Not very efficient, though...It's liveable now, but I might need some expertise for a year to make it work well. More on that later, first an update that lasts till the end of summer.
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Hematite 24, 251
At some point, Gizogen finished mining out the mechanic's workshop.
Also, I decided to test our new militia on the zelk running around.
Hematite 26, 251
Ropeclouted tried to engage the enemy, but the one zelk that is currently fighting back is seeming to ignore the damage and is knocking over Ropeclouted in a sinister pairing of play and slaying. However, Ropeclouted managed to get back on her feet and hacked the zelk in the head, scaring it. Another zelk joins in, though...Thankfully, while it's hard to judge injuries on the rotten bodies of the zelks (read: It's hard to skim past the “Its X is rotten”), it's clear that Ropeclouted is winning, as the maggots within the zelks are visible and Ropeclouted is not wounded. The third zelk joined in, but suddenly two of the three vanished. Soon the third also vanished, leaving only a rotten nose to signify that it was ever present.
While all that excitement was going on, Gizogen mined out the mason's workshop area.
Hematite 27, 251
The zelk have returned in force—five, to be exact.
Also, the last dwarf returned and introduced himself as Erush Gorgenourish. He is a tall, calm dwarf who is nevertheless quick to anger. He is also a woodcutter. He also likes black-caps for their “gloomy appeal,” and tends towards introspection, so I think he's a bit...gothy. He had a steel axe, though, so he's staying.
Also coming along were Kubuk Mouthcity, a tall and obese woman who works as a fishert worker...person. She seems a bit dull-witted and can't handle stress well, so I have her drafted.
The last dwarf from the settlement is Ducim Menwires, a strange man overall. He found work as a diagnoser before all this happened, and also works as a general-purpose woodworker. The gets rid of Shotlances jobs, so she's going into stone detailing. Menwires has a tenor voice, and has a
ponytail, and likes
rabbits and butterflies. Is this one merely a short elf? In any case, he has not the personality for medical care, so he's just going to be an assistant/carpenter/bowyer.
[I didn't notice these three last time, somehow. Don't ask me how.]
Also coming with them are a stray billy goat (walking food-sack, I say) and a young chicken who is Mouthcity's pet. She has named her Ezum Boltfence. It is kind of funny, the massive woman and her tiny pet chick.
I also plan a detailed plan for nice, even rooms in large density and quantity in our lower levels, and for expansion of our current stairs so we can reach them more easily, as well as a path into the caverns.
Hematite 28, 251
...So much for my nice, neat plans. I un-designate the bedrooms designated to be placed out in the pillars of stone and look around the second cavern layer.
It is quite...vertically un-challenged. The cavern ceiling extends 25 feet up [NOTE: I assume that z-levels are about 5 feet tall, as well as that tiles are 5x5 ft.] and 160 feet down at the point where Gizogen pierced the caverns, and at least 30 feet down elsewhere. This cavern is hundreds of feet tall, is what I'm saying, so magma traps might not be ideal, even if we seal up that gaping hole we breched the aquifer through and risk warming up the ice.
[I know it won't work like that, but hey, it's good RP.]
The caverns, in addition to being good places to throw goblin prisoners, contain plants as I, a not-well-travelled dwarf until I began travelling with the caravan, have never seen before, like goblin-caps and spore trees. Weird, really. The caverns also expose large amounts of native gold and gems, as well as fair quantites of olivine.
Malachite 1, 251
Also, Menwires made a finely-crafted bed from the last of the maple from our wagon. I chose to put it near the entrance, just below the aquifer pit, so as to allow eeveryone to reach it easily.
Malachite 2, 251
I shifted the bedroom design some.
Malachite 3, 251
To train the militia for the inevitable attack (goblins WILL find us eventually), destroy the undead menace, and avoid the sheer boredom we are facing (the only recreations being a few card games and watching the caverns, and with most of us completely out of work), I send our three militiadwarves to attack the five zelk wandering around up surface.
I also notice something curious. When I bring up a list of available weapons, it includes three goblin-cap blowguns, two black-cap blowguns, a nether-cap blowgun, a black-cap spear, and a blood thorn spear. I think there might be a cave civilization living beneath our feet...
Malachite 5, 251
Mouthcity makes zelk contact first, receiving a few bruises on her leg and upper body, but fails to inflict any notable wound on the zelk. Ropeclouted and Tinblunt come in shortly thereafter, and the three of them join in the melee a la dos trois, as the elves might say. Tinblunt gets a bruised lung, but Ropeclouted remains untouched, and a zelk vanishes, then another, and the third. Mouthcity continues to get bruised up, but he vast rolls of fat prevent further injuries. Mouthcity is again the first to confront the remaining two zelks, with Ropeclouted and then close Tinblunt behind. One vanishes, but the other has its head cut off by Ropeclouted, making her the first to score a kill in Unitebolted.
Malachite 6, 251
And three more zelk arrive...no matter, Ropeclouted deserves a celebration.
Speaking of deserving, despite only getting bruises, Tinblunt demands medical care. This is ludicrous. You are bruised. Look at Mouthcity. She was bruised a lot more, and doesn't have an axe like you do. Suck it up like a true dwarf! Joke's on you anyways, Sigun's on break and wouldn't look at you if you were missing two arms and a leg and gushing blood out of a gaping chest wound and were a legendary axedwarf who had saved the fort time and time again.
I also decide not to expand the sphalerite sea serpent for a while. We're running low on sphalerite anyway.
[Dear Sphalerite: I promise I'll make it up to you.]
Malachite 9, 251
I decide to have a kitchen built out of ice. Some good meals will keep everyones' spirits up.
I also make Deduk a stonecrafter.
Malachite 10, 251
Strange cries that sound oddly like, “Santa! Save me!” indicate that the reindeer has been butchered. Everyone, eager for SOMETHING to do to relieve the enyooee (as the elves say, I think) that surrounds any fortress where going outside means death by zelk or cold, and where inside means nothing to do but try and figure out new stuff to bet in games of Rutherer Rummy and Go Carp and other games.
Malachite 11, 251
The horse foal also was slaughtered, followed by the billy goat. This leaves the pet poultry and the kitten.
Malachite 12, 251
Working as fast as I can, I start tanning the horse skin.
Oh, and I notice that Tinblunt followed my advice. She is no longer bruised at all. Once all of this food is stored, I'll need to have them hunt some more zelk.
I decide to have an ice still built.
Malachite 13, 251
The blizzard started again, not that you can really tell with this constant freeze.
Also, somehow Mouthcity got it into her head to fish. She does so in the aquifer, but I don't have the heart to tell her that nothing could possibly get in there.
Also also, Cloisterscar and Rimbound have been spending a lot of time alone together...
[Somehow, this lead to the train of thought of a plot for a romance: “Even in the frigid darkness of The Foolish Tundras, seven stranded dwarves manage to find true love...” Okay, we're up to thirteen now...]
Malachite 17, 251
Cloisterscar made a roast from cow brain, lung, and tripe, mixed with badger intestines. Well, she's learning, so practice is probably a good purpose to put that stuff to.
Also, Mouthcity decided to stop fishing and get a drink.
Malachite 18, 251
A giant cave swallow has been spotted on the first cavern level! A REAL giant cave swallow! I wish we had some nets or something to catch it with...and a way to get there...and someone to tame it...and a female one, too, also caught and tamed...
Malachite 20, 251
I decide to have the militia go zelk-hunting.
I also dissasemble the redundant mason's workshop.
Malachite 21, 251
Zelk-hunting goes well. Notably, Tinblunt overcomes her previous embarrasemen by going into a martial trance against a zelk and causing it to flee in a puff of smoke. The other two follow suit, without leaving a scratch on the militia.
Mouthcity becomes a wrestler, reminding me that we need weapons. Badly.
Six zombie muskox wander in. Clearly, the zelk mooks were becoming dissatisfied with their place. Time to show them what we're made of!
Malachite 22, 251
Contact with the enemy is made. Mouthcity to the suth flank, Ropeclouted to the north. Mouthcity entered another martial trance, trying to hold off three of the six while Ropeclouted held off two more. End result: All six disapparrated, leaving behind only a single ear; Mouthcity was bruised but that was it for wounds. Five zombie reindeer appeared along with three zombie muskoxen. They. Must. Die. AGAIN!
Malachite 25, 251
Or, since the militia refuses to move, I could just take them off duty.
Oh, and Deduk became a stonecrafter for official purposes today. And Ezum Boltfenced the chick grew up into a large (but still very tiny compared to her master) hen. Hopefully we'll have eggs soon!
Malachite 26, 251
The militia seemed up for a bit of anti-corpse warfare, so I let them. Mouthcity and Ropeclouted ran away from the enemies (!), but Tinblunt showed that valor is the better part of discretion by charging headlong into combat. This action earned her her title as an axedwarf. After vanishing one, she turned to a group of the remaining four zombie reindeer and entered a martial trance.
We have a new militia commander.
Ropeclouted redeems herself by beating on the muskoxen...including biting it. Okay, great, remind me to stay away from the militia ladies...Wow, she jus chopped off two hooves and a leg...
Malachite 28, 251
Apparently aware of the new militia commander's clam to the steel battleaxe, Ropeclouted dropped it and...left it there...
Galena 1, 251
I design a massive dining room which will be the envy of the world over!
It is (or will be) a perfect square, 115x115 feet exactly. It will be smoothed and covered with the finest engravings and filled with the finest furniture we can make.
[Note: As there is no way I will be able to finish this, here's my idea for it:
The first column of tiles to the left will be full of chairs, the column to the right of that with tables, the column next to that empty space, and repeating until the last row to the right has tables. The “empty space” will actually be filled with levers, statues, cages of amazing animals and prisoners awaiting exectuion, weapon traps using artifact blowguns, etc. All should be smoothed and engraved eventually, but wait on the engravings until we have a skilled enough engraver.]
As Ropeclouted complains that she cannot pick up her equipment due to a nearby zelk, I activate the Zombie Killing Squad. Ropeclouted runs into battle instantly, weaponless and clothed only in about half the clothes she came in for some reason. She then proves herself by entering a martial trance and vanishing a zelk with a kick to the leg. She then holds off the zelks while Mouthcity, whose bruises have healed, catches up. This may be the most exercise she's ever done in her life. Mouthcity goes on to vanish two zelks before helping Ropeclouted with the last...And no sooner does the last zelk vanish than do seven zombie muskox appear.
Galena 5, 251
I finaly earn the title of Mason.
Galena 12, 251
Cloisterscar makes a roast using of cow sweetbread, heart, and tripe to “fill out” a meal of horse eye. At least, that's her explanation for why it's a horse-eye roast. Personally, it looks like piles of minced meat baked into vaguely-edible chunks, but they're more appetizing than raw meat.
Galena 13, 251
Cloisterscar gains her title as a cook. This leaves Rimbound as the only peasant.
Galena 14, 251
Cloisterscar finishes her nicest roast yet. It's very well-prepared. Its ingredients are horse spleen, kidney, and intestines baked inside of goat intestines. It might not sound delicious, but after years of travel rations and months of raw meat, it's like mana from heaven.
Galena 19, 251
There are clouds of miasma in the caverns that have been attributed to zombie crundles and a zombie troll.
Galena 21, 251
Cloisterscar has outdone herself again. She has made a well-prepared horse eye roast garnished with horse tripe, reindeer lung, and cow intestines. Outstanding!
Galena 23, 251
Gizogen has announced himeslf to be Legendary at mining. Great, now get back to work.
Galena 24, 251
Cloisterscar has made another roast at the same level as her last, horse heart with garnishes (forming most of the meal) of cow intestines, goat kidney, and reindeer brain.
Galena 25, 251
I see what seems to be wild plump helmets growing in the fortress and order them picked before they are trampled. Whipdimpled complied immediately, although there was only a single ripe plump helmet.
Mouthcity is fishing in the aquifer again.
Galena 27, 251
Cloisterscar has outdone herself, with a badger intestine roast garnished with hen egg and cave fish. It looks superior! [I just realised that all food quality levels are described the same. D'oh! The last two roasts were +roasts+, the one before that a -roast-, the ones before that had no quality level.]
Galena 28, 251
I've held absolute power for the two seaasons since we settled here, but my interest is waning. Almost twice the number of dwarves we started with are here now, and the new dwarves say that they sent messages to other refugee camps in the area. I need to start delegating before I turn into a dictator. Plus, I wasn't trained to design fortresses, so maybe I should get others' ideas.
I start by making Gorgenourish the broker due to his persuasice abilities. I continue by holding an election to determine if I stay in power or if my position as expedition leader goes to someone else.
-----
So, here's the problem. I'm all tied up with other RL projects and don't want to completely abandon my community fortress. So here's my idea: I take a break here, plays until autumn of next year, and I play the end of 252. That way everyone gets a full year, nothing is overly delayed, and we don't have to re-pierce the aquifer. I've intentionally left the results of the election ambiguous to allow for if people don't like the idea of breaking up the turns, so I could complete the turn if you like, but I can't promise to give it first priority. And, currently, the fort is in a mess. The dining hall and tunnels to the cavern floors have been ignored because Gizogen would rather mine out more bedrooms, we have almost no seeds, an ambush squad or two of legless one-armed kobolds would probably have an even chance at destroying our military if they had copper armor and weapons, etc. All of these problems were caused by me, I admit, and so I'm probably not the best to solve them. But, hey, I got throuh the aquifer!...Although if flying siegers weren't bugged they'd be a big problem...
So, thoughts?
