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[Radipon]

Private Letter from Eniteris to Rapidon, Leader of the United Soapmaking Advocates

Dear Leader,

I would like to apologize for my outburst last year during the election. I am sorry for splintering our faction so, but we must adopt a different strategy if we are to win the hearts and minds of the people. This division is unbecoming of our party, and I will support you in the upcoming election if you run your campaign with passion. Alternatively, if you wish, I may write your speeches, or run in your stead if that is preferable.

And we must win. Especially now. The death of the Maggot was a tragedy, but now with the passing of Zalthor I believe more sinister machinations are afoot. They've killed off all the members of the Communal Party, and we must be wary lest our party falls to the same fate. Keep your eyes and ears to the walls. There are plans in motion, I am sure of it.

With all this focus on stone blocks, I fear that opportunities are going to waste. These constant attacks by wildlife can be easily converted to tallow to help clean the world. We are uniquely positioned to take charge and ramp up soap production. Perhaps we could ally with one of the other parties and complete their constructions with soap.

We must take a decisive step. The longer we wait, the more we get crushed under the plans of others. We must step out from under the wheels of others and drive our own plans forward.

May Armok guide us,

Eniteris

I am nominating Eniterus to run for the position of overseer, that I may better dedicate my energies toward the great craft. He has demonstrated the spark this fort needs to bring low the filth of animals and trees that threaten us daily from above and below, and construct a cleaner future.

[Travis Bickle]

Nephilim glances to Eniteris and to Quantum Drop and back again a few times. Finally he stands up.

"As a representative of all dwarves in this fortress loyal to the true queen of the dwarves, I have confidence that either of the candidates would be fit to lead Goldsilver in the coming year. Thus, my party shall refrain from endorsing any particular candidate. Naturally, it is my hope that whoever becomes overseer will continue to build our fortress into a safe and secure home for all patriotic dwarves, free and independent from all underhanded plots from abroad. Thus, I merely ask that all here vote with the best interests of the fortress in mind."
Eniteris and Quantum Drop will both appear on the ballot, which I'll prepare and send out later today. If anyone who has yet to post wishes to make any last minute declarations of candidacy, now is the time to do it.

[Eniteris]

I am nominating Eniterus to run for the position of overseer, that I may better dedicate my energies toward the great craft. He has demonstrated the spark this fort needs to bring low the filth of animals and trees that threaten us daily from above and below, and construct a cleaner future.

Eniteris stands and bows in the direction of Radipon.

"I thank you for granting me this opportunity. I shall not let it go to waste."

They then turn to the crowd.

"We are not so different. We are all dwarves, who've come together in this hall of rock that we've carved with our own hands. And although our desires may differ in the particulars, we all want the same things. We want safety. We want security. We want to be able to practice our crafts in peace. For ourselves and our children.

Because the world is a terrifying place. Goblins, elves and the undead stalk the lands, and even if we defend ourselves, and make ourselves safe, what then? We can build walls and seal ourselves in, but what then? What of our children's children, who must cower in corners in fear of the outside world?

Have no doubt about it, this world is ours. And if the world is full of monsters, do we cower in the night? Or do we head out to slay these demons, and make the world safe for us all, safe for our children? We can make the entire world a safer place, and we must do it for the sake of our future.

But there must be compromises. We do not have access to wood on the surface, but it is essential for steel, for glass, for soap, and so we must delve into the caverns for this vital resource.

But we will persevere! We will build our shining ivory beacon upon the hill that will strike terror in the hearts of the damned! We will purge the world from all that is unclean! We will make this world safe for our future!

VOTE SOAP!"

[Maximum Spin]

"I respect the wisdom of your words", Maximum Spin begins after Eniteris' finish, "but the truth is that we are not ready. What concrete actions would you take now to get us there?

Actually, this gives me an idea. Let's have a debate between our candidates. I'll moderate. Quantum Drop, Eniteris, your first question: If elected overseer, what will be your first act to expand our industry, starting at the position we are in now? As you know, we have plenty of [in a contemptuous tone] wood stocked away from the human caravans, but precious little ore and little prospect of finding more. We also have an abundance of clay and a small stock of sand from the humans. Finally, of course, we have a modest farming area, recently expanded. Where will you take us from here?"

[Travis Bickle]

Actually, this gives me an idea. Let's have a debate between our candidates.

Fine by me. lol

[Maximum Spin]

Actually, this gives me an idea. Let's have a debate between our candidates.

Fine by me. lol

That was IC
Do I need to revive the old-fashioned convention of putting an opening quote on every new paragraph, even if the old one never closed?

[Travis Bickle]

Actually, this gives me an idea. Let's have a debate between our candidates.

Fine by me. lol

That was IC
Do I need to revive the old-fashioned convention of putting an opening quote on every new paragraph, even if the old one never closed?

Maybe you do, or maybe I just need to get better at reading.

Anyways, I'll be sending out the ballot now.

[Quantum Drop]

"My first act in the way of expanding industry would be as follows: begin production of charcoal, using our ample wood supplies. While this is occurring, an alternative source of ore must be located: relying purely on the caravans is out of the question. Though I would have to order explorative mining to be certain - and I admit, it is a far-fetched hope, - it is possible that the hillsides or layers outside the caverns still hold some ore that we may yet make use of.

"In the event that there is no such ore to be found, however, the caravans may be our only option for ore - the caverns are, as I am certain you will agree with - too dangerous for mining in their present state. To this end, I would order our less skilled craftsdwarves to mass-produce items for trade - particularly clay ones, to take advantage of the current abundance. Once these dwarves have become capable of consistently crafting high-quality items, they may then move on to more valuable materials; when the caravans come, we may then purchase and melt down any metal objects and ores that they carry to fuel our metal industry.

"Let us hope that this goes according to plan. (Muttered) Last thing any of us need is to get crushed because some idiot thought soap was a good way to hold a fort up... "

[Eniteris]

"My first act in the way of expanding industry would be as follows: begin production of charcoal, using our ample wood supplies. While this is occurring, an alternative source of ore must be located: relying purely on the caravans is out of the question. Though I would have to order explorative mining to be certain - and I admit, it is a far-fetched hope, - it is possible that the hillsides or layers outside the caverns still hold some ore that we may yet make use of.

"In the event that there is no such ore to be found, however, the caravans may be our only option for ore - the caverns are, as I am certain you will agree with - too dangerous for mining in their present state. To this end, I would order our less skilled craftsdwarves to mass-produce items for trade - particularly clay ones, to take advantage of the current abundance. Once these dwarves have become capable of consistently crafting high-quality items, they may then move on to more valuable materials; when the caravans come, we may then purchase and melt down any metal objects and ores that they carry to fuel our metal industry.

"Let us hope that this goes according to plan. (Muttered) Last thing any of us need is to get crushed because some idiot thought soap was a good way to hold a fort up... "

I would like to have you know that dwarven scholars have done extensive research on the material properties of soap, and not only is it completely impermeable to water and perfectly clean, but also rivals any kind of stone in durability for its material construction qualities.

And that is a perfect example of the ways that our dear Quantum Drop missteps. Our wood reserves may be ample, but they are the limiting resources in all of our most important crafts. We must search for ore, yes, while importing as much as we can from the dwarves, and even potentially the humans if they deign to trade, but spending our precious wood on charcoal is a short-sighted solution for our problem. We need both charcoal and ash, and the best way to wean ourselves off charcoal is to dig for magma.

Digging for magma solves our reliance on charcoal, as then the coal will be reserved for steel production. And with this freeing up demands on our wood reserves, we can convert our wood to ash for the production of pearlash and soap, which are vital to our own well-being.

And the shortest path to the magma is through the caverns. Yes, yes, I hear your voice. The caverns are dangerous, I would be the first to admit. But opening the caverns provides solutions to all of our issues. We will have access to wood. We will be able to find metals orders of magnitude faster than the exploratory mining, and we will be able to reach magma. It will be a dangerous undertaking, but with proper constructions and care, we can design a system to send out protected exploratory teams, while keeping our citizens safe.

Open the caverns. They contain all the solutions to our problems, and although it may be dangerous I fully believe in our citizens' ability to fend off this threat. And besides, are we to cower away from the caverns forever? Hide behind our gabbro bridges and hope that the terrors on the other side? No I say! I say we reclaim the caverns, one step at a time, until dwarves are free to wander wherever they like, both above and below the ground.

Open the caverns, strike the magma. VOTE SOAP.

[Quantum Drop]

(Quantum's eyes narrow to slits, and her right hand spasms violently.)

"The blood of the earth would be valuable indeed - that I do not deny - but to establish the structures necessary to access it would be an immense logistical undertaking, and dangerous in the extreme. Or perhaps you have forgotten the deaths of BoujeeTheAlan and The Maggot? The difficulties of reaching the magma in the very lowest caverns, when the first has driven us back? Or - Great Armok help us all if this be the case - are you simply arrogant enough to think that picks and what few weapons we have will slay the forgotten horrors of the depths, while half of us are maddened from the antics of those thrice-damned birdfolk?

"We already have access to sustainable (if moderated) amounts of wood from the surface and the forest-dwelling savages, where you would have us risk losing more of our kin to the monsters of the deeps for what we already have. Better to access greater quantities of metal lately and safely, than to risk repeating the tragedies of Nephilim's reign. If it comes to it, if we are left with absolutely no other choice, then breaching the caverns may be necessary for the good of the fortress - but until we are able to take on the beasts of the depths, we must wait.

"Ultimately, my comrades, the choice is in your hands. I merely ask you to remember that should Eniteris' plans fail, the blood of every Dwarf lost to the depths is on your hands as much as his."

[Maximum Spin]

"Surely the shortest path to magma, rather than through the caverns, would be straight down through the rock itself?

Followup question: It is a lore among miners that the metamorphosed stone of which our foundations are, as far as we have seen, almost entirely built — save for a thin layer of dolomite on the eastern plain — rarely hold useful ores. What will you do if, as I must admit I fear, there is simply no iron ore to be found?"

[Quantum Drop]

"Should there be no iron ore to mine, alternatives must be found. Copper and bronze, perhaps - while the latter metal is difficult to produce and the former sub-par, even the worst weapons and armour are better than none. Leather, weak as it is, may provide a degree of protection.

"Failing all else (though I pray to Armok that it shall not come that far), we could turn to more radical solutions - though I maintain breaching the caverns to be a suicidally dangerous idea. We are already at war with The Scaly Monsters, a Goblin civilisation some days to the south; when - and it will be when, not if - they learn of our fortress and launch an attack, we may be able to exploit their aggression to our advantage.

"If we are to expand our current external defences to include greater amounts of cage and stonefall traps, or otherwise simply ensure we can hold our own, whatever metallic detritus their defeated raiding parties leave behind can be scavenged and smelted to provide us with precious iron. Though I pray to every deity there is that we will not fall to such desperate measures, we must consider it as an option of absolute last resort."

[Travis Bickle]

I'll give the ballot a little more time. Three people still have yet to vote.

[Eniteris]

"Surely the shortest path to magma, rather than through the caverns, would be straight down through the rock itself?

The shortest path is, as always, as the dwarf digs, but it is an unfortunate fact that oftentimes the caverns interpose themselves between our miners and the magma sea. Spending time plotting a route through solid stone, while cautiously poking and retreating every time we hit open air, is a recipe for long, winding route down to the magma sea. Dig straight down I say, and cut through the caverns when they appear, air and water be damned!

Followup question: It is a lore among miners that the metamorphosed stone of which our foundations are, as far as we have seen, almost entirely built — save for a thin layer of dolomite on the eastern plain — rarely hold useful ores. What will you do if, as I must admit I fear, there is simply no iron ore to be found?"

Quantum Drop hopes that we have copper and bronze, or resorting to leather for armor. I am more dobutful; I have heard of expeditions striking nothing but native gold and sphalerite, with nothing to build arms and armor out of, and yet they still survive.

If our plains hold no usable ore, then we must do as they do: import raw ores. A good year might haul in twelve boulders of hematite, which works out to forty-eight bars of iron; with our dolomite (and our wood reserves) we can forge these into forty-eight bars of steel, or enough to clad half a squad of dwarves in full steel plate.

With trade goods to spare, we can also import any iron or steel goods from the traders and melt them down to supplement our meager steel supplies.

Steel requires coal, yes. But melting down goods requires a staggering amount of charcoal, and it would be impossible to keep up with the demand with only imported wood. And the merchants' caravans are limited; the more wood we ask them to bring, the less space they have for our ore. So we must dig for the magma sea post-haste to divert our wood stockpiles to more practical purposes.

And Quantum Drop advocates for hiding behind cages and falling rocks, to hole up in our fortress and let goblins reign free over the surface. No I say! We must meet iron with steel! Break their shields and crush their skulls and let them know why they should fear the name of Goldsilver! And we shall cleanse their arms and armor through the purifying magma to forge new weapons to bring to bear!

VOTE SOAP.

[Travis Bickle]

After the short debate was finished, the nine dwarves deposited their ballots into the pot in the center of the room. Some did so quickly, clearly convinced by one side or the other; others did so only after long and hard consideration. With the nine slips of paper in the pot, Nephilim rose and emptied the contents onto one of the tables. Taking a cursory look through the ballots, he immediately withdrew two ballots and tossed them aside.

"Two abstentions," he said.

Quickly sorting the ballots into two categories depending on their candidate of choice, Nephilim had before him a stack of four and a stack of three. After checking once more that he had not miscounted, he addressed the rest of the dwarves.

"Winning with four votes: Eniteris of the United Soapmaking Advocates. In second: Quantum Drop of The Penitent Coalition.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Eniteris is thus elected as the third overseer of Goldsilver. I must extend my congratulations to him for his victory, and I wish him the best in the coming year.