1st Granite, 9
"At last, we've made it!"
The dwarves suddenly took a quick look around. Yes, this was the place that they had been looking for, a land rich in resources - dense forest, lush foliage and rivers teeming with fish and wildlife. Fath Kolshed got a twinkle in his eye. He had been preparing his whole life to lead his very own team of dwarves on an expedition and do what all dwarves secretly dream of, that holy convocation uttered in three sacred words..."Strike the earth!"
"Down, ye dirty pigs, down we go! There are sweet ores to be had and riches to be made - get to work, all of ye!"
The dwarves quickly nodded their heads and took a quick look around. They were in a valley of sorts, nestled in between two rolling hills, next to a beautiful flowing river and many small ponds. This was any fisherdwarf's dream come true, but the nets would have to be put up for another day.
Fath and Mafol Kubuktathtak grabbed their picks, and he proceeded to look at the other dwarves. "Shorast Athelosust, you are the best woodcutter we've got. Set to work knocking down some of these trees. The rest of you, help gather the logs and some plants from the area for supplies!"
They all happily scurried to work. They knew that Fath was direct in his orders, but he was a good leader and a passionate dwarf as well. They fully trusted him with their lives, and they were as ready, if not more, than he was to see Ustuthsakrith ascend to the dwarven heavens and descend to the lowly depths.
Fath and Mafol made an extended hallway leading to the future trade depot site, then proceeded to make another extended hallway leading to what would become the central staircase. Fath had been listening to all the stories from the homelands of fortresses, and he was ready to finally try his hand at a design he had been preparing before this embark. The silt loam proved to be an easy opponent in the quest to chisel out their soon to be envious fortress.
As the initial farmplot was dug out, Ingish Tathurist and Morul Lisidkubuk were continuing to gather plants. They looked at each other, knowing that one of them needed to dedicate solely to the farm. Morul let out a quick chuckle. "How bout a game of Rock, Leather and Swords?" This was the intellectual fashion all dwarves from the homelands used to decide all important manners, such as who got the first swig of new wine.
They both thrust hands in the air. "Ready?" Ingish smiled. "You're on!" The other dwarves took a quick break to watch this fierce duel of intellect. Morul stared into her eyes fiercely. "May the best dwarf win! 3...2...1...For The Glory of The Homelands!"
They slammed fist into palm at the same rhythm thrice, then fashioned their choice of weapon. Ingish held out a flat palm, while Morul had lifted up a clenched fist. She laughed and jumped in the air. "Ha! Leather beats rock every time! Enjoy your tidings out here in the sun - I'll be basking in the dusky glory of our new cavern!"
Morul grumbled a bit. "Aye, you've won fair and square. I'll continue on my way." And so the two dwarves parted jobs, all for the glory of the new fort.
Fath took a quick inventory of all the wildlife in the area. Turns out this little chunk of dwarven heaven contained quite a rich array of aerial and aquatic wildlife as well!
13th Granite, 9
They prepared to set up the trade depot. The miners had recently struck chert, which seemed as good as any stone for the build. Fath had a desire to retain the wood for later barrel work, as undwarven as that sounded. Perhaps it was his mindset that every resource had its purpose, as did every dwarf. Don't get me wrong, Fath was no treehugger, not by a dwarven mile. But he was not one to use resources wastefully...every item use was to be carefully considered. Until they struck an ample amount of costly ore, the chert would likely be a staple for simple constructions.
19th Granite, 9
The first rain prepared to fall upon the embark. Things were coming together quite nicely. Fath had decided to go straight for a dwarven dining room - his thoughts were on nothing more than that first frosty mug of brew....mmmm.....brew...."Get to work ye worms! We've no time to waste!"
22nd Granite, 9
Scratch that last though...Fath could not wait any longer for that first swig. Turns out, neither could half the crew...but who ever heard of a sober dwarf getting anything good done anyway?
15th Slate, 9
The dwarves have done nothing but WORK. Hard work at that. The two miners have been constantly digging out rooms. They were about to complete what was to be the future dining room, kitchen, still and food storage.
Having not yet started on the bedrooms, dwarves will proceed to use general storage rooms for comfy beds in a pinch. Okay, maybe not comfy, but barrels and bags will have to do.
11th Felsite, 9
Finally the dwarves have prepared to make the first wave of workshops. Fath gave command that five craftdwarves' shops be built for the many projects he anticipated up ahead...as well as extra shops for those..."strange"...moods that would be ahead.
18th Felsite, 9
Fath finally made his first executive decision concerning job responsibilities. "Zuglar Tosidirstrath, come here! You are no longer to haul any goods - I want you LIVING in the shop constructing rock pots. I will also be needing some rock crafts out of you in the near future - it won't be long before we see our first batch of merchants come through."
He continued to scope out the other dwarves. They were going to need wooden bins for storing all the other knick-knacks. He finally settled on Morul and sent him in the shops to make wooden bins for the fort.
13th Hematite, 9
The bedrooms were finally being dug out! Fath decided to go for a very spacious approach, allocating 2x3 rooms to each dwarf. His concern was for their happiness, and they truly deserved the best. After all, they each agreed to come with him on this embark, and for that, he was truly grateful. This was his dream coming to life, day by day, room by room, stone by stone.
21st Hematite, 9
The first band of migrants arrive...all two of them! Well, we did happen to get a new miner, which means we can finally let Fath put down his pick and get to work on more pressing matters with managing the fort. Asob Sarveshostar is more than eager to pick up where Fath left off. In the meantime, Fath commanded Shorast Athelosust to get to work on constructing wooden bins.
4th Malachite, 9
Having gotten to a comfortable place in the initial development of the fort, with future orders placed for necessary equipment, the miners proceeded to dig deeper into the earth, looking for candy and magma to begin a quick work with smelting for armor and weapons.
15th Malachite, 9
Fath discovers that the supply of brew is beginning to run low. He sets Urist, the new migrant, to working strictly in the still. Operations are continuing to move successfully.
19th Malachite, 9
The miners finally found the first cavern. Turns out there is a HUGE river flowing underground.
9th Galena, 9
The miners have progressed to -40z on their way down to the magma sea. So far, so good - they had to make one diversion in the path earlier to avoid traversing in the cavern, but it seems like there is good progress going on. The dwarves just finished the first batch of wooden bins queued up, and there are various furniture items, pots and cage traps in the near horizon.
(SIDE NOTE - the hour is late. Time to hit the hay.)
27th Sandstone, 9
A quick look at the surroundings shows that a wagon may not be able to make it this year to our fort. The area is surrounded by SO many trees - therefore, we will set to work cutting down an abundant amount of trees to make room for future traders. On top of that, 3 new migrants just showed up - a fisherman, a stonecrafter and a farmer. We set to work immediately to try their hand at moving wood and getting ready to build a road for traders to come into our humble abode.
3rd Timber, 9
Finally! After so much effort, our miners have discovered the magma sea. It was not an easy task by any means - 162 layers into the blessed ground has brought forth that sweet, rouge liquid stone. They set to work immediately to set up smelters and prepare to make weapons and armor for the future militia. Our humble crew of 12 miners shall be mighty!
17th Timber, 9
Just as expected, we were not able to get a clear path in time for our liaison's wagon to trade with us. No worries - we will be that much more prepared by next year.
Fath was requested at the depot - this would be a small deal, as the only items the fort really wanted to trade was a couple binfuls of rock goods. The rest of the materials acquired would be put to good use.
25th Timber, 9
Looks like the magma sea is loaded with magma crabs, and we lost our first dwarf to one of their vicious attacks. It is a sad moment for the dwarves, yet they seem to show no emotion and continue on in spite of this minor setback. Fath hereby orders construction of the first burial grounds - he was hoping this moment would not come so soon. However, he knew that it was not the loss of his fellow dwarves that made him a good or a bad leader - it was how he reacted to the situation. This was no time to head to the wine pots - "Alright me dwarves, get to work!"
A quick lookout at the area revealed that it was not alone - these crabs were known in lore to be ferocious.
Fath chose Urist to continue off where Stukos left off. "Fare thee well, me brave dwarf, and be ye careful of those deadly crabs that lurk below."
20th Moonstone, 9
The liaison finally decided to embark back home. The dwarves wished them a safe journey back towards the homeland, and then set their eyes upon the new tasks at hand. A batch of kobold thieves had just shown up, but they took almost nothing. Fath hurried to have the dwarves set up the first batch of traps in the initial hallway, as well as construct a bridge for the entrance. The first burial area was dug out, and coffins were ordered up. Poor Stukos' corpse was breeding miasma in the depths, but until the first coffin was assembled, there was not much a dwarf could do.
16th Opal, 9
Stukos finally received a proper burial. It was a somber moment, but considering the progress that the dwarves had achieved this year, it was minor in comparison to all the good that had happened. Every dwarf took it on the chin and kept running in stride. In a way, they were proud to be friends and family of Stukos. His death symbolized the death they all secretly wished they could die - to die for the honor of the fort. With morale sailing high, Fath could only thank the heavens for what success the fort had enjoyed up to this moment.
25th Obsidian, 9
Praise be to the brave Urist Likotmuzish! He has not only been working on a new path for wagons to make their way into our proud little fort, but he also took the long path down to the magma smelter to complete where Stukos left off. Secretly, every dwarf was hoping that they would not hear his screams coming from the depths of the earth. When they saw him finally emerge from below, the dwarves all let out a cheer and went to get a drink. Hey, it's as good a time as any for some brew!
1st Granite, 10
Spring has arrived! How can we sum up the first year of our beautiful fort? We struck the earth, we created a trade depot and farms, storage rooms and workshops, a huge dining room and individual bedrooms, and even begun the firstfruits of a magma smelter. We lost one dwarf, but gained a LOT of progress. Overall, a really good year - here's to year 10 being even more fruitful!
27th Slate, 10
So far, so good. The miners have been working to start excavating new goods for the craftdwarves, and the mechanics have been working to plant the cage traps. The masons have been outside working on the new pathway, and the farmers have been gathering. The cook and brewer have been working to keep supplies in good standing, and Fath prepares to give a new command - textile industry! "I want to see good clothes for these workers - let's make preparations for an awesome clothing industry."
28th Slate, 10
Thank the heavens! The next batch of workers...err...migrants have arrived! We have been needing fresh hands on deck, and this will give the fort the necessary boost it needs to haul product to its respective areas. Fath has commanded for more bedrooms to be chiseled out. He is a firm believer that every dwarf deserves his own room. He also appointed three new masons to help expedite the workload, and the rest of the dwarves would be appointed to haul stone to a garbage zone for easy access.
He also enlisted some extra help in terms of mechanics. His vision of a militia would have to be temporarily postponed as he prepared for making the fortress into the majestic castle it deserved to be. After all, the homelands weren't built overnight, you know?
13th Felsite, 10
The first elven caravan has arrived!
However, it appears Fath wanted to goad them a bit. He purposely included the wooden bins in the trade offering of finished goods products, which instantly killed any future trades. The elves immediately packed up. How Fath secretly debated to steal all the elves had, but he didn't want to start a war at the same time with other civilizations. Perhaps next time he would be more congenial in his dealings with the snobs.
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Topic: Ustuthsakrith (Community Fort) (Read 1202 times)