Moron's Log, HematiteThe curiosity got hold of me. I wanted to know how many z-levels there were. Mafol was very reluctant, but then she turned around ("May yer brain be eaten by the horrors of the deeps") and started digging.
She dug down, and down, and down. And down, and down. After two days, she called me down and showed me the stone. It had gotten really warm. She explained to me with lots of words that she refused to dig deeper. I lay on the ground and pleaded with all my might. She gave me her pick and took a step back, ready to run. I took it, struck the earth (I almost hit my foot) and a piece of rock gave way directly under Mafol's feet. She looked at me like some kind of wingless bird trying, in midair, to convince a very stupid moron that he had just done something very stupid indeed. Then she fell into some really hot gooey orange liquid, twisting and screaming as her clothes caught fire. Her last words were "
Praise yooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu....". Then she was swallowed by the orange stuff. I dropped her pick down next to her and ran upstairs crying helplessly.
I told the others what happened, and they were really angry at me. They told me I should get lost and die somewhere. I didn't, that would be stupid. But I told Stukos the stoneworker to seal off the gooey liquid. She agreed, although she was very scared, and went down to have a look at the gooey stuff. She came back really excited with the message that this was magma, the legendary molten rock of ancient lore. I told her that stone couldn't melt, then I asked her what the word "lore" means. She showed me a finger. I saw nothing wrong with it.
A few days later, Urvad came in from her mud place. She showed me a muddy mushroom, one of the icky purple ones, and seemed very proud about it. I told her that it wasn't cleaner now. She told me it was a new one. She dragged me to the farm, squeezed the mushroom, and stuck some new red blobs into the mud. Then she wiped the mushroom clean on her warty green dress and I watched in horror as she took a huge bite out of it. She offered a bite, but I was busy running away and hiding.
Fath was busy training in the depths of the mountain. She was determined to follow in Mafol's footsteps, all but the last few. When she came back, she was caked in mud. No less than three times had she discovered an expansive cavern deep underground. She was scared (seeing as what had happened to Mafol), and immediately sealed the break-throughs again. She recruited Rovod the fish cleaner, who was happy to do something at last, until he noticed that Fath had the only pick.
In the meantime, some people from the caravan arrived. They were bedraggled and they were missing something I didn't see at once, but eventually I realized that they had no wagons. They told me that they had been waylaid by goblins and that they had to give them the wagons for their lives. I was very disappointed about the lack of prickle berries, but I helped them over the wall and they helped themselves to a helping of the last booze in the fort. Suddenly a child cried out. Two very boney monkeys were charging at it. Avuz Crowgild the potash maker, normally a fearful person, took the opportunity to show the child that these bones were very easily separated. She immediately decided to dedicate her life to the military.
A mule foal was left outside and is now spending its time braying its lungs out. I told it to be quiet, but it didn't hear me. I told it to grow up. It did so immediately. I told Unib the child to grow up. He looked at me with large eyes and told me his mom had told him not to talk with me.
Moron's Log, MalachiteI ordered the fortification to be enlarged. There were no zombie things visible, so I ordered everyone to help with the new wall. Urvad and Tekkud chopped some wood while we were at it. We let the mule in too.
A stray blacksmith (Onol by name) told us a story about magma, the legendary molten rock of ancient lore. I told her that we have some here. She wanted to see it. I took her to the warm wall. She was amazed, but then she told me that she could use this. She had once been apprentice at the Wet Wire's best forge (so she said). She had sneaked into her master's place and found reports of magma and how to use it for forges and furnaces. She was pretty sure that she could still remember how to do this. I ordered that a place be dug out directly over the magma.
Today I tasted one of these icky purple mushrooms. They tasted really good!
Fath and Rovod were now alternating in doing the digging and having a drink. They are clearly well-organized.
Moron's Log, GalenaWe (say, Onol) have built a smelter and a forge.
First Onol made another pick. I carried it to the place we all drop our stuff. Fath grabbed it, but Rovod had just finished mining, so we told her to mine somewhere else. Urvad took some mushrooms and a barrel into a still and came out with a barrel of wine! I asked her to show me the trick but she showed me a finger, the same one as Stukos.
Fath and Stukos have dug a long vertical tunnel from the sand under the surface to the forges. I wonder what they are up to.
Tekkud was coming out of the butcher's shop with a big hunk of meat. I wonder where the mule went.
Suddenly there was a loud crash. Stukos said that this was a controlled cave-in to get sand to the forges, but I don't know why you need sand in the forges. Stukos said that you need sand to make glass, but I don't think you need sand for glass and I don't know what glass is anyway.
I have a feeling that the others aren't taking me seriously. I know! I will do something really great that will show everybody that I am able to do something really great! Fath told me that autumn has come. How did she notice, she was digging all the time!
