Third Wedge Camp

The keetwood forests on Aktergea's east flank are divided into five wedge-shaped cuts. Each is worked by a logging crew that works from the top of the wedge to the base, harvesting mature trees for distillation.  Third Wedge Camp is the central of the five, bordered on the north by the Harakol River.

Government

The most important person in any logging camp is the chief accountant.  They keep the statistics on the camp's productivity, distribute the income to the workers, and budget the food and other supplies.

Defences

Every terrace on the cut has a clear-cut area where the camp sets up.  It is wide enough to hold the housing and equipment sheds, with a buffer zone to prevent the structures being hit by windthrow.  The buffer also keeps keet populations at a safe distance.

Industry & Trade

The money the camp gets from its keetwood harvest covers three main expenses: workers' wages, camp-owned tools, and provisions.  Wages are apportioned according to the level of danger involved in the job--aerial arborists earn the most, while the lowest wages go to seedling planters, who are mostly children.  Workers buy their food, clothing, and other necessities from the camp stock.

Assets

Safety gear and saws are the most valuable property in any logging camp.

History

Aktergea's lumber mining industry had its start in the early 9800s Oce. At the time, the logging and refinery operations were run by the same company. Within two hundred years, however, overharvesting had nearly wiped out the forests. After a 50-year hiatus, the company's new owners restarted the logging at a much reduced pace, keeping a careful eye on the keetwood life cycle. By 230 Vol they had outlined a system by which a series of traveling camps could harvest keetwood sustainably over a ten-year cycle.
At first these camps were also run by the same group that operated the refinery, but they ran into difficulty recruiting workers. People who came from off-island found the environment intolerable, describing it as a kind of "internal numbness". Only those born on Aktergea were comfortable working there, and the camps evolved into portable towns, with generations growing up within the industry.
Third Wedge Camp was the first to negotiate financial independence from the refinery, so that instead of paying workers directly from the keetrock trade, the company would buy the wood from the camp and allow them to handle their own finances from that income. The other camps quickly followed suit, establishing an arrangement that remained relatively stable for more than 1500 years.
The Aktergean keetrock industry was unaffected by the political upheaval surrounding the Unity until after Kezlaf's defeat, when the Dregs targeted Aktergea to disrupt the supply. Third Wedge Camp was the focal point of the confrontation between the Dregs and the Dissolvers, which touched off the Aktergean Evacuation.

Architecture

Because the camp relocates frequently, living and storage shelters are made of sturdy cloth hung over wooden framework.  They are sufficient protection from average weather conditions, though susceptible to collapse in high winds.

Founding Date

302 Vol

Type

Camp, Temporary

Inhabitant Demonym

Thirds

Location under

Aktergea