Chapter 108: From the journal of Stinthad Kekimtobul
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1st Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter
Isn't that nice. We enter winter during the middle of a terrible crisis.
Something provoked Ayanu to come out of the lake and attack us. Already this wretched insect has killed one dwarf, and I fear more may die before help can arrive. The military has been sent down to the farms but it's a long way down. If only they had a way to get there faster...
3rd Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter
Ayanu had complete control over the farms. With no soldiers in sight the terrified civilians could do nothing but run for their lives and hope the beast did not chose to pursue them. They scattered across the cavern, some heading back into the deep roads while others went further into the Crypt.
Clogged Donkey was the unfortunate dwarf that Ayanu decided to chase. He fled into the Crypt, hoping to lose the beast amongst the thick foliage. The beasts know the caverns far better than us, so this was doomed to fail. To make matters worse he was running away from the military, so help would only take longer to reach him. Things were looking rather grim...
But all hope was not lost! For there was one soldier who just happened to be enjoying a fine plump helmet brew down by the lake when the attack occurred. Archont had no claim to fame, but he had confidence and a strong sense of duty. He saw Ayanu chase Clogged Donkey across the cave and followed them.
The chase didn't last long. Ayanu quickly caught up to Clogged Donkey and brought him to the ground with a powerful kick. The vile cricket could have killed him right then, but made the foolish decision to toy with the helpless dwarf first.
As it tortured to poor forge master, the beast was oblivious to the screaming dwarf approaching from behind. Archont had the perfect opportunity to slay the abomination before it could even fight back.
And that he did! A decisive blow to the head struck Ayanu down in an instant, saving Clogged Donkey and bringing our crisis to the end! Incredible how an unskilled novice could bring down that horrible creature on his own. He is a true hero, and I will see him honored as such. As for Clogged Donkey, his injuries are bad but he should survive provided he receives medical care soon. I'd help him myself, but alas the outpost liaison demands that I met with him now.
6th Moonstone, 1059, Early Witner
The liaison had been quite patient all things considered. I think he understood that I had more important things to deal with. With all threats having been dealt with he decided we should conduct the meeting before the next inevitable surprise comes.
He has brought news that we are to ascend to an even higher level of nobility yet again! No doubt the dwarves back in the capital are impressed not only by the growth of our fortress but also our increase military prowess.
Of course I had to deal with the normal boring political stuff. Honestly I wish Goden could handle this for me, but these are the burdens a leader must carry. Whilst discussing trade agreements I decided to put in a request for valuable metals we don't have the time to produce.
And with that our business was complete. I think the meeting went rather well. We've certainly come a long way since Reveredtour was first founded, and I'm glad to see we are finally getting the respect we deserve.
10th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter
Rhiannon just gave me a report on Clogged Donkey's condition. It is much worse than I thought. While the wounds he received weren't too bad, it seems that the beast exposed him to some kind of foul secretion. This has infected him with a truly gruesome disease.
Almost every inch of his body is grotesquely swollen with his own blood. I don't think there is any treatment for such a bizarre disease other than to wait it out and hope he improves. Hopefully it isn't contagious. A disease we have no way of curing spreading to every dwarf in Reveredtour...that would be a true disaster.
15th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter
Silent Thunder got around to meeting with the caravan. With all the commotion over our recent troubles I'll admit that I kind of forgot about them. Fortunately we managed to trade just before they were about to leave.
It was the standard trading stuff really. We just dumped a bunch of crafts on them in exchange for some metal, bolts, and food. We really don't need to buy food at this point as our stockpiles are almost constantly full, but in my opinion we must be prepared for anything. Besides, having tons of food isn't a problem.
And with that the traders went back to the capital. Their journey across the wastes should be relatively safe. We haven't seen anything particularly dangerous out there recently. Just warthogs and gazelles.
26th Moonstone, 1059, Early Winter
Oh by the gods this is awful! I was just about to say that the rest of this month had passed by without incident, but Rhiannon was found dead today!
I have no idea what happened...nobody does. She just seemed to drop dead in the hospital when nobody was around. Her body doesn't seem to have any visible damage or anything else to indicate what might have happened. Some think she might have caught some kind of disease, perhaps when she was rescuing Clogged Donkey...but how could that be? Clogged Donkey made a full recovery! Indeed, his only remaining injury is a broken hand.
Truly a tragic and mysterious death...
1st Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter
It seems we've had another close encounter with death. While out hunting warthogs, Lord Shonus was separated from the rest of his squad. We thought only warthogs were roaming the wastes at the time, so this wouldn't be an issue. However it seems a giant cheetah had been searching for prey, and saw the lone dwarf as a suitable target.
The giant cat lunged at him with deadly speed. Barely having any time to react, Lord Shonus found himself pinned to the ground.
The cheetah managed to inflict some rather nasty wounds on him, including severing a major artery. However Lord Shonus is an experienced soldier and was able to fight back. He dealt crippling blows to the cat, and after receiving several dire wounds it decided that Lord Shonus wasn't worth the danger.
It turned to flee back into the wastes, allowing Lord Shonus to limp away to safety. However the cheetah's speed had been severely reduced by its injuries, allowing the rest of the Immortal Rags to catch up and exact retribution.
Lord Shonus is being treated in the hospital now. He has lost a lot of blood, but he should be able to make a full recovery. We can't afford to lose any more soldiers right now and must aim to be more careful in the future.
5th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter
Well at least there's some good news recently. A mechanic named Llama has been struck with inspiration and begun work on a great project.
As one might expect she has taken control of a mechanic's workshop to complete her work. I wonder what she is making?
16th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter
I thought my tomb could use a bit of renovation. It was very dark and gloomy without any natural light sources, which I suppose is fitting since it is a grave. However, I don't like creepy places like that. So I decided to install some pretty gem windows.
Lost in the Void has done a great job cutting up all the gems himself so we had plenty to make windows with. I think they look rather nice!
27th Opal, 1059, Mid-Winter
Llama has finished her artifact. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but I suppose it's not really that big of a surprise.
I didn't think someone would actually make an artifact mechanism. It just seems kind of pointless...but then again mechanics can't really make any fancy crafts so what else could they produce?
I wonder if a mechanism covered in this much stuff even works properly.
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So here we see a syndrome at work. As I've mentioned before, forgotten beasts have randomized syndromes. You could get anything from a mild cough to your legs rotting away. In this case, every square inch of the body became bloated with blood. Fortunately, it didn't last to long and did not lead to death. It could have easily been something worse, such as every square inch if the body melting away.
As for how Rhiannon died...no clue. Just another mystery Reveredtour.
