Do to the "exhaustion of military resources", Charlie72 made nimby "Security Team Leader" and put her in charge of Gelmclod's militia and guard. She, in turn, appointed new captains to replace the ones that where lost. Glemclod is now under martian law.


A troll has been see wondering around the front gates.




Our Security Team show it their might.


After the first troll falls, another shows up.



And quickly meets the same fate.

We are now getting reports that the trolls are retreating.



Just in time for summer.


It seems nimby is going to be out of action for a while. In a bid for redemption, Mr.Vile volunteers to tack up her physical duties as Fortress Guard Captain as she manages the Security Team from her hospital bed.


Charlie72 announced that his new office/quarters was finished. His old estate (which he had seized from Mr.Vile as payment for the damage caused by the Vile Flood) to his daughter, Penguingo.


Wish Sebzilla a happy spawning anniversary.



Finally, some reinforcements.

Leperflesh wrote :-

markus_cz wrote :-

Meanwhile, in the old checkerboard room...



The room hasn't been used for a long timed and it showed. As the dwarves went in, stumbling on the piles of gems hoarded by the room's previous owner, they excited large clouds of dust that lazily fell back down again, settling on the table and the coloured tiles of the floor.

Not many have come, for there wasn't many of them left now. Only seven were present, the lucky number, though some of them were children. However, that didn't prevent the Great Architect from speaking.

“Thank you for coming,” said Markus. “I have summoned you because Gemclod is in a dire need of you. I have been afraid of the end for a long time, but now I finally sense it coming, as do some of you, I'm sure.” This remark was addressed at Bad Munki who didn't seem to be paying any attention at all, occupying his thought somewhere in the aether, most probably.

The only other sound in the room was a steady chipping of a hammer and chisel on a slate tablet. Markus continued: “Every day, our numbers are dwindling. Vox Nihili has left us not a year ago. Minty, our protector, fell yesterday. Others keep dying, any one of us could be next. And even though immigrants keep coming, the fact is the Famous Palisade is dying out. Soon noone new will come.

“What will remain when we are gone? It is time for us to start thinking about the dark future, and that's why I've chosen you for this... Counsel of Will. You, the nobles and leaders of Gemclod or their representatives. Atrocities are being committed even now, and only you can prevent them. I want you to discuss, and help me solve, some serious issues Gemclod has to face now.

“I took the liberty to prepare a bulleted list. Leperfish?”



Leperfish stopped chiseling the minutes and procured a different tablet, reading it aloud:

“First, there is an aquarium with crocodiles obstructing the Entrance Pit and endangering the fortress by floods even now. We must discuss how to safely remove it and make the Entrance aesthetic again.
“Second, the entrance to the hospital is unacceptable. Instead of having a proper entrance, one still has to squeeze his body in between stairs, which is getting more and more difficult for some of us.
“Third, the topmost levels of the Great Hall remain unsmoothened and unengraved, even several years after its completion. Someone has to build a scaffolding and finish it.
“Least but not last, do something about the duck looming above the Entrance. Appologies to Pozzo but she knows it's ugly.” (A general sound of approval from Pozzo's direction.)

“Any volunteers?”


--------

_{(The dwarves on the image, left to right: Bad Munki, Mr. Vile, Leperfish, Markus, Pozzo, Penguingo representing Boing, and Bobbin Threadbare representing her bucet friend.)}

Bobbin Threadbare wrote :-

Thought you should know, Markus, but Penguingo's and my dwarves are the same age.



Hi diary!

I got to go to a neeting today! Markus says he saw me with the baron and now I get to be his reprazenativ. He says that meens dwarfs will lisen to me now! Penguingo got to come to, so I didn't feel lonly. Some of the dwarfs there were scary. I stayd under the table mostly. They talkd abot importent stuff like the acwaryum were the front door was. Marks says at the end that there is a duck abuve the entrans and that we shoud get rid of it so I said sayed we shoud put a cat abuve the entrans insted. I like cats. Cats don't care if dwarfs pay atenshun or not. So maybe if Gemclod is a cat we won't care if the goblins and elfs pay atenshun to us.

AJ_Impy wrote :-

Journal of militia captain AJ_Impy Idashushrir, Agent Firesnake

This is a secret journal encoded in a high elven cypher on shale microfiche. All craftsdwarfship is of mediocre quality.

Well, cover me in spores and call me grandma. The unenlightened idiots have only gone and drafted me into the armed forces. Not only that, but they drafted me as an officer! This opportunity will let me investigate the strengths and weaknesses of this Degdamned place more thoroughly, but with a higher profile comes a greater risk of detection. I'll need to avoid anything that might tip my hand too soon, even if it means using one of those lovely, powerful adamantine weapons on the Enlightened when they show up. There is also the risk of death in battle, but I'd be safer armed and armoured than unarmed. Now, to take a closer look at the upper echelons of the Gemclod military. I wonder if my Enlightened background showed through when they decided on ranks?

*****

It wasn't my enlightened nature. It's a bloody shambles that even Deg couldn't sell with a 'slightly soiled goods, 90% off' masterpiece shale price tag that menaces with spikes of value. The command structure is best described as a Crippleocracy: At the very top, you have Commatoes the commander, the 'Baron in the Buckets'. He doesn't move, he doesn't speak, he does nothing at all useful, so of course he's the commander in chief and head of state. I hate this place.

Just below him, you have nimby, last of the monsters of battle. Not dead exactly, although given the state of healthcare in this place it won't be long. She also can't stand, which somehow translates to 'Promote me '. Mr. Vile, the former overseer that went stark raving mad, represents Nimby in all the duties she cannot perform due to being hacked half to bits. Between them, they have one working mind and one working body, so I suppose that passes as logic for Gemclod.

My fellow captain is also paralytic, or at least tries to be as often as possible. A perpetual sozzled drunk who claims to own all the throne rooms in the fortress and says she made the strange beehive-duck thing over the entrance. She has a strange mix of competence and incompetence that I can't quite place: She charged a troll without any weapons, and then proceeded to punch it to death. Is she a really good brawler or just drunk and insane?

Exercu wrote :-

The tablet upon which this message is engraved is broken in two, but the writing is smooth and precise, even with cracks running through the stone tablet.

Application for the Guard-captaining


Too bad about that Minty fellow, and Mrs Boing didn't really deserve to die, but hey, this means a new position is open, eh? I have trained for YEARS (lugging rocks around) and have big muscles to smash elves with. Therefore I heartily nominate myself for military duty or guard captaining, especially because my wife scares me more and more each day. I especially hate how she always points at me as soon as I come home from hauling duty. PLEASE MISTER OVERSEER, SAVE ME FROM MY WIFE!

Tias wrote :-

This journal entry is written in dwarven cipher, all writing is of iffy craftdwarfship

From the journal of Tias Copperhawk:

Whew, we caught it in the hoop today! I didn't think Minty could die, and still think it's a ruse to get back and plant more axes in beak dogs. Maybe not. Time will tell.

I lived through this grim day, and gods willing, we will defend this keep yet. I am not ready for this, however, and would crave a spinning oaken spear or two to train myself against.