This is the journal of Sir Woge and his (kind of) lands, Snakesfreckles. Page 1110 Malachite, 207. A new visitor to Snakesfreckles may easily mistake our mission for a military camp- possibly even a fortress. With all of the new defense oriented projects underway the general look and feel is one of combat readiness. But it is important to indicate that we are not a military station. The King's charter was very clear with where my authority stands with regards to military alignment- I've got none. The charter released Sor and me from military duty which effectively stripped any military command rights from me. That's not to say my military command will not or cannot be reinstated in the future, though. Our armed guard is exactly that: a guard force. Should Casot overhear me referring to them as an army unit or perhaps members of the military I am sure he would make all haste to the King to report that I am hosting a rebellious military uprising or some other ridiculous statement! The only person here that I
can refer to as a lawful member of the King's forces would be Mete. She is still technically enrolled in the Baron's forces- I suppose just on loan to me. But as she made clear to me when we first met:
I'm not her squad leader. Things were very different back them.
On the topic of Mete: She and Switchblades chased down and killed a babysnatcher this morning. With the growing number of youngsters in the mission it is good to see these filthy creatures falling to the sword.
18 Malachite, 207. An exciting rumor is circulating throughout the mission. It seems the peasant Pestrat has become unresponsive and taken command of the craftworkshop. When news reached my desk I immediately went to see for myself. Reports of her demeanor and actions are mimicking those of Lalgi during her possession. When I arrived at the workshop she was nowhere to be found. Lomam, who had been displaced from the workshop, said Pestrat has been collecting various materials. This is the second time Lomam has been kicked out of his own workshop. I asked to be informed of any updates concerning Pestrat's situation. If this should be another message from Egu I'd like to be well informed.
19 Malachite, 207. I have checked my records for more information on Pestrat Egadeso. She came to the mission between 7 and 11 Felsite, 206. If my memory serves right- that whole migrant wave came from the same village. Also in the group were some other people of note: Thrathdad, MasterSqueak, the late champion Ejas, and Zilar- all being led, at the time, by Istrul. I have sent work out that I'd like to speak with each of them to discuss Pestrat's history and background. Of note is Zilar. In mid-Malachite of 206 Zilar took control of the same craftworkshop in question and crafted a flute, if I remember correctly. At the time I passed it off as a psychotic episode, but Galali suggested it may have religious undertones, possibly a possession. I am anxious to hear from Zilar again and I am also seeking that flute out to take another look at it. Maybe there is something I missed.
20 Malachite, 207. I've spoken with Thrathdad and MasterSqueak. MasterSqueak was sparring in the barracks and Thrathdad was working at the gatehouse. Thrathdad was not very forthcoming about Pestrat's background. I believe she is still unhappy about losing her mason leadership position. Mastersqueak unfortunately had little information to provide either. His life as a peasant in his hometown did not intersect with Pestrat's peasant work. Zilar was surprisingly
not at his farm plot and I did not have time to make it out to the river tower where Istrul was likely practicing with Galali's squad. I did get a chance to dig up Zilar's flute though. I am still unsure of its significance, if any.
21 Malachite, 207. I spoke with Zilar today. He was
not excited to speak about his experience. Like Lalgi, Zilar reports no knowledge of what he was doing or what he was making during his episode. He was fine doing work one moment, then the next thing he knew it was days later and he was holding a flute.
But Zilar's reluctance to talk about the event gave away his new secret. Apparently he has been suffering increasingly horrible nightmares during the last few weeks. Most involve the flute in some form or another. I was able to find Lalgi to ask if she was suffering any similar affliction but she denied it. I was unable to tell if she was being truthful or not. Lomam reports Pestrat is
still traveling about the mission, collecting materials.
22 Malachite, 207. Haspen seems to have set up a small room in the stone quarry. I suspect he did it so that he may continue his engraving undisturbed and without persecution. I fear any time I challenge him on being in the quarry to draw he will just claim he is on his way to or from his new apartment. This presents an awkward situation for me. Haspen is the current and original lead mason- after Thrathdad's dangerous mistake with the river tower bridge controls I cannot trust him to lead the masons at all and I fear the other masons are too inexperienced for any sort of command position. I would also be embarrassing myself to displace Haspen as lead mason- people may think I am unable to select a capable person. For now I will let Haspen's actions slide. Perhaps if I get an apartment built for him in the administrative district he will move back.
Istrul and I chatted about Pestrat today. I learned that Pestrat was a casual worshipper of Thram when she arrived at Snakesfreckles. Istrul is not aware of any changes that may have happened to her after their arrival.
24 Malachite, 207. The trade depot is currently blocking off a vital support location for the sky bridge. Ina has come to me with plans to relocate the depot just a few meters to the north. I trust her judgment and OK'd the plans without much worry.
26 Malachite, 207. Lomam burst into my office with new news about Pestrat. She
wants demands cut gems. I immediately dropped what I was doing to go see for myself.
It seems Pestrat has started babbling about cut gems. She just stands there, in the craftworkshop, demanding
cut gems in a nearly incoherent manner. This is this first time she has spoken since she kicked Lomam out of his workshop. No one has succeeded in talking any sense into her and no one can get her to say or do anything else. I have sent the peasants looking for cut gems- or any gems for that matter.
28 Malachite, 207. Sor says his records show no gems in our supplies. The peasants have failed to find any that may have slipped past his ledgers. I've asked Sor to go help with the miners in the quarry. No one in the mission seems to have any experience with mining beyond that learned here. We don't really know where to look for gems in the earth- so we can only hope that a renewed mining effort will unearth some...
7 Galena, 207. All mission guards are training with their weapons of choice now. They are using a mix of swords, spears, and bows. Mete reports they are all armed and armored and ready for combat. While I hope we never need to muster our guards again, I feel better knowing they are around. Who knows if or when the elves will come back?
10 Galena, 207. In an attempt to further organize our guard force, Mete has reorganized the melee guards into three squads. Mete, Switchblades, and MasterSqueak each have charge of a three man squad. The nine melee forces supplement Galali's one archery squad. I will need to have a word with Galali to see if he thinks his squad needs to be reorganized as well.
14 Galena, 207. The gatehouse's second level is nearly complete. The plans call for a third level but the completion of the second level signifies that the structure is combat ready. To my surprise Thrathdad brought me the report. She also said Haspen has been at the work site less and less as the days go by. I will need to look into this.
15 Galena, 207. I went looking for Haspen at the quarry this morning. I really do not like making that long journey by myself but I wanted to have a word with Haspen personally. He was not there.
Disappointed, I took a look at some of the newer engravings on the walls and floors. I found one I am actually quite fond of: It is a well designed image of Mete and an elf. The elf is whining about getting stabbed and Mete is looking on with a menacing stance. My desire to reprimand Haspen subsided and I returned to the mission.
OOC: Why did the image description use Haspen's original name and not his nickname? I just noticed that... all his other drawings use his original name too?
. Pestrat is still without cut gems. We just do not know where to look or how to find them on our own. The dwarves would surely have no problem locating some- but they are of little help to us now. Casot indicated that the dwarves may be adding Snakesfreckles to their caravan route in the near future, now that we have grown beyond that of a small settlement. I will be sure to have Sor trade for gems from them when they come- if they come. I've been hearing rumors crisscross the mission about Pestrat's situation. Some people are worried that
if this is a possession by Egu, or any deity for that matter, we will suffer or possibly be punished for not fulfilling Pestrat's demands. On the other hand we have many naysayers claiming these possessions are just hoaxes or the result of some other psychotic episode. I am really not entirely sure- but given the evidence so far I am more inclined to see them as some sort sign from higher powers. I've asked Sor to redouble his efforts in the mines. We
must get some gems.
20 Galena, 207. I will begin helping with deforestation again. I cannot stand the administrative work being pushed onto me. I have been stuck tending to my overwhelming duties
as well as Sor's ever since he started work in the quarry again. Nearly a month of it has pushed me too close to the edge of insanity for my likes. I should have learned my lesson when I faced Sor's responsibilities while he was busy tending to the Uthagilian caravan. Hopefully Sive and his daily reports cannot find me in the forest- I fear how I may respond while carrying an axe.
1 Limestone, 207. The cool air of autumn is a welcome feel. Cutting trees down all day is hard work and really builds up a sweat. The drop in temperature will hopefully combat the heat of manual labor. For once the other woodcutters are beginning to keep pace with me- almost. We are staying well ahead of the demand for wood, but I suspect that is mostly due to the fact that the peasants are far behind in hauling the wood to the mission. That means Ina needs to send her crew out to recover the wood on their own to build with it- the travel time is slowing their progress considerably. That's all speculation though- spending all my time in the forest cutting down trees has been an excellent method to avoid all the administrative meetings and pointless updates.
I do not feel guilty avoiding my office. Progress seems to continue without my intervention. I passed through the housing district while on my way from my apartment to a virgin section of woods and was quite surprised to see a second level on one of the housing blocks. Peasants were hauling beds while others were installing doors as I walked past. The skybridge is also connected and it seems Ina is having it fortified- all without my need to give the order. Someone started work on another stone tower on the west wall of the southern expansion. At this point I cannot even guess if it was Haspen or Thrathdad- HFS, for all I know it was one of the other masons; trying to take charge of the mason corps via initiative. All these positive events
without my having to sit in an office all day listening to reports. Perhaps I will retire as a wood cutter...
4 Limestone, 207. Barbarossa caught me while I was traveling to my bed last night. I was really quite tired from a long days work and had no patience for - well- anything. He started about wanting more armor smith work- something about not being satisfied with his previous output and wanting to make more chainmail and improve his skills. In my pre-bed bad mood I silenced him with a raised hand, pointed to the gatehouse (which I noticed was in the process of having the third level fortifications constructed), and said "help." While I admittedly regret the encounter now, I am sure a little masonry work will not hurt him.
6 Limestone, 207. Lalgi gave birth today. A baby boy named Obler Ewomuse. I did not know she was pregnant- in fact, I do not think anyone knew. Well, it’s good timing for Lalgi. I doubt she is getting much work as a leatherworker right now- I am not even sure if we have any active hunters to bring in hides to be tanned then worked with in the first place. I can't ask Sor to find out and I sure as HFS am not sitting at my desk long enough to look into it... I find myself sneaking into and out of my apartment under the cover of darkness to avoid getting pestered. I caught Sive waiting
in my bedroom one night to give his daily report! I thought he was an elf assassin for an instant. Honestly, I'd almost rather take my chances with a lone elf than have to put up with another report from Sive. ...I wonder if he would make a good guard...
8 Limestone, 207. Pestrat went absolutely stark raving mad! One minute she was standing in the craftworkshop babbling about cut gems, the next she was diving into the sinkhole! Lomam, who was still acting as Pestrat's... watcher?... immediately shouted for help and scrambled to pull the woman out of the water. It seems Pestrat sunk like a rock and made no attempt to be help in her own rescue. The peasant Doto found me in the woods and gave me the news. Naturally I was inbound to the mission at full speed as soon as I heard. When I arrived on scene someone had already ordered the sinkhole water supply floodgates closed and the drainage floodgate opened. Unfortunately before anyone made it to the appropriate levers Pestrat succumbed to the prolonged submersion. I quickly canceled the order to open the drainage floodgate despite protests from many bystanders. I explained that opening the drainage floodgate would effectively flood our entire southern expansion. The drain tunnel was put in place long before
any of our new districts and it was also untested. Now that the immediate need for haste and urgency was invalid, we should be more careful with the process.
9 Limestone, 207. We've called the miners back to the mission to begin work on a new drainage tunnel that will divert the water past the southern expansion. Sor believes it will be most effective to empty the water directly beneath the gatehouse drawbridge.
20 Limestone, 207. The new sinkhole drainage tunnel is nearly complete. We also have a fresh grave and tombstone ready for when we recover the remains. There is a lot of speculation going on about the whole incident. Several residents are clamoring about how Pestrat's death is absolute proof of divine intervention- many of those who were previously skeptical about the possessions are beginning to change their minds. It is rather obvious that Pestrat was
not just trying to get out of peasant work- an excuse some of the other peasants used to justify Pestrat's possession. Lalgi and Zilar are both scared out of their minds about their own previous possessions now.
MasterSqueak has also stepped forward and claimed experiencing a possession of his own in Slate during the elf ambushes. He says the ear ring he presented to me was the product of the episode. I do recall his giving me the earring but I am suspicious why he did not relate the possession until now. He claims he was scared, embarrassed, and confused. When I tried to question him further he reiterated a similar story to Lalgi's and Zilar's. One moment he was fine, the next it was days later and he was holding his creation. He claims no nightmares. Mete trusts him- so I have decided to believe him. I hunted down and found the earring he made to take another look at it but could not find any clues as to what these possessions mean.
26 Limestone, 207. Our project to recover Pestrat's body is not going as planned. The new drainage route successfully and effectively bypasses the southern expansion, dumping the water out beneath the gatehouse drawbridge, but one of the floodgates under the river tower is not operating properly. At some point an extra bit of space was channeled out by one of the gates- as such a flow of water is still making its way into the sinkhole. So now we can only hope that Pestrat's remains are carried by the flow beyond the drainage floodgate where we will be able to safely recover it.
I do not know why the land was channeled. I'd like to blame Thrathdad but I am fairly certain Sor was the one that actually did the digging work... I will let this problem quietly slide.
28 Limestone, 207. Failure! Pestrat's body, being pulled by the flow of water as planned, sunk into a deeper section of the sinkhole, not as planned. I stopped the operation and had the drain closed. There is no reason to flood the southern plains in a hopeless effort to recover the corpse. At this point the only way to get to the body would be to empty the entire sinkhole- which is not possible given the leak in our floodgates at the river tower. Damn! Many are unhappy with my decision to give up on the recovery effort- but we must remain realistic. I cannot let Snakesfreckles shut down over the impossible.
4 Sandstone, 207. There was an accident in the quarry today. A section of the floor collapsed and Sor fell in with it. He is wounded, but alive.
5 Sandstone, 207. While investigating how Sor's injury came about Thomo indicated they were starting to mine below the surface in addition to surface mining. Sor must have dug into an already dug out area from above. He actually fell several levels
through another level of stone before coming to rest. I was furious at their negligence- but I held my tongue. It was apparently Sor that initiated the below surface mining.
11 Sandstone, 207. Thomo claims the surface accessible gabbro is getting harder and harder to dig out and that huge clusters of other stone are impeding access. I refused his request to start digging underneath the other clusters in an attempt to bypass them and access more gabbro. Instead I have instructed them to begin a new surface mining operation to the east of the current quarry. There is a presence of claystone visible. We will begin using claystone in our masonry in addition to gabbro.
16 Sandstone, 207. I've authorized the slaughter of two cow calves and two horse foals. Their meat will supplement our meals and their bones will provide more ammunition for Galali's squad. Lomam was wise enough to keep track of the bone supply himself during Sor's absence at the quarry (and now in recovery). When he noticed the supply dwindling he came to me. I tried to look through Sor's ledgers to find numbers relating to the bone supply but did not get far. Not only are his numbers out of date but his methods are beyond my abilities. I randomly picked four animals to be slaughtered... hopefully Sor will approve.
17 Sandstone, 207. There are nine humans inbound to the mission; migrants from the look of them. I hope they do not mind sleeping on the floor in the main hall- we are stretched for beds as is.
[con't]
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