Fifth day of the Seventh Moon in 1489th year of the Ward

I have given the order to destroy the wheel. I wrote it in the stone of the entry so that none among the Rune Guard might question my edict. The doors of Hammerknell were designed only to be opened with its assistance. They were cut from the mountain itself, the halls tunneled out around them, and never designed to be moved by the power of any living being. Without it, we will be trapped inside, but the horrors we brought into this world will be trapped with us. For our sins, many of our people have died. More will be lost, and it is my place to stay with them.

I have sent Dolin to lead the people out. As he lives, so will the line of Molinar. May he lead the dwarves to more wise and prosperous times than I was able.

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Sixth day of the Seventh Moon in 1489th year of the Ward
It is our first day in the dark. Dolin, the foolish boy, stayed inside with me. He still believes we can win; that somehow we will destroy all of the demons in Hammerknell and return her to her glory. Always a brave lad but never the brightest, my Dolin.
We have made our stand in the throne room. Pursued to its doors by the hound Murdantix, we managed to trap him with some of our surviving runebindings. They also hold the door closed, keeping access to us from that direction closed. If I had my will, I would never rely on another runebinding. They are a slight to Bahralt, though I only realized that too late. But we have no choice. We have no other weapons to fight these things.

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Ninth day of the Seventh Moon in 1489th year of the Ward
One by one, our numbers drop. Teams of fighters are sent to clear out pockets of monsters, but it’s rare that they return at their full number. Sometimes, they don’t return at all. Everyone who stayed was prepared for such sacrifices, however. We will do no good for Telara staying in this room. Our only purpose left is to thin out their numbers in the event that someday, people find a way to open those doors and try to retake the city.
If they do, I hope they bring an army. Nothing less can stand against everything within these walls.

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Twelfth day of the Seventh Moon in 1489th year of the Ward
We are down to the last of our soldiers. Dolin remains beside me, and only now will I acknowledge how much I have taken comfort in his presence. Part of me is ashamed that I have come to peace with it, because it will mean the death of my son and the end of my family line. Another part of me, the part that shrinks at the echoes of dark wailing in the halls around us, is glad he is here, and that we sometimes find comfort in speaking of better times. He reminded me of a picnic we had when he was young on the terraces of the Runic Garden. Of the food we ate, and the mead we drank, and how the sun shone that day. We were happy then. It is easy to forget those times.

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Fourteenth day of the Seventh Moon in 1489th year of the Ward
This will likely be my last record. My head has been clouded for days. I blamed hunger, and thirst, and fear, and all of the obvious things. I only now recognize that something has been creeping up inside of me. I only see it because the same darkness is taking Dolin. He is no longer the same young man who stayed behind with me. Rude, loud, brutish, he stomps around yelling at what’s left of our guard and tearing his nails against the walls.
I would admonish him for it, if not for the fact that every ounce of self-control I have learned in my life is
all that keeps me from acting the same way. Every whisper, every breath, they grate at me, making me feel like yelling and gnashing my teeth.
I don’t know what darkness it is that takes us, but it is coming, relentlessly. If anyone ever reads this record, please remember us as we were, and recognize that we did not go willingly – we were taken.
For Hammerknell, for the dwarven people, for Bahralt, I am Rune King Molinar. These are the last of my words. May Telara be in a safer place the day they are discovered.