<The following is an excerpt from the personal journal of the third Dimensional Sensing Project team lead>

I am almost at a loss for what to say; it is difficult not to feel empathy for these creatures we have been watching, but it is also impossible for us to do anything that affects them. This means that all we can do is watch tragedy unfold, and record it as well as we can.

The fact that savagery and violence give us some of the best data we’ve ever seen about the dimension which we are observing leaves all of us with a vaguely guilty feeling; I have requested trauma counselors from the military support program for our staff.

As usual, I will leave Stukos the honor of describing current events.

Early winter, 252

Sadly, the flush of success and creation can never last.

After the fight with the coati, I ordered our mechanic and our most experienced military immigrant to devise a training room which could maximize our soldiers’ expertise in combat. They devised a fiendishly complicated ‘Training Room’, complete with blunted automatic spears and simulated combat.

Sadly we learned too late that even blunted spears can kill a baby still in its mother’s beard-sling, and little Adil Dodokamal was killed during a training exercise. His mother is upset, but understands that it was another unavoidable sacrifice for progress. She will be fine.

Hopefully that will be the worst this winter has to offer – it is the coldest one we’ve ever experienced and the crops are feeling the frost.

Following this entry was a long and extremely detailed list of every asset in the fortress, down to the loose rocks in the stonework stockpile. I have elided the boring parts and skipped to the next events; believe me, I am saving you much pain. I had to read every word for my final report but you don’t have to!

Anyway, there are two more, much shorter entries, both from the end of the winter. Unlike the precise and beautiful calligraphy of the previous entries, these two seem almost rushed and unsteady, as if Stukos was distracted or pressed for time.

Late Winter, 252

Another tragedy – a nurse named Meng Locunetur was found, dehydrated and mummified, in the lower mineworks this morning. I ordered the military recruits to conduct a full investigation, but we suspect she simply got lost and trapped in the rubble.

Regardless, I cannot shake a nagging feeling of danger, so I have ordered the recruits to double their training time per day. We have to be ready, if my feelings are true.

252

This is the last report I will make. The goblins came under cover of night while we were distracted by the elven trade caravan.

Of the 68 adults and 8 children who were alive and happy this morning, there are now only myself and my two best miners alive. We will go out and give the best our bodies can, but we are outnumbered and wounded. We are going to die so we may live forever in glory.

Shortly after, we detected a severe degradation of our sensing clarity. I immediately ordered full scans to be taken of the fortress’ final state. What follows is our last sight of Bronzebanners.

As soon as Stukos died, our datafeed cut off entirely. We are working to reestablish our imaging, but with little success so far.