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[Amorack]

21st of Granite, 223

Gunther of all the people threw a party to celebrate the New Year and the anniversary of the founding of Shadytrails.

18th of Slate

Finally we have windows, Patina and Rosewood got them first. A much-deserved reward for the mares.

6th of Felsite

Miss Sweet Birch finally went into labor late night, which explains the commotion which gave me a fright. The next morning I was told she have gave birth to a unicorn foal. A colt whom she named Smokey Quartz, and who happens to be the first child born in this fort.

Milestones like that always seem so strange to hear, when I remember so well the day I came here. Another recently came to pass too, when the rest of our homes were given glass windows to look through.

16th of Felsite

Silver Rush told me the other day, that he and his miner companion have a new job. They're digging a tunnel to help construct a well, which I can't wait to see finished. Even better for myself and the other farmers, Miss Isolde had new tools move to the farm area, giving us more to do than simply tend plants. I started learning how to mill, which should surely be a useful skill.

3rd of Hematite

Finally, we have a well, and even better, it's just outside my home. I only need to go a few steps to reach it now, instead of down to the river. There's even are area for people to bathe, which should even more time save.

[Telgin]

Another update after far too long.  Since RP intensity has dropped off markedly, I'll probably be able to get closer to my original plans of roughly biweekly updates.  We'll see how that pans out.



Isolde's Journal - 5th Limestone, 223

At long, long last, the tavern is complete.  There is still some decorating and polishing to do in a few places, but the tavern is functionally entirely complete, enclosed and serviceable as both a place to eat and a place to rest.  There's space for 12 guests in addition to Shortstack and the other chefs' quarters, and if the new arrivals sleep in shifts then we've got plenty of room to accommodate them.


Upper floor on the left, lower floor and farms on the right.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that the well did indeed freeze over when it started getting cold, and is now largely useless.  That's quite frustrating, but there isn't much that can be done about it until it thaws out.



On the other claw, at least it means that whoever has been vandalizing the town might lose interest in it.  I swear, if I find out who's been painting all over the very valuable and beautiful windows, I'm going to have them deported.  It's not funny.  It's a huge waste of time to have people scraping and washing paint off of things!

12th Limestone, 223

If there's any upside to the well being frozen, it means that Silver Rush can finally dig out the tunnel to fill the bathing area.  It's cold enough out now that I don't think any sane person would want to use it right now, but at least it will be ready for summer.



Unrelatedly, I'm no less worried over the local wildlife.  First it was coyotes, then it was langurs and now it's badgers.  A swarm of the angry things bumbled into town near the partially completed guardhouse this afternoon and put an end to the day's training.  From what I'm told, some of the guards didn't exactly give a good account of themselves...



At least Fargo was there to save their pansy butts.

I was considering diverting more time to the guardhouse now that the tavern is completed, but it's starting to look like maybe I should focus on getting the hospital done.  The guards need more orientation with the wildlife anyway, I think.

17th Limestone, 223

Finally, the Confederacy caravan has arrived!



We've been sitting on a huge pile of cut and polished gems for a long time now that I've been anxious to show and trade.  When the liaison was here last year, he wasn't very pleased with how the town looked, but it's come a very long way since then.  I had my own office to show and use this time, for example!



Not to mention the fine tavern, completed just weeks ago, that will give the merchants plenty of space to stretch out and relax before they head back out on their journey.

For now though, I'm drawing up some trade agreements.  We desperately need good quality metals out here, so we'll probably be trading away a lot of these gems for that.  Hopefully I can get a good deal tomorrow.

I also need to figure out what happened to the clay beehives that I asked Nia to make for Honey Pot.  She said she finished the job but they've all gone missing.  If those monkeys came back...

18th Limestone, 223

No sign of the monkeys again, nor the beehives that went missing, but I did at least complete all of the trading this morning.  The gems fetched quite a lot of useful things!

By trading the gems and some crafts made over the last year, we were able to get enough iron and steel to make enough equipment to finish equipping the guard with weapons I believe.  We also managed to acquire a little extra vegetables and drink to add some variety to our stores, and a lot of cloth.  I think I'm going to ask Lattice to start sewing some new clothes for us all soon, since what we have is starting to get more than a bit worn out.

It wouldn't do to tarnish the appearance of the town if we're parading around tattered old clothes.

23rd Limestone, 223

Something... unspeakable... has happened.

I was awakened just a couple of hours ago by someone who told me that Patina was attacked in her home and is badly hurt.  Naturally, I immediately flew off to find her and find out what just happened, whereupon I found the merchants all gathering around and shouting over a dead body in the streets.  At first I was terrified that it was Patina, but soon I realized it was one of the merchants.

When I finally got someone to talk to me, they told me that she attacked Patina and was chasing her out of her house into the square with a dagger in her mouth.  By the time they got to her she and Patina had broken out into a full fight.



Patina fought back and injured the mare, but her hoof was broken in the process.



Smashed eye or smashed hoof, which is worse?  At least Patina has both of her eyes left.

The scene was a horrifying mess of blood and vomit, and I left without delay to find Gunther and make sure he was treating her.  It didn't take him long to get her injury stabilized, and I had a chance to speak with her briefly.  Some of the things she told me... were immensely troubling.

Her attacker was an assassin sent here to kill her.  I... don't think I should repeat everything here that she told me, but this is just unbelievable.  She is in mortal danger and now the entire town could be at risk because she's here.  But I certainly can't kick her out, or she'll be killed for sure!

What can I do?  I... don't know.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it right now.  I'm going to speak with her again after she's out of the hospital.  Maybe we can get to the bottom of all of this then...

25th Limestone, 223

Thankfully, Gunther's predictions about Patina were true and she's already out of the hospital.  She's in no shape to work right now, but I'm not worried over sending her back to work just yet anyway.  With a broken hoof she could probably supervise construction if she was on site, but the masons can get by without her for a while during her recovery.

I still need to figure out what to do with her anyway.  I have absolutely no intention of exiling her or anything of the sort, but some of the things she admitted to me have affected my trust.  She has proven that she's a competent architect at least, and this has no bearing on that.

We'll see.  I'm not too keen on making a decision on something like that while she's still hurt.

29th Limestone, 223

Now that the hospital is empty again, I've tasked the carpenters with resuming work on it.  It's less than half finished as is, and while it has room for four patients, I can easily envision situations where that isn't nearly enough.  The tavern is done, so there's housing for the new arrivals in the mean time.

Perhaps more interesting is that finally, at long last, we have some iron and steel to work with, and the smiths we had arrive recently were able to forge some new gear for the militia to train with.  Fargo in particular got a brand new steel halberd today, and swords are currently being produced for the swordsmen.  It will be a little while yet, and I hope we have enough in stock, but I'll feel a lot better with the entire guard armed and ready for anyone else that tries to wreak havoc in the night.

We're getting bigger as a settlement, so we'll start attracting other attention soon regardless.

1st Sandstone, 223

I mentioned a few days ago that the tavern is complete, but that's only mostly true.  It's structurally complete and furnished, but there is a lot of finishign work that can still be done.  The first of those items was to install some windows on the ground floor.



I'd like to have more put around the rooms on the top floor, and eventually we'll get there, but for now I think it's probably a better use of labor to finish the hospital and start building more homes.  The few extra windows we have stockpiled will go to them first.  At least the new residents won't have to wait like we all did.

[Iceblaster]

I blame society for the lack of RP

Spoiler: A short journal because I didn't really have much to work with, sadly. (click to show/hide)

7th Felsite, 223[/b]

Sweet Birch has given birth to a Unicorn. I would've been there to congratulate her, but alas, I had duties to attend to. Boring, isn't it? Not much has been going on, sadly. Was hoping for something more... Exciting.

16th Felsite, 223

The damn gryphon in charge has begun a well.

After almost two years, presumably. She definitely needs an advisor if she forgets that much that quick.

10th Hematite, 223

Another mental breakdown. Joy.

28th Hematite, 223

The night is dark, the clouds heavy
Not even the smallest foal plays
But two ponies elope, thinking it petty
But, the doctor cries in a daze,
The sight infront of them a...

Goddamnit. Should've paid attention more in school. Whatever. On to the actual entry.

Crystal Clear has given birth to a bastard. A bastard who is an abomination. A 'Hippogrif.' Been put on guard by order of the gryphon in charge. Good. At least then I'll be able to find out who this bastard belongs to, should the mare decide to speak about it.

18th Gelena, 223

Apparently the crown was stolen. Fargo'll probably be mad about it. Maybe.

23rd Gelena, 223

Aaand Jack Pine's puzzle box thing was stolen. Good riddance. Town panicked too much about those.

5th Limestone, 223

The tavern is finished! Thank the Goddesses. Maybe I'll be able to drink in a less private setting.

12th Limestone, 223

If I was militia captain right now, Kiume and Forward March would have their flanks on the wall by now. Running from a fight against a badger? What kind of cowardice do those two exhibit to make them that terrified for their lives. I hope Shooting Star disciplines them as harshly as I want to.

17th Limestone, 223

A caravan has arrived! Not from Coupledye though, or one of their vassals. Sad. Was hoping to send my report with the next caravan here. Whatever, it'll be a great way to relax. Last year's been kinda stressful, relative to my normal workload.

25th Limestone, 223

Patina was attacked. She's still alive, thank the Goddesses. Whoever did this will pay. I may not speak with her often, however she is a friend of mine and I will not see it any differently.

EDIT: Changed an inconsistency due to horrible memory when writing, yay.

[KingStrongbeard]

Spoiler: In which Patina speaks with Isolde after the attack (click to show/hide)

When Isolde heard the knocking at her door, she didn’t know what to expect.  Maybe there had been an accident, or at worst, maybe somebody got drunk and hurt someone else or fell in the bath and drowned.  She was not expecting to hear that someone had been attacked and that there was a dead body currently lying in the middle of the road in the middle of town!

As soon as those words had been uttered, the griffoness was on her feet and rushing out the door.  She spreads her wings and glides down to the ground where she indeed finds a large crowd gathered around a covered body that is staining the sheet with a profuse amount of blood.  That was bad for a lot of reasons, but she had more pressing concerns.

Landing near the hospital, she hurries through the unfinished door frame and winds her way down to the hallway with the only finished rooms.  It’s there that she bumps into Gunther exiting one of the rooms.  He grimaces and says, “I’m guessing you’ve heard the news?”

“Part of it.  I know that one of the merchants is dead and that Patina was hurt.  How is she?”

He sighs and looks back to the door briefly.  “She’ll be fine.  She’s got more bruises than a cow has spots, and one of her hooves is broken, but she’ll be fine.  Won’t tell me a thing about what happened or why.”

Isolde mirrors his expression.  “Can I see her then?”

He steps aside.  “If you want.  She’s in some pain but she’s awake.  Meanwhile, I should probably go do my job as the town’s new coroner…”  The tired griffon slips past Isolde and rounds the corner.

Isolde doesn’t respond and walks up to the door.  She knocks once and cracks it.  “Patina?  Can I come in?”

Patina squeeks when she hears Isolde's voice, "Y...yes Mistress Isolde. The doctor is finished for now, you may come in."

She does just that and enters, then shuts the door quietly behind her.  “Freija just woke me up and told me what happened,” she expresses in a highly concerned tone.  “Are you alright?  Gunther said one of your hooves is hurt…”

Patina Dreams, beaten and battered all over, holds up her broken hoof, already wrapped in a cast by the doctor, "I... I'll be okay. My horn is still good, and that's what I need for my work mostly."

Isolde’s frown grows a little.  “No, no, don’t be worrying about that.  You’re hurt and you need to get your rest.”  She sits next to the bed.  “Patina… what happened?”

Patina frowns and looks to the side, "I... I was just in my bed, sleeping... he, that merchant, came into my house, uninvited, and attacked me. I... don't know how, but, I managed to fight him off... I ran out into the street... and... I think you know the rest?"

“All that there is to know.  I think…”  Isolde runs her talons through her feathers.  “I just don’t understand… the merchants are all Confederacy employees.  It’s always possible one could have been a thief, but this just doesn’t add up.”  She sighs and shakes her head.  “I’m probably going to have a long talk with the caravan leader shortly.  I need to get to the bottom of this.  Immediately.  I’m beyond relieved that you’re okay, but… I shudder to think what could have happened.”

Patina nods, "I... Isolde, I have a confession to make."

...not what she was expecting to hear.  Isolde cocks her head.  “What’s that?  About what?”

"I... I know why he was after me. He... he didn't pick me at random. He... he was an assassin," Patina says defeatedly.

“A what?” Isolde asks, eyes wide.  This wasn’t the sort of story she was expecting at all.  “An assassin?  I don’t understand.”

Patina can't look Isolde in the eyes, "I... I'm sorry Mistress... I'm sorry," she has tears in the corner of her eyes, "this is what I was trying to avoid! I... I never expected they'd follow me this far! I'm sorry Mistress... I don't... I'm sorry."

Isolde holds up a claw.  “Patina… wait… just… it’s okay, just tell me what happened.”

Patina lays her head back on the pillow. She takes several calming breaths before she answers, "My father... was a very wealthy pony in Saddle Arabia. He... made enemies. I don't... I don't know what he did, or why, but... they came in the night. My family was murdered, and I only just escaped. That was about two years ago... I've been running ever since. I didn't think they'd follow me here. I'm sorry I brought this on you all, Mistress. I'll....I should leave town, if you'll let me go Mistress."

It takes a second for that to settle into Isolde’s mind.  What?  “W-wait.  An assassin tried to kill you over some feud?  And tracked you all this way to do that?  I don’t…”

Patina can only manage to say, "Yes... that... that's what happened. I'm sorry... I... I did want to tell you, but... I couldn't stay in the capital and... I didn't think you'd give me the job if you knew. I’m sorry.”

Isolde has to process all of that for a few seconds.  “I won’t lie.  I wish I’d have known that before today, for a lot of reasons.  Maybe we could have avoided this somehow.”  She holds a claw to the side of her head.  “Patina… listen… you’re not a prisoner here so I can’t force you to stay, but I think under the circumstances you leaving is one of the last things that you should do.  At least here there are a lot of us who can keep an eye out.”  She rubs her forehead.  “Listen… don’t worry about your employment.  If… if you want to discuss that later we can, but right now… just worry about getting better.”

Patina looks somewhat relieved, "Thank you Ms. Isolde... and if it makes any difference, one pony did know. I... informed your captain of the guard, Shooting Star not too long ago. There wasn't reasonably anything anypony could have done to prevent this though."

Regrettably, she was probably right about that.  Assassins operated in secret, after all.  “I’m glad you let her know at least.  I saw her outside just now on my way in, so she’s up and investigating what happened.  I doubt that anyone would try anything more right now if there even is another assassin, but I’m going to get her to come and stay with you for tonight, alright?”

Patina smiles, "That's fine... and I'd be surprised if you could keep her away anyway."

Isolde reflects the smile.  “Probably not.  Either way, I’m very relieved that you’re going to be alright.  Right now though… I think we’re both too tired to really figure out what you should do next.  I should probably let you get some rest.  We can talk again later… uh, today.  Alright?”

Patina nods, "Okay. Later today."

“Alright then.  I’ll let you get some rest.”  She stands and heads for the door.  “I’ll send Shooting Star in a moment.  Rest well.”

------------

Spoiler: In which the Captain of the Guard comes to Patina (click to show/hide)

A moment later, once Shooting Star was given the all clear, she came inside the hospital’s room, worry plastered all over her face. “Patina?” She called out to the injured mare, seeing just how badly she was hurt was almost physically painful. How could something happen to somepony so sweet?

Patina forces a smile at her friend through the bruises, "Hello Star."

The Pegasus guard came over to her side then. “I’ve heard what happened.. they.. they came for you, didn’t they?”

Patina frowns and looks away and down, "Yeah... that's the only reason I can imagine that that stallion just attacked me. Mistress Isolde knows now too."

Shooting Star nodded to that as she came to the bedside and gave Patina a soft nuzzle. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there..” she said.

Patina winces as Star touches her, still feeling sore all over, "It's okay... you have nothing to be sorry for... you can't always be there after all."

“I know, but.. you almost died!” Shooting Star pointed out, distressed at her friend getting hurt. “We should have had a safer place for you to stay in..”

Patina grips the blanket tighter with her unbroken hoof, "Yeah..."

“I’ll see what we can do, but tonight I’m going to be here with you, alright?” Shooting Star asked worryingly still.

Patina smiles, "Thank you, Star. Can you stay with me... until the merchants all leave?"

“Of course, Patina.. I won’t be going anywhere.” The Pegasus offers the wounded mare a smile.

[Kryptid]

Sorry, but I just can't be bothered to care about this anymore. I'll be bowing out. Do what you wish with Silver Rush.

[Telgin]

What's one more?

Okay, I'll cut the melodrama before I start it.  I'm not mad.

Seriously though, it's been implicit that everyone effectively quit months ago and I've been operating under that assumption anyway.  As I've stated before, I still don't plan to end this in any official way or close the thread or anything.  I'll keep playing Shadytrails as I find time and will post updates as things happen.  Admittedly, I haven't had a huge amount of time for it before and that isn't likely to change in the near term future.  Also admittedly, the game is boring.  Can you blame the current version of DF for that?  Maybe a little.  Can you blame me for that?  Maybe a little more.  So maybe it'll be a while before anything worth posting happens.

In any case,

[Amorack]

The ironic thing is I didn't see previous two posts until I came here to post a short scene.

Spoiler: Tunda visits poor Patina in the hospital (click to show/hide)

How could such misfortune befall such a sweet mare? Decidedly, uncharacteristically occupied, Tunda trots her way over to the newly-built hospital. As soon as she heard about the commotion, she’d gone to see what was happening, and was rewarded for her curiosity with a horrible scene. Now she’d been waiting hours to visit Patina Dreams, and see how she was feeling. Who would attack her so violently; who would dare?

Opening the wooden door, Tunda enters the hospital. The armed occupant gave the Zebra mare a look, before giving her a nod. Recognizing her before she returned to keeping watch of the entrances to the room that the injured mare is in. Before going that way, Tunda stops near the batpony. “How is she doing, miss Shooting Star? It worries me to think Patina needs a guard.”

“She’s still recovering.. Patina’s a strong mare, she’ll live through this. I’m worried more about ponies trying to hurt her.” The Captain of the guard said.

“Why is that something somepony would want to do?” Tunda asks, frowning. “She has never even been cross with me or you.”

“Well.. you’ll know if she wants to tell you.” Shooting Star said before letting out a sigh. “We wouldn’t let anypony hurt her again, though.”

“That is something I’m glad to hear.” Tunda looks toward the room where Patina is staying. “Things at least are not as bad as I had feared.”

The Guardspony nodded. “You should visit her too, it’ll do her good to have friendly faces around.”

“I plan to go do that right now, without a doubt.” Before she leaves, Tunda tells Shooting Star, “Patina is lucky to have a friend protect her from another dangerous lout.”

“I’m only doing what any of us would do.” Shooting Star replied as she watches the Zebra goes into the room.

The badly beaten mare smiles when she sees her friend, "Tunda. Hello. Please come in. Forgive me for not standing." Patina's broken hoof, in the doctor's cast lays to the side, as Patina rests under the hospital blanket.

Glad to see she’s in high enough spirits for jokes, Tunda responds with a little levity of her own. “You are forgiven, little pony. I hope you haven’t been too lonely.” It’s only been most of a day at this point… but that time can stretch incredibly when it’s spent in a featureless room.

Patina shakes her head, "No, not really I've had several visitors already this morning, and Shooting Star is looking after me... I am eager to get back to work though."

"Try not to push yourself too hard, despite that admirable zeal." Tunda takes a seat in a nearby chair. "Has doctor Gunther told you how long it will take your hoof to heal?"

"A couple months... but I can get around on three hooves. I'm only still in bed because Gunther wanted to keep on eye on me, cause of the head injuries. He won't let me sleep more than an hour at a time, says I might have a concussion... but says I should be okay. I'm just glad my horn wasn't broken."

“A broken horn would have been a terrible thing,” the zebra mare agrees. “As cruel as to a pegasus a broken wing.”

Patina nods again, “Yeah… um… Tunda,” Patina begins growing a bit more serious, her smile fading, “What… are the ponies in town saying about me? About the attack?”

“To be honest, I’ve seen some ponies worry and fret. Nopony could say why you would ever be a target.”

Patina seems a little relieved but still nervous, "I see... I was worried that they might think... never mind it's unimportant. Just Tunda, please be careful around the rest of those strangers with the merchants... the pony that attacked me could still have friends with them."

Tunda’s eyes widen slightly, taken aback. “Might have friends, what do you mean? Was that not an isolated scene?”

Patina grips her blanket with her unbroken hoof, "I... can't say. But it's possible."

Slowly, Tunda reaches her hoof out to lay on Patina’s. “You don’t know why somepony would do such a thing? Not even an inkling?”

“N...no. I don’t know why somepony would… do something like that,” Patina replies, clearly lying.

“If you happen to get an idea why,” Tunda says, gracefully playing along for Patina’s sake, “You can trust it will stay between you and I.”

Patina allows herself to grin a little, “I believe you Tunda, and… if I could say, please believe that I would.”

It’s not far from what Tunda expected, but she smiles back regardless. “I know, and perhaps you will sometime. But for now, I’ll stay to keep you company if that is fine.”

Patina nods, “Yes. Please stay."

The two spend a while talking about (other) happenings around town, and how their respective jobs have been going, before Tunda leaves Patina to get some rest.

[exodius1]

I cannot stop thinking this is somehow my fault, at least partially...

Also I am back, and may have some time to actually contribute, but it would seem I am a bit late to the party-.-

[Telgin]

Nah, don't worry about it.  As they say, one monkey doesn't run the show.  The decline was slow and complicated, but really I think the fundamental problem is that the game was too boring.  I'd definitely do things differently had I realized how it would play out.

[exodius1]

Hmmm.... give me a few days, I may come up with something... Keep in mind it will not be in continuity with the previous fortresses in this series though, I do not know enough to pull that off... but maybe more connected with the show? I mean, we have about a millennium that was not really tapped between the banishment and return of Luna... As I said, gimme a few days, will PM you my ponderings, if you wish...

[exodius1]

Ok, I just reread my message and realised I came off as a complete and utter arse. Working graveyard shift data entry did not help my social graces.

What I meant to say is that if you think this will not go on for very long I could have a go at [My Little Fortress] thing with your mod, make it a bit more action driven, see if that works out.

Sorry for my utter assholeness earlier.

[Telgin]

Hey, don't worry about that.  I didn't take any offense and never interpreted it in that way.

If you want to launch a community fort of your own, I say have at it.  Fair warning that I think most of the MLP players are kind of burnt out on this in general, but if it's more action driven then that might help attract new players at least.  I'll watch the thread if you create one, but won't promise to join anything new right now.

[exodius1]

[...] but if it's more action driven then that might help attract new players at least. [...]

I was going to keep it a surprise, but considering it turns up within first two months... or rather on day one of second month...


https://youtu.be/9JWavWJhQM4



Edit: We are ready to go, if anyone wants to join

[Telgin]

No retreat... no surrender...

Afraid that this update doesn't do much to provide interesting material for anyone other than a couple of the guards.  Still, here you go.  Not sure how much longer I'll take it, but... here you go.



Isolde's Journal, 14th Timber, 223

Things have been uneventful in town lately, which considering the alternatives is quite fine with me.  In the lull I've set aside some time to start thinking about the layout of the workshops and how it's currently very crowded and inefficient.  Today, we've finished rectifying a small part of that by relocating and streamlining the masonry workshops.



There are now two of them, to start with, and they're located further away from the hospital.  While we've been fortunate enough to not have many patients, in the event that it is filled later it would be better for them if there wasn't the incessant racket of hammers and chisels against stone.

They're also closer to the guardhouse now, so that the masons and architects won't have to travel so far to move the finished blocks to their currently most needed worksite.  Maybe now work can pick up the pace a little there.

But first, we're going to need more wheelbarrows since they're further away from the mines now.  That's probably the biggest time sink, really: moving the stone to the workshops.

23rd Timber, 223

Today we can check yet another long overdue item off of the list: the hospital.



There's room for ten patients and two doctors presently, but there's room to expand some if absolutely needed.  We've been lucky enough so far at least.

I do feel much better now that this rather essential item is finally done.  I've been quite anxious about the lack of such a basic necessity for a long time now, and it shows that we're really maturing as a town.  Of course, there's plenty of room to decorate and embellish it some, but in this case function absolutely is more important than form.  We'll worry over that later.

Although... maybe it wouldn't be too much to ask one of the masons to take a little time away from the chiseling blocks to do something creative for a change and sculpt a statue or two for the hospital's entrance?  We do have some marble left over.

I'll think about it.

10th Moonstone, 223

More work has been done to the guardhouse, and after almost two years the guard can finally practice indoors instead of out in the weather.



There is still an enormous amount of work to be done, and the stonework is slow compared to the carpentry for the houses, tavern and hospital.  Mining it out and hauling up to the workshops is so much slower than just cutting down the odd tree.

Nevertheless, we are making good progress.  The guard all have fresh, good quality steel weapons now, a decent place to practice and train, and personal sleeping quarters all around.  A vast improvement over the state of things last year.

I do think I'll check into the state of the foundation soon though.  I know I'm not a mason or architect, but I really do think some supports are in order beneath the overhang.  I'm sure Patina is going to do that before much more work is done on that end.

12th Moonstone, 223

Winter is really starting to pick up again, and we got a heavy dusting of snow over the past couple of days.  It's a good thing the roof is mostly done on the guardhouse, although there's going to be snow to shovel out of a few corners before they can finish it.



I'm coming to like the cold months though.  We never got snow like this back home, except far up in the mountains.  It's really quite nice to look at it all in the mornings and afternoons, and it's really heartwarming to see the kids playing in it.

Speaking of snow, Lattice let me know that she just finished up the orders I put in for some new, warm clothing.  What we had was all starting to get a bit old and worn, but it was still serviceable.  Now we can start wearing something a bit more appropriate for the season, which I've been looking forward to for a while now.

Maybe I should see about installing some fireplaces around town?

20th Moonstone, 223

The caravan from the griffon city of Ignitedpine arrived today, which was both a blessing and a curse.  On one claw, we traded for a lot more cloth for Lattice to work with and got some meat and cheese, which have been a bit hard to come by out here.  On the other claw, we didn't have a lot to trade and sent all of the cut gems in our stocks home with the merchants in trade.  None of the crafts I've put orders in for were ready, since the carpenters and masons have been so busy doing construction work.

That leaves us with literally nothing to trade right now for any future merchants.  We've got to pick up the pace on that, yet we can't divide our attention elsewhere.

Such a tough decision... but maybe switching to craftswork for a short while will motivate everyone and give them something more interesting to do for a while?

4th Opal, 223

The monkeys are back!  A troupe of them was rambling through the southern edge of town and headed for the trade depot, no doubt looking to make off with the supplies we had to store there.



At least this time we were ready for them.  The guard dropped down on them just as they made a break for the depot and drove them all off in a hurry.  With... somewhat frightening enthusiasm, if I must admit.


Lucky Lands gets a little violent.


And Shooting Star finally gets some action.

Oddly, when I went to check up on the supplies afterward, I noticed that the merchants left behind a few of their boxes that we didn't trade for!


Not sure what happened here.  I didn't seize the goods.

I'm not sure what to do about it.  We can't send them back now since they're long gone, and the food would spoil soon.  The other materials we can hang onto for now I guess.  If we have to then we will probably just make use of them and trade them the difference next year.  I need to take stock of what all is here...

18th Opal, 223

I hate to see them go, but Jack Pine has been hard at work removing more of the trees that are in town.  They look nice and provide a lot of shade during the warmer months, but they're currently in the way of our next neighborhood of homes, so they have to go.



I've been thinking that maybe I should either send out a request for a landscaper or two or see about training up some of the locals on it if they're interested.  It would be nice to have some decorative plants and flowers arranged throughout the town!

9th Obsidian, 223


We've made some progress on the second neighborhood and have three more houses finished.  It's going to be a lot larger than the first neighborhood when it's done, and we should hopefully have a house for everyone when it is.

Right now, the biggest thing holding us up are the windows.  It takes so long to make them to the point that we really shouldn't be leaving the homes unfinished while waiting.  I think we'll probably have to just come back and knock out spaces for them as they're ready over the coming years...



13th Obsidian, 223

To shift from working on construction all of the time, I worked with some of the laborers today to start figuring out a better layout for the workshops.  Since the masons' workshops are already more or less permanently situated, I decided that we'd just keep working down the line.  Our first task was to move the craftshops in line with them.



Next up was laying out space for something we've sorely needed for a long time now: a warehouse.  With Patina's help I marked out some space for the goods that will be placed there, with the intention of building up walls later as labor frees up.  For now, unfortunately, it's just a huge pile of goods with tarps over it to keep the rain and snow at bay.

At least it will be harder for the monkeys to come and make off with any of it now.

[Telgin]

Telgin gestures!

The thread shudders and begins to move.



Isolde's Journal - 13th Granite, 224

What better way to start off the new year than to be met with a caravan from the zebras?  I'm very pleased to say that we had a marked improvement over last year's trading.  Nearly twice as much by my numbers!  We traded a lot of the gems we've mined and cut in town, along with some stone and wood crafts, for a lot more fresh cloth, fruit and drink.  The new variety should be a welcome sight since we've had largely the same supply of crops for a few years now.

I also bought a few sand bags from the traders, which were quite cheap but will let us get a jump start on the flagging glass work again.  It seems nobody has time to go dig sand up out of the ground, so the windows I put orders in for months ago still haven't materialized.  I hope this will turn that around.

That said, I'll be glad when our industry takes off a little more and we're able to afford to import more iron and steel.  The guard look much better equipped with their freshly forged weapons, but some higher quality armor would be a very nice addition to that.

5th Slate, 224

Grabbing the sand from the caravan indeed was what it took to get the glass workers working again, and we've got another set of brand new, pristine windows for the homes of the new neighborhood.  It's pretty amazing when you look at the buildings too.  The carpenters and architects have learned a tremendous amount of the years of working in town, and the new homes look spectacular.

They were also able to put together the warehouse in record time, and we finally have somewhere out of the elements to store all of our goods before sending them to the market.


Even if it's pretty empty right now and not sorted by anything.

10th Slate, 224

After reviewing our ledgers again, I've come to the conclusion that the majority of our industrial output so far has been from the miners and gem cutters, and it's probably going to stay that way for a while to come.  We're not exactly swimming in gems, but there are more than enough underground to keep the bits flowing into town for years.

With that in mind, I've started reorganizing more of the workshops and we'll soon have the jewelers working under more spacious and more efficient conditions.

The miners should appreciate some of the upcoming changes too.  I'm going to assign a few more people to help get stone and ore back up to the surface and have ordered more wheelbarrows to help out with that.

I briefly considered if we could install mine carts in any way, but with the aquifer it's just not going to be feasible right now.  Maybe if we keep digging down the benefits will outgrow the effort.

Oh, but before I forget, the guards should be happy with some of the new and ongoing improvements as well.  The guardhouse, while still largely unfinished, is enclosed now and even has a dedicated armory.



There really isn't much to store in it yet aside from some spare bolts and arrows, but eventually we'll keep growing and need the space for spare gear.  One step at a time, and all of that.

26th Slate, 224

The increase in mining operations turned up something quite unexpected today.




Grand Cavern and Silver Rush were tunneling downward in search of new ores or gems when they struck an open air pocket.  After examining it some, they discovered that it actually led to an enormous flooded cavern.  Silver Rush flew around enough to spot a lot of zircons and something he called rhodolites, so there is a treasure trove of valuables down there if we can get to them.

I'm going to start planning with the miners and Patina right away!

10th Felsite, 224

The miners have started hauling some zircons up to the surface, but so far we haven't hashed out any major construction projects underground to reach the gems isolated by the flooding.  It's tempting, but perpetually, there is so much left to do on the surface that in good conscience I just can't do it yet.

Thankfully, it's starting to warm back up and the snow has all melted.  I can only hope that the well thaws out soon so that we can repair it.  I probably should have expected that it would freeze and damage the mechanisms when building it, but there really isn't anywhere else to put one where it won't freeze.  For now we'll just have to deal with that annually.


I could go build it by the river, where nothing freezes, but... there's already the river there...

22nd Felsite, 224

It took me a long time to settle down enough to write this, but even so I feel pretty terrible so it's going to be short.

While I was working on checking over the last round of work orders in my office, I saw something horrendous peering through the window at me.



Of course, the first thing I did was fly out the door screaming for the guards to come help.  They were all busy in the guardhouse, so it took some time for them to get here.

In the meantime, Alpine Ash heard my screams and came galloping to help.  I tried to get him to hide instead, but he kept coming.  The creature attacked him then, and try as I might to work up the courage to help him, I could only watch as he repeatedly kicked and tried to dodge its attacks.

Soon, it overpowered him.  I'll never forget his dying screams as long as I live.

Shooting Star was the first to arrive, and just seconds after Alpine Ash went down.  Her shots immediately stunned and distracted the monster while the rest of the guard showed up.



Forward March was the one lucky enough to destroy the hideous thing.  He drove his sword into its head and slew it next to the pony it slew in turn.



We all just stood there for a few minutes after things went silent.  I'm not proud to say it, but it was all that I could do just to limp over to and collapse against a tree.  I thought I was going to pass out at any second, but I wasn't that lucky.  I just had to sit there in a stunned heap while Shooting Star and the other guards started cleaning up the mess.



Someone helped me back inside at some point.  Giovanni I think it was, but I'm so numb right now I don't remember for sure.  I can't even be sure it was a griffon that helped me inside.

I... I know I'm going to have to handle Alpine Ash's death somehow.  We don't have any priests.  We don't have a graveyard.  We aren't prepared at all for this.

What am I going to do?  Just... have the miners dig a hole, bury him and then say a few words on his behalf?

What else can I do?

23rd Felsite, 224

This entry is written in uncharacteristically large letters and in a very deliberate and clear manner.

I've lost my everloving mind.

I knew the attack yesterday was hard on everyone.  I knew it was hard on me, but I didn't think it would do this to me.

Because of everything that happened, I couldn't sleep last night.  I can barely stay in my house right now because of how much it reminds me of the attack.  Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to take a short walk through town before sunrise this morning.  I thought I could maybe think of something to say on Alpine Ash's behalf at his funeral, and... I don't know.  Maybe I thought if something else came into town I would see it and be able to warn someone before something else tragic happened.

To my horror, I saw another assassin standing at Patina's door.


Of the distinctly ethereal and malevolent flavor.

Of course I immediately took to the air and screamed for help, but the assassin didn't leave.  Instead, she just sat there and smiled at me.  She gave a little wave.

"Hi there, miss griffon.  How loud can you scream?" she asked with a grin.

By this point I was fearing for my own life as much as Patina's, and I was screaming a lot already.  That, of course, pales to what came next.

She waved a hoof and an unseen force grasped me and threw me to the ground at her hooves.  I didn't even have time to recognize if she was a unicorn or not before something snatched my wing and held it up.

"Did you have fun yesterday?  Boy, you should have seen the looks on everyone's faces!"

I cried again for help, but nobody came.  The assassin, which I began to realize looked halfway like she wasn't even there, nodded a few times.

"Hey, yeah, you're pretty good at screaming, but let me help."

Words cannot express what it feels like to have your wing twisted, broken and pulled off of your body.  I don't remember what I did, but I do remember what she said when she let go of me.

"That's really good!  But not the best I've ever heard.  Griffons scream louder than pegasi, but they're usually kind of shrill like you are.  I don't know what I like best."

She shrugged, grabbed the half of my wing lying on the ground, and started walking away.  "Bye, miss griffon!  Maybe we'll meet each other again if you don't bleed to death!"  She walked right through Patina's door.

"And who knows?  Maybe you're just crazy..."

I don't know for sure what happened next.  I remember Patina was there, and I remember Tunda was there.  I remember staring in horror at the blood spraying from my wing.  I don't think I screamed anymore.  I think Tunda is the one that picked me up and brought me here to the hospital.

Right now, I'm lying in this bed, trying not to look at the pink bedsheets, drenched in my blood, and fighting to write all of this down through the lightheadedness and fear.  Gunther tied my wing up so that the bleeding stopped.  I should survive, but I won't fly well ever again.  Not unless a miracle working unicorn doctor comes to this forsaken town soon.

I don't think anyone believes what I saw.  I don't think I believe what I saw.

...who's going to believe that I saw a ghost that talked to me and tore my wing off?

...but what happened?

...I don't think I'm going to be able to do Alpine Ash's funeral tomorrow.




Well, that's unfortunate, but I can roll with it.

I tried to bury the assassin's body long ago, but everyone is too scared of her body to do it.  So, when Isolde ran away from the werecreature, she ran by the ghost, that ripped her wing off.  Fun was had.

Now then, to see about making a memorial.

25th Felsite, 224

I missed Alpine Ash's funeral yesterday.  I could have gone.  Really, I was well enough to go, but I just couldn't make myself get out of the hospital bed.  I'm still extremely tired and weak, but I could have gone and stood around at least.

Guess I was too chicken to leave the hospital.  Heh.  Get it?  It's a griffon joke.

I really haven't felt right since the attacks.  That shouldn't surprise me or anyone, but I... don't know if I'll be okay.  Right now it doesn't feel like it.

Everyone probably thinks I'm crazy.  Or they think I'm shirking my duties to the town.  I don't know who spoke for Alpine Ash, if anyone did.  Gunther promised me he was buried though.  So that much was done I know.


Started a little graveyard to the north of the tavern.

After I left the hospital this afternoon, all I could do was stumble down to the river here and try to fish like I used to.  It felt a little reassuring... but not like I'd hoped.  If anyone saw me they probably think I'm the most insensitive and crazy griffon that ever lived.

Are they right?

I don't know.



3rd Hematite, 224

Some time has passed and people are starting to recover from the unexpected attack and death of Alpine Ash.  I went by his grave a few times, but didn't really say or do much.  It was kind of too late by that point.

Nobody else has admitted to seeing the ghost.  I must really have lost my mind, but something broke my wing off.

Nobody has said it to my face, but they think I'm insane and hurt myself somehow.  I've heard some people talking about it when they thought I couldn't hear them.  Maybe they think seeing Alpine Ash die broke something in me.  Maybe it did.  I really don't know.

I want to forget it and move on with my life, but it's hard.  So hard...

To try to forget about it, I did go by the bath house that we started building years ago and kind of forgot.  The thawing water means that it's full now, but we didn't pave the bottom like we should have, and now it's murky and full of weeds and nastiness.  Guess we'll fix that over the winter when it freezes again.

At least the well is fixed.  That's something.