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Dolgan to Extend Its Deep Gallery; Pit Props and Miners’ Meals Run Short
Dolgan, a mining town of the United Kingdom of Eisen, is preparing to extend its deep gallery. Short of pit props and miners’ meals, Master Gurda will seek deliveries through the Guild within days.
"You want iron dug? Props and grub come first."
So said Master Gurda, who runs Dolgan's workshops, standing before a supply yard with more gaps than stock. In this mining town beyond the Darras Dunes, the fires of the furnaces and forges never go out, day or night. Orders for iron ingots keep coming in from every corner of the basin, and the town has begun preparing to extend its deep gallery.
The first thing it lacks is pit props. They are made of oak lumber bound with iron, but the lumber itself can only be had by going all the way to Leightonhill, beyond Selene. "Without enough props, it's too dangerous to dig any deeper," one miner grumbled.
No Meals Reaching the Pit Either
Miners working the deep levels cannot return to the surface until their shift changes. What they look forward to is a boar skewer, but Korholm, where the boar meat comes from, is a long way off, and not enough is reaching Dolgan.
Gurda has already spoken with the Guild, and a call for deliveries is expected in Dolgan within a few days. Once it opens, there should be work for those who fell timber, those who work a furnace and those who hunt alike.
At dusk, the miners coming off shift trudge back to their row houses. Behind them, a winch that should be standing idle for inspection lets out a single low groan.