//------------------------------// // 15: Badger Ponies and Maps // Story: My Little Fortress: Dawnpick // by Paaaad //------------------------------// Virtue's Diary - 25th Opal, 254 Despite our fears, the monstrosity overheard below hasn't seemed to have surfaced. I'm asking the militia to keep on high alert though, just in case. Speaking of the militia, there's been a few important changes there: when I went asking around about volunteers for a new rapid response force, Halberd told me that Partisan wanted to volunteer for it. I also happened across Miter (who asked me to call him Jaxler from now on), who volunteered to join Partisan. That only gives us two ponies for the job, but I think that's enough for the badger pony thieves we've run into so far. I considered just bumping Partisan up to captain of a new squad, but when I thought about it, he's really fulfilling a different role. He'll be overseeing the safety of the citizens that are outside, so I think I'll make his squad a guard and making him captain of the guard. It's not a particularly fancy position, what with only a single pony under his command, but it should give him a chance to prove himself. I'll have to see about getting him an office set up. To address the hole that Jaxler put in our wood working industry, I asked Glaze to take his place. She hasn't had much work lately, so it should give her something to do. Knothole also came to me today asking if he could try mining for a bit instead of cutting wood. He said his real name was Powder Miner, and that Knothole was just a middle name of sorts, and that he was actually a pretty decent miner. I told him we could try it out and see how it works. I asked Sushi to pick up cutting wood for him in his absence. We haven't needed any fish cleaners since I asked Ocean Breeze to stop fishing for now. Which reminds me, I should get back onto the enclosed fishing pier. 6th Obsidian, 254 This morning I was quite surprised to find Jaxler chained up not far from my office. He seemed to have a couple of black eyes (hard to tell with his black fur), so I was pretty alarmed. I immediately went to Halberd to find out about it, and he just pointed me to Stiletto. She had a black eye too, and I was beginning to get an idea of what happened. When I pressed her for it, she told me that he'd bucked her in the eye last night for no apparent reason. She's always had a very calm demeanor, so I was surprised to find out that she hit him back, but I suppose if somepony bucked me in the face I'd probably return the favor if I could. She insists that he hurt himself falling down in the dining hall, but I know better. Still, I won't say anything to her about it, I'm sure the militia is handling that internally. I can't believe Jaxler would do this just a few days after joining the militia. We don't have a jail, because we haven't needed one, but I suppose the time is coming where that's unavoidable now. The real irony is that Partisan is now captain of the guard and so has authority over what happens to him. When I asked about it, he told me that they'd keep Jaxler chained up for a week or so, and would probably have him doing menial things for a while afterward. I hope this isn't a bad omen. I'm going to go see Flux about getting some more preparations for a future jail made. A few chains should do, I don't want anything close to a dungeon here, we're not like that in Dawnpick. In happier news, I noticed Glaive and Falcata being a little more than friendly today while off duty. I don't have a problem with it, but I wonder how Halberd will take to love birds being in the same squad? 8th Obsidian, 254 Golden Grains finally started working on his mysterious construction today. While I was busy watching him work away furiously, I took some time to update the map of Dawnpick. It's a lot more interesting than the map I scribbled several years ago. Huge Map, Beware! Legend: 1. Arbalest's catapult - didn't have to move it for the moat after all! 2. The incomplete moat 3. Trade depot 4. Main stockpile (still have a few things not offloaded to specific stockpiles) 5. Hospital 6. Jeweler's workshop 7. Housing 8. Barracks 9. Town hall 10. Virtue's office (and Jaxler chained up just to its east) 11. Dining Hall 12. Fields 13. Forges, smelters and furnaces 14. Archery range 15. Leather works 16. Glass workshop 17. Mechanic's workshop 18. Craftspony workshops 19. Well 20. Soapers workshops and ashery 21. Some strange building I found out back (love shack) Undergound storage: Legend: 1. Moat 2. Pig tail farm 3. Food storage 4. Alcohol storage 5. Butcher's shop 6. Well cistern 7. Kitchen 8. Stills 12th Obsidian, 254 Golden Grains finishes what he was working on: a crown. Not sure how we'll put that to use, nopony here is even of any nobility! It is pretty though. 15th Obsidian, 254 We had a diamond dog thief show up, skulking around in the dry moat. He scared Chic off while she was digging away at expanding the moat, but in the panic he fled instead of giving chase. Partisan and Jaxler flew off after him, but they didn't have all of their gear yet, and didn't manage to get any shots off before he fled. Otherwise, we had a rainbow pony caravan show up today. We traded a lot of rock crafts (still not sure why they love these so much) for a lot of leather (for armoring Partisan and Jaxler), a lot of wood, some cheese and a bit of booze. Oh, speaking of Jaxler, he was released yesterday. I hope he doesn't try anything again, from what I understand, Stiletto could easily kill him if she had the mind to. I really hope it doesn't come to that. 21st Obsidian, 254 Something happened today that made me sick to my stomach. We had another badger pony thief show up outside the gates today. Apparently they're finally getting wise to trying to get inside the walls, and he decided to wander down into the mines. Verdant Flash has a bad habit of following the miners down there, despite his mother's warnings, and the thief blundered into him. When he failed to snatch the foal up, he stabbed the poor colt in the leg to subdue him before trying again. By now, thank goodness, Naginata's squad arrived at the mines. I didn't witness the fight, but she apparently converted the thief into something completely unrecognizable by the time she was done with him. I heard the poor colt crying in the hospital for hours afterward. Panacea tells me he was more shaken up than anything, and that his leg should be fine. Naginata hasn't left his side, and I don't blame her. I'll stop by again in the morning and check up on the two of them. Naginata's Diary - 21st Obsidian, 254 Some time ago, Virtue asked me why I wanted to stay in the militia when I had a family that would miss me if anything ever happened to me. Today I gave her her answer in blood. The blood of my child. If I hadn't been there to save him, that thief might have killed him or worse. I can't bear to think what horrors would have awaited him if that thief got away, so I didn't give him a chance. I think I might have put off the rest of my squad with my enthusiasm (Glyph in particular stood slack jawed at the carnage), but let me tell you, when your children are endangered nothing else matters. These thieves are working on my last nerve. First they try and take my husband Marbles from me, and now they try to take my child from me. Let the cowards face me instead, I'll show them how I feel about that. Virtue's Diary - 23rd Obsidian, 254 So apparently the thieves haven't wised up at all. Two badger pony pegasi flew over our walls today. One wandered near the housing where he ran into Falcata, who quickly bisected him with her axe. The other wandered into the barracks. What he thought he'd find in there, I don't know, but he found a mass of furious soldiers who quickly showed him the folly of his actions. It was quite a mess. I happened to actually see this fight, and even little Rondel (who had been watching his mom train) got a few bucks in on the interloper. If there ever was a foal destined for the militia, it's him! I don't know how his mother feels about it, though. I went by to see Verdant Flash this morning, and he seems to be recovering well. He's calmed down a lot at least. Panacea is a wonder at that, I must give her that. 25th Opal, 254. I don't know how many times I've said this, but I've never been the best at writing my thoughts out in words- I mean just look at this thing. There are pages hanging out, some pages are written upside down, and even I have a hard time finding my way through it. I don't normally write in this thing much, but today signals a turning point in my life in Dawnpick! I finally went up to Virtue and explained that I was actually named Powder Miner, not Knothole, (never understood my middle name.) and I'm actually going to be back to mining, like I learned I was good at back in the clan. Kinda seems the tiniest bit small when I realize how far it is away for my skill to reach the that of my great-grandfather (He was a legend...), but then I look at it again and I just realize that it's not that hard. And just to prove it, here we go. Another step. 5th Obsidian Whoa! There was a fight in the dining hall today, apparently between Jaxler and the alicorn Stiletto. They were actually kicking each other, and apparently going for the eyes. Eventually Jaxler had been taken away and chained up, meaning I guess he was the aggressor, but I don't know what can get two ponies so angry, and it certainly isn't good. 12th Obsidian ((Edited this entry since I realized my pony liked crowns.)) Golden Grains finished the thing he'd been going nuts about, and apparently it was a decorated wooden crown, made from highwood. I hope I get a chance to look at it, because it sounds super decorated and it might look really grand! 21st Obsidian Another thief came today, and it got to one of the foals, Verdant Flash. It stabbed him in the leg, and even though his mother got to it and ruined the thief, but I hope no more come. It would be horrible to lose another pony, and to think that a little colt almost got killed... it chills me a little. It was down here in the mines, from his following us miners. I think he'd been following me, too, which makes me feel all the worse for it. I don't want to end up hurting a foal. I don't. Flux' Journal Obsidian 6 Stiletto is starting to worry me a bit. Last night, she and that new militiapony got in a fight. I don't know the details, but Stiletto obviously won. I saw her dragging Jaxler to a tree and chaining him up. I tried to wave to her as she went to do whatever it is she does, but she just turned away from me. She's so hard, like quenched steel. I'm worried if somepony doesn't anneal her soon, she'll snap... The rain thundered down, huge droplets plummeting to earth in vast quantities, beating a repetitive tattoo on the wooden roofs. Most everypony was inside; while ponies did not usually mind rain, as a rule, they made a special exception for downpours of this calibre. Only two types of pony would bother staying outside on a day like this: ponies who really loved wet weather, or ponies who had no choice in the matter. Falcata, as it happened, fell smack bang in the middle of only one of these categories. Falcata was having a little think to herself, as anypony would do when stuck on top of a roof in a rainstorm. What, she pondered, was the absolute worst thing about guard duty in the rain? Was it the incessant tap-tapping of raindrops ricocheting off her armour, or having to listen to the shouts of the rest of the militia, all sparring away in the warm, dry inside? Or was it drying her wings afterwards? That was always a bit crap. They worked well enough, but wet wings were still horrible to have simply because they took hours to dry and dripped everywhere. She really hated that. No, she decided, the absolute most worstest bad worsttacular horrible thing about guard duty in the rain was that she had to stand on the roof to do it. Flying long patrol circuits in full armour in this weather was stupid, and the only way she could get a clear view of the whole settlement without flying was to perch herself on top of the housing block. The grey-plated figure, nevertheless, stood where she had to, axe clamped in mouth. Not for the first time, she cursed that idiotic thief who'd knifed Naginata's little foal. The squad leader had been furious in more ways than one, and had promptly increased the amount of guard duty for everypony, to help combat the sneaky buggers. She didn't blame the other mare at all, though; she would have demanded something similar be done if it was her foal. It probably wasn't necessary for Naginata to spread the aggressor over quite so many walls, though. Whoever cleaned that up sure had a fun afternoon. She sighed, clanking her way over to the edge of the roof like some sort of metal tortoise. Damn, but these roofs were slippery. She really had to be careful, but she poked her head over the edge to see down below anyw- The sight of a badger pony pegasus grinning up at her cut through her boredom like a red-hot knife, her hooves scrabbling frantically for purchase on the wet wood as she tried to reverse away. Friction and gravity, though, had other ideas, and she slipped and tumbled over the edge, her drenched wings too slow to stop her fall. The badger pony, not being part of a species renowned for its intellect, didn't really grasp the situation, and assumed that his opponent falling off the roof was a good thing. He would have been right, if he'd been standing a bit further away. Sadly for him, his assumption was put to rest when a flailing axepony hit him like a sack of bricks, knocking him unconscious. Falcata was a bit panicky by now, and bounced off the prone badger pony, twisting and swinging her axe even as she retreated. With the noise of metal shearing through flesh, her foe was struck down instantly. Still a bit spooked, she took a moment to take in what had just transpired. The unlucky invader lay in two separate bits, cleared apart in one swing. Good enough, she supposed. She'd never believed in leaving things half done anyway (ho ho). Loud shouting from the barracks split the air, and she quickly took off, flying quickly towards the source of the noise. She hoped it wasn't anything serious, hoped it was just some stupid thief who'd blundered into the building, thinking it was for food storage or something. What a laugh that would be... Glaive's Journal 21st Obsidian, 254 A thief snuck into the mines behind our workers. It tried to grab Naginata's son, Verdant Flash but when he tried to fight off the snatcher the colt took a knife in his leg. Poor foal. Fortunately, Naginata was nearby and was able to kill the badger-pony before it could harm him anymore. From what I hear the boy will recover completely. That's good, but perhaps we need to set up some kind of rotating guard at the entrance. To keep both thieves out and the cavern beasts in. But that isn't my decision. 23rd Obsidian, 254 It was raining today. A horrible dreary downpour. Not bad enough to make us need to stay inside, but just bad enough to wish we could. Two more thieves today, probably hoping the rain and dark would cover their approach, Falcata spotted one while on guard duty, which she easily dealt with. The other bumbled into the barracks, must have thought it was a store room, or that we'd all be staying in our rooms and he could loot some weapons and armor, or something. Regardless we all chopped him to pieces. When Falcata came back inside her mane was all wet from the rain. mmmm. (the rest of the page is taken up by a sketch of Falcata.) King Strongbeard says: She's got an orange edge here, because I recolored another pony pic, and couldn't be assed to remove every last orange pixel from the edges, and I didn't change the eyes. But well, here you go anyway. Jaxler's journal:15th Obsidian, 254 Well today was very eventful. To start off I got out of jail after a few days of imprisonment. Then some thieves showed and me and partisan had to scare em off. Then the best thing possible happened, some rainbow ponies showed up and we bought some new exotic booze. I really can't wait to try this new stuff out. 21st Obsidian, 254 Well today I saw something truely disgusting, an evil little theif wondered into the caves probably thinking we hid our goods there. The theif was caught by Naginata's foal. The damn bastered stabbed the child in the leg before the combat squad could get there. When they got there they immediately turned the theif into a pile of goo. That thief is lucky I wasn't there, I would have made his death a lot slower, and painful. 23rd Obsidian, 254 Why do these damn thieves keep on showing up, you'd think after getting killed so often they'd stop. One of those stupid theifs walked right into the barracks, we were doing drills in full gear and the little guy was smeared across the wall in a few seconds. I think it took longer to clean up the theif's corpse than it took to kill em. After the incedent I decided to go and get drunk in celebration of our victory.