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[Sappho]

Please see my signature for a link to the original Inmates story.

***

The following has been pieced together by Dwarven archaeologists from fragments of journals, ledgers, and various other paperwork found at the site.

Journal of Dodok Morullecad, Prison Manager for Resililal
23 Opal 703

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way our society functions when we run out of space in the prisons.  Perhaps it's a matter of this fortress simply being too large; even one percent of a huge number is still a huge number.  In any case, we are full up with maniacs and violent criminals, with no space for these low-life white-collar crooks.  Still, it seems absurd to me that non-violent criminals should be simply fined and allowed to return to their lives without any further punishment.

I have been brainstorming ideas to help repair this broken system of ours and I think I've finally come up with something that might do the trick.  I have a meeting with the King in two days to present it.

Official Proposal to the King for New Prison Facilities
Submitted 25 Opal 703 by Dodok Morullecad

Hereby proposed is the Establishment of a New Colony in the Finger of Mange, a ferocious location far to the northeast, for the Purpose of Housing Inmates for whom we have no space in our current prisons.

The initial band of seven would be made up entirely of recently convicted Criminals against the Crown of Resililal.  It is recommended that these initial seven be Non-Violent Criminals so as to prevent any Incidents during the initial stages of this Project.  Should the initial investment prove Successful, further Inmates could be Exported to the Colony as needed.

The Primary Advantage of this system is the Ability to imprison criminals regardless of the size of our Prison Facilities, the Removal of said criminals from Law-Abiding Society, and possibly the Acquisition of Trade Goods from the Inmates, who shall be put to Work during their imprisonment.

Submitted to the King of Resililal
Glory of our Civilization

Dodok Morullecad
Prison Manager

Official Inventory Details
Inmate Colony "Mongreldwelling"
17 Obsidian 703

Inmates
Sibrek Lebesstukos, Libel
-Comedian

Mestthos Thestardodok, Fraud
-Competent Record Keeper

Bembul Riterush, Conspiracy
-Novice Persuader
-Novice Intimidator

Deler Regalath, Larceny
-Novice Ambusher

Thikut Lertethiden, Patent Violation
-Novice Grower

Udib Rakustorrun, Embezzlement

Reg Melbilshin, Cruelty to Animals
-Butcher
-Novice Animal Dissector

Supplies
40 Barrels Each of Dwarven Ale, Rum, Wine, and Beer
40 Pieces Each of Horse, Donkey, Mule, and Dog Meat
1 Copper Pick
1 Iron Anvil
10 Each of Plump Helmet Spawn, Rock Nuts, and Pig Tail, Sweet Pod, and Cave Wheat Seeds
20 Plump Helmet
12 Dogs

Embarkation Map

[Sappho]

Ledger (Maintained by Bembul Riterush)
3 Granite 704

I swear, those idiots just drew names out of a helmet to choose roles for us in this place.  Armok knows I've not the interest nor the ability to lead this group of petty white-collar inmates anywhere, not to mention that a conviction of conspiracy oughtn't to land me at the top of the "group leader" list.  Even if I made an effort, they'd just ignore me, so to put it simply, I'm not going to bother.

I have, however, been charged with keeping the general records for the "colony," as they're so tastefully putting it, and there was a hint or two at their being a reward for accurate records, so here I am.  First off, a general description of each of the inmates and the stupid things they got caught doing that landed them here.

Deler's in for larceny.  Appears she broke into some nobleman's mansion looking for a family heirloom of some sort rumored to be of interest to one of the human leaders nearby.  I'm convinced she would have succeeded, as well, had her partner not ratted her out; she's a stealthy bugger, quiet - she doesn't talk much.  I've never seen her expression change from that odd placid calm.  Either she's got her emotions under amazing control or there's something very not right about her.

Then there's Reg...  If I'm honest, and believe it or not, I usually am, she scares the absolute hell out of me.  They said they were only sending non-violent criminals to set this place up, and they say she's never harmed any dwarves, but her conviction is listed as "cruelty to animals," and I'm not the least surprised.  She has this crazy set of eyes that twitch whenever she gets near to one of the animals.  The first thing she did when we got here was set up a butchery, and she wanted to make up an "animal dissection workbench" as well, but the rest of us all unanimously agreed to deny her that.  No one wants to see one of our dogs torn to pieces on some makeshift operating table.

Thikut seems to be a simple fellow.  He was a farmer, which ought to come in handy here ones the rations of nasty garbage meat run out, and from what I've been overhearing in the others' conversations, he made the mistake of saving his seeds from a crop of plants to be put back in the ground the next year.  Normally that's no problem, but this time around he was using the Dwarf MegaCorp's specially bred seed varieties, which they've patented.  One of their spies caught him storing the seeds and some of the government goons picked him up the next morning.  I almost feel sorry for the moron.  He still doesn't even seem fully aware of what he's done wrong.

Mestthos is going to be trouble, as far as I can see.  Her conviction is "fraud," which she refuses to elaborate on.  The trouble mostly comes down to the fact that she and I are too much alike.  Neither of us is a big fan of authority or rules, and prefer to be let alone.  As long as she keeps to herself we should be fine, but I wouldn't be surprised at a confrontation down the road.

Sibrek, on the other hand, I actually sort of like.  She seems to be a generally honest kind of dwarf, which is why she got shipped out here for libel against the monarchy; she couldn't keep her big mouth shut.  On the plus side, she seems to be the most level-headed of all of us.  In fact, after the guards left and we were all milling around on the hilltop feeling sorry for ourselves, she was the one who, despite her complete lack of skill with the thing, grabbed a pick and started digging out a dwelling for us all.  She's got a nice practical way of thinking about things.

Finally, there's Udib.  She's in for embezzling a shockingly large sum of money from the mason's guild back home.  She seems a bit nervous, but she doesn't argue much, and that's good for everyone.

Aside from Sibrek doing a bit of mining work and Reg massaging her butcher's block, the only other dwarf doing any actual work so far is Deler.  She slipped away right at the start; we figured she was trying to escape, and none of us were about to do anything about it.  To our surprise, however, she returned an hour or so later with a mountain goat corpse (much to Reg's delight) then headed back out.  Seems she's putting that creeping-silently skill to work for some food variety.



One last item to put in here before I go for a nap: seems we've got a stowaway.  While we were unloading some of the barrels, Udib heard a quiet, high-pitched noise coming from the wagon and nearly jumped out of her beard.  Thikut pushed his way past the others to find the source of the noise - a tiny kitten.  Little thing must have crawled onto the wagon while the guards were loading up.  For now we've all agreed to let it stay.  Maybe it'll take care of some of the vermin around here.

[Sappho]

26 Granite 704

We're getting more or less settled in here, turning this place into something moderately livable.  Sibrek has continued to mine, and I've decided to make an attempt at creating something edible from the disgusting meat we were given to start out.  We needed someone to do some masonry work as well, and Udib didn't argue when we asked her.  She insists that embezzling from a mason's guild is quite different from working as a mason, but none of us were really listening.  Thikut has even set up a small underground farm and started planting seeds so we won't have to eat horse meat forever.



Despite our progress, I've been getting a strange feeling lately, like something isn't right.  Probably a side effect of sleeping on the ground.  Would have been nice of the prison authority to give us an axe.

14 Slate 704

Those elvish, tree-loving, grass-eating, leprous, inbred, incestuous CATS!  Nobody warned us that this area was HAUNTED!  We've spotted two skeletal mountain goats and one zombie goat near the entrance to our little cave.  Most of the others are too afraid to even go outside.  We had our workshops set up out there temporarily, and now we can't get near them.  What in Armok's name are we supposed to do about this?

20 Slate 704

The undead goats are still outside.  One of them has chased several of the others across the valley below.  Fortunately I've managed to stay hidden in our hole along with Sibrek, who is continuing to mine despite the situation.  She really is a level-headed one.  We may be shortening the roster soon.



1 Felsite 704

Looks like Sibrek isn't the only level-headed dwarf in this place.  Deler was running from the undead goats with everyone else when suddenly he realized he was running from a bunch of goats.  Undead, yes, but not a whole lot more dangerous for that.  So he turned around and started beating the stuffing out of them.  In ten minutes flat we had three rotting goat corpses on the valley floor.  Not even Reg will touch those things.



9 Felsite 704

Until now, Mertthos has been mostly eating, drinking, and wandering around looking grouchy.  Today, however, without a word, she strode into the big room we're using as a dining hall, grumbling something under her breath about making things "livable."  Thens he got to work smoothing out all the rough walls and floors.  True, Sibrek's not perfectly skilled with the pickaxe yet, but it never seemed to me that the walls were overly rough; we've got bigger concerns, after all.  But after she had been over them once, I was surprised at the difference.  I guess she's useful after all.



10 Felsite 704

More of those disgusting undead goats have been spotted nearby.  Without a word, Deler started guarding the entrance.  She's out there right now, just standing there watching.  Already one goat tried to come nearby and she chased it off.  Although she seems a bit off to me, I'm starting to feel glad to have her around.



Meanwhile, Sibrek has started digging out an area for workstations so that we don't need to worry about the creatures outside.  It's much nicer to work indoors at any rate.