VIII Chapter of the creatures of Néveri
By Adarius Meldi
The dwarves’ desert – in the year 3452

Male
Life expectancy: 500 years
Weight: 40-60 kg
Height: 95-105 cm

Female
Life expectancy: 470 years
Weight: 40-60 kg
Height: 80-90 cm

Preface
Little more than a year have passed since I left Calendon. I am tired and more exhausted than I have ever been in my life. My journey has been long, but alas, it is far from over and there are many dangerous areas I still need to visit. Only a few miles from here are the horrid land Chrumsniklonia. I will not get into this now, suffice it to say it is the home of orcs and goblins in Néveri. I myself have reached the mighty dwarves’ new land.

Written on the 23th day in the sign of Rahnee in the year 3452
When Fayon had created the elves, the gods gathered and agreed to create another race: The dwarves. All the gods helped and each gave their tribute to this race. All but Nisara, obviously. This new race immidiately sought for a place to live, and when the woods did not fit hem and the open steppes neither, they turned their eyes towards the mountains. They began to make caves in the rock sides and slowly they invented better tools and techniques. As their skills grew, they sought deeper and deeper into the mountains and they began to mine various metals which they processed so it could be used for tools, weapons, armour, money and jewellery. The other races, especially man, was thrilled with these metals and it sometimes led to conflicts between the two races, when they could not agree on how to pay for the dwarves’ work.

As written previously, the King was not pleased that I did not return this report last year, but it appears that the dwarves no longer live south of Karstaag. The malenkais and the proximity to chaos has driven them from their mines north east of here and all the way to the south, in the mighty mountain range which thankfully splits Morania and Chrumsniklonia into two realms.

I was recieved in a somewhat rude way. The dwarves are a proud people and they do not let anybody into their land. I have felt distinctly unwelcome since my worn out shoes for the first time stepped onto the hot, dry sand. After my companion and interpreter had explained the situation, they grew to be friendlier. The dwarves do not speak our language and why they do not learn it is beyond me. The King should write a law which required all creatures in Morania to be able to speak the human tongue, so the rest of us would not have to waste time learning their difficult tongue!

The dwarves were happy to hear that man had not complete forgotten how much they meant in their daily lives. I assume my companion told them something which was not completely true..

The buildings here are fascinating. Instead of bulílding on the ground where all sorts of dangerous insects gather, they have chosen to build their city in the firm sandrock formations which here are plenty of in this area. The buildings are supported by huge, thick beams so they can jut out in the open beyond the rock faces. Furthermore they have placed planks along the sides to keep the loose sand out from eventually sliding into the houses. The sand which gets in is quickly removed by the busy dwarven women.

The families here appear to be based on man and woman. I have yet to spot any children, perhaps there are none, but somehow they have to reproduce. They cannot possibly immerge from the hard rock, the thought alone is ludicrous.

The men work as miners, brewers (because one needs a good, cool liquid to moisten the throat in this dry air) or guards. I do not know much of the miners. Their clothes are sewn from robust skin and layers of armour I have never heard of before. They are reported to protect well against collapses and the intense heat in the mines. The brewers are dressed in leather and chainmail and they carry an axe on their back. There are often fights between drunk and tired dwarves in the mines, and since almost any dwarf carries at least one heavy weapon, their inns would be in ruins, had the brewers not carried these axes around. Fortunately we humans in Calendon have much better manners than these barbarians!
The guards are the dwarves who carry the strongest armour. They do not make do with some leather and chain mail, they carry full plate of gold and silver. Well... The dwarves know how to show off to the rest of the world. Every guard carries a two headed axe on his back like the brewers. They also carry a short sword and always have a silver shield with beautiful carvings and pictures in gold nearby, should the occasion demand it. These dwarves does not appear to know of magic, at least I have not seen them use it yet. Compared to us, these dwarves seem primitive and undeveloped in this area.

There is not much difference between men and women. One could even say there is no difference at all – not visible ones anyway. The women are just as rude and withdrawn as the men, and yet they have a bit more loving nature when it comes to strangers. They are the ones from whom I and my interpreter have gathered the most information. They will not let us see the legendary mines. But my companion managed to sneak down there last night. His reports are quite interesting and far from the experience I had imagined.

He claims that the stones down there are dark blue, almost black. The rocks are full of gems which we could only dream of wearing in Calendon. Why the dwarves give us to them, and what they get in return that can be so useful, is beyond me. Everywhere there are wooden bridges stretched across bottomless pits, only supported by strong ropes fastened to cracks in the rock walls. There is not much life apart from big spiders and some scorpions, who must have wandered in there long ago and found an alternative to the warmth in the city. The caves are cold and the moisture is refreshing, compared to the dry desert. This relaxing coolness is only found in the upper caves. Further down my companion claims to have heard waterfalls and the sound of dripping water in huge lakes, which indicates that the mines must have many different areas with as many different fungaes, plants and animals. Unfortunately we did not make it farther in, since my companion was caught. We have now been asked to leave as soon as possible. But I would think that your grace would find this report highly useful despite the deficient information about the mines.