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[Arcvasti]

1st Slate: Since we're now isolated from Exiles and Peddlers by the dwaves, I undertook an audit of what roles each kobold occupied and whether they could be made more efficient. I found that one kobold did nothing but make candles, something we rarely need. I gave Articil the added responsibility of chandling[It overlaps well with his tallow making] and made the former chandler the thresher. The old thresher, being an Eel-sign, was made a fisherbold. So far, he lacks an assistant to clean the fish he’d catch or, indeed, a place to clean fish in the first place. Still, diversity in our diet is important. Eating nothing but jack rat meat is bland and unhealthy. Between fish and the game that Zach and Skullsploder hunt, we should have enough variety. I order a fishery constructed on the roof above the dining room for this porpoise.

3rd Slate: I have another batch of clay bricks started. We’re going to need a LOT of them to make the upper level properly. I also get Kaladin to make some clothes for the children.

7th Slate: The new fisherbold is catching fish aplenty. One of the barrels reserved for fisherberry juice has been co-opted into a raw fish barrel. I suppose this way they won’t rot. In any case, the crops of wood stalk, fisherberry, blade weed and rope reed are starting to come in. I order some fisherberries pressed into juice. Drinking only water gets boring. I also mandate some of the wood stalk crop made into barrels for prepared fish and fisher berry juice storage.

10th Slate: An altercation hapened at the kitchen today. Here’s what hapened from what I can gather:
   A dartfrog-sgin kobold child, who now calls himself “Huivn” demanded the use of the kitchen from Articil. Articil refused. Huivn then insulted him, saying that if he was such a good cook, why does he only render fat. Articil flew into a black rage and yelled at Huivn. He said “I AM A COOK! I DO NOT MAKE FOOD. I DISTILL ITS ESSENCE! TALLOW IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE KOBOLD RACE! IT IS WHAT LIGHTS OUR DENS AND HARDENS OUR ARMOUR!’ Huivn replied that he wasn’t a cook, he was a chef. Chefs make food, not goop. Articil said that wouldn’t hapen in HIS kitchen. I mentally resolve to get Huivn a kitchen of his own. Upstart or not, he sort of has a point.

11th Slate: I came to see Huivn to tell him he’d be getting a kitchen of his own soon. But I found him locked up in the craftsbold workshop, muttering about how he’d show that old codger. He then went out and hauled the Boulder that Alestance brought up from his control room[Alestance and his mate are still holed up in there. Door won’t open.] into the workshop and started doing… SOMETHING to it. Asking around, I heard he’d become depressed when Articil became an Ancestor yesterday by becoming legendary at his craft. This must be his way of getting even. This sort of mood always makes its victim legendary at that crafts. How do I-the same robed woman from before, staggering out of a workshop carrying a masterful bone helm-know… Oh. That makes sense. After this, they’ll BOTH be Ancestors.

12th Slate: The potter gave birth to a female kobold child today. I have Kaladin make her some clothes.

16th Slate: Huivn finished his artifact: A pair of three sided dice. I rolled them and got a 12. I rolled again and got a 0. I rerolled and received negative eight. Another roll netted me four and a half. I decide to leave the dice alone. Huivn is an Ancestor now, although he has no intention of exercising his new-found powers. He still wants to be a chef. I tell him about the kitchen I’m going to make him and he seems excited. The bone carver, now that his workshop is done being hijacked, starts making totems.

17th Slate: The new barrels are finished and are being filled with fisher berry juice.

24th Slate: The potter is finally firing his batch of clay bricks.

27th Slate: Enough of the roof has been finished that we cans start putting more basic workshops on them.

[Arcvasti]

1st Felsite: I finally get that kitchen for Huizn set up. I hope the little upstart doesn’t complicate things any more then he already has now that he has what he wanted.

4th Felsite: I’ve started walling off the rest of the second floor. We don’t want any mass panicking like earlier from seeing the dwarves.

8th Felsite: Huivn started preparing jack rat meat biscuits. I requested he incorporate fish. He just stared at me in utter disgust. Being snobbed by someone of his age… Whatever. The cooked food should improve Camp morale, which is low due to the dwarven occupation.

11th Felsite: I order another batch of bricks made. The second floor needs to be completely walled off before serious work can begin on it.

14th Felsite: I’ve asked Kaladin to start making blocks to aid in the construction efforts. We need to get this done quickly.

17th Felsite: I went to Alestance’s control room door to ask for his mates help in making wicker blocks for construction. I found a note on the ground, probably passed underneath the door. I didn’t know Alestance could read… It read that I should come and meet with him as soon as I got the note. I knocked on the door and it opened with a squeak of axles. I went inside.The door closed behind me. I couldn’t believe what I saw in there.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 

There was a pleasant little table and chair and a bed. Levers of all kinds and porpoises lined the walls. Most impressive was a working plumbing system, probably controlled by one of the levers. And there was enough meat to last the inhabitant’s months. No wonder we never saw either of them. This was a little fortress. Alestance noticed my expression and said that he built most of it himself with the shovel he’d been given earlier. I asked him why. He said he could never be too safe. Especially when the Camp was still more vulnerable to attack, the bunker was necessary to ensure his and his mate’s safety. Now? Now it was more a matter of being a nice, private and comfy place to live. I asked him why he’d sent for me. He asked if the Legion had found them yet. I replied that a squad of dwarven Legionnaires were trapped across the river. He asked if they were blocking Exiles and Peddlers from arriving. I said yes. Alestance then started talking in earnest. He said that without Exiles arriving to swell our population, we had but one option: natural reproduction. But relatively few of the kobolds living here had permanent mates. [Kobolds have an “adaptationally monogamous” marital system. Usually, kobolds marry and have children in a fashion similar to other more civilized races. But when the need to make more kobolds becomes urgent, unattached kobolds make sure as many young kobolds are produced as quickly as possible. The baby kobolds in such times of need are born prematurely and have a much higher rate of infant mortality, which is why kobolds normally incubate their children for a full year before giving birth.] I asked him if he thought that was really necessary. He replied that we would stagnate if we didn’t get new blood somehow. He added that we should probably set up a dedicated Breeding Warren somewhere underground to make the procedure more organized. I thought for a moment and agreed.

20th Felsite: Thanks to Alestance’s mate and Kaladin, construction proceeds apace. The potter and his crew are still shaping bricks, but blocks of wicker and leather are being pumped out quicker then they can be placed. Although the wall, made of LEATHER and WICKER won’t be very stable and likely won’t be able to support another floor.

22nd Felsite: A Weregila monster appeared among the invading dwarves. Using my native kobold stealth[Which I was later told I shouldn’t have, being at least SORT OF a Salamander] I climbed on top of the wall facing the dwarven host and settled down stealthily to watch.

23rd Felsite: It wasn’t much of a show. The weregila monster died quickly after mauling only one of the speardwarves. Any potential plans of sending Zach and Skullsploder to fight the invaders died with him. The Legion’s reputation as hunters of night creatures is not exaggerated.

26th Felsite: I gave the Digger orders to excavate a chamber for the Breeding Warren. I also told the bone carver and Arthropleura to go make or gather the requisite materials for the Breeding Warren. The sooner we get the breeding over with, the better.

30th Felsite: Still no signs of any newcomers, Exile or Peddler. The Legion has us cut off from outside aid. Zach and Skullsploder are steadily becoming more skilled, but not skilled enough to take on that many dwarves.

4th Hematite: The Breeding Warren supplies are done, but the chamber itself is still being dug out. The potter is finally firing his bricks. Once he’s done, the wall around the second floor should be all but complete.

8th Hematite: Some forest spiders have wandered close to the dwarven interlopers. Maybe they’ll kill some of them.

13th Hematite: The rope reed crop has begun to be processed. The Breeding Warren has been built. Actually, upon closer survey, there are far fewer unattached kobolds then I thought there’d be. Still, there are enough unattached females to bear a decent amount of children. And, thankfully, there is at least one unattached male besides myself. I was somewhat afraid I would have to take their place. In any case, breeding is going well. Tenderroast’s assistant just gave birth to quintuplets. The thresher is next. I think that’s all the children we’ll need for now, to be honest. They’re underfoot everywhere as it is.

14th Hematite: AAAND the thresher just gave birth to quadruplets. Why did I think this was a good idea. SO MANY LITTLE ONES RUNNING AROUND.

15th Hematite: Kaladin is up to his ears in work. ALL the new arrivals need clothes and we don’t have any tailors among us, so he has to take up the slack. The former fisherbold has been usurped by a Legion lot of eel-sign children fishing in his place. I’ve put him on fish cleaning duty instead.

17th Hematite: Arcticil, in an unusually aggressive move, has started making the most extravagant meals he can out of fish and meat to combat the popularity of Huivn’s new meat biscuits. As he is an Ancestor of cooking, his offerings are far superior. Huivn, in retaliation, sculpted a masterful greenware statue of a leech[Which Arcticil despises] and placed it outside Arcticil’s kitchen as a “gift”, both to demonstrate his own prowess as Ancestor of pottery and to get under his scales. Since then, both chef and cook have kept to their respective kitchens and just made meat biscuits and meat and fish roasts respectively.

18th Hematite: Staggering, Palu came out of his Lodge today. He looked… different. I gave him the equipment Kaladin and Tenderroast had made him[Minus the cloak, which Huivn snagged right after being born]. He asked how the Tunnel idea worked out. I filled him in on the state I’d found the Council Chamber in and the dwarven invasion. He asked to see the dwarves so I took him up to the top of the wall to look at them. And found them gone. The dwarves had left. Maybe we weren’t even their target. They might just have been sent after the weregila monster. I ordered the coal pried up from the tunnel under the river. I slipped a note under the bunker door to Alestance and his mate saying that we’d done the Breeding Program and that the Legion had retreated.

20th Hematite: Tenderroast immediately claimed the coal we’d used for blockading the tunnel under the river for his own porpoises. He plans to make another pair of iron machetes and a bronze pointy stick for Palu. He said that if we ever get another Druid, THEY can have the copper one Palu has right now.

24th Hematite: A couple of the new kids almost got killed by the forest spiders looking for quivers. Luckily, they were Air-sign, so they just slipped away unnoticed. But I’ve forbid anyone from going out to get those quivers.

28th Hematite: Palu took some bones and a totem and went into the Hexers Lodge. I hope he isn’t meditating again, we’ll need him soon enough.

[Hefateus]

I really enjoyed reading this. I've only played kobolds once so I never really got a feel for them but this makes me want to go for it again.

[Arcvasti]

I really enjoyed reading this. I've only played kobolds once so I never really got a feel for them but this makes me want to go for it again.

Thanks!

In any case, I suddenly feel like playing DF again. Weeklyish updates will probably resume now. Let's see if I can still remember what the HFS is going on in this fort.

1st Malachite: A few kobold children in the River Tunnel were spooked by a Forest Spider again today. We need to implement some defenses in that tunnel.

2nd Malachite: The Forest Spiders are chasing the children into the fort. I've ordered everyone to stay inside the fort until the crisis is over. While Skullsploder and Zach are getting good with their machetes, neither of them can go up against someone with webs. I should probably give the machetes and lamellar we have standing by to some Owl-Signs to fight this type of enemy once I can.

3rd Malachite: The Forest Spiders have wandered off, luckily. But the near disaster cannot be disregarded. Kaladin is making more lamellar for a future militia. We lack Metal bars for weapons, so leather and bone are all we have to work with, unless we want to send more brave kobolds down the Tunnel. In any case, I've slipped a note under Alestance's door that he AND his mate are both needed immediately. They emerged fairly quickly. We need his mate to process the blade weed we just harvested into bales and him to fortify the River Tunnel with some simple bone cage traps. More elaborate traps will have to wait.

6th Malachite: Palu came out of the Hexer Lodge today, carrying a purple-glowing jack rat skull in each hand. He explained that these were Hexes designed to slow an enemies movements and that he could apply them to weapons. I call over Zach and Skullsploder and tell them about the Hexes. They somewhat reluctantly hand over their machetes to the Druid and Palu disappears back into the Hexer Lodge.

11th Malachite: Someone had triplets. There are little kobolds underfoot every which way. At least they'll bolster our workforce immensely in a year when they're all grown up. Palu gave the slow-Hexed machetes back to Zach and Skullsploder.

12th Malachite: I felt the eldritch energies TWIST. I rushed out of my office. Palu, his dreamcatcher necklace in pieces from the nether pulse, says its a powerful malevolent spirit of some kind. He was interrupted by Tenderroast, with glowing eyes and a visage twisted into a demonic smile. He grabbed a bar of gold and a piece of finest leather and retreated inside his forge, cackling. I reassure Palu that the spirit isn't hostile. Its building an Anchor, an object that bridges the gap between our world and the Void. Palu gives me a strange look and I remember that I shouldn't know that.

15th Malachite: Tenderroast staggers out of the forge, clutching a pointy golden stick. I take it from him and examine it. It is engraved with a name: Shebebihobi, the Indignant Harvesters. I hand my black bronze chopper to Tenderroast's assistant and tell him to melt it down. We need the Metal anyways. Besides, I now have something much better. I can FEEL the resonance Shebebihobi has, memories of how I could use that resonance streaming through my mind from the Should-Not-Have-Been. I banish the incantations from my mind and congratulate Tenderroast on his accomplishment, unwitting though it may have been.

16th Malachite: Alestance is finally done setting up the cage traps in the River Tunnel. I bring him up to date on Tenderroast's possession and Shebebihobi's creation. I direct him to oversee the placement of some retractable bridges over both entrances of the River Tunnel, so we can seal it off as needed.

19th Malachite: I have Tenderroast use the black bronze from my old chopper to make a pair of scourges.

20th Malachite:

21st Malachite: The Exiles are mostly unskilled and of redundant Birthsigns, with a few exceptions. A Lizard and Badger sign kobold are drafted into the militia and issued our leftover machetes. I get Kaladin to work on making them some armour from our ambient lamellar. A Kestrel sign has some knowledge of both archery and of bowyering, so she will be assigned to any future archery squads. There's also an Owl-sign, calling himself "Razorback", who seems like a good candidate for the archery squad as well. One of the Exiles is an acolyte Druid, and Palu orders some fisher juice made in preparation for his meditation to become a full Druid. The Exiles also brought some Totem-bomb slings, which are brought into the fort to await future melting down into their valuable Metal. None of the Exiles question my leadership, mostly because of how shiny and majestic Shebebihobi is.

Spoiler: More Detailed list (click to show/hide)

23rd Malachite: Apparently some of the children thought it would be funny to go get the totem-bomb slings and run around playing "Hunters". So there goes bars of valuable Metal until they grow out of them.

27th Malachite: The Druid-in-training is beginning his meditation. The two new soldiers are fully equipped and await only construction of some new barracks on the second floor before they can begin training in earnest. The second floor's wall is mostly complete and construction is beginning on flooring it. Alestance is finished hooking up the River Tunnel lockdown levers.

3rd Galena: One of the migrants, who had some skill in poisoning, set up a Poison Cookery. We don't have any Kobold Bulbs for Slowpoke poison, but I'm confident that the next group of Peddlers to come through will have some seeds. Slowpoke poison is very important, as it can be applied at a safe distance by blowguns, unlike the melee based Slow Hexes we already have. Swamp Fever poison isn't as selective about which plant you use for it, but requires oil and lye, which are somewhat difficult to get. Those are the only two poisons Kobolds possess the knowledge to make. I could order our Thief to raid the Drow for poison recipes, but I do not want to incur their bloodsteel-shrouded wrath.

5th Galena: Some Forest Imps snuck into the camp today. Palu charged them and turned into a mighty Spirit Bear, eviscerating one of them. Skullsploder and Zach killed a few and drove the rest off. I'm not entirely sure why Palu found it necessary to turn into a SPIRIT BEAR for IMPS, but I can't deny his effectiveness.

13th Galena: I order a lodge built on the second floor. My memories from the Should-Not-Have-Been whisper to me a purpose for it.

14th Galena: Palu returned to kobold form, looking dizzy and disoriented from hosting such a powerful spirit for so long.

15th Galena: The second floor barrack are complete and the new recruits begin training.

16th Galena: During a routine check of the River Tunnel cage traps, we found a goblin snatcher caught in one. I order a new cage made and the goblin captive hauled into the fort. I have an IDEA for what to do with him.

The kobold hauling the cage back to the camp was surprised by another snatcher. Both of them scattered and ran in mutual surprise. Zach and Skullsploder chased after the snatcher, but he got away. This is bad. It means the goblins know we're here. Where there's one goblin, there's twenty. But, after all, the same is said for kobolds.

18th Galena: Digging has begun on the new project for our captive and the bone carver is hard at work creating components for it.

20th Galena: Some Peddlers arrived today. On the wrong side of the River Tunnel. And the new cage traps we installed in there mean that they can't get their wagons through. I've started work on a retractable bridge over the river proper, kept retracted most of the time, just for allowing wagons over.

21st Galena: Caught another snatcher today. Ordered this one tossed in the river.

22nd Galena: Several more snatchers appear and flee, none of them getting caught. The Peddlers arrive at the Depot. I order our entire supply of earthenware crafts brought to the Depot.

27th Galena: After some heated negotiations, I purchase a breeding pair of ogres in exchange for all our earthenware crafts and some of Articil's finest cooking.

[smakemupagus]

I wasn't up to speed on this but it's very entertaining & looking forward to more updates!!

**The Cook holds up two candles.**
Cook: One of these is a tallow candle and one is a candle[Tallow]. What is the difference between them?
Arcvasti: Well you see, making tallow candle's is what orcs do. We took the recipe they used to make them and adopted it. Making candles[Tallow] is what dwarves do. We took the recipe they used to make them and adopted it.
Cook: But these are both made in an identical fashion.
Arcvasti: Truly, this shows the way the Others think. The dwarves do not make tallow candles because the orcs do it, therefore their way cannot be the right way. The orcs do not make candles[Tallow] because the dwarves do it, therefore their way cannot be the right way. But they make them the same way. In this way too, does the Legion of Light say that they do not "ravage", for that is what their enemies do, instead, the Legion of Light "crusades". And that makes all the difference to them. But in the end, both candles will burn you if you touch them.
Cook: I understand, Teacher.

lol^^ 

[Arcvasti]

As I have recently mentioned in the RAAAGEEEE!!!!! thread, my computer's files have been encrypted by the Cryptowall 2.0 virus. Including the Cobaltpacked save. Cobaltpacked is very probably dead.

EDIT: May have jumped the gun. Cobaltpacked seems to run just fine. I almost feel insulted to be a victim of such a pathetic virus.

EDITX2 COMBO!: Masterwork DF has miraculously survived. As I cannot in good conscience disregard this divine gift that has been given to me, update probably incoming this weekend.

[Meph]

miraculously?

You unbeliever. It's of course the superior AI of DF that defeated this virus of yours. 

[Arcvasti]

miraculously?

You unbeliever. It's of course the superior AI of DF that defeated this virus of yours. 

Its literally a miracle. I have ~20 different other versions of DF that succumbed. 5.09 is the only survivor. Not even sure how that's possible.

[Meph]

Nah, that virus probably spotted the virus I included, so it left its friend alone. Somehow I have to get these credit card infos, dont I?

[Arcvasti]

1st Limestone: The lodge is ready. I take some basic supplies up and begin preparing it.

2nd Limestone: Alestance's mate has given birth to quadruplets. Someone less self-controlled then me might be considering infanticide at this point. Kobold hatchlings are a little squirming carpet EVERYWHERE.

4th Limestone: The lodge is prepared. It is now a Witcher's lodge, a focusing place for my particular brand of magic. Half Kobold Druidism, half Warlock Sorcery. Palu makes some sort of protective sigil every time he sees it and mutturs about dark forces. Within those walls, I could unlock my TRUE power. but I need GEMS as a focus for that, a resource we lack. I resolve to send the Thief to go gather some once the Peddlers leave.

7th Limestone: I finally convinced the children to relinquish their totem bomb slings and we melted them down into rather impressive amounts of Metal. With this and the fuel we got from smelting the compacted peat the Digger found while working on the project, we could probably outfit another 2-3 squads of kobolds. But we don't have any more kobolds with combat Birthsigns, so I've ordered the Metal stockpiled and not touched.

9th Limestone: The Peddler Access Bridge is almost fully hooked up. Hopefully we'll be able to avoid incidents like this year's in future.

12th Limestone: The project is going along nicely and the Peddler Access Bridge is fully operational.

15th Limestone: River Tunnel trap caught another snatcher. Ordered him thrown in the river. Kaladin finished making gear for the next Druid, once he comes out of meditation.

20th Limestone: The first jack rat litter of the season is born. And promptly butchered.

26th Limestone: The project, a silk farm, is technically complete. However, the bait, one goblin snatcher, was accidentally killed and we don't have any spares. The system functions perfectly, but we just lack one component.

2nd Sandstone: More Forest Imps. Skullsploder and Zach ought to be able to handle them.

4th Sandstone: The Thief is sent to procure gems for my Witcher Ritual from the goblins.

5th Sandstone: Palu is finished making more slow hexes and begins enchanting the new squad's machete's.

8th Sandstone: Both machetes are fully enchanted.

13th Sandstone: In a routine inspection of the walls, I found something odd. A platform had been constructed over the Depot and a kobold I didn't recognize was building something.

Spoiler: Preachlog (click to show/hide)

Arcvasti: What are you doing? Where did you get your statue? I didn't authorize this.
Kobold: I am building a shrine to Griblin, the most holy. I am Calamity, prophet of the end times. I forged this statue from the infernal Metal with my own hands.
Arcvasti: Look, we need every scrap of Metal for our own defense. Come with me and lets get this melted back down.
Calamity: No. These people know not their true purpose. They are unprepared for the end times I herald.
Arcvasti: **Brandishes Shebebihobi** Come with me. NOW!
Calamity: Your unholy instrument holds no sway over me. Besides, you won't use it.
Arcvasti: Come with me. Or I'll gut you.
Calamity: No, you won't. Look down at your people. They follow you because they believe you will lead them to success and survival. Will they still follow you if you kill one of your own?
Arcvasti: I'll exile you then.
Calamity: Not so long ago, you WERE an Exile, rejected because the elders didn't like your ideas. Cobaltpacked was to be a place where that didn't happen, where all ideas were accepted.

Arcvasti stalked away to his office

14th Limestone: Calamity is going to be a problem. He's started preaching to the idle kobolds during the day, telling them about "Griblin" and how the end is coming. And they listen.

15th Limestone: I've ordered some blade weed milled into dye, for use in warpainting.

18th Limestone: Calamity's "temple" continues to be built. He won't admit it, but the Potter has been secretly supplying him with bricks. I fear my authority is slipping.

22nd Limestone: Both Skullsploder and Zach's armour has been painted with my sigil in emerald. The new recruits and my personal set of armour still need to be painted. Palu refuses to be warpainted, stating that it is dark magic and that he wants to stay out of any power struggles.

23rd Limestone: Calamity has begun making ostentatious sacrifices of tanned hides to his "god". I haven't forbidden them yet, but I need to check his influence before things get out of control.

24th Limestone: Arthropleura is going out to chop down some trees for fuel. Most of the fuel is being secretly wasted on Calamity's "temple", so we need more. For a while, we've been relying on our wood stalk reserves for these sorts of things, but I've decided that we should conserve them, in case the Thief's forays into Goblin territory bring down their wrath upon us.

30th Limestone: The Thief's efforts have paid off. Many bars of silver and gold, as well as numerous coins are now ours. Most importantly, we have gems for my ritual. The Jeweler has been set to cutting them properly.

6th Timber: Fuel making is in full swing and clay gathering and shaping is in a frenzy. I've decided to stop prohibiting the building of the Temple. This way, it makes me seem generous and unworried by Calamity.

9th Timber: The jewels are ready, some vermin have been burned to create the necessary ash and the Bone Carver always has a few spare totems lying around. I am ready to become a Witcher and forsake my Birthsign of the Salamancer

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Diamond of the earth, for clarity and strength

Arcvasti reverently placed the shining diamond in its place on the altar.
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Verit was bored. His job, while important and prestigious, was not exciting. As scion of one of the most important dwarven houses, his mandatory duty in the Legion was cushy and as safe as possible. However, watching the focus crystals for signs of Warlock activity was dull as HFS. Since the massacres a few years ago, there hadn't been any change in them at all. As if to contradict this thought, one of the focus crystals sprang to life, glowing a bright alarming white. Verit was most decidedly NOT bored anymore. He sprang to his feet and tugged on the emergency bell rope.

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Ash of the dead, for remembrance and sorrow
Arcvasti rubbed the ashes into the diamond until it glowed a malevolent black on the altar.
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Calamity chuckled to himself softly as he prepared another offering. That blasphemer Arcvasti had barricaded himself in his lodge, unable to bear the shame of losing. Soon Cobaltpacked would be his. Then? Then he could begin the end times. The Legion was going to pay in blood for every life they'd taken. Even if he had to smother kobold children to do it, he WOULD have vengeance on them. Whistling a hymn, Calamity lit the pyre of the stacked bits of leather and imagined Arcvasti burning with them.
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Skull of the Rat, for life and solidarity
Arcvasti placed the skull over the glowing black diamond and stepped back, chanting an incantation from the Should-Not-Have-Been
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Below the earth, in a place best described as a den of nightmares, a man woke. The Ether was bending, twisting, churning. He could FEEL it. He hadn't felt anything like this since he'd crowned the Overlord. Something similar must be going on. But who? He'd thought that Warlocks had nearly been wiped out. His attention was diverted from these thoughts by something dripping onto the unnatural black floor. He raised his hand to his nose and found it bleeding.
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Sign of my Ancestors, forsake me!
Arcvasti screamed, power STREAMING from the altar and the offering to him in a coruscating swirl of pain and pleasure. And then it was over.
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          Calamity's offering burned to a crisp, leaving a cloak of finest leather behind, as if by a miracle. A noise behind him made him turn. It was Arcvasti, the heretic. But different somehow. Radiant with dark unholy power. Calamity found his voice.

"Begone. You have no power here."

 The aberration smiled and raised its golden anomaly to point it at him. With a grunt of effort and a spray of sparks, the consecrated barrier between them BROKE inwards, throwing Calamity backwards. The witcher walked over, grabbing Calamity by his vest's collar and lifting him into the air.

"Hear my words, Harbinger of False Dooms. You are NOTHING. You live here with MY permission. You LIVE with my permission. Discard any fantasies of stirring up unrest or rebellion. *I* am master here. I do what I must."

The THING dropped Calamity and walked out of the half-finished Temple. Calamity called after him:

"Because you MUST? Or because you CAN?"
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10th Timber: I DO so enjoy my new power. Showing up that false prophet was very satisfying. Despite my show in the Temple, I know only a few incantations to bind and corral my foes. Further accumulation of power will require more reagents. I will set the Thief to find more gems. And blood. I need blood. Definitely the blood.

11th Timber: Palu came up to me today. He says that I toy with forces beyond my comprehension. I assure him I comprehend them. He replies that he hopes I do not comprehend them, because that way, my crimes would not be out of malice, but ignorance. I inform him that I am in full control. He responds only with a shake of his head and walks back to his lodge.

15th Timber: The breeding pair of Ogres we purchased earlier are still in their cages. This is a WHOLEY unsuitable state of affairs. I have Kaladin begin making the components required for their "cave".

17th Timber: Using some blood Huivn cooked up[From one of Articil's masterpieces, no less], I now possess the power to attack with conjured bloodsteel projectiles at range. The other main incantation I can learn now is one of concealment, which I feel is of limited usefulness. For anything more useful, I'll need more gems. And its too dangerous to send the Thief out on any more missions. We got lucky that he's been so successful so far.

18th Timber: A succubus thief has been captured in a cage. Calamity calls for her destruction by fire and several of the other kobolds want her prominently displayed in camp as a trophy. I decide on a compromise and will have her put in the silk farm to replace the dead goblin I was going to use.

19th Timber: A trio of succubi thieves appear. Skullsploder kills two, but one escapes. This demonic incursion doesn't bode very well for the future. The succubus thief is successfully installed in the silk farm and we should have our first silk crop coming in soon.

22nd Timber: Calamity has started his sermons of dissent again. I briefly consider killing him, but decide that would be cheating.

25th Timber: The first major silk harvest is beginning. Alestance's idea works beautifully.

27th Timber: I order fisherberry juice pressed from our excess stock of berries. Most of the kobolds here have never tasted fisherberry juice, it being reserved for the Druid in their meditation. Calamity's portrayal of me as a villain looks more ridiculous by the hour.

28th Timber: Calamity's "Temple" is complete. At least it isn't siphoning resources from the Ogre Cave construction anymore.

[smakemupagus]

I like the way you really pack your buildings in to make the most of the space within the walls.  It's made me re-evaluate my standard "try, and fail, to claim a sprawling village far too big to wall in before the first invasion".

[Illogical_Blox]

I like the way you really pack your buildings in to make the most of the space within the walls.  It's made me re-evaluate my standard "try, and fail, to claim a sprawling village far too big to wall in before the first invasion".

My standard for above ground fortresses, on the other hand, currently practiced on Castlemarkets, consists of "claim a large area for a village, turns out to be far too small."

[evictedSaint]

Say, could I get 'Bolded? 

"Sniffles the Expendable" for whichever unclaimed kobold that looks most likely to die first.

[Arcvasti]

I like the way you really pack your buildings in to make the most of the space within the walls.  It's made me re-evaluate my standard "try, and fail, to claim a sprawling village far too big to wall in before the first invasion".

My standard for above ground fortresses, on the other hand, currently practiced on Castlemarkets, consists of "claim a large area for a village, turns out to be far too small."

After a few tries, I eventually settled on the current set-up. I actually went and drew out on paper how much interior space I would need for the buildings I thought were essential. Before the shovel rebalance[V 3a and thereabouts], I used to make huge sprawling horizontal forts in the soil layers. Now I've mostly switched to a vertical aboveground fortress set up. Plus, I feel that cramped quarters filled with writhing masses of children is very koboldy. And humans have naturally large buildings. 5x5 PER MERCHANT means lots and lots of space taken up. Kobolds have smaller workshops in general and can swap most of them out easily using the tent system if space is limited. Plus they're really low maintenance. Have a dining room, a well, meat and a dormitory and they're fine. You really don't even need a dining room or dormitory, since kobolds don't tantrum, but I have personal issues with seeing all my kobolds with flashing red arrows. For that reason and the fact that jack rats make a good dependable food source[Although they're MUCH more balanced now after the recent[Relatively, at least] nerfs, I would argue kobolds to be the easiest masterwork race to learn. Orcs would probably be next[Naturally good warriors and no alcohol dependence.], then Succubi and Warlocks[Tiny labour pools are hard to manage.]. Dwarves are by far the most complex overloaded race ever[Although they're better then previous versions.]. Not sure where Humans fall, not having played them that much. Gnomes clock in as most obtuse to new players, because they have to rely on fishing and they need lots of fiddly little metal bits and machine know-how to make work properly.

^^Large post on fort design and comparative playable race analysis. I may or may not take kobolds too seriously.

Say, could I get 'Bolded? 

"Sniffles the Expendable" for whichever unclaimed kobold that looks most likely to die first.

Sure. Although I'm not sure which kobold looks most likely to die. Currently sitting on 0 kobold deaths so far. I'm thinking one of the hunter children who run out and try to lash dingoes with their stolen totem bomb slings would be the closest I could get.

RE: Updates

Will have a small one out either by later today or Thursday. Depends on if I decided to sacrifice sleep in favours of KOBOLDZ tonight.

EDIT: Yeah, not today.

[Arcvasti]

* Arcvasti successfully exorcizes his procrastination demon.

2nd Moonstone: A routine inspection of the weapon traps at the entrance revealed a succubus thief had met its end at the hands of Alestance's work. We grabbed their weapon, bag and took the demonic corpse in to be butchered. The clothing[If it can even be called that] I can see no use for, as it is too large for kobolds to wear.

3rd Moonstone: The Weaver has started making rare silk cloth from the webs he collected. They will be very valuable once made into clothes or bags.

7th Moonstone: The Clothier has been given orders to make rare silk cloaks for everyone. Luxury incarnate. I'd like to see that false prophet declaim me as an unholy beast NOW!

10th Moonstone: The Thief has been sent into dwarven territory through the Thieves Tunnel to procure additional metals.

11th Moonstone: I've ordered glass making operations constructed out of shiny[But useless] gold on the second floor. We don't have a glassmaker, but some of the kobold children look to be almost working age. Babbette in particular seems like a good candidate to be my apprentice in the witching arts.

12th Moonstone: I order a screw press constructed near the golden glass furnace. For... pressing things, presumably? Alestance thinks we need one. I am inclined to go along with him.

13th Moonstone: The Potter is tasked with making more bricks. The second floor of workshops progresses nicely, but we still don't have enough room for the Ogre cave.

14th Moonstone: A few weasels get caught in cage traps. Our resident Animal Trainer seems to think they can be domesticated, as we captured a breeding pair.

17th Moonstone: All the caught weasels are reasonably tame. I order the spare male butchered and the other two released from their cages.

20th Moonstone: The second rare silk harvest from the silk farm begins. More fine silk to be woven into opulent cloaks for the populace or as trade good. Alestance is a genius.

23rd Moonstone: I mandate the construction of a large tent on the second floor. Our poisoner says he[Or is it she? The new silk cloaks everyone{Besides Calamity and his closest followers} wear makes it hard to tell genders.] has some ideas based off of some dwarven blueprints[Author's note: I found out kobolds could make the poison lab with no outside blueprints. The dwarven blueprint story is to explain why I didn't do this before.] to make a near-Drowish efficacy poison lab.

25th Moonstone: The new Poison Lab is complete. We don't have any of the plants required to brew any of these more potent poisons. Bitterroot poison is the easiest to make, but we lack its crucial ingredient: Bitterroot

26th Moonstone: The Digger has given birth to a child today. Because we needed more of those.

30th Moonstone: Calamity has begun preaching DIRECTLY against me. I decide its time to confront him again.
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I stride into the temple, pausing only slightly to break the barrier its holy energies posed to me. Calamity was performing another ridiculous offering. I grab him by his vest and lift him into the air.

"Clearly I was not precise enough last time. Cease your false mutterings of doom. Or I will kill you. Next time I won't give you this chance."

I feel a sharp prick at my throat and look down to see him holding a shining silver blade at my throat. My flesh BURNED at its touch, smoking and sizzling.

"Moonsilver. One of the goblins was carrying this. I repurposed it. One move and I'll kill you."

"I could snap your neck right now. Or entangle you in shadows or pierce you with blood. I am a WITCHER."

"But you won't. You value your life. I would be dead. But so would you. And neither of us wants mutual destruction. I have a suggestion for you: Stay out of my Temple. And I won't slit your throat while you sleep."

I slowly lowered the demagogue to the ground.

"I will respect the inviolacy of your temple. So long as you don't move against me. If you do, I will kill you if I have to send the entire Emerald Regiment up here to butcher you."

Calamity looks disturbed by this. Zach and Skullsploder were nearly legends with their hexed blades. Even the new recruits would fare well against Calamity and the few of his fanatics who would stand with him. I turned, lamellar clock flapping behind me and exited the Temple. This could become a problem.