Esteemed Councilmember,

I have now resided in the town of Sanctuary for several months, perhaps long enough for my name to have reached your ear. If this is not the case, please indulge me with a moment to talk about myself.

I am a Gondsman, skilled in the arts of engineering, mechanics, and the physical sciences. I am currently employed with the Seekers, but would like to volunteer my free time to the betterment of the town as a whole.

Realising that you are busy with the day to day management of the town, it would be greatly appreciated if you would read this missive, and take a moment to set pen to paper in reply to one simple, yet not so simple question.

What are the main areas that the town requires improvement?

I speak now with regards to things that hands and heads can acheive, rather than esoteric concepts like "freedom" or the like.

Some possible examples could be items such as defence, food production, sanitation, street lighting, or areas where the structure of the town is unsafe with age and fatigue.

Once I have received some replied (which I optimistically anticipate will not take long), I will set about researching the topic as it applies to Sanctuary, draw a plan for improvement, and present it to the town council, thus opening the talks for budgeting and whatnot.

My services will, of course, be completely voluntary, and I will refuse any offer of payment.

My letter drones on now, so I will leave you to your thoughts, and hopefully a quill and paper.

Counting the ticks to your reply,

Cog Ippensher, Gondsman.

The letters are received and read with interest.

Another letter is sent to each of the councilmembers:

Esteemed Councilmembers,

Realising that your time is valuable, I send you this missive to ask you if my last one was received, as well as to ask if any thoughts had gone towards an answer to the query that was the subject of it.

If letters are not your fancy, I would be happy to make time for a personal meeting.

Sincerely counting the ticks to your reply,

Cog Ippensher

A letter arrives at the Seekers Headquarters.

Adelia Cog Ippensher,

My sincere apologies, first and foremost, for the lateness of my reply. I know that other individuals may have gotten back responses faster, relating their concerns about the year's fungus harvest numbers or the recent series of incidents with minotaurs near our city's gates. While I respect my colleagues, I do not believe that these concerns "of the moment" (as it were) truly answer the real question which you are asking. As Councilor Rayan Traphov put it in his famous speech of Eleasis of Year 139, "An answer which does not stand the test of time is not an answer at all -- it is but a question waiting to be asked again."

I have spent several days considering your question and seeking an enlightened response, and the single true answer that I have come upon is this: Knowledge. While I understand that you are focused more on practical and physical improvements, I do not believe that the improvement of our means of education and the increasing of the collective sum of our knowledge is an intangible and "esoteric" concept, but rather a tangible and immediate one that makes itself felt in every aspect of our lives. The late Councilor Paxtor, may he rest in peace, would speak of the need for reform and renovation of our city's inner workings. Councilor Bhast would speak of the state of our city's defenses, and the activation of new defensive automatons. But, I ask you, what is reform without an understanding of history? Our records of the years before the Ubel Rebellion are scarce and often inaccurate -- how can we make informed decisions for the future without an understanding of the past? And it is buried within the mysteries of this same history that we shall discover how the svirfneblin, the original deep gnome inhabitants of Dunwarren, defended themselves against the same perils that we face today, using these same automatons that now patrol our town.

It is not merely a matter of education, though dispersing more widely the knowledge that we currently possess could only serve to improve the state of our city and our government. The crucial matter is that, even after a hundred and fifty years of living here and studying our surroundings, we still know precious little of our history and the history of Dunwarren. There are mysteries, great and insignificant, immense and tiny, which we have only the faintest hints of.

Thus, my answer to you is that you should seek knowledge and work to learn the mysteries of Dunwarren and Sanctuary. Hands and heads can achieve this, and I myself, with my own hands and head, worked to document these mysteries for many years before being elected onto the Council to help govern our town. The amount of field work needed to uncover the Truth is immense, for it is no small undertaking and there are terrible dangers along the path to knowledge, but this town needs brave men and women who are willing to seek out the causes and nature of things, and by their efforts enlighten us all.

Sincerely and with Oghma's Blessing, Councilor Adelia Tyrell