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[Eita]

Ooooooh craaaap.

If you'll notice, Mephansteras hasn't shown up lately.  The reason?  He made the mistake of giving me an idea and is probably hiding his head.  Haven't you all learned by now?  Reader interaction and comments leads to things happening! 

Also, it was a while ago, but Riddlewire's tally list cracks me up every time I see it.

Sneak Edit: Quick explanation as to the infrequent updates.  Work is draining me, and the... interesting neighbors from the New Years party have decided I'm "Okay" to hang out with, so they're inviting me over all the time to play card games and drink.  I've recently received my third rejection letter from an agent, but a friend of mine might have a connection through her mother, so there's promise there.  One of the neighbors said her mom "knows a guy", which fills me with dread since a lot of the things they do I turn a blind eye to, being a guest in their house and all...

I don't want to know. And this is referring to all three paragraphs.

[Heavy Flak]

The Dwarven Manifesto - Chapter 1
Completed 5^th of Opal, 1067

The Dwarven People, the workers, have been exploited for much too long.  These are sad times, where the hard working are pushed aside in favor of the rich.  Dwarves with meager skill sets lounge in their private sweets enjoying lavish meals of the most succulent kittens, while the workers - the backbone of the society - are left to their horse tallow stews in the drafty mess hall, their breaks for meals kept as short as possible to maximize the output in their fields. 

Many have wanted to act immediately, and this zealotry is a great asset to our cause.  But the slowness with which I have previously spoken - and previously written - must be carried out.  Much preparation is needed:  Barrels of pitch, and barrels of booze must be secured and secreted away.  Escape routes must be planned, and normal ones must be prepared to be blocked off.  Areas to target must be picked for maximum potential to our cause.

This is a sensitive subject, and one that must be discussed in detail.  There are two ways to punish the nobility, to take back the rights and the religions of the proletariat.  One is to attack the nobility themselves, to punish them, to blacken their eyes, to pull their hair.  In the short term, this will work fine - Aryn Estetar will find himself bludgeoned and beaten, but he has supporters.  He has his bear Kol, and his dog Hikan, along with the grudging loyalty of a handful of craftsmen, miners, and soldiers.  They will come to his defense at this brash move.  We will be beaten back.  The truth we speak will be seen as nothing more than the ramblings of the spiteful.

The second option is to kill the workers.  Only a few, and none that should be specifically targeted.  At random - set up "accidents" as a way to show the ineptitude of the nobility.  Beer explosions to offset the power of Glacies, as he can not keep track of his stores.  Gold-smelting accidents, to draw ire towards Crowpages and her coin.  Accidents out at the quarry, to cast doubt upon Aryn's schemes.  The only ones not to be targeted at the military, and the guard.  Sulari and Merkil and Stravitch do their jobs with selfless pleasure; they are to be rewarded, and with their steel should be uninjured to aid in the eventual uprising.

These actions may seem harsh, because they are.  They may seem irrational - they are NOT.  Every dwarf should be willing to give his life for the good of the community; those who would not should be considered the enemy.  When the new regime takes place, the workers will sit upon their rightful thrones, and the nobility - they will no longer exist.

Signed,
TELAMON

[Jim Groovester]

Was this a public message to the dwarves of Migrursut? I assume it was. In which case....

Hikan Riddlewire's nots, kept on his person.
Entry for 5th Opal, 1067

SCREW KILLER

FIND TELAMON

* * *

Though Riddlewire doesn't stand a chance alone against the overwhelming power of the plot, he can certainly try to stop it.

Though, if he survives, he could make something for himself from the ashes.

This is getting interesting. Very interesting.

Edit: Whoops, I assumed wrong. Riddlewire would have to bash a lot more heads than he currently is to get access to that sort of privileged information. Might as well not delete it, though.

[Heavy Flak]

Was this a public message to the dwarves of Migrursut? I assume it was. In which case....

Well, it probably wouldn't do to tell the people you're planning to blow up you're planning to blow them up to use their friends to punish the nobility that also aren't in on the plot.

However!  Nothing is saying that TELAMON's manifesto pamphlets couldn't be intercepted by Riddlewire, or a few other story members.  Though overt actions will probably result in this resistance movement bringing retribution against them for talking. 

[Eita]

Edit: Aww, never mind. Won't work. Didn't realize it was Heavy Flak up there who said that right above me.

[Lucid_Archon]

Why? Because Stravitch is insane.

I don't know about you, but to me, Stravitch recent fixation seems a little too convenient for my tastes.... Just saying.

[Kuli]

From the journal of Kuli Problemwalled,

This is my first opportunity to write in some time.  I have been tirelessly working to find times and places to bring the Children of Zefon together for covert worship services.  To some extent I am succeeding.  The meetings are impromptu and brief, however.  Attendance is irregular since there is usually not enough time to get the word out to everyone when and where the next meeting will take place.  I give thanks to Zefon that we have not yet been discovered by the guard.

Some of the members of my congregation seem more agitated than usual lately.  I often catch glimpses of them whispering to each other and looking at something.  I have noticed the same thing among some of my metalworkers as well.  So far no one will tell me what this is about.  However, it is not difficult to imagine what they are discussing, and it worries me.

*A line was written here, but it has been scratched out*
Vash just brought me a note.  A good location for a meeting today has been found, and I must not pass up the opportunity.  May Zefon's love be with us.

[Heavy Flak]

For story purposes, it's probably best if that manifesto did NOT get out to the population at large.  It would, however, have gotten out to at least two reader-dwarves.  Which ones?  Well, I'll leave that as a question right now.  They've already done a few minor things, and one of them has a grudge with Aryn.

Though really, who doesn't? 

[Jim Groovester]

So, who among the people who don't have a grudge against Aryn would get it, and who among the people that do would get it, keeping in mind that these are people who wouldn't normally receive it.

I can't even keep track of how many reader-dwarves are in the fortress right now, so guessing at this point would probably be wildly inaccurate.

But guess I shall!

One of the Zefonists, and Riddlewire. That last one is probably self-motivated.

Who do you, fellow Migrursut readers, think will get the manifestos?

[Heavy Flak]

The events of the 10^th of Opal, 1067

Lugnut shuffled down the hallways, the newest designs of Glacies latest trick hidden within the folded up parchment he carried.  Searching the book keeps room, and the library where it was being assembled, Lugnut began searching other places - the work shops, for example.  The training hall was likewise empty.  It was only through accident he ran across the book keep on the kitchen level.

A door slamming shut caught his attention, and Lugnut went wide-eyed as he saw the book keep leaving a butchery.  The apron he wore was bloodstained, as was his hands.  He constantly wiped them on the front of the apron, but after a few motions he sighed and gave up, stained to the wrists in red. 

As Glacies drew near the mechanic he lifted a bloody hand in salutation, but it dropped quickly as he was confronted with a harsh, whispered, "Y-...you monster!"
"Wha?  What are ya' talking about!"
Lugnut's fists were bunched at his sides, crunching up the designs he had brought.  "You couldn't be satisfied with your morbid tricks, could you?  You just couldn't be happy with that."
"Lugs-..."
"I knew you were a sicko, but this!  This is beyond measure!"
"Lugnut, I-"
"You think I'm gunna' help you any more, well you got another thing coming.  I won't be a part of this any longer."
"LUGNUT!"

The mechanic jumped.  Glacies glared at him, his brow furrowing.  "I've decided to dabble in butchery, ya' idiot.  I just slaughtered a puppy for some stew."
"So, that's not... poor little?"
"What?  No, of course it's not our Talent's blood.  Bah, really?  Ya' really thought that?"
"Well, I..." Lugnut said, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. 

Glacies just shook his head.  "I don't trust the food around here, and neither should you.  They're all out to get you, ya' know.  Not... you, yourself, personally, but you as in, all of us.  I'm not taking chances on the meat pies being fresh, so I'm slaughtering my own."
Lugnut gave a relived nod, though that melted away into horror as Glacies said, musingly, "Though, some sort of butchery-act on little Grov, only to show him alive and intact would bring out the gorefiends..."

[Eita]

Kuli gets the other manifesto.

[Jim Groovester]

I'm thinking Groveller would make an excellent clandestine messenger. Just give the kid a message, send him where he needs to go, and then when he gets there, kill him! And the best part is, the next Grov would have no knowledge of the message.

I could really see people (ab)using him like that.

[Heavy Flak]

I'm thinking Groveller would make an excellent clandestine messenger. Just give the kid a message, send him where he needs to go, and then when he gets there, kill him! And the best part is, the next Grov would have no knowledge of the message.

I could really see people (ab)using him like that.

As horrible as that is, it does bring up some very interesting ideas.  I won't use it for this story - that's just much too morbid for a character that's already pushing the boundaries - but having disposable messengers with hundreds of clones is certainly a fascinating prospect. 

[Heavy Flak]

The events of the 21^st of Opal, 1067

"There, there... and how do you feel now?"

Gingerly, Akroma helped extend Boarddresses left leg.  The human tensed up on the stone slab, gritting his teeth so tight he saw sparks of red over his eyes, but said nothing.  Slowly, Akroma extended the left leg until the knee locked.  There was a loud squeak of steel hinges from the full-leg brace that Dojango had constructed. 

Bertrand shuffled over, using the back of his hand to wipe specks of dust away from the corner of an eye.  He lifted a can of grease from his workbench and bent over Boarddresses leg, applying tiny amounts to the hinge.  Akroma shifted back to stand beside Dojango, leaning over to say sarcastically, "Good job with the braces.  They both squeak."
"They don't do it much."
"Yeah they do.  He's all squeaky, like a cricket."

The pair paused, and erupted into a fit of snickering. 
"Like a real rickety cricket, with those shoddy splints you rigged up..."
"Would you two PLEASE show an ounce of bedside manners?" Bertrand snapped, turning his gaze on him.

Akroma and Dojango went stone faced and still, but when Bertrand turned his head back to the gears the covered their mouths, fighting to keep the laughter from bubbling out.  Bertrand poked and prodded and oiled the hinges.  Eventually he set the can down, and straightened himself back up. 
"Very good.  Now, as The Giggle Twins so rudely pointed out, yes, you'll be squeaking some when you walk.  That's only until you break them in."
Boarddresses nodded slowly.  "Thank you... thank you very much for helping me, I just... no, thank you."

Bertrand noticed the glance the merchant guard made towards the stump at his shoulder, and gingerly he reached over to clasp his shoulder.  "There was just nothing we could do, and for that, I'm sorry.  Even if we had another arm, well... I doubt we could have done anything.  But you have the use of your other arm, and leg, and that's a blessing in itself."
"If you had another arm, could you have done something?"
"Well..." Bertrand trailed off.  He stroked his beard idly, and gave a shrug.  "Perhaps.  Probably not.  It's an interesting theory, but one you should put out of your head.  Instead, you should get used to your new braces, and regain your strength.  Come, both of you, let's leave our charge to reacquaint himself with walking, in privacy."

Akroma and Dojango slipped from the room, breaking into laughter once they vanished into the hallway.  Bertrand gave a pleasant smile and squeezed the humans shoulder once more, before shuffling out.  The door closed quietly behind him.  Tal sighed, and tentatively slid off the table, his legs shaking under him as he fought to keep his balance.

[Jim Groovester]

I think the last update should have gone something like this...

Bertrand, Akroma and Dojango stand around Tal Boarddresses unconscious on the operating table.

Dojango speaks first. "Tal Boarddresses: caravan guard. A man barely alive."

Bertrand then addresses the other two, and begins a montage of the three operating on and reconstructing Tal Boarddresses. "Gentledwarves, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Tal Boarddresses will be that man. Better than he was before. Better. Stronger. Faster.”

Seventies music immediately begins playing, to scenes of Tal Boarddresses running around Migrursut's outer wall very quickly.

Then, in big white letters, "The Six Million Dwarfins Man" displays on the screen.