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[xub313]

Loyal: A pile of corpses in a random, walled off room, just off the dining room.
Loyal: Also a cat is in there for some reason.
Sithdarth: Clearly the cat went insane
Sithdarth: And the only way to save the fortress was to wall him off
Sithdarth: The dwarfs that got left behind were a noble sacrifice

He he he... I wondered when someone would realize there was a cat locked up in there. I can't wait to see how more nightmarish Shadowgraves' layout becomes in the future.

Wait, wasn't my dwarf married to her? Sure no power but hell yeah amazing bedroom!

I know there was two of me once, so I don't know if that's still true.

Yep, at least you were at the end of my turn.

[Dorsidwarf]

The second image you posted was going to be the multilevel dining room, but someone made another dining room so it's just waiting to be made into a throne room now.

The well was put there because it was pumped out of a stagnant pool

The managers office was put there because it was the only spare room at the time and I needed work orders.

The corpse hall next to the dining room is something to do with necromancers

I'm not sure about the hospital, but I imagine it's meant to be were beast control.


The logs... So many logs... All those empty giant rooms were once log stockpiles, but I had to stop the madness.

[maxcat61]

MOAR LOGS!!!
I decided that every good fort needs large stockpiles of materials in case access to the outside is cut off. I was year 2, so I decided to make a giant storage room to put logs in. It was almost filled, but the next overseer cancled the hauling orders. Said something like "Crippling the fortress", "Too many dwarves are hauling: nothing is getting done", and "There is no way we are going to need all of this". He proceeded to make a wooden tower from the logs (we only had over 2000 of them). That's like, 300-500 trees

Bah
You can never cut down enough trees to make the elves happy.

[Taupe]

Yeah, but sometimes, befriending the elves can result in some interesting new friends...

[Loyal]

On my way into the fortress, I found a citizen and asked him to guide me on a brief tour through the place. He ignored he, but didn't seem to object to me simply following him. Before I do any real work, I should see just what these folks have put together, and try to glean some insight.

The fortress itself is in the middle of a large patch of woodlands. If we can call this a forest...



...then to our right. we can describe an arboreal graveyard. Hundreds of bundles of lumber littering the floor, for what purpose I cannot divine. Judging by the number of trees that have since regrown in the area, this deforestation must have happened years ago... Or perhaps the trees were never harmed, and someone simply hauled several tons of lumber over here for some reason. I wonder why nobody's bothered to collect it all? Some sort of monument to our mastery over nature? An art piece installed by a madman with too much time spent on break? I've love to meet the mind that conceived it.




The actual fortress itself is an impressive feat of architecture, walls spanning many meters high and protected by layered moats, drawbridges, and murder holes.

I'm not really sure what's the purpose of all the monkey-men in cages though. They're kinda leering at me. It's off-putting.



The main courtyard is marked with a nice statue garden. Slightly less nice is the distinct odor of vomit. Statues of dwarves flank the main gateway, but one is a statue of ... oysters?

We kept moving through the halls, past the stairs that led into the fortress proper. Unfortunately, while I was taking in the sights my "guide" got evasive and lost me in the rather twisty halls. I decided to seek out the local authorities, figuring they'd have a dedicated tourism hub or something.

Oddly enough, Queen Dumat was nowhere to be found in her throne room. But then, the place looked a little run-down, so maybe there were renovations going on. I overheard a couple peasants talking about her being in the jail, so I headed over. She's probably doing inspections or something. I must say, The willingness to oversee the quality and well-being of your facilities is quite an admirable trait.

The queen was sitting about in the furthest cell at the end of the hall, her leg caught in a shackle. No other criminals were present, just the queen shackled in the cell and holding a conversation with some dirt-farmer.

Oh. Oh wow, I just realized. I've been an idiot.

Queen Dumat is not a responsible administrator.

No, she is a champion for the common dwarf! Just watch as she demonstrates the cruel barbarity inherent in our justice system! Even the highest of mortals, bound in chains, is reduced to a crass simpleton by sheer indignity. And yet, even in this state she's willing to listen to the plight of her subjects.

I eagerly approach her for an audience and introduce myself, but she seems none too pleased to see me. Or pleased in general. Taking a chance, I try to see what's got her down. It takes some doing, and the finest psyciatrical (psychiatricist? psychosystistic?) tricks I've learned at the university, but I start to cobble together an idea of her recent history, and by extension, that of the fortress as a whole.



Seems there's been some wars that've taken their toll on both the lives and minds of Shadowgraves's citizens. In addition, Her Highness's rise to royalty has been a fairly recent one, which seemed like a nice thing at the time, but she quickly came to realize just how burdensome the mantle of authority truly was. It seems the stress got to her, and she said and did some things she regretted. For better or worse, justice is truly blind, even to royalty, and here she is now.

......

That...

Is...

...PERFECT! Absolutely brilliant! The crown (pardon the pun) jewel of  potential for my thesis paper! Yes, I'll just play shrink for awhile, try to cheer her up a bit, and the paper will flow from my pen like a fine wine.

I ask her what I can do to help, if there's anything else she'd like to talk about.

She tells me that she wishes she were never queen, that she wish she could just hand it all off to someone else and go back to being a craftsdwarf.

I tell her that this is an understandable desire (if futile, I note privately), and joke that if she truly is queen, she surely has the power to do just that.

......

......



The queen's sense of humor is far crueller than I thought. I'll never get my paper done at this rate.

[Taupe]

I laughed. Great storytelling, sir. I look forward to the rest of this turn.

[xub313]

Ditto. I can't wait for the next update!

[Loyal]

5th Obsidian:

Much to my dismay, it turns out that Queen Dumat was not joking as I'd hoped. She was deadly serious and impressed upon me, in no uncertain terms, that if I did not wish to wear my own shackle in a cell across the hall I'd better prove my worth. I'm not even a citizen of Shadowgraves, but she doesn't seem concerned with that little detail. Loyal Ustosidek, student of psychiatry and pressganged Overseer . . . at your service, I suppose. Perhaps I can put it on my resume.

For whatever reason, in spite of the defenses already in place, evidence shows that this fort has nonetheless seen its share of death within its walls. Enemies have clearly made it past our layers of defense, and our military seems to be full of holes, so what I can do right now is add another layer. I order a channel dug just past the statue garden, nice and deep, so that we can place a drawbridge over it.



If we come under siege again, we should be able to just withdraw the bridge and keep the enemy locked in place, in full view of the fortifications overlooking the outer courtyard through which our archers may rain death. Any enemy that makes it onto the bridge will have gravity to contend with when it drops out from under them. If they make it past... well, let's hope the remaining layers hold.

In the meantime, in the hopes of improving the Queen's mood so that she might see reason and relieve me of this posting, I've ordered all relevant laborers to prioritize work on Her Royal Chambers. Dig out those rooms, get our finest engravers to adorn it with the greatest art, and put our most decorated masons and gem-setters to the task of crafting worthy furnishings.

11th Granite:

An elven diplomat has arrived.. Unfortunately, the bridge has yet to be completed, so the fortress is currently on lockdown and he's going to have to wait. Just as well, really. He's probably here to complain about all the logs lying around and I honestly don't have an answer for him on that account.



Note to self: When we do meet, ask if he's interested in taking my post. Gauge his reaction. I don't know what history this fort has with the elves, but maybe I'll get an early ticket out.

I've asked for an inventory report since we're going to need more recruits in the military and I need to know what I have to work with. Regrettably, we have almost no useable metal. Someone discovered a large deposit of Zinc in the past, most of it still ore. We have no shortage of fuel, so I'll have the forgeworkers get on that. If nothing else I can have chains and other furniture made as needed, but any recruits are going to be wrestlers for the time being. Hope they like leather.

Fortunately, we have enough food and drink available that we'll almost certainly never run out before I figure a way out of this mess, so I'm not going to concern myself with more than a cursory maintenance of its production.

13th Granite:

I was inspecting the workshop area, trying to get a feel for the artisans' workflow and how they interact with each other in such a cluttered space. After so many years of working with the same layout, I might try to see how it affects them if I compartmentalize their workspaces a bit. For now, though, a more intriguing opportunity presents itself. One of the children burst into the floor with a manic look in his eye and claimed a crafting workshop. He started running around with an incredible focus, paying attention to nothing around him and actually knocking a few people aside in his fervor. Could this be the so-called Strange Mood?

I follow him as he goes about his work, collecting materials. I wonder what will come of it.

[perigrin]

Nice storytelling.

[Loyal]

I would like to apologize for how long this turn has been taking. Would a small extension be out of the question? My work schedule is finally returning to sanity and I have Plans^TM.

[Dorsidwarf]

I'm certainly willing to wait a bit for updates of this quality.

[perigrin]

going good, nice storying technique.

[PyroTechno]

Hello hello... Mind if I join in?

Dorfing and overseeing both would be nice. Whenever it's my turn, anyway.

[Loyal]

Hello hello... Mind if I join in?

Dorfing and overseeing both would be nice. Whenever it's my turn, anyway.

I will be dwarfing you shortly. Next post.

Next posts will also be coming much more quickly.

---------------

20th Granite,

With the bridge complete, the diplomat, and his caravan friends, have made their way into the fortress. The queen, who also happens to be our broker apparently, is still preoccupied serving her jail term, so I've asked another citizen to fill in. A trader named Bomrek, who had apparently suffered some significant injuries a couple years back which continue to ail him today, is happy to be relieved of engraving duty in favor of his natural calling. I leave him to it.

I, meanwhile, have a chance to meet the the elven diplomat while the traders attend to their business.

: (Start friendly. No need for an international incident in my first month here.)
Greetings to you, elf. We extend our warmest welcomes to you here, in Shadowgraves. My name is Loyal Ustosidek, humble overseer.

: I am Sidaya Iroilime, but you... You don't look like the rest of these butchers. Surely there's someone more important and... established... I can speak to?

: (Okay, this guy isn't here to be nice. Let's just see what he wants.)
I'm all there is, friend. Perhaps you'd like to sample one of our fine ales, our delectable roasts?  Surely there are more important matters we can quibble over than whether or not I've been here since the Shadowgraves's founding?

:Very well then, to business. If I am right in assuming you hold some authority, I would speak to you of the ghastly crimes your people have committed against our friends. Sickening numbers of trees lay fallen outside your walls in some wretched effigy against nature, and this must not go unanswered.

: I can't answer for what's happened in the past, but for what it's worth I do offer my apologies.

: An apology is not an equal response to murder!

: "My people" simply do not see the felling of trees as "murder," Sidaya! Lumber is a resource, much like food, stone, and metal! We gather what we must to be used as we require!

: Your "resources" lay outside in a cruel mockery of life! What purpose have you in cutting down so many trees if the wood will simply lay unused?!

:...While this is true, it is my understanding that efforts to gather the wood ran afoul of some attacks from outside and below the fort. Would if make you feel better if I prioritized bringing the wood inside? This surely is not worth escalation.

: . . . . . .

:. . . . . .

: ...Very well. If you can remove this litany of slaughter from our sight within the year, and refrain from destroying any more precious trees in that time, I will see what we can do from there.

: I can find that agreeable. Anything else?

: You are not yet forgiven, but ...no, that will be all... for now. Please treat our merchants with dignity. I will see myself out. Do try to remember our agreement till next year.

---

10th Slate,

Apparently while I was discussing things with the diplomat, other problems arose with the traders. As the spring thaw took place, one of their draft animals stepped on a patch of thin ice and broke through, getting stuck.



The elves were distressed and refusing to trade until their companion was safely accounted for, so I had some laborers build them a way out.

Frankly it wasn't worth it. The elves hadn't even brought anything of value to trade. Bomrek told me he ended up trading some of our worn goods in exchange for some fresh clothes and a giant dingo, just so the elves wouldn't feel they made the trip for nothing. I don't really know what I am going to do with the oversized beast, but maybe it will be useful for defense. I guess it won't hurt.

15th Slate:

Where did the fey child get off to?



...Oh. Is anyone going to help her with that?  She's just a child, you all weren't seriously letting a child haul massive gold bars by herself for the past month, were you?

Still, her drive is incredible. I must remember to set aside a good meal for her when she finishes. I don't know when or how much she's eating, but I'm sure she'll be famished when she's done. I wonder what she'll remember of what she's done?

18th Slate,

The child has finally gathered all of the materials she was seeking. Almost as if to provide an audience to her eventual results, a group of migrants arrived at the same time... 16 in all. This might be a good time to revisit that Wrestling Squad. Perhaps in the future we can get more weapons and equip them properly, but for now at least, I want them to begin training.

For now, I'll just see who among the new arrivals is fit to lead the Whip-Weary Entropies.

[darokindefender]

@PyroTechno: I added you to the turn list.