... I hope nobody minds if I write discussions between their characters and Vlad? Or just between characters? I'll try to not state anything of actual importance.
So. The fortress under civilian rule has been more... functional than I might otherwise have suspected.
I call it worrying. The mayor is clearly under someone's thumb. Or perhaps some thing.
Everythingk is progressingk smoothly. Ve continue to fight off sieges, but military resources are no longer required to deal vith civilian problems. The fortress and the colony are now two different thingks, yes?
There's still the matter of the beast. Why have you done nothing?
Vhat do you mean, the beast?
Another beast by the adamantine. We haven't received orders to engage it.
... no one told me. Vhy is this.
We only just heard about it from Thane. She just got back from pacifying the troglodyte population. She also wanted to see you, I presume.
... so if I haven't heard about it, then, it vasn't detected by the military. Vhich means the cavern watch has stopped reporting to me.
The civilian watches have always reported directly to the mayor. The mayor, until recently, has passed that on to the militia commander.
Vell, of course. The mayor is a soldier. The civilian networks are one of our resources. Are you sayingk the mayor is vithholdingk information from me?
That, or there's some organized group watching the caverns that doesn't report to the mayor. Seeing as Thane found out, they can't keep their mouths shut about what they find.
But who is organized enough to pull off something like that?
That we know of? The Miner's Guild or the medical clerics are the only ones who spring to mind, and I can't imagine the latter endangering the fortress. Besides, they don't go near the caverns with any frequency. So it's likely the miners, seeing as they're still operating down by the adamantine. On the other hand... Tarmid, I think it's time we told the good baron.
Tell me vhat?
There have been many cases of... groups interested in adamantine, and the curse it's associated with. Cults that operate in secret, beyond the law or civil society. Worshippers of demons, perhaps like the beasts that seem to be attracted here like flies to honey.
Cults that have, in the past, been associated with Bloodkin infiltration. I trust you see where we're going with this?
... damn. Ve have to go on a vitchhunt now, don't ve? I don't have time for that. I have a var vith the humans to plan. Turn the populace against us, and ve're likely to get strung up for that diplomat's... purgingk.
I think the knights are better suited to rooting out problems like this. Don't worry - we're capable of discretion. The fact that you don't hear about that only proves how well it works.
... I'll leave it to you then, yes? Best I don't get involved if this all goes bollocks up. I saw vhat happens vhen a mob forms at Savagewinds. In the meantime, ve should dispatch Dantheman and the archers to take care of the beast. Ask the masons and the miners to prepare some vay to engage the beast vithout baiting it toward our entrance. Keepingk some recruits - not people ve can't afford to loose in accident - on standby is also a good idea. Ve'll tip our hand, yes, but ve can't risk a beast unchecked.
Anything else?
Of course. Ve'll be vanting more interior gates and a central command room so that ve can seal off upper and lower caverns and the surface if ve loose either. Ve need to explore that... anomaly in the lower caverns discretely, and vithout further risks, before one of those thingks decides to see if beingk dead allows it to hold its breath longk enough to assault our fortress from below. Ve need to separate mixed weapon troops from hammerdwarves, appoint a champion vith the experience required to be actually useful trainingk troops, rearm the milita vith steel veapons and armor as much as possible before the humans show up, so on. But ve can't do everythingk at once, so I'll get Thane and the others on that. The two of you do vhat you have to do, and pass on the message to someone that I need that beast taken care of. I von't be the one to loose this fortress, yes?
Very well. This concludes our meeting. Armok preserve us.
Armok preserve us all. I'll see you at prayers.
Author
Topic: Demongate: Wrapping up the Loose Ends. (Read 697101 times)