"Who's running the fortress this year?" Zefon asked. The other dwarves looked at each other. None of them put their hands up. Dawnthunder had a long history of mismanagement, contradictory orders, and general !!Fun!!. No one wanted to be the latest overseer.
"What about that Temptedwheel kid?" Shorast asked. "She recently came of age, right? Couldn't do a worse job than some of the overseers we've had... What's she going by these days?"
"Nezclaw," Methyl supplied. Queen Mosus nodded.
"Then let it be done."
Nezclaw looked up as the senior dwarves approached.
"Congratulations, kid, you're the overseer this year," Methyl announced as he handed her an extremely battered folder.
"M-me??" she asked, licking her lips nervously. "But I don't know how to run a fortress!"
"Consider it a rite of passage, then," Methyl said, not unkindly. "You grew up here after all, you probably have a good idea of how things run,"
"I guess..." Nezclaw said.
"Besides, you'll have us to help." Zefon promised. Nezclaw nodded.
"Okay."
"Why do we have so many animals?" Nezclaw asked as she surveyed the pasture. Mosus shrugged.
"I'm not entirely sure..."
"Uh, shouldn't we butcher some of them? Maybe get some variety in our meals? And uh, oh, we should have some hammerdwarves nearby..."
"I shall order it done." Mosus promised. "Though I am still waiting on that large gem I requested."
"Thank you, my queen..." Nezclaw murmured. "I shall get right on it."
"Put an animal stockpile there... and a food stockpile there, and there..."
"Ma'am, we have a siege approaching!" Solitarian alerted her.
"What?? It's only the second of Granite!" she exclaimed, panicked.
"It's okay, don't worry. The gates are up, and we have the traphalls, remember? They just need to be opened to the outside."
"Right.. right... uh.. someone get the first two access bridges hooked up to the individual levers, and then breach the surface."