Itebbekar, and the wolves. (why to never start in Tundra)
day 1: I should of known better than to trust elves to know where good ore was. Those laughing beardless tree huggers sent us where they knew we couldn't touch their precious trees. I ordered us to stop the wagon after the snow started falling. We can see for miles, nothing but frozen tundra and snow. We have no choice, dig here or die. I'm going to go see what I can do to help our miner clear a room.
I swear I'll get back at those elves.
day 85: There is no place to grow anything around here. We found a few measly yards of sand, and then nothing but rock. At least we arrived in "Spring" though I use the term loosely as the snow falls almost constantly here. I've ordered the wood cutter on permanent snow removal on the main gate. Its not like he will find work here. At least we thought to bring a lot of beer. Food is going to be a problem though. The farm is barely scraping by for just us. Glad we brought a pair of horses and dogs. They will be needed when things get scarce. Especially that new puppy. One positive note, we found fresh water in all this rock. At least we won't die of lack of drink, even if its not beer.
By Armok I'll get those elves.
day 111: we lost Olon to elk today. He was hunting one of the herds of musk ox when an elk ambushed him. I swear when they brought him in it was a message from the elk. I don't know what they are trying to say, or how they know to say it, but something about it fills me with dread. With him gone I'll have to make on of the new arrivals, more suckers those elves sent here to freeze, into hunters to remove the elk. We foolishly brought axes and spears expecting something forested from the elves.
day 112: ordered five peasants to get off their lazy butts in the unfinished dining hall to train some of the dogs and go hunt. We can't have slackers in our fortress. The beer has run out too.
Death is too good for elves.
day 126: Still no beer. All of our farm production goes straight into food. If it were not for the hunters we would have starved long ago, but I fear that still might happen. The new couple, Sazir the hunter, and our woodcutter Lokum, have told me that the herds have been getting smaller and smaller. Winter is approaching, and we have 37 dwarves to feed on a thin crop of plump helmets and well water. It seems the new dining hall will go unused, unless we make it our tomb.
day 157: It happened. What we all feared from the beginning. There is nothing left to hunt. Every day the hunters go out into that frozen wasteland, and come back without finding a single track. Winter is coming. The caravan we were expecting from the mountain homes never came. I've ordered all the horses, except two foals, butchered. I would rather do it now then when everyone will be rushing the butcher for the want of food. I wish we had more dogs.
day 202: Winter here is harsher than even I expected it to be. Sent the hunters out again. Sazir didn't return so Lokum went looking for her. He found her dead, with a wolf unconscious at her side. He killed the foul creature, but his rage over the death of his wife was his undoing. He never saw the rest of the wolf pack, no not wolf pack, wolf army. I sounded the alarm and ordered the citizens underground. We cannot stand against this many wolves. I hope the other hunters heard the call.
day 203: Fikod, Medtob, and Tirist never came back. I sent out our only guard, Lorbam, to see if he could spot them. He wasn't more than 10 steps out the front gate before the wolves ambushed him. We locked the doors. They didn't even kill him. Just mangled him so that he crys to us. It got to the others to leave him out there.
day 205: Lorbam died last night. One of the wolves finally put him out of his freezing misery while he was passed out from the pain. I hate these beast as much as the elves, but there is a greater threat now. Everyone in the fortress knows our chances now. The empty barrels in the food storage were discovered. Blast but I thought it would hold out longer than this. That is not what I fear most though. Listast, only daughter of Sazir and Lokum, has been crying looking for her mothers hunting dog Itebbekar. The dog never returned home, but wasn't at the body of Sazir. I fear the child will go insane with grief and push everyone else over the edge.
Day 206, night: something terrible is going on outside. We all hear it. I've ordered our last line of defense, the two legendary miners Zulgar and Adil to grab their best picks in case of an attack on the gates by the wolves. I wouldn't put it past these demons in fur.
Day 206, afternoon: There is something at the door. We hear whining and something pawing at the crack. I get the miners and the last untrained dog and position them at the gate. We are going to go out fighting these wolves rather than quietly starve.
Day 206: late-afternoon: we opened the door, and in limped Itebbekar. His left eye was gone and most of his head was a mass of bites, fur, and blood. His right paw also seemed to have been mangled. Outside though was a sight that raised our spirits. Ten dead wolves lay scattered, some wolves scattered in more than one place, outside. We are saved not just from wolves, but from starvation and the cold. Itebbekar has been made "Honorary captain of the guard".
day 1016: Fortress life is good. It is so cold that goblins never trouble us, and the occasional kobold keeps our large force of wardogs happy and well fed. We got large pumps finally constructed to solve our farming trouble two springs back, and immigrants have been absolutely pouring into the fortress. Sadly the great elk and musk ox herds have never returned, I fear we may have over hunted them that first year. Possibly what caused the hungry wolves to come to our gates. Speaking of which, Itebbekar is still with us. He only stays in side these days. His head and paw have healed slowly, but in enough time he will be as active as a puppy again. Occasionally we hear the wolves howling in the mountains, but never to loudly. Itebbekar might come back for the rest.