Kallkin Gulnackle

Kallkin Kaarlnock Charimble Bronzuran Gulnackle, Spider

The small mining settlement of Mules’ Trail is where Kallkin calls home. There are several Dwarven residents, but the vast majority of the inhabitants of Mules’ Trail are Gnomes, but even so, Kal’s family tend to stand out a little. Whereas nearly all Gnomes have blue eyes and fair hair, Kal and the paternal side of his family have deep green eyes and hair that is a distinct reddy-brown colour that many have commented upon as being reminiscent of bronze.

Mules’ Trail lies on the Eastern slopes of the Spina Armagada mountain range and Kal was quite comfortable with heights and precarious precipices from a young age. He learnt to scale his rocky surroundings with ease and confidence. He also learned the skills required to step into the main and pretty much only vocation available in town. Kal proved to be equally surefooted down the mines; however he was never particularly keen on the hard labour that was actual mining, though he did his share when required. Kal was much more interested in the logistics of the mines. As the workers were predominantly Gnomish, the mines were usually quite efficient. Various simple and complex contraptions and systems had been developed over the years to allow practical things such as getting the workers in and the ore out to occur smoothly and effectively. This is largely where Kal’s interest lay. He enjoyed operating the winches and pulleys. He learnt their intricate detail allowing him to repair, build, and dismantle such devices relatively easily. He also developed and put into service various safety rigs and systems, and being one of the more accomplished climbers he would often be called upon to clamber down a mine shaft following the rare occurrence of a mechanical failure. He could then set up harnesses and riggings to move rubble and debris or to haul otherwise stranded miners back up to the surface.

As time moved on mines dried up and new veins of ore were discovered. Kal often found himself on these exploratory operations. His natural agility and training allowed him to easily navigate unworked tunnels and where necessary he could shore up unstable areas for others to follow. It was a dangerous living for all involved in the mining industry. The inherent dangers of cave-ins, gas pockets, and the ever feared ‘breakthroughs’ were bad enough, but the mountains were home to numerous tribes of kobolds. Once the town had been properly and securely settled it was very rarely disturbed by kobolds, but the outlying mines were a different story. The sneaky creatures did not often directly attack miners, although such occurrences were not unheard of, they tended to sabotage machinery, compromise the integrity of mine shafts, and dig their own tunnels and pits, that criss-crossed and dotted the gnomish mines making them confusing and unsafe to navigate. Some of the cleverer kobolds employed various rudimentary traps for hapless miners to trigger. After much hard won experience Kal was able to indentify tell-tale signs of such mischief and deal with them as best he could...

... It has been several months since Kal’s last expedition underground and with compelling reasons not to venture into the mines anytime soon he has taken to accompanying merchant caravans travelling East to East Lexton. Kal’s ‘bronze’ hair is broken by a single streak of dull green, which in itself is unusual, but is also matched by several discoloured veins across his body, most notably on the underside of his forearms, the backs of his hands, and a rather unfortunate one tracing down his forehead. These veins appear to be of a similar green hue and grow more prominent if Kal is angry, stressed, or otherwise has got his blood pumping. While Kal’s appearance would not provoke too much of a reaction from the average resident of Mule’s Trail, sadly the same cannot be said of the wider world and after his first few visits to East Lexton Kal has taken to almost permanently wearing a hat in an attempt to cover his forehead.

FOUNDING OF THE TOWN OF MULES’ TRAIL:
A Gnome and Dwarven prospecting duo made camp in the region one evening; however their mules broke free during the night. The animals had gone off in search of water, but they also dragged a chain along behind them allowing the prospecting pair to track them fairly easily the following morning. As they walked, they noticed the gleam of metal where the chain had scraped away the overlying dirt. Investigating, they discovered that it was in fact silver. The pair worked the area thoroughly, staked out suitable sites, and panned the nearby mountain stream they had tracked the mules to. It soon became clear they had struck a significant find. It was not long before they were joined by the Gnome’s clan and several mine shafts were sunk. The town very quickly sprung up between the original mineshafts and the stream, but as it grew more shafts were sunk and the old ones expanded. In time the silver vein proved to be larger than all expectations, and a substantial copper vein was also quickly encountered by the enthusiastic miners.

The miners were largely focusing their efforts on mining and processing the silver, so initial processing of copper was slow and extracting it resulted in plenty of, what was originally considered, waste-product. Certain enterprising individuals eventually found various uses for the left over mineral waste. None of them were more successfully utilised than the Turquoise deposits, which were snapped up by a skilled Gnomish jeweller who used the excellent quality turquoise to make beautiful jewellery, which in turn made him rich and the town renowned for the strikingly blue stone with the very rich red-brown ‘spiderwebbing’ which was soon known as Mules’ Trail Blue, or Mules’ Trail Turquoise, and highly sought after.

WHAT'S IN A NAME:
Cause if that Halfling Barbarian get's to have a name origin, why wouldn't the gnome want to jump on that band-wagon!?

Name (Given by): ...

Kallkin (Clan Elder): Kal was given this name as a youth soon after he first began working within the mines. Even then his abilities were praised. One of the clan elders said that his safety improvements should be seen as guidance as while Kal provided a quite literal safety net, it should be seen as a reminder to the miners to take heed in this dangerous profession. The elder compared the young gnome to the religious book he held dear. As the Kalamullah is a guide to a fulfilled life, so too was Kal’s example a guide to safe mining. Although Kal did not revere the faith as the elder did, he was no less honoured and soon adopted the ‘Kin of Kalamullah’ as his known name.

Kaarlnock (Father): Old sailing term ‘nock’ being the tip of the triangular sail on a Boom rigged sailing ship. Where a many ‘greats’ ago grandfather made his living out at sea in a make-shift crow’s-nest-harness at the top of such a sail.

Charimble (Mother): The name of a fairly recent relative, who had a particularly striking snub-nose. Kal’s squashed newborn features apparently resembled the relative enough to warrant using his name. Charim was actually an accomplished coppersmith. A trade the family initially hoped Kal might enter too.

Bronzuran (^paternalGrandfather): To none-relatives Kal’s family tell a tale of love and friendship between a Bronze Dragon and an ancient relative. They shy away from the less wholesome story they ‘know’ to be true, reserving that for family. The name meaning ‘Keeper of Bronze’ has undertones that lend it to both accounts.

Gulnackle (Family Name): A name derived from another seafaring ancestor on his father’s side; this one believed to be somewhat of a genius when it came to latching ropes and sails, apparently invented many knots and methods of making the life of a sailor safer and easier. ‘Gully has the knack for the tackle’ is the phrase this name is said to be reduced from.

Spider (Miners): Nickname given to Kal by his miner colleagues due to his aptitude for climbing. His safety rigs and harnesses became affectionately known as ‘webbing’ or ‘Spider’s webs’. A number of miners owe their lives to having been ‘caught in a spider’s web’.

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