General Description
The village of Coalgrove is surrounded by ore deposits, largely coal from where it gets its name. While a good number of these exist on the surface, many of the deposits are found underwater or at low tide and harvested using specialised techniques. The Pits is the general name given to the collective string of coal holes along the shoreline.
History
Coal is a relatively cheap and common commodity on the mainland and while still fairly easy to find on the islands, it is usually hard to access or in dangerous areas. The mining operations at Coalgrove were initiated by
The Dark Tide around the year 3906 and production has been small but steady there ever since.
Mining
Large chunks of split rock line the sea floor close to the coast and can be seen for miles when the tide goes out. The water completely covers around 95% of this rock at high tide and the window for extraction is only a handful of hours a day, and this accounts for approximately half of the daily work.
Other teams continue to mine the coal underwater while there is still daylight, employing those who can naturally or magically breathe underwater to take on this task. It takes incredible strength and specialised tools to do this job and those who manage it are very well paid and looked after.
Dangers
Venomous aquatic creatures known as stingers make nests in the grooves of these rocky pits and can prove a fatal hazard to those mining at low tide and while underwater. A herbalist in the village is known to frequently create an antivenom for the workers and have a constant stockpile to prevent them from perishing after being stung.
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