The Log of Idek5th Hematite 663The group of bandits we've met two years ago had send some of their men to us again. It seems the goblins are slowly increasing their patrols again, since they claimed to have trouble to support themselves. We traded food for some wood again and some golden trinkets for a large batch of pelts and leather they brought with them.
Im inclined to believe their storys. Since last fall, no new refugees have arrived here, after years of groups regularily coming to us. At the same time, I wonder why we where never accosted by the greenskins after that first raid.
2nd Malachite 663Early in the morning, the alarm was rang today. A minotaur was spotted from Vela, who was keeping watch from the archery tower.
It turned out that the danger was minimal. The creature had seemingly run into one of the dust clouds. It was bleeding from every orrifice and barely able to stand. While it slowly shuffled towards the general direction of our fortress, the marksdwarf Goden took a shot at it, hitting it in the leg. The beast let out a weak scream and dropped to the snow where it bled out within a few minutes.
Its probably the first victory of our militia that didn't end in a roaring party, mostly because our attacker was nearly dead before we even saw him.
15th Malachite 663Another beast is attacking us! One of the woodcutters noticed something moving in the dark while he was felling towercaps. It was slow and he coud flee easily, but he was still quite shaken from what he had seen. A gigantic, winged worm, covered in hair and emenating fumes that made the moss and mushrooms in its vincinity shrivel and die.
Considering the slowness of the best and that the woodcutter forgot in his panic where exactly he had seen it, our militia would go down and have to search for it.
Why are these things attacking us? This is third monster in the caverns alone and I can't figure out what draws them to us.
16th MalachiteOur militia returned and every single one of us was shocked about the state they came back in.
I think I should start at the beginning. After a few hours of fruitless search, our warriors where meeting near the caverns access to plan the next search attempt. I am not sure if it was pure chance, or if the worm hat stalked them, but it found them at this moment.
The twisting passages in this area made crossbow fire nearly impossible, so the squads pulled back and wanted to ambush the creature in the shaft leading to the mines. What nobody of them noticed, was that the marksdwarf Melbil hadn't yet returned from his search. They where still waiting for their opponent, when a piercing scream echoed through the halls. Melbil had come back, but couldn't enter the fort because beat blocked his path. Even worse, it had spotted him and breathed its withering dust on him.
The other immediately sprang to action, to save their comrade. The hope was, at least thats what Beirus told me, that they could overwhelm it before it could breath its dust again. Sadly, that was not the case. Dewsif, ShadowHammer, Spehss and Vela where caught in the dust while trying to kill the worm and drag the wounded Melbil to safety. Amidst the chaos, a lucky bolt from Goden managed to kill it, but the damage was done.
The first to arrive back into the fortress proper was Mafiawhale, who frantically shouted for Doctor Skull and to prepare the dormitory for wounded. Whe feared the worst when we heard slow footsteps coming up the stairways. What we then saw, was worse then everything we immagined.
I only saw ShadowHammer myself, I bolted to get cloth and other supplies for Doctor Skull immediately after seeing his state. His eyes where a dull white and while it seemed that he was still able to walk on his own, he still had his hand on the walls to find his way. His whole body was covered in the powder the beast had spat at him and below that, his skin looked pale and miscolored. The worst however, was the smell. It reeked of rotting flesh.
Doctor Skull is currently threating them. Word is, that the smell is the result of their flesh, down to bones, is indeed rotting. The doctor is doing is best, but many of us are fearing the worst.
6th Galena 663We found Nails daughter Bembol in one of the mineshafts today. Nobody passed there by mere chance, it was the smell that led Frontestro to investigate.
There is no sign how she got in contact with the poison that is slowly killing our militia, but the signs where the same. White eyes and the musty smell of rotten flesh.
I don't know who brought her to the hospital, I must admit to my own shame that I couldn't stomach to enter the doors that are plagued by flys since the fatefull battle. The girl was very and there where whisper that it might be to late. I think it was to late the moment she was infected by this plague.
Seeing grown dwarves in this state was bad enough, seeing a girl of barely over a year covered in black sores, blood and pus running down her body... The Fell Peak is living up to its name now.
11th Galena 663Idek slowly walked through the narrow tunnel that was the back entrance to the dormitory, a piece of cloth pressed to his face in a futile attempt to protect himself from the stench that crept through the door in front of him. Originally, this tunnel was dug to allow the militia quicker access to the tower, so that anyone sleeping in the dormitory could aid the defense of Igrishilrom within seconds. Now it was the only used entrance to the dormitory, since opening the double doors that where the main entrance would mean to release the smell into the whole fortress.
He waved his left hand in front of the doorknob to get rid of at least some of the flies that sat there. Usually, small groups of these things where coming up from the caverns, searching for food. Now they where sitting everywhere on this door, creeping thorugh the narrow gaps in it to get inside the hospital. It was a misnomer to call the room that. Just some beds and tables, nothing more was in there.
As he pushed the door open, the smell got even worse and the buzzing of flies was filling the air. With shaky steps, he entered the rough hewn room and despite the revolted feeling that crept through him, he looked around to see for himself what others had described in hushed tones. To the left of him still stood the beds. He had slept there for months after the founding of the settlement, but now they where covered with bload soaked bandages, discarded clothing and the wrapped up bodies of the unfortunate members of the militia that where fighting for their lifes for nearly a month now. He could see that Dewsif was trying to lift his head to see who had came in, but he lacked the strength to do so and his milky eyes told clearly that he probably wouldn't have seen Idek anyway.
On the other side of the room stood Doctor Skull, operating on the dwarf that laid on the table before him, if the dirty and blood caked head was any indication it was Spehss since she was the only one of the sick that shaved her head. Next to the seemingly unconscious dwarf stood a goblet and a half eaten plump helmet on a plate, now mostly covered by flies. Skull was basically living in here now, constantly working to save the lifes of his patients. How he could stand it in here, Idek had no idea.
Spehss laid flat on her stomach, while Skull worked on her back. There was a short grinding noise and a weak grunt told Idek that Spehss was far from unconsciouss. Meanwhile the doctor laid a hand on her head and spoke with a ragged voice to her. "I need to get everything off from the bone. Hold out for a short moment longer, im nearly done."
The grinding sound came back and Spehss did her best to bite the yell down that tried to escape her. After what seemed like hours, the grinding stopped and Spehss relaxed again. A large red-black glob was lifted with a pair of thongs and dropped on the pile of bloody bandages and what Idek now could identify as discarded bits of flesh next to the table. It was nearly as high as the table itself."What brings you here?"
Idek was pulled out of his morbid reverie, but the doctor didn't stop working. "I... I thought..."
He looked around the room again, at the blood covering the floor and in some places even the walls, the flies hungrily feasting on the decay all around him and the dieing forms of two of his oldest companions in Igrishilrom on the beds. What was it that he was thinking? What could he accomplish here? "You shouldn't be here Idek." "No... I need to be here. I can't..."
He shook his head to get his thoughts in order. "I brought them here. We've build this place together and I can't let them die here alone just because..."
Unable to find the right words, he just weakly gestured around the room. "I don't think they are even really aware of your presence anymore."
The doctor let out a deep sigh and grabbed the goblet, taking a deep gulp from it. "Look. They are rotting faster then I can cut the dead flesh out. Once im done with Spehss here, its Dewsifs turn again. Then Melbil, Vela, ShadowHammer and we are beginning with Spehss again... If they all hadn't asked me to do whatever was necessary to save them, I would have given them a painless death weeks ago. But these stubborn nutjobs decided that they where needed here."
While listening to him, Ideks gaze had begun to wander again, as if trying to find a inconsistency in this nightmare. Something that would allow him to wake up. Nothing of the sort was in sight and his gaze lingered for a moment on a sheet of pigtail cloth, draped over what probably was another lumpy pile of discarded bandages. The once grey cloth was nearly completely dyed in a splotchy red and black now. Alev and Lòr, their deaths where bad enough, but at least they had died quick, not started to decompose while their bodys where still alive. The he noticed something odd and brought his eyes back around to Doctor Skull. "What about Bembol. You didn't mention her. Is she getting better?"
There was a short clattering noise as Skull dropped his tools. For the first time since Idek had entered, he stopped working and after a few seconds of silence took the goblet again. "Bembol was critical when she was brought her. The feet where already completely gone, the calfs mostly too. She had a small cut on the right elbow, probably from falling down when her legs didn't support her anymore..."
A short pause, filled again by a mouth full of wine. "I had to take off both legs and her arm... but I couldn't stop the bleeding and there was not much blood left in her to begin with... I gave her as much liquor as necessary..."
Idek had watched him in stunned silence, his brain refusing to understand what he was being told. "Skull? Where is she?"
The doctor had gone back to work and without pausing pointed into the corner of the room where the beds stood. Slowly, Idek looked into the direction he was pointing. There was sheet of pigtail cloth, dyed a spotchy red with blood, draped over a small, lumpy thing, that was once a little girl.
Notes: The full effect of the syndrome is immediate blindless, followed by massive necrosis of all skin, flesh and bones. Internal organs are not affected so it might be survivable. It also leads to total loss of sensory nerves, but im not sure if thats a seperate effect or a result of the necrosis.
@Iamblichos: I think you are doing a very good job at keeping a diary. I would like to give you some input for that, but you are mostly cutting gems and little else these days.
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Topic: The Fell Peak [Community Fortress] - platinum blunt weapons for everyone! (Read 13023 times)