Mystery of the Ex-Beach

The Frontier had been discovered very recently but already the typical problems of civilization could be observed. The settlers arrived to a pristine continent, untouched by crafting beings and majestic in its natural beauty. But as settlement proceeded, the resources of the land were inevitably extracted and put to use.

Most settlers made sure to gather materials in a responsible way, without defacing the natural landscape. But some cared little for such things. One day Lechnio, the leading proprietor of Mount Lustigknopp, returned after a journey and found that the beach just below his mountain home was gone, replaced by a gaping hole. Someone had strip mined all the sand without making any effort to tidy things up or make the place look even remotely pleasant.

What could be the motive behind such a dastardly act? No one knew. But there were rumors of a nearby proprietor experimenting with explosives and one of the settlers suggested that there might be a connection.

Lechnio was saddened but soon began to repair his beloved coast. He built a new harbor on part of the ruined beach and planted a new forest around it. He would have preferred the golden dunes of old. But with marauders running loose and destroying landscapes, was it safe to restore the beach? Could it not very easily be ruined again by the same culprit?

The contrast was stark when Minarchu determined to build a town out of sandstone. He first found a piece of desert far away from any settlements, so that his extraction effort would not offend the eyes of his fellow settlers. Afterwards, he set in motion a great effort to transform the former desert to a savannah grassland.

Interestingly, Lechnio quickly volunteered to help Minarchu restore the landscape. Perhaps the destruction of Lustigknopp Beach had inspired in him a passion for protecting all parts of the landscapes, not only his own.