Digging for fire

"This has been the best expedition ever!" Snorri looked at Hallbran for agreement, a big grin all over his face.

The old mediator was always more reserved than his partner but even he had to smile. In front of them was a small fortune in iridescent gloaming that they'd acquired from a pair of Brine Turtle merchants who were absolutely desperate to secure a contract for supplies of paper. Barely three days of work and they'd earned more money than they would have in a month in Hahnmark. Suddenly the smile turned into a frown, the lips of his mouth pulled down by anxiety."

"What is it? What's up?" demanded Snorri.

"I'm not sure this is what the grandmaster had in mind. I think he was hoping we might... find... things."

Snorri spread his arms wide and pointed to the mound of thirty seven measures of iridescent gloaming piled high in front of them. "That's a thing!" he insisted.

"You know what I mean. Like big things. Important things."

Snorri shrugged. "Sure - but I heard that Urizeni fella, Severus, or something. He found some bowls that distil raw magic out of the air. So it's fine!"

"Yeah - we should have found something like that. I think that's what we were meant to be looking for." Hallbran looked pensive, his anxiety clearly playing on his mind. "If we'd just had a bit longer..."

Snorri glanced at his partner and then again at the pile of gloaming. "Yeah... you're right..." he said conspiratorially. "What we need is a bit longer looking." He paused for a moment to imagine all the deals they could do while they were here. "Well a lot longer... I reckon..."

Hallbran shook his head. "It's no use wishing for ilium and waiting for stars to fall." he said despondently. "The seasons over."

Snorri grinned at his colleague. With deft hands trained from long experience he started to divide the pile. "Ten for us, one for the grandmaster. Ten for us... one for the grandmaster..."

Hallbran's forehead creased in confusion and then realisation dawned. The problem with prospecting with an ice-walker was that you never knew exactly what scheme he would cook up.

Snorri smiled again. "It's in everyone's best interests for the order to stay in Mareave for a while... We just need to find a way that works for everyone..."

The Golden Pyramid truly understand the value and worth of magic

Overview

• The Grandmaster of the Golden Pyramid asked the order to investigate Mareave to discover what resources can be found

Last season the Conclave passed a declaration asking the Order of the Golden Pyramid to explore Mareave - to investigate this new land to see what riches it might hold. Such expeditions are not cheap, the magicians of the Conclave must be well paid in mana for their time, but there is nobody better suited to the task than the magicians of the Golden Pyramid. Dozens of them have flocked to the southern territory fanning out to explore. Unlike Skarsind, the place is terra incognita – few Imperial citizens have ever been here as anything other than slaves.

For all its problems, it is soon clear that Mareave has the potential to be very wealthy. The northern hills are rich in ores and each of the four magic metals. Fundindelve in Clisearn is a well-established mine that already provides a bounty of mithril without the need for further investment. The city-state of Beoraidh sees trade from across the bay, potentially giving access to luxuries from Madruga, Sarvos, and perhaps even further afield – assuming negotiations go well.

At the moment the land is rich in potential - but it will take time and investment to develop that potential. The order has struck gold in one place though - and the longer the order are here, the more confident they are that they will find more.

The Bronze Bowls of the Three Seasons

• The Golden Pyramid have identified an esoteric site that could be made into a sinecure
• The Senate would need a motion to establish it, but it could be an Imperial or national position with or without tenure
• It will produce prismatic ink, vital honey, or Heart's Blood, depending on the season

Conclave request the Golden Pyramid undertake an expedition to explore the Imperial controlled regions of Mareave to discover what resources can be found.

Arsenio Sanguineo Rezia di Tassato, on behalf of the Golden Pyramid

As recounted in the recent historical research into the territory - Mareave and Urizen, there are Urizen ruins in both Icarion and Nadir. These ruins attract interest from some of the Golden Pyramid, who are keen to explore the foothills where many of these crumbled spires stand. The local orcs are happy to serve as guides – for a price of course. Most are in Icarion, unsurprisingly, but there are some in Nadir.

It is while exploring Nadir that a small group of Golden Pyramid magicians make a startling find. High up in the hills is the remnant of a spire – a central tower broken off after three stories surrounded by the remnants of another three similarly shattered. There are signs they are not the first people to visit – remains of tents and previous campsites stretching back decades.

While exploring here they are delighted to find a regio... and even more excited to discover that it is one of the rare shifting regio that cycles between two or more realms. At the heart of the regio is an old tree, and two tarnished bronze bowls, that seem to have survived where the rest of the spire has not. Decorated with astronomantic sigils, the magicians' divinations indicate that they have found a minor wonder.

Salt water placed in the eastern bowl is slowly purified and seems to nourish the tree despite the arid environment. At the same time, in the western bowl, small amounts of vis form over the course of a season. In Spring and Autumn it will provide prismatic ink, in Summer vital honey, and in Winter Heart's Blood. Three pawns of vis a time. Further investigation indicates that the regio is connected in some fashion to Lord Rain, Ylenwe, and Wise Rangara.

This is essentially a sinecure – dubbed the Bronze Bowls of the Three Seasons. It's available to be assigned right now – all the Senate would need to do would be to decide how it was appointed. The civil service indicate that the well worn path would be an Imperial position appointed by Declaration of Candidacy in the Conclave or auctioned via the Public Auction, or a national Imperial Orcs position determined by Tally of the Votes or unanimous decision of the Imperial Orcs senators. If the Senate made the decision during the Summer Solstice it would be available to appoint at the Autumn Equinox, in time to gain a bounty of Day vis.

Precious Mines

• All mines in Mareave produce 30 additional rings each season

Many of the Imperial Orcs have something of a cultural taboo against working mines, but that's not the case for the orcs of Mareave. The Golden Pyramid are surprised just how many fine quality mines there are in Mareave. A methodical approach from a dozen Urizen, Varushkan, and League magicians tracks any number of good quality delves in the mountains that ring Mareave to the north and east. Some of them are already in the hands of orcs who remain in the territory, others have been abandoned.

The mountains here are rich in gold, silver and copper as well as the magical metals. Using the list of mine workings identified by the Golden Pyramid, any Imperial Orcs who operate a mine in the territory will find that they receive an additional thirty rings each season, representing money earned by selling any precious metals recovered. They're free to roleplay that they have established a mine of their own; that they pay the local orcs to work it for them; or that the money they receive is gained by offering protection to the people who do the actual mining.

Mountains of Opportunities

• The magicians of the Golden Pyramid are eager to continue working in Mareave
• The Grandmaster could use a Declaration of Concord to guide the order to remain her for a year hopefully finding new opportunities
• Regardless of if any more opportunities are found, the order will gain 10 random ingots, 7 crystal mana, and 7 doses of cerulean mazzarine each season for the duration

While some of the Golden Pyramid have been exploring the hills and mountains looking for sources of wealth, others have been discussing trade matters with the folk of Beoraidh. Still others have been examining the ruins that dot the territory, evaluating the flora and fauna to see what else might be found here, and generally having an absolute whale of a time. So keen are they, that a number of them have expressed an interest to stay in the territory and continue to explore its potential.

If the Grandmaster of the Golden Pyramid agrees, they can pass a Declaration of Concord committing the Golden Pyramid to exploring the opportunities of Mareave alongside the Imperial Orcs for the next year. During that time they will have no further opportunities to commit their order to a project, but each season the magicians will share what they have discovered with the Empire and their order. In particular, the Golden Pyramid conclave vault will receive 10 random ingots, 7 crystal mana, and 7 doses of cerulean mazzarine each season for the duration, to be distributed as the Grandmaster sees fit.

A Place to Lodge

Grand Lodge of the Golden Pyramid

Commission Type: Grand Lodge

Location: Clisearn, Mareave

Cost: 20 white granite, 20 mithril, and 15 thrones

Effects: Allows Golden Pyramid to be guided without the need for an opportunity. Adds 15 mana crystals to the Conclave font each season

• The Golden Pyramid could establish a Grand Lodge in the new territory

During the Spring Equinox Lutomysla Niegoslava presented a proposal to allow the Silver Chalice to build a grand lodge for their order. Some of the Golden Pyramid magicians exploring Mareave this season have been discussing that matter, and they in turn have a proposal of their own.

Mareave represents incredible potential for the Empire. It is a new territory, and a wealthy one. It lies on the frontier not only with the Skourans, but with the Grendel. It is close to Axos and Tsark. It is next to Apulian – a growing city where an enthusiastic merchant-magician could do very well indeed. It's the site of Beoraidh, a neutral city-state steeped in trade and politics. The Golden Pyramid could take advantage of this and establish a grand lodge of their own. The ideal location is in the region of Clisearn, halfway between Beoraidh and the Fundindelve. There are estates there that could easily be adapted to the Order's needs, if the Imperial Senate agrees.

If it were built, it would provide a number of benefits. The designs incorporate a comfortable residence for the Grandmaster of the order. While they wouldn't need to live at the grand lodge, their presence there would help the smooth running of the order, so it makes sense to encourage that. The rooms would not be palatial, but they would include a study and a personal library - something befitting the Empire's preeminent master of economic magic.

More importantly, having a recognised meeting place for magicians of the Conclave would encourage donations to the font. It would help to boost the Conclave's resources. Prognostications show that once the lodge was complete, it would provide a steady income of 15 mana into the font each season. While small, this would be in addition to any mana derived from members.

Based on the manifesto of the order the lodge would enable their Grandmaster to ask members of the Golden Pyramid to travel anywhere their unique combination of interests and skills might be of benefit. To do that would require the same method that all the grandmasters currently use to issue such a request - a declaration of concord which must be declared on behalf of the order (no order will respond to a request by a grandmaster of a different order or another Conclave officer for that matter). However, the Golden Pyramid could issue a request to members of their order without waiting for the civil service to identify a suitable opportunity for them to help.

Provided the matters they were looking into were relevant to the expertise of the Golden Pyramid then it would result in an opportunity to address the problem. If the order were asked to look into ways to heal a magical sickness, for example, then there would be negligible benefits arising from that.

Time is not immediately pressing, but this opportunity is only available as long as the magicians of the Golden Pyramid are interested in Mareave. Once the Grandmaster asks them to look into something else, this opportunity to build a grand lodge in Mareave will be lost.

Further Reading

• Golden Pyramid
• Mareave
• Set my lands in order - 386YE Summer Wind of Fortune about Mareave