Farro's Expedition

The most well funded and widest known expedition into the fungal swamps of the Great Southern Continent is led by Artibor Farro, a mining magnate who's forefathers made their fortune in the rolling hills and sticky oil fields of Vashyl Minor killing monsters and dangerous creatures for the other mine foremen (as well as taking a cut of each of their profits!). The goals of the expedition, as Farro himself states, are threefold.   First, he seeks to find a proper and profitable location for a permanent gnomo-dwarven settlement in the south -- a good and proper foothold for the longtime allies to begin to exploit and explore the newfound land which the maelstroms have revealed to us. I imagine that this settlement should be of great importance should it ever come to fruition. Who knows what new elements and creatures and salves they shall discover and invent there, and what wonders they will be able to send back to us less adventurous folk...   Secondly, Farro, being relatively soft of heart for a dwarven mining guru, wishes to establish communication with any of the local and native species that he happens upon on that great fungal expanse. Where many would simply seek to subjugate and even enslave the locals, Farro seeks neither to exploit them nor to move them from their land, even if he should find some precious mineral beneath them. I have met this magnanimous dwarf, and I am firmly convinced that he would not hurt a mosquito unless it bit him first. Surely this is because of the conflict that he has seen ripping apart Vashyl Minor -- for he was no stranger to the soldier's life.   Thirdly and finally, Farro desires to complete a basic survey of all the territories that his expedition crosses, so that future expeditions to the continent will know where to land, where the locals may be, what is the best terrain for living, and what beasts and hazards to expect. More than that, Farro seeks the adventure and exultation of being the first to take up this great and dangerous task. Though he could easily move with great haste and throw his comrades into the unknown, he does not. Instead, he mostly sits, reserved, allowing his scouts to slowly put together the picture of what lies ahead of them. Many of these scouts have already perished in his service, and he lays each to rest with the honors of a hero -- each a martyr to the cause of exploration. It is not without some worry and sadness that Farro sends out these daily patrols, but he knows that to advance further, sacrifices are necessary, demanded by the land.   Not all is bland and boring about this expedition's progress however. Farro, even upon landing, made an amazing discovery which, were he not already, would have made him quite rich. Phenocyte! Yes, that heat-absorbing mud that coats so many of our desert homes and which keeps us cool in the high heat of summer. Though it is not perhaps as spectacular as a deposit of adamantine iron for weapon-making, it is still quite a lucrative and important find. The price of phenocyte has since dropped as boatloads of the stuff has begun coming back from the south. What was once a difficult-to-find and semi-rare luxury is now a commodity that even the lower classes can often afford for themselves. His landing site at a massive fungal swamp has also resulted in a plethora of medicinal salves and reagents that are otherwise incredibly difficult to find in the rest of Ultor.   When I discussed Farro's dream with him, he confided in me that he had but one solid goal for himself personally: he desired, more than anything, to discover a new mineral for forging that would honor his ancestors and establish him as a truly great miner -- one who did not need the mantle of his forefathers to prove his worth. With this discovery he would then set up a shipping company, the only of its sort, on the Great Southern Continent, and he would begin sending all sorts of wonders back to the rest of Ultor. A wonderful dream, I should think.