A Collection of Knowledge on [redacted]

From the journal of Volund Tornin, leader of the Hardcraft Guild and co-owner of Tornin Brothers Mining and Forges

(Largest hardcrafts business in Fanhorim)

Our investments over the past two turns in Aldrmond are proving to be extremely profitable. Even with the generous cut owed to The Council due to the nature of the operation and significant labor requirements, we've been able to grow our coffers by almost a third already. Aldrmond is bursting with wondrous materials that we never could have imagined before - stone that glows without being hot, fungi that has a strange reaction in water, quartz that reflects light in ways we've never seen before, a very malleable yet strong ore the color of cobalt, and of course an abundance of gold is contained within the strange sort of stone most of this world is made of. All we need to do is hire laborers to gather these materials and fighters to protect them from potential dangers, and the sale from raw materials alone nets a pretty glin.

We've been working in tandem with Rinalas Architecture to build fortifications in this strange place as well as researchers from the Academy so we can discover all that Aldrmond has to offer. We've probably only scratched the surface of what we can harvest here. It is a shame our progress has been so limited by the labor shortages caused by the Kurnnoth Plague but it is what it is. While it's disappointing that Aldrmond is not to be public knowledge and so we're unable to sell these materials to the rest of the world, at least it provides Turnin Brothers a sort of monopoly on it for the time being.  Regardless, while Tornin Brothers was already the most prominent Hardcrafts builders, after this we now have enough wealth to secure our place for as long as the business stands so long as we continue to invest wisely.

Entries in Rinmér Erudin's Encyclopedia of Construction Materials

Inorganic:

Deepslate: A dark stone found deep within the earth. It is stronger than traditional stone while weighing the same. Ideal for constructions needing protection but slightly more expensive due to acquisition methods. Strength rating: 8
Obsidian: Extremely strong material created from cooled lava. Only recently been able to work with it due to innovations in tool-making. Use to make something nigh-impenetrable but have caution because it is very difficult to move. CAUTION: Do not build in a closed-ring structure. Strength rating: 10
Glowstone: A fantastical stone found within Aldrmond. It glows on it's own without producing any heat. Ideal for constructions like Okkuminavis where light is desired but flame is not. Very expensive. Strength rating: 3
Blackstone: Stone as dark as pitch located around the basalt pools in Aldrmond. Guessing it acquires it's pigmentation from the high-density ash and heat that it's found near. Workers need to wear masks when harvesting to avoid breathing in the ash and fumes. Strength rating: 5
Basalt: Similar in strength to granite, the basalt found at the basalt pools in Aldrmond are fairly useful for adding variation to builds while using a stronger-than-stone material. Strength rating: 7
Aldrmond stone: Very abundant and fragile material found in Aldrmond. While useless in it's current form for building, it does have a unique property in that if it catches on fire, the fire will never go out. Strength rating: 3
Aldrmond Bricks: Baking Aldrmond stone into bricks adds some strength to the material and makes it more viable for building. Loses it's eternal-burning capabilities in the bricking process. The bricks were found already created at a fortress near our outpost in Aldrmond. Strength Rating: 5
Soul Sand: A very thick and almost sticky dark sand. Walking on it is especially difficult. Not useful for construction. Similar to Aldrmond stone it burns forever when set on fire, except the fire burns cold and dim. Useful for reducing the exceptionally high-heat of Aldrmond to make it more bearable.


Organic:

Crimson and Cyan Fungal Wood: Taken from what appear to be a sort of fungal tree in Aldrmond, the wood does not burn away as the wood we are used to does while still weighing the same. While this property does make it a very useful construction material, the fungal trees are rather difficult to cut down, and the color of planks produced from it is rather unsightly and off-putting.
Ember wood: A wood discovered by our researchers soon after the expeditions into Aldrmond began. The wood is extremely useful as it absorbs heat from it's surroundings, which then gives it the appearance of burning embers. While used in the buildings in Aldrmond to make the scorching heat bearable, it is also very expensive.

After-action report on Aldrmond Fortress by Hjolmyr Smeltyn of Fighters Guild

As per our commission, myself, Glorizel, and Thanmin entered the fortress near the Aldrmond portal at approximately 2:00s. All times within Aldrmond can only be approximated due to the cave-like structure of the dimension and lack of any celestial bodies or signs of time's passage.
As observed from outside, there was no activity within that could be seen or heard. We crossed the gap between the cliff and the closest Fortress wall by felling a nearby Fungi-tree to act as a makeshift bridge. Once deeper into the fortress, we were met with a labyrinth of very long, straight tunnels all made from the same brick as the outside that occasionally would have sets of ascending or descending stairs.
Upon ascending into a room that appeared to be a dead end, creatures materialized out of thin air and launched a barrage of fire at us. We quickly fled, following our marks to the direction of the portal. However Thanmin took several direct hits from fireballs. Glorizel and myself managed to escape but not without sustaining significant burns. We were forced to leave Thanmin behind.
I have brought back a sort of fungus that was growing at the base of one of the stairs in the labyrinth. Hopefully the researchers can make something of it so Thanmin did not die for nothing.

Paper written by Academic on the properties of [redacted]

One of the many curious materials we have been able to procure from Aldrmond is . This strange fungi was found growing on soul soil within the nearby fortress and brought in for further study. So far, we've found that like most fungi it grows best in warm, dark environments but unlike most fungi, it does not grow well in the damp. Instead, when combined with water it creates a most curious reaction, causing the water to froth and absorbing the . This process can be sped up significantly by grinding up the before adding it to water. It has been observed that adding the to other water-based liquids such as melon or carrot juice causes unnatural effects to occur to anyone that drinks the concoction. For example, the combination of melon juice makes the drinker feel slightly better, as if they've just woken up from a nice nap. While carrot juice causes the drinker to temporarily appear less corporeal, fading in and out of existence, though they can still speak and function normally and claim to be fine otherwise.
We've started to brew melon-based concoctions for use at the hospital to improve the health of their patients and so far have been met with very positive results. Going forward, we will continue experimenting with combinations to see what else we can learn from it.

On the Properties of [redacted] Continued

It's miraculous! We were experimenting with combinations relating to the mysterious effect of and we discovered something amazing! While most substances cause no reaction at all other than to have a particuarily foul taste, some materials cause mysterious effects to occur such as the restorative effect of melon juice. We've thrown ourselves into testing what other effects we could produce, but most importantly the effect of the melon and what we've found is baffling. When you combine the with melon juice and gold, the gold increases the effect of the potion. So far the strongest effect we've managed to produce was adding approximately 8/9ths of a glin's worth of gold to the mixture, any more than that changes nothing other than the price. But adding 8/9ths itself causes an effect that's nothing short of a miracle. All patients that it has been tested on have improved in health by leaps and bounds. Patients suffering from ailments such as Cold Sickness were not cured of their symptoms such as leaking nose and a cough, but have reported to be feeling much better to the point where they were fit to leave their beds. Those with physical injuries were cured based on the severity of the injury. Small wounds like scratches knit themselves back together and are completely gone while more serious injuries are set ahead in the healing process by weeks, at least. There have been setbacks in production due to the gold cost of the materials, but we're working with the council on making as many as we can to equip in the hospital and for those in the employ of the Fighters Guild. With this, we can almost cheat death and save many Fanhorim lives.

Recipes:

Eintondylmer	1u Aw 3u Melon (no skin) 3.6u Gold
Zuakmer**	1u Aw 1u Carrot 3.6u Gold
Brykamer	1u Aw 1.4u Sugar*
Darthumer	1u Aw .8u Spider Eye*
Aundramer	1u Aw 1.7u Dried Fish Powder

*higher dose possible but not recommended
**Allow to ferment for 1 week in warm conditions

After-action report 2 on Aldrmond Fortress by Hjolmyr Smeltyn of Fighters Guild

Equipped with our newly enchanted flame-resistant armor, Glorizel, myself, Lasthel from the Fighters Guild, and a small team of builders entered the nearby fortress for the second time at approximately 3:00s. Same as before, the place appeared to be empty of any life. As planned, we made our way back to the room where we last encountered the flame creatures as before. We found what we can only assume is Thamin's corpse along the way, charred black and unrecognizable. We have brought them back to our world so they may be properly mourned and returned to the earth.
Upon arriving at the site of incident, we worked quickly with the builders to erect a flame-proof barrier out of the locally harvested fungal wood. Within moments of us beginning working on the barrier, the creatures materialized again same as before. Thanks to our quick work, we were able to remain behind the barrier and carefully observe them through small gaps. They appear to be roughly man-size wisps of flame themselves with a sort of orb floating on top with a semblance of a face on it. While we were observing them from behind the barrier, they floated aimlessly around the room they materialized in with no clear directive.
Taking aim with a bow, we fired at one of the orbs through the gap. The arrow bounced off of the orb but the creature was knocked back a few steps, and it's flames visibly diminished for a few seconds. After recovering, the creature continued floating aimlessly as if it did not know we were there. After two more direct hits with an arrow to the orb, the flames of the creature extinguished and the orb clattered to the ground. It's fellows took no notice. We were just doing the same to a second wisp when a fresh, new wisp materialized. Continuing this process, we have deduced that insofar as we can tell, the wisps will infinitely materialize, recreating a new one every few minutes or so until the room has three at a time.
After having dispatched the third and last wisp for a moment, I dashed in to grab an orb for study. There were no casualties on this mission and we left the barrier intact. At this time we can't say for sure what is powering it, but we believe these wisps to be some sort of automatic defensive mechanism for the fortress, perhaps to assist in fighting off any invaders with whomever had build the fortress to begin with.