Lost Colony of Llarest

Written by Salen

This mining colony, located high in the Spine Mountains was formed in the year 580SR and was the investment of The Blackstone Family ; in particular, Kenn'ath Blackstone. A rather large silver deposit was found by a crashed airship, and the influential leader of this prestigious family wasted no time in claiming the area. Unfortunately the colony only lasted for two years and then disappeared completely.

Founding

The colony of Llarest was founded by an advanced team of twenty men, tasked with getting the main structures ready for the main group that would come in five months. Once the structures were up, then mining operations would begin to be planned and equipment flown in. Within eight months the first pickaxes were swung in earnest.

by Mountain Fortress by Grosnus (DA)

Legacy of Fear

The colony prospered in the first year, and construction finished as the first profits were counted. The cavern was enclosed with large doors and grand columns; humans pretending to be dwarves they all said. Then as the second year was underway strange reports came in from the colony. The first messages asked why the airships were coming with no drop off. This was thought to be a casual mistake and was over looked. In the next months more messages came asking why people were knocking on the large doors when the drop offs were usually called in so that they would meet them. Responses were sent but no replies ever came in direct response to those. Then the messages got strange.

Dear Lord Blackstone. The sounds of miners are still coming from the deep mines, even though all of the workers and their families are accounted for. We've tried to see if anyone is there, but when we go down, the noises stop. After a week of this we're starting to worry...

Near the end of 581, the colony sent two messages, back to back. The first message was about hearing people inside the enclosed colony working at off hours, even when everyone was accounted for. It persisted for over a week and no one could find anyone in the mines. The last message from the colony was a simple, yet strange one. All it said was: They are here. When no other word was heard from the colony, even on drop offs, a team was sent in to crack the doors open and see what they were doing. What the team found baffled them. Every member of the colony was gone, work stations in disarray, and meals half eaten. Every last one of the 205 men, women, and children. The only thing the team found were the replies from the Blackstone family, in a neat little pile on the Lord's desk, and the word AMONAR written on the inside of the great doors in blood. No other blood or bodies were ever found.

by Michael D. Nadeau

Forbidden Place

After the contact team reported their findings, the family shut down all prospects of the colony ever reopening. Kenn' ath thought it cursed and his heirs weren't all that convinced he was wrong. Over the years other teams were sent in without problems, only to come up with nothing. In 638 a permanent investigative team was established. After a week of regular reports, these too ,vanished without a trace. The head of the Blackstone family declared it off limits and sealed the doors. It has been forbidden ever since.

by Mountain Fortress by Grosnus (DA)

Downsides

The main downside to the colony was the location. It was deep in the Spine Mountains and could only be reached by airship. Supplies would be dropped off every month, as well as mail, but other than that they were cut off from the general populace of Garon'd. This led to some early cases of depression and even madness on two occasions. The financial downside, with the disappearance of the colonists and the failed attempt to keep it going was minimal to the Blackstone family coffers. Their investors however fell on hard times as they were left without recompose and turned on by the family. No restitution was ever made, and most cases never made it to court. Such was the power of the family.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
582SR

Type

Outpost / Base

Population

205

Location under

Spine Mountains

Owning Organization

The Blackstone Family

Worth

The colony's initial worth was estimated to be staggering. The silver deposit that was found was the largest ever seen, and numbers figured that by the end of the first five years, that it would pull an easy one hundred thousand. In the short two years it was operable, it swelled the Blackstone family coffers, yet its fall left a hole in the confidence of the family's leader.

Relationships

The colony was on good terms with most of the races, except the dwarves. Llarest , and by proxy, The Blackstone Family, had earned the enmity of the dwarves by excluding them in the mining operations.