Chapter 66: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul
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5th Moonstone, 1055, Early Winter
Yeah, no surprise there unfortunately. I don't get why he didn't just come into the fort. There's nothing we can do now though. I wonder what the goblins next move will be. There's nothing left for them to kill outside, and unless I lower the bridge again they can't get back in. Even if I did though I can't imagine them ordering a charge with only 3 soldiers left. Hopefully they'll just retreat.
8th Moonstone, 1055, Early Winter
Oh what a happy day! Wolfe gave birth to an adorable little baby boy!
Isn't he just lovely? I hope he lives a happy and fulfilling life here in Reveredtour. Unlike the other children...speaking of which Goden has been spending a lot of time with SamuelT and Woots lately. I never figured her to be good with children, but she says it's important that she teach them certain things. Since both of them lost their parents (excluding SamuelT's drunken father) to tragedy, it's good that Goden is teaching them. Otherwise they wouldn't have anyone to learn from!
9th Moonstone, 1055, Early Winter
Though the goblins still patrol the wastes surrounding Reveredtour, the threat they post to the fort is greatly diminished. Therefore I have shifted my attention away from them towards other matters. The merchants had been ready to trade for quite some time, so I figured I should address them first.
Despite our recent hardships it seems we still have a great deal of respect! Actually he could have just been saying that to garner my favor, but that just seems so shady. I'm sure he wouldn't lie like that. Anyways, I bought all the booze from the caravan to solve our current alcohol shortage. Unfortunately, they didn't bring as much as I had hoped for. So I also bought a large amount of plump helmets to be brewed locally. The merchants had brought along several pieces of steel equipment, which I also purchased to help bolster our militaries strength. The forge masters are still lagging behind on their production quota, and there isn't much I can do about at the moment but seek to acquire equipment from other sources when possible.
The price for all these goods was rather high, but with the large number of crafts that have been produced it was still easily met. I even gave them a large profit because I felt like being generous! I'd say the trading went well!
10th Moonstone, 1055, Early Winter
Oh dear, it seems that another fight broke out. This time it was between a wood carpenter and a farmer. Luckily the scuffle didn't result in any injuries, but it still represents a serious problem; with no law enforcement, some of the dwarves feel that they can do whatever they please without fear of repercussion. I want to give Goden the authority to prevent this, but I'm sure the second I reassigned her she would beat me to a pulp. There has to be a way around this...
14th Moonstone. 1055, Early Winter
Another dwarf couldn't handle the stress brought on by our circumstances and has been reduced to a weeping mess. There really isn't anything you can do about this, so sadly we have no choice but to simply watch the dwarf crawl around weeping for the next few days before they either starve or commit suicide. Such a sad sight to watch...though at least this time it wasn't an innocent child. I should probably try and keep this dwarf from coming into the sight of the traders. They don't need to see...this.
18th Moonstone, 1055, Early Winter
The merchants are leaving now. Hopefully the goblins won't give them any trouble on the way out, but I'm sure their caravan guards could handle them. Their guards have nice steel equipment, which makes them very hard to kill. If only our military had nice steel equipment. Sadly, no matter how many other tasks I restrict, the forge masters refuse to make anything. It's like they think the crafting shop is haunted or something. Oh god, maybe it is haunted? I never thought about that! I should build another one just to be safe!
19th Moonstone. 1005, Early Winter
Okay, I guess my comment about the workshop being haunted was hasty...and kind of stupid. One of the forge masters
finally decided to make those steel spears. Commander Root was quite pleased to finally have a decent weapon, though she then made a comment about having to choose between a shield and a spear. I asked why she couldn't simply use both, when I found out that she's missing an arm!
I don't know how she lost one of her arms, but now she's just like Commander Cowabunga. I probably would've noticed earlier if it weren't for her...unique method of protection. See, since we lack armor at the moment she has decided to improvise, and is using blood as armor. Several thick layers of coagulated blood and other splatters of grime and filth.
Yeah...I don't get how this works but I'm not going to question her judgment. She is the commander after all and if she says covering herself in a dozen layers of blood helps then I guess it must...somehow.
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Root actually has several dozen more pages of blood coverings than what I listed. It's pretty ridiculous, and I'm not sure how she managed to get covered in so much filth.
