During the night, we managed to get a signal out of Goodwhip again, but only briefly. I was able to take full scans of the fortress and some additional log into, but… it was clear that our connection to that place had been lost. We are currently recalibrating, and will start recording as soon as we find another signal. Until then, enjoy this retrospective look at Goodwhip.

The exterior site of Goodwhip during the final moments.

The living and dining level of Goodwhip, shortly before the end.

The industry and crafting level of Goodwhip, shortly before the end.

A creature stumbled into the fortress just as the last dwarf, LoneCandle, slowly burned to death. It looked like this:

I have put out the call for brave Adventurers to visit the site and make it ready for a reclamation attempt. There is too much of value there to abandon it entirely.

Go here for more details on how you can help!

Well, today started off with a bang – literally. We installed the parts and switched the system on, and there was a very loud explosion from the server room. It turns out that one of the power supplies we used had a short, and it ignited one of the hygrogen fuel cells which was leaking… long story short, the room was destroyed. It took all day to replace the equipment in that server room, but we’re back up now. It seems that Ezum’s day has begun on a similarly frantic note…

This… thing… crawled out of some dark, hidden corner of Hell and made its way into our excavations. We dispatched it after several casualties. Their deaths will be remembered, but the work must continue. – Expedition Leader Ezum Tironineth

Spring, 252

Just as the thaw set in, a horrible beast crawled out of the depths. We banded together and were able to kill it, though the battle was fierce and many were killed. Tekkud Necikmosus, Onul Stigazir, Iton Tekkudthol, Deler Debbenrovod, Dastot Budamiden, Stadir Itebrabed, and Fath Isanstinthad have all perished, either at the fangs of Tustra Rushanslushu or form the psychological scars left by the battle. Shortly afterward, apparently attracted by the blood of that battle, a great cave crocodile named Matkisat attacked those resting their wounds from the battle with Tustra.

Another fierce battle ensued, though this was much shorter. Matkisat was felled, though she managed to slay Stakud Unibtosid and Olon Adasurdim in the fighting. I have ordered memorial slabs for all of our fallen dwarves, as well as the two worthy foes, to be engraved and then placed where all incoming merchants, immigrants, and visitors will be able to see our history.

With spring came new immigrants to the fortress, and a huge increase in our mining activity. I have ordered all useful stone, gems, and ore to be mined from the living levels regardless of aesthetics – we need more. The jeweler is hurriedly cutting the various gemstones we fine for use in trade, and he is becoming quite skilled. I have renewed our work quarrying as much of the glorious adamantine as we can before someone comes to take it.

The gleam of light from the stone blinds, I’m falling into a strange sleep, I’m floating above the floor, a little left. I can hear the sirens in my mind, calling me to dig deeper, a little more, a little left. They’re hurt by stone that binds, walling in the sleepers, there is no door, a little left. The metal called adamantine, pulling me towards the reaper, beneath the floor! A little left!

At that point, her entry trails off into gibberish and strange rhymes for a while. I assigned each page of notes to a different intern for translation – I thought it a good precaution. One intern got overly curious, and she is lucky that our health plan includes ocular nerve damage due to excessive bleeding. While she was recovering, though, she drew a picture of the creature.

About fifty pages of strange runes later, Ezum suddenly becomes sensical again and continues with her report.

The miners have been busy. I will summarize our last season of delving. First some schematics of several important events:

Again! It must be fate! I was alone and it was my pick that shattered the crust of this ancient place! This space is much larger, and there is the sound of water in a very large space nearby. We may be able to set up a camp near here for some time, if we should have to move closer to the dig.
Even better, the light I saw before came back! I could see it hover over the water and then plunge down, below the surface. Dig! We must dig! – Expedition Leader Ezum Taronineth

It has happened. I found it. I knew it. The third time, it was me again! Destiny. I have decided that my pick will be the first to bite that sacred surface as well.
My pick crushed through into the cavern below, and it was like bursting a great bubble. Wind and magic whistled through and into the shaft I was digging. It brought with it the color so thickly that I wept. When my vision cleared, I saw that the light had not faded as it always had before. Reflecting off of some large underground sea, the pure light of the purest, the greatest, the Godmetal.
Adamantine.
Praise the miners. We will begin quarrying and studying it immediately. I hope to begin producing goods with it in a fortnight.
Where in my mind the call of the light was, I now feel a craving to have more and more of this miracle discovery.
The caverns we found were littered with ancient, millennia-weathered ruins, further proof that the Dwarven legends of this blood of the Earth are true. – Expedition Leader Ezum Teronineth

Finally. The others told me that when my pick broke open the core of the Adamantine Spire, they heard terrifying screams the likes of which they had never heard before.
I did not.
I heard a chorus of praise, and I could feel the tendrils grasping my mind in an approving, loving manner. I await those below with excitement. – Expedition Leader Ezum Teronineth

Between Ezum’s strange ravings and the blood we had to clean out of the lab after the intern’s mishap, I don’t think that these dwarves are going to be around much longer. I have already begun calibrating a second receiver array to the next individual. Further updates as we get them.

I’m going to go straight into Ezum’s logs:

Late Winter, 251

We let our guards down after the success repelling the first invader from the Stars, and so the second got away from it. I include here descriptions of the creature and of its escape.

A second beastly creature, likely servant of the stars, came into our stockpile last night. It’s physical description is recorded herein.

This fat little hellspawn lives to thieve from someone else, but she’ll not return.

As you can probably tell, the spring thaw has finally begun. I suppose I should begin heading my entries with 252 soon, once we determine which day to start measuring from.

The very minute, it seems, that the thaw was in full force, a group of 26 new immigrants arrived. Twice the current population for the fortress! All expecting a hot meal and a warm bed and new clothes and a workspace and unlimited supplies. And we have to dig! I have decided to list their names in the official record, and assign half of them to the digging project and half to logistics duties. We must begin producing salable gem-crafts and stone-works, or we will starve in the next winter. Should any of them prove to be of particular worth, I will mention them here but all that really matters is the digging.

I must get our supply situation sorted so that we can go back to the digging.

Here, again, the transmission breaks down into static, this time accompanied by a deep, droning chant. Feedback caused our entire system to fail several seconds later, but the chanting sounds persisted for hours.

We have decided they, too, should be marked as ‘Completely unimportant and no further research required.’

Once we have the equipment repaired and installed into the new location, we will resume our regular submissions.

The reverse osmotic fluid suspension inhibitors we installed allowed us to get six hours of extra data from “Goodwhip” last night. And then the antenna actually caught on fire. So I will give you this information to look over while we repair it and perhaps add more insulation.

Without further ado, I will let Ezum continue the story in her own words.

I was the one who first broke the crust of this cavern in over a million years. As I peered into the darkness, I thought I saw something glimmering in the distance. I will have to sent a scouting party out to investigate.
-Expedition Leader Ezum Teronineth

In the bottom of the deepest corner of this pit is where I saw a gleam of light like nothing I’d seen before. I knew immediately that we must explore further here.
-Expedition Leader Ezum Taronineth

28 Timber, 251

I have just awoken from what the others tell me was a four-day fever dream. I am drained of energy and mentally exhausted. I need to write down what I remember before I fall back into sleep and forget all of it.

I had drawn up plans for a deep core mining operation, intended to sample the mineral and crystalline content of the next several layers of earth below us. As the most experienced miner in the expedition, I was in the lead when we broke through into the caverns below. The floor next to me gave way under my pick, and there was a pit of… such perfect darkness. It was deeper and darker than I’d ever been before. And in the distance, there was a strange, faint light. It was alluring like nothing I had seen before.

It is at this point that the others tell me I collapsed to the floor of the mining shaft, and was carried to the barracks where they worriedly cared for me. I don’t remember a lot of those four days, but I know that this proves that my private theories about a previous generation of Dwarves were right. There is something very old in that cavern, I will be the one to find it.

I have ordered that all of our industry be turned to generating valuable trade goods so that we may purchase food, and I have ordered all of the animals in the fortress slaughtered and prepared into meals as well. We must prepare to devote as much time and manpower as is necessary to complete this project.

After this, there is a long period of strange static where all we could decode were brief, almost imperceptible images of tentacles, and of a great, sunken stone city. We immediately disregarded them as dangerous superstition. I recommend you don’t even look at those pictures.

Instead, several weeks after the mining expedition opened up the caverns below, we had our very first combat record. Ezum will explain.

Physical Description of the creature who invaded the Fortress in the snowy time. -Expedition Leader Ezum Taronineth

Late Winter, 251

Our day-keeping breaks down in the winter because in this place, sometimes several days pass without the sun appearing, and other times it feels it never sets. Regardless, last night we had our very first invader. A strange, furry, ratlike humanoid, half of a Dwarf’s height, and with eyes gleaming with malice from the deep places tried to steal from us.

I chased it down and dealt with it myself. We will not allow filth like that to contaminate the wonderful start we have here. I know that the treasure our ancestors left behind will be nearby. I can feel it.

Following this is the official combat record from the expedition logs, transcribed for you here. ‘The Hauler’ is actually Ezum; combat logs use a different notation from any of the other Dwarven documents and we had trouble translating them accurately.

No invaders will be tolerated. The Old Homes will be ours.

Just as the system shut down (and the ceiling caught fire…) we saw a second creature approaching. We were able to get a description of it, as well as its name (at least, as the Dwarves logged it.)

A second beastly creature, likely servant of the stars, came into our stockpile last night. It’s physical description is recorded herein.

It should only take several hours to replace the antenna, and the hole in the roof is actually helping our reception, so there should be more soon.

Once again, we return to the journal of the Expedition Leader of “Goodwhip”:

23 Malachite, 251

Today, our first new arrivals from the Mountainhome arrived. Though we are happy to welcome new settlers here, there are… some issues which cause me great concern.

The two Dwarves who wandered into our trade depot seem nice enough. Their names are Deler Debbenrovod (“Cheerfularch”), a Dwarfmaiden of the best appearance, and her husband Iton Tekkudthol (“Pickdeep”) who has the appearance of a former monk. Their diplomatic message puch was ruined almost beyond any salgaving by an attack by, to use their words, “A huge, slavering beast with too many eyes, not enough legs, and severely bad breath.” This creature also, they tell us, killed the rest of the dwarves with them.

They tell me that they are settlement organizer volunteers – joining our expedition in order ot get a share in our profits – and that they were escorting five more former prisoners to join us. I have nothing but their word to rely on, since all of their paperwork was destroyed… but something about them bothers me. I will keep an eye on them as they get themselves settled.

 

23rd Limestone, 251

As the leaves on the trees begin to wither and die, and the surface world freezes in the grip of another winter, I give thanks to my fortune for having been born a Dwarf, so I can know a life in the stable, hospitable underground. I don’t know what madness drives the surface dwellers to live beneath a capricious open sky, but I do not share it.

Proving that I am not alone in my feelings, more new immigrants arrived today. This group was intact, with proper diplomatic introductions and badges of status, and so I am doubly thankful. The extra hands will be crucial in getting our foothold well established.

The volunteer representatives of the Undermountain are again a married couple. This brings us no surprise, as one of the first traditional things a newly married couple does is to find their own place in the world. I consider it fortunate that some look upon our expedition as the right place to settle and build a family. This couple are Obok Thobshagog (“Girderstasis”), who with her great girth, beautiful braids, and properly large eyes is the image of Dwarven womanhood; and her husband, Tosid Morulothbem (“Pagepink”) has the sharp, noble hook to his nose and the rich auburn hair, moustache, and beard  that can propel an otherwise uninteresting Dwarf to noblehood.

They bring with them two prisoners: Onget Aliszas (“Kissedcrystals”), imprisoned for a term defined by gems produced rather than time served (in her case, fifty half-fists of pure Red Beryl) for the crime of theft from the community stockpile; and her husband Rigoth Kadolvabok (“Hatchetorbs”), imprisoned for a sentence equal to Onget’s term plus fifteen years, for the crimes of adultery, bigamy, elopement, and aiding a theft from the community stockpile, and when his second wife Onget chose emigration he followed.

All in all, even the criminals in this group seem steady, hardworking folks, and I have high hopes for the coming winter’s delving.

13th Timber, 251

The first trade caravan from the Undermountain has arrived safely! We have little in the way of trade goods this season, but their very presence has brought a sense of hope and connection to home to all of us.

Included in her journal were sketches of several mining development plans and site surveys, showing the living areas under feverish construction.

Our first image is the arrival of Goodwhip’s very first trade caravan.

The arrival of the very first Dwarven trade caravan to Goodwhip.

Our next images are copies of Ezum’s site surveys of the various developing levels of the fortress:

The living area and meeting hall of Goodwhip, circa Autumn 251

The industry and crafting level of Goodwhip, circa Autumn 251

After resolving the images necessary to produce this report, our equipment developed a neutrino buildup which required us to shut it down. We are currently performing a trap-shielding fluid rebalancing, which should take roughly 24 hours if all goes well.

We were recently able to decode several more images of “The Land of Bodices”, which appear to show the early stages of the Dwarven settlement we are now calling Goodwhip. Rather than try to explain it myself, I will let the expedition leader’s words stand for themselves.

12 Slate, 251

As the last of the winter snows recede, our encampment breathes a collective sigh of relief. Now that the earth has softened, we are finally able to begin our digging and establish the foothold that will one day grow into a new Mountainhome, assuming we survive where so many others have not.

I have ordered the smoothing of a trade route to allow our caravan wagons easy access to the Trade Depot, edged with gutters to draw away excess water. Things have been progressing well – my evaluation of Tulon as an excellent assistant have been spot on. He works tirelessly, digging without complaint, sometimes for several days at a time. We have already completed our entrance tunnel and Goods-for-sale storage, both according to the Mountainhome standards. Soon work will begin on digging out the habitation and industry levels.

The others have begun grumbling about being bored – it is true that these early stages depends heavily on the miners – but they should soon be occupied with their own essential tasks. I have assigned Atir to begin harvesting the local trees to provide the wood we will need for our furniture and storage areas, and Fath to the collection of whatever local plants seem to be edible. Additionally, Olon has volunteered to serve as our initial Mason and Onul will be taking on the role of our Carpenter. With any luck, we should soon be able to eat a proper meal at a proper table, followed by a restful sleep in a real bed. That would be welcome, as I am quite done with sleeping in the mud and detritus of our mining operations.

The local wildlife has, thus far, presented us with little or no danger. A pack of Hoary Marmots wandered through our camp earlier, but we were able to shoo them off before they stole anything of value.

I find myself unable to keep my eyelids open much longer, so I will have to close this entry here. May the next season bring us the same safe progress that we have enjoyed thus far.

We have been able to produce two images of their dig site, one which includes the surrounding hills and a small stream, another which shows some details of their ongoing construction.

Goodwhip and its environs, built into the side of “The Lucky Mountain”

Our best interpretation of the settlement of Goodwhip as of 12 Slate, 251

Not really all that long ago, really. Or maybe it was at the beginning of time… sometimes it’s hard to tell.

There’s a place that is built in a dimension which is, for lack of a better word, sideways. Everything in it is insane by our definition; their behaviors follow no distinguishable pattern. The best we have been able to do is monitor them for a short time before they decay back into chaos.

Almost all of the individuals we have been able to observe are Dwarves, strange, hairy, beardy, alcoholic rage machines. They love living underground, digging, and harvesting ores & gems. They dislike fire, digging too deep &  releasing the denizens of Hell back into the world, and sunlight.

Our very first investigation took us to a world-line which was called, in the dominant local language, “Romramul”. or “The Ageless Plane”. It was the year 251 in the local timescale.

Our very first glimpse into this Other Place. This image is HUGE. Open with care.

Our connection begins on the continent whose name translates to “The Land Of Bodices.” We’re still working on the translation software.

This is it – “The Land Of Bodices.” We’re, ah, still working on the translation.

I wo’n’t bore you with the physics of how we selected the exact region to begin our study, mostly because we had to invent an entire new set of verb tenses and grammatical structures to talk about our data. Suffice it to say, out first closer looks were at a location called “The Lucky Mountain.”

The Lucky Mountain, where our story begins.

We start with a peek at the journal of the leader of a small Dwarven expedition, as she reflects on the future of her settlement…

1 Granite, 251

We arrive today at what is destined to be the site of the greatest fortress of our time. As we unpack the sled and begin to dig ourselves a comfortable work camp from which to begin construction, I have decided to hold a dedication ceremony to officially name our new start “Eshonbomrek” (ed. note: “Goodwhip”). We chose this name to honor the pack animals who have brought our sled this far, and to the tools we will use to tame this new land.

I myself, Ezum Taronineth (“Ezum Yellscity”), am a miner by trade. Our foundation party consists of another miner, Tulon Dishmabalath (“Tulon Rampartbolts”,) somewhat simple but a solid fellow to have at your back beneath the earth, and five reformed prisoners.

Their names and their convictions:

Atir Katzulban (“Atir Goalbanner”), convicted of shirking his responsibilities and negligently causing the deaths of several fellow miners. He was sentenced to ten years in the sulfur mines as restitution, but shortly after beginning his sentence he developed a nasty respiratory infection and requested resettlement instead.

Fath Isanstinthad (“Fath Stilltheaters”), convicted of striking his mining foreman and of insubordination leading to injuries, both charges resulting from an incident where he intervened on behalf of a small cat his Foreman intended to kill and eat. He was sentenced to five years in the sulfur mines, during which time he became close friends with Atir. When the former decided to opt for resettlement, Fath followed him.

Onul Stigazsazir (“Onul Raspbridge”), convicted of prostitution, burglary, home invasion, and trespassing in a nobleman’s quarters. Because her charges were mitigated by some suspicion that the nobleman in question had, in fact, hired her, rather than caught her breaking into his chambers late at night, and had chosen to turn her in rather than pay her fee, her thirty-year sentence was commuted to resettlement.

Tekkud Necikmosus (“Tekkud Singeroom”), convicted of stealing food during time of need, hoarding, gluttony, and sloth. Because he was accused of crimes against the nobility, he was automatically sentenced to the maximum consecutive sentences allowed for each crime, totaling fifty-five years of hard labor confinement. Thirty years into his sentence, his failing physical strength and still-obese frame prevented him from fulfilling his work quota, and his sentence was commuted to resettlement.

Olon Adasurdim (“Olon Passedtower”), convicted of  insubordination and aiding & abetting a felon, was actually Tekkud’s attorney. Unfortunately, he was caught attempting to seduce the judge’s wife in exchange for access to the judge’s evidence vaults and was forced to share the sentence of his client. He chose to follow Tekkud into resettlement rather than finish serving his sentence.

I feel fortunate to not have been assigned any violent criminals or compulsive thieves for this foundation.

I must now get to work planning our camp, as we are expecting another group of settlers within a season.

Clearly, a very strange and inscrutable people. Our investigations are ongoing, and as soon as more details have been deciphered, we will pass them on to you.