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This article is about the Old Camp (Faction). For the building, please see Castle of the Valley of Mines
300px-Oldcamp

Aerial view of the Old Camp.

The Old Camp is the oldest and by far the richest camp [1] established by the convicts in the Valley of Mines. It is centered around an old castle and is the only one that has an established trade deal with the outside world and King's forces. The main source of income of the Old Camp is exploitation of the Old Mine. This explains the social structure of the Old Camp.

Overview[]

The Old Camp is the biggest camp[2] of the three under the Barrier. The castes here are very distinct and passing to a higher one is very difficult and in many instances even impossible.

There are two distinct areas: the Outer Ring and the Castle, both of which ruled by different sets of rules and customs.

Outer Ring[]

The Outer Ring is a name for the area located between the outer wooden palisade and the castle's walls. It is also the most densely populated place in the colony.

Here, the Diggers and Shadows live in wooden huts of their own construction. The huts occupy every available space and were built hastily and badly constructed, as those abandoned decayed rapidly, falling apart in a matter of weeksCitation needed. The huts belonging to prominent Shadows are kept in a better shape and are sturdier.

Three main locations of the Outer Ring are the Marketplace, where Fisk and Dexter trade their wares to a wide array of clients, including Guards. Another place is the Arena, ran by Scatty, where gladiators from all camps[3] and occasionally other Old Camp guards clash in mortal combatCitation needed to the amusement of the spectators.

The Castle[]

See articles: Castle of the Valley of Mines, Fortifications of the Valley of Mines

An old royalCitation needed castle constructed in the Valley of Mines of Khorinis formed the core of the Old Camp. Following the revolt of convicts, it is under Gomez's control.

The castle was built on a hill in the center of the valley, with buildings and walls surrounding the center courtyard. The buildings, clockwise from the main gate, are as follows:

The guards' barracks, interconnected to the dungeons underground, which are abandoned and laid in disuse following the revolt.

The next building is the smith's shop, run by Stone and Skip, with an adjacent weapons storage, where Guard's weapons and armors are forged and maintained.

Opposite the warehouse the Temple of Innos is located, inscribed on the inside with ancient writings and magical symbols. Here, the Fire Mages of the Old Camp live, experiment and perford their rituals. They are Corristo, Torrez, teacher and merchant, Damarok working as an alchemist, Drago and Rodriguez.

The main building, opposite the gate and next to the Temple is the Ore Barons' house, where Gomez, Raven, Bartholo, Arto and Scar rule over the Old Camp and control the trade with the outer world. The house is outfitted with a large kitchen, an armory, two throne rooms, conference room and four bedrooms. The house is also connected to the tower, where all the goods of the Ore Barons are kept, along with the old treasury of the castle.

One of the Castle's towers collapsed before the arrival of the Hero in the Colony. Rumour has it that Diego is involved,[4] being one of the reasons he cannot be around the Fire Mages anymore.

History[]

OldCampMap

A map of the Old Camp, possibly made by Graham.

The Old Camp was the first camp established in the Valley of Mines by the King's forces in order to mine magic oreCitation needed. Convicts are kept in the dungeons below the castle and treated little better than slaves.

When the Barrier was erected and malfunctioned, the crew of the castle was bewildered by the fact. The convicts used the situation to their advantage, killing the guards and taking control of the castle, under the lead of Gomez.

The King, facing the prospect of losing a source of magic ore, decided to strike a deal with the self-proclaimed Ore Barons, and in return for various goods, he'd receive shipments of magic ore from the colony. This status quo was maintained throughout the years, and the Old Camp grew in prominence and power within the colony's microcosm, as they are the only one with a direct trade link established with the outside.

However, this would abruptly come to an end with the collapse of the Old Mine, when diggers tapped into an underground river, which caused the entire mine to collapse and cave-in. Fearing loss of influence, Gomez immediately ordered an invasion of New Camp's Free Mine. The Fire Mages opposed this decision and forebode Gomez from following this plan, demanding pertractations and negotiations with other camps, and this proved to be their demise - in their stubborn arrogance, they didn't foresee that Gomez would not take such an attitude lightly and ordered them to be executed for treason. All were killed.,[5] with the exception of Milten.

The plan fails, and the camp spirals down into near anarchy, barely contained by the guardsmen. Shortly after, the Barrier falls and much of the camp's crew flees the Valley, eventually organizing into a bandit force[6] operating from Jharkendar.

The Old Camp disbanded at the very moment the Barrier fell.

The Castle of the Valley of Mines was later used by the Paladins during the Orcish Invasion of Khronis. Most of the outer circle was destroyed by repeated attacks of the Dragons.

Hierarchy[]

The Diggers[]

See article: Diggers in the Colony

They are the lowest caste in the Old Camp, forming the backbone of its workforce. The diggers are working in the Old Mine, mining magic ore to exchange with the King. However, they are also the least respected group, abused by the Guardsmen regularly[7] and disregarded by most of the Old Camp.

Shadows[]

See article:Shadows

These are the members of the Old Camp that are situated higher than the Diggers, but lower than Guards. Shadows are thieves, assassins, scouts, traders and leaders, used by Gomez for special tasksCitation needed. Unlike Guards, they are used only as a last resort when it came to fighting and most of them usually prefer to run away from dangers. They are led by Diego, and prominent figures among them include Dexter the sly merchant, Fisk the trader, Fingers the master thief, Cavalorn the hunter, Scatty the arena master, Sly, and Whistler.

Guards[]

See article: Guards

They are the main fighting force of the camp - wearing armour salvaged from royal guards killed in the revolt, equipped with top notch weapons and crossbows, these highly trained warriors are sworn protectors of the Old Camp and Gomez. Being so powerful, Gomez uses them as invasion force against the Free Mine and the guards themselves often abused lower ranking members of the camp. Important guards include Bullit, Scorpio, Jackal, Bloodwyn or Cutter. All are led by Thorus.

Fire Mages[]

See articles: Cult of Innos, Mages of the Colony

They are members of the Circle of Fire who assist Gomez, helping him with advice and their magic abilities. They were initially led by Xardas, but when he started experimenting with necromancy and black magic, the rest of the mages and Gomez became increasingly disturbed by his experiments, Xardas left the camp to avoid an escalation of hostilities.[8] The Fire Mages are led by the less skilled Corristo. They are the spell-casters of the camp, but even that role doesn't protect them from being assassinated by the Guardsmen when they try to forbid Gomez from invading the Free Mine. Members of the Circle of Fire affiliated with the Old Camp include Corristo, Rodriguez, Torrez, Drago and Milten.

Ore Barons[]

These are the men who rule the Old Camp and control all trade with the exterior of the colony.[9] They are the ones that initiated the revolt and established the trade deal with the King. The most powerful one is Gomez, followed by his aide Raven. They wear the most sophisticated armors available to the Old Camp members, designs of which are used by the King and his court.

References[]

  1. Diego, Gothic 1, when he meets the hero
  2. Imbidem
  3. Scatty, Gothic 1, Chapter 1, first conversations
  4. The Gothic Comic
  5. Milten, Gothic 1, Chapter 3
  6. First Bandit met by the Hero, Gothic 2
  7. Dusty, Gothic 1, Chapter 1
  8. Milten, Gothic 1, Chapter 1
  9. Diego, Gothic 1, Chapter 1
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