Part 2: Spoonboy: Update 1
The Chronicles of Syrupleaf
Excerpts from the diary of Spoonboy Rakusturrith, Weaponsmith.
Spring, year one:
The wagon is stuck. The left rear wheel is broken. Our carpenter, Skaw, says it is unrepairable. I asked him to make a new one, given the abundance of wood we were carrying. Somehow he never learned to make a wheel. Will have stern words with his master when I return home. If we ever do return.
Our hunter, Nemo, is about to go and look for some food. I told her we have plenty, but she still insists on going. She apparently saw a mole nearby that looked "delicious". I told her not to wander too far. There are strange noises coming from the valley to the east. I do not dare peek over the edge in case whatever is down there sees me.
It seems it went well, Nemo is calling out to us.
But what the hell are th-
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Armok help us! I just saw Nemo die. Even now, as I hide here behind the wagon, scratching away at this journal, it flashes before my eyes.
Nemo, standing proudly over the slain mole, waving.. But then a fluttering of leathery wings..
..claws and fangs and screams and blood oh Armok the blood! They tore her apart like she was made of paper!
Alas, poor Nemo.. I should never have let her go off on her own.
I made everyone else abandon the wagon for now. I'll stay hidden here until it's safe to recover our supplies..
..and our dead friend.
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I have ordered our miners to start digging a safe distance away from the wagon. While they're doing that, the rest of us are moving what supplies we can safely grab to the new location.
A group of troglodytes are massing around Nemo's corpse. I think they're looking for us. Or maybe they're just attracted by the smell of death. Armok save us all.
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Progress is being made on the dig. The rest of us work on building a rudimentary wall with the stone. We are not skilled masons but it should be good enough to keep the troglodytes at bay. Moving the supplies to the new location continues to be dangerous work. Several times we've had to drop what we were carrying and sprint back to the safety of the dig. I just pray we can get everything set up before the weather worsens. This is a particularly inhospitable part of the world.
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Spotted a couple of the creatures that killed Nemo today. They appear to be half man, half bat.. some sort of Armok-damned batman. They're constantly on the move, flying around the area. So far they haven't spotted us, but it's only a matter of time.
In other news, Skaw claimed he saw a flying cow.. I'm not sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't a cow. Perhaps a giant cave swallow, or a robin. I'm starting to worry about that boy. I get the felling he's not altogether there in the head.
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Suspicions confirmed - found Skaw sleeping outside today. I'm convinced he's gone a bit strange. Will have a chat to him once things are a bit more organised. Just thankful nothing found him while he was asleep.
Apart from that, Summer has arrived. Though the weather does not seem to be getting any warmer. Things seem to be progressing well. We haven't had any more attacks, and most of the supplies have been moved inside the wall.
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I had ordered our miners to dig west, in order to get as deep into the mountain as possible, but they ran into what appears to be a bottomless chasm. Thinking we might be safer on the other side, I ordered the construction of a bridge, but no sooner had the bridge been completed when..
..THREE batmen came swooping in. They chased Rincebrain down the corridor..
..but then two of them inexplicably ran away! Armok be praised. The final batman charged into the main room..
Only to be torn apart by a couple of our dogs!
Were these the same creatures that had made mincemeat of Nemo?
Thoroughly confused, I ordered bobtheturd to go and finish the work on the other side of the chasm. He encountered one of the batmen, but instead of running back to the safety of the dogs, he decided to take a swing with his pick..
..and killed it, suffering only minor injuries!
It seems like the batmen aren't so bad after all.
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Autumn has arrived, and along with it a caravan.
But they weren't carrying anything of interest. I had given Skaw a mechanic's workshop to play around with, since he seemed to like tinkering and it kept him out of trouble, so I traded some of the mechanisms he had made for some cheese.
Food will be an issue in the future.. With our hunter dead, and no water to irrigate a farm, we will have to make do with what the caravans bring us for the time being. Of course, we also have one less mouth to feed. Rest in peace, Nemo. I swear we will recover your remains as soon as we can.
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The rest of Autumn passed quietly. The traders outside gave us some extra protection in the form of their guards, so we didn't have to worry about attacks from the east. I ordered the tunnel to the chasm closed off for now. Maybe in the future we can cross it and see what's on the other side.
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Winter is dull. We can't go outside because of the cold, so we've been passing the time naming the various batmen we spot.
Skaw is happily working away making mechanisms and levers. I'm not sure what most of them do, but it keeps him out of trouble and that makes me happy.
The past year has been draining, but I think we're safe for now. I've decided to pass the mantle of leadership on to Vox Nihili, our armorer. Once Winter breaks I want to personally recover Nemo's remains.. her death was my fault, and the fact her bones are still out there on the hill gnaws away at me.
Hopefully I can give her the burial she deserves.
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End of year one
All in all, a pretty dull year apart from the first 30 seconds when Nemo died, and a few panicky moments with batmen invading from the chasm. I was expecting it to be a bit crazier, given the location and the mods. Ah well, such is dwarf fortress.