A Fistful of Dyes

Solomwi · November 6, 2003, 18:08

Well, hello there! Come on in, have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?

Hehe, of course not, you’re here for a story aren’t you? Well, okay, nothing I like better than telling stories.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times… oh, wait, that’s the wrong story. Heh, my old mind tends to wander from time to time. You’ll have to forgive me.

Joseph and Mary were dismayed to find there was no room at the inn. No? Of course that’s the wrong story. My apologies.

You’re here for the tale of that brave band of Celts called the Dye Expedition, aren’t you?

Well, the year was 1040 AD. Celtia had seen almost 300 years of peace since fully conquering the Mongol Empire, and was just starting to really blossom. The nation was in a time of enlightenment, making wonderous scientific advances, and that very year had established the world’s first democratic government. Oh, those were heady times to be a Celt. Carthage was still a relatively healthy nation, but things on the Celtic side of the border were so good that during the peace, both Russadir and Sulcis seceded from Carthage and petitioned for admission into the burgeoning Celtic nation. The Cartho-Celtic War was still 240 years away, and nobody had any inkling that in just over 300 years, we’d be invading Greece. Heck, nobody had even heard of rubber, let alone knew that Greece had the closest source to our borders. Yes, it was a wonderful time to be a Celt. The settlement of the Great Southern Desert and the Mongol lands was nearly complete, and that’s where our story really begins, isn’t it?

You see, markets from Entremont to New Gergovia were stocked with all sorts of furs, spices, incense, ivory, silks, and even rare Arabian gems. Still, the people had no intention of sitting pat. No, sir, they wanted more, and wanted to keep growing, especially as a cultural and trade center. Which brings us to New Lapurdum. Now, this wasn’t the biggest or most impressive town the nation had, but the little hamlet of about 40,000 people was about to be put on the map.

It seems that, in studying the maps they had gotten from Germany, some bureaucrat, stashed in a little office somewhere in the bowels of the Geologic Survey Office, noticed something extremely interesting about the continent of Byzantium. On the southwestern tip was the world’s richest cluster of dyes, comprising some sixty percent of the entire world’s supply. And the kicker was twofold. First, the German borders weren’t anywhere close to the area, and neither Egypt nor Arabia seemed too keen on crossing the vast German territory to settle there. Second, this cluster was due south of New Lapurdum. Well, this caused quite a stir, and the guy that discovered it… shoot, who can remember his name now… got a promotion and a little fleeting fame, for about twelve seconds, at least, hehe. Then, the government put together a plan and began recruiting. The CSS Challenger, a venerable old galley, and the second naval ship ever commissioned, was brought into port at New Lapurdum and decommissioned, heavily cannibalized to complete the first of a new type of ship, the La Tene-class caravel. The crew of the Challenger was transferred to the new ship, which was named in honor of their first ship, and adventurers from across the empire flocked to sign up for the voyage.

Now, nobody had any illusions that this would be easy. They all wanted to be part of the most ambitious maritime undertaking the country had ever seen, sailing halfway around the world to set up a new life in untamed country. Not all of them made the cut, either, no sir. Captain Ligures, who would be commanding this ship and expedition, selected a small band of the hardiest souls available, with a cross section of abilities, to found the town when they arrived, as well as drafting a group of workers from nearby to help establish the road network needed to bring in the lucrative dyes to the harbor. General Vercingetorix gave him the 21st Infantry Brigade, as well, knowing that there would most likely be hostile natives in the area.

The life stories of the people who got on that ship were as different as their reasons for going, and lord, I could go on for days about that. Some wanted the adventure. Some wanted to escape their creditors, and some were just drawn by the pristine, untouched ground. Some left hovels and some left the suburbs, but the most fascinating is Nepos Allobroges, elected before departure to serve as mayor of the new town, so to speak. He was already famous, having invented the printing press and built up a fortune printing the news of the day. He was known throughout the land as Entremont’s greatest philanthropist, too, always saying his fortune was worthless if he couldn’t share it. It would have been a surprise coming from anybody else, but I don’t think many jaws dropped when he gave all that up, packed up his family and volunteered for the expedition.

So they packed the Challenger full of people, the barest essentials of their belongings, shovels, axes and other tools, soldiers and their muskets, and the full ship’s crew and set off to the south, along with a pair of smaller cargo ships carrying supplies. The crew were the first to use the newly developed navigational techniques to keep their heading across the open ocean, and they performed spectacularly, all things considered. The stars kept them pointing south, but they did have their rough spots. From all accounts, the settlers and workers, and even the soldiers, were real disoriented when they lost sight of land. This made for a few tense moments as the workers, especially, threatened to take over the ship and find the nearest land they could. Hehe, now we all know that wouldn’t have ended real well, if they could have even gotten through the crew and soldiers to get the wheel, but that didn’t matter to them. It’s understandable, I guess, when you remember that they were where no ordinary man had ever been. They had to weather two great storms, and almost lost the ship in the first one, by Allobroges’ account, the biggest. There were sightings of sea monsters recorded, but we know now those were just undiscovered and immense types of whales. Through it all, they sailed south.

Well, now we all know how it turned out. The Dye Expedition landed on the Antarctic tip of Byzantium and founded the town of New Glanum. Almost immediately, they encountered a German unit on horseback and a unit of Arab Ansar Warriors, which had both been marauding about clearing barbarians from the unsettled area, and were actually happy to see another civilized group in the area. Once the settlers got roofs over their heads, they quickly built a harbor and started producing those dyes from the materials in the forest. The cargo ships unloaded enough supplies to keep this colony going until it became self sufficient, then anchored until they could be loaded with dyes. Those first shipments of dyes were snapped up on the mainland as soon as they hit market. A brutal winter shut down the shipments that first year, and nearly froze the settlers out, but they held on. That turned out to be the worst winter they saw until long after the town was well established, and much better prepared. Captain Ligures became Admiral Ligures when the Challenger returned to the mainland, and is hailed in the history books as the greatest military leader of that 500 year long peace, and only one worth mentioning at that. That town made Celtia one of only two countries actively producing dyes, and the only one with enough to export, which later generations leveraged as part of the grand formula that turned this into the greatest country in the world. Sure, there were some tense moments, like the two warrior brigades the Greeks dropped off in 1405, or the outdated cavalry units the Arabs put ashore in 1600, but neither of those invasions survived to even make it to the city. All in all, those brave souls gave more to their country than any other group in peacetime ever did, and over time, the town developed and branched out into today’s Antarctic Province, with 170,000 people calling it home, and the other four towns of the province calling it their capital.

Now, there’s a lot more to be told, and a lot of books have been written about the individuals and what they went through, but lord, I could start now and would be in my grave before I got halfway through ‘em all. Hang around if you like… I’m about to throw some steaks on the grill, and one more won’t be any bother. I hope you got the story you’re looking for.

vovan · November 6, 2003, 23:16

Hey, mind if I hang around for a steak? I like mine rare, if that won't be too hard.

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Great story, Solomwi. Read it all in one breath, and had trouble pulling myself from the monitor this one time the phone rang. I very much liked the way you told it, too: nice style. I also liked the consistency of the style.

I don't know what else you got up your sleeve, but I sure am looking forward to another one of those. Are you planning to make this into a series of short stories, or was the final sentence just there to keep up the style?

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EDIT: Ooops, I'd rather have a steak than a stake.

ChrisiusMaximus · November 7, 2003, 14:24

Bravo

Solomwi

Solomwi · November 7, 2003, 15:22

Rare just means I take it off with mine.

Thanks, guys.

That expedition, obviously, is ripe with potential stories, limited only by my own creativity. By which I mean, I don't foresee a series of short stories based on this group, but wouldn't rule out a revisiting of it in the future, in the form of a settler's story, or story of New Glanum's first winter, or something much more focused. Also, it's wide open enough that if anyone else decides they'd like to write a "Dye Expedition" story, that's more than okay with me.

Richelieu · November 7, 2003, 18:21

I like your storyteller style! It makes the whole thing "alive".

Solomwi · November 8, 2003, 01:45

I'm glad to see that style going over well. It's something I wasn't real sure about, but seemed to fit the type of story that was being told. I don't think "Barbarossa Incident" would have worked with that style, but looks like this one worked better than I expected with it.

unscratchedfoot · November 8, 2003, 02:14

Is there going to be a battle or something? I felt very empty after the lack of warfare in the Barbarossa story despite endless diplomatic build-up.

vovan · November 8, 2003, 15:07

Yeah, I am still not sure if this is a standalone story or just the first installment for a longer series?

ChrisiusMaximus · November 8, 2003, 19:25

It does not need "a big battle or something". Its a great piece as it stands, how it was intended by Solomwi. Once again

Solomwi · November 9, 2003, 03:01

Lol, I'm sifting through my histories, trying to find a battle that strikes my interest to write about. Just kind of tinkering with some different things right now, but my China invasion from the Germany game, or Arab invasion from an earlier game, are definite possibilities for my next opus. Of course, with my preference for overarching strategic views, I'm afraid a battle story might come out as a transcript of the generals' decision making process, with a blurb at the end saying "oh, yeah, the plan worked as expected." (Warning: Sign #1 that author is taking himself too seriously is use of words like opus).

unscratchedfoot · November 9, 2003, 09:57

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
It does not need "a big battle or something". Its a great piece as it stands, how it was intended by Solomwi. Once again

Hey now! I'm just putting in a request that's all. For me, the meat of the story is the battle while all the diplomacy, dialogue and what not is the bun, lettuce and tomato. The reader comments are mustard.

Chrisius, when you eat a hamburger, I bet you start with the bun first and finish off with the meat.

ChrisiusMaximus · November 9, 2003, 14:47

Scratchy its not that I dont like a good battle, same as you I like a good action story. Some stories are all action some are a mix of action and intrigue, some are comedic (many written by your pen

).

My point is that a story is written as it was meant to be by the writer, and that you dont need a battle to make a story a good story. Some of the best works here never have a single shot fired.

I know you were just posting your point of view, and I respect that,

but I was just supporting Solomwi's efforts and expressing my view.

Thats the first time Ive ever used that stick out tongue smiley

vovan · November 9, 2003, 15:11

Quote:

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Thats the first time Ive ever used that stick out tongue smiley

I suppose the next step is:

Paddy · November 24, 2003, 07:30

Thanks yet again.

Nothing better, sitting around, drinking beer and reading great yarns... cheers