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[Megaman_zx]

In 130, she spent a year in the company of Luki Hollowfancies, another pearlite hero, and fought by her side during one full year.

"Another Pearlite Hero?"

Luki is a LEGEND!!!

Again, love what you're doing with the world. You do a great job of researching the history and using it to add life to a bunch of ones and zeroes. Every time I see a new post, it makes me want to hop back into Adventure mode.

[Cathar]

That's exactly why I want to keep this world pretty much indefinitely. Everything happening in Watershield will be carried on in later games, be it characters, famous battles, marriages or other events. When this fort ends, everything we have done will become part of the world and I'm completely in love with the idea

I feel kinda bad for pushing Luki, but she's like my baby at this point -- and she's somewhat an important national character even tho she's not as active as Id like her to be

[Cathar]

Summer 134 opens up with excellent news ! Sets of Gugirrane armors are on the ways and now partially equip three of our officiers -myself, Uquur and Imic. More are being crafted as we speak. Altho the ultimate defense of our army is mostly skill alone, having full set of armors cannot hurt, especially for specialized warriors such as Uquur who do not carry shields.

Other excellent new : Mim's eldest daughter and Uquur's eldest son has come to age. They come from elite soldier families, both of them, and I think I will press their parents to marry their children. Speaking about marriages, maybe it's time to have some of them in the fort. Security is becoming tighter and tighter, and the village ending threats posed by werebeasts, elves and goblins are not that frightening anymore. Maybe it's time to relax a bit, and enjoy life.

Speaking of which :


Chief Doctor Zothoabo is now a dad ! For the fourth time actually. He's not the only one ; we celebrate two other less significant births in the village, pushing the number of souls in Watershield to 103. Congratulations to all the happy parents - Zhothoabo, if you want to give a name to this child be my guest.

We also have started two more projects : one agricultural tower, where we will grow plants in the sky, espeially rope reed to get our two scholars, Saren and Ser, to consign the knowlege they learnt from their discussion with foreign masters. We also made a lot of progress in the local temple, which we will make part of the complex that will include the hospital and the library, keeping the smart people in close proximity to each other.

This means ; more nobility posts will open soon : we need some priests, a manager, and an executionner - altho for the latter I have some ideas in the back of my mind. We're now open to candidatures !

...tho it may have to wait a bit. The town bell is ringing again, hold on.

[Megaman_zx]

Awesome. 4 Children by the age of 22!!!

Is it a boy or a girl?

[Cathar]

It's a boy !
As for now Zothoabo has indeed four children : Duslud (boy, 7) Donu (girl, 8 ) Thur (girl, 2) and Sor - by default (boy, newborn)...
Now I think about it, it means they got their first child at 14. Hustra is definitiely Zothoabo childhood sweetheart, and they dint wait too long before going to work it seems

[Megaman_zx]

Story was a bit longer this time (also a bit rougher around the edges). I have a bad feeling that as the character/story/fort develops the stories will only get longer and longer. Can't wait to see how the next goblin attack goes.


Zothoabo twiddled his fingers nervously. It has been a couple months since the Weretortoise attack, and he still had no work. It was just him and the children, waiting… waiting for something bad to happen. Just as he was thinking on the many horrible things that could happen while he was sulking indoors, the bells of Mong Kima began their tolling.

Zothoabo leapt up, and began rushing towards the door to make sure his wife was safe. Before he could leave, he stopped and doubled back, herding the children into their room, and convincing them that they would be safe from whatever challenged the River Guard today. After making sure they were safe, he rushed out into the fort, and began searching for Hustra. There were throngs of people moving throughout the fort, and sometimes Zothoabo was forced to crawl to get by. He shouted his wife’s name a couple times, to see if she would respond from the crowd of people, and after only a few minutes of searching, she did.

“Zotho! I’m here!” she shouted, “I’m safe!”

After pushing his way through the crowd, he managed to grab Hustra, and lead her back to their room outside the hospital. “What’s the emergency this time?”

“Rumor is the Goblins have decided to attack.”

“Not the elves?”

“Apparently they brought a small army.” Her voice quivered a little and she held her belly, which was swollen child, “They are killing the people who were caught outside the fortress.”

“I,” Zothoabo held his wife close, “I’m glad you’re safe.”

After a short moment together, Hustra composed herself. “There are bound to be injuries when the River Guard engages the Goblins. You need to be on the wall, to make sure those who can be saved are brought to the hospital.”

Zothoabo nodded, the rational part of his brain taking over. “Stay in the room with the kids, I will do my duty as Chief Doctor.”

After embracing his wife, Zothoabo headed back into the fort, this time, in an attempt to get to the walls where he could watch the battle. As he got closer and closer to the exit, he could smell, then hear the deafening sound of rain outside. The worst possible weather to fight in. The rain will get everywhere, slow people down, infect wounds, truly the worst thing about Mong Kima is all the Ino cursed rain. He hugged his robe close, and then stepped out into the rain, grimacing as it quickly soaked though each layer of clothing.

He made his way to the wall nearest the battle, and took in the carnage before him. There were bodies scattered across the ground, but it looked like the River Guard now held the upper hand. The Goblins were falling back, and those still caught in melee, were being quickly cut down. Zothoabo surveyed the wounds of the fallen, there were many broken and cut arms, and legs, but also a few deep wounds to the torso and head. He knew he couldn’t save those with mortal wounds, so he began checking off who was healthy enough to survive a trip to the hospital, so they could be prioritized. It didn’t register till later that these were his neighbors, and even friends being killed by the foreign invaders, and even when it did register he found his emotions held in check by a strange detachment. After all, this wasn’t the first time he had witnessed death.

As the battle came to a close, he began giving orders to the citizens that were now leaving the fort to collect bodies. As the first wounded were being brought into the fort, Zothoabo quickly gave some finishing remarks to the recovery crews, then dashed to the hospital to prepare for the mountain of work ahead of him. “Thread! I need thread!” he shouted into the hall, until people began scurrying to the stockpile to fetch it for him, “And cloth bandages!” he finished as the first wounded was brought to a hospital bed.

Zothoabo quickly moved to his first patient, who was pale, and stuttering with blood loss, “My arms, they cut open my arms.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix you up,” Zothoabo intoned, examining the large cuts on the patient’s left hand, along with the two large gashes on his right upper and lower arm. “I’m going to need you to be tough, this might hurt a bit.” He said, pulling out a needle and thread.

Patient gowned every once in a while as Zothoabo expertly stitched up his many wounds. “There, good as new.” He exclaimed wiping his bloody hands on his apron, and looking up with a fresh grin. Feels good having something to do, he thought to himself, then immediately regretted the thought as he saw the many injured citizens throughout the hospital. Among the crowd of injured laying in beds, he saw Hustra dragging in another patient.

He went over to the new patient and began examining her. “Is the battle over?” he asked Hustra, as he continued to catalog the cuts on her left foot and upper arm.

‘Yes. I have to help collect the copper, so we can melt it down and make armor.” She paused as Zothoabo gave her a stern frown. “Do you want me to stay here?”

“No” he sighed, “I just want you to be safe. You’re pregnant, they shouldn’t put you in such dangerous situations.”

“We all have to work for the good of the fort. You take care of the wounded, I chop wood, and haul it back to the stockpile.” She gave her husband a kiss on the cheek, “I’m good at my job, and I’ll be fine. Besides, you work best when you’re alone.”

“You’re right,” He said, taking a deep breath, “if you were here, I would imagine having to put you back together after an invasion.” He embraced her and they kissed, “I love you.”

“I’ll be fine.” She repeated as she left the hospital.

Zothoabo cracked his fingers, “time to get to work.”

The first few days were rough. His fingers were sticky with blood, and his throat was sore from yelling for more thread, or bandages. By the second day he was yelling for alcohol as well. He did need it to disinfect the wounds, but he also needed something to calm his nerves, and he caught himself smiling briefly at the looks of horror on the faces of his assistants when he downed a mug of strawberry wine before operating on a patient.

It took a month to clear every patient. During that time, he resorted to alcohol quite a few times, especially when he found himself pining for Hustra or the kids. Eventually, everyone was able to leave the hospital. Some left on crutches, but their wounds were sealed, and they could go back to work.

Zothoabo lay down on one of the cleaner hospital beds. Finally, he thought to himself, peace and quite. I should go to the tavern to celebrate. Before he could get up, the door opened and Hustra waddled in holding her belly, “Zotho, I think it’s time.”

Zothoabo leapt up to help his wife into a bed. He wouldn’t need alcohol to get through this day, he was going to be a father….. again.

[Cathar]

Before I go on to the rest of the season update, let me just say that I totally love what you write. It's amazing how this game creates situations and characters one can identify with. Thanks a lot for your interest !

***

The battle was short and really brutal. We didn't know what to expect, so I asked once again Imic and his men to accompany the army in the defense - but in retrospective maybe I should have let them rest.I guess they enjoyed the adrenaline as much as I did, so in the end all is good.

We stormed out of the front gate as a unit, forming a shield wall as we advanced. We were expecting to meet the goblins at the same place as the last battle - southern side, near the gate. We rushed in as we thought that without our decoy snakes and with no civilian outside, they would go right to the main entrance.

We were wrong. Now let me precise I was a little worried about the fact they had a large concentration of marksmen and I was slightly worried the sheer volume of fire would end up wounding some of us - but the goblins proven utterly incapable of putting their advantage into use.

They sent one of their macemen to scout the south side the the wall - we spotted him first. Tuco, the dedicated archer of the main squad, took a wood arrow and send it right to the unprotected arm of the poor creature. The goblin dropped his shield - seizing the opportunity, I closed in and his helmet splitted as the grass turned red.

The rest is just the story of a band of goblin totally folding under our furious charge. They managed to free some arrows, but were under constant fire from our own archer squad. The charge of the axemen ruined their formation.



A crossbowman tried to climb the outside wall, maybe in panic, maybe as a desperate attempt to use his weapon more effectively against our mostly melee army. A volley of arrow from the eaglenest made him fall to the ground were he was made sure to stay.

It was over in less than ten minutes, and they could not land a single blow on us. Absolute flawless victory.

The icing on the cake : we managed to take their leader alive.



She's currently in an ad hoc prison cell, tied to a wall. Any idea of what we can do to her is welcome.
No doubt this glorious victory will bring hope to our brothers all over the kingdom.

What else. I think this is pretty much it for the summer. The merchants didn't showed up, which is a bit annoying, but managable. We can continue to work the copper we scrap from our defeated enemies. It is low quality metal, but for now it will do.
One floor of the tower of agriculture has been completed, we should harvest rope reed and make paper soon. The temple is almost halfway done, with the first floor being near completion.

Now to blow my own horn - but for now we're doing really fine.

[Megaman_zx]

Can I get some info on the new baby?

I'll probably do the next story about the family because the most recent battle didn't have any injuries.

[Cathar]

Sure thing !

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also while I'm at it, noble positions are still open ; feel free to apply. Else, as I reaaaally need a manager in the short term, I'll give the post to an NPC

[Haspen]

Yay paperwork!

Count me in as manager.

[Asin]

(Hello, again. What did I miss?)

[Cathar]

Since page 10... Temple is finished, library is finished, two invasions repelled, migrant cap reached, lots of kids and a bunch of minor stuff

Haspen you're in next update ! Thanks Ino, I do need a manager for those massive orders, micromanaging is totally becoming a chore

[Haspen]

If you could include the guy's 'sheet' with the next update I would be grateful, cuz I might contribute with own journal entries :V

_{(I did it once in another human fort ages ago, it was fun!)}

[Cathar]

This autumn went pretty much uneventfully, but it allowed us to work on the projects that the insanity of goblin attacks pushed further on our schledule. The tower of agriculture is now functionnal, and will be expended further. We already grew and cut a full batch of rope reed, mashed them into slurry and made paper out of it.

Even better : the guest we had from other countries consigned their knowlege into the paper we gave them, and now our House of Scribes is slowly filling with foreign litterature. Some of our inhabitants were concerned about the lack of abstract thinking - now they have a lot to work with. I hope our own scholars can improve and get to write soon ! There's no reason : if a dwarf can do it, us Pearlites can do it better.

The excess of rope reed also allowed us to produce much needed cloths, and even to make some cloths hairlooms. They are absolutely stunigly beautiful - we can have them decorated with glass and their value will go through the roof. When the merchants from Hazelslide will finally come back, we're definitely going to impress them a great deal. Let's keep that up !

We also found ourselves in dire need for a manager to coordinate our efforts, especially since we industrialize more and more. Giving specific orders becomes increasingly difficult as the number of things I have to deal with increase - glass production, wood processing, food preparation and now paper and cloth crafts. I need someone to at least help me a bit.

The most fitting people for that task would be people trained in general organization - I have a group of them we trained in the army. But we also happen to need those people to protect the fort... Hence, we decided to promote a civilian, Haspen Idlaice.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

###   `Haspen' Idlaices, "`Haspen' Angelglisten", Brewer 
 
***

"We need to move beyond traditions."

Within the last season, he was uneasy after being unable to acquire something for too long.  He was uneasy after a lack of decent meals for too long.  He was bored after being unable to practice a martial art for too long.  He was bored after leading an unexciting life for so long.  He was interested after learning about the method of accurately and comprehensively describing cultures and civilizations.  He was interested after reading Cultures and The Coming Troubles. He was interested after learning Cultures and The Coming Troubles.  He was annoyed when caught in the rain.  He was interested near a splendid Bridge.  He was annoyed after drinking water without a well.  He was interested near a fine Trade Depot.  He was interested near a fine Table.  He felt fondness after making a friend.  He was interested near a fine Table.  He didn't feel anything after sleeping without a proper room.  He felt satisfied at work.  He was interested near a fine Table.  He was interested near a fine Door.  He was interested near a fine Trap.  He was interested near a fine Seat.  He was interested near a fine Table.  He was interested near a fine Table.  He was interested after learning about methods of empirical observation in astronomy.  He was interested after reading Observation: A Brief Introduction.  He was interested after learning Observation: A Brief Introduction.  He was interested after learning about the construction and use of the beaker.  He was interested after reading Beakers Explained.  He was interested after learning Beakers Explained.  He felt euphoric due to inebriation.  He was bored after a lack of abstract thinking for too long.  He didn't feel anything talking with a friend.  He felt satisfied at work.  He was interested near a fine Door.  He was interested near a completely sublime Container.  He felt fondness after making a friend.  He felt satisfied after getting into an argument.  He felt satisfied at work.  He was interested after watching a performance.  He felt euphoric due to inebriation.  He felt fondness after making a friend. 
***

He is married to Cuthroz Braidedshanks and has three children:  Ostsi Bristleglided, Gorhax Splashedbreached and Histek Carryuttered.  He is the son of Wimad Mistystokers and Beksur Wildnesscake. 
***

He is a citizen of The Nation of Pearls.  He is a member of Riverguard.  He is a former member of The Organized Councils.  He is a former member of The Society of Play.  He is a former member of The Band of Angels.  He arrived at Thomocemir on the 6th of Slate in the year 133. 
***

He is twenty-five years old, born on the 25th of Obsidian in the year 109. 
***

His greasy hair is extremely long.  He is weak.  His head is extremely narrow.  His ecru eyes are slightly wide-set.  His ears are slightly flattened.  His nose is slightly upturned.  His hair is pale brown.  His skin is pale taupe. 
***

He is slow to tire, but he is slow to heal and very weak. 
***

`Haspen' Idlaices likes bauxite, fine pewter, light yellow diamond, giant cougar leather, giant warthog hoof, the color pearl, morningstars, helms, blue peafowls for their coloration, gorillas for their strength, the sound of The Sienna Butterfly and the sight of The Worthy Bird.  When possible, he prefers to consume quinoa beer.  He absolutely detests blood gnats. 
***

He has an amazing spatial sense, a lot of willpower and a great deal of patience, but he has quite poor focus. 
***

Like others in his culture, he believes that peace is always preferable to war, is offended by leisure time and leisurely living, greatly respects those that observe decorum and maintain their dignity, strongly values tranquility and quiet, deeply respects those that work hard at their labors, hates those who wield power over others, finds the following of tradition foolish and limiting, thinks the quest for knowledge is a delusional fantasy, greatly respects individuals that persevere through their trials and labors, respects fair-dealing and fair-play, finds introspection to be a waste of time, finds romance distasteful, doesn't respect a society that has settled into harmony without debate and strife, sees merrymaking as a waste, is put off by family, finds the ideas of independence and freedom somewhat foolish, values martial prowess, finds artwork boring, believes it is important to conceal emotions and refrain from complaining, values self-control, respects commerce, sees guile and cunning as indirect and somewhat worthless and finds nature somewhat disturbing.  He personally is an absolute believer in the rule of law, views loyalty unfavorably, sees sacrifice as wasteful and foolish and doesn't have strong views on competition.  He dreams of bringing lasting peace to the world. 
***

He does not have feelings of emotional attachment and has never felt even a moment's connection with another being.  He lives at a slow-going and leisurely pace.  He doesn't often feel envious of others.  He tends to be swayed by the emotions of others.  He rarely feels discouraged.  He is a friendly individual, and he is conflicted by his nature since he would ideally prefer more strife in his life.  He tends not to reveal personal information.  He  is currently less private.  He likes to brawl, though he is disturbed by this since he values quiet so, at least in the abstract.  He tends to be a bit stubborn in changing his mind about things.  He does not easily fall in love and rarely develops positive sentiments.  He generally finds himself quite hopeful about the future.  He tries to do things correctly each time.  He  is currently more rude.  He  is currently more fearless.  He  is currently more confident.  He  is currently more shameless.  He  is currently more thoughtless. 
***

Overall, Thur is unfocused by unmet needs.  He is level-headed after spending time with people.  He is not distracted after doing nothing creative.  He is distracted after leading an unexciting life.  He is distracted after being unable to acquire something.  He is not distracted after being kept from alcohol.  He is distracted after a lack of decent meals.  He is unfocused after being unable to fight. He is not distracted after a lack of trouble-making.  He is unfocused after being unable to be extravagant.  He is unfettered after learning something.  He is unfocused after being unable to help anybody.  He is unfettered after thinking abstractly.  He is level-headed after staying occupied.  He is distracted after being unable to practice a martial art. 
***

All in all, he has the good mindset for the task. Worst case scenario, we can give him evening courses at the barracks to help him with his task. He'll do just fine. Working on a fitting office for him is now on our schledule.

The temple is also in the work - but is now functional. People of Watershield now have a place to pray to the gods. May Ino give us her blessings.

Speaking of which, Rethi-Eli and Asin are now also proud dads of one more kid each. The population is now 107.

Maybe now is the time to have a stroll in the village. We did talked a lot about the keep, but truth be said, most of the population live and work outside.


For now, the ground level of most of the houses is dedicated to industry, while the first floor is meant to be a place to rest and recover. That's how it worked so far. But as we move forward toward industrialization, I believe more and more we need a dedicated place for our people to work. Mark a clean line between working hours and leisure time. It will also allow us to free some space and house more families.

So to recap, what we need to do in the following months :

• Finish the temple and expend the tower of agriculture
• Organize marriages, especially for important people without offspring - such as our Lord but I'm sure Imic wouldn't mind some female company
• Move the barracks (again!) this time on the main gate to improve our response time.

Last thing : Zothoabo and Ryukan started their military training. I don't want to use them for the defense, but as their are very important people, I want them to survive should they face immediate danger.

...Speaking of which - the red-eyed monsters are at it again



And we're absolutely ready for them ! Let the crimson rain fall again on Watershield !

[Asin]

I have yet another child! Rejoice!