Part 25

-- Excerpt from the diaries of Brother Kippling, Early Summer, 109 --

"Humans! I've never seen one before. Sweet mercy, they're ugly. At least they brought goods to trade. The broker bought a large quantity of wood, beer and... hundreds of turtles. I suppose he has his reasons. I'm glad for their warriors, I feel much safer with them near the gate. The mayor has had the good sense to ramp up food and alcohol production and to install new bedrooms. We've got enough room and production capacity for twice our number now."

-- Excerpt from the diaries of Brother Kippling, Mid Summer, 109 -

"The fort is in chaos and I detect foul play. Goblins have ambushed a hauler near the edge of our lands. Many dwarves, myself included, ran outside to try and gather the remaining material left over from the last fight before the goblins had time to reach the main gate. The ground is soaked with a mixture of vomit and blood. 'Sejs Cube', one of the garbagedwarves, took advantage of the chaos by proclaiming the current mayor Phrog incompetent and suggesting himself as a replacement. A truly opportunistic move. Phrog refused to give up his room and it remains his, despite the displeasure of our new garbagedwarf mayor."



-- Excerpt from the diaries of an unknown engineer, Mid Summer, 109 -

"The panic during the goblin ambush provided the perfect cover for the first test. I have confirmed the pumps are working correctly and the flow rate is sufficient, so we can proceed to the next phase. The second project is underway and we have begun to make good progress. The "well" will prove invaluable."



-- Excerpt from the diaries of an unknown engineer, Mid Summer, 109 -

"A foolish dwarf managed to find his way into the upper chamber along with a stray kitten. It is too early for everybody to find out and he must not be allowed to speak of what he has seen. Now would be as good a time as any to run the next test."







-- Excerpt from the diaries of Brother Kippling, Mid Summer, 109 -

"Joyous news! Another artefact has been created, a bejewelled animal trap. Some of the other dwarves scoff at its meagre value of 4200, but I see it as one of the few beacons of civilisation in this godforsaken land."



-- Excerpts from the diaries of Brother Kippling, Late Summer, 109 -

"Lord preserve us, we have been attacked once again. Dareon, our hunter, was taken by suprise by goblins. He received an arrow to the heart before having his legs ripped off. He bled to death alone in the wastes. It was a terrible thing to see. In the rush to retrieve his body before it could be defiled almost the entire population of the fort ran outside before the military could react. Three others were injured and I do not expect them to survive the next season. 'ArgleBargle III' took an arrow, 'Alius' had an arm and leg mangled, and 'Skaw' received a chest wound. When the military arrived 'DirtyDeedsDone' and 'Holistic Detective' were frenzied like true holy warriors. They ripped apart the invaders, splitting them into chunks with sword and axe. The carnage they created was unlike any other. Chunks of goblin strew the landscape, floating in vast pools of blood and soaked equipment. A long track of vomit creates a slippery path between the gate and the battlefield by the dwarves sickened by the sunlight and corpses. Even now bits of goblin, dwarf and general wreckage slip down into the opening of the northeastern magma pipe on sheet of half digested plump helmets and gore."