Boulderblast Mines

## "What's *your* daily allowance?" -Anonymous Dwarf

The Boulderblast Mines are the only Block of Clan Greyforged with a name designed to be spoken in any language other than Dwarvish. This is, of course, by design. Boulderblast Mines are the largest mining operation in Clan Greyforged, making it a fantastic investment for outsiders. Boulderblast Mines export tons upon tons of minerals, gems, ores, and useful stone every day, making it an incredibly profitable industry for any outsider looking to get rich.

The Boulderblast Mines have a population of almost 100,000 Dwarves, making it one of the most condensed centers of Greyforged population in existence. Due to this high concentration of Dwarves, and the very small deviation or distribution of jobs, poverty is rampant in the Boulderblast Mines. Any Dwarf unfortunate enough to live or work in the Boulderblast Mines must be in dire straits, or a death wish.

## History

Boulderblast Mines was the first mine ever founded by Clan Greyforged, and would lead to the beginning of the booming mining industry for the nation. The massive complex started as a large hole in the floor of a massive underground cavern. After it became too large for people to commute back and forth, a colosseum of sorts was constructed, both to keep people from falling down the main shaft (that currently sits at 800 meters in diameter), and also to act as housing for the workers. It became obvious that the amount of ores and gems that were being mined would only continue to increase, and so the main shaft was expanded into strip mining. Large holes were dug into the sides of the main shaft, winding and curving around in search of more veins. Wherever a vein appeared, a series of rooms would be dug out around it to act as temporary housing for the miners working that section, as it was too inefficient for miners to leave and return. Sometimes, the routes would be so confusing and long that leaving one route meant never returning to it, so these forward posts were constructed to help keep the miners near to their working areas.

As time went on, conditions and safety standards declined more and more. Dwarves died by the dozen each day, as explosions were undocumented and often times unsupervised. Shafts were being built without the proper paperwork, and other crimes were a major problem for the miners working in the tunnels. If a tunnel collapsed, trapping people inside, it could take days or weeks for news to reach someone useful. Often times these trapped Dwarves would use their entire stashes of explosives to escape the rubble, and either blow themselves up in the process or survive and be fined the cost of the wasted equipment.

Despite the obvious violations of code, Clan Greyforged did nothing to help the workers. The Greyforged elite were getting richer and richer off the shaft's seemingly endless supply of ores and precious matierals, and so the conditions continued to worsen. In modern times, Greyforged guards and soldiers do not dare enter the deeper sections of Boulderblast Mines without a large escort. Most areas of the tunnels are protected and patrolled by mobs of vigilante miners, who kill anyone they think may have committed a crime. Many of these mobs are themselves corrupted by greed and villainy eventually, requiring Greyforged soldiers to shut them down before they rise to halt or hinder the operations.