Fortress of Salt

Overview

The Fortress of Salt is located in Metri in the League territory of Temeschwar. Custodianship of the Fortress of Salt grants an Imperial title; a seat on the Imperial Bourse; and a seasonal bounty of valuable mithril.

The Resource

, the Fortress of Salt is a Bourse position which produces mithril. As with the Eternal Shafts of Time, ownership of the Fortress was hotly contested between Temeschwar and Karovin the early days of the Empire. While Temeschwar retained nominal control of the Fortress of Salt, the mines (along with the Great Pits of Ennerlud) were ultimately declared an Imperial Bourse resource.

The mine workings here began as several jealously protected salt mines, until a major seam of mithril was discovered in one of the mines. The mine owner who first uncovered the seam used a number of both honest and dishonest tactics to take control of the other salt mines, allowing her to exploit what were later discovered to be massive deposits of mithril. One popular story was that the seam was actually discovered by a gang of orc slave workers, and while there is little proof either way, it was widely publicised by the abolitionist cause during and after the orc rebellion. A number of songs were written about the treatment of these orcs, who urban legend claims were killed to prevent them revealing the discovery of the mithril ore before their owner could properly secure it. The historian Eduar di Temeschwar uncovered some evidence that these stories were based on actual events - but that early versions of the tale described the murdered miners as being League citizens. The truth will probably never be known.

This is an Imperial Bourse position. It is allocated to any Imperial citizen by open auction. It produces 25 Imperial wains of mithril every season.