Swiney

"Me? Just the best foreman this bloody Colony has ever seen."

Swiney introduces himself to the Hero as the foreman in charge of keeping the miners from getting killed by rockfalls, since they're too drunk or daft to mine the right spots. Asked how much ore has been mined so far, he stays cagey, saying only that the mages are getting close and inviting the Hero to check the ore pile in the camp himself.

When the Hero says he wants to become a digger, Swiney warns it's no honor, just three bowls of rice a day plus fifty nuggets a moon, done not for riches but so the mages one day have enough ore to spring them all out of there. If the Hero declines, Swiney still hands over protective clothing, explaining that bare feet under a rockfall will leave him limping for months or even years, and tells him to find a pickaxe himself. If the Hero agrees instead, Swiney is openly approving, saying "Color me impressed" before handing over pants and boots and wishing him luck finding a pickaxe.