Prologue
Breadbowl is a place born of the incestuous coupling of the King's Mandate for great lavish meals and his hatred for anything under-grown. No succulent plump helmet, no sweet pods, no pig tails, no cave wheat, no quarry bushes. And good luck eating dimple cups. Just none of it.
I am Sanctume and volunteered to join Breadbowl, two seasons past, and was immediately recruited into the Shafts of Fortifying to help secure the town, now barony.
I was the only dabbling macedwarf in the town at the time. So there I was one fine spring evening drinking in the Fishers Guild. Did I mention that this town lacked below earth dwellings? They made these wooden caves above the ground, and put rooms! It was a miserable two season of me painting me lodgings with green hues of my vomit...
As I was saying, the drink were fine that spring for I am no longer affected by the forest infested air and sunlight. There I was drinking some booze from fruits with the smith Dodok Ostdatan. He all of a sudden had a mule-eyed look staring at nothing, then screamed of needing this, needing that, and off he ran towards the forges. I was more concerned that the he left a booze filled mug, but I am friendly terms with him, so drank for both of us.
Dodok spent many days and nights in his forge, and so I drank for both of us each night for a week. He forges an incredible silver mace, and named it Alaknikot, "The Ace Actions." I told him I drank for both of us in his absences and offered him my first drink for his fine craftsmanship.
He in turn was thankful and gave me the mace. It's a nice silver mace, feels light to wield. So light that I took off my helm and used the mace to scratch an itch behind my neck--ahh it's a good mace, perfect for that itch. We drank the night away and that's how I am the wielder of Alaknikot.
Chapter 1 (2 years later, late winter)
The duke of Breadbowl, Gwolfski Daggerdangles summoned me to his noble office. It took me some time to find it that it seems I spent the entire winter getting there. You see, there was this flood some time ago where legend says a dwarven baby forever swims and guards the well and surrounds the nobles' dwellings under the indoor lake that is three urists deep!
But that's just fancy talk. It was more a sandy tunnel then some wooden stairs. But that is deceiving from the outside, err rather, outside of the underneath. The duke's living arrangement is among the smooth stone layers of Breadbowl.
"Ahem," coughed the duke.
My seductive touches and caresses on the exceptional engraving upon smoothed natural stones depicting goblins in a submissive gestures was interrupted to take note of the present.
"Hullo duke, ye have a nice room," I said thinking quickly to greet with compliments.
"I know right. Perks of nobility. You may have it someday if you want," he offered.
"No I don't want the nobility. A room down here would be nice. Not this one, it's full of water beyond the walls," I noted.
"Yes, I know," the duke says in a conspiratorial tone, "it's like a drowning chamber. All it needs is a lever, but I won't allow that."
"So, why the summons," I asked.
"The King was pleased about the last shipment of lavish meals, but also upset at the lack of booze. So, I decided that you, Sanctume, shall oversee in correcting this discrepancy. I shall give you a year to make it happen."
"But I don't do overseeing unless I swing my mace at the problem," I protested.
"You like booze don't ya? Even those made from fruits, yes," he asked.
"Yes of course," I quickly responded.
"Good answer! Now off you go, Commander Taupe will see to it that you get to swing your mace on any problem on the surface. One year, you got."
Chapter 2 (1st of Granite, 240, Early Spring)
A dwarf holding his helm climbs up the roof of the hall. He uses a gleaming silver mace to scratch an itch behind his neck, and uses the mace to point to several locations of an almost walled circular moat of Breadbowl.
The southwest wall construction should start this spring immediately.
The Fisher Guild want grates on the some part of the wall to the south.
Recall the hunters inside to the new Outside In-wall burrow. This spring stink of goblins. I don't like it.
A mandate that allows clear glass ceiling is reason to move the farm plots below. So that roof there above the wood furnace can house two glass furnace, a kiln, and an ashery to make clear glass. I need 420 clear glass before the year's end.
The mechanic's shop and the jeweler's shop are all submerged outside the noble's quarters. Either we task the Miner's Guild to drain all the water off, but we all know that water deaths is the leading cause of death here in Breadbowl. It all started in the well, and the baby... but that's another story.
Just dig new rooms down where the Mason's Guild have established. There's plenty of room to dig, and those magnetite will be useful sooner or later. So I want those dug instead and move the mechanics and gem labors down below.
There are four dozen kids running around. I want them secured below with the Giant Hamster to entertain them.
And all these animals get in the way also so task the carpenter to make several cages for lockup.
Anything else? No. Good, I'm off to spar.