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[Dame de la Licorne]

3rd Limestone, 210
Ablel is back on her feet, although she seems to be walking a little funny now.  I suspect perhaps her spine was injured when her pelvis was broken last fall.  Though as she doesn't seem to be in pain, I suppose she's ok.  She's really become quite tough.

[Dame de la Licorne]

15th Limestone, 210
We opened the gates on schedule and the dwarven merchants arrived.  The wagons were nearly all safely inside our walls, but the pack animals were ambushed as they entered our view.  Oh the horror!   I could only watch as a merchant and his two guards were killed, valiantly trying to defend themselves.  And then, as the goblins were advancing on their next target, I saw a horde of dogs in full cry flying out to meet them, followed by Ablel and Libash.  The goblins took one look and took to their heels, but our two brave dwarves cut them down before they could leave.  Afterwards I wondered why Arnmod hadn't been involved and what did I find?  The lad was in the depths of the fortress, calmly draining a keg!  He'd left his post!  I will have to find some way of punishing him.  A soldier must always know when to follow orders, and he clearly doesn't.

[Dame de la Licorne]

26th Limestone, 210
Humph.  I had never taken dwarven merchants for stupid fools, but these Kabcatten dwarves apparently fall into that category.  Only one merchant died getting here, but the rest of them have refused point-blank to trade.  They waited just long enough to make sure all the survivors had assembled, and then they turned around and left without so much as a how do you do or even a thank you!  Not that they had anything really worth trading for this time (I managed to get a peek at their wagon-loads), but it's the principle of the thing.  Not to mention we could have off-loaded the newly-deposited junk on them, now we have to wait until summer.  Bah!
As the merchants were leaving; however, more goblins attacked.  No new merchant lives were lost although it would have served them right, but the mercenaries did back up Libash and Ablel when they attacked the goblin scourge, so no new injuries this season.  And Arnmod?  Sleeping this time!  Really!  It seems that we need more of a military if this is going to prove to be standard behavior.

[Dame de la Licorne]

27th Limestone, 210
Ablel came into the courtyard, blinking against the harsh light of day.  "Durien?  Yer here?"
"Righ' here, Ablel, wha's come up?"
"I--"  she suddenly doubled up, vomiting violently. 
Durien just barely managed to jump back far enough to avoid the stream.  "Yer ok?"
"I's th' sun."  She managed to gasp.  "Inside?"
"O'course."
The two dwarves went down, and once away from the sunlight, Ablel lost the sickly green color she'd adopted while outside.  "There's a problem wi' yer office, Durien."
"A solvable one, I 'ope."
"Weell, no' really.  I've hit aquifer.  It'll take a lot o' effort ter dam't off, if'n yer still want yer office jus' there."
"An aquifer?"
Ablel nodded.
Durien stroked his beard thinking.  Then he said slowly, as if thinking out loud, "There've been some complaints o' th' lack of a well.  Wha' if yer turn tha' dig site inter wells, 'n' move my office...ove' nea' th' dinin' hall?  We know there's no aquifer ove' there and th' constant source o' ground water here'll be perfec' fer wells."
Ablel thought the idea through, then nodded.  "Doable," she pronounced and, hefting her pick, trundled off to set to work.

[Kanute]

Obviously Arnmod is too good to be present at EVERY goblin attack. Also, my previous question about filling those extranormal roles was purely in a game-mechanics sense. Can they even be assigned manually?

[Dame de la Licorne]

I don't believe they can, so if I decide to allow them, they'll be immigrants.  I haven't decided on that point yet.

[Dame de la Licorne]

4th Sandstone, 210
Arnmod, finally actually at his guardpost, sent one of the children that often serve as runners to summon me to the gates.  When I got there, he said that Libash had gone outside with his dogs, muttering something about a giant cave spider silk...sock?  I was all set to rush out and drag him back, when he screamed "Snatcher!" and next thing I knew there were unrecognizable chunks flying every which way.  Hmmm.  I guess Libash can take care of himself, especially if he has those fifteen war dogs traipsing after him everywhere he goes.  At least there is one good thing, we haven't lost a single child to the goblins yet, something that Olon Thasdoth never accomplished.  While I was living there, it was rare that a year would go by without some news of a child-napping occurring somewhere in the kingdom.

[Dame de la Licorne]

17th Limestone, 210
With the gates nearly permanently sealed, things remain quiet here at Scarbasement and I've decided to use the time to strengthen Arnmod's and my training.  I am somewhat familiar with the use of an axe, and with Arnmod's seeming preference for hammering, I have decided to spar with him with weapons.  We both have enough wrestling skill that, if we both wear armor and use shields, I believe we should gain experience without too great a risk of injuries.

[Dame de la Licorne]

8th Timber, 210
Hah, without too great a risk of injuries?  I spoke too soon when I wrote that entry, or perhaps it was just a lucky blow, I don't know.  At any rate, I've managed to send Arnmod to his bed sobbing with a broken hand.  At least I didn't lop it off completely, but the lad needs to learn to use that shield.  You'd swear it was the first time he'd ever picked one up.

[Dame de la Licorne]

Winter, somewhere in the Murk of Lashing
"Wai've git ta der sumpfin'!  Thaese blasted dwarfys're killin' us all piecemeal!"
"Yah!  't this rate, Tuxumstozu's daid!"
More voices chimed in, with similar sentiments.
"'N' whit've wai git?  One bleedin' kill!  Thar mist bai at laest fifty o' th' li'le blighters!"  The speaker smiled as furious cries filled the night air.  Oh, this's gin' ta bai so easy.
But another goblin jumped in.  "Sin' th' fighin' goblens ta der th' job!  Ther's near'y a 'undrad 'f 's, wai kin killin' th' dwarfys!"
"Bu' whit 'f th' dwarfys ki' th' fightas?  Wai git nae ta pertect's f'om th' dwarfys'!"  The third goblin screamed, throwing a punch at the second one.  Things would have quickly spiraled into a free-for-all, if the seeming leader hadn't screamed for silence.  Such was his reputation, that he got it almost immediately.
"A'righ', a'righ'!  Wai're all agrid th' wai git ta der sumpin' 'n' I've git a plan.  So fer, ou' raedas ain' git scaets ta tell'em whir ter go 'n' whir th' dwarfys're.  Wal this time," and he grinned, showing all his uneven teeth, "they'll git th' scaets."
A moment of silence followed his words, as the gathered goblins thought about that proposal.  The second goblin seemed about to protest, but he was prevented by some of the surrounding goblins throwing him to the ground and sitting on him, effectively neutralizing him until the other goblins had accepted the leader's dictate.
Cheers rose, full of hope for a bloodthirsty revenge, and the goblin leader laughed to himself.  Manipulating these lowly goblins was easy, and the brainwashed ones were even easier.

OOC: I don't recall mentioning it before, but the Murk of Lashing is the region of the world map where the fort is located.
Also, current casualties: Dwarves = 2, Goblins = 100+ 
Thank you war dogs.

[Dame de la Licorne]

1st Obsidian, 210
It has been a quiet winter, with little to report other than the day-to-day activities of the fort.  Arnmod is getting to be very good with a crossbow, and reasonably competent with his new hammer.  I have been sparring with him when I have the time, and I like to think that my skills with an axe are progressing quite well.
The only bit of noteworthy news came today, when Kib gave birth to her newest child, a boy named Ushat, or Basement.  I suppose if she wants to name her baby after her home, that's her problem.  Well, hers and Kivish's.

[Dame de la Licorne]

16th Granite, 211
Well, we know it's spring when the elves come knocking at our gates.  They did do us a favor by bringing quite a bit of wood (we seem to run out of it so quickly) and another grizzly bear, so we let them in.
Of course, as seems to have become standard since we started this policy, shortly after the gates opened, the goblins attacked, led by an elf.  We--- Wait, WHAT?
Ummm, yes, I've just verified that unbelievable bit of info, they were indeed led by an elf.  An elf wielding an axe, no less.  But the only truly dangerous axe is the one found in the hand of a dwarf, and the elf died at the teeth of our dogs, even before Arnmod could get to it.  The trader elves didn't seem upset at all at the slaughter taking place, and indeed seemed almost...hungry.  I've ordered Libash and Ablel to keep help Arnmod keep an eye on these traders, in case they try something funny.

[Dame de la Licorne]

21st Granite, 211
Kivish knocked on the door, causing Durien to look up from his accounts.  "Wha' is't, Kivish?"
"Well, I've been cleanin' up outside, there's so much spider silk of all differen' kinds tha' it'd be a waste ter jus' leave it 'n' there was this one sock tha' I jus' know Kib's goin' ter love 'n'--"
"'N' I assume there's a poin' ter this?"  Durien prodded impatiently.  "B'cause I'm really behin' on th' books so if'n it isn' urgen'..."
"Righ', righ'."  Kivish nodded, "Anyway, I noticed somethin'...odd.  Th' elf, yer know, th' wha' attacked 's las' week?  Well, it's body's missin'."
"Missin'?  Yer sure it wasn' jus' dumped like all corpses?"
Kivish shook his head.  "I checked.  It's no' in th' refuse pile, or th' garbage dump, or anywhere outside tha' I could see.  It's missin'!"
Durien sat back, frowning and rubbing a grimy hand across his chin as he thought.  "Who else knows 'bou' this?"
"Me 'n' Arnmod, 'n' now yer.  Oh, 'n' one o' my daughters."
"Well, if'n it really is missin' others're boun' ter notice.  I'll ask some questions, discreet of course, and see ter't th' word's spread no' ter speak o' this anywhere near th' elves.  I really don' wan' ter have ter smooth their ruffled feathers."

[Dame de la Licorne]

2nd Slate, 211
As I was passing the depot, where the traders camp while they're here, I saw one of the elves chewing on something that rather resembled an arm, complete with elbow but minus the hand.  It was about the right size to have belonged to the dead elf.  Talk about hypocrisy!  We've gone to all this trouble to offer them only non-living goods, limited to silk and stone as I see no point in wasting valuable metal on these good-for-nothings, and they actually eat the dead!  This puts certain bits of their conversations that I've overheard through the years in a new perspective.  These elves will never be trusted again, not that they ever truly were!  Cannibals!  My very beard quakes at the thought!  I wish I had the courage to destroy them, but we are still too weak to handle the consequences.  Still, it's never too early to start planning.

[Dame de la Licorne]

23rd Slate, 211
The elves have left, after dawdling again.  They never did ask what had happened to the fallen one, and I persist in my belief that they are cannibalistic.  I haven't told any of the others of my fears, merely that the elves "honored" their dead in their own fashion, and I think my comrades believed me.  Though the elves have not attempted nor suggested by word or deed their intentions to serve us for lunch, it is my belief that a dwarf is better safe than sorry in that regard, and I have begun drawing up plans for a system that will deal with the elven traders should they ever seem to pose a threat to us.