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Good job so far. It's been a little over two weeks but as long as you finish up the year soon I'm fine with it.

It looks like I just can't catch a break with my dwarves dying on me. Redorf me as literally anyone if we get another migrant wave; otherwise I'll think of someone already in the fortress to play as when I have the time.

Events of 10th Galena, 258, Late Night
The grass blew in the cold wind where Casca stood. He was north of Goldsilver proper, by the brook that ran through the fortress. The location was just out of sight of Goldsilver's citizenry; even a dwarf looking out from one of the windows to the mountain dormitories or from the top of the pyramid wouldn't be able to make out much of this spot with the naked eye. Casca figured that was exactly why the messenger who left as suddenly as he arrived told him to come to this spot, on this date, at this time. The dwarf had said that these directions were strictly for the "leader of the Stukist Party." Standing alone with no protection other than the cheap blade he concealed under his cloak, Casca wished that he had the time to pry for more information from the messenger. Whatever was coming his way was probably intended for Nephilim, and knowing how many enemies the Stukists, especially the late captain, had, it could easily be an assassin.

Or perhaps, thought Casca as he noticed figureds approaching, even a small army. Indeed, a small band of dwarves, each clad head-to-toe in steel armor, was approaching him from the north. Could this be a raiding party from the usurper king with the mission of eradicating the resistance in Goldsilver? Was that scoundrel Tonnot's hand in this. Casca drew out his sword and muttered a short prayer to the gods. If he was going to die, it would not be without a fight.

When at last the band was standing just a few feet in front of them it came to a sudden halt. A few moments passed in silence, with the fully-equipped dwarves staring at the cold dwarf in tattered clothing wielding an old copper sword. Before Casca himself could break the silence, a voice came from another figure whom he could not see. It sounded as if whatever dwarf the voice belonged to was hiding behind the armored dwarves, concealed by their thick armor and their cloaks draped over them. "It's not him," the voice declared. Immediately, one of the dwarves drew out a steel short sword and pointed it towards Casca.

"Name and occupation!" the dwarf demanded.

Casca raised his sword, bracing for the first blows of a fight. "Casca. Leader of the Stukist Party and Captain of the Black Legion."

"Put down your sword, captain!" came the voice from behind the the squad. Casca saw that the dwarf with whom he had expected to fight was complying with the order. "And you too, we have come for business and not for fighting." Pushing himself to the front of the group was a dwarf much unlike the others. He did not wear armor or carry weapons, rather he wore what Casca presumed was at one point an expensive and handsome-looking robe, but was now dirty and tattered from abuse. Upon first glance, Casca thought the mustached face looking at him was as old as he was, but the longer he looked at it, the more he was certain that the dwarf couldn't be older than sixty. Whatever wrinkles he bore were the result of stress and misery.

"We have been traveling to all corners of the kingdom bearing sad news. Her Majesty Queen Vutok died at the end of last year."

"The queen... is dead?"

"Never truly able to openly state her claim to the throne while under the watchful eyes of the usurper, she nevertheless died surrounded by supporters and confirmed to them that she viewed herself as the rightful queen."

"Who is to be the ruler of The Confining Clasps now?"

"Her Majesty's own descendants are a corrupted bloodline. Those who did not die were kidnapped and raised by goblins, making them dead as far as succession to the throne is concerned. This being the situation, Her Majesty had the family tree of the Royal House of Somberarch researched by her scholars. Following this research, it was decided, by decree of Her Majesty, that the crown would pass to the descendents of her brother Udib Listenedhammers. Her Majesty's great-grandnephew, Zon Squeezedlabors, was picked to be her successor. Queen Vutok is dead. Long live King Zon!"

"Long live King Zon!" echoed the armored dwarves.

"Long live King Zon!" declared Casca. After a few moments hesitation, Casca followed this declaration with a question: "But what do we do now?"

"Right now we have lost a powerful ally in Queen Vutok. Not only was she the sister of King Stukos, she was also recognized even by the usurper kings as a noble. What you see before you is her royal guard. They were permitted to her due to her noble title. Now her title has passed into the hands of one of the friends of the usurpers. As such, the royal guard have fled for fear of reprisals from the new baron. In short, we can no longer operate in Tomerack and even most fortresses and mountain halls near the capital are unsafe. The Royal Court in exile has relocated once again; it now shelters in the human castle of Cobaltjack. It is likely that it will be safe there until human civilization completely collapses under the attacks of goblins. Until then, it shall, through me, try to communicate to the king and to his supporters."

"Just who are you?"

"I was appointed by Queen Vutok to be her outpost liaison. Until I am relieved of that duty by the new king, I shall continue to fulfill that role. I hope that you will fulfill your role as leader of the Stukist Party in this fortress. I take it that Nephilim is dead?"

"Yes."

"By the hand of a goblin or beast?"

"By the hand of a traitor."

"I see. It seems ironic that a dwarf who trusted so few dwarves would die at the hands of one he trusted. Is the traitor with us still?"

"She is dead."

"Good. For all his faults, Nephilim was a devoted member of the cause. Things being the way they are, we cannot afford to allow personal disagreements to drive wedges between allies. Even if he is now dead, may his work live on through you."

Casca nodded silently.

"We must now part ways. It should go without saying that none of us were ever here and that this conversation never occurred. May the gods protect you."

The Stukist royal guard once again surrounded the outpost liaison and the whole group disappeared slowly into the night.

---

tl;dr: Stukist claimant Queen Vutok died. Zon Squeezedlabors is the new Stukist king. Would have written more, probably much to everyone's chagrin, but I'm tired and don't want to write more. Count yourselves lucky.

Now that a couple days have passed, it's time to move onto the second round of voting. The second ballot will be sent out shortly.

After all the dwarves had cast their ballots, the results were revealed as follows: For Pyer, 3 votes; for Radipon, 3 votes; for Casca, 2 votes.


Thus, the first ballot failed to elect an overseer with over 50% of the vote.

At this point, the election will proceed into a second stage of campaigning before the second ballot is sent out. Any of the three candidates may withdraw or continue to try to court support. Other dwarves may either endorse candidates or throw their own hat into the ring.

"It's a creative approach to our current circumstances, I'll give you that," responds Casca. "I'm really not sure how much debate is really necessary in an election such as this. Unless anyone has any else has anything to say or thinks they can do a better job than either of us, I say we can move onto the ballots."

Just finished The Reign of Christ the King: In Both Public and Private Life by Michael Davies.



It was a short but good read explaining how Christ’s kingship extends beyond being a private matter for individuals and into the affairs of states. Governments have the responsibility to uphold God’s moral law and to assist the Church in her work. Draws heavily on various Papal Encyclicals from Leo XIII, Pius X, and Pius XI which I’ll have to read at some point.

I agree to offer him Nephilim’s re-vacant seat. Hopefully he won’t die within a month of getting it. Ha ha.

Hope is all I can do given my recent luck.

Quote from: Travis Bickle on March 20, 2021, 04:52:06 am

Does this mean that Unib was among those who died?

Yes:

Quote from: Maximum Spin on March 20, 2021, 03:35:00 am

Besides, before I could have helped anyway, both warriors give in to over-exertion and are ultimately dispatched.

Must have missed that when reading. Whoops.

Quote from: Travis Bickle on March 20, 2021, 04:52:06 am

Ouch. Not looking so good for us. Could we get a screenshot of everyone who's currently still alive in the military?

Individual thought pages, or do you just want a list?

Just a list of names will suffice.