This scenario brings the player characters into contact with a group of dwarfs. Even in Imther, where dwarfs are numerous and have peaceful contact with humans, few people deal with dwarfs on a personal level. Everyone knows a few things about them, such as their odd ways, extreme conservatism, and astoundingly deadly weapons. Many coins in circulation around Imther came from the dwarfs, including triangular copper clacks, square silver pennies, and hexagonal gold coins. There are even a few Mostali loan words in Imtherian, mostly terms from mining and smithing. This scenario takes the player characters much further into the alien world of the Mostali than most Imtherians (or humans from any place) go.
Dwarfs are alien, and a proper presentation of them makes their alien ways of thought clear from the beginning. From a human point of view, dwarfs are unfathomably conservative, rigid, miserly, and prudish. Moreover, only one or a few out of every group of dwarfs will even speak with humans. The others do not respond to humans, even if the human speaks Mostali to them.
Successful traders with the dwarfs put on a very neutral mask, and never take offense at what the dwarfs say. They talk only business, and avoid talking about sex, family, politics, or religion. This scenario turns part of that conventional wisdom on its head.
One peculiarity of the Mostali language is that it lacks normal verbs. The
gamemaster may use this to point up the alien nature of dwarfs, even when
they are speaking Imtherian. In Mostali, one does not say "he made the
sword," one says, "sword maker he," with the verb "to be" being understood.
If one wants to say "he made the sword 400 work cycles ago," one says
"sword minus 400 work-cycles maker he." Change the "minus" to a "plus,"
and one has the Mostali for "he will make the sword 400 work cycles from
now." Even "change" is only found in noun form in Mostali (and it has
generally negative connotations except in the Quicksilver vocabulary).
Even when speaking in human languages, dwarfs tend to avoid using verbs
(and misuse them when they do try). If a dwarf misunderstands part of what
a human says, that part is almost always the verb. Each caste has its own
vocabulary. Since only Gold dwarfs talk to humans, humans who learn
Mostali learn only the Gold dwarf vocabulary. See the sidebar for
additional peculiarities of Mostali.
Sidebar:
"Peculiarities of Mostal's Tongue"
[From a fragment in the Temple of the Sun Dome formerly in Imther, now in
Holay. Ascribed to the era of Hasuerius Frontier, a well-known traveller
of the Nysalor Period. Written in an archaic Pelorian Theyalan dialect.]
I found my way blocked in learning their language by certain modulations
which they take for granted, but which have no parallel in human tongues.
This modulation carries a meaning related to a person or object's need or
capacity for repair (or being made from raw materials, as the two concepts
are covered by the same word in Mostali). The only thing I can compare it
to is our language's comparatives, for surely this modulation carried a
moral judgment. I found myself constantly misunderstood as I used the
wrong modulation--much as the stone-men mangled my language's verbs and
made a hash of genders (which they steadfastly refused to learn). I am not
sure I grasped all of their modulations, but they seemingly present a
gradation from filth (not reparable), junk (never worth repair), discard
(not now worth repairing), clay (or raw material), semi-refined, broken,
malfunctioning, operating, efficient, and diamond (or perfect). Humans, I
note, take the "filth" modifier, while ordinary dwarfs take the modifier of
"clay" (if new), "semi-refined" (if in training), or "operating." Heretics
take the "malfunctioning" modifier, and apostates take the "broken"
modifier. I was unable to learn why apostates and heretics outrank new or
untrained dwarfs. Perhaps I have the scale wrong. In any case, their
bodily waste takes the "discard" or "clay" modifier, putting it two or
three steps above people. Their word for the world, if referring to its
present state, takes the "broken" modifier.
[end sidebar]
The leaders of the Mostali of Imther are not Openhandists. That is, they do not believe in trading with humans as a positive thing in itself. Rather, they only trade with the humans because of an obligation to the current king, who (perhaps unwittingly) fulfilled certain magical preconditions for trade. This obligation extends to the king's family, but when they are all dead, the obligation will cease. Openhandists are a minority of about 15% in Imther. There are also some Octamonists and even a few Individualists.
During the great period of interaction (Unified Council to the Nysalor period), the Gold Dwarfs learned the common human tongue of southern Peloria, an archaic Pelorian Theyalan. It is this tongue that was written up in the standard Pocket Dictionary for Filth-Speakers (interpreters, traders, and ambassadors). At least one Gold Dwarf at Underhill (the community beside the Royal City of Hilltown) has recently (over the last few centuries) made an attempt to update the Great Dictionary with current Imtherian. This, unfortunately, has not been classified as a priority and thus the Pocket Dictionary has yet to be updated.
Setting the Stage:
The player characters may encounter the dwarf party in one of three ways. First, the dwarfs may enter the village or town where the player characters live. In this setting, the dwarfs simply show up out of the blue. Second, the player characters may run across the dwarfs in the wilderness, in some location where the player characters have an interest. The dwarfs may be in a site the party is exploring, for example. In such a case, there may be signs of dwarf activity before the actual encounter. Third, the player characters may be asked to deal with a group of troublesome dwarfs. This setting requires a patronage relationship and only works if the player characters have a reputation for troubleshooting and diplomacy.
When encountered, the dwarfs are engaged in a set of tasks whose purposes are not immediately clear. One of them rolls a wheel attached to a stick along the ground; on every revolution of the wheel, there is a click. Another peers through a strange metal contraption at the moon. A third writes with a stylus in a metal book. A fourth manipulates a metal contraption which emits a foul-smelling spray. A fifth waves a small metal rod at a horse-sized three-legged creature made of metal. The creature carries an enormous metal box on its flat back.
The dwarfs leave a trail of trash wherever they go. If they stay in one place, they make a mound of their trash. The trash consists of tin food cans, small disposable containers for metal polish and sunscreen, tiny disposable flints from their firemaking machine, and an occasional drum used to transport fuel. (The fuel drums, with their petroleum fumes, make good flares or shrapnel bombs, depending on how they are ignited, but the Mostali are not innovative enough to do this.)
According to the Iron Dwarf Manual of Outside Fighting, it is the duty of Iron Dwarfs escorting a mission outside to clear a free-fire zone around any camp which is to be held for a period of three percent of an iron dwarf work cycle or more (about a Theyalan hour). The IDMOF specifies that a free- fire zone is created by cutting down all vegetation within a radius of the camp, with the radius depending on how many are in the camp. The iron dwarfs in the group do this at every stop, cutting down with equal zeal mighty oak trees, brush, growing crops, or even a village's prized apple orchard. Iron dwarfs sometimes carve anti-growth slogans in the stumps of trees they cut down, but this is not a duty. Doing something which is not a duty creates a suspicion that the dwarf is an Individualist.
The Dwarfs:
Zakzlot Third Rank Mind, Gold Dwarf. The leader of this work project. It
is a relatively young dwarf, and therefore considered expendable enough to
go on this mission. Zakzlot was the interpreter for Daezi's platoon during
the recent civil war. Thus, there are some humans in Imther who know
Zakzlot. Zakzlot does all the talking with humans. If it is not available
for any reason, the other dwarfs simply do not say anything or respond to
the humans in any way. For one thing, none of the other dwarfs speak any
human languages. Zakzlot is the one with the astrolabe. Orthodox.
Virnwabbil Transient, Silver Dwarf. This dwarf provides magical support. Its title means that it specializes in temporal spells rather than enchantments. Entropist.
Daezi, Paanzi, and Pionni, Iron Dwarfs. These dwarfs provide protection for the party. Daezi is the oldest and most experienced. It was manufactured in the time of the Council of Friends, and led a platoon of Iron Dwarfs during the recent Imtherian civil war. Daezi is an Openhandist. The other two are Orthodox.
Gart, Tin Dwarf. This one controls the construct which carries food and other supplies. It also can provide prostheses to any dwarf who loses a limb. Orthodox.
Arkog Gridblock, Rock Dwarf. This is the one with the wheel on the stick, a measuring device. Orthodox.
Urfajanian Terminix, Quicksilver Dwarf. This is the one with the foulsmelling spray, a pesticide which the dwarf has been ordered to test. The pesticide works, because it is a POT 5 poison which lingers in the body for weeks. If it sprays the poison on food animals, they die. If it sprays the poison on food crops, they become contaminated and inedible.
[end]
End of The Glorantha Digest V7 #129
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