Lore : Chapter 4
4. The Port of Darkwell and its Secrets
Ahh , the fresh fish , crabs and other seafood delight. Straight from the waters to your table. The Port of Darkwell had lots to offer. But , it didn't start this way. As far as the records go , first contact was laid in year 136 of the second age. When a caravan of cards arrived in the town of Farfell. People talked about fish jumping out of the water onto the docks. And effectively into your mouth. what they then failed to exclaim was the hard work that went into creating boats in which to sail. The many men it needed to operate , and the hard work that went into getting the eventual fish in the markets and stalls operated throughout the town .
(The Famous Fish markets in Darkwell)
Nevertheless a lot of people followed these miracle cards towards the north, never to be heard of again. Not a lot of people know this. But the Trading Union started in the Port of Darkwell. When the first individuals of the hovel banded together after discussing that cooperation would be easier than working against each other. This turned out to be a great improvement. Catches were bundled together , sold at market and the profit shared. And only after a couple of years , this rag-tag team of sailors set out into other markets. After delivering loads of fish on a friday, they saw not all fish had sold, so then quickly began to see a problem. Not enough people lived in Darkwell te keep all the pockets filled of the ‘’syndicate’’ *cough* ehem Union… i mean.
So this union set out caravan parties with fresh fish and spokesmen to convince the people in other hovels and towns to move to Darkwell. And a lot of people took the bait (*no pun intended). The town grew by the hundreds each month. and soon was in dire need of leadership. Luckily there was a person that was ‘’elected’’ to lead the population into prosperity. Shamefully this person was sponsored by the Union. And as a result , every wish the Union had was granted.
In the year 360 there was a small revolt amongst the population in Darkwell. Sailors stood up against the Union in order to get their rights back , and demanded fair compensation for the long hours at sea. In that regard, it was those hours at sea that were most perilous. Some 15 ships each year were lost to the Deep. And not once was it spoken about amongst the leaders. It is estimated that the leadership paid out over 500 gold pieces to strong men to quash this ‘’rebellion’’. Around 28 sailors lost their lives in the riots. and one of the Human Union members fell to this revolt. Caught inside his house, five elves cornered him into a room. Lets just say. Only elves left that night.
It worked to a certain extent that the leadership of the Union promised improvements.Paying the sailors a higher salary, and the promise to find out what happened to the lost sailors in the Deep sea. In the year 420 a large contingency of ships sailed out of the harbor. Mostly containing dwarven sailors freshly recruited from the shores. Unknowingly of the dangers ahead. Of the eight ships in this flotilla , only one returned.
The records from the sailors aboard this only returning vessel were highly confidential to the Union leaders. Only one of the eyewitness accounts was found years later. The rest had all been destroyed by the Union.
The account read the following statement : ‘’ Either my eyes deceive me , or the gods have cursed me. but that … that .. is a sea monster. Filled with hatred and pain , those long tentacles took out my fellow dwarven friends like paper in the wind. We never stood a chance. We threw spears into what looked like its head. a large squid like face with deep dark black eyes. the only warning we knew was the pulsating red lights at the surface water a couple of seconds before it showed up.’’ This account never reached the then Capital. And felt victim to a ferocious PR campaign set up by the Trading Union. None should take this account seriously. since this dwarf was anti-elven/human relations. And thus it disappeared into records and archives. Never to be seen again. Not much has been known about the losses of ships and personnel of the Union of Darkwell ever since. Since this is still a small private group of individuals.
After a couple of years the Union group started setting up its main base of operations in the City of Farfell. After that the Town of Darkwell fell to decay, It was mostly the fishing industry that was keeping the town alive. But now the Union group setup operations somewhere else. Focus shifted, ships fell apart. people left the town in desperate need of housing and food. It was only a few years later. That the Union came into its own. It had subsidized long expeditions to the far ends of the world. trying to find out new possibilities to essentially make gold.
But it seems that the Union struck it rich in the North. After a few exploring expeditions , the first mules came back with …. Gems , Gold , Silver , Rare Metals!
The citizens of Darkwell couldn't believe their eyes , thos freights glistened in their eyes. Fortune lured on the horizons. Where did this come from ? Where was it going? None of the questions were answered. The offices of the Union stayed quiet.
But the people of Darkwell could sign up for guard duty for the transports to the City , many dwarfs who were lured to the town with false promises picked up their hammers, and started to make forges out of everything they could find. The docks were abandoned. So the Elves , who adapted to the environment, started sailing the ships on their own. And the Humans… Well… they did what they did best .. trading and bargaining. Collecting the freight from the north. Splitting it up across factions in the Union , and arranging transport.
In just a couple of years the town was reformed. Everyone had a job, or atleast. If you wanted to work. There was work available. With the outlines being made, dwarf ruled the forges , elves the docks , humans the trade. And all was well … At least .. until that fateful day …
The morning started out as usual , elvish captain Raeran Adrona picked up his crew of six fellow elves. After the morning checks of the ships , they set out to sail. Many of them are still tired from the day before. But not Raeran , his dream was commanding a ship. And after so many years he had finally accomplished it. His crew faced a strong North-western wind. And after a couple of hours and against the advice of his second in command he ordered to throw the nets.
Just when the nets were set a large black cloud took over the sky, his second in command rushing to Rearan ; we must get back to shore. I don't think we’ll survive this. The clouds looked so menacing the crew cowered in a corner. Red lightning was seen deep inside the cloud. This does not predict good omens, a helmsman exclaimed. Now even the seasoned sailor Rearan got nervous. ‘’Stand up men ! , We have nothing to fear but water itself !’’
Still , his crew remained reluctant to stand up in the open. At the moment the crew was up and running Rearan let out a deep sigh. In the moment he was speaking : ‘’Well men , let's conquer this oce….’’ Flash , bamn . A dark red bolt of lightning hit the boat. In the words of the Captain : ‘’ Everything went black in front of me , the world seemed to be turning. And yet I stood still. In a dark field, across a great plane. Full of dead flowers and critters. The only thing in the distance … A great shadow moving slowly towards me..’’ As the crew came too , they saw rocks in the distance , none recognisable. Their compass now faces North instead of south. Something had gone wrong.
Unbeknownst to their captain they had discovered a new world. A great new world. Their Captain in a full panic flung his stir. ‘’ we go back !’’. And back they went. And presented this news to the Union. Which negated this harrowing journey to nothing more than …. We discovered new land.
We will never forget the great adventures of Captain Raeran Adrona who had found a new Land , and tried to warn us of the dangers in the world.
( Floral Dice Set , different treasures in one set !)
(Golden infused , riches for the original goblins)