It has been several weeks since I arrived at Failcannon. I had had high hopes -- at last, a place where we dwarves could live, free from the mad human queen. Using the lessons learned from the failed experiment at Battlefailed, we could create a mighty fortress that could serve as the focal point for a war of independence.
Alas, what I've found does not live up to those lofty expectations -- a mere thirty-seven dwarves hunkered down in a sprawling nightmare of a fortress. At the moment, Failcannon is worthless as a military bastion. It has numerous weak points -- it is, for example, vulnerable to an amphibious assault.
One of several gaps in our defenses
The "military" consists of a handful of ill-trained dwarves with mismatched equipment. Looking through the stockpiles for higher-quality kit, I found nothing but cheap iron weapons and low-grade gear that was apparently scavenged from goblins.
No signs of good craftsdwarfship
Nor is there any simple way to order anything new -- the supply chain is clogged up and inefficient.
Everything is suspended! In almost all the workshops!
It would seem that Failcannon has two things in abundance. The first is tallow.
I've never seen so much fat.
The second is corpses.
Some of Failcannon's many, many corpses.
Failcannon is littered with the rotting corpses of unfortunate dwarves. It looks like the citizens gave up on proper burials, and simply started piling bodies up wherever they could find space.
And those are only a few of the problems here. I haven't even mentioned the dread beasts that wander the depths, or the whispers of restless spirits stalking the halls of the fort.
Failcannon has a long way to go before it can serve as a bastion of the dwarven independence movement -- indeed, it is in imminent danger of collapsing. It looks like I arrived just in time.
3 Sandstone, 525:I decided to explain myself and my cause to the mayor today. He seemed largely disinterested, but was willing to put me in command of the military and to listen to my advice on strategic matters. As I left the meeting, I was approached by a dwarf who introduced herself as Andreus IX.
I like a dwarf with a big number after their name; it's a sign of good breeding.
Andreus said she'd overheard my conversation with the mayor and believed in my cause. Since she's been at Failcannon for a while, she said, she can help me out with the administrative details of my job.
We got started immediately. My priorities are securing our perimeter, training a few soldiers, producing equipment, and cleaning up all these corpses. After we filled out the proper forms and sent them for the mayor's signature, Andreus asked if she could form a special team to investigate reports of paranormal activities. I've given her permission.
4 Sandstone, 525:Tragedy struck today, as a neglected child died. I swear, one day Queen Led will pay for this.
5 Sandstone, 525:Andreus has told me that nearly half the dwarves in the fort claim that they are unemployed, even though there is plenty to do. I tried to bring this up with the mayor, but he brushed me off. Doesn't he realize that that's no way to treat someone who has commanded dwarven troops who fought for his freedom?
8 Sandstone, 525:I finally figured out why so many dwarves weren't doing anything. It seems that two levels of the fort had become disconnected -- there were stairs down from one level, but no stairs up from the next. The situation has been rectified, and the dwarves are now back to work.
I meant to ask Andreus how she knew that so many dwarves were idle when she couldn't go talk to them (what with the lack of stairs), but it slipped my mind when we met to discuss siege weapon production. I'll be sure to ask her later.
10 Sandstone, 525:Now that the workers can finally move about, we managed to seal the gap in the southern wall that left us open to attack from the sea.
In other news, I convinced the mayor to order all our domestic animals caged, so that they'd stop getting in the way. Although he agreed with my suggestion, he was incredibly rude -- he didn't even have the courtesy to stop eating while we were discussing it. I don't like his disrespectful attitude.
12 Sandstone, 525:
More dwarves have come to Failcannon, no doubt attracted by the promise of freedom from Queen Led's tyranny. There were eight in all. None had any particular skills, but we can always use more dwarves to the work the furnaces or bury corpses.
14 Sandstone, 525:Some of the recent arrivals pointed out to me that there is a vulnerability by Failcannon's entrance that allows enemies onto the walls, where they can fire down into the courtyard (in fact, Andreus tells me that just such a thing happened not too long ago). I've ordered it walled off.
22 Sandstone, 525:The mayor walked into my office today -- he didn't even knock! -- and handed me a pile of orders, without even bothering to speak to me. I'm getting sick of this bad treatment.
24 Sandstone, 525:One of our masons suddenly dropped what he was doing and began speaking in an unknown language.
He has run to a workshop and begun gathering various objects. Andreus has asked if she can observe him -- she thinks that it might give her insight into how to deal with the ghosts that some of the dwarves have been talking about. I agreed that this sounded like a good idea (I didn't bother to check with the mayor; he would have just made a fuss about it).
27 Sandstone, 525:Andreus reports that using what she learned from the possessed mason, her Paranormal Investigation Group has successfully ended our ghost problem.
Who you gonna call?
Good, one less thing to worry about.
7 Timber, 525:Our possessed mason finally began working on something today. I thought Andreus might be interested in watching him, but she said something about a spirit that won't talk to her being useless, or something. I was going to ask her what she meant but I suddenly remembered that I had to go inspect the defenses.
11 Timber, 525:Our mason finished today, emerging with a bizzarely decorated weapon rack. He remembers little about making it, but insists that it is called Ugoskamut Dalzatsuvas (literally, "Hollowripper the Matched Luster").
12 Timber, 525:
Supplies! I've ordered the drawbridge opened to let the traders in, but nobody is doing it. I've half a mind to go pull that lever myself.
13 Timber, 525:
It's a good thing nobody opened the drawbridge -- the caravan has come under attack by goblins. I called up the militia, thinking to go to their aid, but as more and more goblins burst out of the trees, it became clear that there were simply too many.
The trader and his horse were slaughtered. The lone caravan guard put up a terrific fight, killing three goblins and maiming two more, but he was overwhelmed by the five squads of goblins.
The goblins are out of range of our crossbows, so we can't shoot them from the walls. Since we're heavily outnumbered, I've ruled out the possibility of a sortie. We'll have to wait the goblins out.
20 Timber, 525:The goblins are still out there. We have everything we need inside the fortress, but I'm getting impatient. Andreus suggested letting them in, counting on the traps to thin their numbers before we engage them in the courtyard. It sounds like a good idea, but I want to build more traps, first.
27 Timber, 525:The mayor burst into my office today as I was discussing logistics with the ever-helpful Andreus.
"Urist!" he shouted, "what's this I hear about even
more defense spending?"
"It's for traps, Mr. Mayor," I said. "We're going to use them to kill off the goblins."
"Traps?" he said. "What about all those weapons you're making? All that armor? I thought
that was supposed to protect us from the goblins!"
"Our soldiers aren't well-trained enough--" I tried to explain.
"What about the siege weapons?" he demanded.
"We still haven't gotten to the point where we can produce high-quality parts," I said, patiently, "and even if we had, the goblins aren't in a position where we could hit them. That's why we have to build pillbox--"
"And spend even more?" the mayor said, "that project is already 930% over budget!"
I was getting angry.
"Oh, and what would
you have us focus on?" I asked. "Worthless, empty hallways?"
What
is this?
"Public art projects?"
Honestly, it's just glorified graffiti
"No," the mayor said, "I would focus on
amulets. They are vital to our prosperity, and our cultural legacy. In fact, we
will focus on amulets. I'm the mayor, and I'm in charge here."
With that, he stormed out of the room.
I was fuming.
"Does he have any idea what he's doing?" I asked. "He's putting our very lives at risk! At a time when we're surrounded by enemies, no less."
"It is short-sighted, sir," Andreus agreed. "He is becoming a significant impediment to our cause."
"I just don't understand how somebody like that got to be in charge," I said. "Failcannon needs a leader who understands how to move this fort forward."
Andreus gave me a significant look. I nodded, and she strode out of the room.
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Topic: FailCannon: No Rest for the Wicked (or anyone else) (Succession: Battlefailed 2) (Read 939543 times)