Thikut resumed work a few days later. Things went slowly at first, especially since Dakost was creating the plans for the fortress, which included an elaborate defence and trading area. A large entrance in the mountain face led down into a small room, containing a trade depot. The depot was a simple agglomeration of scales and counters, a place for horses to rest and a wagon to sit. Items could be temporarily stored and appraised with ease. Dakost postulated that later on their would be a large porticullis seperating the Trade Depot from the outside world. For now, any merchants visiting Kathhiravuz would have to take their chances.
The dwarves did have some resentment towards the idea of bartering with merchants, whom they saw as class oppressors, but it was later agreed that practical necessity outweighed the ideological considerations, particularly during this crucial transitionary period. Beyond the Trade Depot, there was a large corridor, at the end of which lay a small room. This would be the heavy artillery of Dakost's Defence Operation. A large ballista would be placed, it's head turned south to the entrance, poking out through a small opening in the wall. Should vile forces of reaction come stomping through the Soviet, a bolt would be released, spearing would-be trespassers.
However, some questioned whether this would be sufficient alone to ensure the defence of the fortress, and it was deemed a more flexible response would be needed in some situation. The doors at the side of the ballista led deeper into the fortress, and another door behind it led off into two different tunnels, left and right. Each of these tunnels curved sound again, parallel with the initial entrance tunnel. The walls were soon carved with spaces from which bolts and arrows could be fired, and plans were discussed for establishing murderholes in the roof later on. Although the defensive consideration were timely, moreover with one solitary dwarf working overtime to create them, all agreed it was best to place them now rather than later. The forces of reaction and counter-revolution would not rest idle, knowing a new world was being built.
Now that defence was definitively handled, the first All-Kathhiravuz Soviet Congress was called in the newly dug out space. Though populated with a lonely six dwarves, the meeting was a success, with priorities being placed and tasks assigned. It was agreed that the first and most pressing assignment was to create a stable agricultural sector, as food would be the fuel for the fire of the industrialization. First Deputy Comrade Melbel took on the hard task of establishing this new agricultural system, but one dwarf was worth seven in a fortress where every each dwarf worked for the good of all, for the establishment of the world's first dwarfist fortress! Each dwarf reaped the fruits of their collective labour together, and already some, such as Thikut himself, were become titans of labour through their experience and dedication
There was a major point of contention in the first congress. Comrade Melbel and Edem, who had become close friends in the first few weeks of the Kathhiravuz Soviet, argued that farms should first be established on a private, rather than collective basis. Melbel would temporarily take ownership of the farms for now, and when more farmer-comrades came along during the Summer and Autumn, he would divide the land out amoungst them, and they would each farm their own plots, and exchange their plump helmets with the Soviet at a fixed plot. With the incentive of farming one's own plot, production would be higher, and it would help peasant immigrants ease into the dwarfist environment of the Soviet slowly.
By initially establishing a system of capital circulation, where the Soviet would accumulate capital through their interactions with the farmers, and then reinvest the capital in production of farming implements, they could sell surplus produce through trade with the mountainhome, creating large cash reserves which would allow a safe industrialization, albeit a slow, gradual one, they proposed. Dakost and Ral were strongly antagonistic to this way of thinking, Tobul taking a moderately opposed stance.
After long, protracted and unproductive argument, Thikut realised that no compromise could be reached. However, the cooperation of the peasants was important to securing the industrialization and the future of Kathhiravuz, and thus declared that they would try Melbel and Edem's system, and if it was not operating efficiently, it would be discontinued immediately. There was some bad feeling in the Soviet after this, and the two groups mostly kept to themselves, Thikut desperately attempting to mediate.
The farming soon went underway. In the rich, inner soil deposits of the mountain, a great plot was established for the purpose of around-the-year production of Plump Helmets, the Soviet's staple crop. They still had some food reserves from the journey, and the production of further supplies to bolster the reserves pleased the dwarves enough to alleviate tensions. Barrels, bags and seeds were brought forth from the outside, and stored safely throughout stockpiles within the farming complex. Things went slowly at first, but soon the helmets were being harvested at an acceptable, if not desirable level.
It was time now to put their food and material to good use, and began the establishment of an industrial base within the Soviet for future growth. The struggle for industrialization would be made more difficult with no mason, but they would carry on with zeal, regardless of the obstacle. Thikut's pick struck the earth once more, singing a revolutionary song.
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Topic: The Kathhiravuz Soviet (Read 905 times)