Chapter 59: From the journal of Goden Ducimtathtak
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26th Malachite, 1055, Mid-Summer
The goblins have forced us to barricade ourselves inside the foodstockpile, the only place on the surface safe from their crossbowmen. The majority of the surface, being exposed to the crossbowmen, is a deathtrap. With such an unorthodox fortress design, it's no wonder such flaws went unnoticed. Many of the dwarves feel that Stinthad is to blame for all of this, and I'd say some are close to rioting. As captain of the fortress guard, it is my duty to maintain the peace in such a dire situation. Stinthad has made mistakes, no doubt about that, but even I can not blame her for the current situation. Nobody saw it coming.
If anything, I'm more responsible. The gods warned me of impending disaster, but I was not able to figure out what they meant until it was too late. I must redeem myself in their eyes, and to do so Reveredtour must defeat these filthy goblins. Stinthad has cracked under the amount of stress and guilt she feels at the moment, so I am in control of the fort.
Now I just need to figure out what to do.
Oh, and a more minor note, a baby known as Woots as grown old enough to become an independent child.
As a child, Woots is now capable of understanding the incredible amount of danger we are experiencing at the moment. As a result, her birthday was not a happy one.
27th Malachite, 1055, Mid-Summer
Okay, I have come up with a plan. As per standard lockdown protocol, the bridge connecting Reveredtour to the wasteland was lowered, preventing direct access to the fort. Not only is this an excellent form of defense, but it can also be used as a trap.
Simply put, the bridge shall be lowered, allowing access to the fort. When the invaders attempt to cross the bridge, it shall be lowered. Anyone standing on it will meet certain doom in the murky waters below. It's an obvious trap, but the goblins bloodlust will most likely cause them to overlook this.
One might wonder why we didn't do this in the first place, and the reason is simple; it is incredibly risky. One has to be quick when pulling the lever to make sure no goblin makes it across the bridge. If for whatever reason the lever is not pulled in time, the entire army will pour in. Hence why the labyrinth of drowning was a better option. However, with no other way to repel the invaders, it is our only option.
Now I just need to find someone to pull the lever.
28th Malachite, 1055, Mid-Summer
Most of the dwarves were nervous about my plan, so of course finding someone to pull the lever was not easy. Many of the soldiers were willing to do so, but I needed them to stay on guard in case the worst scenario should become a reality. In the end a dwarf named Wolfe was the only civilian willing to pull the lever.
The fate of Reveredtour rests in her hands.
1st Galena, 1055, Late Summer
The bridge has been lowered. Reveredtour is once again accessible. The goblin scouts immediately reported this information back to the squad commanders, who are now moving towards Reveredtour intent on slaughtering us all.
Even I'm nervous. I wish I could talk to the gods right now. They could ease my fears. But alas, their voices are but faint whispers in the back of my head. I will need to double my prayers to them after this.
2nd Galena, 1055, Late Summer
A troll rushed ahead of the invading forces and attempted to cross the bridge on its own. It was but one troll, but I had no choice but to order the bridge dropped as we could not risk any conflict occurring near the moat at the moment.
However, Wolfe failed miserably. The simple task of pulling a lever was too much for her and as a result the troll was able to enter Reveredtour. This would have been a lot worse if rather than a single troll it was, oh say, the entire goblin army. Perhaps Wolfe should keep that in mind next time I give her the order to pull the lever.
But for now, I'm keeping the bridge lowered until the troll is dealt with. Fortunately, the troll did not charge straight towards the civilians and instead is smashing the statues decorating the fort entrance.
Of course there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. Trolls may appear to be nothing more than bloodthirsty brutes, but when they are not ripping apart their enemies they actually serve as excellent architects and interior decorators. Trolls have a natural inclination towards fashion and design. It is they that design and build the massive obsidian towers the goblins dwell in. When they see something they consider to be ugly, it deeply offends them and they can't resist the urge to destroy it. Evidently this troll is not a fan of Stinthad's decision to place statues upon the entrance walls. Or the eyesore that is a microline fortress sent them into an uncontrollable rage.
Ultimately it doesn't matter though. Fighting this troll upon the fortress walls will be tricky with little room to work with, and thus not a task suited for an entire squad. So I shall slay this troll myself!
3rd Galena, 1055, Late Summer
Oh, this isn't good. It seems the goblins decided to fire another volley of arrows. Most of the dwarves were tucked away safely inside the food stockpile, but those outside for whatever reason are now under fire.
Me included. I managed to crawl away but-
Urgh...this is bad. What am I to do now? Need to think...
Are...are those idiots trying to party? They're partying during an invasion?
...I don't even know what to say about that.
3rd Galena, 1055, Late Summer
You fools, why are you running? Stop it! Get back in the food stockpile! You're going to get shot like me!
Yeah, like that. But unlike me, you'll die. STOP LEAVING SAFETY TO GO PARTY OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE TRYING TO DO!!!
These idiots are running to their death for no damn reason. When I got hit in the gut I had enough sense to head back into the foodstockpile where I can't be turned into a pincushion. These morons just run straight into a volley of bolts after getting hit. Gods give me strength, I don't think I can save this mess.
3rd Galena, 1055, Late Summer
I take back almost every negative thing I said about Stinthad's leadership. She's naive and makes some foolish decisions, but I think most of the disasters that have occurred aren't her fault. I just realized that almost all of the dwarves living here are truly idiotic. Had the original founders of the Relieved Craft been ruling over these dwarves, they would've been wiped out in the first siege. Nobody could get these idiots to be effective.
They can't pull a lever quickly, even when it's the only thing I've told them to do. They can't stay put inside a safe bunker, and instead run outside and die. They try to party during invasions. And they try to wrestle trolls.
She's certainly no Alath. She's basically guaranteed to die, and it's her own fucking fault for trying to wrestle a troll while goblins shoot bolts at every square inch of the fort. At least she'll die quickly rather than wasting away in the hospital being useless.
Yeah, no surprise there.
To make matters worse, one of the goblin commanders just fucking waltzed into the fort because once again Wolfe was too stupid to figure out how to pull the lever properly.
Some of his subordinates didn't make it across the bridge in time, but we still have to deal with him. In the middle of an arrow barrage. I hope the military can use their shields properly. Oh wait, they don't have shields because the forge masters never produced enough metal to make some equipment before disaster struck. The best they have are those bucklers Stinthad always ordered to be made.
Speaking of Stinthad, she's currently huddled in the corner crying. I don't blame her either. It's tempting just to hurl myself into the ocean so I don't have to deal with any of this anymore. But the gods frown upon suicide. They want me to save this fort, and dammit I'm going to try.
4th Galena, 1055, Late Summer
So the military charged out to engage the goblin leader, despite the volley of arrows they would have to endure. Of course with so many soldiers it was inevitable that some would managed to avoid being hit and engage the leader. Unfortunately for commander Cog, that goblin was called a pikemaster for a reason.
The Steamy Tours is going to need a new commander. Of course, the rest of the soldiers were enraged by the sight of their commander being struck down, and swarmed the goblin. They tore apart his beak dog mount, and then began hacking him apart.
He was certainly skilled, but quantity generally beats quality.
Of course during the course of this battle about half the military has been wounded in some way. So half our fighting force is close to passing out and we've taken out one goblin squad. This is not going well.
And a dwarf bled to death because of his wounds. I fear this is going to happen several more times over the next few days.
On a more positive note, the animals inhabiting the moat have done a wonderful job killing the invaders that have fallen into it. The alligator we got from the elves has been particularly effective.
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This is a fucking disaster. I literally have no clue what to do. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.
So if you have some brilliant idea about how to save the fortress, spit it out.
