To Anagarata, Queen of the Delta,
Great Mistress,
Appended is a summary of my discussions with the renegade Gold. If what this inhuman creature says can be believed, we may need to prepare for the worst. Even so, I fear that our best preparations may not be sufficient.
Briefly, this individual claims that his superiors have been ignoring or suppressing convincing evidence that the Bluesmoke Volcano (within which the Mostali complex of Gemborg is located) is in imminent danger of a catastrophic eruption. He claims to represent a dissident movement determined to do something about it.
It is uncertain exactly what constitutes an "imminent danger", to a dwarf: at times he appears to be be speaking of events many generations distant, or of probabilities so remote as to be implausible. Still, to the Mostali this may indeed warrant extreme preventative action. I would remind my Mistress of the prophecies of the End of the Age, and indeed the recent belligerence of the Caladrians (following the tragic spiritual dismemberment of Your erstwhile husband) should give us all pause for thought.
Returning to our informant: a new "dysfunction" (i.e. heresy) is allegedly growing within the complex. They call themselves the "Evacuationists", but are more crudely referred to as "Shitters" by their less alarmist brethren (whom they, in turn, call the "Squatters" -- discourse between Mostali with variant views is less polite, it seems, than the traditional translations represent [cf. note]).
According to this, our sole source, they are confecting elaborate plans for relocating the entire Gemborg community to some other site. Our information is that for normal Mostali such a migration (or eviction) would be inconceivably traumatic. Certainly more traumatic than the comparatively minor matter of waging a genocidal war of extermination (backed with the rumoured Black Powder atrocity-weapons) against the present inhabitants of whatever land they choose to migrate to.
Whatever the truth of his allegations, this Gold is a worrying symptom. Either he is correctly informed, in which case we may expect (or fear) a gradual exodus of like-minded Mostali from Gemborg, possibly to be followed by a catastrophic eruption and/or military invasion; or else he is incorrect, in which case the Golds of Gemborg count erratic and irrational individuals among their number; or, finally, he is deliberately giving us this information, perhaps for experimental purposes, quite irrespective of its truth or falsehood. He may be working for either side, if indeed there are sides. Bluntly, we have no way of knowing whether there is any such movement as the Evacuationists. Until it is too late.
I am at a loss, and do not know how to proceed. The Gemborg Mostali may be judging us on my next action, and I fear lest the worst may result from my ill-considered choice. If only the Caladrians were less impetuous, less excitable! I beg you to respond in haste: call Conclave, consult the other Queens, but let me know how to proceed. The safest answer may be to terminate this Gold, but who knows what signals that action may send to his controllers beneath the Bluesmoke Volcano? I dare not make any move without your wise guidance.
Your Humble Servant,
Ahnahnkahteht of Notchet
[Note] Incidentally, the minority dissident community of Closehandists in Gemborg take no constructive position on the alleged crisis, merely using it to fuel their demands for increased reproductive perfection ("Survival of the Fittest"). They are colloquially known as "Wankers" by both sides.
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