Editor's note: The following documents consist of the discoveries, analyses and theories made by Zyphel Graniteslinger in the year 1073 onward during his excavation of an ancient dwarven site. Some passages are omitted to keep the focus purely on their discoveries and not personal matters.17th Granite, 1073Arrived here at last from the mountain homes. A month and a half of goblins, floods, snowstorms, badgers and other monstrosities. Once our team has set up camp we will start our excavation at once.
But perhaps some background information is in order: Two years ago, a trio of miners excavated an ancient mausoleum deep underneath one of our very own fortresses. While there was not much to be had in the way of valuable artifacts, there was a masterful engraving on a wall which hinted at the origins of our kind. Long story short, it was a map showing where one of the very first dwarven village/town/fortress/whatever-the-hell-it-was once existed.
And so they send me. One of the best historian/archaeologist dwarf-kind has to offer. I can't say I'm interested in whatever ramifications we may or may not uncover; religious, societal, et al. As long as I have booze and am away from those dipshits at the capital I'm fine.
There's no time to waste. I'll try and map out this area as soon as possible.
19th Granite, 1073I was able to get a rough map drawn of the area.
I won't be able to make any conclusions yet, but it seems our early ancestors weren't to attached to the mountains. I feel too exposed here. Too... vulnerable.
Excavations have started. I just hope coming out here wasn't a waste of time.
20th Granite, 1073It wasn't a waste of time. We only had to go a couple layers down before we found what appeared to be an old entrance corridor to an underground complex. We're not going down just yet. We all know from experience what dangers may lie in abandoned fortresses.
Say what you will about us dwarves and our stubbornness, but we don't let our homes go down without a fight. I have no doubt that there will be many unsprung traps waiting down below in those depths, waiting for a victim that never came. Hopefully we aren't those victims.
If these ancient dwarves were anything like us, than they would likely have an affinity for decorating their entrance hallway. We shall try to find engraving buried behind the rock.
Also note: my colleagues have begun to affectionately refer to this site as "Stonetown". While I'm sure the officials at the capital would prefer that I refer to this site in my official report as "EXC 1 73" (short for "Excavation 1 Year 1073"),
Stonetown is perfectly adequate for this journal.
21st Granith, 1073Praise the excavators! My predictions were true: A little bit of chipping away and we were able to uncover some ancient dwarven stone engravings! I shall be back later after I have attempted to divine the meaning.
cont.We have fully uncovered all of the engravings in the corridor.
They seem to detail the history of this outpost. It will take some time to interpret them.
Editor's note: While Zyphel's journal does continue, we have abridged it to only his analysis of the engravings. His personal life during the excavation is of little historical significance, though reading about his midnight liaisons with a certain "Miss Lightstone" are quite entertaining in their own right.To be continued (if people have interest in this. My first time attempting any sort of story game).
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Topic: Excavation of Early of Dwarven Civilization Sites, Vol. I: Stonetown (Read 572 times)