It’s all a blur.
I don’t remember what happened, how it all started, or why I’m in chains. The only clear picture in my mind is of an enormous troll striking my lover viciously in the back, preparing to finish her as she crumpled to the ground. Then a red haze of violent hatred blots out my vision and self control. Now I am here, chained and alone, trying to piece together what went wrong.
From where I’m imprisoned I can see much of the fortress. Looking over the carnage gives me some idea what must have occurred. The patterns of blood, limbs, and mutilated bodies tell a heartbreaking story.
A massive tomb lies half-constructed in the middle of the frozen river, surrounded by smashed bodies and errant limbs.
The trail of carnage continues north towards the once impenetrable fortress walls, where a section was negligently removed to allow easy access to the project outside.
Troll and goblin bodies litter the corridor just inside the breach, indicating that we waged a valiant fight, but beyond that the crushed and broken forms of my comrades strewn about the courtyard lie testament to the inadequacy of our forces.
There is evidence of the incursion throughout the fortress. The stockpiles, the guardroom, the dining room, even our underground farms are filled with the stinking gore of both friend and foe.
Lacking room for all the bodies, we’ve begun casually stacking them in a pile outside.
The injured are everywhere. I can see the hospital is overflowing with mangled dwarfs.
The agonized cries of pain, thirst, and hunger coming from the apartment section imply that many of the injured, seeing that the hospital is full, have retreated to their rooms to rest in the hope that someone will care for them with food and drink.
Imprisoned as I am I cannot help care for the sick and dying. I cannot clear the hallways of the dead and dismembered. Instead I sit here, staring at the tragedy, thinking of nothing but my love, Stassia Bomreknin and fingering the ☼Dolomite Ring☼ I purchased last month after saving for many seasons.
Her body is not among those festering in the pile outside, but there are many corpses still to be gathered. Surely she is dead, for she has not come to visit with food, drink, or solace. At least she is beyond all this now. At least her suffering is over.
Rest well, my love.
With nothing but a now-worthless ring reminding me of all I’ve lost, my thoughts turn to the one responsible for this tragedy.
Fivex.
His reckless disregard for our security caused all this needless tragedy. If only the invaders had needed to pass over the bridge then none of this would have happened. She would be here with me. The snow would still be pristine and wedding-gown white. But no. Now the once beautiful snow is stained with blood and ichor; smeared with loss and sorrow. You. You will pay for her pain, for my ruined life.
Edit: fixed glaring plot hole.
Edit2: So, I wrote all that before I ever unpaused the game. I spent a long time scoping things out and trying to figure out how to prevent a full-on tantrum spiral. Well, that's definitely not going to happen. We're twenty days into my turn and there have been 7 murders. 3 Dwarfs have gone insane/berserk. I'm trying to mitigate the damage, but I have the feeling that we're just seeing the beginning of this.