24th of Felsite, year 57The hospital at Brightwater - a mid-sized room carved out of the mudstone not far beneath the surface - was crowded as it never had been before. In the previous years since the hospital had been created, it had rarely been called on to deal with more than one patient at a time, and had spent long times with no patients at all. The greatest challenge to the Chief Medical Dwarf, Doctor Cain, had been dealing with the severely injured child Rakust.
Now four injured military dwarves had been brought in at once. On the southernmost side of the hospital, the doors nearest the entrance, Higginbottom III and Obesehelmet had been placed in adjacent beds. In retrospect, this was not the best idea. The two dwarves - one a lover of elves and the surface, the other carrying a deep hatred for everything surface-dwelling, had not stopped glaring at each other since being brought to rest. Doctor Cain suspected that only their injuries kept them from actually attacking each other.
On the northern side of the hospital, weaponsmith turned Swordsdwarf Daenyth, and the Militia Commander Fritz Cattendoren had been placed in adjacent beds. They waited in silence - Fritz taking her situation stoically, and Daenyth only muttering something about hoping he was treated promptly this time.
In the main hospital area, dwarves ran to and fro, bringing supplies up to the hospital, cleaning up bloodstains, and dragging animals to or from the animal training facilities further along to the north. Some of the surviving giant war sparrows sat among the hospital coffers, waiting for their masters to be better. Higginbottom III's pet giant pangolin was curled up at the base of his bed, faithfully protecting him despite its own injuries.
This alone was enough to make the hospital busier than it had ever been previously. But today marked another first for Brightwater's hospital. Today was the first time a kobold had visited it.
Flachrolin must have been one of the sneakiest kobolds ever.
Other kobolds would have been content to steal a piece of discarded clothing or armor, or perhaps a finely carved giant sparrow bone crossbow bolt from the scattered refuse outside. Flachrolin was far more ambitious than that. Sneaking past the dwarves cleaning up the aftermath of the battle up above hadn't been difficult. The cage traps protecting the entrance were no threat to any kobold thief. Getting past the giant scorpions, giant snakes, and dozens of war dogs placed along the entrance pathway, on the other hand, had been a feat that no kobold before had ever even come close to managing. She expected it to be worth the effort - after all, if the dwarves were leaving that stuff outside, it could only be because the treasures they stored inside were much greater. So after sneaking in, past the dwarves and animals and down the ramp uner the ocean, she had turned into the first large room she found. The room was full of stone chests - obviously full of dwarven treasure!
After cleverly sneaking inside, Flachrolin opened a chest and quietly began rummaging around. Wooden splints, cloth and thread, bars of giant thrips soap - you might not consider that treasure, but you've never had to treat the wounds of a fellow thief who just barely escaped from robbing a dwarven fortress.
Had the fortress not been in the middle of a major medical emergency, she might have gotten away with it. But she had the bad luck of trying to grab medical supplies at the worst possible moment. As it happened, it was not a military animal, medical staff, or even a hauler who spotted her, but a child, who had come to the hospital to see what all the excitement was about.
Her cover blown, Flachrolin ran for the exit with arms full of stolen medical supplies. There she ran into Va'al the Swordsdwarf. Va'al had missed out on the fighting earlier, much to his disappointment. He had been looking forward to a good fight, but by the time he heard the alarm and headed up it was all over. Seeing a kobold this deep in the fortress was a shock, and made him wonder how badly the entrance defenses had been decimated. On the other hand, a kobold should be good fight.
The kobold tried to run past him up the entrance ramp. Va'al blocked it, knocking it over. Bandages and soap scattered across the ramp. Flachrolin tried to scramble to her feet. This became impossible as Va'al swung his sword and chopped one of them off.
Injured and bleeding, Flachrolin twisted around and did the only thing she could - stabbing upwards with her wickedly sharp thief's dagger into Va'al's chest. Va'al staggered backwards, gasping for breath. Fortunately for Va'al, the hospital was right there, so he didn't have far to go.
Flachrolin tried to crawl up the ramp, her thoughts only on escaping now. Unfortunately for her, the war sparrows milling around the hospital had noticed her by now. Uninjured, she might just barely have escaped them. With one leg ending in a bleeding stump, dragging herself over the rough dwarf-wrought stone, she didn't stand a chance. The flock of giant sparrows descended on her and tore her to pieces.
Inside the hospital, Assistant Doctor Kylin had not even noticed the commotion as he inspected Daenyth's injuries. "Your leg is a mess, but that's an old injury. Still has traces of infection. Looks like it wasn't cleaned and sutured quickly enough." Kylin paused for a moment to take a puff of his pipe. "Nothing I can do about that now. Now, let's look at your arm.."
Cilob's Journal - end of spring/start of summer 57The performance of our military against the latest wave of goblin incursions has been quite disappointing. I cannot blame any of our soldiers for their failure, other than that freakish elf-lover with the wooden spear - him I'll blame for getting himself injured. The rest of them fought as well as could be expected. No, this must be seen as a consequence of the low priority that has been placed on military readiness in this fortress.
I cannot turn this fortress into a military outpost and still meet the mission we have been sent to do. I had hoped to defend this fortress with war animals, but the giant war sparrows and other creatures have proven to be mostly ineffectual in open warfare. I do take some pride in my sparrows being the ones to kill the thief that somehow got inside. Note to myself - speak with Phenix about inspecting the curtain wall for gaps. I can't believe that a thief managed to sneak past the giant scorpions, venomous snakes, and war dogs covering the main gate.
No, defense of this fortress must come through engineering. After consulting with Quietust I have drawn up some plans. I will need for Corai to do a bit of custom carpentry, and the mason's guild to make some blocks and do some modification to the entrance.
Fortunately, Cain tells me that none of the soldiers were severely injured.
Prognosis of injured dwarves
Chief Medical Dwarf Cain ReportingPatient #1: Daenyth Olinrodem, Swordsdwarf
Assigned doctor: KylinOther than an old injury to the leg, the patient has a severely torn and mangled right arm. The injury extends through the muscle to the tendon and bone. It is possible that the patient may lose some mobility in the arm.
The injuries were cleaned and stitched. The patient was then left to rest as the doctor moved on to the next patient.
Patient #2: Va'al Oddomnazom, Swordsdwarf
Assigned doctor: CainPatient had a single stab wound to the chest. Once the bleeding was stopped, the injury was cleaned, sutured, and bandaged. Patient was then discharged from the hospital. A full recovery is expected.
Patient #3: Higginbottom III Unibbomrek, Hammerer
Assigned doctor: KylinPatient has a broken right arm with some laceration. The injury will need cleaning, stitching, bandaging, and immobilization. Patient also professes a hatred of the surface dwellers. No treatment is required for that.
Patient #4: ObeseHelmet Zuntirlimar
Assigned doctor: CainPatient has a broken right arm with some laceration. The injury will need cleaning, stitching, bandaging, and immobilization. Patient specifically requests a wooden splint. This request will be accommodated. Patient also requests that his bed be moved to the surface, and that elves be allowed to visit him. This request will not be accommodated.
Patient #5: Fritz Cattendoren ItredgelutPatient has not yet been evaluated, as she has requested that the other soldiers be treated first.
ObeseHelmet lay in his hospital bed. His arm had been cleaned, stitched and bandaged, and he was not only waiting for a splint. In the next bed over, Higginbottom III had finally fallen asleep, after spending hours cursing the goblins who had attacked them, the elves who had been the apparent target of the attack, and the surface and surface-dwellers in general.
ObeseHelmet had been thinking only of going back to the surface and retrieving his wonderful wooden spear. But now, in the silence, his attention had drifted to the bandage on his arm. It was a very strange cloth, not one he recognized. The material was not made from any plant that grew on the surface. It didn't seem to be made from pig tails either. Nor was it any wool or silk he recognized. It almost seemed crystalline somehow, as if spun from rocks. Not the fabled adamantine either, it was not at all blue.
What have they put on me, he wondered.
OOC: Yes, I'm updating again, although I can't offer any guarantees on how frequently I'll be able to do this.
Author
Topic: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming (Read 155546 times)