Good Councilors of Sanctuary,
It is no surprise to the Stoutheart Clan that the Duergar of the Grunshtubble Clan have abandoned Sanctuary in a time of great need, as well as stealing the gold of its citizens and depriving us of a source of metal goods.
There are even rumors that these dark-hearted knaves have offered to arm and equip the Lizard Folk and to help them attack our already threatened town. I urge you to take steps to quickly intercept these efforts and recommend that a raid be launched to either destroy their equipment, or if possible to seize it and return it the citizens of Sanctuary. Further, we recommend the following initiatives hereby known as the STOUTHEART PLAN.
1. The Stoutheart Clan would like to supply the labor, experience and craftsmanship of our members to help to supply Sanctuary with ore, metal goods, arms, and armor. We have some of our Clan with mining experience that can oversee the efforts of a workforce.2. We will send out a call to our kinsman in Sanctuary to join the labor pool to resume mining operations in the Mines. It may indeed be necessary for more than just our kinsman and our Clan to replace the workforce of the Duergar Mines, and this will be a job opportunity for the unemployed of our citizens.
3. It will also require funds to pay these good folk who will indeed become heroes of Sanctuary if they in fact volunteer for this work force. All efforts should be made to mobilize our citizens to a wartime capacity, and non-essential civilian industries should be temporarily disbanded to allow the labor pool to be reassigned to crucial projects centering around the defense of Sanctuary. One of these projects should be the immediate resumption of operations in the mines.
4. A thorough effort must also be made to locate and patrol any other locations where iron ore might be located. The Seekers, Watch Scouting Division, and even the Elven Warband might be well-suited for this task. All samples of ore should be submitted to the Mikkelson's for evaluation and analysis of the grade of the ore in question.
5. All ore will be given to the Mikkelson family for immediate smithing of those items considered of highest priority, determined by the Watch. The expansion of their current operation should be initiated as soon as possible. The Stoutheart Clan has a few individuals with smithing skill that we can add to this crucial corps of crafters, and we would request that the Council recommends to the Mikkelson's that they assimilate these good dwarven crafters to augment their production capacity.
6. The speedy replacement of a foundary and forge at the previous site in the mines is crucial to this process. The raw ore will be processed on site by the mines, and the various metals including both iron and steel will be transported to the Mikkelson's current operation. The Mikkelson's will be in charge of the forge in this location as well, with the Stoutheart Clan overseeing the mining and processing operations. It would seem wise to have two such sites in case the other is under seige and unable to produce the materials necessary for the defense of Sanctuary.
7. The Spellguard and its animitrons could provide much of the development of the heavy equipment needed in the above steps. I do not know what powerful magics they possess, but if they can transport ore, large items and machinery or the stock metals produced in the refining process by spell or animtron, it would greatly accelerate the resumption of these needed mining and smithing operations.
After, the Stoutheart Clan would then have mining rights, and the Mikkelsons the primary crafters of arms and weapons for Sanctuary and its governing organizations.
We eagerly await your response and assistance in the implemenation of this plan, as time is now precious for the fate of Sanctuary, and there is much work to be done.
*signed* Thane Rollo Stoneshield Speaker of the Clan Defendor of Barak-Tor