Chapter 111: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul
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2nd Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
Look at them. Sitting there, just waiting. Waiting for what? I don't know. But they must be waiting for something. In light of the recent attacks people are growing more concerned about our forgotten beast lake. They think they are a threat to fortress stability, and might even be poisoning the water. I can't really deny that they have the potential to be dangerous, but what am I supposed to do about it? If I ever sent the military to confront them, all the beasts would charge out at once and overwhelm them.
...I wonder what would happen if I drained the lake.
9th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
Okay, I was just thinking of random stuff to try when I thought about draining the lake. At first glance it seems like a really stupid idea, so I dismissed it as such. But I've been thinking about it more lately and you know what? I think it might actually be a great idea!
See, the forgotten beasts obviously love that lake. So we'll take the lake and put it somewhere else! In other words, drain it into the abyss. I'm not sure what will happen when that much water is moved down there, but it couldn't be that bad. No doubt the forgotten beasts will follow the water to their new home down in the abyss. Who cares if they hang out in a lake down there? The only reason there an issue right now is because they're so close to the farms.
I'll have the diggers get started on this right away. Soon all our forgotten beast troubles will go away!
On another note, little Vallshan has grown to be a young child. She no longer needs to clean to her mother for support, so I guess I don't have to worry about her being carried into a warzone. Unless she decides to follow Root anyways. She is enamored with her mother's tales of battle and glory, constantly talking about how much of a hero she is. Yesterday I saw her trying to swing around a toy spear. It's rather cute to be honest, but I need to be sure she doesn't get a hold of anything sharp. Otherwise she might cut one of her arms off.
15th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
The Earthen Tomes efforts to wipe out the local warthog population haven't seemed to accomplish much. Seems like no matter how many warthogs we kill, more show up later. This wasteland is full of them. I'd say at least they're getting some good training out of the ordeal, but I'm not even sure about that since Commander Gonzo kills pretty much every single one of them.
Speaking of Gonzo, he's starting to creep me out. He's been pulling skulls of the warthog's corpses, carving weird symbols on them, praying to the gods, and then shoving them back in. I have no idea what purpose this serves. I've never heard of a dwarven god that requires that kind of prayer either. Maybe I should give him a break or something. He seems a bit...unhinged.
20th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
I just received some grim news. One of the carpenters saw his friend Urdim get mangled by a cave kraken. I've sent the Immortal Rags out to deal with the malicious cephalopod, but the news has come too late for us to save him.
I feel like this is my fault. I knew there were cave krakens roaming in the crypt, but I did not order them purged. I was hoping they would wander into cage traps, but instead they have slaughtered a poor dwarf. Have I already forgotten the lesson I learned from Dishmab's death when we first came here? I've been too caught up dealing with the forgotten beasts that I overlooked the threat normal cavern dwellers can pose.
24th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
Looks like we won't be able to avenge Urdim any time soon. The cave kraken, which the carpenters have started calling Roofmaster for some reason, has fled into the murky of depths of the forgotten lake. One might hope that the residents would tear her apart, but forgotten beasts seem capable of coexisting peacefully with other cavern creatures. Only the more intelligent species such as the grubmen and animalmen tribes fight them.
It won't matter for long though, as the forgotten lake will soon be drained.
All that remains is for one of the diggers to carve out a safety pocket. After doing this the digger will pierce the wall and run as fast as they can into the safety pocket. It is above the water level, so it won't be flooded. The series of ramps leads down to the abyss, where the water will pour out along with all the creatures living in it. I'm not sure what will happen once the water is down there but we'll deal with that later.
28th Slate, 1060, Mid-Spring
A group of elephants have been wandering through the area. I wanted to avoid conflict with them, as these giants are typically gentle but can be rather deadly when attacked. However if they are interfering with work then I have no choice but to remove them.
10th Felsite, 1060, Late Spring
With the final preparations complete, it was time to drain the lake. I didn't expect a dwarf to die doing this, but I knew the job was somewhat dangerous. So I asked for a volunteer. Zeath was eager to do this, finding the idea of unleashing a killer torrent of water to be exciting.
So without any hesitation he ran up the orthoclase wall and smashed it open. Immediately a column of water surged into the narrow tunnel. However, it wasn't nearly as fast as I expected it to be.
With the water pouring in at a relatively slow rate, Zeath saw no reason to run into the safe chamber. I can't fault him for doing this either since he had returned to the abyss long before the water reached it.
So now we wait and see what happens. Eventually all that will be left of the forgotten lake is a few grimy puddles. It pains me a bit to destroy a landmark we are all so familiar with, but it's for the best. I think. There haven't been any substantial changes yet, but I did see Roofmasters get sucked into the passage.
Good riddance.
17th Felsite, 1060, Late Spring
...well I suppose it was only a matter of time. The goblins are relentless. They won't leave Reveredtour alone until we are all dead and rotting.
Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like this siege is smaller than the last one. Not that it matters, as our military is still woefully outmatched. I once again have no choice but to close Reveredtour off from the outside world. Fortunately everyone was close to the entrance, so this didn't take long.
However, Gonzo's pet cave kraken was picking some flesh off a rotting lion corpse when the siege showed up. The lone kraken had no chance of defeating the goblins, but it still charged ahead in a whirl of tentacles and hooks. It was all for naught though, as the goblins let their beak dogs tear the poor cave kraken apart. No doubt they were just trying to show off the superiority of their war beasts. A rather grim sight, but we should be thankful it was not another dwarf. Now we play the waiting game. The goblins have control of the wasteland, but we have some ways of fighting back now. It all depends on what they do next...
21st Felsite, 1060, Late Spring
The goblin horde has settled around the fort entrance. Who knows what they are planning, but I am confident that they will never find a way into Reveredtour so long as the bridge is down. Even their master troll architects are confounded by our designs. We must find a way to strike against the goblins without risking our military, so I asked Irridium to give me a tactical analysis of the situation.
She told me that any attempts to fight the goblins, even from afar, were risky. The reason is that this goblin horde has a crossbow division. Odds are if Irridium tried to snipe goblins, they would respond with a hail of arrows pointed at her. So that's out of the question, but what about the catapults? Llama, our most skilled siege engineer, told me that they may be a viable option so long as the crossbow squad keeps its distance. The catapults have a long range and the mechanics can operate them from relative safety. This shall be how we drive the goblins away!
Oh, and then there is the matter of the elves. No doubt they have a caravan that will arrive soon, doomed to be slaughtered by the goblins. I don't want to happen, but we lack any way of warning them. Any messenger kittens we sent out would be killed. Maybe there is a chance that the elves can sneak in through the blood bowl. Unlikely, but I'll keep a dwarf stationed in the lever control room just in case.
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Yes, I know draining the lake seem like a really stupid idea. You might think I had this all planned out before hand. Nope! We making the update, wondered what would happen if I drained the lake, and decided to do it on a whim. I figure it has an equal chance of working well or ruining everything. The forgotten beasts will either enter the Abyss, where they are of far less risk, or get pissed off and all charge towards the fort at once. Or maybe they'll just sit in the dried up lake and taunt me. Who knows! Not me.