Balor's Journal, 7th of Hematite
Following our breach of the aquifer, we finally finished digging those plots that Nobeard wanted. I doubt we'll be able to get much done before the end of the year, but bedrooms are the mining priority for the time being at least.
12th of Hematite
We discovered some good veins of tetrahedrite and bismuthinite while digging out the bedrooms. With any luck we'll find some tin ore and be able to arm ourselves without the king's approval. Xan seems pleased about it in any case and is campaigning to cut down the rest of the local trees in order to smelt some copper.
15th of Hematite
I was doing an inspection of the perimeter earlier and couldn't find Taran anywhere. Eventually came upon him staring at the ocean. He didn't seem to notice the red tides. There is clearly more to him than meets the eye. I must admit that I worry about the people I've been sent on this expedition with. If it hadn't caught me so unawares I'd have been able to run a much more thorough background check on them, but hopefully what agents I still have in the capital will be able to feed me some new information.
* * *
"Taran, what's wrong?" Balor asked carefully, watching the dazed carpenter for any sudden movements. A scream in the distance cut through the air. With a sudden intake of breath, Taran sprang back to attention, pulling out the copper spear that had been strapped to his back and rushing towards the noise with Balor hot on his heels. She rounded a sand dune to find Taran holding up Insane. The woodcutter's left leg was mangled beyond recognition, the bloodstained log beside him the clear cause of his injury. As Balor's eyes took in more of the scene, she realised that Taran had clamped his hand over Insane's mouth.
"What are you doing!?" she exclaimed, rushing towards them. Taran held his other hand out, gesturing frantically towards something in the sky. Overhead, carrying the stench of death with them, skeletal birds circled the fortress. It seemed like they couldn't see the dwarves, and after an hour that stretched for centuries, they vanished over the horizon.
"Rakust Nokortarag," Balor swore. "The tales were true. This place is cursed."
"Yeah, the blood raining from the sky didn't give that away already," Taran replied, taking Insane's axe for a moment. After a few well placed cuts, he tied the resulting boards to the injured dwarf's crushed leg and picked him up. They walked back to the fortress in silence.
"We need to tell the others," Taran said as he put Insane on one of the new beds.
"Something tells me they already know," Balor answered, wincing as she heard someone shouting for her.
25th of Hematite
I'm attempting to pick up some medical knowledge in order to do something about Insane's leg, but I didn't expect to need it so soon after arrival at this place. For now I'm just trying to get his bones back where they should be, which is difficult enough (nearly certain that his kneecap should be at the front). With any luck a trained doctor will arrive with one of the migrant waves we were told to expect, though considering we were sent to carve out a living in an area with flying corpses and salt water, I doubt our interests will be catered to any time soon.
6th of Malachite
The water we dug out of the aquifer looks a bit muddy. I hope Insane has a good immune system...
9th of Malachite
Insane is up and about again, to an extent. He needs a crutch, but at least his leg is recognisable as a leg again. He's declared that he still needs time off to recuperate, though.
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Topic: Crownhammers, the #1 undead, murderous bird sanctuary in the world (Read 66599 times)