Okay Sloth, it's the 27th. My turn.
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Okay, my turn is done. Enjoy!
-Diary of Anthony Palacemighty-Granite 1, Year 78I don't know what's going on. The fortress is in a panic. A large force of goblins has arrived on our doorstep and they have blood in their eyes.
Our previous commander has apparently never seen a day of combat in his life and jumped ship as soon as things got rough. Not that I should be pointing fingers; I have no experience in these matters. People are running around in panic. Candy is attempting to maintain order, but it's not working. There are just too many undisciplined men running around. I guess it's up to me to smooth this out. Being only a jeweler, I have no idea how a siege is supposed to operate, but I think I know what to do about the madness that's overtaken this fort.
Our militia commander orders the drawbridge to be raised. The goblins can't get to us if we don't allow them access. I set to work immediately and set up a panic room. I set up two food stockpiles. One for meat and the other for drinks. This should keep the populace safe and calm while they wait out the battle.
It's time to face the goblin force head on. After making a few silver bludgeons for our fighting force, we finally give the word and lower the drawbridge. Go, brave brothers and help them hear the Demon's Laughter! Do honor by your people and FIGHT!!!
And the result of this attack?
Oh my...
Slate 19, Year 78
The frontal attack was a miserable failure. Blood covers the landscape and the goblins laugh with glee as they
repeatedly stab our militia commander. We will miss you, dear brothers, whatever your names were. Luckily, our commander has a contingency plan. Our siege engineers set to work immediately building catapults. We set up a siege workshop in the cavern and began to work. The goblins seemed to sense that we were bringing out heavy artillery, because for seemingly no reason, they turned tail and ran off into the horizon. We shouldn't have taken notice. It would have been better that way.
No sooner had we lowered the drawbridge and began to breathe a sigh of relief, we saw what had made the goblins run away...
In the chaos, a shriveled, sunken man crept near our walls. He cackled as he waved his arms, weaving some sort of satanic spell. My eyes grew wide in horror as my own dead brothers rose from their crumpled heaps, lurching over the drawbridge and into our defenseless home. The stump of Utes Amxuutol's bloody hand lurched its way toward me as I shuffled as far away as I could manage. Just when I thought that all was lost, the remnants of our ramshackle militia retrieved our lost maces and proceeded to mete out silvery justice to the undead abominations. The drawbridge was raised, cutting us off from the outside world and sealing off further threats. Sadly, many good men were killed during the raid, but we did manage to kill the sorcerer. Let's hope that he is the only one of his kind.
Felsite 5, Year 78With the undead forces squelched, Candy did a quick head count and decided to make sure that this catastrophe could never happen again. Our graves and refuse piles would be moved deep underground, far from the reaches of any sorcerer. We began to dig out a chamber far underground where our dead could rest. In the aftermath of the battle, I was put in charge of caring for the wounded. Dammit man, I'm a jeweler, not a doctor!
Felsite 8, Year 78Last night, I had a horrible dream. The dead stalked me in my sleep, crawling and shuffling, always closer, always hungry. Everywhere I turned, more horrible beasts closed in. Just as they were about to descend upon me, I woke up screaming and drenched in cold sweat. Candy saw my condition and decided to relieve me of my medical duties.
(Let me explain this one. Just when I thought that things were going well,
the ENTIRE refuse stockpile rose up at once and killed EVERYONE. It was
a massacre. The fort was completely demolished with no survivors. Needless
to say, I decided to savescum and make better choices this time) Hematite 13, Year 78Things seem to have calmed down over the past few weeks. Nobody is happy, but at least we are safe from the monsters. It appears that there are still a few monsters outside that our soldiers didn't manage to deal with, but they can't get in. It's still safe. We have started work on a formal graveyard and a deep refuse pit. Once those are finished, we will move all of the bones and corpses underground where they belong. We're going to need a lot of coffins.
Malachite 13, Year 78The events of the past few months have left me acutely aware of my own fleeting mortality. I know that one day my life will end and I do not wish to spend Eternity in a mass graveyard, just one more name on a slab. I have decided to build for myself a private tomb. I know that the mayor does not approve of this course of action, but I can't shake this idea. Just maybe, if I can secure my own place of death, I can get rid of this horrible feeling. I've forged documents that will convince the miners to cooperate with me. Let's just hope I can finish my work before anyone important finds out. I'll also get the miners to work on the mayor's quarters. Perhaps that will distract him from my insubordination.
Malachite 17, Year 78Migrants have arrived. Every undead still “alive” instantly charged for the fresh victims. I thought for sure that they would only add to the numbers of the fallen. Against all odds though, they not only survived, they scoured the hills and rid our land of those monsters. This is wonderful news! The mayor has given the order to lower the drawbridge and reclaim the countryside.
Limestone 1, Year 78Things have been relatively quiet for the past few weeks. Merchants have supplied us with equipment for our hospital and cloth for making new clothing. We are still relying on a militia to protect us. The mayor is too busy overseeing the construction of his quarters to pay attention to much else. He has, however, mandated the excavation of new living quarters. The carpenters and stoneworkers are working day and night to prepare dozens of beds and doors for the new rooms. It might take several months to finish the mining, but it should be quite functional when all is said and done.
Timber 12, Year 78Nothing much going on right now. Things are peaceful. Work continues on the living quarters and I am putting the finishing touches on my project. The mayor is too busy enjoying his new suite to notice me.
...
This is bad. Really bad. Those bastard goblins are back again, and this time, they've brought an army with them. I see trolls, frogs, crocodiles, and even a cyclops. We got everyone inside as fast as we could, but it's getting a bit hard to maintain order. I can hear the mayor yelling, “SOMEBODY RAISE THE DAMN BRIDGE!”
Oh no... I can hear them now. We've got the bridge raised, but several of them managed to charge inside while we were panicking. It's a shame that my chamber was never completed. We're all going to die in here and I will be forgotten, just one more pile of broken bones...
The mayor is setting up a poor excuse for a militia as we speak, but it's pretty clear that this is going to be a bloodbath. Our soldiers are greatly outmatched, but we have numbers on our side.
Moonstone 1, Year 78The intruders are clearly in it for the long haul. Our soldiers are keeping them at bay, but all of our weapons are being held in the cavern to the north. Anyone trying to retrieve a weapon gets cut to pieces, so they are reduced to fighting with their bare hands. Injuries are mounting too fast to sustain. We can only hope that the enemy collects enough injuries to give up before we run out of able men.
The conditions are horrible. For every moment of the last few weeks, we are all aware that there are only a few hundred feet between the invaders and us. I can't sleep. I can't eat, although I am amazed that I'm still alive. The sounds of battle are unceasing and the number of injured dwarves keeps growing. The hospital has no more room for them, but we can't do much to help them in this bedlam. We have no choice but to wait out the fight and accept our fate.
Moonstone 10, Year 78I thought this day would never come. We've managed to lock the remaining invaders in the graveyard. As long as the door remains secure, we can use this time to pick up the pieces of our crumbled fortress. There is still hope.
Moonstone 11, Year 78We finally had time to count the survivors today. Javier isn't with us. He must have been locked out when we raised the bridge. I hope he's all right out there, but I don't think anyone could have evaded that army for this long. When all of this is over, he will get a warrior's burial. He deserves nothing less.
Opal 17, Year 78Things are looking up, but only a little. My tomb has been completed and the mayor is none the wiser. The chaos has died down, though the goblin forces continue to wait by the bridge. The living quarters are showing progress. It's far from complete, but rebuilding will take time.
Obsidian 27, Year 78I think the mayor is on to me. I don't know for sure what he knows, but I think I need to lay low for a while. I think he got suspicious when I used the forged documents to order a tomb built for Javier. I'm burning the papers now. Hopefully someone will take notice and finish the project, but I can't do it. I need to keep a low profile. It's been a long year.
*Year End Report*I have moved the refuse pile inside and deep underground.
Built a large graveyard. We're going to need the room.
I managed to designate a sizable area for sleeping quarters, but running out of wood for beds is a constant concern.
The goblin siege actually killed fewer people than it should have, but the number of injuries was staggering. A few of them appear to have healed up, but I didn't think to make traction benches until right before my turn was up.
One member of the embark team has died. Javier was locked out of the fortress while desperately attempting to retrieve a crossbow bolt. His tomb has been excavated and designated, but his sarcophagus has not been constructed. I hope Javier likes how the tomb was designed.
All in all, the year was a tough one, but it could have been much worse. Only one important dwarf actually died. All of the others were nearly useless grunts. The carnage almost started a tantrum spiral, but I managed to prevent it by locking all of the malcontents in the tomb with high-value furniture.
For NotQT, There are a few things you should know. Follow or ignore them as you see fit.
A few of our injured dwarves need traction benches before they can be fixed up.
We'll need armor and a military training room if we want to stand a chance against another raid.
Lots of proper bedrooms have been dug out, but they have not been filled with furniture.
Once the siege disperses, there is a crap-ton of loot in the trading post where the merchants were slaughtered.
Don't forget that there is a goblin locked in the graveyard. Deal with him carefully. He's a tough little bastard.
Have fun!
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