Blue Diamonds (Book One of The Blue Diamonds Saga) by R.E. Murphy Page A

supplies in support. They did not agree with the move, but they were still dwarves and would be welcomed back into Ol’ Brook once they realized their poor decision. Of course they would not retrieve their pods, their cave like underground homes, and would have to restart their station in the community as lower class citizens. This would never happen. Jevon would rather live above level with the humans, whom he generally blamed for the need to leave.
    "If a dwarf built such an unorganized city he'd die of shame," he often said.
    While there was probably some truth to the words, it wasn't fair to place all the blame on humans. Although humans started the colony that grew to become Somerlund over five hundred years ago, those founders could not have imagined it evolving into the metropolis it is today.
    The original motivation for Somerlund's settlement was survivalist in nature. They relished in the fertile soil and the defensive position of the location. To the west was the ocean. To the north and south, a mountain range rose from the ocean and stretched east. Although the range to the north eventually curved southward, forming a crescent wall only breaking briefly in the northeast corner where an acrid, boiling sea awaits. Because of these barriers, Somerlund was safely tucked into a valley, with the only easy access being a road from the southeast, where both northern and southern ranges part to open plains.
    Today, citizens rarely gave thought to the safe geography of the city. Instead of natural barriers, they appreciated the beautiful sweeping mountain views. The ocean didn't provide an easily defensible border, but instead beautiful beaches to enjoy.
    One thing the founders quickly learned was that all this farming, fishing, and building would require a lot of hard work. Luckily this revelation fell right along with a human’s natural talent. They couldn't build like dwarves, or age-wizened, magical creatures like the elves, but they possessed the most powerful skill of them all. From a young age humans master the ability to exploit their environment, living creatures included. That talent was how the other races found their way to Somerlund, primarily through jobs and promises. There was no gold to be shared at the time, but word was sent to all the closest towns that if you came to perform a job, you were promised a place to live. It wasn't long before traveling laborers were pouring into the valley in droves.
    Somerlund offered these skilled travelers secure walls to live behind freely, and in return all they had to do was build those walls. In those days, this type of contracted work was unheard of, and quite a tasty ticket. If only those hard workers could foresee what type of welcome awaited them once work was complete, then they might not have been so hasty to help the younger race. Luckily for the founding humans the world did not yet understand greed. It wasn't until sometime later that the humans would eventually educate the world on that new emotion.
    These immigrant races, or the newer residents of the valley, could live in the city for as long as it took to complete their jobs, but with the rapid development the jobs never ended. Workers started families or brought in their families from abroad, creating the demand for stores, schools, and all sorts of business. This of course added more jobs, and so the wheel of progress began to spin. It was only a matter of time before the city grew to its presently bloated size.
    Today, elf, gnome, dwarf, barbarian, and human alike share residence at Somerlund, each bringing their unique customs and culture. Of course, in such a melting pot of culture there will always be squabbles. The most heated of these squabbles were about how the throne can only be occupied by a human ass. Countless hours have gone into this debate, many times nearly ending in a riot, but in the end remaining united created security, and that always trumped those disputes.
    Jevon Hammerheart