//------------------------------// // 9: Enemies inside the walls // Story: My Little Fortress: Dawnpick // by Paaaad //------------------------------// Falcata's Diary - 14th Obisidian, 253 Our outpost liaison showed up today. I expected to meet with him like last year, but it turns out that since Longshot is our mayor now, that's his job. That's fine with me, I'd probably end up just tell him the same thing as last year: bring food. We're getting a lot more self sufficient though, so maybe Longshot requested something else. Speaking of the pony, I've seen Willow following him around a lot lately. I wonder if there's anything going on between the two? I was a bit... shocked... when Longshot sent a production order to the forges for a golden trinket of some sort. I hope he knows we don't have any gold ore. I can't imagine why he'd want it anyway. Yeah... time to set up a jail I suppose. Or if I don't have a captain of the guard*1, will the crime just go unpunished? 16th Obsidian, 253 I feel sick. Falcata was very badly wounded today, and Panacea doesn't know if she is going to live. I feel terrible... if we'd finished the wall by now, or had a decent set of barding for our militia, this would have never happened. I didn't want to see the battle, but I was walking out of my office right as it happened. Two more of those cursed badger pony thieves bypassed our incomplete wall and were wandering toward the dorms. Halberd spotted them immediately, and the entire militia ran off to engage them. I was trying not to look at this point, but I couldn't help it. The first thief went down almost instantly, but the second was a lot more tenacious. He stabbed Sarissa in the hoof with his dagger before a precise strike from Halberd spilled his guts. Beyond belief, it found the strength to strike out again, catching Falcata in the side with its dagger and spilling blood everywhere. Naginata finished it off with a buck to the head, but the damage was done. I don't think I've ever seen anything so horrible. Falcata stumbled a few steps, clutching at the wound in her side and making the most pitiful hollow gasps I've ever heard. I don't think I'll ever forget her expression... the panic at being unable to breathe... and choking on blood. She started coughing it up everywhere, and by this time I was running, screaming for Panacea. I found the pegasus inside the hospital where she was supposed to be, and as Splinter helped Falcata inside, Panacea all but shoved us out the door and ordered us not to come in until she said so. That was hours and hours ago. I now regret building my office next to the hospital, I can hear her still working on poor Falcata. If that pony survives... I... I don't know what I'll do. At least the rainbow pony caravan that showed up later took out the third thief, lurking outside our drawbridge entrance. Their bolts flushed it into one of the traps Flux set up, and at least the trap did its job. I asked Halberd to get somepony to clean up the mess, I don't even want to think about it right now. That was pretty lucky actually. Only 3 traps in the whole map and he blundered into one, got his guts spilled then sliced off. Good riddance. 17th Obsidian, 253 Panacea came to me this morning, covered in blood and clearly fighting to stay awake. She told me that she thinks Falcata will live. It's still too early to tell, but her odds look fair. I feel tremendously relieved, but I also still feel guilty. If I was managing this place better, she would have been protected from that. I've sent out orders immediately for more barding for our militia. It can't come soon enough. I heard that Naginata gave birth this morning too, to a pegasus colt named Verdant Flash. Panacea was exhausted from the effort, I'm sure. She said the stress from the fight brought on early labor, which makes sense. I think I need to speak with Naginata about resigning from the militia. She has a family now, and I don't want her to leave them in a tragic manner. And if she's willing to charge into combat, heavily pregnant as she was, it's only bound to turn bad sooner than later. Finally got the hard peytrals fixed so that this hopefully won't happen again. I thought she was a goner, but Panacea is one of the best doctors I've seen. Jumped right to it and sewed her lung right up, hehe. Flux' Journal, Obsidian 16 Those damned badgerpegasi! Everypony's been busting their flanks to try to get this wall up, but we're still too slow. A few got in through an incomplete section. The militia rushed out to handle the bastards, but one hurt Falcata severely; got her in the chest with a dagger apparently. The Rainbow Caravan showed up not long after and flushed a third thief into one of the traps that had been set. At least I know my trap design works, even if it's a bit messy. I don't know how Falcata's doing. She looked real bad before being taken to the hospital. I hope Panacea can help her. Obsidian 17 Panacea said that Falcata should survive and even make a full recovery! The military really needs to get full sets of barding, so I really need to hurry up on smelting steel! I'd like to see some steel blades in the traps, but they definitely are behind finishing protecting the military in terms of priority. We need to finish the wall first before the traps can really be effective, anyhow. 17th Granite, 254 Some good news today. Falcata was released from the hospital this morning. Panacea said that she had healed remarkably well, and she seemed to be in good spirits. She hurried off to the barracks as soon as she was released to speak to everypony. I was pleased to see that the first few peytrals I'd ordered were completed, and they happily bestowed the first to her. I hope she won't need it, of course, but we can't take any chances. 1st Slate, 254 I'm growing a bit worried about Sarissa. She was injured in the same fight as Falcata, and Panacea still hasn't seen fit to release her from the hospital. Her hoof was injured in the fight, and the cut has become infected. I feel pretty bad about it, since Panacea has urged me more than once to get some soap made. It's little consolation to the two, but I immediately had an ashery and soaper's workshop set up. Detergent made a few blocks of soap, that were rushed off to the hospital. It may be too late to help Sarissa's infection, but maybe we won't see any more. I'm sure she'll be alright. If Falcata could survive what happened to her, this should be nothing. In other news, I've heard a few other ponies talking about how drab this place is, and I think they're right. We have a lot of stone left over in the quarry that's not really doing much, so I had Kiln make a few statues out of some of the gabbro. I think they turned out nice. I didn't ask her to make anything in particular, but I was quite surprised to see she made one of me! It looks wonderful too, although I think she made me a bit too stocky, but I'm not going to say anything about that. I do wonder why she has me holding up a bin though. 20th Slate, 254 While I was talking with Harvest Moon over a little strawberry wine, I happened to be watching Halberd lead his squad through some drills. A few of them are soldiers proper, but the rest are pretty green from what he tells me. You wouldn't have known that by watching them. Seeing them spar and dance around in the gleaming steel armor they now wear, you'd think they were professional soldiers. He has them doing drills pretty regularly now, and I feel that much safer knowing that they're watching our backs. The wall is coming along quite nicely now too. There is still a bit of a gap in the southeast, but that's right by the barracks, so if anything sneaks in, it probably won't make it far. I've been wondering about getting a squad of marksponies together though. I'm sure that would go a long way toward bolstering our defenses. Even better, Longshot is a pretty amazing shot, so he could probably show a few volunteers the ropes. I'll have to speak with him about it the next time I see him. And break the news to him that we haven't found any gold, so he's going to have to go without his trinket. I'm a doofus. I've had the military training schedule set up for years, but had them on the wrong alert. So they've been doing nothing but individual combat drills this whole time. A few are up to skilled in axe user, but I still feel pretty stupid. Better late than never, eh? 28th Felsite I'm growing very worried about Sarissa. I was talking with Panacea this morning, and she informed me that the pony's hoof isn't getting any better. Even after cleaning the wound several times with soapy water, the infection hasn't really improved. Thankfully Sarissa doesn't seem to be getting worse overall, but being cooped up in the hospital all day has her depressed. I don't think she has any friends here in Dawnpick, although I've seen Halberd checking up on her occasionally. Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow and see how she's doing. Speaking of Halberd's squad, we now have a crypt completed for them. I haven't told any of them about it, because it's pretty morbid to think about having a tomb while you're still alive, but I want to make sure that if something terrible does happen to one of them, that their sacrifice doesn't go unremembered. Their coffins are all arranged together in the same room, and I'm having a few more statues made to commemorate them. I got confirmation from Billows today that we also finished making a set of cruppers*2 for everypony. That's one more piece of metal between our gallant soldiers and danger, and I know it makes them feel better. I don't know what's up with Sarissa's hoof. I've seen infections in DF, but she just doesn't seem to be healing. I'm going to be pretty ticked if she dies from having her hoof stabbed by one of those stupid thieves. Flux' Journal, Hematite 5 Things had been quiet for a while 'till a few days ago. More of those crundle things showed up in the mines and the military took care of them. Then, earlier today, somepony else decided they had to build something unique. These moods are kinda weird, but they at least produce interesting things. Castiron was the one this time, and he had to take a bar of pig iron among other things. Makes sense, I guess. I mean, pig iron basically is cast iron, afterall. I just wish he could have waited for a bar of steel or settled for ordinary iron. Whatever he makes might be too brittle to actually be useful. He's yelling about needing some leather now, so I figure we'll have a new leatherworker's shop up soon. Somepony around here must know how to tan a hide. I've been doodling more advanced trap designs and setups in my spare time lately. I call my latest "The Walk O' Doom" and I feel it's a fairly accurate name. I'm trying to work a way to make it work better on those damnedable badgerpegasi before I show the designs to Virtue, though. Not to mention that the wall needs to be finished before anything as fancy as the Walk will work.