus the Mayor needed to bring him down.

Robmus was mining Zadrium, an element from this section of Tellene that was deemed illegal to mine due to the belief that it vitally contributes to the spiritual balance of the flora and fauna in the area. The element itself can be refined in to beautiful pieces of jewelry that fetch handsome prices in cities across the globe. Robmus was not only robbing the area of a resource that all agreed was sacred, but he was profiting from its sale.
Mayor Nerweck had gathered information on the locations of Robmus’ operations, and now all he needed was an expendable sword for hire that could gather the evidence he needed to expose Robmus.

It just so happened that there was a pair of swords for hire that he’d heard of here in town…