1st GraniteIt has been a while since the tragic demise of Gulf. We are without proper leadership but noone seems to notice. Everyone is too busy burrying their children, hailing mutilated remains of the dead, while still trying not to notice the wretched merchants sobbing in the depot and slowly starving to death. I suppose that the dead are the lucky ones.
3rd Granite
There was talk in the beerhalls tonight. There are rumors of a new overseer arriving from the mountain homes. Some drunken engineers were arguing about the waterfall that has killed so many. It still lies silent and sealed with no way of releasing it. Most wanted it to remain as it was but some mechanics decided to finish what they started. A few unfortunate bums were found loitering the hallways and ordered to help the mechanics in their work.
14th SlateWe have rarely had time for ourselves lately. Everyone has been keeping busy with getting the place back together. It keeps our mind off things. Logistics are not functioning as they used to now that our chain of leadership has been broken. The mayor currently has all the power yet doesn't seem to care about much anymore. All he does is talk about his figurines and even forbid us to trade them. Those of us that don't get any orders mainly just drown their sorrow in alcohol.
The militia commander has been acting strangely lately. Running around and taking things. The pressure must have finally gotten to his nerves.
While passing the bridges a few workers have spotted the melancholic buffalo that killed Gulf is still swimming in the river deep underneath us. Hardy fellow. We are too tired to harbor any ill will towards it anymore.
Edit: Ok, wrong buffalo. This is the one that "got away" by getting dropped down
20th SlateToday we were startled by a loud and far too familiar roar that shook the foundations. The waterfall. Many tankards were spilled and cusswords uttered that moment. Soon the mechanics busted in the beerhalls boasting that they have finally finished waterfall floodgates. Some of us were horrified of the idea but what is done is done. What manner of dwarf hangs above a deep canyon with their life depending only on a few loosely attached grates just to finish some mechanisms is beyond our comprehension. Yet somehow they did it.
Migrants. Why would anyone want to come here? They say that our next overseer will be coming among them.
Scruffy, Overseer has arrived
The first thing I heard was the roaring. Then I saw the mist. It was as if the earth was full of wide racks and water was falling into the deep bowels of the earth. The roaring of the waterfalls in my ears and cold mist on my beard my I watched as my wagon brought me closer to the fortress . So this is the hole in the dirt I was ordered to govern.
Well, actually I didn't really choose this job but my superiors volunteered me for it. The last thing I saw in the mountain homes before departing was a bunch of nobles swarming my old office and haggling over who would get to take my masterwork tables and cabinets. I don't really miss that place though.
I never really heard what happened to the previous overseer and why this place was so unpopular among the locals. It is a beatiful fortress. There can't be anything wrong with it, now can there? Little did I know..
The others told me to watch my steps in here until I get out of the sunlight into the safe underground halls. Strange. I don't see any proud young axedwarves or steel-clad old veterans coming to protect my passage. All I saw was a bunch of masons and peasants in old rags and worn looks on their faces.
For some reason most of the dwarves who came to escort me inside looked apathetic and wore a look almost as if they were in daze. Shouldn't they be happy for finally getting a new overseer? It is almost like they had all lived through the change of leadership many times before. But that can't be right, can it? There also seems to be something.. something else bothing them. Almost like something that had been gnawing their minds for much longer than I have been here.
Some workers were standing on the bridges pointing down the canyon. I asked what they were staring. The only answer I got was something about "Gulf's bane" and "the hardy bugger finally succumbing" When I looked down all I saw was a rotten carcass of some large animal and a few whispy figures sometimes flickering into existence and then disappearing when I tried looking at them. Something about "spirits of the forsaken dead" or other nonsense. Edit: Seems like it was the melancholic bovine, not the berserk one. Well, not going to change the journal for that
20th Felsite
The militia commander was running through the halls and waving a strange bracelet around. He was shouting something about "Memadsezuk, the Reinslaps". All I saw was a phyllite bracelet with some engravings and studs of even more phyllite. Poor fellow.
A company of elves was spotted crossing our borders earlier tonight. Must be the caravan we have been expecting. I asked the Mayor about what fine wares they have been producing. I never really got a straight answer but I have seen alot of stone goods around. Strange. Now that I think about it haven't seen many metal goods around since I arrived. I must be imagining things.
The mist and flow of the water. It is alluring. It is almost.. almost as it was calling me. Calling, but why?1th Hematite
There appears to be a bronze minecraft floating in the river deep below us. I'm sure that if I asked someone could give me a detailed description on what kind of incompetence let to this mysterious floater but you know what? I don't even want to know. After a while you will just learn to ignore these things. Sometimes I feel like ignorance is one of the only ways of remaining atleast moderately sane in here.
5th Hematite
When I was sent here I throught that this was the place where they sent all those unneeded peasants, loonies and minor criminals. You know, to get rid of them and make them someone elses problem. I am starting to think that I was only partially right. This is not a colony. Not even an asalym or a prison of sorts. This is the place where they gather all the incompetent bums and useless dimfits that were dropped too many times as a babies.
But that doesn't explain why I ended up in here..
I heard stories of a strange underground structure deep beneath the fortress. Some of the new migrants seemed interested in sending a new expedition in there. Most likely in hopes of finally finding some metal and riches to work with. I can't say that I wasn't interested in the idea myself but for some reason most of the older, more rugged inhabitants seemed unwilling to talk about what happened in the caverns. The whole conversation ended when an elderly lady started weeping uncontrollably and some bozo full of scars burst out of the beerhalls screaming and shouting gibberish. That is never a good sign so I decided to let the caverns be for now. We don't have anything to use that magma for anyway.
Hematite 10th
I was chatting with the elves (decent folk I must say. They must be the only poor chaps that have even less metal than we do. The thought of that cheered me up a little and I think that the elves saw a slight smirk on my face.)
Even though we are low on metal I have ordered our few representable pieces of armor (or atleast the ones that have the least rust and chunks of gobbos in them) to be distributed to our remaining militia and told them to guard our main enterence. We may not have much but atleast we won't show that to the visitors. We don't want their pity.
A peasant burst screaming into the depot. At first I couldn't get a clear word out of him but finally he uttered on word: "Goblins"
We ran throught the door and there they were. An ambush of greenskins already inside the corridor and and closing in.
Naturally I did the only reasonable thing that any real leader would. Ran as fast as my stubby feet could carry me while shoving aside those masons and fisherdwarves that didn't make way. Fools. Don't they know that my life is more important than theirs.
Someone shouted "Pull the Lever! Urist, PULL THE BLOODY LEVER!" I suppose that I heard some kind of rumbling and grinding of mechanisms but I didn't care at the moment. I needed to get safe.
14th Hematite
There is movement in the corridors. They are coming again. Coming for me.
They are not gonna get me. They may slaughter my minions but they won't get me.
They are knocking my door. Not knocking. POUNDING! They have been doing this for days.
But they won't get me. I will survive.
17th Hematite
So thirsty. They are still pounding the door. I hear shouts
18th Hematite
They are coming through. The door won't hold anymore. RAARGH!!
--Overseer Scruffy spent the next few days in the jail explaining why he had abandoned his duties, locked himself in his room and assaulted the brewer who was coming to see if he was still alive in there--
21st Hematite
They told me that someone had retracted the bridges and most of the goblins had drowned in the river days ago. The mayor himself had gone out of his way to release a horde of muts and dogs on the remaining inviders. They say that it will take weeks to recapture all those critters since the animal trainer had forgotten to give them war training. Darn things just panicked, clawed their way through the remaining goblins and ran for hills.
I heard that the hillsides were swarming with goblins but that might have been an exaggeration. There were only a few bodies so I doubt that there were more than a dozen. Can't those idiots even count?
Two stark naked bums just walked past room. That is not something I wan't to see more often. They don't seem to even care. I presume that the fort is starting to run low on clothes. The state of the fort (both physical and mental) is starting to worry me.
You don't even want to know what the beerhalls look like. Dead dogs littering the ground. Drunken idiots passed out on the floor. Dozens of semi-naked idiots sitting legs wide open in their favorite chairs, drinking what the brewers dare to call beer and wiping their faces on their beards. It is not a pretty sight. I suppose that I need to order the clothiers to make a few trousers or atleast keep my door closed. Can't they figure this out by themselves? Why do they need my help to even be able to find a new pair of pants to wear?
23rd Hematite
I heard that the elves will be leaving soon. I figured that we could get atleast a few pieces of clothing from them. (or what ever those hippies call "clothing". Might as well be ropereed thongs and fluffy earmuffs for their pointy.. never mind. I'm starting to blabber again)
Can you believe it? The mayor was once again too busy filling his guts with rum to even bother going to the depot! Yet he had appointed himself to the position of a broker and refuses others to take the job. "We don't need no smelly nobles in 'ere! Ya' are enough!" or something like that. A young presser had to do his work for him. A presser!
And what did he trade for clothes? Bins full of perfectly usable clothes with just a few holes and stains! Idiot! Then he even botched the deal by offering them a torn shirt with a pictúre of oaks. In oak. Bloody idiot! Well, atleast we got a few shirts and shoes.
I ordered the bridges to be lowered so we can get rid of those elves.
I hope the goblins or something worse get those uppity hippies on their way back. I can't believe that I used to like them.
24th Hematite
Shouldn't have said that. Now the patrols report an ettin coming closer to our fortress. The bloody brute assaulted a fellow dwarf coming from the mountainhomes, killed our doctor and the proceeded assaulting the remaing goblins and dogs.
The brute remains sealed yet we are also trapped inside. Normally we wouldn't care. Normally we would just seal the gates and continue as we used to but this is not a normal fortress. The caravans are coming. We know that they are. We need to welcom them. We need them. We NEED metal.
8th Malachite
Migrants. How do they expect to get inside? Well, it is not my problem. We have enough mouths to feed as it is.
We have heard strange noises from the caverns again. Something is going on in there. Well, I don't care as long as it doesn't concern us.
12th Malachite
We released the ettin. Currently we have two major problems at hand. The ettin and the migrants. This should solve atleast one of them. Either we get rid of the ettin or the ettin gets rid of the migrants. Can't make things much worse
16th Malachite
I got word that the ettin is dead. Killed by a lowly goblin no less. A goblin with a silver spear. Better send someone to get rid of it.
We opened the bridges and what did we see? Our old cook who dissappeared a month ago. All this time he has been waiting outside. He even brought us a handful of rat weed. What the heck does the expect us to do with it?
Ast, one of our miners informed me that he dug a long corridor below a the remains of a dead caravan. He says that he wants to reclaim them from below. It is risky but I allowed him to continue
25th Malachite
I saw the wispy figures deep below the bridges again tonight. For a moment is felt like they were waving. Waving at me. Almost as if inviting me to join them. Then I blinked and they were gone again
--The next few pages have been torn out--
5th Galena
Desperate times ask for desperate measures. Our bookkeeper has been counting our goods and there seem to be fast quantities of equipment in the bottom of the watery chasm. I don't like the idea but as rusty and ragged they may be we need those items. I have asked the miners about this project. It will not be easy but it must be done.
10th Galena
The other have been wary of me lately. This morning one of them came to talk to me. Asked if I was ok. What was that supposed to mean? How can I be fine? I am in Gateivory. Does anyone in here truly feel content?
The miners told me that they have finished the plans for our little project. They are going to change the course of the river so it runs inside the bedrock. Should be a relatively easy job, no? Ofcourse it doesn't seem to be. They insist that they replicate the course of the river exactly. That is an enormous job but they insist on it. Darn it. I know that humans say that our dwarven stubborness borders insanity but I have never before understood what they ment. After meeting these pains in the arses I think that I am starting to see the wisdom in their words..
The animaltrainers have been constructing an animal park of some kind. I will have to go check it out sometime. It is good that they have something to do to keep their minds of other things
20th Galena
A human caravan arrived and keas are wreaking havok in the top levels. I asked the mayor to buy us some clothes since I am getting tired of seeing drunken idiots in their birth suits. (though it has its advantages sometimes. Never knew that my secretary was a she or what Kol's wife was hiding under her beard.. )
I visited the zoo today. What a strange assortment of various creatures. Chickens, goblins, even humans and jabberers and many strange creatures I have never seen before. And keas. Those bloody balls of feathers and thievery.
10th Limestone
The miners asked me to recruit some additional help for them.
The mayor finally dragged his arse in the depot. He told me that the humans only had large clothes so he got us a few bars and some junk to melt down. I like those humans. Unlike those uppity elves those humans atleast have some basic understanding of stone and don't get offended from seeing a twig or piece of oak. Sometimes I think that they are kind of lesser dwarves. Less civilized, huge and not very bring like us dwarves and the worse of all: living above ground yet still somewhat dwarven.
20th Limestone
I wish I had never come here. This place is.. this place is not ment for us. It.. changes people. We become hardened.. wretched. It makes us lose something. Makes us sorrowful.. makes us not care anymore.
I saw a one legged miner limp past me. Said that he was going to the mines. I think that this lack of metal hits them the hardest. Always mining. Mining without ever finding anything
5th Sandstone
Half of the fortress is either digging the new riverbed or hauling out the rubble
7th Sandstone
More homeless migrants gets dumped on our fortress. We all were once like them. Coming here because we were not wanted in the mountainhomes and hoping for a better future in here. Ofcourse they won't admit it yet but they all know it. They were sent here to get them out of the way. They just walked in while admiring the view and asking quastions. Some were amazed by the rivers while other were disqusted by the lack of luxury that they most likely were used to in the mountainhomes.
Met the one-legged miner again. He broke his only healthy leg. Why do people let him use a pick?!?
20th Sandstone
The riverbed is around two thirds finished. It is amazing what two dozen dwarves can do when they are put to work. Having a goal is good for them.
A fisherdwarf was found dead today. They say that a kiwi did it. How can this be? What is a kiwi?
This lack of metal.. is not natural. Not for us dwarves atleast. It gnaws on us. Slowly at first but the longer you stay here the more you start feeling it. The forges lie cold. The anvils covered in dust. Spirits of the dead wander the sealed hallways.
6th Timber
The river. We must get rid of it. I ordered the miners to hasten their pace. They claim that it is impossible. Lies. Lazy bastards. They are lieing. I know it. We can finish this faster. They don't want to finish. They want to keep it here. Keep the river.
8th Timber
Change the course of the river! Do it. I don't care if it is not finished. We can finish the rest of it later. Just do what you can now.
15th Timber
Caravan from the mountainhomes. No time for that. The mayor can handle them. We have more important things to do.
17th Timber
Goblins. They came from the east. East is where the mountainhomes are. Can't trust them. Seal the fortress! What? You refuse? Then I will pull the lever myself!
Moonstone
The liason doesn't understand. He claims I'm going crazy. He says that the others in the fort are worried about me. He intends to replace me. Says that someone else will come at spring. To let me rest and get better. He lies. Don't believe him. Can't be trusted. Nobody can.
Opal
The waterfall. I haven't had a drink in a while. I am not thinking straight. The others around me are looking at me strange. Fools. Don't the understand? Why doesn't anyone understand!? It was not made for us. The mist. THE MIST!--Scruffy has been missing for a week.--
A few days later the river project was finished and the misty riverbed started drieing.
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Topic: gateivory, all is silence (CLOSED!) (Read 87452 times)