Granite 23rd:
I've been taking a break from writing in this and hauling stuff about. I've certainly done enough in the past several years!
Aahhh...
So, drink production is going back up, since Cerol made some more obsidian large pots. Then she made some obsidian doors. Ah, that woman! She's very good at both of them, and is very imaginative. That's something I like about her. She's so relaxed, imaginative, and she strives for excellence. She appreciates art and natural beauty. I asked her several questions to make this residential level as aesthetic as possible.
We're both very ecstatic, as are our children. Stakud turned two in Malachite. Both my boys are growing up well. Time is passing very quickly in here.
Feb made an announcement about... Well, about rather personal things, but it basically means "No more babies until I give the okay." We don't want overpopulation in these not-quite-cramped-yet quarters. Look what happened to the animals! We can't do that! We'd all starve, probably.
Everyone is happy, very happy, or ecstatic, except for Iton. She's simply content.
Granite 25th:
Iton says there's a big stink in the compost room. That's why we put doors on it! What do you expect! It's for stuff to rot into soil!
Slate 4th:
Now, where'd I put that thing? I could have sworn it was...
Slate 6th:
I take a break from keeping records to make some doors. Then I place one of them in Vutok's room.
Led's been working hard at the magma extractor. I had to fiddle with it somewhat to optimize the metallic output.
Felsite 8th:
There's a good party at the dining hall. Almost everyone's here. Life's good.
Hematite 15th:
I started a party!
Galena 12th:
Not much has been happening. I love sleeping in my nice, warm, safe bedroom. Did you know that the human "siege" has been going on for almost two years? That's ridiculous! Why don't they just go away?!
Limestone 1st:
I had an idea. We could make cabinets and doors for everybody out of their favorite metal!
Ushat and Kulet the Farmer have their hands full dealing with the animals and their leather. Wow, it's certainly a full-time job. Rigoth's proficient at tanning, so she's helping out, too, when she can get a break from weaving.
Vukot's quite talented at making clothes, and she's also a skilled dyer. We're wearing very good clothes. Except for the clothes that are threadbare.
Cerol, my wife, made a masterful obsidian pot! She's churning them out almost as fast as we can fill them with drinks and meat and plants.
Limestone 8th:
I surprised Ushat with a barrel of whip wine and an exceptional zinc cabinet. He's ecstatic.
Limestone 9th:
I noticed Mistem, Kulet's and Led's youngest daughter, chomping happily on some rat weed. She said she was "ex-tactic!" So cute! We're friends. She's good with language and music, very relaxed, loves a good thrill, and is compassionate.
Limestone 9th:
Who's next? Vutok! She likes... Tin! Okay, Ingish, could you forge a tin cabinet for me?
Limestone 18th:
I asked Cerol to make a stone jug. She did. Now we can have honey!
Oh, Cerol's a presser, too? Wow, you're definitely a multitasker!
Limestone 19th:
According to Ushat, the birds have grown up.
Sandstone 8th:
For some reason, Ingish has been taking chunks of obsidian and sticking them onto everything. Hanging rings, spikes, and images of Kol Legononul Lalsazir, depicted as a male dwarf, contemplating. Apparently, the deity's name means "Kol Wanderedwayward the South Bridge." So "Onul" means wayward? Hmm... No, because Onul's name is actually spelled with a "^" above it, and this "onul" isn't.
Sandstone 10th:
We're moving Cerol's coffin to the designated coffin space. Iton took it upon herself to take his skeleton out of the coffin. I brought the coffin, and Monom re-buried Cerol. Sigh... We will always remember your sacrifice, Cerol.
Sandstone 22nd:
I surprised Vutok with a tin cabinet and a pot of mead.
Sandstone 23rd:
Zasit Ibeshavus, the engraver and cook, made a superiorly prepared dog sweetbread roast. The ingredients are masterfully minced goat meat, superiorly minced prepared yak heart, superiorly minced dog tripe and finely minced dog sweetbread. All of the ingredients came from inside Rockfalls, sustainably obtained.
We now have just seven cave fish and eleven cave lobsters left in storage.
Sandstone 25th:
Kumil and Iton decided to spar. Iton parried Kumil's strike, then did a counterstrike, but that was parried. Then Iton attacked Kumil, but the shot was blocked. Kumil did a counterstrike, but the shot was parried.
Sandstone 27th:
Zasit made another masterful meal. He says he'd like me to fiddle with some stuff to make a heater for the food. Finally! Someone needs my fiddling!
Timber 1st:
I've got a pipe set up for the magma to flow into. It's not unlike fiddling with my magma extractor, if you know what you're doing.
Timber 6th:
I made two masterful obsidian doors in a row. I'd say I'm a "High Master" mason.
Timber 15th:
Good news! We now have both a black-cap and a spore tree in our tree farm! We also have plenty of saplings.
Timber 19th:
The siege is gone, apparently, and a "trader" has come to check and make sure they didn't break in, according to Logem. He says he recognizes the single "trader" as Onget Ottandakost, who's in the government.
Oh, the new outpost liaison is named "Stukos"? How ironic, considering Stukos died in the legend of Rockfalls.
I hope he does not continue the pattern.
Oh, and more "traders" have arrived? One... two... three... four traders. One is named Goden. Okay, who's messing around here?
Timber 21st:
They look surprised at the number of elf corpses. Not us! They've brought some protection with them, a speardwarf, a macedwarf, a marksdwarf, a speardwarf, and another speardwarf.
Timber 24th:
I think Logem's going up to talk to them. I saw his feet go through the obsidian wall, then nothing.
Timber 25th:
Goodness! Logem says an ambush got to Stukos just before he did. There's seven axemen and a... Somebody who doesn't look like they have any idea what to do besides punching people in the head.
The recruit charged at Stukos and scratched and punched him until an axeman came over and stabbed him in the leg. He still struggled until an axeman stabbed him in the leg really hard; then he gave into pain. As the wrestler grabbed him, the axeman stabbed his brain apart.
Now they're going after the merchants! Run!
Timber 27th:
I'm hearing all this after the fact, but it's hilarious.
The lead goblin, the wrestler, was running around the magma pipe so close, he slipped and his foot fell in. He screamed in pain, and the others hauled him out. Then the magma set everything on fire.
The wrestler died, and all the others are running away. Hah! That's what you get for dealing with Kulet Arrosdodok, Engineer! Of course, it was actually a mistake on the part of the goblin, so that's what you get for running really fast around a magma pipe!
Uh, oh. Only one goblin was trapped on the opposite side of the smoke from the traders. Wait, no three of them are huddling behind a hill, one of them is standing on melting ice, and the last is running away from the fire.
Moonstone 4th:
Another ambush! Four macemen and a hammerman! But...
The macedwarf took care of a few macemen, never getting hurt. A merchat, Zefon, was seriously injured in both feet, but he'll survive if he doesn't get bashed again.
Overall, no guards were hurt, all the animals died, and some of the merchants are injured. Run away and never come back! It's dangerous!
The marksdwarf is staying away from the action, just firing away at the goblins. But here comes the fire!
All of the second squad was killed, and the first squad is trapped. Now's your chance! Run!
Moonstone 9th:
Kadol Egathtulon, the eldest (nine-year-old) son of Nomal and As, started a party, and I joined it. Sometimes I wish I could just forget about the outside world.
Moonstone 10th:
They won't run. There's a BIG fire south of Rockfalls. It burned Rane's corpse up. Remember Rane, the human diplomat killed by goblins?
Moonstone 17th:
The merchants are packing up! Yes! Logem went over to check on his corpse. Not cremated yet.
Moonstone 21st:
The merchants are gone. See?! This is why we went inside!
Moonstone 23rd:
Cerol ate a "legendary meal." I'm not sure what it was, but she said it had flour and sugar. Then she went over and built a floor.
Vutok "had a pretty good drink" and "slept in a great bedroom" and "admired own very fine cabinet" and "had a fine drink" lately.
Moonstone 24th:
I found what it was that Cerol ate. It's a superiorly prepared dwarven sugar roast. The ingredients are exceptionally minced dwarven sugar, exceptionally minced Longland flour, exceptionally minced dwarven wheat flour, and superiorly minced dwarven sugar. No wonder Cerol liked it!
Moonstone 25th:
Feb started a party at the brass statue.
And there's a goblin-cap in the spare room!
Opal 1st:
Even Logem's here at the party! Four trees: goblin-cap, tower-cap, black-cap, and spore tree. This is good, albeit very slow, but, hey! They're trees.
Opal 7th:
I've gotten used to these warm, black walls. I can't image what it would be like without them. This really does seem like a tiny little town, with a lot of hustling and bustling around, and many small bedrooms, and farms...
Ushat Kolokol:
What in Armok's name is that yak doing?! It just gored its baby in the head, making it suffocate! It had plenty of grass to eat... Perhaps I'd best separate the babies and the older ones. That'd be good...
Ah, life is good here. A good dining hall, good drinks, a good bedroom, fine craftsdwarfship, a bit of work to do (but no too much), and plenty of friends. This life is much easier than any other life.
That same yak cow just gave birth to a yak calf. Hmmph. It's a male, not a female. Better butcher... Yep, it's skinny. Better butcher it.
That same yak cow just attacked her own child! Yikes! Feb, could you - thanks.
Ah. Y'know what I said about not too much work? Still true, but there's a fair bit of work involved in keeping over a hundred animals inside here. Even if I have two other people to help me. Still, I can't complain. This is the safest I've ever been.
That's a good dress Vutok just made. It's finely-crafted, made from masterful pig tail cloth woven by our very own grand master weaver, and it's red, finely colored with redroot dye. Iton bets it's worth 476 coin. 'Course, anybody can pick it up. 'T's only for trading when we use coin.
'T's another dress Vutok just made, superior quality, made from superior quality pig tail fiber cloth, well-colored green with emerald dye. Hope she makes some trousers or shoes soon, mine are threadbare.
Well, I'm off to work with the bees.
Kulet Arrosdodok:
Opal 27th:
I got a new robe to replace my worn tunic. It's well-crafted, and made from rope reed fiber cloth. It's red with redroot dye.
Feb had a mangled hoary marmot leather cap, but now he has a... threadbare giant cave spider silk cap? I s'pose that's better...
Atis finally finished managing the work orders and told us masons to start making some doors.
Obsidian 16th:
Everybody's been taking the door's Onul's been making and shoving them everywhere. Don't know why, but maybe it makes everything look better?
What?! Are you joking, Logem? No?
A Siege! The enemy have come and are laying siege to the fortress volcano. You have got to be kidding me.
There's seven swordsmen, all on horses, an elite bowman, on a horse, six pikemen, on a horse, and a pikemaster, on a horse.
Wait. I meant "all on horses" for the pikemen. Hahaaaa! Can't you just imagine that? Six pikemen on one horse! Haaaahaa! *rolls on the floor laughing*
Well, it's just one big joke for us! We're safe! *laughs hysterically* Go fight the goblins, you - *shuddering with laughs* you stupid *shuddering with laughs* humans! Haaaaaahaha!
Feb wondered if I was okay. I just laughed and laughed and told him the story. He was laughing too by the time I told him about the six pikemen perched on one horse.
Obsidian 26th:
Onul's planting seeds, so I'm going to make some doors. Apparently, people have decided that every single workshop should have a door in front and behind it, and every staircase, too. Well, I don't mind. It's fun making stuff out of stone, and there won't be much need after this.
Obsidian 28th:
And thus ends the third year inside Rockfalls. With thirty-two enemy soldiers outside, we may be the most confident dwarves ever that they could never die to anything but old age.
Granite 9th:
I saw a gander fly! I saw a gander fly!
Everyone in Rockfalls is either happy or ecstatic, except for Logem, but he's a ghost. He's still a dwarf, though, and we talk with him a lot.
By 's holy beard! Atis says we have eight million, nine hundred sixty-two thousand, six hundred and twenty-two coins worth of wealth! Wow! A lot of that is "other objects." It's handy having your broker be the bookkeeper.
Slate 8th:
Rigoth's a legendary weaver now.
Slate 13th:
Cerol's run out of pig tails and rope reeds to process. Good, because Rigoth and Vutok are flooded with thread and cloth.
Slate 14th:
Lolor Vutramalath, eldest daughter (9) of Led and Kulet the farmer, started a party at the brass statue.
Felsite 26th:
Not much has happened these last few months, except that we're getting more new clothing, and that the last block of Rockfalls was finally placed today, more than three years after we were sealed in.
Felsite 28th:
Apparently, Zasit's got an idea. He's making a roast out of a yak heart, some yak intestines, five meals' worth of yak meat, and a prepared yak spleen. Something to do with relatedness?
Also, I got Onul and Kulet the farmer to plant all the subterranean plants throughout the year. I told them that it was always dark and warm down there; the seasons didn't mean anything normally in a cave, let alone inside a volcano.
Hematite 1st, 262:
Zasit finished his cooking. He's made... am exceptional roast out of the aforementioned yak heart, intestines, meat, and spleen. It sounds... Appetizing! And each meal is worth 76 coin!
Hematite 3rd, 262:
I took a break from hauling and went to the hospital to ponder. I saw Kadol there, the ten-year-old son of Nomal and As. Let's see... He was born on the 15th of Obsidian, in the year 252, which is close to the spring of 253. So when we sealed ourselves in, in the spring of 259, he was... Six. Sounds about right, although... Let's see, he turned 10 in 261, so he was born in... 251? But they said... Never mind. Anyway, he was about six when we went inside.
He's skinny, with long, brown hair. He has a tall, narrow head, and short, broad ears. He has low eyebrows and dark tan skin.
He's flimsy and quick to heal.
He says he likes tetrahedrite, billion, pyrite, oak wood, elk leather, mountain goat hoof, and spears. He likes to eat black bullhead and swamp whiskey. Since he arrived here in the year 256, when he was about four, he can't remember much about his old home, but it had black bullhead, there was a stream, and there were occasionally some gnats. He hates gnats.
He's good with language and has a lot of willpower, but he's not very good with social relationships. He's nervous and doesn't like risks, but is relaxed. He's very friendly, but kind of guarded in relationships because he can't really understand them. He can understand his emotions and is put off by tradition and authority. Well, there's only one fort like this in the world, and it's dead! No tradition here!
We talked for a while and became good friends. He says he's very happy, because he's talked with Vucar (she's his three-year-old sibling), slept in a great bedroom, dined in a legendary dining hall, made a friend (i.e., me), admired a "completely sublime" (good words for that) statue, and he's seen a splendid door. He likes having his own bed, and he's fine with helping out bring in the harvest. Yep, everybody's happy in Rockfalls.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zostra Imbobikda, female Human Pikemaster's Conversation with Ijam Sahthetlershi, female Human Elite Bowman:
Zostra: "Those dirty dwarves! Huddling away somewhere. We must find them!"
Ijam: "We've looked everywhere, ma'am. The only things around are us, our horses, a ghost, and some stork - "
Zostra: "A ghost?! What kind?"
Ijam: "I couldn't really tell, but it looked short, like a dwarf."
Zostra: "Find it! And question it!"
Ijam: "Ma'am, I don't think we can capture a ghost."
Zostra: "It's the only lead we've got! The dwarves can't have just... disappeared! AAARRGH!"
Ijam: "Wait, what's that over there?"
Zostra: "What?"
Ijam: "It's full of lava. I think it's a lava pipe, sort of like a volcano."
Zostra: "But then why would it have STRAIGHT EDGES? Ijam, we've found the dwarves! They must be somewhere in here..."
Ijam: "But then how would we get in? It's not juice. If you step in it, you drown and melt at the same time."
Zostra: "We'll need some stone. We'll drop down stones until... No... We'll figure it out somehow! But search the hills around it! They might have a secret escape route. Nobody kills our diplomat and survives!"
Itvid Ersined, female Human Pikeman: "Um, ma'am, what if the goblins did it? There are elven corpses -"
Zostra: "They kill elves, too!"
Itvid: "But these look like... Look! A land of ashes!"
Zostra: "They probably flooded the land with magma, just like in the days of old! We'd better be careful..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kulet Arrosdodok:
Yep, we're as safe as can be.
Hematite 13th:
I was on break, but then I started a party in the dining hall. Feb came, and Led, and Urdim second-eldest son of As. Then Ingish came, and we all had a good time.
Hematite 18th:
Did you know that you can brew rope reeds? I didn't. Atis says it's called "river spirits." Makes me think of the outdoors. I wouldn't mind being outside, just for a while...
Except, of course, for the iron that would find itself in my gut almost instantly. Stupid humans.
Zasit Ibeshavus, engraver and cook, keeps creating "masterpieces" of meals. They taste so good!
Hematite 19th:
My magma extractor got a bar of platinum! Wow! That took four years to collect.
...Onul?
Why are you operating the magma extractor?
Oh, I forgot to say that the job could only be done by magma extractor operators. That's me and Led only.
Hematite 21st:
Now Ushat, Monom, Feb, Ingish, Led, Cerol, Rigoth, Fikod, Urdim, and I are at the party. According to Atis, every single dwarf is busy.
Malachite 22nd:
Vutok told me that "Ngogngo," Forgotten Beast was no longer enraged. When I asked her how she knew, she ran away. Hmm, that sounds like a goblin name. She came back and told me,
"The Forgotten Best Ngogngo has come! A gigantic feathered crocodile. It has large mandibles and it is ravening. Its green feathers are long and broad. Beware its poisonous sting!"
Again, I asked her how she knew and she ran away. She's got a good imagination...
She proceeded to tell a story of a group of brave batmen, deep in the darkest caverns of the world, trying to defend themselves against a horrible crocodile, many of them dying. A brave bat woman blowgunner dying in a pool of her blood... But she still stabs the crocodile as hard as she can, even as she dies...
A bat man spearman, with his left hand and right upper leg cut open, and with his whole left leg missing, still stabbing the beast...
They come after it, again and again, smashing its toes, fracturing its ribs, denting its body...
And then there were none. The beast had won, but with a great price. It would never be the same.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow. People say that she's not good with words, and she's not, but she's got a good imagination.
Malachite 28th:
Ingish, why did you encircle our spare anvil with bands of oval obsidian cabochons? And then encrust a dog leather bag with rectangular obsidian cabochons?
Galena 4th:
Vutok made a masterful rope reed fiber left glove!
Galena 7th:
There! That's it! That's it, Atis! You take both the valuable powders AND the plentiful meat and use them TOGETHER, thereby making a LOT of VALUABLE, DELICIOUS roasts. As opposed to, you know, making a roast of sugar, sugar, sugar, and flour every once in a while.
Galena 15th:
What the...
The humans have been here for SO LONG that one of their horses just gave birth to a foal. The pikeman sitting on the previously-pregnant horse STABBED THE BABY IN THE HEAD. Why? And the horse that gave birth even helped kill the baby!
Now they're all running around like crazy.
My wife's pond grabber leather cap is mangled. At least her trousers and cloak and tunic and such aren't falling apart. That would be very embarrassing. Vutok says she'll make some caps once she's done with the mittens.
Timber 14th, 262:
That was one good roast, with plenty of sugar and dwarven wheat flour. Mmm, dwarven wheat flour...
Timber 15th:
Oh, aren't you a cute little kitten? You're a big kitten! And your hair is so golden! I'll call you Onul Ildomoddom.
Timber 16th:
Ah, there's not much happening. I'm kind of bored, but this is good. No danger, my children can grow up... Good...
END OF CHAPTER TWO: READJUSTMENT