Salt Staple

Admittedly the advantage of the way dwarves store salt is that one will never lose the salt, for tables are rather hard to misplace.

— Jasper Cameron, Leader of The Bronze Ravens

  Admittedly, when I asked the dwarves of Osect what the staple of their tables was, I should have expected them to take me literally (dwarves being dwarves) but still, the fact that it is a literal staple, but still has culinary applications is wonderous. To think that they would go so far as to join the sections of table in their feast hall with large formations of salt is brilliant. Apparently there are massive deposits of salt in the northern Myrdhor Desert. This would actually lend credence to the veracity of the ancient Storm Giant maps that show that a sea used to exist there. But that is a thought to pursue for another time. Back to these staples, indeed I did not know that the dwarven word staple refers to a type of fastener, or the act of using said fastener, as opposed to the meaning that we use, which is a majority or core bulk.   The staple is shaped in a U with the points being slightly wedge shaped. Two sections of table are then joined by placing the staple into slots carved into the table. This modular design that allows for the reconfiguration of the feast hall to accommodate for visiting dignitaries and holiday banquets is wonderful enough, but the real comes at meal time. In preparation for the meal a small mill is placed over each staple, with additional mills on either side containing different spices that compliment the meal. Should you desire more seasoning on your food, you need just turn the wheel (unless someone else has already done so)) and then take a pinch of salt or the other spice from the surrounding tray. You will likely find yourself doing so often, as the reputation of dwarf food being bland is not exaggerated.