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[SethCreiyd]

We have arrived.  After a journey from the Mountainhomes into the forbidding wilderness beyond, our harsh trek has finally ended.  Our party of seven is to make an outpost for the glory of all Irlomilral.

There are almost no supplies left, but with stout labor comes sustenance.  We are expecting a supply caravan just before winter entombs us, but it is Spring now.  Enough time to delve secure lodgings, ere the giant leopards get hungry.  A new chapter of dwarven history begins here at this place, Keraddor, "Eyedrowns."  We strike the earth!

This community fortress is brought to you by version v0.28.181.40d.  This is both a writing exercise and a pastime until the new version of DF comes out, and when that happens, Eyedrowns will be brought to an end.  These dwarves will have Fun, the only unknown is when.

Feel free to claim and name a Dwarf, gender and profession, and I'll do my best to keep it all up-to-date.  Folks will be dwarfed on a first-come, first-serve basis, but the occupations of the starting seven are set in stone, sorry.  You may take your pick from them or wait for the first wave of migrants.


*   *   *

1st Granite, 170, Early Spring
   Dear Journal,

   I have refrained from writing to you during our journey, however better it might have passed the time.  Now that we are finally here at Keraddor, we can at last be properly acquainted.

   My name is Tekkud Komandeduk, though my friends Rith and Kogan have long been calling me Creiyd, which I understand is some kind of expletive in the language of the elves.  I'm not sure how the moniker was earned, but it has stuck for years.  I am the Queen's personal physician (or rather, I should say that I was, as I have likely been replaced), and while I was not exactly thrilled to be chosen for this mission, part of me believes it is a gift from Limâr Himself - the opportunity for more wealth than most dwarves can even fathom.

   Her Majesty the Queen has decided that we must build a town deep within the dreaded Dunes of Beguiling, south of the human city of Hobsitsu.  I must admit I cannot grasp the logic empowering the Queen's decision to send seven dwarves to almost certain doom, but I am sure that her knowledge is simply beyond mine.  Her Majesty assured me she had important plans for the region, but she would not share those plans with me.

   Officially, we are to build a small outpost here and wait for further instructions from the Mountainhome.  We have come to call ourselves the Crimson Chambers, which I chose myself as a metaphor for the stout dwarven heart.  We are a motley group indeed, but we have no choice but to work as best we can together and make the most of this awful place.

   I have already mentioned Rith and Kogan.  Kogan is one of the finest miners I have ever known, though she would never brag about it.  The only thing that has kept her from rising further in the Royal Expeditionary Force has been her intolerance of authority, but she is here now on her own, with only a good friend to answer to, and I think she'll do well here.

   Rith is almost the opposite of Kogan - outgoing and quick to boast about her Kapin Amurka training.  She does not embellish, however:  I know of no one who is deadlier with only a shield.  While she and Kogan have never got along very well, I have come to admire each of them for their respective talents and endowments.

   The other five I know less about, though we all had time on the journey to get acquainted.  Ducim Zonnog is a journeyman mason with a bad temper and an intolerance for nobility.  Our farmer, Zuglar Gethzas, is hapless and dim-witted and likes talking about mud.  Edzul Zarstakud is a peppy little thing who grumbled the entire way here about our inevitable demise.  If she didn't know how to make a good Dwarven Wine I would have left her in Hobsistu.

   I have to say, Bomrek stands out from the rest.  Her temper makes Ducim look like a purring maggot.  She barely said a word to any of us the entire trip, unless she was requesting alcohol.  When she grew hungry, she would vanish into the wilderness and return later, gnawing on a squirming animal.  I have asked Rith to keep an eye on her.

   I have noticed one thing that ties us all together:  We all like the outdoors.  An odd attitude for a dwarf of The Permanent Treaty to maintain, I believe it is the reason we were each sent here.  We are exiles.

2nd Granite

   There was a panic last night.  A scorpion crawled on Ezdul in her sleep.  She roused and panicked and was stung in the thigh.  I stayed up the rest of the night watching her for signs of envenomation, but it seems to have had no effect other than to fuel her dark prophecies.  Part of me was hoping for a paralytic.

    When dawn broke, I took a brief walk to survey our surroundings.  There was little to see.

The brook has frozen.  I swear on Limâr's Purse it was not frozen last night.  Some fell magic is at work here.

A herd of camels passed by southeast of our camp.  We also share our camp with some small black ants.  It is good to know that some other life survives this place.

I am anxious to secure shelter as quickly as possible.  Kogan has begun digging into the sand to strike at the rock hiding beneath it.  Rich andesite, I am told.  The rock should provide a sturdy enough foundation for our houses.  A town hall is also being planned out, but shelter must come before other infrastructure.

Ezdul has taken an interest in record keeping, so she's in charge of that.  I took a moment with her to go over our stocks:

- 40 servings of meat
- 30 servings of fish
- 20 Plump Helmets
- 200 bottles of alcohol
- 30 plump helmet / pig tail seeds
- One steel shield
- The clothes on our backs
- 40 barrels
- 200 tower-cap logs

The logs will serve us well in this bleak land.  I have some experience as a carpenter and so does Ducim.  The two of us will be responsible for teaching the rest how to build, for it will take two modest carpenters too long to build seven houses.

Bomrek went out earlier tonight and returned with nothing.  I am alarmed.

[ragnarok97071]

May I please have a male Smith named Baldur?

[ungulateman]

Bottles? Heresy.

If you get an Animal Trainer / Caretaker, gimme. Call him/her Ungy.

[SethCreiyd]

I'll add both of you.  The bottles are stone bottles with stone stoppers (not flasks! -- bottles.), and all craftsdwarfship is of the highest quality.

*   *   *

3rd Granite
   We have built a few temporary workshops around the wagon.  I've started making some beds for the rest of us, while Kogan digs through the sand.  Zuglar furrowed an area by the river for farming.  I tried explaining that we had no outdoor plant seed in stock, but I don't think he understood.  Poor fellow.


5th Granite
   The days are passing by slowly.  I asked Kogan to dig a small hole by the river for Zuglar to make use of.  She is having difficulty reaching stone.  It appears the desert rock scattered across the surface is only half a dwarfspan thick at most, with only sand underneath.  I am beginning to understand why these wastes are called the Dunes of Beguiling.


7th Granite
   Kogan has not found stone.  I am beginning to wonder if there is any at all.  Zuglar has at least begun farming plump helmets in the damp sand by the river, so at least we have cold mushroom and wine to look forward to.  Edzul refuses to begin brewing until she has proper shelter.

   It is freezing for the 7th of Granite.  At night we huddle with the animals by the fire for warmth.  We are starting to share their parasites.  Soon, thankfully, we will need no longer sleep on the ground as the beasts do.  We have begun building some roughshod lean-tos and they are almost ready for use.



   We have had several setbacks, as the sand is poor for construction of any sort.  The blighted sand.  I despise it, and there is no escape from it.  Our beards have come to resemble the desert itself.


10th Granite
   A strong wind came in the night and rattled our hastily-built shelters, but by Ironblood's Beard they yet stand.  The gale took hold suddenly and threatened to tip the wagon; I fear only the weight of the animals tied to it held it on earth.

   I began building hatch covers today.    Rith and Kogan got into a quarrel I had to break up.  Now they are both angry at me.  I drank two extra rations today, against my own restrictions.  I will have to allow the same for the others when we are better situated.


12th Granite
   The Dunes of Beguiling.  A frozen black desert unfit for civilized life of any kind.   Only recently have I realized how beautiful a place it actually is.

14th Granite
   We have begun construction on an actual building!  Ducim came up with the idea of building supports along the riverbank, where the earth is thicker and sturdier.  A building on a bridge, he called it.  I'm starting to like him.



   Rith tested the ice and deemed it safe to cross, so construction has begun.  Finally, a warm, solid resting place to look forward to.

   Last night, Edzul complained about Bomrek.  She accused her neighbor of making strange noises during the night.  I told her I would investigate, but I truly don't care to know.


17th Granite
   Kogan struck a fair amount of cinnabar today.  She says its a hopeful sign that she is close to solid earth.  I can only hope she is correct.  I grow weary of all the sand in my food.

   I wish the lake would unfreeze, for even a Dwarf may sometime thirst for a fresh draught of water, and we shall more than want for it should any of us be hurt.


18th Granite
   Rith told a funny joke today.  Everyone laughed.  I can't remember what it was.  I have begun to name my fleas.  The biggest one is Urist, the little one is Fikod.


20th Granite
   After nearly a month of digging Kogan has found rock in several places.  Things are certainly looking up.  Ducim cheerfully began working on some doors for our upcoming building.  It's nice to see him in a good mood for once.


24th Granite



   Struck native aluminum today!  Though it is a small amount, it's a sign there is more metal to be found beneath the dunes.  Kogan also discovered some black zircon nearby.

It is unfortunate we have no anvil to smelt the ore, but hopefully the Autumn caravan will bring one.  We shall prepare a fine trade depot built from pure cinnabar.


25th Granite
   Finished the depot today.  We found a small section of rock behind the shelters that was sturdy enough to build on.  It will not be used for many a month, it but has given us something else to be proud of.  Every finished task is something to look forward to.


26th Granite
   Blood gnats have been swarming our camp.  The wretched things carry worm disease.  I have ordered another fire built in an effort to drive them away.


27th Granite
   I am tired of arguing with Bomrek.  Dwarves do not suffer from heavy metal poisoning, or no Dwarf lives today.


1st Slate
   From this day forth, I will be writing only monthly reports, but for some truly notable event.  This place sees much activity, and so far little novelty.

   We have only a limited number of logs to spare, and we are using them alarmingly fast.  Unless we are blessed with an underground forest beneath these accursed dunes, we will need to conserve them quickly.

   Bomrek has begun preparing animal traps for the camels.  It seems her career has at last been revealed, even without her saying it, though she has softened in recent days.  These weeks of shared toil have led to a growing bond between the seven of us, but today was void of the usual banter.  Perhaps we have run out of things to say.

   I find my thoughts turning to a fine lass I knew back at the Mountainhome.  Her name was Mistêm Eralevost, and she was fire, bright and alive as only the deep blood of the earth itself.  Aye, journal, we shared in love, but 'twas my folly to distance her, for so bereft of sense was I, I knew not what I had, and ere long she sought her meaning elsewhere.  With nowhere else for it, I turned my love to my career, and that end has lead me here. Eyedrowns.

   If time were a river I would swim back to the sea itself to change my reckoning, but alas, as we know it, time is built in stone.  I can only hope some future glory waits beneath the ground.

[CrossBolt]

First hunter that comes call him "Dark" please, I like hunters

[SethCreiyd]

Dark is added to the queue.

*   *   *

5th Slate
   Kogan struck solid stone today, alunite and rhyolite.  She is quite happy, and promises she will carve us out a proper home within two months' time.  I am glad as well.  We are all ready to quit the surface.  Blueprints have been devised.  It is a beginning, and that's what we've needed.

Blueprints: 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

   I've designated the earlier burrows to be used as stockpiles, until there are better places to put things.


8th Slate
   The brook is thawing!  Praise be Limâr. 



22nd Slate
   We finished the "building on the bridge" today.  We are moved our beds inside pending excavation of proper bedrooms.  Bomrek moved her bed further away from the others.  I don't believe anyone complained.





24th Slate


   Earlier this evening, Bomrek approached me and proceeded to a hasty exoneration of her attitude, past and present, and apologized for her antisocial behavior.  It seems that she has been in prison for two years and was released on the condition of her exile to Eyedrowns.  Her crime?  Poaching in the Queen's hunting preserve, to bring food to her family's table.  She fears she will never see them again, as their lands were seized as part of the punishment, and she has heard naught of their whereabouts.
   I was staggered to hear the very least of it.  I, who had served the Queen so faithfully for years, had heard nothing of this injustice.  What other tyrannies I have kept alive by my art I cannot know, but I am disenchanted as I think on them.
   "Why did you not flee?"  I asked of her.  "The countryside is vast and I know of fewer dwarves fitter to survive there."
   "Would you have me run to the hills like a common goblin and abandon my family?  I will earn enough here to purchase new land, and I will reunite my kin, and we will live in the safety of freedom and secrecy far from the claws of the villainous queen."  Then she glared at me, daring me to speak of her treason.
   I was struck for words for a moment, but I finally said I admired her conviction.  She seemed surprised, but grateful.  And I began to realize we must succeed here at all cost, and create something vast and everlasting so that every Dwarf may see what we are capable of.  It would not be enough to survive here.  We must prosper, and we would, in this cold waste that could be our tomb.
   "Perhaps this place may serve as home, if we prove stout enough," I said.  And there on we talked of little things until the sun went down.
   Mayhap two hours ago, Bomrek came to my bed and took me by the hand to the trade depot outside.  There we made love, scandalously embraced beneath the very stars in the sky, and set to rout all the opressions of the world.  And when it was over, and the desert returned to us, it seemed less cold around.

1st Hematite, early Summer
   Monthly Report
   The first of summer arrives with progress moving along in every direction.  Spirits are high, food and drink are increasing, and worries are decreasing.  I've begun building a small office for Edzul, who has been after one for some time.



   Bomrek and I have not yet made public our newfound intimacy, for fear of distracting the others, though I have moved my bed next to hers.  She has requested I provide her some wooden cages for her traps.  I was happy to oblige, as we must use whatever resources we have in this land, and the camels are a rather plentiful one.  Rith is eager to test her skills on the lot of them, but I've declined to allow her.  As it stands the animals seem ambivalent to us, and I'm not anxious to declare ourselves as predators.

   We have deconstructed the temporary shelters to save the wood.  We are comfortable enough now in our shared home.  Kogan is working tirelessly on our fort, bless her soul.  During her work she discovered more gemstones, as well as a copper vein.  I am hopeful that even more treasures lie deeper.  Even so, the wait is not terrible.   In this shelter above the brook, the sand is not quite as intolerable, nor as irksome as it used to be.  It still covers everything, but we are used to that now.  Spirits are high.  Zuglar's crop is coming in nicely -- he may not be a first-rate conversationalist, but I shall never speak ill of his farming.  He has kept the fear of starvation from us, and we all owe him our respect.

   Over all, things are going well.  Things are going quite well indeed.

*   *   *

Status of the Seven:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[r3d5kull]

Can I be the Farmer guy? He reminds me of my best friend. Name him Johann Schmidt(Red Skulls name) or John Smith, the American version.

[SethCreiyd]

8th Hematite
   Kogan struck Marble and Mica in the dormitory area.  I suspect we will need rope soon enough, so I have had Zuglar begin to grow pig tails for their fibers.  The group has started calling him "Johann" based on his peculiar pronunciation of the world "rorung." 

1st Malachite, 170, Mid-Summer
Monthly Report
   Rith has been suffering from boredom, lately, so I set her out on patrol a few nights ago.  She has taken the job with pride, marching out dutifully each evening on the lookout for enemies.  Of course, there are none.  What fool enemy would come here now?  For what?  I warned her not to provoke the local wildlife, and she disdainfully agreed.
   The days grow hotter with each passing of the sun, but I am loathe to think upon the temperature.  The nights cause us shivers, and it was very cold in even the spring.  I shudder to think what the winter will bring.  With the freeze in mind we have begun constructing a small basin in the sand to store some water away from the brook, to protect it from the chill of the surface. 
   Bomrek and I could not long maintain the secrecy of our relationship for long.  Rith has expressed her deep disapproval, but Kogan has said she is happy for us.  No one else seems to care, and yet... perhaps it is my imagination, but the others seem much quieter lately.
   There is not much else to say.  I do not feel like writing.  Life is, in a word, wealth.

11th Malachite
   Everyone is complaining to me about the lack of chairs, so we're making a small temporary dining room in some of the mined out sections of the fort.  I've built seven new and better beds for use in our newly carved dormitory.  We have left the old outdoor bedroom intact and are currently using it to store plant seed. 

1st Galena, 170, Late Summer
   So far no camels have fallen to our traps.  We still have meat, but our supplies are finite.  We've been mating they donkeys, but there have been no signs of pregnancy yet.  We should have brought more livestock with us.  No contact with the outside world has yet been made.  We were hoping for a human caravan from Hobsitsu to arrive sometime in the past month, but none came.  It would seem they decided against such foolishness.
   Some good news, however, the dormitory is finished, and we now live in rock as proper Dwarves!  Carved of mica and marble, it is a sight to behold, even unsmoothed.



1st Limestone, Early Autumn
   Kogan works faster every day.  Her muscles are becoming greater than Rith's.  Work on the fort is proceeding quicker than estimated.



   I have told her that when her work is done, she should carve for herself the finest of housing fit for any noble dwarf, as she has more than earned it.  She seemed very pleased with my suggestion.  In fact, we are all generally pleased.    Here in the stone we are much more comfortable than on the desert's surface.  It is neither too warm nor too cold here, and the ever present sand is less intrusive than ever.
   Our donkeys have given birth to foals.  This was excellent news.  Husbandry will begin once the youngsters are of proper age.  Johann has been taking care of them, but I warned him not to name them.  It would do us no good to grow attached to the sources of our donkey meat.
   Bomrek inquired about my family today.  I had not much to tell.  My parents died when I was very young, I had no siblings to speak of.  I did have a vast inheritance, however, which took me through medical school and paid my way to the court.  Until recently, Rith and Kogan have been the only people I have been close to.
   Bomrek is a blessing I have been very grateful for.  She is a test of my patience at times, which is only fair, as I am a test to hers.

17th Limestone



   Rith roused us to tell of a caravan from the Mountainhome that has appeared on the horizon.  We are all looking forward to seeing other Dwarves.   It has been months since we've seen any soul beyond ourselves, but there is reason beyond that for our excitement.  Now that we are here, established and surviving, it is time to learn why we have been sent to this place.

[Haspen]

Immigrant Glassmaker Haspen!

Preferably male. Glass blocks and goblets all around!

Also, nice writing style ^^

[x2yzh9]

Immigrant Soapmaker  Übermensch!

[SethCreiyd]

Haspen and Übermensch added to queue.


Transcript of Meeting on Limestone 20 (excerpts)
Ustuth Vunomlorbam, Outpost Liaison

Creiyd:  Please have a seat, comrade.  It isn't much, but it's what we've made do with.

Ustuth:  Thank you, Doctor.  Such a quaint little hole you've dug out for yourselves.

Creiyd:  ...Wine, sir?

Ustuth:  Please.

   *   *   *

Ustuth:  Now, with all that aside, is there anything else you wish to discuss?

Creiyd:  There is still the matter of an explanation.

Ustuth:  Explanation?

Creiyd:  We seven have been sent to this place with the barest of supplies for a reason yet unknown to me.

Ustuth:  Need there be a reason?

Creiyd:  Yes, I suspect so.  I have not known the Queen to be an arbitrary ruler.

Ustuth:  No, not at all.  What I meant was, need there be a reason for you?  A leader does not need to explain; it is enough that they say to do a thing, and it is done.  If...

Creiyd:  With respect, comrade, let us abandon this pretense.  If you do not know why we are here, then say so plainly, and if you know but will not tell, then I begrudge your waste of our time.  There is much work to be done and only a few of us to perform it.

Ustuth:  As you like it, Doctor.  I am not privy to the plan of the Queen, but I may offer a guess.  The humans of Rugdur have many strange tales, and some of those have reached Her Majesty's ears.  Surely you have heard of some within your time at court?

Creiyd:  The Rugdur are savages who worship the very disease I have spent my life to combat.  I pay little heed to the stories of their ilk.

Ustuth:  Perhaps the Queen does not share in your judgment.  The Rugdur have long lived in the surrounding land, roaming the wilds in their search for game.  Reason would hold they have become acquainted with the surface as Dwarves cannot from deep within our Homes.

Creiyd:  Not every Dwarf decries the sun.

Ustuth:  Mm, quite.  Nonetheless we have long accepted the wisdom of humans who walk the sun-soaked parts.

Creiyd:  As well as their mythology, it would seem.  But what is this tale?

Ustuth:  The Dunes of Beguiling, they say, holds a great and powerful treasure, buried deep beneath the sand to be forgotten by time.  They say there is a weapon, created by a race of giants long extinct, still ready for use by any stout enough to claim it.  There may be truth in these legends, and I reckon it is this possibility that has brought you here.

Creiyd:  Utter nonsense, these primitive tales! 

Ustuth:  Perhaps and perhaps not, Doctor.  Either way, you will be the ones who learn first.

*   *   *

1st Sandstone
Monthly Report

   The meeting with the liaison was uneventful.  First we established what we needed here to ensure our survival.  Food, drink, wood, seeds, an anvil.  Eventually we turned to the reason why we are here.  He could not provide me with an answer and spoke only foolishness, guessing that some mythical artifact sleeps beneath the sand, waiting to be reclaimed.
   At first I shook my head at this, but further reflection has given me pause.  Certainly such a weapon would be desirable to the Queen, and in her mind, there may be no harm in trying to find it.  Not so in the minds of the unfortunate souls who have been sent here, but such has always been the case with leaders and followers.
   Am I a follower?  My conscience has been rolling this question around in its hands as a ball of modeling clay.  I have sworn an oath of loyalty to her Majesty the Queen, and the breaking of the oath is death.  This, but as the calendar grows older, it grows harder to convince myself of the Queen's righteousness, and that of my oath.
   Heavy on my mind is this as well:  We may never find this weapon, and the Queen will never suffer us to stop our search.

[r3d5kull]

Very interesting! I'm wondering how this story will turn out.

[SethCreiyd]

With the new release looming as it is, Eyedrowns hasn't much time left.  I've played over a year in dwarfmonths and still no new immigrants so hopefully some will come soon.  I'd like to get everybody's dwarves in before the end.

1st Timber
Monthly Report
   We have started building a series of workshops in the eastern wing of the fort.  Kogan has become a legend among us, and her work grows steadily faster.  Thanks to her, we shall have yet a palace worthy of Limar Himself!



   We have been getting along rather well at Keraddor, but occasionally the tedium of daily life bears down heavily on us.  Every day is filled with toil necessary to our continued existence.  There is little time for recreation or relaxation.  Our work keeps our focus, and it staves off boredom, but it does little to bolster our spirits - not speaking of the booze, of course.  There remains plenty of that.


19th Timber
   The brook has frozen over once more.  May harsh nature have mercy on us.  On a brighter note, Bomrek caught three healthy camels in cages.  Once they are tamed, we will have some fine additions to the ranks of our livestock.

1st Moonstone

   Winter is upon us.  The icy cold has struck our basin of water, foiling our plan of securing potable water during the freezing months.  We will have to dig deeper and start a new one even deeper in the earth, where warmer temperatures remain.  Perhaps, after all, there is some vast power at work deep underground, lending its warmth to the earth.



   Though many forges and smelters are built, we haven't much wood to spare.  I've decided to order a few logs to be burnt for charcoal so we can make use of a bit of this ore, but we must be careful not to expend too much, especially with these frigid days ahead.

1st Opal
Monthly Report:

   Supplies of meat and fish are dwindling.  Bomrek has tamed the camels and they are now as docile as our donkeys, although they spit quite a bit more.

   We struck Hematite while mining out a corridor in the craft halls.  I've asked Kogan to continue down into the stone to search for more.  Iron is the blood of any Dwarf.



1st Obsidian
Monthly Report

   As I sit here to write this report and find I have nothing to say, my mood has quickly turned foul.  It is very lonely here.

   It is frozen and bleak.  We tire of eating the same old fish and mushrooms and drinking the same wine, day in and out.  We all miss the Mountainhome, its splendid dining halls, its beautiful statue garden, its constance of mirth and comfort.

   Why have we been left here alone?  Has not the Mountainhome any Dwarf stout enough to aid us?  I fear that any potential migrants would be struck down violently during the journey, and I pray that has not happened.



   We built a lever where the first water basin used to be.  It does nothing.

[SethCreiyd]

1st Granite, 171, Early Spring
Annual Report

   I can hardly believe we have been here a whole year.  Without much novelty the months have flown by with the haste of a fox hunting a sprightly rabbit.  If the accuracy of our calendar had not been confirmed by the visiting caravan, I'd have thought it to be in error.

The fortress is now large enough to fit many dwarves beyond ourselves.  It is more than the seven of us need, but we are comfortable.  Too comfortable, some might say.  I certainly would not have said so before coming to Keraddor, but that was before I came to Keraddor.

Life is not easy nor hard and so we are in a stasis I have trouble describing or even holding in my mind.  Death would come quickly without our unending toil, but what we must do -- the tasks we must undertake -- they never change.  Our routines have taken hold of our entire week, every week of every month and hence the year falls into tired repetition.

We have not even new voices to share our thoughts with.  It is not as though we were expecting Dwarves to actually come here willingly, but we held something -- perhaps hope that they would, or perhaps desperation that they would not.  Although the seven of us have forged a bond we will forever maintain, we speak little to each other outside of utility.  For my part, I can no longer think of anything to say.  If the Queen had meant to punish us with loneliness, then she sent us to the right place.

Any surprise or newness is met by the seven of us with something akin to joy.  We have been excitedly following the ongoing mining operation.  The vein of hematite that Kogan discovered has turned out to be enormous. 

We continue to breed the livestock, and soon we will have a steady supply of animals.

There is also this.  Bomrek has been showing early signs of pregnancy.  It is too early to tell for certain, but I know this:  The thought of it has made me happier than I ever thought was possible.  It would make all of this -- all of it -- completely worth it.

We could certainly use some new faces around here.