My name is Sir Monty Pylon, Captain of the Guard of Wheelrags. To whomever may be reading this, I pray we have managed to survive these horrific times, but in the event we do not, this journal will chronicle the last days of Glorious Fortress Wheelrags.
What this fortress needs is a true leader now. While every society needs its nobility as symbols and figureheads, it also needs a leader who knows how to handle hardship and tragedy. The fancy nobles know nothing of it. I live the life of a noble, but I was once a peasant too. If anyone can quell the fiery conflicts between peasant and noble, it is me. I know nothing of fancy mechanisms, grand temples, or elaborate tombs. However, I do know what must be done to survive. Tomorrow I shall assume command. I shall take the reins of this dying beast and attempt to guide her back to glory. I only pray I am up to the task.
2 Limestone, 306
Today I have taken stock of our pathetic state. A large portion of the fortress is now submerged.
The majority of our military is bedridden with wounds, and our workforce has been decimated. I must get some sort of economy going again. To this end, I look to our magma forges. They have been left mostly intact through the recent catastrophes, so they will be where we begin to claw our way back to normalcy. I gave the orders to start creating glass and weapons. Glass is a luxury we do not need at the moment, but perhaps other civilizations will trade us much-needed supplies for it.
6 Limestone, 306
I have come to the conclusion that we must mount an organized defense. While most of the threats inside the fortress itself are at least held at bay for the moment, we remain vulnerable to a siege. On top of that, our nobility needs a comfortable place to sleep. I hate to give in to their demands for luxury in a time of crisis, but I require their backing to continue my leadership. To satisfy both sides, I have decided to build a castle to protect our fortress's entrance. Though littered with traps, I could sense that people were wary of invaders, and this will both quell their fears and provide a place for the self-important nobles to hold their little tea parties.
14 Limestone, 306
This day marks the laying of the first foundations of Castle Wheelrags. May the gods preserve it.
This undertaking requires many masons if we are to finish it in a timely manner. I am forced to conscript men into my service temporarily. Both the peasants and the nobles are growing restless.
I find that not even the mason wanted to lay stone. It took some convincing, but I won him over.
4 Sandstone 306
The castle's foundations are progressing, though I fear it is too slow. There have been some cries of discontent coming from the nobility, demanding that I find some place to house them. I try to reassure them, to promise them that they will be enjoying luxury within the castle in a matter of months, though I fear they may have saw through the bluff. Truth be told, I have begun to doubt whether we can build such a castle before more goblins sniff out the stench of the dying fortress. I must retain my faith, but I cannot say how long it will hold out.
On another note, the enormouse zombie eagle that I have heard called Bonewing has been sighted nearby again. It is a great lumbering beast, though I cannot see how it manages to fly. It is far too slow to catch a quick dwarf, though, so I have resolved to let it be so long as it keeps its distance. It is an excellent deterrent to keep dwarves from wandering off.
20 Sandstone, 306
Ill news, I fear. Not even our king can manage to keep his temper in check. I shudder to think of the implications this may have for our eventual survival.
28 Sandstone, 306
Have the gods forsaken us? Our king has...has...I canno write any more. I must see to the wounded guardsmen.
7th Timber, 306
It has been difficult to find time to write through the latest crisis. Our king is dead, along with our tax collector. They will not be missed by the majority of the populace; however, our Baroness and her consort, once resolute, are beginning to show their discontent. Whether this will end in another episode like this, I cannot say. My first season in command has not even come to a close, and yet I find myself having to order the death of my own king, and losing three other dwarves in the process. I know not what the future holds, but I must continue to believe it can get better.
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4 Moonstone, 306
Our warriors continue to nurse their wounds. May the gods speed their recovery.
5 Moonstone, 306
A disturbing sight befell me today. One of our workers appeared to be happily milling about amidst the corpses of our fallen comrades. I did not linger for it disturbed me greatly.
6 Moonstone, 306
One of my fellow guardsmen and I received a grand honor this day. We have both been named champions of Wheelrags. The following party granted everyone a much-needed reprieve from the recent disasters.
21 Moonstone, 306
Praise be to the gods! One of our Marksdwarves has finally recuperated enough to resume his duties. We are greatly in need of defenders.
3 Obsidian, 306
With our lives beginning to stabilize, I have decided our defenses must be bolstered. Ideally, we could simply draft more fighters, but with many of our men so wounded that they cannot fight, and with our everyday tasks already shorthanded, we cannot afford that luxury. So, apprehensively, I turn to a far more dangerous option.
Weapons and armor made from the cursed stuff will surely enable our warriors to fight with greater success. Yet...I cannot help but worry what fate may befall us as a result.
11 Obsidian, 306
By the gods, perhaps the bloody stuff is cursed. The very miner that struck the vein, Captain Vimes, was struck down in what the hammerer called "justice," but I am not so sure. I suspect there is more to this sudden killing. I shall continue to investigate.
16 Obsidian, 306
My investigation continues. My sneaking suspicion that the Baroness had something to do with this seems to have been granted some credence by her latest tantrum. I have little proof, but she is very clearly angry, and her production order was the one Captain Vimes purportedly violated. I worry that if she is behind it, I may not be able to act, especially if she has the hammerer in her employ. I must think on this.
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13 Granite, 307
At last! Some sign that Wheelrags has not been stricken from records everywhere. An elven trade caravan has arrived. While I would much prefer dealings with other Dwarves or at the very least Humans, any friendly face in this hellscape is a welcome sight.
15 Granite, 307
The elven diplomat has approached our baroness with a not-so-concealed demand: they want us to limit our lumber production to under 100 trees for a year. The Baroness immediately took offense, but I quickly whispered in her ear reminding her that there are no trees in this hellhole. Her tone quickly changed as she accepted the elves' odd proposal. While I would've liked to see the Baroness get feathered by an elf, I realize we need a positive relationship with them if Wheelrags is to survive.
16 Granite, 307
What an eventful few days. One of our workers discovered a child snatcher infiltrating our fortress. In a moment of great valor, our dwarf showed why our kind is superior, making short work of the stupid creature. We were pleased to discover that, although a weakling, this goblin was apparently very well-off. We shall put these goods to good use.
19 Granite, 307
Today we were alerted to an approaching goblin mob by the sounds of their battles with the local "wildlife." It seems not even creatures as vile as goblins have an easy time in this environment. We must keep an eye on their movements. Though I am confident in our defenses, we mustn't let them have the element of surprise.
(I thought this SS actually had the goblins in it, but apparently not. They slaughter the Zombie Camels and just mill around in that area)
21 Granite, 307
What an astonishing find! The elves carry much more exotic wares than I remember. Among them are several creatures that I believe will aid our defenses, as well as give some variety to the bleak landscape. At my behest, we gift the elves with a bit of extra adamantite that they may look favorably upon us in the future.
25 Granite, 307
Our fortunes seem to be looking up. While mining adamantite, we happened upon a vein of Native Gold. Gold is never a bad thing to have.
1 Slate, 307
Perhaps our fortunes are not looking up after all. Another snatcher came today, and this one was better prepared. Eral fought valiantly to defend the nearby child, and held the vile creature off long enough for the child to escape. May the gods rest his soul.
12 Slate, 307
More ill news I fear. I have little knowledge of why Kadol thought it a good idea to wander into the vicinity of the goblins, but it seems I will never know. Our numbers dwindle daily, and I fear we only prolong the inevitable.
22 Slate, 307
It seems our gifts to the druids will go largely ungiven. The elves, in their infinite wisdom, attempted to sneak their caravan past the goblins, who still remain camped in the same place. Why they risked it rather than go around a few miles to the south is beyond me. Only one escaped the slaughter. We did our best to aid them, but our aid came far too late. We must let nothing go to waste, however. Should they return next year to claim it, we shall gladly return it, but for now we will take possession of their wares, and our adamantite. I doubt they'll return, however.
1 Hematite, 307
Summer has finally arrived. I am nearing the end of my first year in command of Wheelrags. I feel as if we can pull ourselves out of this mire, but it will not be easy. The return of another champion and a marksdwarf to our ranks has bolstered our defenses. If we can continue to export goods, perhaps we might attract a few more brave souls to help with everyday tasks. We can only pray.
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13 Hematite, 307
It seems the elves are not the only ones willing to deal with us. I take this as a good sign of things to come. Perhaps we might attract a few brave migrants this season.
The diplomat quickly made it known what the outside world thinks of us, however, and my heart sank. I could feel the acid in his words burning my skin. Or maybe that was the zombie camel drool that got on me the other day.
16 Hematite, 307
As promised by the diplomat, a caravan has arrived bringing much-needed supplies. We have plenty of golden goblets that I am all too happy to exchange for something we can actually use.
24 Hematite, 307
I took a bit of time today to browse the merchants' wares. Unfortunately, it seems the humans do not take to such exotic pets as the elves do. They have brought plenty of food, however, which we desperately need.
11 Malachite, 307
My feelings are mixed. The baroness has given birth to another daughter. While it is good to have another dwarf, even if it is a child, I fear for the world if there is yet another woman like our lovely baroness polluting it.
19 Malachite, 307
With the departure of the human merchants, it would seem Wheelrags has accumulated enough wealth to be deemed a county by the rest of the world. Whether this is a mocking gesture or not, I cannot tell.
25 Malachite, 307
Our Baroness--excuse me--Countess has finished the export negotiations with the human guild representative. I shall inscribe them here for future reference.
15 Galena, 307
The past month has been fairly uneventful. We were besieged by zombie camels again (that acid burn still hasn't healed, by the way), but one of our champions entered a battle-trance and made short work of them.
1 Limestone, 307
As my first year in command of Wheelrags has come to a close, I have made the decision that it should also be my last. I worry about the toll this job has had on my psyche, and to be quite frank, I just cannot bring myself to do it anymore.
The foundations of Castle Wheelrags are well-laid, and the second floor has begun to take shape. I leave it to my successor to complete its construction.
Just recently we installed our first ballista above the castle gates, and once we have a sizeable-enough military, the towers are ready to be manned by archers. Our defenses are sound. May the next dwarf brave enough to take on the task of leading this fortress lead us to glory. For now, I shall return to my post as Captain of the Guard.
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