Indigo's Dairy - 7th Galena, 252
After a long travel from Coupledye we finally arrived to Dawnpick. Hopefully it will be more interesting (and less crowded), then Coupledye and New Saddle. At first glance it doesn't look like much. No matter, I need to get some sleep now. I can look around tomorrow.
8th Galena, 252
This place is... less then I expected. I almost regret leaving Coupledye now, but it is too late to turn back. This town is still under construction, and it barely has the basic necessities. The best thing about this place is the pretty nice dining hall with kitchen, still and food stockpiles in the cellar. There are enough farms and fish to feed everypony, and fish stew is frequently served in the canteen. There are no houses, but there is a block of flats instead. I'll get my own room, which made me quite happy. Most items are kept in a large pile with a few adjacent workshops and no roof over it. There are no walls around the village, but there are a few soldiers to protect us. This place also has a trade depot ready (but apparently not much to trade), and Overmare's office.
Speaking of which, the Overmare is called Virtue, and seems pretty nice and competent. She made it pretty clear however, that this is a mining camp, and they don't need dyers. Or spinners and shearers and weavers for that matter. When Dawnpick needs clothes, she plans to buy basic quality cloth from a caravan, and set a clothier to work. That's prudent I guess, but it puts me in a bit of a predicament. I should have asked about the profile of the place before embarking. Oh well, looks like I'll have to be flexible, and do some odd jobs around the camp. While this certainly won't earn me any respect, it isn't so bad, and I'll be able to go anywhere and learn a lot about the inner workings of the camp. Understanding the infrastructure is a good and noble pastime.
9th Galena, 252
Fleece is going to help Harvest Moon with farming. Between the two of them they'll manage, which means I'll only be needed to occasionally help with the harvest. Looks like for the most part, I'll be just hauling around stuff that other ponies need for their jobs, and do whatever odd jobs are needed to fill the gaps. It includes cleaning a lot of fish. It is rather humiliating to work so completely outside my special talent and on thing anypony could do just as well, but what can I do? Well, it sure beats sitting on my rump doing nothing, and I'll get to know other ponies around here. They seem pretty nice, except for the grumpy militia commander Halberd. Well, as long as I don't bother him, and he protects me, we both seem to be fine with that. Porcelain changed her name to Naginata, and joined the militia. We have 2 guards now. In other news my tomcat Whiskers likes it in here. He brought me two dead frogs today.
12th Galena, 252
For a mining camp we sure have a lot of fish. Brook is pulling them from the brook, like there's no tomorrow. Maybe we should export salted or smoked or dried fish in barrels? We can barely keep up processing it, and have a sizable surplus. While I like fish and fish stew, I do have my doubts. I'm pretty sure we are supposed to be herbivores, but fish and carrot soup tastes really good, and Panacea said, there weren't any food poisonings from it. So I guess I'll keep hauling fish and turtles from Brook to the fishery. Well, at least fish aren't meat, right?
15th Galena, 252
A peculiar thing happened shortly after our arrival. A carpenter named Bevel was struck by inspiration, and made the most beautiful chair, I've ever seen. It is going to be the centerpiece of our dining hall. This is pretty uplifting. Another good news is that a lye maker named Detergent gave birth to a unicorn colt, and called him Sandstone.
20th Galena, 252
I've come to terms with doing odd jobs around the camp. While I'd love to dye clothes, or do anything else I can excel at, being a “generalist” isn't as bad as I thought. I'm far from being useless, and I do enjoy helping other ponies, so they can do their jobs uninterrupted, with efficiency, and excel at it. While everypony should always strive for excellence in his area of expertise, the needs of a society change over time and it is important to adjust, when there is little need for a particular skill set. For example a town like Dawnpick wouldn't need ten doctors or ten bone carvers, or even ten full-time farmers, because we couldn't possibly eat all their food. Well, unless we sell the excess to the caravans, but that's beside the point if you extrapolate it to the whole country overproducing something. All ponies need various goods, but there is no point and no added value in providing them in quantities vastly exceeding the needs. Dawnpick wouldn't need a thousand mugs for example, but a 100 is reasonable. Sometimes there are also gaps to fill. Some industries work in a pipeline with several half-products. At the end there are some specialists, but they can't work to their best capacity unless provided with enough pre-processed materials of enough quality. So some ponies have to fill that role, even if their special talents are different. This is true to a lesser degree with seasonal or occasional needs for a particular labor, like harvest, or processing something quickly before it spoils (in our case, fish). What I'm trying to say, is that while some ponies get to excel in their field, others are left with support roles. Or if a society is metaphorically thought of as a machine, some ponies are cogs, while others work as grease. A machine works better with the right amount of grease. At this time my job is to help other ponies do their jobs well, and efficiently. I suppose I can excel at that. They will get all the spotlight, and as long as I do everything right, I'll be invisible, but that is not a reason to be ashamed, or feel unworthy. My work is useful too. I can also do whatever is needed at the moment reasonably well, even if it is just swiping the dining hall.
6th Limestone, 252
As if the fish are not enough, we now have a butcher shop, and will be getting cooked meat in the kitchen. I'm really not so keen on this whole "ascension to carnivorism" idea. Well, we still have the farms, and our warriors may enjoy more variety, so I'm not complaining. We will also get some leather to tan, which is not so much different than dying clothes, really. Well, the stench is worse, I guess. We can also use to bones for something.
In other news: I mentioned, this town is still under construction. We are currently building barracks for the militia, and a hospital for Panacea.
Eight new migrants arrived today. Bad news is, we don't have enough rooms for everypony. Good news is, most of them can work with either wood or stone. This means we will finish the hospital and barracks sooner, and can build more houses.
16th Timber, 252
A tragedy. A bandit sneaked close to the camp, and killed Brook, who was ironically fishing in the brook at the time. Militia killed him in return, but it was too late for poor Brook. I guess it is some consolation, that she died quickly, and wasn't maimed and stuck in bed for life. And that it wasn't me. After all I helped carrying some of the fishes to the fishery. Maybe it is my bad, that I didn't notice him, but those bandits are damn stealthy. What sickens me most is the raw amount of malice. If that bandit just stole some trinket or food, and run off, I wouldn't mind it that much. We have some stuff to spare. But sneaking from the behind to kill and loot one of us? No, just no. I'll have to watch my back from now on.
17th Timber, 252
Brook's funeral was in the morning. Everypony is still somber, but it's only fitting. Virtue gave a short speech. Virtue, Halberd and Naginata feel guilty about what happened. I can't offer them any consolation, so I'll just avoid them for the time being. The bandit was a complete mess when militia was done with him. We threw what's left of him into the trash pile. Except his dagger, which may be of some use in a weapon trap. This was a bad day. Even the weather was bad, and Whiskers was nowhere to be found. Well, we still have a lot of fish and turtles to process, so off to work. Anything to take my mind off the tragedy.
18th Timber, 252
Everypony looks scared and snappy, and foals are kept inside. Virtue looks like she hasn't slept in a while. There is some talk of better defenses, a wall, some traps, and more soldiers. I think she is pretty good at her job. We were still building essentials during the attack, and needed a few buildings before a wall.
Another damn bandit has shown up close to the mines, and slew a water buffalo. This was probably some sick comeback for his buddy. Militia rushed into action, and killed him, but Halberd was wounded, and went to the hospital. We don't know how many of those bandits there are, and Naginata is all that stands between them and us now. The other guards are only recruits. This is very unsettling.
19th Timber, 252
A third thief sneaked on us, and almost killed Virtue. As if by a miracle, Halberd darted out of the hospital, and killed him. He then returned to bed. I'm as scared as I am impressed. We are lucky to have a guard with such willpower and devotion to duty. I hope he recovers. Panacea says the prognosis is good. She does a very good job too, by the way. Back in Coupledye some doctors would grow aloof to the point of ignoring their patients until bribed. Not her. The moment one of us is hurt, she jumps into action. She cares. We are lucky to be under her care.
23rd Timber, 252
Balista became obsessed with constructing some contraption, and is not responding to reason. Oh well, when I was in New Saddle such things also happened. To the best of my understanding there is something about the frontier that inspires some ponies to make wondrous items. Usually this is benign, or harmless. For the most part an inspired pony will grab a hooffull of items, and make something of such beauty, that it puts even the best of masterpieces to shame. It is however necessary to provide her with all the required materials. Otherwise the obsession is so strong, that it may lead to insanity and death. From utilitarian perspective these creations are usually trinkets fit for gifts to Royalty, or to put in display cases for everypony's enjoyment. Some ponies create nearly indestructible furniture, which has more uses, or weapons and armor worthy of heroes of legends. Some believe these items contain a piece of the soul of pony who created them, and inspiration never strikes the same pony twice. Most of those who fulfill their obsession become artists in their field.
25th Timber, 252
Thanks in no small part to Panacea, Halberd made a miraculous recovery. His wound looked serious, but after only a week in the hospital, he is back to guard duty. I admire his dedication. We all feel safer with him on patrol. No more bandits have shown up after the last three, but I fear that wasn't the last of them.
2nd Moonstone, 252
My birthday. I took a few hours off, and got mildly intoxicated.
6th Opal, 252
We finished building the hospital, including a room for Panacea, so she can stay closer to her patients. She seemed happy and not so happy about it at the same time. I think, I understand. She is glad to finally be able to take care of any sick or injured ponies, and dreads the thought at the same time. We will be moving to another project, possibly a well. We also need to finish the barracks. Overall I'm as busy helping with various jobs as ever.
In other news, a smelter was finally finished, and Flux started smelting magnetite to make iron. This is a bit late for a mining camp, but it is not for me to judge, and Virtue had other priorities with all those thieves, housing crisis, and all. Looks like I'll be hauling magnetite, wood and charcoal in foreseeable future.
1st Granite, 253
It is spring. there was a small celebration today.
16th Granite, 253
Flux smelted some iron, but it has low carbon content and is brittle. He needs limestone or other flux to make high quality steel. Miners were told to dig exploratory shafts and tunnels in sedimentary layers.
23rd Granite, 253
Balista made an inspired amulet. It is very pretty, but I was secretly hoping for a weapon or armor. Well, at least he is done, and will resume his duties.
28th Granite, 253
A strange thing happened. Miners stumbled upon a spacious cavern underground. There are some exposed gems and ore veins there, as well as mushrooms and glowing molds, and some bugs. These seem too good to be true, as where there are plants and vermin, surely predators dwell as well. From what I overheard while sweeping the dining hall, exploratory team didn't reveal anything hostile, but it is better to be safe then sorry. Masons are walling up those caverns to keep anything dangerous out.
29th Granite, 253
A caravan has arrived. Virtue sold some gems the miners uncovered, and bought a little food and drinks. There wasn't much of it, as it only took an hour to haul to the cellar under our dining hall, but a little variety is always welcome. The traders seemed moderately happy. I'm sure they expected more trade. Speaking of which it looks like the steel industry is going to take a while. Maybe we should make some trinkets to trade in the meantime? But that is not for me to decide. Virtue looks like she knows what she's doing, and she knows the big picture better than me, and probably has other priorities.
7th Felsite, 253
A unicorn colt was born to Naginata. She named him Rondel. We haven't seen any bandits lately, and Halberd is on duty, while some recruits are training, so she took some time off. It is good to hear some happy news for a change.
10th Felsite, 253
Another cavern was discovered and quickly walled up. It is unknown if they are interconnected, but both were enormous, and stretched far beyond visible range. From what I read those caverns are pretty dangerous, and so enormous, they stretch under the entire continent. If such tales are to be believed, there are great beasts and entire civilizations there. It may just safer to be on the safe side, and cut them off.
15th Felsite, 253
Thanks to Marble we now have a glass industry. This means using some charcoal for the glass furnace, and not steel production, but it will be nice to have glass windows in our rooms. There also seem to be some plans to use glass for traps to stop those bandits, but I don't know any details. For me it mostly means hauling charcoal, and bags of sand. Maybe there will even be some glass trinkets for sale to caravans.
23rd Felsite, 253
We had an election for Mayor, and Longshot was chosen. He is our hunter, and one of the original seven settlers that founded this outpost. I have nothing against him, and we often carry things around together, but I voted for Virtue, as she did a pretty good job so far. Oddly enough Longshot was unsure how to proceed as the mayor, and started by mandating a town hall. Other than that, he seems to be happy to cede running things on Virtue, so I suppose not much has changed.
Construction of the western section of the palisade was finished recently. Barracks and well were completed some time ago. There was a small celebration, and the work will continue on the wall, and more houses.
29th Felsite, 253
18 new migrants arrived today. There wasn't even enough room for all of us before they arrived, so we have to share more. Construction of another house block was committed. Virtue said in the dining room, that he will send a letter to Coupledye that Dawnpick isn't ready to accept more immigration. Good thing, we at least have enough food and drink.
4th Hematite, 253
After building a specialized workshop, Mortar demonstrated a spell to turn plants into a substitute for wood. Since the woodcutters can't keep up with the demand, and the number of trees around the outpost is dwindling, this is a very good news. It probably means expanding the farms, but Harvest Moon's team seems up to it, and it is easier to farm crops than forests. I'm learning that spell too, and had some limited success so far.
10th Hematite, 253
One of the new arrivals, Arablest is apparently an idiot. He talked Virtue into building a specialized workshop to produce siege engines. Dawnpick is a small mining outpost, what the hay do we need catapults for?
1st Malachite, 253
The farms were expanded, and now include an underground plot of Pig Tails. They are a curious plant that grows like mushrooms, and produces fiber suitable for clothing. It can also be brewed into a peculiar drink. So, we keep it in the dark, and feed it manure, and maybe I should change the subject. Oh, yes. We will be having rudimentary clothing industry, but without Dyeing. I find it hard to agree with Virtue's priorities. Clothes made of pig tails are brown, and uninteresting. A little dye wouldn't hurt, and could improve the mood, and I'm sure that there is some room for Dimple Cups next to those Pig Tails. Heck, we could even export some dyed cloth, it is always in demand. But no. We need only small amounts of it, and have to focus on important industries. Such as a freaking catapult.
4th Malachite, 253
Flux is working on making mechanisms, and setting up some traps. Wasn't he supposed to smelt steel? We have other competent mechanics.
11th Malachite, 253
8 new migrants arrived today, including an Alicorn mare, Stiletto. Most of them are soldiers, so it initially looked like a royal inspection. Virtue was quite nervous. I think he expected a reprimand for not producing enough steel for Coupledye. Surprisingly they were all just migrants, including the Alicorn. Most of them joined the militia, and there are now two squads, one under Halberd, and one under Naginata. Stiletto seems to be fine with being a soldier, and not even a squad leader, even tough she arrived with her own escort. This is rather suspicious. Is she an outcast? A spy? She scouted our entire camp, and looked rather distant and out of place. I should keep an eye on her.
13th Malachite, 253
I think the Alicorn was staring at me. I broke eye compact, and remembered about a job at the other side of the camp. I need to be more careful. Tough I must admit she looks pretty majestic, and well, pretty. All Alicorns seem to share that trait.
Oh, and there was another birth, but it's hard to even keep track of those things any more.
In other news the well is close to completion. Unfortunately it will use the water from a muddy pond, and not the brook.
28th Malachite, 253
Flux was stuck by inspiration recently, and made the most beautiful ornamental splint I have ever seen. I hope we won't have to use it. Panacea was very impressed by it, and asked for a few more splints and crutches for the hospital.
Diamond Shard's exploratory mining team finally found some marble, which is as good as limestone for making steel. Flux made a sizable stash of iron already, so he will proceed to make steel. This means more work hauling rocks, ore and charcoal, but is very good news. Our militia wants to convert some of that steel into weapons and armor. This seems like a good idea, this place definitely needs something to keep those damn thieves out.
An accident happened, but it ended well. Panacea went to see the new well, fell in, and couldn't get out. Thankfully her screams were heard, and Diamond Shard saved her in time. She was alive, and unharmed, but rather embarrassed. A staircase was put in place to prevent further accidents. Some were laughing at her, but I suppose accidents happen, and all is well that ends well, (ups, looks like I just made a bad joke). I think it hurt her to be thought of as clumsy, tough. A surgeon shouldn't be clumsy after all.
21st Galena, 253
Apparently the caverns weren't completely sealed off, and some animals called crundles crawled into the mines, and attacked the miners. Our militia disposed of them, and the miners made a heroic stand, and a few jokes about "mining organics" in the dining hall. Thankfully nopony was hurt. Masons will be inspecting the tunnels, and walling the caverns off for good this time. In the meantime Longshot went to hunt down what's left of them, and brought back a lot of meat. I think, I'll stick to carrots and celery and strawberries for now, thank you very much.
23rd Galena, 253
The steel smelting is finally up to speed. the first batches are going to be used for weapons and armor for the militia, and maybe some traps.
A Zebra caravan arrived, and Virtue sold some gems for exotic foods and drinks.
Detergent gave birth to another foal. There are quite a few foals around for a mining colony.
26th Limestone, 253
Another bandit has shown up today, and militia engaged it. From what I heard in dining hall, Stiletto crushed his skull with her horn in a blink of an eye. I'll give her a wide breath from now on. At least nopony is hurt, and she seems to be on our side.
11th Sandstone, 253
7 new migrants arrived today, including two soldiers and Billows, an EP armorer. We still don't have enough houses, and the dining hall got really crowded. The fact that it is used as makeshift kindergarten and school doesn't improve things. Virtue is planning expansions to both, but it is taking a long time.
The wall is progressing nicely, however. there is even a drawbridge with some traps.
14th Sandstone, 253
Longshot got fed up with having so little to trade to caravans, and mandated production of some trinkets out of rock. While we need rocks to build walls, this place has abundance of it, and miners can always mine some more. It is also a better use for them than that freaking catapult. Oh, and items made of rock can be surprisingly valuable.
22nd Sandstone, 253
I can't believe it. That idiot Arbalest went to Virtue, and demanded a catapult. Virtue finally agreed just to shut him up. I think she is being too nice, and trying too hard to please everypony. We don't have enough houses, and we are going to waste wood and stone on some siege engine. Well, there were some balistas back at Coupledye, but they were aimed at a bottleneck, where any invading army would be devastated. What is he going to aim for here, I wonder? We are surrounded by open space. that is a bad position to defend.
24th sandstone, 253
Arablest wasted a lot of wood, positioned his catapult to aim at nothing in particular, and is wasting stone we need to finish building walls. He boasts about slowly getting better. Well yeah, it takes years to train competent siege engineers, and tons of wood to build even semi-reliable siege engines. In addition they need to be positioned at bottlenecks to have a decent chance of harming invaders. Under these conditions they can be deadly. Thing is Dawnpick is a small mining outpost, and having catapults or balistas is both overkill and waste of resources in my opinion. I have second thoughts about voting for Virtue. At least the catapult is close to the entrance, and looks scary, but I doubt Arablest will hit anything. At best he may scare away some thieves, but I doubt it. Well, at least he is only using it during the days, but the noise is quite annoying too!
17th Timber, 253
Those insolent bandits tried to steal a foal today. Two of them walked right into the barracks, probably trying to sneak on an unprepared soldier, and avenge their buddies. They were killed quickly. But that was a diversion. A third thief walked through our main entrance, and somehow bypassed all the traps. Arablest tried to shoot him with his catapult, but predictably failed. The thief snatched Granite, Hickory's foal, and the militia barely caught him. Glaive was injured in the fight, and Panacea says, he'll be live, but his leg won't fully heal. While this ended well, those bandits have proven to still be a problem, despite the wall, and all our efforts to keep them out. Militia got some steel axes, and they work great (I was cleaning the mess), but they need better protection too. Virtue commissioned all the steel Flux has been producing to be used for armor.
2nd Moonstone, 253
My birthday. Nothing interesting happened. I played with Whiskers.
8th Moonstone, 253
This place acts as some kind of bandit magnet. A few more of them had shown up, and tried to rob some gems, but were killed by the militia. The wall is only half done by now, and Virtue made sure its construction is prioritized. I'm busy carrying stone blocks from the quarry to the wall. This is a lot of heavy lifting, but somepony has to do it.
9th Moonstone, 253
Apparently not all the tunnels into the caverns are sealed. Some kind of monstrosity wandered close to our mines, and the masons were tasked to wall it off. Fortunately it didn't attack us, so perhaps it didn't notice the mines, and will wander off. This is unsettling, even more so that I have to go to the mines to bring stones and ore. It seems that for every hole that the masons patch, the miners make another one.
14th Moonstone, 253
Glaive is still in the hospital, and his leg looks bad. I hope Panacea won't have to cut it off.
12th Opal, 253
Ocean Breeze gave birth to Peridot, a unicorn filly recently.
Militia is getting Champrons today. While helmets are good, they militia still needs more steel armor. So far their wounds were usually to the torso, so they are going to get Peytrals for chests, and Cruppers for their rumps next. With some armored horseshoes they should be a lot safer.
In other news, jewelers are getting a workshop to cut some of those gems from the mines. Miners were finding plenty of them, and cut gems can be used for expensive decorations of items, and are worth more. While Dawnpick is supposed to produce steel, there is no reason not to make the most of local resources, so I wholeheartedly support this notion.
5th Obsidian, 253
Corkscrew, a pump operator was struck by an inspiration recently, and made a beautiful decorated weapon rack. It was moved to the barracks as gift to the militia for keeping us safe.
10th Obsidian, 253
I'm amazed that everypony has so many friends here. In New Saddle pretty much everypony worked most of the time, and generally went about their business. Here there are frequent breaks, despite all the work, the dining hall is overcrowded day and night, and everypony knows everypony.
Stiletto continues to keep a low profile. I've noticed, she always covers her cutie mark. Nopony should be ashamed of their special talent. This is suspicious. She also acts very aloof, but in case of an Alicorn, that's justified, I guess.
16th Obsidian, 253
There was another attack from those badger bandits. Two of them tried to sneak into the block of flats, no doubt to try and murder us in our sleep. An effective, if cowardly tactics. Fortunately Halberd spotted them, and charged, followed by the rest of the militia. The bandits were killed, but put up quite a fight, and now Falcata is grievously wounded. I saw her in the hospital, and she has a nasty and deep cut to her side. I'm sure Panacea did what she could, but Falcata looks pale and has trouble breathing. It pains me to think, that she will die. Sarissa was wounded in a hoof, and went to the hospital too.
A third thief (they seem to operate on groups of three) was trying to walk in through the main entrance, but luckily a caravan arrived, and startled him. He ended up killed by a trap at the entrance. It was quite a mess to clean up. Thanks Flux.
17th Obsidian, 253
There is hope for Falcata after all. Oh, and Naginata gave birth to another foal today. Good to hear some good news.
Virtue looks horrible. I think she blames herself whenever something goes wrong.
The wall is progressing, and we're trying to finish it as soon as we can. Flux said, that steel armor production was also prioritized even further.
1st Granite, 254
A new year has begun! There was a small celebration. I've lived in Dawnpick for one and a half year, and grown quite fond of this place, despite the lack of clothing industry.
17th Granite, 254
After making a miraculous recovery, thanks in no small part to Panacea, Falcata left the hospital, and went back to barracks and military training. She has an ugly scar, but covered it with a Peytral. I admire her resolve. Glyph was released some time ago, but his leg is crippled. Despite that, he too continues his service as a guard. Sarissa is still in the hospital. Her leg looks bad.
1st Slate, 254
Detergent made some soap for Sarissa, and will keep Dawnpick supplied. Hopefully it will help clear her infection, and help Panacea keep her surgical tools clean. We can now take baths with soap! It was normal in Coupledye, and even New Saddle, but after so long a break, it sure feels like a luxury.
8th Slate, 254
Kiln made some statues, and they were put around the camp, and in the dining hall. They do look nice, but I thought it was a priority to finish the wall.
28th Slate, 254
Even with soap Sarissa's leg doesn't get any better. It also doesn't seem to get any worse. It is like she is hanging between life and death. Panacea is rather quiet lately, tough I'm sure she does anything in her power to help Sarissa. This situation is rather depressing, and I can do nothing to help, so I'll just stay out of their way for a while.
After all the wounds to our militia, Virtue commissioned a crypt for the soldiers. Today we hauled the last coffin, and every pony on active duty got one, while still alive. The purpose was undoubtedly to rise their spirits, and let them know they will be properly commemorated in case of their death. Some are ambivalent about it, and think this is bad luck, or it makes it look, like they are expected to die soon. I disagree, back in Coupledye we had a family tomb, and nopony complied about it. There are also some general-purpose coffins for whoever dies first. Well, it is good that we are prepared. I guess.
Militia looks more formidable by the day. Their heads, necks and torsos are now fully covered in armor, and they exercise regularly.
2nd Hematite, 254
One mason, Glyph, volunteered for the militia. They are now split in two squads of five, one under Halberd, and the other under Naginata, plus Sarissa, who is still in the hospital. Not that its any of her fault. Since the military generally operates by moving in whole squads, I guess this makes us safer, tough I'm not an expert on these matters by any stretch of imagination. It happened a few times, that those bandits attacked us from two different directions, so two squads could deal with two independent threats. It can also give a better coverage of patrols. Having both Glaive and Glyph around is a bit confusing.
The caverns still aren't properly sealed off. We are building a wall around the camp, and the masons busy themselves with things like statues, but they can't wall off a few tunnels? Anyway those crundles were back, but our militia dealt with them in no time. Which for me meant hauling their bloody corpses to the butcher. I think I'm going to be sick. I'll stick to carrots and celery, and avoid soup for the time being. Glaive was wounded, but nothing serious. His leg is still lumpy, tough.
5th Hematite, 254
Carmine won the mayor election, but just like Longshot ceded running the fort to Virtue. A good decision, I guess, as Virtue has proven to do his job reasonably well so far. Tough it makes me wonder, why are we having these elections at all. The best thing about is is that Virtue promised Carmine and me to find us something to do, other than hauling things around for other ponies. This makes me hopeful, but on the other hoof something tells me, I still won't be dyeing clothes.
19th Hematite, 254
Castiron was struck by inspiration earlier, and made a beautiful and durable grate. Maybe it will be used for another well, we shall see. This inspiration seems to be quite random. Perhaps one day I'll be affected by it too, make a thing of great beauty, and learn a great deal in the process.
Hickory gave birth to a Unicorn filly, Amber.
5th Malachite, 254
More of these crundles have shown up, and the military dealt with them again. Now I have to clean up the mines before they start to stink. Oh joy. One notable thing is, that Rondel, Naginata's Unicorn son, somehow got mixed into the fight. From what I heard in the dining hall, he stood his ground, and is all right apart from a few cuts and bruises. I hope this won't give other foals the idea to "be awesome". We all still remember, what happened to Sienna. Naginata looked quite furious, and I haven't seen Rondel himself, so I'm guessing she beat the stupid out of him.
14th Malachite, 254
I'm a mason now! Well, an apprentice anyway. Virtue decided, that since we don't have any need for dyeing clothes, and Glyph joined the militia, this place needs more masons. I wholeheartedly agree. While this has nothing to do with clothes, at least it will be more interesting than hauling various stuff all day. Carmine will be an apprentice mason too. This gives me access to plans of the camp, and information about planned constructions as well. Since we are painfully short on rooms, and share them and sleep in shifts, a new dormitory was commissioned. It is positioned in NE corner, by the wall, which should speed the construction up. This makes me rather excited.
In other news Glaze gave birth to a Unicorn filly, Purple Prose. Given our population, there are quite a few births around here.
26th Malachite, 254
Today the wall was completed! We should finally be safe from those bandits. Even the entrance has a drawbridge, which can be raised in emergency. Everypony is quite happy about it, especially the militia. There was a party for the masons, me and Carmine included. Yay! Of course this doesn't mean we can take some time off now, we still have a new dormitory to finish, and I'm sure there will be some things after that. I look forward to this productive future.
28th Malachite, 254
Sweet Nectar put some beehives close to the dining hall. I'll welcome some honey in my diet. Vegetables are good, but they get bland after a while. I was stung by some bees, and learned to avoid their hives. It hurt a bit, but not enough to disrupt my work. Panacea said, a bee sting once in a while is healthy, and makes ponies more resistant to disease. All right, I suppose I don't mind it then.
Flux came up with a pretty ingenious trap design for the entrance. I think it could use a few improvements, and be simplified, but the idea is great. In "off" position it will allow safe and convenient passage, and in the "on" position some drawbridges will retract, and any would invaders will have to cross a serpentine path filled with weapon traps. This design has many merits, but the best of them is making effective use of weapon traps.
7th Galena, 254
We were making progress on the dormitory, but Carmine decided it can wait, and instead we will be building a town hall. Well, I suppose any settlement needs one at some point, and Virtue's office is a bit cramped. Personally I'd rather finish the dormitory first, and finally have a room just for me, but I guess I can wait a bit longer. Carmine on the other hoof is very excited about the project, and I can't blame him.
With the wall finished Ocean Breeze had to run quite a long way to the brook without escort. He didn't want to end up like Brook, and we have plenty of vegetables and smoked fish (I checked out the stockpile under dining hall, while getting dinner), so for the time being there is still going to be tasty fish stew on the menu. Ocean Breeze will be safe, while doing other stuff, much like I did for two years after coming to Dawnpick, and before becoming a mason. The only downside is no fish intestines for Whiskers. Maybe he'll hunt rodents more diligently from now on.
14th Galena, 254
Some kind of monster showed up in the caverns, and was killed off by the militia. Every time we wall off a section of those caves, the miners turn up another one. The problem is, we need stone for constructions, and marble for making steel. As a mason I often have to go deep to fetch rocks, so monsters from the caverns concern me a lot. Crundles are annoying, but some legends speak of terrible and forgotten beasts who dwell under the surface. With all the things that live down there and bothered us so far, it may be that those monsters of legends are real, and can feed themselves. With every stone our miners dig up, the vibrations carry far in the underworld. This is bound to attract attention of some powerful predators eventually. That would be disastrous. I don't know what Virtue is thinking, but we should prioritize our safety over a town hall, and at the very least build some traps at entrances to the caverns, if not seal them off completely.
16th Galena, 254
I think some of those bandits follow the caravans, and attack small outposts on the way. A caravan of Zebras arrived today. Which probably means, we will be getting some exotic food, and they have bananas, but I'm trailing off. The bandits arrived just before the caravan, but fortunately that idiot with the catapult spotted them. Of course he didn't manage to hit any of them with a stone, but he made enough noise for the militia to notice, and kill them on the drawbridge. Nopony was hurt in the process. The caravan was greeted by a sight of blood, and freshly mangled corpses. Maybe they'll offer us better prices after that? It is fortunate, that Ocean Breeze laid off fishing for a while, and none too soon. Well, it is up to her to clean this mess now. Which is better than being dead.
17th Galena, 254
I had an interesting conversation about meditation techniques with Shikashi, one of the Zebras. I shared a meal with her, and I'll be having some lessons with her.
20th Galena, 254
Yes, those bandits operate in groups of three. They also keep coming, no matter how many of them our militia kills. This means those are scouts, and there must be a larger group somewhere. I fear they might attack in full strength someday. Anyway, three more of them came to Dawnpick today. Despite our militia having almost complete sets of armor, the bandits managed to put up quite a fight. Halberd and Naginata killed them, but not before Partisan, Falcata, Fuscina and Halberd were wounded. Most in their legs. Virtue said, they’ll get armored horseshoes soon, and I'm sure Panacea will take good care of the wounded, especially Fuscina, who lost a lot of blood. The fighting took place in sight of the trade depot, and while caravan guards didn't join it, the Zebras seemed impressed.
In happier news the caravanners happily bought a few bins of stone trinkets for some wine, cheese, and more importantly fiber and cloth. Still no dye, tough.
After all that fighting I saw Stiletto cleaning herself by the well. She looked attra majestic without her armor, and with wings outstretched, and wet mane... Anyway, I think she saw me staring, so I quickly darted into the mines to get another stone for the town hall. The visage is still in my mind, and I had indecent thoughts about her. Nothing like that happened in a while. This is unnerving. Especially after the carnage.
24th Galena, 254
Turns out, I'm not good at meditation. I think and worry too much. Oh well.
Work on the town hall and dormitory progresses at usual pace.
1st Sandstone, 254
Things are still busy at the hospital. Panacea says everypony should recover. Nevertheless that last fight has weakened our militia considerably for the time being, and proven their armor to be insufficient. Well, at least they have each other's company now. Falcata was pretty depressed last time she was hospitalized alone.
Billows finished the first set of armored horseshoes for the militia. Good, our militia's armor won't have unprotected spots for those bandits to exploit.
We finished the walls of the town hall today. All that's left is the roof. I'm a journey-mason now.
3rd Sandstone, 254
The legends we tell our foals to scare them are true. There are great and forgotten beasts living in those caverns. One of them wandered close to Dawnpick. It is some kind of giant bird. The miners heard its screams in the caverns. This is worrying, especially with so many the militia wounded. Halberd and Naginata took their squads, and went to inspect the tunnels below. They returned a few hours later, without seeing anything. Why can't we just build thick walls in the tunnels, hide behind their safety, and only get our stone from where it's safe?
7th Sandstone, 254
Speaking of mining stone, we were running low on stone blocks for construction, so Mortar, the chief mason, went to Virtue, and asked for more. He will be working with the miners in the quarry for a while.
There is a serious reconstruction of the trap system around our entrance going on. Flux knows a lot about military engineering it seems. Good, with those bandits around we can use all the safety we can get. Totem is helping him with the traps, as he run out of bones to carve, and is glad to tell me about their plans and progress.
It concerns me less then stone, but our wood supply has dwindled considerably, and Ashwood will have to cut down more trees. Recently he was mostly helping with hauling stuff around. The bulk of wood goes to making charcoal for the furnaces, as well as houses. The biggest trouble is, there are no trees inside the wall, and going outside for wood is risky with those bandits around. Even with spells to turn other plants into wood, and Harvest Moon's farmers providing plenty of material, smelting steel is very power hungry. I suppose the alternative would be to build another workshop for making artificial wood, and training a few more Unicorns in the spell. I hope Ashwood's team won't get ambushed. He seems enthusiastic about the task, and I can understand that. Carrying stuff for other ponies and various odd jobs need to be done, but pretty much any job I'm reasonably good at is more satisfying, let alone one in alignment with my special talent. Well, at least I'll remain within the safety of the wall.
18th Sandstone, 254
Pewter, a female PP metal-crafter, got trapped in a small dried pond, and her feathers got covered in mud. Eventually somepony heard her yells for help, and Diamond Shard collapsed enough of the cliff on the shore for her to come out. She will be fine. I'm both amused and worried at the Pegasai ability to reach places they can't escape. Maybe it is better not to have wings. I think Virtue will commission some more ramps to prevent further accidents.
5th Timber, 254
Sarissa left the hospital today, but her leg still isn't quite right. I guess after such a long time in the hospital it is as good as it is ever going to get.
9th Timber, 254
Barley, our Distiller was struck by inspiration recently, and made a leather shield called The Touch of Leaves. Somehow he managed to make it very hard, and light at the same time. Its decorations look stunning and the attention to detail is staggering. It is reinforced with steel edge and bumps. The militia is very impressed. The shield was assigned to Glaive and he made a joke, that considering the number of trees Dawnpick cuts down, the name is appropriate.
18th Timber, 254
Fuscina left the hospital.
We finished enough of the roof over the town hall for Carmine to move in. There is a comfortable bedroom, and enough room for meetings and keeping scrolls. Carmine was pretty happy, and threw a party. We should finish the town hall shortly. Oddly enough, Virtue is still doing most of administrative work.
21st Timber, 254
Falcata left the hospital today, and was so overjoyed, she spent an hour flying in circles all over the town. This cheered everypony up.
22nt Timber, 254
Another bandit has shown up, but he escaped before the militia could kill him. They said their heavy armor is slowing them down, but they need the protection. They still seem fast enough to intercept whatever threat comes our way, tough, so I don't worry. Come to think of it, even a strong pony must have some difficulty running in all those steel plates.
2nd Moonstone, 254
My birthday. I got some time off and, small party, and some banana rum. Yay!
13th Moonstone, 254
The town hall is finally finished. It was decorated with statues and quality furniture. I'm sure it will be enough for now. As for masons and carpenters, we will be working on more dormitories. Virtue told us to build them using the wall around the camp. This means some of us won't have windows, but should speed the construction up a bit. Its about bucking time too. While new migrants stopped coming some time ago, we still have squatters. Well, it helps a bit that married couples share rooms with each other, and nopony else, but housing policy shouldn't be a reason to get married. Just saying.
25th Moonstone, 254
The soldiers talked in the mess hall about the need for a support squad with crossbows to intercept fast threats and keep them occupied until the heavy cavalry arrives. Sounds like a plan.
27th Moonstone, 254
Dawnpick is going to have a moat. So far it looks more like a wide ditch, but the construction is slowly progressing. Today Marbles was working on it, when he spotted another of those bandits, and run inside screaming. Fortunately he was able to get away, but the thief gave chase and with all the improvements to the gate still being under construction, bypass all the traps. Fortunately Naginata intercepted him in time. She bit his face off! Literally! While having an axe with her. I don't know if she got enraged or wanted to demoralize those bandits, but I'm pretty scared of her now.
28th Moonstone, 254
UP Miner Chic told me there is a problem with marble supply. There is still enough of it left for a few batches of steel, but she said the vein they were following was getting hot, and detection spells reveal molten rock not far from the shaft. Virtue wisely told them to be more careful, and mine the marble elsewhere. I found that unnerving, but she assured me miners didn't disturb the rocks enough for the marble to burst on its own, and we won't be having an active volcano any time soon. That would be the end of us, to be sure.
13th Opal, 254
Falcata went on patrol into the caverns, and found a really creepy monster, but managed to kill it. There is nothing in the caverns that we need. Why, oh why can't we just wall them off, and be safe from such aberrations? I must talk to Virtue about it.
15th Opal, 254
Militia went to the caverns again, and Falcata found more of those evil eye monsters, and killed some. The militia also found and killed a giant or something. Luckily for all the fighting nopony was wounded, and the new armor passed its test with flying colors. Some soldiers even boasted, about proffering to kick enemies with their steel boots over finishing them quickly with axes. I find is somewhat unnerving to be defended by crazy ponies. I wasn't to the caverns, but Virtue went to see that Blind Cave Ogre, and the evil eyes, and is finally listening to reason. We will be walling off the caverns for good. I sure hope so, otherwise some monstrosity could hurt Chic, or sneak into the town.
24th Opal, 254
Miners heard some horrifying sound in the caverns. We were sent under escort to wall off any breaches. This means going into the danger zone, but I don't care and I'll gladly do my duty. Plus with over-abundance of stones and rubble in the mines, blocking a few tunnels will be quick. Even Carmine went with the rest of masons despite being the mayor. Or maybe because of it, and leading by example. In any case the more of us go, the faster we will finish.
25th Opal, 254
There is now a new squad of marksponies under Partisan. They will be getting lighter armor than the rest of the militia. There are only two of them now, the other being PP Miter, who changed his name to Jaxler. Oh, and they will double up as a police force. Personally I don't think shooting criminals with bolts is better than beating them up with blunt objects, but there was virtually no trouble from inside, so it doesn't matter.
4th Obsidian, 254
We walled off the cavern's for good.
While the rest of the militia trains as usual, Partisan's squad mostly watches over Sawdust's team, and ponies working on the moat outside the wall. This is good, we don't want more accidents, like with Brook.
6th Obsidian 254
I wasn't there at the time, but yesterday evening Jaxler got in a fight with Stiletto in the dining hall. Nopony knows what it was about, but they all agree he started it. The rest of the militia subdued him quickly, and tied him to a tree. Dawnpick doesn't have a prison, so this will have to do. I really don't get this guy's problem. Stiletto seems all right, even tough she keeps to herself most of the time. I tried to talk to Jaxler, and he seems to be a total jerk. He was recently drafted, so maybe that ticked him off? I don't like it that such a trouble maker is a guard, but I hope the rest of the militia will be keeping an eye on him.
12th Obsidian, 254
Golden grains, an EP farmer was struck with inspiration, and made a crown worthy of a Queen. Thing is, we don't have a queen, or any other nobility. Stiletto seems content as a soldier.
15th Obsidian, 254
Jaxler was released yesterday. Today he and Partisan were on patrol, when another bandit have shown up, but they chased him off. I can't help, but wonder what his buddies are up to.
A rainbow pony caravan has arrived. they got rock trinkets, while we got leather, wood, cheese and drink.
21st Obsidian, 254
A bandit managed to sneak into the mines, and wounded in a leg Verdant Flash, a foal who wandered there. Naginata's squad saved her son. Panacea says Verdant Flash will be all right, but he will be spending the next week in hospital. I'm glad I don't have to clean up what's left of the thief. I never had much stomach for it anyway.
23rd Obsidian, 254
I thought the bandits operate in groups of three, but today two more have flown over the wall. One went for the houses, and was killed by Falceta. The other went into the barracks, and was killed too. I've heard that Rondel, another one of Naginata's foals was in the barracks at the time, and joined the fray. Nopony was hurt this time. The same Rondel, who put up a fight in the mines some time ago. Looks like Naginata is upbringing our future guards.