The events of 10th GraniteGlacies sat dejectedly in the kennels her face buried in the flank of a huge war dog while her tears ran through it's fur. The rest of the dogs crowding close around her, ears low and upset as the dwarven child cried. Their warm bodies comforted her, while long pink tongues and wet black noses tried to find the injury on the dwarf who had spent so much time with them ever since the move to the new kennels. Here and there a few wolf pup's were in the mix, the wilder cousins of the dogs showing the same concern for their dwarven pack mate.
"It's not fair Edem." she said softly into the animal's flank, her voice echoing in the silty room, a room more a soil cave than a building. "It's just not fair. Rikkir is going to kill them and there is nothing I can do. She's going to murder those elves, those innocent elves, just like their friends did to grandpappa and the other dwarves. Mom was right, it's senseless! Pointless!"
Glacies stopped as she looked the animal directly in the eyes, his piercing blue gaze locking with hers momentarily, before his tongue lashed forward to clean the tears on the dwarf's face. The bulk of the animal's body comforting her as the shouts of the elves echoed through the complex. "What are we going to do Edem?" She asked the dog aimlessly
"We make her stop." The new voice startled Glacies, causing her to jump up and look around in a panic. It took her a moment before she noticed her younger sister Vicarrah, flanked by Sarek and Illeit.
"Vicarrah..." Glacies began, brushing away the tears in her eyes with her hand before self-consciously shaking her hair and beard straight, "What are you doing here, little sister?"
"Dad sent me to find you." The little redhead said softly as she looked at her two close friends, "Sarek and Illeit wanted to help."
"Did you hear...?" Glacies began, cut off by quickly by Illeit, "We heard. You're upset because mom wants to kill elves. Right? Well if that's the case, your sister is right. You're not doing anything down here?"
"What do you know?" The older girl asked, her face turning as red as her hair as she climbed to her feet. The dogs growled at her raised voice but she paid them no mind, "What do you expect me to do? Go argue against your Mom? Get real, little girl."
Illeit shook her head at Glacies in distaste, "You're not the only one who's talked with the elves, you know. Sarek and I spent some time talking with one of the kids they brought with them two years ago, back when your mom was still alive. We've seen the same things you have, what Mom does to them. It's not right."
"And you haven't done anything?" Glacies asked, her face slowly reverting to it's normal color.
"Mom doesn't give me the time of day. Do you really think that she'd listen to my objections over the treatment of the people she hates over taking care of the other twelve of us? Sarek here has no spine, whenever Mom asks her what the problem is she just blushes and writes it off. And me... well.. Mom has no reason to listen to one of her many female children." bitterness filled the young dwarf's voice as she stared down Glacies, the brown eyes she had inherited from her father filled with anger, "But you, you're different. You're not family. You're almost old enough to work. Mom will listen to you, because next year she won't have a choice. You'll be old enough to vote, whenever we get around to having elections, and that can make all of the difference in the world.
Glacies stood still for a moment, the dogs around her quiet as she thought on this. Her face getting brighter as a plan began forming in her mind. "It... it could work. Illiet, Sarek, sis. Let's start brainstorming. Rikkir isn't dumb, we need to make a plan now, while we still can."
26th Slate 1065, Rikkir's LogVicarrah has vanished! Nobody can find her!
3rd Felsite 1065, Rikkir's LogAfter a week we finally found her emerging from the butchery complex. Carrying with her a buckler made of bone that she called amag Ugosh Ostar, the Yawningdaub the Hollow of Burials. A masterful wolf bone buckler.
11th Felsite The elves went mad today, trapped within our depot.
The last elf alive we trapped in a cage. He'll provide a great sacrifice to Evalaco when the labyrinth is complete.
15th HematiteWe tested the labyrinth today. It was a wild success.
The damage the spider can do to elves is... gruesome. I would only wish it on them.
20th MalachiteToday our population has risen to 24, and I have yet another son to spend thirteen years caring for.
4th Sandstone The dwarven age of responsibility is thirteen. Considered an unlucky year for all dwarves, we adults try to do our best to avert disaster by giving the youngster the best going-out party of their life. If they don't die of alcohol poisoning, then they are bound to have enough good luck to survive until a ripe old age. Today is Glacies thirteenth, and respecting tradition we had a HUGE party for her.
I don't think I've ever seen a child drink so much! She has a lot in common with her father, in that regard; that, her temper, and her thick red beard. Before the party she had split it into two thick strands and had braided flowers and bones into each one, giving her the appearance of a cave-dwarf until we forced her into an old dress that had once been her mothers.
During the party, Ukat had asked Glacies what she had wanted to do, grinning as the youngester eyed the crossbow on the mechanic's back. Her answer suprised everyone else though. Glacies had replied that she wanted to hunt. To go outside of the confines of the village and bring back meat that we all could enjoy. That she wanted to take over training our dogs, and collect hides for shoe leather and cloaks. To scout out the wilds around our home and give us warning of any goblin raids that might be coming.
Everyone wished her the best of luck as the party drew to a close, the less stout of the children, and some of the adults, staggering back to their rooms to spend the night fighting off fierce intoxication. The rest of the night I watched her as she put together weapons and armor for her expedition carefully, and then she set out.
13th Timber
Today is Feb's thirteenth birthday. And his official coming of age. By the old laws he is old enough to work with the rest of us, own his own furniture, and marry. The party was fantastic, and we drank and sang deep into the night until everyone was clearly drunk.
When Mulch asked Feb what he wanted to do with himself, Feb said that he wanted to help Glacies hunt by making bolts and crossbows. His enthusiasm both excited and saddened me as I realized he really was growing up, already liking some girls. Plus, we have more bones for bolts than we can use in a million years. It was sweet.
The best part of the party though, was watching a throughly smashed Echo and Abod trying to convince the relitivly sober child to marry them on the spot. The latter, fortunatly, fell asleep in a drunken stupor on the table not long after she started, and the former was convinced to dance on the table until dawn. Averting any real disasters, and giving me plenty of blackmail material.
24th Timber Sparrow has become very secretive of late. Feb came complaining to me that she had kicked him out of his personal workshop in order to make something. Naturally he was quite upset, being that particular workshop is his, but there is nothing we can do right now. When I went to visit her it was quite clear that Sparrow has been infected by the madness.
6th Moonstone 1065Sparrow gave Pete her finished work today, a drum she calls Dakardes Stegethoshot (Treeauthors the Organized Vnishment". She said it was to replace the one he had lost during our travels here
The old dwarf was stunned as she presented it to him, his face streaked with tears as she played for him, the same song Frea used to use for Sparrow's bedtime stories. When the child was finished, he picked her up and gave her a great kiss on the head, thanking her for the most beautiful present.
Sometimes we do need to be forcibly reminded that our children are quite a blessing.
13th Moonstone - Early winter of 1065. Glacies came to me today while I was testing the properties of gnomeblight when smoked. She was covered in dirt, grime, and blood as she slammed the golden door that connected the silver room at the heart of the temple from the rest of it. Her eyes were wild, she was shouting something about goblins and ambushes, vowing vengeance on the greenskins with vehemence. Her face was beet red, not unlike her fathers when he get's angry, as she panted heavily from her recent exertion.
The first thing I had her do was to slow down, offering her a cup of River Spirits, which she downed quickly. Then she launched into her tale. Apparently she had been returning from hunting outside of the walls with her dogs when a pair of goblins had attacked them. The two goblins, not noticing the stealthy dwarf, had ganged up on the pup, murdering it remorselessly. Though Glacies had made them pay for the offense with their lives, filling the bodies of both goblins with bolts she had feared for her life while outside of the gates, and had quickly raced inside to where our traps protected both of us.
Comforting her on the loss of her pet, I've asked her to wait inside of the village for a while so she can train a few of the puppies to protect her on her next hunt. Where there is one goblin there are bound to be many, many more. Soon.
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Topic: Last Dwarves in the world. Ulogeshud[Community Fortress] (Read 50686 times)