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Author Topic: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming  (Read 151011 times)

Sphalerite

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The first discussion.

"I have a special project for you, Cilob."

Ral Siknugmeng, queen of The Imperial Pick, had called me to her throne room.  It was elegant, though clearly not as lavish as she would like.  Great pain had been taken to spread the platinum and aluminum out, to give the impression that the statues were solid rather than hollow or plated, and a close inspection would reveal that only the most visible surfaces were plated with true precious gems, cheaper gems or even glass used where visitors would be less likely to notice.  It clearly wasn't as large as would be desired, but that was true everywhere in the cramped, overcrowded mountainhomes, where too many dwarves were trying to live in too little space and too little resources.

The one feature that the room did have, that the architects had not compromised on, was a magnificent view of a waterfall, a mighty mountain stream diverted from above to flow through fortress before emptying out into the valley below.  Nearly all of the Imperial Pick's mountainhomes incorporated flowing water into their design, taking advantage of the unusual number of rivers and streams emptying out of the massive mountain ranges surrounding the valley.

"I was once a fishery worker, long ago, before that minotaur killed the old king Kivish Masteredceilings so long ago. Not an uncommon thing here, I know.  We have many rivers and brooks, and many fishery workers.  Of course, I haven't had the time for that in a long time," she glanced down at her ruined, crushed left hand,  "And since that titan attacked, it would be difficult for me anyway.  I have but one regret now.  I never once was able to fish from the ocean.  Oh, we had that trip to the Sea of Waves once, but that's just a big lake, no matter what the elves call it.”

She turned to face me.

“I want you to conduct an expedition for me.  Take a team and supplies, and go to the ocean.  Build a settlement, somewhere where the ocean can be fished from, and whatever exotic creatures live in the depths brought forth.  I may never be able to visit it myself, but it will do my heat good to know that others may do what I can never do.  I have drawn some plans for you, of what I would like to see built.”

She handed me some paper with crude sketches on it.  I studied it, with dawning confusion.  It looked straightforward, a large curtain wall, a mighty tower over the ocean, but I couldn't make the directions match up.

“I hesitate to correct you, my lady, but I think you have east and west confused on this map.  The Water of Enchantments lays to the west of us.  You have the land drawn on the west here, and the water on the east.”

She laughed.  “Silly Cilob. I'm not sending you to the Water of Enchantment.  That coastline's full of human and goblin and elven cities.  There's no space for us there.  You're going to the other ocean. I'm sure you're aware that our General, Reg Logemiteb, has been scouting far-off lands?  Just last year she found a way through the mountain ranges to the north, a pass between the Constructive Spike and the Spikes of Stoking.  There's a whole land out to the east of the mountains where hardly anyone lives.   Past that, an entire ocean, with just one friendly human civilization on it.  There's more than enough room for a little settlement of ours there.”

“Go to Reg, she'll give you directions and supplies for the trip.  And send me back some fish!”

The second discussion.

Reg Logemiteb's office was deep underground, far from the scenic waterfall view of the Queen's throne room.  The walls were decorated not with gems and precious metal, but with simple if graphic engravings.  Most of them were about Reg.  Reg fighting monsters.  Reg killing elves.  Reg traveling to the underworld to tame terrible monsters.  Reg leading an army to attack an elven retreat during the War of Horns in 39.  The few engravings that didn't show Reg doing something heroic concerned the minotaur Abesp Qakeowls, and its attack on one of The Imperal Pick's mountainhomes in year 4.  One engraving clearly showed the monster striking down Kivish Masteredceilings, former king, and incidentally Reg's husband.

Between the engravings were trophies – weapons siezed from enemies, skulls of strange creatures – mounted in display boxes.  I suspect that if common decency hadn't forbade it she'd have dead elves stuffed and mounted as well.  In one corner of the room crouched a horrible creature, a thing having feathers and a beak but being far from any bird.  A Jabberer, it was called, and it was descended from a pair that Reg had managed to tame on one of her expeditions.

Reg  Logemiteb, General of the Imperial Pick, hero of the War of 39, was a terrifying figure.  Despite being no taller than the queen, despite being lower in rank, she managed to project an air of palpable malice into the room.  Her face bore the scars from a battle with a minotaur decades previous, her mirthless grin had gaps where teeth had been smashed out, but more than that some way in how she carried herself showed she had passed beyond the point of caring about anything but power and vengeance.  She looked at the orders from the queen and shook her head.  “Fishing expedition?  That's the excuse she's using for this one?  Oh, you're not the first one she's sent out, since learning of the pass and the lands to the east.”  She threw the papers on her desk.  “Wasting good dwarves sending them away.  With our excess population, we could make an army and drive away the elves bottling us up in this damn valley.”

She gestured at a map.  “The mighty Imperial Pick!  Half a dozen mountainhomes, crammed side by side so you can't even tell where one begin and the other ends.  Not enough of us, and yet we're overcrowded anyway.  You know, if she hadn't signed that peace treaty back in 39, I could have burned a path clear to the sea from here.”

Her eyes went to the horrible creature crouching in the corner of the room.  “But perhaps some good can come from this folly.  I know you, Cilob.  You're one of the best animal trainers we have.”.  A gleam came to her eye.  “Legend has it there are terrible monsters in the depths of the oceans.  Leviathans, dragons of the deep, fish big as hydra.  If we could catch some, if we could domesticate and train them.”  She chuckled unpleasantly.  “Wouldn't even need to be all that tame.  Just releasing them in the river and letting the current carry them downstream.  Wouldn't that be a surprise.”

“These other expeditions the queen is sending out?  They're all doomed.  But catch and tame me some monsters I can use, and I'll make sure yours survives.”



This is my first experiment with journal/community fortress writing.  The game-wise goal of this fortress is to learn more about how the new animal taming rules work, especially for taming aquatic creatures.  The larger goal is for me to stretch my somewhat lacking writing skills, and hopefully tell an interesting story in the process.  I hope to be updating this regularly, but I can't promise anything.

I will be using a copy of DF 34.06 with a lot of custom mods.  The mod package is actually my own personal mod set.  It uses lot of content copied from other mods - I've got metals and stones from Dig Deeper, creatures and materials from Genesis, most of Zero's metalworking mod, and a lot of other stuff I don't even remember where it came from.  If you notice me using something that comes from a mod you recognize, feel free to remind me, since I didn't keep track of where I borrowed all the bits from.

Of course, there's also a fair amount in this mod that is completely original, my own content.



The embark map:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The embark site is 5x5, and straddles 5 different biomes.  All are Untamed Wilds.  Four of the five are ocean biomes.  This should be Fun.



The embarking dwarves.

Cilob Amudaban, expedition leader and animal trainer.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cilob is claimed as the journal POV character.  The other six are available for dorfing all claimed now.

Monom Dodokzalud Argel, Farmer, Brewer, and Thresher
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Monom Edemkadol Will_Tuna, Butcher, Tanner, Cook, and secondary Farmer
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Rigoth Esdorbomrek Phenix, Miner, Mason, and Mechanic.  Strangely, Rigoth and Cilob had already formed a strong grudge, even before the wagon had stopped.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Solon Mesirled Cain, our Doctor.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Thob Litastavuz Coraiunki, Woodcutter, Carpenter, and Herbalist
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Zan Onulibruk Fishybang, Engraver, Building Designer, and backup Mechanic, and Mason
Spoiler (click to show/hide)



Deities of the Imperial Pick:

  Ustuth Blanketsafety, deity: fortresses
  Ber, deity: minerals
  Stettad, deity: wealth
  as Copperrock, deity: metals
  N shas Maroonochre, deity: jewels
  Adil the Flicker of Glowing, deity: mountains, volcanos, fire, the sun
  Guthstak the Bloated Mucous Snot, deity: blight, disease, deformity
  icum the Gladness of Trusting, deity: generosity
  Bokbon Calmstills, deity: peace
  Bisek Perplexknots, deity: the night, darkness
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 10:54:37 am by Sphalerite »
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Fishybang

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2012, 09:47:05 pm »

Ill take Zan please. Named fishybang :D
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Phenixmirage

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2012, 10:50:31 pm »

I'll take Rigoth, call her Phenix. :))

Here's my small character interpretation and reason for being here, based off her profile. If it doesn't fit with the author's plans you are free to disregard it. :)

"Phenix" is an assumed name, taken to allude to rising above the common dwarf. An unconventional artist in stone and mechanism, unwilling to compromise her creative vision, she struggled to find a patron in the mountainhomes for her work.  The lack of funding left her to mining the stone herself for materials.  Food and housing still cost money though, and she developed a sizable debt. Faced with the impending Debtor's Hammer (dwarven version of debtor's prison), she reluctantly agreed to go on this expedition.

The failure of her work to find appreciation has made her inwardly insecure about her abilities, which she masks with outward arrogance. She isn't used to working with others and her willful nature will likely lead to difficulties, but she will strive for excellence in this as with everything.

Her profile says she doesn't need thrills in her life; it looks like Cilob's risk-taking nature rubs her the wrong way. :D

Good job on the intro!

Just wanted to add: In my head, Phenix is a modernist way, way ahead of modernism. Inspired by the work of Antoni Gaudi. (Gaudi is awesome; he even looks kind of dorfy.)
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 12:01:01 am by Phenixmirage »
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Corai

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2012, 11:11:50 pm »

Thob Litastavuz, Coraiunki please.
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Jarod Cain

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2012, 12:44:29 am »

I'll take the doctor, name him Cain. For some reason when I read his bio I think a dwarven Salvador Dali. I will of course eventually need a proper medical facility, complete with experimentation (read: training shaft) rooms and orderlies. If at all possible at some point I'd like to experiment on children, learn to wrestle, and have him learn some animal handling as well.
-J-
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2012, 07:29:03 am »

That's four claimed, just the two Monoms left.  Phenix - sounds good, I can work that in.  Jarod - I have a hospital planned out for you, which can be combined with the animal training/experimenting rooms as well eventually.
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Will_Tuna

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2012, 08:39:30 am »

dorf me a butcher!
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2012, 08:40:59 am »

dorf me a butcher!

No problem, Monom Edemkadol is yours.  Preference for a name?  Will, WillTuna, Will Tuna, something like that?
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Argelflirth

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2012, 10:35:15 am »

I call da brewer! Name him Argel.
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2012, 10:41:21 am »

Argelflirth:  Done, but the brewer is a she.  Hope that's OK.
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2012, 06:32:36 pm »

"Take the old road north from Boltedarrows.  Watch out for goblins, they've been patrolling the north end lately.  That will take you out to the Feral Jungle.  Head north along the edge of the mountains, up through the Swamp of Listening.  That place is full of alligators, don't go near the water and you'll be fine.  The mountains will taper down as you hit the Emerald Desert.  There's a narrow pass through the desert, bewtween the Constructive Spike and the Spikes of Stoking to the north.  It's a maze of canyons, but I've charted out a way through for you.  Once you're out of that, just keep heading east through the Armored Steppe, then down the Hill of Proliferating.  Don't stop till you feel the sea spray in your faces!"



"Stop!  Stop  Stoooooop!!!"

The wagon clattered down the hill towards the ocean.  At the last moment Cilob yanked the steering yoke to the side, slewing the wagon around and bringing it to a stop mere inches from the edge of the water.  The poor animals pulling the wagon scrambled awkwardly, their hooves having trouble finding purchase on the slimy rocks.

"Nearly killed us with that trick.  Again." muttered Phenix.  Cilob's reckless driving had been setting her on edge for the entire grueling trip.

"We're here!" Colib beamed, gazing at the vast ocean.  "Isn't that just amazing?  Just look at it"

"It's ... big." Fishybang commented.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Colib pulled out the tattered map still bearing the queen's diagrams.  "Ok, we'll have to put the curtain wall back up the hill a bit.  That'll have to wait a bit, need to set up the basics first, and we'll need more masons for it.  Phenix,  you'll be in charge of that, but first, - "

He was suddenly interrupted as a wave crashed over the shoreline, drenching him and the wagon.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Amazingly, none of the dwarves were swept out to sea, and the wagon remained stuck in place on the rocks with all their supplies still in place.  "Ok, new first priority!  Get all the supplies off the wagon and safely back on dry land!"



Coraiunki placed his dripping barrel down on the temporary stockpile next to the others. He turned, heading back down the hillside towards the shoreline.  For a moment, something seemed to block out the sun.  Shielding his eyes against the terrible glare, he peered out over the ocean.  Was there something flying out there?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

He rubbed his eyes and blinked.  Whatever it was seemed to be gone now.



Soon the last of the supplies had been pulled from the wagon and moved up onto the hill.  Coraiunki had even managed to break down the wagon and recover the wood it was made from without losing any to the surf.  Cilob looked at the pile of damp supplies and smiled as if he hadn't nearly just lost them all.  "Now that that's taken care of, Phenix, start digging out some underground rooms so we can get these supplies stored.  Oh, make room for a farm too.  Cain, we'll be building you a hospital to the north, with a freshwater cistern and water purification system, but you'll have to get by with a temporary setup for now.  Will_Tuna?  Take the donkey and the buffalo and put them up on the hill to graze for now, but we're going to butcher them as soon as we have somewhere to store the meat.   Argel, once Phenix has the rooms dug out, start setting up farms.  I know we're supposed to be a fishing fort, but you can't drink fish - and I don't think any of us even knows how to fish - so we'll need to farm.  Coraiunki?  Good job wit the wagon.  Now start cutting down trees, then once you have enough wood make beds for everyone.  We'll have Phenix dig out bedrooms after the farms are set up."
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2012, 07:13:38 pm »

Cilob's Journal

2nd of Slate

Phenix is still digging out the storage rooms.  She's not happy about having to work with mere dirt, and insists on carving out the soil in what he says are more architecturally interesting shapes.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I said I don't care what it looks like, I just want the storage space dug out.  I've started moving the foodstuffs underground.  I could swear I saw an owl poking at the stockpile the other day, except I've never seen an owl that big before.

Phenix also dug an exploratory tunnel down through the rock, until she hit rock that's too damp to dig through.  She says she can find a way past it, but I've told her not to bother until we have more time.  That damp little hole will have to serve as temporary sleeping quarters until we can dig out proper rooms.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

17th of Slate

Almost all our supplies are safely underground now.  I've told Will_Tuna to set up the work area she'll need to butcher our poor donkey and water buffalo.  Not a moment too soon, either - as the summer advances, the grass is starting to dry up and die.  I wasn't expecting that, it never gets hot enough for that to happen back in the mountains.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The murky mash ponds up on the hill are even drying up.  Phenix hitting that aquifer may be a blessing in disguise, that may be our only reliable source of water here.

24th of Slate

It's almost creepy how happy Will_Tuna was when I told her to butcher those animals.  Everyone's enjoying their first fresh meat in months now.

I have heard some complaints as to the lack of proper rooms.  Phenix has been working nearly non-stop, although I did give her a break long enough to make some blocks and mechanisms so that Fishybang can construct a well.  That, and setting up the farms, has to come first before we make ourselves nice bedrooms.

3rd of Felsite

Finally, enough space is dug out so that we can start farming.  Argel will be pleased to get to work on that.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The surface is looking increasingly inhospitable - the murky pools are almost completely dry now.  I've asked Coraiunki to see if any of the plants on the surface are edible or useful before they all dry up.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 30, 2012, 09:00:50 am by Sphalerite »
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2012, 07:55:23 pm »

Phenix slowly and carefully dug her way through the stone, heading deeper beneath the ocean.  The farming galleries had finally been finished, and Cilob had given her permission to resume looking for a way through the aquifer.  Of course, the first thing she did was discard his plans and guildlines to plan the dig herself.

Early on she had hit a cluster of bauxite.  Lovely, fireproof, dry red stone, with clumps of gems embedded in it.  It would make a lovely site for some bedrooms and offices, but first she wanted to find a way deeper into the earth.  She dug a stairway down, hoping the vein of bauxite continued.  No such luck, the stone gave way to water-soaked conglomerate.  Abandoning that hole, she went back to lengthening the corridor.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The second staircase she dug also filled with water, forcing her to abandon it.

On the third test hole, she found something quite different.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And beneath that, dry olivine.

"Not just a way through the aquifer, but the most desirable iron ore known.  Told Cilob I knew where to mine."



Cilob's Journal

Praise the miners!  Well, just the one miner.  Phenix found a path through the aquifer, through a vein of magnetite, down through some other stones, finally ending up in a layer of solid marble.  With magnetite, marble, and charcoal, we'll be able to make steel.  Eventually.  If the mountainhomes send us someone who knows how to run a smelter.

I've ordered the upper hallway expanded.  This will become the main crafting area.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We'll put the bedrooms and offices in the marble layer.  I've laid out a simple repeating floor plan that we can expand over time as needed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Counting off the days tells me that it's now summer.  Certainly hot enough for it.  Summer also seems to be the rainy season, it's been pouring for days.  The grass is still all dead, but some of the pools are refilling.

Weather.  Nothing any good dwarf should have to deal with.  The sooner we have everything safely deep underground the better.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 08:07:32 pm by Sphalerite »
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Corai

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2012, 08:13:29 pm »

Im gonna make my charecter info, like phoneix did.



CoraiUnki is a over-happy, insanely enthusiastic, and overall a annoyance to everyone nearby. He finds everyone (and everything) nearby his friend, and has a strange lure to Strawberry wine, the only thing on (or under) the planet he doesn't like are cave spiders, being terrified by them.


Sirocco is my favorite charterer from Syreupleaf if you cant tell.
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Sphalerite

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Re: Brightwater: Community fortress of science, oceans, and animal taming
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2012, 09:17:23 pm »

Cilob's Journal

CoraiUnki came to me today, telling me about some new friends he just made.  He call them 'giant birdy-birdies', says they look just like the little wrens that live outside the mountainhomes, but bigger than he is.

I'd write this off as him getting a bit too much sun, but I saw something similar myself some weeks back.

I'll ask him to make some cages, and Fishybang to set up some cage traps.  General Reg wants monsters, we might as well get started on catching her some.

8th of Malachite.

Migrants have arrived!  Much sooner than I expected - I thought General Reg would block any immigrants until we provided some evidence that we'd be able to provide what she wanted.  Three women, one man, one kid just barely adult, five children, and a handful of children.

Two of the women are war veterans, they claim.  One is a skilled hammerdwarf.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

She claims six elves killed back in the war of 39.  The other veteran is a Marksdwarf, and claims seven elves killed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

She's brought her daugher along with her.  No sign of her husband, I gather he's dead.  Must be some story there.

The barely an adult man claims to be a clothier of some skill.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Then there's the married couple.  The lady claims to be a glassworker, the guy's a farmer, but neither of them has much skill at anything but making children, it seems.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Oh, they brought their four children along with them too.

Got a bit confusing trying to work out the family relationships at work.  Seems the clothier lad is the nephew of the marksdwarf, and the guy of the married couple is her brother.  So except for that one hammerdwarf, this is all one extended family group.

I went to check on how Phenix was coming along with the bedrooms, and what do I find?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That's not the design I gave her at all!  I confronted her, and she rolled her eyes and told me that my layout was too boring and two-dimensional, that making the bedrooms this way was 'fractal' and 'post-modern' and more efficient.  Well, what's dug is dug, and it would take too long to make her stop and put it back the way I wanted it.  We need those bedrooms as soon as possible.

I told her to finish my office first, so I could storm back into it and slam the door.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 30, 2012, 07:58:43 am by Sphalerite »
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