27th SandstoneKogan Kodornil, Survivor Farmer, has been found dead, drowned.
Kib itebagesh, Survivor Baby, has been found dead, drowned.The crowd was getting ugly. Another drowning, this time a mother with her child?! Shouts about murder and the Guard not doing their jobs echoed around the crannog. Uzol was trying to calm them with talk about the new jail being made and how investigations were ongoing but they took time. He had a few dwarves on his side, but a lot of anger was building up.
"We'll find out what happened. I promise!" Baron Zan walked through the crowd, honing in on the agriest dwarves. "We have to have patience. But with all the rain we've been having lately it's hard to figure out what happened. No one saw anything. There are no tracks, no clues. Our guard can't simply conjure up a criminal without proof! What are we,
Humans?" That last bit was laden with disgust, and it had the desired effect. No dwarf wants a sham of justice.
The crowd begins to disperse, right before news captures their attention.
"Migrants!" Called out Icefire. "Heading in from the south east!"
Dwarves milled about in the courtyard to greet the new arrivals. Kinsfolk are welcomed and strangers introduced, as all such parties are welcomed.
Toaster spoke with each in turn and wrote down their names and occupations.
"Anyone really useful?" asked Mephansteras, walking up to the Clerk.
"Eh, smattering of occupations, but nothing too noteworthy."
"Can any of them work a forge, or at least a smelter?"
"Well, there is a glass blower. That work?"
"He'll do. Put him down in the forges. We could use more smelters to deal with the backlog of ores we have built up."
"Will do."
3rd Moonstone"Ugh." Tiruin grimaced as she looked out over the sands. "More Kobolds sneaking around the gates. I hate those things."
"Yeah, me too." pisskop leaned against her spear. "Cowards won't even stick around long enough to fight me!"
The long, low call of a horn sent a chill down the two milita dwarves.
Goblins!
"Goblins?! How! Why?" Tiruin looked panicked.
"Gold, that's why! Why else!?" snapped pisskop. "Get the others up here, and get those civilians down underground!"
Jim was one of the first of the Captains topside. "What's going on?"
"An invasion, Ma'am. Goblin squad, from the north east. Looks like a mixed lot."
"Hmm. Ok, well, once the last of the farmers is in we can raise the bridges. Let them get bored and go away."
"We can't. The north bridge isn't scheduled to have the new mechanisms hooked up until later this afternoon."
"This afternoon. But...how did they
know?" Jim looked at the new bridge in horror.
"Can't say, Ma'am. But I think we're going to have a lot of work to do."