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[Jamini]

13th Granite 1053

Truly the elves are stupid. They did not get the hint the first time and arrived one day earlier this year to attempt their feeble motions to "trade" with us.

Drastic times call for massive destruction!

THEY WILL ALL DIE!

18th Granite

Today Frea came to me and told me her wedding rope had been stolen. While initially I had been suspicious, checking my logbooks (which seem to nearly update themselves nowadays) proved this to be true.

Although we never saw the thief, I strongly believe the Elves' Kobold allies are to blame. Once the foolish treehumpers are delt with, their diminuative allies will pay double for this theft!

6th Slate

There were no elven survivors.


7th Felsite

In order to prevent any more thefts in the future, I am ordering a few of our trained war dogs chained to each drawbridge. This initial placement is more of a stopgap measure until we can get the wall properly set up, since right now their ropes allow the foolish beasts to run around the pillar to the side where no kobolds *should* be.

I'll be damned if I left any other stolen goods become twice-stolen goods!


8th Malachite,

Today I spend some time draining the last pool near our home. Carving out the loam under the earth and exposing solid rock to the sky. So fevered was I when digging that I accidentally triggered a minor collapse. It should be noted that a layer of falling rocks and dirt still HURTS when it falls on your head.

My only serious injury was a broken toe. It should heal swiftly enough. Abod tells me to count my blessings. I say I must be more careful in the future.



29th Felsite

Today we finished installing the gearworks for our millstone, Ukat called us all away from our work for a demonstration of it's power.

It was amazing, the stone turned nearly of it's own violation, using power generated from the stream many many metres away. As we watched, he put in the first sweet pod and ground it neatly as you see into sugar, faster than our skilled Echo did after a year of working that quern.

Without further adiu our quiet planter shooed Ukat out of the kitchens to play with her new toy.



4th Sandstone
After an uneventful summer and a two months of the falltime that went the same way, out small home has been blessed with new life. A child, a little baby girl.

They christened her Glacies, and although she cannot yet talk the way she intently glares at Sneaky Pete implies that outdoorsdwarfship will soon become a family tradition among the Libashrur clan.

I wonder how I should break it to them that she will be in competition with three other women for getting married when she becomes of age. After all, not everyone here is happily married.

[Jamini]

A quick heads-up. I have one child who is not claimed in the fort (the next writeup probably will not get that far. But I'd like to know in advance if anybody wants her.)

Flintus10, I haven't fogotten you. It's just that we haven't had a second boy born yet. Is all.

Also, I must warn you that the next few updates are going to be very grisly, possibly involving lots of death.

[Mulch Diggums]

Oh no, grisly? D:  I hope I dont die

[Jamini]

12th Timber

In my afterlife, if I ever meet our god of birth and death, I am going to run up to him and slug them straight in the face. It's bad enough that we dwarven women have to endure the pain of childbirth regularly in the result that we find somebody that we love. But honestly, he COULD have given us some indication that we women are pregnant BEFORE THE CHILD IS BORN.

I spent twenty-two of my hours today wracked with pain as I forced the little boy onto the floor, the first thing coming out of his mouth painfully loud and high-pitched screams. They continued as Abod cleaned him up while I lay half delirious with pain, joy, and a massive migraine only abating when she handed me the little bundle of dwarflesh wrapped in a fox leather cloak.

I have chosen to name him Feb in honor of one of the ancient fallen hero's of dwarfkind. A Master Swordsdwarf who fell in the second assault on our home in 306, making his full name Feb Eshan. My child, my son, my prodigy.



As I sit here, trying to think of how I'm going to dig out Ukat's house with this little burden, my mind keeps wandering onto his future. Who is he going to marry? It's a long way off, but I know that he will not lack from potential wives. While I should be happy our little colony will be expanding, I worry about him falling in love with one of my friends. By the time he grows up they will be well middle-aged and rapidly becoming officially old. While the thought is uncharitable, I almost wish that he would marry little Glacies rather than any of the three remaining women in our home. Of course, I will never tell any of them that sentiment. I never mentioned it diary.

Either way Mulch, in all of his oblivious maleness, is ecastic as can be. I suppose I am too, in a way. I'm happy to see him nursing in the darkness, held tight in the sling that I expect will become well-worn before he is old enough to walk on his own.

We will see, we will see.

((Note, this is an older viewing of his profile. I accidentally named the child Idone, after the requester, before noting that he had asked for a different name/profile. There is a minor spolier in there, if you look hard, but it's not really that bad of one.))

19th Timber

I found Feb playing in the bone pile today when I wode, Mulch watching warily as he chiseled out another stack of blocks. In particular with one of those elf skeletons, knocking a sharp stone against its skull. Disgusting! I hope he didn't catch anything when playing with those terrible, disgusting, elven things. If he gets sick I don't know what I'd do!

15th Opal

We saw goblin running from our southern gate today. One of the guard dogs bit the damn thing in the thigh a good one before it hightailed it for the woods.

This is not a good sign

[Jamini]

1st Granite 1054

A new year approaches our doorstep, and with it a new start. The night before working fully began we all decided to drink as much and as heavily as we could.

Poor Frea, she could hardly walk when the first barrels of meat and fat were sent to the kitchen to be cooked.

9th Granite

Four days earlier, three members stronger, the elves yet again attempt to trade with us. Apparantly they just don't get the idea that they are NOT WELCOME HERE. At this rate, within four years we will start receiving an elven cravan in late winter, rather than early spring.


19th Granite

Quiet as a panther's footfall, they snuck towards our gatehouse. Blades swiftly cut aside the vegetation that blocked them from the only clear way across the water-filled moat, a low, carefully constructed drawbridge on the edge of a gatehouse.

One of the goblins though, in it's enthusiasm, spotted a dog. A floppy-eared red-furred mutt with splotches of white across its left flank and muzzle. With haste it pulled out its bronzed bow, the instrument coated lightly in mud and grit from the long trek, and fired a swift shot.

Pete was the one who saw the arrow fly, his voice ringing across the entire valley.

"An ambush! Goblins! Curse them!"

I was surprised to hear myself shouting even before I stood, my pick arm over my head in the manner befitting a military commander of old as the others picked up my cry and followed it almost immediately.

"Shut the gate! Shut the gate!"

The elves will wait. More immediate defense hearkens to need. We will defend ourselves against these invaders by any means necessary.

21st Granite

One of the goblins member, too foolish to sit at a distance with his companions, was ripped apart by one of our dogs. In commemoration of the animal's dedication we have named it Lesmnastengan (Flashtool, in goblin). Unfortunately, three of our dogs have also been shot and killed by the archers. However, none of us have been injured.

Now the sit outside of our gates, shooting at anything that comes close enough to them. I've ordered everything within bowshot off-limits

Ukat has been constructing a ballista near the goblins, I hope it hurts them greatly.



5th Slate

Just as we get the ballista finished to fire upon the goblins, one of our puppies wanders close enough to the demonic creatures to draw their attention, causing them to move the encampment they have set up.

I've asked Ukat to deconstruct the old ballista and move it back to the depot. Building a catapult in its place. We will throw stone at the goblins until they leave!



18th Slate

The ballista is a SUCCESS!



In other news, the elves have asked to leave. We have told them they cannot due to the fact that there are a number of goblins that want to eat our hearts just outside of gates. They seemed rather dejected about the fact. There were no complaints however, most likely due to the fact that the elf who broached the subject was soon sans a leg.

Silly creatures.


22nd Slate


Blooooooooood!

25th Slate

The Goblins left, evidently bored of us throwing rocks at them. The elves are all dead, sans the one who's leg was amputated in the first shot. He has managed to prop himself up on our ballista, occasionally rousing from unconsciousness to curse at our in his native tongue before lapsing once again into a stupor.

I call this ambush a success!

Clean-up is going to be a bitch though


28th slate

The goblins tricked us!

I do not know how, but they hid from us when we were dealing with the elves, only coming at us when we opened the gates to clean the traps.

I was at the front at the time, chaining a fresh dog to a leash before the gate.

I think I overdid it a little, there is quite the mess outside.

The finally tally of deaths from this ambush.

3 Elven merchants
5 Goblin Wrestlers (3 killed by me)
2 Goblin Bowmen

[Neoskel]

Wait, there shouldn't be any goblins left... You genned the world instead of downloading the pre-genned one? Cuz mine doesn't have any goblins.

Good stuff for a community game of course.

[Jamini]

Yes, I genned it from the three seeds.

Worldgen isn't 100% even with the exact same seeds. While the map and civ names will be the same some events do change ever so slightly. I had to generate the world twice because the first time the elves (not the intricate nut) whiped out the goblins but left some dwarves alive. In that case the world was generated in "The Elven Age" in the 300's.

In this gen dwarves were properly destroyed, but some goblins survived (nearly 90% of their leaders are elves though. And looking at our civ screen the local human government even has some elven citizens). But it took 200 years longer to reach the elven age.

Either way, this will be very bloody.

[Jamini]

20th Felsite

One of the elves that was injuerd, but not killed, in the battle currently sits outside of our depot. A crazed look on his face. When asked about the world outside he begins babbling elven philosophy.


Echo offered him a little water and food, presumably because she felt guilty about our treatment of his fellows, but both he and his donkey refused. Their sad looks clearly indicating that they preferred to die rather than accept succor from us.

I've taken to talking with him, questioning him about his people. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their leaders.

For the most part he has been uncommunicative, saying great sweeping statements like "Tis a fool who sees naught but friends, but tis a madman who sees naught but enemies."

No matter, he can't harm us. Not with a missing leg.


11th Hematite

These goblins do not know when to give up! Hardly enough time has come for us to reset and clean our traps when another group of goblin wrestlers and bowmen attempt to attack us.

They wasted no time in trying to break through our traps, four of their number being crushed from boulders that we had set upon the top of the gatehouse. When they turned to retreat Ukat was ready for them, pulling the winch for the drawbridge and crushing the remaining two beneath it's heavy stone blocks.

Our only loss this time was a puppy.


16th Hematite

All of my news this year seems to be bad. Before our recovery team was able to finish cleaning the southern entrance, a thief managed to get in and steal one of the goblin's narrow giant cave spider silk socks. We discovered it missing between our trips between the gate and our goods stockpiles.

It's not that we particularly care about the sock itself (although I must say it was a truly sublime sock they stole.) but these thefts will serve only to embolden the thieves in the future.


8th Malachite

Abod informed me today that one of the arrows from our latest battle had landed on top of her forge, stuck in a place that she can't reach. I told her we would get it down when we tear the current forge down in order to build a proper floor for her house.

She got pretty frustrated when I said that, raging as the others led her away to get a drink.

I'll need to get her working with metal soon.



21st Malachite

Frea had a second child today, Yet another girl. She named the child "Sparrow" after watching the nearby caged cardinals.

I almost think she had this second one just to one-up me having a boy. Although she would never say such a thing to my face. Either way, she seemed a little disappointed when she found out the child was a girl.

Now she goes about the kitchen, a baby strapped to each shoulder as she minces, chops, fries, cools, freezes, roasts, and crossoints like a madwoman. I must admit, her food is getting pretty good.

[Jamini]

7th Limestone

I don't want to talk now diary, my loins and gut feel as if they have been torn apart by a serrated goblin spear, but I feel a duty to you to write this information down on the day that it happens. Especially you who has silently been my confidant for all of these years.

Today I gave birth to a girl, my second child. I've decided to name her Illiet. While I feel like I should be frustrated for doing so, especially since over three-fourths of Ulolgeshud are now female, I can't help but feeling a certain satisfaction. Even if I can't bring myself to look at the disappointment Abod's face when she heard that the child was female.

Some part of me wants to jump up and down in joy anyway. But that would probably be a bad idea in the state I'm in.

Tired.


12th Limestone

Ukat came today, passing me the word that a goblin had been seen outside of the gate wrestling with a snailman. At first I thought she was joking, trying to make me laugh after a happy, but disappointing week. Ukat replied by hauling me out of bed and dragging me over to the moat to look, me complaining all of the way.

I was nearly floored when I saw what she was saying was true. One of the greenskins was wrestling with a giant, man-shaped snail at the edge of our encampment, it's greasy iron knife glittering in the moonlight. Since we had no bows or arrows we simply watched as it sunk it's dagger into the soft flesh of the snailman underneath his shell again and again for what seemed like hours, only finally driving the silent creature off when his weapon lodged in it's carapace.

As the fight drew to a close the goblin began to make camp, starting a small fire nearly directly outside of our moat. Without hesitation we returned to the village and I ordered the gate shut.

[mainiac]

Yes!  Crush the enemies of dwarvenkind with rocks from above! 

But it's seriously no wonder this world doesn't have any dwarves.  Our race has forgotten how to make man-children!

[Jamini]

Yes!  Crush the enemies of dwarvenkind with rocks from above! 

But it's seriously no wonder this world doesn't have any dwarves.  Our race has forgotten how to make man-children!

oh the irony of this statement.

[Jamini]

Later on Limestone 12th

As we got back Echo came running to me breathless with word of a goblin raiding party at our western entrance.



No sooner had I received word that I raced towards the lever to shut the gate,racing the clock as our traps began to throw rocks down upon the heads of the unsuspecting goblins.
By the time I had reached the village, I saw Abod and Ukat both running towards me. Each one breathless as they updated me on the information about our assailants.

"What are we dealing with?" I asked sternly as the stone lever slid easily into it's place, the grinding mechanisms below the earth groaning as they steadily primed the gate winch.

"Two pikemen, two wrestlers, and a Human with a bow" Ukat said easily as the smith gave her a betrayed look between labored breaths. "They've spotted the guard dogs and last I knew they were working their way to our traps.

"Do they suspect?" I asked, uncertain.

Glancing away from me, my two friends shot each other a demonic smile, Abod shaking her head grimly.

Catching their grin and enhancing on it, I nodded towards the gatehouse, waving down Echo as we passed her. Together we made our way to the nearby foliage and watched as the gobins marched into our gates.



The first three lunged forward as they spotted our dogs, the pikeman being the first to catch a stone across his back, crushing his ribcage flat. The second, a wrestler, grabbed at the canines mouth and held back the vicious teeth as the two danced for, constantly teetering over the edge of a tripline we knew he was not able to see. A moment later, he slid sideways and dropped like a stone as a boulder crushed his skull.

The third and fourth goblins were more careful, with prodding from the human in the back (who they constantly referred to as Lasiv. I suspect he may have been their leader). The pikeman, noting where his companions lay, neatly avoided the fresh traps, instead stepping over the bodies. With three stabs he quickly dispatched both dogs and stepped forward, triumph on his face while his wrestler friend watched moodily.

That triumph turned to despair as the drawbridge mechanism caught, the gears on the anchored edge pulling his wrestler friend to his doom. Panicked, and trapped, the last pikeman rushed forward. Hoping, perhaps, to kill what he could before he met his inevitable, recognized, doom.

Another stone

As the dust settled we walked up to the gate, quickly exining it and pulling out a few stray bits of goblin. I took the opportunity to climb up the side and look at the one remaining member of the Ambush party.

To him I called out, "Lasiv! You're men have failed. Surrender now and we will let you go peacefully." The human didn't respond at first, cursing in his assumed tongue before firing a shot that went well wide of me as I slid down the drawbridge.

Nodding to Ukat, I told her to build some catapults and use him to practice with


1st Sandstone

Lasiv was joined today by another party, this one mostly of swordsgoblins, led by the human crossbowman Ala Putiaslu. As we watched, the two greeted each other warmly, sharing many back-slapping and warm sayings.

Ala Putiaslu called out to me by name, obviously obtained from the elves or the kobolds, and asked me to surrender my people. In response I climbed the drawbridge again and replied in kind. He said that if we surrendered our children would not be harmed. Instead they would be brought up in the goblin way and allowed to live out their lives as they saw fit. When I asked about the adults he said,

    "It is by necessity that our initiation process be started at a young age. You are too old, too non-malleable. No Rikker Eshar, only your children will be allowed to live. The adults must die in order not to pollute their young. Can you not see that is the case, Clear-eyes?"



I took a long time to respond, covering my actual actions with supposed indecision. Eventually, I promised to the dark human that I would consider it and slid back down the bridge, racing towards the lever.

Naturally everyone was furious. They all had heard the exchange. Abod was already calling me a traitor, ready to give us up to the goblins, while Frea and Pete attempted to tackle me before I reached the mechanisms for the gate all the while screaming about what they goblins DID to children. In their ardor to find something to vent their anger at being captive for several weeks, they latched onto the fact that I was willing to betray them in order so that my children might survive.

I was faster though, years of mining and racing from stockpile to stockpile to count everything in the village has given me speed an elf would envy. Their damning convictions fell to the wayside as I reached the edge of the village and stopped at the lever, pulling it down firmly.

That's when Pete tackled me, his great body driving me into the ground and quickly pinning me while Frea shouted even more curses in my ear. Not far behind them came Abod and Ukat, a haunted look in their eyes as they saw what I had done. We were finished, there was no way we could fight so many at once! I knew it, they knew it, and they were ready to tear me apart for what I had done to them. To us. Frea was screaming bloody murder at me, her voice growing hoarse as Pete told both Ukat and Abod to get some rope to tie me up with.

I didn't struggle, I watched as the rope was strung up from the rafters of the partially-completed commerce building. I watched as Pete took a granite block, one of many that my own husband had crafted with his own hands, and set it up so that the rope was just the right height for my head. Without emotion the woodcutter ordered me up with a point.

It was then that Echo and Mulch arrived back in the town, a look of joy across their faces. One that quickly turned to horror as they saw what was going on. At once Mulch slugged Pete in the face, pulling free his knife and making to cut the rope that bound my hands.

"What are you DOING?", he shouted.

Pete struggled to rise, shaking his head and pointing his finger accusingly as the rest of our little group watched on. "That damn wench, she opened the gate! They're going to get in here and kill us all Mulch. Why are you protecting her?" He shouted, his voice high and loud in the artificial valley that contained our homes.

The air was silent for a moment as Pete made his announcement, his ruddy face a deep red full of anger as his finger jabbed towards my chest like a spear. Ready to impale me like a spike of meat on a hot poker. Then, quite suddenly, Mulch laughed.

"You damn idiot. Go look at the gate."

Pete stepped back in the face of the gaity, his anger mounting as he pulled the axe from his back, "What, do you think I'm a fool? Are you a traitor too? That place has got to be swarming with goblins!"

"The bridge got them all... the goblins at least." Echo said quietly, her voice almost lost in the hubub as Abod, Ukat, and Frea began to titter to each other. The gravity of her statement drawing all eyes and ears towards her.

"Wh...what?!?" Pete's face turned even redder, his axe falling to the ground as Mulch stepped forward and slapped his back, nearly sending the dwarf flying.

"Yep. All except those humans. They stayed back and ran off. Rikkir must have seen that from the top of the bridge, that's why she off so fast. They would have moved if she had waited too long.  As it was two of them still survived getting flung by the bridge and were caught by our cage traps.

Everyone seemed shocked as Mulch said it, and without hesitation they knew it to be true. After all, Mulch and Echo had hardly any more reason to lie than I do to betray us all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night Mulch asked me why I let things go as far as they did.

I really don't know why, I suppose I just need them to trust me.
 

[Jamini]

4th Sandstone
Almost as if in celebration of our triumph, little Glacies has begun walking today. Her stumbling gait brings even more joviality to us all.

13th Timber
Today is Feb's first birthday. Watching him Toddle off after his father, rather than needing to carry him around with me everywhere, brings me great joy. I feel as if I'm five kilo's lighter watching him run and try to talk with everyone.

Oh, wait...

1st Moonstone
Winter has come again, and once again we have halted our work and begun the season-long celebrations that will tide us through until spring, with one major difference this year.

Due to the repeated attacks in the last three months, I've ordered the gates shut. Since no caravans come in the winter I feel that this method is most prudent to protecting us. After all, there is little that we really could want that is outside of our home... for now.

This year looking over the stock records I noticed that we have gotten a number of iron bars from melted-down goblin gear. Come springtime they will probably be put to use in creating a few suits of armor for us to spar with. We cannot depend on traps for our entire lives. Some day we may very well need to face the goblins... and eventually the elves, head-on.

[Mulch Diggums]

Intresting turn of events. Whats Mulches stats by the way? If he is tough enough make him a silver sword or somthing just as weak to train with.

[Jamini]

Actually Mulch, I'm a little over a year behind on updates.

You are Extremely Strong, Extremely Agile, and Very Tough. You are a Legendary Mason and a Competent Building Designer. You personally constructed a masterpiece road that leads to the depot as well as multiple superior quality-masterwork statues that line it. Unfortunately, I can't spare you yet because most of the buildings around the village are not yet finished (although right now I have Rikkir helping in that regard)

The only dwarf who is tougher than Mulch is Rikkir. She's a little stronger (Mighty) and Perfectly Agile/Superdwarvenly tough from doing all of the mining below ground and keeping books in her spare time.

SneakyPete is Very Strong, Very Agile, and Extremely Tough. Currently he's handling all of our woodcrafting and weaving (because people's clothing is starting to rot. I do have a entry about that in the future).

The dwarf with the most kills (indirectly) is defiantly Ukat. She is a Talented MEchanic and a Siege Engineer and her traps have taken out more than ninety percent of all goblins that have attacked us. The few that have gotten through Rikkir killed with her pick.

Echo is a Master Grower, Proficient Thresher, Skilled Miller, and Competent Plot Device.

Frea is a Talanted Cook, Skilled Brewer, and a Talented Engraver, and I must say that she has very GOOD taste in engravings.

Abod is probably the most frustrating. Because she's been doing EVERYTHING related to smithing, her highest skill is wood burning. Making her a nasty brown color. She is an Adept Wood Burner, a Talented Furnace Operator, and a Novice Metalsmith. I'm defiantly going to start making armor and proper weapons soon, but I really don't want to start training anyone hardcore until some of the kids start growing up. Plus we really do not have a LOT of workable metal. Mostly stuff that was melted down from goblin gear (twenty or so bars of iron.)


Everybody, aside from the kids, is at least novice in nearly all of the social skills, and nearly all non-relative relationships are Friends (Some of the kids have some of the adults as "passing aquiantance"). Honestly I'm terrified I'm going to lose a lot of people as some point. The death of three or more dwarves would probably cause an irrevocable tantrum spiral in this fort.

For animals, we have a large number of dogs (although it's getting harder to keep them long enough to make them war dogs. I've been losing 1-3 every season to ambushes in liu of dwarves. We've also got a quite a few wilder animals. The elves keep bringing animals in cages, particularily vermin (I've got a cage with four tame large roaches, two cardinals, a toad, a moghopper, and a rat in the animal stockpile.) We also have a female racoon that I hope gets impregnated by a random passing male Racoon and gives us a steady supply of meat eventually, and a Male wolf that I plan on using in place of a puppy to guard the entrances when the latest batch of war dogs get shot/stabbed/bludgeoned to death..

Things are quite stable aside from the ambushes. It's strange to think that the oldest kids are already reaching three years of age. This has made it a great backdrop for me to do so major plot events, hopefully before strange moods start kicking in (if they haven't already). Also, since I don't want to kill Flintus' backstory you can expect a little immigration soon... in one form or another.

Time goes by FAST with so few dwarves. Tomorrow I have no class or work, so I'll spend some time catching up. Hopefully I'll get the writeup done so I can do the sixth year of the fort.