Surveyors in the Iron Hills

Surveyors are adventurers and explorers who explore the world in search for valuable ores. When people think of the Iron Hills, they think of a long established mining region, with mines that have been operating continuously for hundreds of years, but this would simply not be possible without surveyors. Mines are always finite, and most begin with only 2-3 decades worth of operations planned out. Below every mine, surveyors dig small exploration tunnels and explore natural caverns, further exploring the ore body even as the miners dig it out far above. Other surveyors prefer to operate on the surface, seeking out new sites to develop mines on.
Surveyors generally work in teams, often including 1 or 2 highly trained specialists and 4 to 6 assistants; surface teams are also sometimes accompanied by a cartographer, who takes notes for preparing detailed charts of the area. One of the specialists is typically the team leader, as their training allows them to deduce where their team should go next based on their analysis of the rocks found in an area. The assistants are generally mercenaries and adventurers, hired as much for their ability in combat as they are for their ability to speed up more laborious tasks. Occasionally, however, surveyors are confident enough to work alone, though these are a rare few, and often never return from their expeditions. Those few who survive several expeditions often become local legends, and none of these have become more well known than Riswynn Silverstone, who's latest expedition has involved evading and occasionally stealing from the armies of both sides of the Great War, a conflict that lasted most of the last century.

Operations

Dangers & Hazards

Surveying is an extremely dangerous profession, especially in the complex cave networks found in the Iron Hills. The most mundane threat is the very real possibility of getting lost - either in the wilds of the surface or deep below. Any properly trained crew on the surface will know what direction they need to go to get back to well charted territory, but knowing what direction to go is not always helpful in terrain where cliff faces commonly extend upwards of a hundred feet. Those underground have less certainty - while a compass will indicate direction in ideal conditions, the mineral deposits all around the compass often interfere, drawing the needle to point toward large deposits of iron or other magnetic materials.
Surveyors also must be ready to handle the many predators of the Iron Hills. Cave Drakes are the most common threat, though more fearsome creatures like the Axainadrax with its paralytic bite and even the occasional dreaded Lingorm can spell the death of even more experienced teams. Thus, any surveyor has to be quite capable in combat as well as a good understanding of mineralogy and petrology.