Site-03 End of Year ReportDate: 15-01-06
Longest Road Initiative Confidential
Having assumed direct control of the site and stabilized the initial situation, I, Dr. Goodname, set about restructuring the site and reorganizing our ramshackle militia. The end goal of this exercise being the capability to secure, contain, and study a number of Longest Road Items of interest. I also began cataloguing and preparing proper containment for the LRIs we have in our inventory.
Using the most skilled remaining members of our former militia, three new squads were created. The first being Site Security, armed with blunt maces and tasked for everyday law enforcement and threat management. The others were arranged into two Special Response Teams. They are SRT-Alpha “Devil’s Tower Lumberjacks” and SRT-Beta “Nail Problems”. SRT-A are equipped with axes while SRT-B use war hammers. The team leaders are authorized to select and train promising civilians in low-priority occupations in order to fill out their ranks. There is also a fourth “D-Class” squad of low-skill minimal-equipment draftees. They are intended to be used in situations requiring a response but on which it would be inadvisable to risk high-skill teams. They are not to be told what the “D” stands for.
Training rooms and barracks for all four squads were designed and scheduled for construction. Security immediately went to work enforcing site rules.
Occurrences of LRI-002 have been recorded before, but the first one under my watch occurred in spring.
It was a fairly typical instance from an unskilled dwarf. I have included an image of the resulting LRI-002-1 in the following document.
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A typical instance of LRI-002-1. Composition and material use
appear entirely random, yet instances maintain an odd appeal. |
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Item #: LRI-002
Item Class: Fluffy Wambler
Special Response and Containment Procedures:Instances of LRI-002-1 have proven extremely useful for both practical and aesthetic purposes. As such, they are authorized for use within Site-03 with administrative approval. When not in use, LRI-002-1 instances are to be placed on an appropriate pedestal within a secure abnormal object containment chamber.
Description: LRI-002 is a psychological state which occasionally afflicts a random dwarf within Site-03. To date, no instances of LRI-002-1 have been observed outside of Site-03. Whether the phenomenon is unique to Site-03 or if it simply manifests at a much lower rate in other locations is a matter of ongoing scholarly debate.
Subjects afflicted by LRI-002 begin by taking on one of a wide variety of emotional extremes. Regardless of their emotional state, the following behaviour plays out the same. The subject will proceed to the nearest workshop which corresponds to their greatest productive skill. If the subject somehow has no productive skills, they will proceed to the nearest basic crafting workshop. Upon reaching the workshop, subject will “claim” it and disallow any other use of it. Subject will not leave the claimed workshop for any reason except for the gathering of materials until the fulfillment of LRI-002. Subject will then depart to gather all materials needed to construct LRI-002-1.
Upon obtaining all necessary materials, subject will begin construction of an instance of LRI-002-1. Subjects appear to have ingrained knowledge of the location of their needed material. If none of the needed material is available, subject will frantically attempt to inform passersby of the material type they need. These attempts at communication vary by the subject’s mood, and may be near incomprehensible. Materials are gathered in a set order and will not be gathered out of order, even if a material is unavailable. The material may be implausible for the resulting instance of LRI-002-1. For instance, a piece of furniture cut from a single gem. The means for construction are unknown.
If the subject is interrupted or impeded in any way during any of these steps, they will react alternately with rage, despondency, or raving outbursts. Fulfillment of subject’s demands is recommended if at all possible.
Upon fulfillment of LRI-002, a single instance of LRI-002-1 is produced. LRI-002-1 is a crafted artifact with quality that exceeds the best examples a master in its field of production would normally be able to produce. The quality of an LRI-002-1 is always exceptional regardless of the creator’s original skill level. Instances of LRI-002-1 are nearly indestructible, with no observed damage occurring from everyday wear and tear or deliberate assault.
Subjects who successfully complete an instance of LRI-002-1 are usually thereafter able to perform at the top level of their chosen skill. Regardless of this gained skill, no subjects have been seen to create an object of LRI-002-1’s quality again.
There are, however, some cases of LRI-002 where the subject did not gain skill upon completion. In such cases, the subject takes on a certain mood. Subjects questioned on this have described their state as “possessed” with them feeling out of control of their body and not fully aware. Further investigation of the source of this “possession” and potential item reclassification are pending.
Summer passed without notable change outside. The siege continued unabated.
However, in autumn, reduced seismic readings were heard from above. The hastily made walls that have kept the site safe since the we lost the gate were carefully disassembled. It was confirmed that the enemy had left the area. The site lockdown was lifted to the sound of many feet rushing to the surface on important sock-collecting missions.
Top priority was given to repairing and improving the gate system to prevent future enemy incursions. The result was an outer wall encompassing the outdoor farm field as well as the original entrance, with a double gate system.
To go with it, a gatehouse was dug out just below the aquifer level. It doubles as a lockdown shelter if needed. A barracks for the Special Response Teams was dug out next to it to allow rapid response to dangers on the surface.
Digging the barracks revealed that the layer it was dug from is rich in iron ore. With a large source of iron, coal and marble, we have all the ingredients needed for a large scale steel industry. Our security forces can be quite well-equipped in the near future.
With the siege lifted, we received a small wave of migrants. Eight in new dwarves arrived, bringing the site’s total population to 88. However, the usual autumn caravan did not arrive. I also received a petition for official citizenship from Nutu, a sekhemetian bard. In spite of his anomalous nature, I believe he can be an asset and so approved the petition.
We also received another instance of LRI-002.
Unfortunately, winter saw the arrival of another large invading force.
A large variety of anomalous creatures was spotted with the invaders. A lockdown was ordered immediately. Most citizens were safely secured inside. However, two farmers were still working in the outdoor field, and our best chef was apparently foraging the wilds for ingredients. He ran up to the outer gate and, upon seeing it was closed, fell asleep beneath it.
The -for lack of a better word-
monsters that made up the vanguard of the attacking force quickly descended upon the entrance. They were apparently unwilling and/or unable to scale the outer walls. Most surprisingly, the beasts did not bother the chef while he slept. The two farmers describe how they piled on top of the chef, but did not harm him until he woke up. Sadly, he was killed upon waking, but not without a fight, if the reports are to be believed.
Once it was clear the monsters wouldn’t kill the farmers, I authorized the opening of the inner gate. They made it inside, and the gate was sealed again.
After that, the outer gate was toggled a few times, crushing the monsters gathered beneath it. I admit, I found the squelching sounds it made quite satisfying. However, most of them scattered and the remainder of the army did not approach the gate, so the siege would not be defeated via such antics.
Trapped again, I refocused efforts on creating containment areas for our captured LRIs. One containment chamber was constructed for LRI-003 instances, or cave pygmies as the locals call them. I know some will be quite happy with this development.
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An instance of LRI-003 peaks out over a cave ridge. |
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Item #: LRI-003
Item Class: Elephant
Special Response and Containment Procedures: Captured LRI-003 instances are to be contained withing a standard humanoid group containment cell or within a secure metal cage. Instances are to be kept out of view of the general site-03 population. Eye contact with instances of LRI-003 is to be avoided at all times except under approved testing conditions. Uncontained instances of LRI-003 are to be captured if possible. Should capture prove difficult or the instance presents a danger to personnel, site security is authorized to terminate the instance.
Description: LRI-003 is a species of small humanoid life forms native to the underground cavern layers. Their skin is pale white or grey. Their most striking feature are their blank, white eyes. However, they are not blind, and possess a human-equivalent level of sight.
Instances typically appear in large groups and will aggressively attempt to reach populated areas. Once there, they will attempt to cause disruptions and steal valuable items.
Cave pygmies have shown to be of near-sapient intelligent, although lacking the ability to speak. Their intelligence and ability to pull levers presents an acute threat as our collection of LRIs grows.
LRI-003 instances are roughly the size of a dwarven toddler. As such, they present little physical threat to most dwarves unless severely outnumbering them. A more subtle threat is the apparent mind-altering properties of LRI-003. Specifically, LRI-003 seems to inspire paranoia of itself, perhaps as a defence mechanism. It is speculated that this effect is most intense for anyone who has looked into the eyes of a LRI-003 instance. Multiple individuals have exhibited varying levels of paranoia toward LRI-003, including two former site overseers. It has become common for personnel to blame minor annoyances or bad luck on LRI-003, and what they might do next is often a conversation topic around Site-03.
The most extreme rumours surround an incident in which an instance of LRI-003 stole a highly valuable LRI-002-1 weapon instance. The weapon was in the possession of a militia member at the time, who evidently made no attempt to prevent the theft or reacquire the artifact. It has since been speculated that the militia member was under “mind control” by the LRI-003 instance. The nature and severity of this effect is currently under investigation.
Note from Dr. Goodname: Can we be certain the excess paranoia around LRI-003 is an effect of the creatures themselves and not a property of the stolen LRI-002-1? Perhaps that object has the property of spreading fear and hate of its thieves.
I also received reports of what was described as a minor earthquake. Further analysis lead to the conclusion that it was some form of titanic battle between two enormous unidentified entities in the second cavern layer. A series of sealable chambers were dug out and small breach was made in the cavern wall. The entity now known as LRI-004 was seen charging the breach with unexpected speed. The trap was triggered, but took longer to activate than expected. LRI-004 was contained but as a result, is in an unintended position.
Note: future capture chambers of this design should feature lockable doors for better control of the subject’s movements.
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Illustration based on the description by D-██ who
assisted in capture. |
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Item #: LRI-004
Item Class: Echidna
Special Response and Containment Procedures: LRI-004 is currently contained within an access tunnel of capture zone one. As soon as possible, a new containment chamber must be constructed and LRI-004 trapped inside. Until permanent containment can be achieved, the wall sealing LRI-004’s temporary containment area must not be removed.
Description: LRI-004 is a very large cavern-dwelling creature of unknown origin. Its body appears similar to a giant sloth, except it has three eyes, six limbs and its hair is very long, straight and transparent. It has several scars and wounds following its fight with LRI-005. LRI-004 is thought to be unintelligent, but frequently expresses itself through deep, croaking vocalizations. Despite its resemblance, LRI-004 has been observed to move far faster than a proportional sloth would be expected to. During capture, LRI-004 rapidly moved toward Site-03’s interior as soon as a path to it was opened.
The most notable attribute of LRI-004 is its ability to spew thick strands of webbing in an area around it, which can completely entangle other creatures. It uses this ability when threatened or hunting. The strands have a tensile strength greater than steel, and are thick and sticky enough to ensnare very large creatures. Using evidence from the site of their battle, it was determined that LRI-004’s webbing was strong enough to temporarily constrain LRI-005. The entity is entirely immune to the effects of its own webs. Applications for LRI-004’s web making ability are currently under consideration.
The corpse of the entity LRI-004 was fighting was found deeper in the caverns, now dubbed LRI-005.
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Artist's recreation of what LRI-005
would have looked like while alive. |
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Item #: LRI-005
Item Class: Neutralized (presumed formerly Echidna)
Special Response and Containment Procedures: No further response required.
Description: LRI-005 was a very large cavern-dwelling organism resembling a serpent. It weighed an estimated 12 tons and had a body length of approximately ██ meters. It was covered in jagged, silver-coloured scales. Along its back, several of these scales were expanded and fused to form a protective shell. The ribs of LRI-005 protrude externally from its body. Anatomical observations suggest that this was the normal state of LRI-005 and not the result of damage or decomposition. It is unknown what function this unusual adaptation served.
The remains of LRI-005 were identified shortly after the containment of LRI-004. Its body was severely damaged and covered in the webbing produced by LRI-004. The surrounding area had been coated in a large volume of blood from both LRIs. Based on seismic readings, it is thought that LRI-005 fought and was neutralized by LRI-004 roughly ██ days prior to LRI-004’s capture.
The tip of LRI-005’s tail features a structure similar to a scorpion’s stinger, including venom glands and an injector. Due to decomposition, it is impossible to determine the potency of LRI-005’s venom, save that it was insufficient to kill LRI-004.
LRI-004 could be an invaluable asset to the site if its web slinging can be controlled. Think, you could incapacitate an entire army! We must research ways to exploit this ability.
To round off the year, another instance of LRI-002-1 was created. Unlike the other two I observed, this one is quite intriguing. The most noticeable thing about it being its material, adamantine. An item of interest in its own right and likely deserving of LRI classification.
With the new year upon us, I believe the site is ready to be returned to civilian control. We are no longer in crisis and I have always found myself to be a better researcher than leader. I will remain, watching from the background. For the pursuit of knowledge and the future of our civilization.
“The Longest Road is one we all must walk.”
Dr. Goodname, Site Administrator
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