Fergus the Miner

A dwarf renowned for his generosity who inspired an annual tradition.

Summary

It is no secret that life can be hard in the Cavern of the Unclaimed. With no clan to provide support or protection those living there are barely able to afford to feed themselves and many will take on dangerous jobs or join the Final Guard in an attempt to improve their situation. One such person was Fergus. He stood just under 5ft tall, and had a powerful frame from long years of heavy labour. His hair and beard frequently looked grey from the dust coating them, but when he washed them they became a fiery red.
Fergus had no family and wasn't even sure who his parents were. He spent most of his time working as a miner, hired to work in shafts considered too dangerous for those belonging to a clan. Every day he could be seen setting out in his oft repaired clothes to either take on another job or to try gleaning something from an abandoned shaft. Though he had had many friends over the years the nature of their work had led many of them to perish and as Fergus reached his second century he found that he was the only one of his age still around.
Work seemed to be everything to Fergus so it came as a surprise to many when he stopped going to the mines for a week in the middle of Lamon. Those who went to check on him found him busy doing calculations and were sent away after a gruff thanks for stopping by. At the end of the week Fergus hired a cart and made and unusual trip to Stralken Cavern. He arrived back a day later with a covered wagon piled high with boxes which he unloaded into his house.
The neighbourhood was abuzz with speculation, and more than a few were planning a little nighttime activity to see what they could grab from Fergus' house. However Fergus knew that some of those around him were not exactly paragon's of virtue so he wasted no time in moving forward with his plans. After washing up and donning some clothes he kept for feast days Fergus set about dividing up the goods he had brought and then set out into the streets.

His arms piled high Fergus went around delivering a package to every house nearby. His neighbours were delighted to find each one contained enough food for a week, along with other small gifts like knives and belts.

Stop your blubbering and take the ruddy package

— Fergus

The amount Fergus must have spent would have been enough to get him out of the cavern but he had instead decided to make people's lives a little easier. Any thanks offered to Fergus was gruffly waved away as he seemed almost embarresed by the thanks.
The next day Fergus was back out into the mines as if nothing had changed. Many tried to stop him to thank him again but he would just mutter something about needing to get to work and hurry on. Over his protests more than a few children in the neighbourhood were named Fergus that year.
The next year Fergus repeated his gift giving, though this time he took less days off work before his trip to Stalken Cavern. He also had help in the deliveries as grateful parents sent their children to help deliver the packages for him. Word spread around the cavern about Fergus' generosity. There was plenty of jealousy from those who didn't live near Fergus but there were also those who decided they wanted to help.
By the third year Fergus found himself receiving donations of goods and coin from those that could spare them and he was able to expand on the numebr of people who received a package. While he couldn't put together all the packages himself Fergus made a point of checking everything to make sure that no-one was trying to steal. Any who were caught were given a broken arm by Fergus as punishment.
Word of Fergus' efforts spread outside the Cavern of the Unclaimed and each year donations would come in from other caverns, coordinated by the Voices of Wisdom. Fergus continued to manage the delivery of the packages every year until his death at 261. After his death it was declared that he had been elevated to become a divine agent who would watch over the people of his cavern for all time.

Historical Basis

The Voices claim that their records show that Fergus did in fact exist. Things apparantly didn't go as smoothly with the deliveries as described in the legend but it seems that in later years things were a little closer to the stories.

Variations & Mutation

Outside of the Cavern of the Unclaimed Fergus is described as watching over all of the caverns, ready to help those in need or punish criminals.

Date of Setting

321 C5

Related Species

• Dwarf

Related Locations

• Khezdur

Fergus' Runners

After Fergus had been handing out gifts for a few years the children in the cavern began competing to be one of the runners with the honour going to those who could run the fastest. Even after earning the honour the children would compete to see who could deliver the most packages. The runners were given a red dyed cord that they wore around their left arm while delivering packages.

Red dyed beards

Following Fergus' death the tradition of donations and handing out gifts continued. Many children had grown up hearing about the red bearded dwarf who handed out gifts and punished the wicked and to avoid disappointing the younger ones some of the older dwaves took to dying their beards red to play Fergus. While some took to refering to Fergus the Red, the Voices insisted on referring to him as Fergus the Miner to reinforce the fact that even those with a humble profession can display generosity.