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[Deus Asmoth]

Just as long as the Hellguard never has an Order 66 moment. And they leave those statues where they are.

[Gnorm]

Corley's Journal
The Maskdwarf
--
The Maskdwarf just came here, alive! How could something even like him survive Steelhold, and for as many years as have passed! He's definitely not an ordinary dwarf, that much I have always known; what he is I don't know. He claims to have the power of the "True Gods," but what that means, I can't say. How long has he been here? Has he been watching me for all these past years?

He claims to have knowledge of my goals and the Ascension Project, and he has ordered me to stop. He threatens me with magic, claiming that he can dispatch me without effort, but I doubt his words. If he truly wanted my plans to be stopped, he would have killed me—I'm not going to give into any command's of his—and I wouldn't put it past him to lie. Perhaps he actually wants me to disobey him; there's only one way to find out. The demon seems to have considerable thaumateurgical skill, as he demonstrated in our recent confrontation. I tried to cast a basic offense spell at him, but it didn't work; I was never much of a combat-magic user anyway. If he comes back, I'll use the matchlock, and should that fail, he'll taste my sword.

A few things that the Maskdwarf said to me struck me as quite odd. For one, he stated that the FractalEntity is apparently one of the strongest thaumateurges around. I suppose that explains why he can simply rise from the grave whenever he feels like it, but how would the Maskdwarf know so much about the issue. He gave the implication that the two of them were working together, saying that he'll be my enemy too if I continue with my plans. I might see about having a little chat with him. The Maskdwarf also advised me to check for tunneling in the fortress. I'm not sure what he meant by that—whether literally or figuratively—but I've told Leopold to have his men keep an eye open.

I feel that I'll need more information now that I know about the presence of another enemy. I've requested that Leopold take any scroll, book, pamphlet, or tome from the library related to Steelhold or cultism and to bring it here to me; I have plenty of studying to do if I'm going to stay alive. I told him that he should also ask Tarmid if he knew of any such works that were not in the library, and that should questions arise—for they are wont to do so when the Order is involved—to say that its just historical and theological curiosity. Until then, I wait.

[4maskwolf]

Just as long as the Hellguard never has an Order 66 moment. And they leave those statues where they are.

Their entire mission, as far as the rest of the fortress knows, is to keep those statues in place and make sure nothing comes out of the depths.

[FallenAngel]

Now I have an irresistible urge to move those statues...

[Gnorm]

Does anyone else in the fort have any knowledge of the Demongate Guardians even existing, or just of the Hellguard?

[4maskwolf]

Does anyone else in the fort have any knowledge of the Demongate Guardians even existing, or just of the Hellguard?

Just the Hellguard.  The Demongate Guardians are a secret society, so to speak.

[MDFification]

It'd be a shame to waste the Hellguard for simply plot reasons. I recommend digging them a proper barracks down in the midst of the cavern levels (perhaps doubling as a better bastion? Our current fallback points are insufficiently supplied to handle the fort's population, and it never hurts to have a secondary one in case of emergency) and using them as our front line against forgotten beasts.

[4maskwolf]

It'd be a shame to waste the Hellguard for simply plot reasons. I recommend digging them a proper barracks down in the midst of the cavern levels (perhaps doubling as a better bastion? Our current fallback points are insufficiently supplied to handle the fort's population, and it never hurts to have a secondary one in case of emergency) and using them as our front line against forgotten beasts.

Part of their duties (once they are skilled enough) will be forgotten beast cleanup, yes.  I'll probably take your advice on moving supplies down there, but why dig out a bastion when we have one already built for us?

Edit: but if the defenses work as they hopefully will, we'll hardly need them on the surface.  Also, since I'm going to have them training around the clock, they can serve as powerful backup troops should the need arise.  Particularly if we continue playing this fortress for another five or so years, we may need two whole squads of experienced soldiers to supplement whatever is left of the normal squads.  I do have plans for the future of putting them back into the regular military, but for now I don't think we really need them, particularly since most of them are so new to fighting.  I have practical reasons for isolating them as well as story reasons.

[FallenAngel]

FallenAngel IV's room

"Ah, there's where I put it. Can't believe I tried to jam it between the bricks..."

From the engravings of FallenAngel IV, Legendary+2 bodysurfer

(the top half of the tablet is missing)
have a plan. Given my average aiming skills and lack of experience with a crossbow, I will construct a device I saw in a dream about the far future. It's two small, curved glass panes with the outer one being larger, all surrounded by a rigid material. Said object will, when attached to a crossbow, permit anyone to get a better idea of where they are aiming, increasing accuracy fourfold at the very least - all it requires is knowledge of how to make a crossbow fire, which is easy to pick up. The second part of the plan involves string and paper, which I've already taken and have in my lab. This requires no magic. The most rudimentary thing I have ever built.

This is my finest hour.

Later, in FallenAngel IV's part of Dantheman's lab

"It was so nice of the glassworkers to take some clear glass and make these lenses. Now, to take some wood to make the outer part..."

Two hours later

"Success! And now to attach it to the crossbow, which I... uh... borrowed from a ranged squad..."

(the sound of wood clacking against metal is heard throughout the halls)

"...and there, it's done. Now, to relay the message..."

The halls of Demongate, outside Thane's room

"Perfect, she's about to get out of her room. Bolt? Check. Note? Check. String? Check. Device? Check. Crossbow? Check."

(FallenAngel IV aims the crossbow, sending the bolt inches past Thane's skull and into her bedroom wall)

"Now to run while she's still confused."

From the writings of FallenAngel IV, Legendary+2 Bodysurfer

Thane, I have something that must be discussed. Meet me at my tomb in two hours. And bring Ob Kat.

[danmanthedog]

There is the room I made for the host in the dark fortress you can take but must taken with plot force.

[Deus Asmoth]

Thane stared in disbelief at the note on the bolt. The fact that it was there was a fair indication that the lunatic hadn't planned to kill her, but on the other hand it wasn't the most pleasant of things to wake up to. Muttering curses under her breath she stormed towards the offices, shouldering several dwarves with slow reflexes out of her way.
"Brenzen!" Thane shouted, hammering on the door of his room with her fist. "Come out! I've had enough of this shit!"
The door creaked open, revealing the knight.
"What?" he asked curtly, glaring at her still-clenched fists. For a moment, Thane thought she saw a swirl of magic around him, but it vanished just as quickly.
"Him!" she said, throwing the bolt on Brenzen's table. "This utter psycopath! He's tried to rob me, he's been vandalising my office! He reanimated Vladamir's corpse for Rakas' sake! He fired this at my head a couple of minutes ago, and now he wants me to meet him to talk!"
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"You could do your job for a start," Thane snarled. "You're supposed to hate magic, yet you're letting a necromancer who claims to be a gods damned demon roam around freely in a military run fortress? Cut his head off, burn him at the stake, bury him under a crossroads! I don't care!"
You could just go and see him. He probably thinks he can help you.
Thane suppressed a scream with difficulty. She was certain she'd never been this furious before, so full of rage that it felt like more was flowing into her from every direction. Two rooms away, Tarmid frowned in confusion as the reading on his thaumometer dropped by fifteen. Thane breathed deeply.
"I'm warning you now," she said quietly. "If I go to see Fallen Angel, or if he comes to find me after I don't, and someone else isn't there, one of us is going to die. I've had enough. I'm asking you, as a friend, to stop me from trying to kill one of the people I'm meant to be protecting."

[FallenAngel]

At FallenAngel's tomb

"Where is she? From everything I have gathered, convincing someone you don't plan to kill them by firing a crossbow bolt near their head but missing on purpose should work. Dwarves are weird. Maybe after this fortress falls I'll be a goblin for a while. That'd be fun."

(FallenAngel IV taps his foot)

"She'll come by eventually; after all, I stole some important papers. In the meantime..."

(FallenAngel IV pulls out a large book)

"...time to read up on more magic that even I haven't tapped yet."

[Deus Asmoth]

Thane doesn't even have a thaumometer!

[Rhaken]

"She'll come by eventually; after all, I stole some important papers and the Thaumometer. In the meantime..."

...You whatnow.

Tarmid is the one with a thaumometer. And you'd have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers, even if by some miracle you knew it existed. And where did you get those "important papers"?

EDIT: Ninja'd.

[FallenAngel]

Thane doesn't even have a thaumometer!

The word "Thane" looks a lot like the word "Tarmid".
Changing it.

EDIT: There's not too much paper in Demongate; the most logical option was to take some from Thane's office while she was asleep, so that's where the important papers were gotten from.