Would think that Drazh would actually be the natural next target for a hold reclamation. With 8-peaks reclaimed you have a very nearby supply and fallback point, you have nearby allies in Azul and 8-peaks who would likely help out, and the king-in-exile of Drazh put a lot of support behind Dum expedition. With Vlag back, that support will likely be paying dividends to his cause.
Way I see it, there will be some years - decades maybe due to dwarf timescale - of preparation for the expedition. But then a big waaagh will come out of Drazh and either get itself hell-towered a second time, or otherwise wreck itself on some other target, and the expedition kicks off a bit early to hit them before the IRC's repopulate.
It might even be a long term benefit for the dwarves, as it removes a threat from eight peaks, and provides another local ally to 8 peaks and Azul. Which could potentially reduce casualties in the long run, as the orc danger in the area would Ben greatly reduced without a major stronghold right next door.
The only other good candidates that come to my mind are Karak Varn, or going fishing for Karak Zorn.
If they're main goal was to be living in a defensible location with permanent settlement, they wouldn't be living in the Border Princes.
If you're in the Border Princes, either you're ambitious enough to think you can make something of it where everyone else has failed or you value your personal freedom far more than your security.
They could be living in the Empire if they just crossed Blackfire Pass- every person in the BP has a reason they haven't.
The ancient world is full of examples of people who could've migrated less than a hundred miles and found safety within relatively friendly polities - but instead chose to stubbornly stick it out, because for your average peasant a journey of 20 miles is a big deal. There are modern people
alive today who have lived their entire lives within 30 miles of a tiny village in the mountains of Afghanistan. Travel is a much bigger deal for people whose sum total assets are farmland, animals, tools, and food - I think it's worth keeping in mind that the
overwhelming majority of interactions Mathilde has had to date in this quest have been with people who are fantastically wealthy relative to actual subsistence farmers, and that might skew perspective a bit.
New settlers to the Border Princes are overwhelmingly rogues, religious outcasts, adventurers, and the foolishly optimistic - this is very much true. But what about their children and grandchildren? The region still has people living within it who are descendant from
Nehekharan colonists, and there was that whole Lichtenberg stint too. I find it very difficult to believe that the overwhelming majority of the population would be so opposed to the idea.
this is exactly what i mean when i say you guys are pushing this too much can you stop this is annoying.
The vote is still active, it's very much relevant posting. I think it's reasonable that you could take issue with the manner in which it's being pushed, but until the vote is closed they have as much right to evangelize a mammoth theft as people who want to talk to (x).
Gotrek is dead, and any future for the steam wagons is dead with him.
Also, they're absolutely massive and would definitely not fit in the tunnels. They're steam ships on wheels, don't forget.
The underway is massive. It can move literal armies in formation. We could also just buy them.
If we're just carrying a battle altar, you don't need anything near that big.
Clearly we need to put like 5 altars on it, then.
Remember that the Undumgi had to show the same bravery and skill as a line of heavily armored ironbreakers. Before that, the idea wasn't even on the table.
And the humans of K8P have done wonderful things for the reputation of humanity as of late - set a bar and if they pass then extend the offer. Dwarfs have a reputation for being fair, so a contract with a clause stating sufficient diligence in the discharging of your duties is required to actually get that offer of residence, isn't going to inherently be a deal breaker like it would if it came from a human employer. It would certainly put off
some mercenaries, but not all.
