Grail sat down on the table's edge, running her stubby fingers through her shortly cropped, light brown hair. On her waxboard, she looked down at her checklist.
* IRRIGATE SECOND FARM - FAILURE.
She stared at the runes she had written, and softly bit her lower lip. She looked back out at the hallway, where the others had gathered, and were looking in awe at the slow drip of water from the hole in the ceiling down onto the dry basalt floor. Dry as a bone. There simply hadn't been enough water. Sure, they could pump it from the brook into the lake and use it as a reservoir, but the expense of such would be large. Of course, to get their waterfall working they'd need to invest in a pumping station anyway, but -
She cursed herself. She was deflecting. This was a failure, and it had happened on her watch. She was not fit to lead. She thought back, to the beginning of the summer. It had all seemed so promising.
"We've struck Native Aluminum!" Goron had cried out, holding the ore up in his hand for her to see. They had started work on the channel that would carry water to the second plot on the very first day of summer. Getting the farms done and the workshops inside was her priority. Many of the tasks voted on had no hope of completion within the season. The walls, the waterfall, the trap gauntlet. All of these things were for the future. Well, at least she had not failed in her other priorities. The refuse room, the workshops... Hells, if they left the door open long enough, it was possible that the last drops of the lake would drip down and complete her work on the farm after all. But it was out of her hands now. She had to step down and take responsibility for this failure.
Where had it gone wrong? She had taken too long! Maybe if she hadn't had the woodcutter chop down a whole fores-- but he never mined. It was not that. They had needed wood! For barrels for brew. For beds and pipes and corkscrews, too. Damnation, what was it that she had done wrong? She lost time somewhere along the way. Every second she wasted, had water been evaporating off of that dangerously low lakebed in the heat of summer?
Gods know, she hadn't wanted to waste time on the walls, but she had. She had committed many dwarfhours to the construction of those walls. She had put them clear out past the brook. Her successor could easily channel out the brook and create a relatively safe stronghold, if need be. But that wasn't it, either. She had put in the work order for that lever, and it had taken so long to put in. That was it. She should have been more hands-on in dealing with it herself. She sighed, and put her hands on her cheeks, elbows on her knees, slumping a bit. Would all the others condemn her?
Drip... Drip... She could hear the water. Each drop was like a dagger to her heart. Grail swallowed hard.
The workshops, at least, had been relocated. They now had twin workshop shafts ready to be dug as far down as necessary to accommodate as many democratic dwarves as would ever dream to come to Equalvoice. They had a large, double-doored refuse room. They did, in fact, have the infrastructure for irrigating the second farm. She had to focus on the positives, even if they were only half positive. Grail tried to force herself to smile, but couldn't.
What had she been thinking when she had suggested they smooth out the second level of bedrooms? No one had ever voted for such a thing, but - Well, she knew what she had been thinking. She had been thinking that if they smoothed out the level below, they could move their beds down to nicer rooms, leaving the upper ones vacant to be smoothed as well. It had been an impulse, an aesthetic indulgence that she had no authority to make. Yet everyone had listened to her, and now she felt a pang of nausea at their trust and her repeated failures.
She had berated herself long enough. She slowly rose, and took a deep, steadying breath. She walked out to the second farm plot, and looked at the pool of muddy water gathering ever so slowly on the ground, as the six other dwarves watched.
"Emmanovi..." Grail said softly, so the others wouldn't hear. She gestured to the small pool. "I've failed ter do what I was given a mandate ter do. The farm plot is not irrigated. I think... I think from now on you should be givin' the orders. Gods know, we don't get nothin' done if someone isn't directin' us ter the tasks we vote on. Would you... Could you try ter take up that responsibility? At least 'til the end o' fall? I worked so hard ter get this done, and now there's not enough water. I don't trust myself an' I can't bear ter have anyone else trust me. I.. I can't believe there weren't enough water."
Grail sighed.
"I'll see you at the hall meetin', I guess. Right now.. I need ter drink summat."
She set her waxboard down, and walked away, like a beaten dog. The waxboard reads:
* INDOOR WORKSHOPS - SUCCESS.
--BUTCHERY
--KITCHEN
--STILL
--CARPENTRY
--MASONRY
--CRAFTDWARF
--TANNERY
--MECHANIC
--WOOD BURNING FURNACE
--FORGE
* WALLS - SUCCESS.
--BRIDGE
--ACCESSIBLE TRADING DEPOT
--DEFENSIBLE
--TOPSIDE CLEARED OF CLUTTER
--TEMPORARY FARM DISMANTLED
* REFUSE MANAGEMENT - SUCCESS.
--DOUBLE DOORS
* LIVING SPACE IMPROVEMENTS - SUCCESS
--NEW TABLE AND CHAIR
--COFFERS FOR THE TWO REMAINING ROOMS WITHOUT THEM
--SECOND LEVEL SMOOTHED - WORK IN PROGRESS
--FIRST FARM EXPANDED
--DINING ROOM CLEARLY DEFINED AND PARTITIONED
* IRRIGATE SECOND FARM - FAILURE.
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Topic: Dwarven Democracy (community game) (Read 30572 times)