“Get those beams in place!” Dull pounding echoed up from below, the newest tunnel was being strengthened, on schedule and just in time for the big order from Ostreel.
“Come on, we gotta haul this load before Evmir gets back with the next.” Several men groaned, struggling to push a cart full of ore up the sloped track to the exit. The wheels were squealing in protest, and not one thought to get some oil.
“And then I said, that’s no diamond in the rough. It’s just the rough!” As the story finished, loud laughter rang out. It came from one of the testing tables, with far too many idle hands standing around it. The table that belonged Kiezer, of course. No one else had the gall.
“Get back to work!” A woman’s voice, strong and commanding, came from right behind the men as Marishka approached. Jumping around, some of the men merely scampered back to their posts, while others gave her a curt salute. The tawny haired woman just waved them away, leaving the tester alone at his table. “You have a bad habit of distracting my workers,” she sat across from him, taking a moment to go over her parchments.
“Well until that new shaft is open, I don’t have much to test, now do I?” Kiezer leaned back in his chair with a shrug, “And I’m fairly certain they aren’t your workers yet.” Watching her check boxes on one sheet, her gaze continually moving around to assess the day’s progress, he chuckled. “Once they bring me rocks to check, I’ll keep plenty busy, don’t you worry.”
Rolling her warm brown eyes, Marishka was about to retort when a loud clatter came from behind her. She whipped around, watching as the cart with the squeaky wheel rolled backward, several men trying to slow it. Yet it was too heavy, and headed straight toward the pit. Before she could do more than spring from her chair, let alone reach the cart, it hit the curve down the path. It jumped the rails, tumbling over the edge, falling toward the workers below. “Heads!” She shouted, running and peering over the edge.
All the men below dodged out of the way, but the cart and its contents rolled toward the new shaft. Swearing, she ran to the nearest ladder, sliding down it fast as she could. “Out! Now!” But in spite of her cries, the crew lifting a beam was unable to escape. Dropping the beam would trap them all the same. With a tremendous crash, the cart and beam fell on the crew, trapping them underneath.
Reaching the bottom of the shaft, Marishka ran over, sliding to a stop by the collapse. Analyzing the area, she shouted to the many men watching in awe. “I need picks and lifters, now! Get this stuff off them!” Like one of the rockslides that happened so frequently in the mountains around them, miners swarmed the rubble. She took a tool from one, helping to pull away the debris, pointing out what to do to help the trapped men out. Once they were all free, she directed the clearing of the cart and reclamation of the beams. Once everything was done, coated in a layer of dust and sweat, she climbed out of the pit.
At the top, many more miners watched her crest the lip of the pit. “Well done,” Kiezer clapped, a clap that spread throughout the tunnels. Marishka just waved them off, telling them to get back to work as if nothing had happened. They laughed, but did as she said. Returning to her papers, she frowned, so much for their schedule. “I want that shaft supported by the end of the day,” she called to the workers, and in spite of the shouts and cries that responded, most were happy and the pace picked up right away.
As she left the mine, an older man who had a striking resemblance to the woman stopped her. “I heard a crash, anything happen I should know?” But she just shook her head, looking up at her father with a calm look on her face. “Nothing, everything’s on track.” She continued past, her shift finished now. Then the man continued to Kiezer’s table, wanting a word with his eyes and ears in the mine. “Anything to report?” But the tester just laughed, “Just that you got a fine daughter there, Sir.” The owner nodded with a grin, “I know. Now get back to work.”
Appearance
Marishka (Marie) Blackstone is a 21 year old Tarsan woman, 5’8” tall and about 120 pounds. She has fairly sturdy features typical of Tarsa, but still with a delicate touch, like her mother. Muscular but lithe, she has some curves, but not as many as those women who stay home. Her eyes, set a bit deep and the color of tawny hawk feathers, are always observing. Her skin is tanned from living so close to the sun, even though she works so often under the earth. She often wears her light brown hair up in a ponytail, out of the way while working, but with small braids in it for a touch of beauty. An apt way to describe her look in general would be similar: Ready for work in the earth, but with hints of femininity. She prefers to wear browns and greys, the colors of dirt and stone, but if she had to choose a non-neutral, she likes deep reds and oranges too.
Personality
The core of her life is her training to become a foreman under her father in their successful iron mine. While not as prosperous as those who mine gold and silver, the universal demand for iron has left them fairly wealthy. But she gives herself the time to enjoy the wealth, to busy throwing herself into her work. She has two brothers, 19 and 15, the elder training to run the business after their father and the younger following his sister’s footsteps. Though Marie is clever and could easily take over, she'd rather work alongside the laborers in the tunnels than have to run numbers and deal with ungrateful clients. Her mother has trained her in the ways of a noble, and she has learned all the necessary skills from watching her father, she prefers a coat of dirt and dust to one of fur and silk.
Not afraid to get her hands dirty, she often leaves the mine sweaty and dusty after a long day’s work. She does everything from gather reports on daily progress, to helping correct new miners on technique, to directing new construction and tunneling. In emergency situations, she takes charge, figuring out the best way to prevent loss of life and still maintain their work. She has even put herself in harm’s way to protect her crews if need be. This has won her the loyalty of many miners, and all agree she would be an excellent leader, easily able to motivate and direct men.
Like most Tarsans, Marie is a very loyal woman once you have earned her respect. She is not much of a talker on a one-on-one basis, generally using brief sentences and body language to communicate. To people outside the Blackstone mines, it may be difficult to understand, but in the mountains, everyone is like that. Tarsan taverns are some of the quietest, many times with groups in a comfortable silence saying more than words could. Of course, she can be loud if she needs to be, shouting regularly in the mines and running things with a heavy hand. But her volume doesn’t mean anger, she rarely gets angry. In competitions, she cares enough to try to win, but doesn’t lash out if she loses.
History
Before having children, Hostan and Innava Blackstone owned and ran a minor company, working a small section of rich vein of iron. Their crew was small, little more than ten men, but they had a constant flow of material. Even so, they would flounder if something drastic didn’t happen. The larger operations had too tight a grip on the market, and the Blackstones didn’t have the money to compete. When Innava got pregnant, they feared their child would be raised destitute.
As a last ditch effort, her parents took some of the purest iron they had mined to the Day of Hauling, a Tarsan celebration when all the different mining operations came together. With their best material of the year at stake, whoever had the most impressive would get the pot. But before they could present their offering, Innava went in to labor, rushed from the great hall with a worried husband at her side. Marishka was born amid the stones and ores of all of Tarsa.
When he returned to the hall, Hostan feared that the daughter he’d just held would have nothing after that day. Yet as he entered, a great cheer went up around the hall. Though he did not intend to enter his child, the council agreed that their new life was by far the most impressive item anyone had brought before them. The Blackstones won the pot, and with the money from selling the other pieces, their little family company was suddenly able to grow into the biggest iron operation in Tarsa, and it did.
Marishka, or Marie, was the doll of the mines, adored by all the miners. Their ‘Lucky Gem’ as the original crew would call her. The men would often stop by the family’s home by the mine at the end of a shift, playing with the baby before heading to their shacks a bit further down. Her first brother, Enric, was born two years later. Her second, Kammil, was born another four years after that. With her mother busy with the baby boys, Marie often came with her father to work almost as soon as she could walk.
In spite of early successes in clothing the girl in the fine dresses they could now afford, as she grew she preferred to wear pants and tunics like the miners. Running underfoot through the safe portions of the mine, she quickly picked up many of the skills needed to work the stone. All the men would point out little tricks they knew, before she, like her father, would tell them to get back to work. The crew often teased Sir Blackstone, who had gotten a noble title after years of hard work, saying he hadn’t gotten a daughter at all. But he didn’t mind, he was just glad his children happy.
When Marie was twelve, the mine had its first major collapse. A third of the miners, including most of the senior workers, were trapped in a major shaft behind large boulders. The girl watched in horror as the rest of the men worked to dig them out. As much as she wanted to help, the men wouldn’t let her near the stones, just in case there were another collapse. Though most of the men were eventually saved, several did die in the tunnel. Marie cried as they were carried out.
After that, she didn’t treat the mine like a playground anymore. She understood there were risks and dangers, and learned all she could to avoid them. Though she was still just a child, she followed along with the same training the new recruits underwent. Her mother was not pleased; after the cave-in, she wanted Marie to stay at home. But Sir Blackstone continued to let the girl learn, seeing the signs of a great leader in her.
By age eighteen, Marie Blackstone was officially in training to become a foreman. However, most of the men treated her as if she were one already. She knew as much about the mines as anyone twice her age, and had shown herself to be an excellent leader. Nearly single-handedly, she had identified another rich vein within the mine, as well as improving efficiencies and safety procedures. Her work alone was responsible for many saved lives. Already her father’s right hand woman, her life seemed to have a straightforward path for her. Of course, it wasn’t to be so.
Marie was well-known throughout the region, called ‘the Daughter of Tarsa’ because of her birth at the Day of Hauling. Between that story, her status as a Tarsan noble daughter, and the widespread stories of her skill, she was a sought-after prize. Her father received many letters wondering if the girl was eligible, and if she would like to visit with their sons. To each, at Marie’s request, he offered they come to their iron mine instead. Many politely refused, a few visited but refused to enter the mine itself, and many more were appalled by what actually occurred within. All of these she dismissed, clearly men who did not understand a good day’s work. A few caught her attention, those willing, or even eager, to work alongside her in the mines. These men were often those who, like her, had become nobles after their families worked long and hard. She courted a few, but never dated one exclusively.
For a short time though, Marie did date one of her father’s stone testers, a man named Kiezer. Only a few years older than the girl, he was no noble, but he was a good man that both she and her father respected. He had a tendency to slack off sometimes, but he was someone Marie could get along with. They kept it secret best they could, meaning of course, the whole crew knew. But it never reached the ears of the other noble families. After a few months, they chose to end their relationship, preferring to be friends.
By age twenty-one, Lady Blackstone feared her daughter may never marry. She was all but in charge of the mine, her father able to stay home and trust the daily operation to her. Her eldest brother stayed home with their father, learning the math side of the business and meeting their suppliers and clients. Kammil on the other hand shadowed his sister, becoming nearly as good a foreman as she was. But those days couldn’t last.
When the call went out for eligible women, many in Tarsa offered her as a candidate, mostly those who had never met her before. Those who worked with her, all the men in the Blackstone mines, were against the idea, but she received her letter all the same. Though it upset her to finally be leaving the place she’d grown up in, the place she had hoped to live forever, she knew this day was likely coming. Bidding her family and crew farewell, she travelled to Bascalin to do her duty. Should she succeed, her family will have great honor. If not, she can return to her old life. But Marie will not give up, she is prepared to do her best, for the glory of Tarsa and the Blackstone family. |
