(Blegh... Again, sorry for the delays.)
Filiusenox, if you're still interested, I've got the Mechanic's Guildmaster ready. Though you'll need to win a vote to gain a seat on the Council proper, you'll still have command over the mechanical aspects of the fort. Crossbowmaking is currently under the jurisdiction of the Woodsdwarf's Guild, but you can ask them about that.
There was a crowd in the Noble Quarter. Peasants and guilded workers alike lined the hall of the noble suites, picket signs again in evidence. One would be forgiven for comparing them to the Farmer's Alliance, but the protests took on a much darker issue. Signs were waved, some affixed to the walls, sporting phrases like 'Blood for Blood' and 'No Justice for the Worker'. Various crude dyes had been smeared onto the walls and doors, depicting anything from the Duke ordering a bloodied corpse to be swept away, to the Hammerer dancing around an open grave, to rejected looking dwarves surrounded by dwarves.
Such sudden protests were slowly becoming more common as time wore on, stemming from the death of Mistem Momuztost the Farmer. When word spread that the body was discovered by a member of the Royal Guard, a small body had demanded that the name of the guard be released, but the Nobility refused to release the name, or to say more about what was being done about the matter than that they had started an investigation. Irate, the issue ended in the mob forcing the Duke and Duchess Consort to retreat to their chambers, and the Royal Guard was called to disperse them. However, each time they were broken up, they'd only come back with more enthusiasim and organization. No small number of the mob were members of the Farmer's Alliance, bringing both their experience, and their anger over the death of their fellow Farmer, to bear for the cause.
After several shouts, the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving behind the signs and dye markings of the protest before blending into the observing crowd. A moment later, the Royal Guard arrived on the scene once again. Lacking any visible culprit, however, there was little for them to do but clean up the mess and consult with the Duke and Duchess Consort about the issue...
The Hall was as relaxed and filled with dwarves as ever, with off-duty dwarves trading tales of the day's work, children playing, and the occasional animal resting against it's owner. Today's topics mostly centered around the new masonry project at the brook, and words from the occasional mason on break were highly prized news. The center building that would house the mining shaft had been closed in, and the shaft itself had just been started by the miners. Word had it that there were signs of yet another copper vein within the stone.
The lull was suddenly broken by a commotion from the stair column outside the hall. Curious dwarves soon crowded the halls as the source came into view. Two Royal Guards held either arm of the clearly unhappy Inethbim, who was struggling in vain to pull himself free, doing whatever he could to slow the steady ascent of his captors. A small crowd followed them up, through the shop district and up to the prison blocks, where he was hauled through the doors of the secondary block, a third Royal Guard pressing the crowd back as Inethbim shouted inarticulately. Before long the Royal Guards reemerged, closing and barring the heavy stone doors behind them as the crowd dispersed, whispering to each other quietly about what they had seen. By the end of the day, word had gotten round that the Engraver's Guild had ordered Inethbim reimprisoned, as per the order of the nobility.
One thing that had not quite managed to make the rounds, however, was that a second prisoner had been quietly placed in the secondary blocks. The Royal Guardsman Deler Athelanoz, who had discovered the body of Mistem Momuztost and was widely suspected of at least some part in her death, had been placed in protective custody by the rest of the Royal Guard, as the result of recent movements.
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Topic: Crystalpages, the Council Fort. Because community forts aren't confusing enough. (Read 3877 times)