>Greg Sez
>I'd say that 95% of all mankind's iron in Glorantha came from the aptly
>named Iron Mountains, where mostali still hold to their prehistoric trading
>deals.
There is also the town of Crandess in Jrustela which gets iron from the Dwarves of Zadeel in exchange for Toucan feathers. This probably explains the damn silly hat that the dwarf wears in Gods of Glorantha.
I think that all Mostali conclaves can sell Iron whether it be Bad Deal, Gemborg or Greatway. They don't sell it in bulk quantities (ie by the wagon load) like the Iron Mountain mostali do, but they would not be adverse in selling an ingot or two.
>Now assuming that Gloranthan iron, with the possible exception of enchanted
>iron, rusts, in order for iron to be found all over Gloranthan in any
>quantity this would have to be a sizable trade setup. In the RW whole
>cities were founded to support the ancient Mediterranean metal trade. As
>the metal has only a single reliable source and with the trade problems
>associated with the syndics ban and the closing, the supply to places such
>as Carmania and Dragon Pass, let alone Kralorela, would be virtually
>impossible to maintain.
One can get from Laurmal to Carmania and Dragon Pass, and then on to Kralorela during the early third age.
Laurmal to Dragon Pass: Go through Safelster, Pralorela and then Maniria and then one ends up in Kethalea.
Laurmal to Carmania: Go over the High Llama Pass into Fronela and sail up the Janube. After the Syndics Ban, one has to go through Dragon Pass and then through the Lunar Empire.
Laurmal to Kralorela: Go to Kethaela or Dragon Pass. There are merchants from Teshnos and Teshnos to be found in the International Quarter of Boldhome in 1535 ST (KoS p221) which is in the middle of the Closing. Or one can go through the Lunar Empire and travel through Pent after 1560 ST.
But I think the Kralori and the Teshnans have their own sources of Iron (the Teshnan army is decked out in iron) so there's no need to posit great big iron caravans rumbling across the wastes.
>Greg also Sez
>Discoveries such as those in the Von Mountains (in the Redlands) are of
>tremendous value, until they play out, as have all other iron mines in the
>world.
>IMO this implies a sort of gold rush mentality to the new source, with the
>mines running out in a relatively short time. Certainly too short a time
>for anyone to deduce iron smelting techniques from scratch or from old
>texts.
There are no dwarves in the Redlands and the secrets of smelting iron are known by the Third Eye Blue cult who stole them from the mostali in the Storm Age. Therefore the Von Hills looks like a human mine to me. As for the mines running out, it could just as easily be presumed from the text that the mines lasted 500 or so years producing barely iron to meet the needs of the Ever-Victorious Red Army hence negating the argument of 'certainly too short a time'.
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