Dwarf Chimera and Chimerical Mines

By Scott Pollert (pollerts@hsonline.net)

History

For centuries before the Impergium, Nockers relied on the trusty Dwarven kith to supply them with the raw materiels to create their marvelous weapons and machines. When the Shattering occured however, rather than mingle their blood with humans, the Dwarves hid or closed all the old entrances to their mines and cut themselves off from the rest of the world. The hapless Nockers were left hanging without a ready supply of the various metals their creations relied on. Instead they had to make do with more mundane methods of acquiring their needed metals, and the resulting more banal raw materials.

This continued for a century or two after the closing of the Gates to Arcadia. Then, the Dwarves reemerged, but they had Changed. Shorter and grumpier, they were no longer visible to the mortal world. Rather than risk losing the Dreaming, the Dwarves had become one with the Dreaming. The had given up their lives as Fae and became chimera instead!

Once again, the Dwarves sought to barter and sell their metals to interested Nockers. Unfortunately, the Nockers had not yet forgiven the Dwarves for abandoning them to the mundane world. The legendary Nocker temper and the equally legendary Dwarven stubbornness quickly gave way to an all-out war between the two groups. The Nockers sought to take the mines and metals from the Dwarves, and the Dwarves strove to hold onto what was theirs by right and teach the Nockers a lesson.

Ultimately, neither side won. The Nockers found it almost impossible to assault the well-defended mines of the Dwarves, and the Dwarves could no longer survive in the now Banal mundane world. A wary peace was called.

Realizing that they couldn't be enemies, or at least not at each other's throats if both groups were to survive. The Nocker kith and the Dwarven Chimera called a truce and came to an agreement that was to last to the present day. The Dwarves, ever in search of gold, wished to renew the age old tradition of barter and sale that had been in place previous to the Impergium. The Nockers quickly agreed, and once more began purchasing rare and bulk metals from Dwarves in exchange for gold. From the raw materials purchased from the Dwarves, Nocker craftsmen constructed weapons and other works of art and exchanged these worked pieces for more raw metals. In this way the system of barter and sale continues even today.

Present Day

Whenever a Nocker craftsman sets up shop in one place for more than one month and one day, somewhere within a mile of his workshop the opening to a Dwarven mine will appear. Exactly where and when are never certain, though it is usually hidden in a dark corner, back alley, or sunken hole in the ground. The mine entrance always opens up from a stone, brick, or other hard, rock-like surface and can only be seen by fae or those who have been Enchanted. Even the Fae or Enchanted will have difficulty finding the opening as Dwarves are notorious secret-door builders, and most entrances are little more than a crack in a wall when shut.

Regardless of the difficulties, the mine entrance will eventually appear and be found by the prospective Nocker craftsman, if only because the Dwarves want to be found by him. When approached, the Nocker must, well, knock at the entrance in a secret pattern known to all Nockers. If anyone other than the prospective craftsman the Dwarves have come to trade with tries to use the pattern, the Dwarves will not answer. (There are other ways to talk to the Dwarves, but this pattern can only be used by the right Nocker.)

Upon answering the Nocker's call, the Dwarves will seek to engage in trade and barter. The usual material all Dwarves crave is gold, though there has been, on a rare occasion, demand for other items, usually manufactured items of Nocker make that the Dwarves can not make for themselves. Chimerical steam engines and water pumps for the Dwarfs' mining operations are some examples. In exchange, the wealth of the earth is made available to Nocker craftsman. Silver, tin, copper, rare gems, and coal are all examples of the selection available, for the right price of course. Even such rare elements as titanium and platinum can be purchased. The only things Dwarves will not deal in, under any circumstances, are iron, gold, or radioactive metals. The first and last because of their inherent Banality, and the second because of the Dwarven race's legendary greed.

After the first bartering session is completed successfully, the Dwarven Chimera and Nocker craftsmen usually settle into a long term relationship. Many Nocker craftsmen refuse to get their raw materials from anywhere other than their personal Dwarf supplier, and will object strenously if someone attempts to force them to use other material. For their part, the Dwarf Chimera involved with a specific Nocker will usually refuse to deal with anyone else or even reveal their presence if anyone else is near.

Despite the reliance each has on the other, considering the mental attitudes of both Chimera and Kith, many, many arguments still erupt between the two groups, usually over a matter of bargaining. These arguments tend to be legendary in their volume and intensity, and observers are cautioned to leave the two alone. [It should be noted that a number of Nockers have landed themselves in the Loony Bin after being witnessed by Mundanes apparently haven't violent arguments with a wall!]

In this way, both Chimera and Kith have worked together and prospered over the centuries. Dwarven miners providing smelted metals and other raw materials of the earth, and Nocker craftsmen fashioning them into beautiful and surreal objects of Faery weaponry and art.