Opal 15
I've sealed myself in Fort Silverplum. Things have... deteriorated somewhat. The weather's gone bad and a snowstorm has been raging for the entire month. Given that Benviento's probable conspiracy has lead to most of the city wearing at least one article of threadbare clothing and that almost all work is done outside this has been particularly taxing. Problem dwarf Lead Tanner Kol threw a tantrum and in a fit of anger threw a mussel at a kitten horribly crippling it. Upon witnessing this a nearby animal trainer decided that Kol's grievances with the cat were legitimate, pulled out an axe, and hacked the animal to death before impaling it's body on the decorative railing of the bridge to the pickled plum. I took a moment to look around and noticed that many dwarves were quite angry and hoped to exact their own vengeance upon the cat. I approached the nearest soldier to warn him to be ready for madness to break out but this turned out to be Hostergaard who replied only “there's no room for mercy in this world.” Something else might have happened after that but I quickly retreated to the Fort.
I've decided it's time for young Dakost to start earning his position as lead child so I've arranged for him to stop by Fort Hawkblockades in the morning and evening so he can tell me what's happened in the city and I can issue orders appropriately without leaving the safety of the fort. It was dumb luck that the object of Kol's anger was an admitedly unlikeable cat who the entire city rose up against. Had it been a dwarf, a dwarf with friends then the city could be swallowed by factionalist riots because one sad idiot who Weird imbued with an undeserved sense of self worth threw his dinner.
I'm concerned that having him arrested after such a show of support from the community might cause trouble so I instead ended my export ban on thrones in celebration of the animals murder. It didn't make sense to me either but I was trying to placate and flee from a mob at the same time.
I've been sealed up for about two weeks now but the news from Dakost is enough to let me do my job. Weirds slum is being terrorized by a Giant Owl that's been circling the village for some time. No injuries yet save a few soiled trousers but we desperately do not need any more stressors right now. Dakost's latest poll revealed much of the city is still experiencing vengeful fervor about whatever the hell that cat did. I had the guard search the houses on their patrol to make sure nobody died in one of them.
The days feel much longer now that I'm alone but they also feel so much more enjoyable. I spent all day yesterday looking at my owl and then I fed it some pig lung biscuits. This morning I decided to get some exercise so I removed my masterwork sword from it's case and trained with it, I think I worked out some of the rust from my lessons with maxcat. After things quiet down I think I'll have a screw pump installed so I can build some strength. I ventured to pop my head out and noticed her majesty hauling stone from silverplum mine. She was obviously trying to taunt me about my latest reclusiveness but I just reminded her to dump the stone as close to the mason's workshop as possible and delighted in the fact that I was technically her boss.
Obsidian 1
I've done some work with the emergency protocol. It now includes all three levels of the Plum and my own home to ensure nobody attempts to evacuate me or any guests I may have from my secure fortress to the stupid tavern in the event of an emergency. I've decided to take this last month to rest. Most of the new mining is done and even though I set up tracks I won't bother plotting a new system for them to be used.
It's stopped snowing and things have quieted down a bit so I've decided to venture back outside and resume my normal duties. Here's hoping for an easy month before I dump this pile of slop on Weird's lap.
Obsidian 28
Kol finally snapped. She started shouting and punched PK hard in the neck, he quickly got his guard up and the rest of the blows fell on his forearms but it was pure luck that his neck wasn't broken or his windpipe wasn't crushed. He may have been badly injured but a nearby soldier rushed to break up the altercation earning Kol's ire himself. The soldier was quite skilled and not one attack found purchase, soon Kol grew tired and declared she was on break. The audacity of that vile woman! I gave her a pass when she killed that cat and displayed it's carcass where it now sits but it seems to have given her the wrong message. To not only attack a dwarf under my protection but a Founder? Not only has PK been instrumental to Nevertaxed, not only is he one of the six dwarves on the planet with the sheer fortitued to make this bloody trek before there was anyhting to come to, but he is a personal friend and I considered it a personal duty to see to it this does not go unpunished. PK could have been killed for her idiotic tantrum and the moment I saw her turn and walk away as though nothing had happened I grabbed the nearest Guardsdwarf, called her guilty of two assaults, and pointedly ordered him to “take care of it.”
He was eager to please.
Very eager.
After he mangled her ankle he looked at me for approval but I shook my head. He was hesitant but he began hitting her unconscious form.
He looked up every so often but I kept instructing him to continue until it was no longer necessary.
A skull is only so tough and after a few punches from a dwarf of his size and strength it's structural integrity was dramatically compromised.
It was quite the shock to passersby including a few young children but she was an awful, arrogant woman who didn't respect commerce, hard work, or the principle of owing loyalty to another. She had no friends, a few cousins but none of them particularly care. The disciplinarian is conflicted, he's been severely bothered by the death but he's proud to have done his duty, I imagine he'll be fine.
Some of the other farmers who Weird stupidly gave titles were nearby and broke down in shock. The “lead cheesemaker” in particular started blubbering like a child. The queen witnessed the spectacle as well and though she was clearly bothered she went about her business. The miner Urdim ,whose wife and child were killed in that unavoidable accident in the tavern renovation, ran over to strip her body of it's valuables before Hostergaard got his chance and despite claiming all of her clothing for himself he stopped to have a crying jag first.
I called for morty to find an empty casket and went off to dinner. Guardsdwarf Kel who did the killing has done a service for me and in exchange I granted him the centrally located and nicely furnished home of the deceased moving him out of the slum he previously lived in.
I'm sure Weird's off somewhere whining about it. I'd rather live in a world where some trash woman is dead than one where Founders must fear for their safety.
That was the big news this month but there was also a minor incident with a soldier. Two of our heavilly armored infantrydwarves stupidly decided to ignore the rapidly thinning ice and punched straight through. They fell in close to shore but the marksdwarf had a good deal of difficulty coming very close to drowning. I've made a few traffic edicts to discourage walking on ice in the future.
Tonight I'll make some generic speech and pass this all off to Weird.
Save's up.
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