Cliff-Fall

Shortly after the founding of the Tryvyum Trade Consortium, explorers discovered veins of precious gems, metals, and Shard in the cliffs on the northwestern coast of Okanu. A mining camp, playfully named the Undermine, was established to begin excavating these resources from within the cliffs and mountains. It wasn't long, however, before strange events began to occur.
Shortly after discovering one of the richest veins of Shard ever seen, the miners started to come under attack by a variety of strange scale-covered monsters. Some flew out of the sky, some lurked in the cracks and cervices of the mountains, and some seemed to burrow through the hard earth, carving their own tunnels to ambush or trap unsuspecting miners. A division of Consort guards was sent to defend the operation, but they quickly became outmatched. No matter how many beasts they felled, there were always more. They seemed drawn to the Shard and the scent of blood, both of their fellow monsters and their prey. Soon vessels carrying the shard came under attack with seafaring variants of these monsters rising from the depths. The very earth itself seemed to crumble before the creatures as they bore down on the miner, sailor, and soldier alike. Cave-ins became a daily occurrence in addition to the nearly constant attacks and, eventually, the very cliff on which the mining camp was built began to crumble, plunging tools, raw materials, and personnel into the ocean below.
Almost as quickly as the operation had begun, it ended with only a handful escaping with their lives. Other veins were found in the mountains elsewhere in the island, but they quickly came under attack by the same monstrosities and witnessed the decay of the very stone they sought to extract the resources from. All mining operations were halted until more could be gleaned about the monsters and their connection to Shard. This ban has yet to be lifted as the monsters seemed to vanish into the wilderness as soon as the mines were abandoned. Some representatives of the Consulate have recommended resuming limited operations to see if their assailants return, but vessels sailing past what is left of the Undermine, now called Cliff-Fall, say that the land itself seems cursed. Cliffs previously of solid stone have turned dark and brittle, crumbling at the slightest breeze. The sickness seems to be spreading, creating the perilous region called the Cragcliffs. Though not nearly as high in yield, the mines in Morydal now are the primary providers of precious gems, metals, and Shard as they have not experienced any of the misfortunes experience at Cliff-Fall. Many say it was the Consulate greed and aggressive mining techniques that brought on this curse as such practices are not utilized in Morydal.

Type

Ruins