Dwarven Stone Guild
Dwarven Stone Guild has been a feature of the city for almost as long as anyone can remember. The Rubyback Clan has been leading it for the past 500 years. It is nearly impossible to tell the history of one without the history of the other. They boast that their guild is the one who built the walls of the city that protected it from so many attacks, that they built the docks that allowed trade, and this city would hardly exist without them. No one is able to prove these claims, but no one has successfully disputed them either.
The guild is largely made up of the extended family of the Rubyback clan, with almost every dwarf able to claim some connection to the family even if it is very remote. They do not consider allowing non-dwarves to join the guild, and even tend to avoid other dwarves who did not grow up within the guild. They will hire dwarves from other families to be scribes or do manual labor, but not to work the stone. Should one of those scribes have children, those children would be fully invited into the guild. They say that stoneworking is not a skill that can be taught, it is something that you have to grow up with to fully understand. The children in the guild are surrounded by stone, even the youngest can identify different types and grades of granite. As soon as they are old enough they begin helping in the workshop doing little tasks. They fetch tools, sweep up the dust, and most importantly they watch the masters at work. Many of the workers narrate what they are doing, teaching the younger ones as they complete work. As they grow, their next task is to begin practicing different techniques using stone deemed unfit for typical work. They identify the flaws in it, learn what flaws can be worked around and what flaws cannot be fixed. They practice these different techniques while still assisting the masters. Eventually they are given small tasks of their own, often times roughing out a shape that will then be finished by someone with greater skill. There is not set age at which they move from one job to the next, but it is based purely on skill.
The guild is currently having some financial difficulties. In more recent decades the Polished Pillars Stoneworkers has been taking more and more business. They would frequently under-bid Dwarven Stone Guild, offering to do the same work at a fraction of the price. Dwarven Stone Guild has filed multiple complaints against them, claiming that Polished Pillars cuts corners and used lower quality stone. They say that the structures are safe for now, but that some of the "visual only" flaws in them will lead to structural flaws in the future. They agree that stonework is expensive, but it is expensive because it is an investment that should last for centuries, not decades. Very few companies are willing to pay for their superior quality, and even fewer are able to see the difference in the quality. If they were to lose those contracts then they would be forced to disband the guild, possibly even sell their trade secrets to Polished Pillars.
Leader