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[Paulus Fahlstrom]

14th of Moonstone Mid-winter

The outpouring of hatred towards our fort from goblin-kind reached a new height today. We are besieged again. Unfortunately for us we were still logging the upper plateau when they arrived and several spotted the platoons of goblins. Two platoons, one of speargoblins the other of pikegoblins. I guess they figured reach would serve them better since we had superior equipment. Oh, and each platoon was led by an elite crossbowgoblin. Them I was concerned about. By the time I got word it was already too late for those as couldn't run really fast. Urdim the mule and Bim the donkey died under fire from the crossbowgoblins. Ast, their owner was up there too, followed by Ral who was right behind him. Both were running as fast as they could, the goblins in hot pursuit. The clatter of crossbow bolts was like rain. Ast almost made it, though he was weeping for his slain pets. A bolt took him through the leg though a short fifteen feet from the ramp down. Ral, the woodcutter was behind him and took a bolt in the gut before being overwhelmed by the speargoblins.




Below we were beginning to group up behind the defensive wall leading to the trading post. Only Led had the corner visible, crossbow in hand and waiting for the first sign of a head that needed a bolt fitted to it.

The first group of goblins tore down the ramp howling for dwarven blood and revenge on their fallen kindred. The leader was in front and stepped on a weapon trap first. Little was left of him after that. The remainder of his platoon hesitated for a bit and regrouped before deciding that they couldn't all be stopped and they rushed the line en masse, setting off more traps but making it through.



Of the fifteen, only nine made it to the bottom of the ramp, though one turned to flee back up it and stepped on a trap that he had missed the first time. The remaining eight charged on, slightly ahead of the second group that had made it down the ramp with minimal casualties.



The knot of goblins charged around the corner, some of the first running into our backup defenses, two being caught in cages in the process. Most made it through though and Led began firing at rapidly approaching goblins. The rest of us still lay hidden behind the wall just feet from the goblins. Ragnar gave to order to charge and fully ten of us, armored in steel charged the remainder of the goblins. Goblins are not the smartest of creatures but they have an innate sense of what they need to do to survive. Upon seeing us the remaining goblins fled in haste. Some falling to our blows and bolts in the process. The remaining leader and three of his followers fled up the ramp while a group of five soldiers fled to the east before turning south. Only the leader and his three managed to escape.



The second siege of Dorenemal of 1054 ended. We had lost two who were exposed when the goblins arrived. Unfortunate, but the forges needed fuel. Of our combatants there was not a single one that had injuries. Thirty two goblins had come to take the place, only four survived. I saw Vabosh inspecting the battle site afterwards, making copious notes. I too surveyed the damage. I was unhappy that our woodcutters continued to take the brunt of the attacks but such were the dangers of working outside our fortifications. Perhaps I could do something to rectify the situation in the future, but that would take extensive work. We found 18 crossbow bolts from the goblin leaders on our roof and the roof of the adjacent building. Ast had indeed run well. Both he and Ral would be honored among our dead. We also found a goblin hand on the roof of the neighboring building. It seemed a long way for it to travel, but I couldn't imagine a goblin wandering through our fort to the top of this place just to remove his hand to perplex us with.

We now had three goblin prisoners. I needed to have a place made for Ragnar to use for more direct combat training.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

1st of Obsidian Winter 1054

We have finished cleaning up after the siege finally, though the ramp and entryway are beginning to take on a red color despite the cleaning. Vabosh finished with his audit as well and came to give me the new, both good and bad.

"I've finished my work here and I wanted to let you know what's happening in the tribe. To begin with, your village is now appraised at approxamitely 1.25 million ingots. That's quite a jump from last year."

"Aye, we've had some inspiration strike, and we've got skilled craftsdwarves of all types. We've been very fortunate."

"That is true enough I suppose, though it pains me to deliver this next part. Officially our tribe is now at war with the goblins, though that's not really news to you or most living outside of all but the biggest mountainhomes. There are those, and you can guess who, that accuse your clan of being responsible for precipitating the war by attacking this fortress."

I began to interrupt him but he raised his hand to quiet me and continued.

"I know, as do others. The charges are absurd. But let me continue. The king had been under considerable pressure to act lately and, as you may be aware of, our kingdom is not fully prepared for war. In order to manage this the king has decreed a levy be raised by each community. No fewer than five dwarves in a hundred are called to serve in the army. As your brother is currently serving, and serving well I might add, that counts as your levy. He has done very well, and attracted quite the following. I'm told his platoon now numbers near twenty and all have proclaimed themselves of your clan whether you know it or not. So your draft is well covered. There is the matter of the other portion of the levy I wish to address. Each community is required to provide the king and his army with supplies totalling no less than five percent of the value they are appraised at. These goods may be in food, though coin, weapons and armor are much preferred. Merchants will be dispatched with soldiers next year to pick up your portion. Should there not be enough room in the caravan for your goods, you may pay the remainder the next year, but at the increased appraisal value of your community."

"That is a bit steep but I suppose it must be done. We can handle five percent I think. Though sixty odd thousand ingots of goods may cost us dearly in other ways, what with the attacks here."

"Well, I'm afraid here is the bad news then. Agna claims you to be responsible for the start of the war and insisted that your holding be charged double the normal levy to compensate. The king, though somewhat skeptical of his motivations, is under severe pressure and hasn't disagreed with the decree. Though he hasn't necessarily sided with it either. You fortress has become somewhat of a common topic of discussion back in the mountainhomes and many approve of your work, though many also side with Agna in their dislike of your boldness."

"So ten percent then? We're to provide a hundred and twenty five thousand ingots worth of military supplies to the caravan by next year?" I was staggered. It could be done, certainly, but it accounted for over a third of our current armor and weapons, usable goblin gear included. It would leave us weakened without a doubt. My concern lasted only briefly however, we could manage such a feat, and Agna would rue the day he sided against my father yet. I still had to keep my word to Abba too, should she still be alive, and provide the humans with needed weapons. I nodded my acceptance of the terms and Vabosh and I shook hands before he departed. He gave me a sympathetic look but did give some hope with his words as he left.

"Don't worry too much. Since you were besieged while I was here I can attest to your effectiveness and the veracity of your previous numbers. The liason office will be impressed I am sure. It's even been said that the king requested a copy of my next report. So keep up the good work. 'Till we meet again."

I waved him away and then headed below. I need to speak to Aardvark. The forges would need to run long hours to keep up with demand, and our need for timber was even greater now. Hopefully the remainder of winter would be quiet.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

14th of Obsidian Late winter

We've done precious little digging into the mountain itself as fortifying our position came foremost and exposed iron veins littered the cliffs next to our ramp. Mafol came to report today about the progress done on the lower portion of my current project. Things were coming along well, though I think I'll have to alter my plans somewhat. We'll see what happens when the time comes. Anyways, the miners found a rich vein of silver down below along one wall of my project. Removing the silver shouldn't affect things by my view and so I ordered it excavated. Also, Urvad have birth to another child today. A boy. Kids grow up so fast. Just the other day she was carrying her daughter into battle on her back tucked securely into a steel helmet and strapped in with leather. Now the lass is off sparring with her father in the barracks while Urvad does it all again with her son. I doubt we'll ever get that helmet back, but it brings joy to my heart to see the young family. It's for them that we do much of this. All of us shall someday pass on, but with luck and hard work the future will be a brighter place for our posterity. I could do my part for that future by eliminating as many goblins as possible.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

1st of Granite 1055 So-called Spring

To the whistles and shrieks of a howling blizzard we celebrated our fifth spring here at Dorenemal, our fourth full year. It's amazing to see the place transformed into the stronghold it is. Half a dozen projects are being worked on in various stages of completion, but it still is home for us all. All eighty-six of us now. Counting the wee'uns of course. It was good to be in from the weather, though work continues outside despite it. It's still a neccessity for us at this point. Thikut, who's in charge of the woodcutters now, noted something interesting up near the upper plateau. A deposit of bituminous coal. It's not far from our current magnetite excavations so we may extend them over there to retrieve them as well. I've had some plans to improve our defenses as well, though it may take some time, especially with the impending levy being due. Our forges ring out night or day as long as someone is awake to work them.

The festivities tonight were spectacular. Fre has outdone herself this time. I fear I shall become fat with all the sublime food she makes. I'm sure the goblins will help me keep trim though. The dining hall was full and several had already begun to party early, Aardvark among them. It had been a good year, despite our losses, and everyone deserved a nice night of it though. The now-traditional speech went well enough, though short and to the point.

"Greetings to you all on this fine evening. We celebrate the fourth year since the founding of Dorenemal, our clan home and fortress. Welcome to all the newcomers, and an even heartier one to the rest of you, who through your labors, do not often see each other for weeks. We have done well as a clan and continue to grow, despite the opposition we face. Most of you are by now aware, but I wanted to make this official. The Big Knife tribe is now at war with the goblin tribes to the west and to the south. I'd like to thank the goblins for carving out much of this excellent fort we call home."

Scatterings of amused laughter.

"This year I would like to honor Ragnar in particular for organizing our defenses. For keeping us as safe as possible despite goblin attacks and sieges. Additional thanks and honor goes to those others that keep us safe, the fortress guard and the professional soldiers headed by Urvad, who looks like she's trying to raise an army the slow way. Ragnar, old friend, I'd thought of some things to present you with but we either lacked the material or you already had them. Name a boon then if you will, and if not I'll have something made for you just as soon as possible. So let's drink to Ragnar and his crew!"

The applause, cheering and drinking were thunderous. I too toasted their good health many times that night. Perhaps too much, though I couldn't resist having a mug of Sewerbrew with Ragnar himself.

((Feel free to request something if you'd like Ragnar, if not I've plans to make you a Nickel-silver weapon rack. I just lack a single bar unfortunately and can't make it from scratch. In any case, here's the four year update. For reference, I do plan on posting the maps when this place is done, and putting the seed out there as well, though I've plans to continue the story-line after this fort for a bit more. Once this fort is finished and the seed posted feel free to use it for a fort of your own. Just call your group the Walls of Zeal. Oh, and Kuli, you saw action at the last battle but I hadn't gotten around to getting a steel spear made for you so you used an axe. You'll be put to spearwork as soon as possible. I posted a description of Paulus as well. I've always thought it amusing that the last name he has means 'Papercarried' and that his personality fits so well what I imagine it being. Oh, and apparently being a legendary mechanic (due to artifact) makes you really really strong.))





((Ragnar, here's a shot of your bedroom as well, mine is right next to it, the Dungeon master Rovod next to that.))





((Aardvark please note your current job...  ))





((Fre notice how happy I am with your cooking! If I'm not careful I'll be +Stout+))

[Aardvark]

Aardvarks Log

2nd Granite 1055

Agh, my head. The party yesterday was great. I am always looking forward to these parties we have each year, and I am particularly happy for Ragnar. He has done a fantastic job keeping us safe. Now that the now year has started it is probably time to start producing the equipment for this new levy that has come. May the gods smite the Noble acusing us for starting this war. I hope a Hydra gets to him before any of my crafts may reach him. Anyways in time my skills shall be known through the Kingdom. I have started to add my insignia to each item, nothing big, just my initials inside a short swords blade. Hopefully it will become a sign of exeptional quality.

For the Fahlstrom Clan

[OOC]
I hope he is creating some weaponry to, armor only gets you that far.
[/OOC]

[DarkMagnus]

With a slight bow of his head, Ragnar stood tall among his fellow dwarves- and setting down his mug, stood upon his stone chair. The room, moments ago drenched in shouts of celebration, fell to a hush. He raised his calloused hands and roared.

"Brothers and Sisters!"

Aye, came the reply.

"In the goblin'omes did we build our keep- and woz it a mighty place?"

Aye, again.

"And 'id they fall?!"

Aye! the refrain.

"Twice they 'ave sieged us, an' many more 'ave they struck! I have been there in me flesh, and heard the beasts' growls in me bones. An' seen the 'onered dead, 'ave I! 'ave ye?!

AYE! a louder noise could scarcely be imagined.

"They 'ave taken from us more than th' beasts 'emselves could know."

A silence, for remembrance, and then-

"AND DID WE FALL?!"

NAY! the walls shook.

"The blood o' me brothers lies soaked in me skin-
And dream I of place where 'ey sleep
Yet 'ey fight at me side in the battle's red tide-
And keep watch o'er D'renemal Keep!"

And after this, Ragnar spoke no more, and the celebration continued, not in his honor, or the honor of the brave dead, but in honor of all.

[Kuli]

Thanks for adding me, Paulus.  But the name Dancetreaties sounds a little elvish, doesn't it?  Ha ha.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

((Hey... not my fault. Ragnar likes Fairies for their babylike giggles... but you don't see anyone harrassing him about that...    ))

16th of Granite

Zefon one of our recent additions and a farmer gave birth to a boy today. I told her to take the rest of the day off. She was too busy chasing after the tyke to pay much attention to me anyways though.

Also, the elves have arrived again, and though their supplies were a nice addition, and they relieved us of some of the clutter they brought little of true use. A few bags, some nice drink and barrels and more fresh produce and fruit. All useful items to be sure, but nothing we could do without at this point. I thanked them for making the trip and they assured us they valued our stonework, and that we didn't participate in wholesale slaughter in their presence this year. I tried to explain that that hadn't been my fault but they seemed to think I was joking and didn't find it funny. I suppose their sense of humor is different than ours. Of course the sight of a goblin flying off a 150 foot drop would get any group of dwarves grinning and laughing.

As expected they were tailed again by a pair of kobold thieves. One of them was caught on the ramp by an engraver of ours and promptly brained. The other managed to evade our clutches and escape. Perhaps my plans can eliminate that in the future.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

13th of Slate early spring here 1055

A few days ago one of our woodcutters came up with a brilliant idea. Or so he says. He wouldn't say what it was, just kept asking for things. Like wood, and stone and turtle shells. Speaking of which, we seem to have precious few of those considering we've been fishing for turtles in the ponds for years. I'll have to look into that, especially since our esteemed mayor insists we make some things from it for her.

The big news today, however, is that we received immigrants. From the capital. Apparently we've drawn quite a bit of attention since at the head of the column was the Baroness Lokum Ralkubuk with her consort. It had been made official. We were now a barony under her direction. I groaned as I called below requesting Lord Rovod's presence topside. A grim faced Hammerer strode behind her and her consort, who looked to be complaining even from this distance. And behind them came a smallish dwarf carrying a sheaf of papers in each arm. I groaned again. A tax collector. Had we become that prosperous already?

Lord Rovod joined me at our entrance, wiping the soot from the smithy from his hands. I knew Aardvark didn't appreciate his meddling. Lord Rovod intended well, but he simply wasn't the best at working metal. Despite that he insisted on trying to make weapons, armor and whatnot from time to time, taking the forge over from those more skilled. At least he was good enough to spend considerable time at the smelters making the barstock as well.

He bowed low as the Baroness approached, I simply bowed, somewhat stiffly.

"Greetings Lady Lokum. It has been some time since I've seen you. I haven't been to the capital in years I'm afraid, but be welcome at our holding."

"Lord Rovod, a pleasure. Though I am now Baroness Lokum. I have been appointed by the king to come here and ensure that the holding remain loyal to the tribe and it's kingdom."

"Ah, Baroness then. You'll not have to worry about our loyalties, to be sure. Won't you come in? We've got rooms suitable for you already, let us simply select appropriate furniture for your tastes and you can begin unpacking."

Even the Baroness' consort looked surprised. But the Baroness quickly recovered.

"Well, I must say, that's a surprise. I was half expecting to wait for a few months until suitable rooms were made for us." She looked at her consort somewhat sharply as if to say 'I told you so' and allowed herself to be escorted in by Lord Rovod.

The Hammerer and tax collector joined me at the gate and I greeted them as well.

"Don't worry, we've got rooms for you two as well. We needed more stone so I had extra excavated below. In fact we've got rooms enough for all that came with you, though I think I might need to have a few more beds made."

The Hammerer looked pleased. "Thank you Holder Paulus, it's nice to see you keep the place well organized. I value that. Disorder is the first sign of lawlessness I always say. And I'll not be tolerating any of that."

I grabbed a sheaf of papers from Tax collector and escorted both below, requesting furniture to be placed in their rooms according to their needs. The Tax collector handed me a small piece of paper containing a tally of immigrants that were with them. A large group apparently. I'll have to meet with them all later but based on what I was given, which I've transcribed below, we received:
1 Mason
1 Leatherworker (perhaps I'll assign him to the army)
1 Glassmaker
2 Cooks (one the personal cook of the Baroness. I've assured her Fre is more talented than anyone she could possibly have brought and after sampling some of Fre's better cooking she agreed, allowing me to draft her cook into the Royal guard as a fitting honor for him.)
4 Peasants (all fortress or Royal guard now)
1 Cheesemaker (also drafted)
1 Hammerdwarf (Indicated he would like to speak to me personally later, but assigned to the military)
1 Pump Operator (See below)
1 Mechanic (a dwarf after my own heart. Not that we need too much of that, so I've begun training them and another from the previous group in the arts of Siege. All three will be operators and two engineers as well. In addition to their other duties of course.)
1 Craftdwarf A dabbler in everything if I ever saw one, but still useful enough
1 Brewer
1 Ranger Now helps Led
1 Herbalist now farmer also
1 Fish cleaner now Guard
2 children
1 Gemsetter

totalling twenty five dwarves in all to join us, pushing our numbers over a hundred. No wonder the king sent someone to keep an eye out. If I could arm and equip the entire fortress population with steel we'd have an army to rival any.

P.S. The tax collector seems especially accomodating. I find I like the dwarf, despite his position. I was surprised at first, but according to him it was the king himself that selected those that came this time. Apparently the Baroness is the King's consort's sister. She too seems pleasant enough, though her consort tends to be somewhat negative, despite his chatty nature. I think I'll have to avoid him lest I be tempted to imbed his teeth further into his mouth. Already I've heard complaints and exclamations like "I thought this place would be full of hovels, garbage and stone cluttering the walkways" and other such rot. Of course, having one of our masons braining a kobold on the ramp as they entered probably hadn't helped the matter.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

21st of Slate

Our woodcarver Kikrost finished his construction. It too seems to fit eerily with the other artifact the the goddess. There is a message contained on it I feel, but what it is I'm not sure. Kikrost has called it Instoltunur Sherikselor, or Burststyled the Perplexing Rite. He certainly got the perplexing part correct. The forge I understand, as I do the dwarves and the mountain. I believe they represent our coming here and founding this place, but the final image, that which is yet unknown indeed perplexes me. Still, we have been bountifully blessed by Avuz with iron and steel, for which I'm sure we are grateful.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

28th of Slate 1055

I was in my office discussing the guard situation with Ragnar when we were interrupted by the Baroness. Ragnar had come to discuss the recent increase in injuries received during sparring session. It seems that two of the royal guard and one of the fortress guard had fractured their arms. Looking at the preference in armors I could see why. The Royal guard had insisted on wearing the more comfortable and stylish leather armors we had instead of the Steel chain of the guard or the steel plate the soldiers wore. We had just finished discussing outfitting all combat personell with plate when the Baroness paid her social call.

"Ah, Paulus, Ragnar. Good. I wanted to complement you on the progress being made to further defend this place. Adding iron gates at the outer perimeters should certainly keep us safer. I know I'll feel better. In any case, I wanted to request a few things. My husband and I both are really fond of lay pewter, so we'd like you to see what you can do with some of it. Three objects should be sufficient for now. We wanted to gauge the level of craftsdwarfship with it."

"Lay pewter?"

"Oh, yes. We saw a few bars of Fine pewter and trifle pewter so we figured it shouldn't be a problem. Anyways, thank you. And keep up the good work with the defenses you two."

She exited almost as quick as she had come. I only hoped she was a patient sort. We had no lay pewter. The other bars I had traded for. Nor did we, I was pretty sure, have the materials to make them with. All we'd found so far in this place was iron, but we had it in spades. Ragnar gave me a funny look.

"What'd she mean outer gates? What'd we need them fer? How on earth can we get the practice we need if you don't even let the greenskins get to us?"

I laughed and stood.

"Ragnar, you worry too much. She just made an understandable mistake, one I'm counting on the goblins making as well."

"Oh, and what's that, eh?"

"Those gates aren't there to keep the goblins out."

I grinned.

"They're there to keep them from being able to run away."

Ragnar grinned too as we left my office each heading to our separate duties.

[Dr. Melon]

I'd like to join in, if that's okay!

Name: Melonius Greenback The Fifth
Gender: Male pref, female okay if no other slot available.
Profession: Gemsetter

Weapon Preference: Marksdwarf; if not available, Siege Engineer or Swordsdwarf.
A somewhat shadowy past of a somewhat shadowy Dwarf; he does not go in for alcohol much. Rumoured to be an escaped criminal or lunatic, he denotes himself of high lineage.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

28th of Slate

Progress on my grand project goes slowly, which I suppose is just as well, since I've had to scrap my designs and have begun drawing them up again from scratch. We struck another vein while working on it. This one of Cassierite. And plenty of it. At least fifty bars worth of tin from the looks of it. Perhaps closer to eighty in actuality. The masons are still working topside on the other half so I think I'll probably just have the miners halt work on the other part for now, until they're needed. It may be time for us to begin some exploratory mining below anyways.

Ragnar came in with some disturbing news. Apparently one of the most recent immigrants is not who he claimed to be. One of our fellow dwarves happened to recognize him from the mountainhomes and spoke with Ragnar about it. Apparently the dwarf had been in trouble with the Guard back in the mountainhome, some trumped up claims of being descended from nobility, claims of entitlement, blah, blah, blah.

I suggested that Ragnar keep a close eye on him for any signs of trouble. I certainly didn't want another of Agna's spies around here, though with all the recent immigrants it was more than likely we already had at least one. I've spoken with the dwarf that claimed to have known of him and gotten as much information as I could about this character. As long as he was loyal I suppose he could live. I've included the information below for future reference should it be needed.



((Worked out well,  you even prefer to consume dwarven milk.))

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

15th of Felsite

Our population remained unchanged today.

Nish, one of our guards gave birth to a girl.

Unfortunately, Asmel, one of our more talented stonecrafters perished. He broke through the ice, mistakenly assuming it was solid enough. We're in the process of recovering his corpse for burial but with the spring rains draining the lake may take some time. If they weren't such great sources of food, especially turtle, I'd consider just paving them over or draining and capping them.

((And just so you guys know I tend to be busy on weekends and don't post much then))

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

17th of Hematite early summer

The human traders arrived today. Strangely enough a kobold thief arrived before them. It was brained by a mason on the ramp. I should have known that something was up though. They rarely came all by themselves now. A diplomat arrived with the caravan. Some human Baroness. Thank goodness such meetings were no longer my domain. Heh. At least the Baroness Lokum would have to deal with her. The two exchanged pleasantries while I began having folks bring up supplies to trade with. It was just as well the Baroness was tied up in meetings. I'd prefer she not know of any arrangements I'd made with Abba. In light of our recent declaration of war trading weapons with humans might not be looked upon favorably. Abba looked somewhat dour when I greeted her.

"Hoy, Trader Abba. A pleasure to see you as always. We were concerned you'd had a spot of trouble last year when you didn't come."

"Paulus, good to see you. Understandable, I'm sorry about last year. We tried to make it through, we really did. But the declaration of war and the levy arrived in Gusilnakis just after us. The bloody Duke there confiscated our goods, claiming that it was needed for the war effort. They paid us a little for it, but it was a pittance of it's true value. None of the other merchants had their goods touched. And they wouldn't even let us press on with our route. Said the roads were closed to the south due to goblin activity. Said Dorenemal was besieged or somesuch. I'm glad you pulled through it all right. I saw the new gate as I was coming in. Impressive work."

"Aye, we did well enough. We just finished a like gate on the west side too. Sorry to hear about your trading losses."

"Hmm. Well, trading has been rough these last few year. Profits have been cut drastically, more so since I've had to resort to greasing palms just to keep my goods from getting taken."

"Were ye able to find my brother?"

"Oh, yeah. We found him in the capital. Took some doing too. But he appreciated the gift I can assure you. It was lucky we found him, he was being sent to a front within the week. But please don't ask me to do that again. Word got around somehow that we'd been helping you and trading in the capital last year went terribly. Only a few wanted to trade with us, and most seemed outright scared to. I'd say you have some powerful enemies."

"Aye, well, that's true enough. You headed south still after this stop then?"

"Yup, probably. Unless you buy everything off of me. Then I'll head east to the human settlements to resupply at a guild office."

"Well, I certainly appreciate what you've done, and I haven't forgotten what I've promised. Let's see what you've got first and get that out of the way."

They had almost all that we had asked for two years ago. It was a nice addition to our supplies. I was hoping that they'd brought a few bars of lead. I could use it to make lay pewter but such luck was not with me. They didn't even have nickel. Abba noticed my disappointment and asked about it. I told her, and she was quick to point out that I hadn't reqested anything like that. Certainly true. It was not her fault and I knew that as well. But I still could hope.

In the end we did wind up taking almost everything they had. They'd brought some human armor and clothing but that did us little good since it wouldn't fit. We did take their bars of metal, plenty of food, including lots of fresh seafood and drink. They brought wood and barrels as well. For which I was grateful. I had a lot of goblin gear hauled up to barter with.

"I know I told ye I'd be more than willing to trade weapons, and I won't go back on my word. But it does put me in quite a spot."

"I'd imagined as much. I requested a diplomat this year to help avoid problems with that. She'll keep the nobles here occupied while we trade. But I do understand. If we were to be stopped by a dwarf patrol in the hills we'd likely have all dwarf armor and weapons confiscated for 'the good of the kingdom'. How about this though... they can't lay claim on weapons my guards are carrying for personal use. Not without serious repercussions."

"Hmm, well then... Heh. Let's to do this. How many guards to ye have?" I made a quick count. "Aye, well, I'm sure we've got sufficient steel to spare to arm them fully. I've had Aardvark and his crew working hard over the winter."

I broke out a bin of weapons and passed out several steel warhammers and axes among the caravan guards. Last of all I handed Abba a finely crafted steel shortsword.

"This one's for ye personally. One of the best made so far. Perhaps next year we'll be able to do more, once we've gotten this levy thing out of the way. But I'm sure we can see you off properly with other gear. We've got lots of goblin gear here we can't use, including iron armor. You could take it back to have it melted down for your own use at the very least. We'll even cover your losses from last year."

We loaded up their wagons with all the goblin gear we had brought up from below. In the end it was over a hundred thousand ingots worth of profit after what we'd purchased from them, not including the steel weapons. They'd helped us out of a bind, and had delivered a message to my brother at significant personal cost. Making that up to them was the least we could do. Abba was ecstatic with the deal and with a twinkle in her eye she promised she'd be back next year, no matter how many people she needed to bribe.

I was sure we've have more goblin gear to give her. And we'd see them properly armed as they left. They were our allies against the goblins. It simply made sense to do it that way. As they left the Baronesses emerged from below, the human spouting gratitude for the visit, Lokum appearing tired and anxious to see this nuisance off. It looked like royalty had a use after all. That was one meeting I was glad to avoid.