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escaped.
When things had returned somewhat to normal following the
war, limited trade was resumed, but the Ulgos have retained their
secretive ways.
The current Gorim of the
Ulgos appears to be extremely ancient,
though the dimness of the light in their caverns makes such fine
distinctions difficult. The mode by which the Ulgos choose their
Gorim or how far back into the dim reaches of the past the line
extends are questions, of course, which are likely never to be
answered.
Ulgoland
COINAGE
Ulgos do not use coins, but rather barter for items both useful and
ornamental. Ulgo jewelry is so exquisite and so finely wrought that
it is nearly priceless in the west. They will also trade in raw gold and
silver and in cut and uncut gems.
COSTUME
Standard garments - linen pajama-like affair. Hooded cloaks of the
coarse cloth. All dyed quite dark.
Linen - cloth (wild flax gathered near cave mouths).
A coarse cloth woven from the fiber of a tree bark similarly gathered.
Soft leather - deer-hide taken by nocturnal Ulgo hunters.
Personages wear robes - quite heavy - one solid piece. White.
Armor - overlapping, diamond-shaped steel scales sewn to leather.
Weapon - the knife - designed and perfected by Ulgo craftsmen -'
quite ornamental with lots of hooks and saw edges. Long ice-pick.
Short-handled picks with needle' points, etc. Women wear soft robes.
Hair is elaborately plaited. Jeweled head-bands.
COMMERCE
Strictly barter in useful goods or in services. Ulgos do have fields,
planted and harvested at night. Planted at random so as to be
undetectable. They also hunt meat - meat is a rarity in the Ulgo diet. Lots
of root vegetables, grains and nuts.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Ulgo society is a theocracy. The Gorim is a Moses figure, a lawgiver
and a judge. People divided into tribes. Elders of the tribes advise
the Gorim. Scholars study the writings of the original Gorim - a very
Jewish society in that respect.
Ordinary people live in chambers cut out of the stone al the
various galleries in the vast limestone caves.
Note: The caves of the Ulgos are naturally heated by geotherrnal
forces. Cooking is with small coal fires. Smoke and fumes are carried