The Ash Cloud

Greetings and salutations from BloodPaddles!

Migrants arriving at the hastily built ramparts of BloodPaddles

Summer has arrived and the snow has thawed. Our mason has only just completed rough ramparts of kaolinite to protect us before he was greeted with the sight of distant dwarves approaching. We are thankful for the recent arrival of the four unskilled migrants that have arrived with the warm weather. They will be put to work hauling stone and the strongest among them will be assigned to our veteran axedwarf for training in the arts of dismemberment. They will have to use wooden weapons for now, as our furnaces have not yet been completed.

Miners hard at work...

Our miners have been working non stop to hollow out chambers for our workshops and trade depot. We have constructed some basic living space, consisting of a small dormitory and a dinning table, with a small study area for our expedition leader to sort through the usual paperwork. Our mason is also a skilled mechanic, and has cunningly linked the drawbridge to a lever so we can seal off the fort from outside attack.

There have been no sightings of anything unusual, but the constantly circling ravens have finally taken their leave.




Autumn has come, and with it a raggedly collection of refugees from dwarven settlements fallen on hard times. Lured here by the promise of food and booze, they undertook the journey to BloodPaddles with scarce supplies and the only the clothes on their back. We welcome all dwarves, and even though booze is running low, we refuse to turn away any dwarf that will risk his life on such a perilous journey. A Creeping Ash Cloud appeared after we got them inside. None of the dwarves in BloodPaddles had seen one before, but one of the refugees started babbling about husks and thralls. So far though, it seems benign enough. The woodcutter was ordered  inside and the fort sealed as a precaution, just in case. Unfortunately most of the wood he was cutting to make charcoal is also outside, so recently started iron production has ground to a halt.

We hope the cloud disipates in time for the dwarven traders from the mountainhome to make it safely into the fortress. We are in desperate need of an anvil to start weapon and armor production. Currently our understaffed military squad of five dwarves are training with wooden weapons fit only for those disgusting elves. Only the militia commander is adequately outfitted with a bronze battle axe and some assorted armor he brought with him.



DISASTER! A Creeping Ash Husk Eagle has attacked our yak bull and made it opposed to life! Our farmer discovered this when trying to repasture the rampaging bull. Luck and agility enabled him to survive his foolishness when the bull tried to gore him. Our glorious leader was not so lucky when he made a similar attempt, and was gored to death for his trouble.

Leader, broker and record keeper, you will not be forgotten.

 We had no choice but to send out the military. Our valiant soldiers succeeded in luring out the yak bull and fighting their way back inside. It was not without cost, however. Two recruits dead and a third husked. Our militia commander survived unscathed, having valiantly commanded the battle from the comfort of his bed, where he was sleeping off the two barrels of dwarven rum he had had for breakfast. BloodPaddles mourns.

Our most promising recruit, opposed to life!

Our mason, Solon Riguthluslem, has taken charge of the expedition and started carving coffins for the dead. We hope the Creeping Ash Husk Eagle leaves so we can collect our dead, but one volunteer has started training with a crossbow just in case it decides to stay. We give thanks to Armok that the ravens left (did they somehow know what was coming?) before the Creeping Ash Cloud arrived, and pray the caravan can make it inside before they come in contact with the vile husk creatures. To this end, our miners are digging a tunnel to the east of the map, which is currently the safest point of the surface.