And finally winter.
Winter 218 - To escape cold, magma bath is the new killing1st Moonstone, 218The last days of autumn have been busy, but productive. We managed to reach important steps in several projects, and other works are going quite well.
First, preparation for the raise of the dyke is going well: we will have finished the inner wall before spring, replacing old fortifications with walls and putting new bridges to control magma flow.
Four of the five magma gates were doubled, and we started work to make depot island magma proof: the goal is to flank outer entrance with raising bridges, to be able in case of emergency to empty the dyke through our main entrance (without burning our trade depot, of course!).
The necropolis extension I started when I became overseer is slowly being smoothed: future vaults were built along the west corridor, to recieve our heroes and important characters. Some corridors filled with coffins for our population and pets were added, and a tomb, bedroom and training room were carved in the middle as my future abode as Gravekeeper, and eventually for assistants as well.
I am proud to know my term will have been useful for posterity, as our deads will now have a place prepared for them to lie with dignity. No more corpses abandonned in our corridors, no more heroes kept under anonymous rock lids, or worse makeshift commemorative slabs. I wonder if I should relocate all burying places of the fortress in the necropolis, as we have room enough, or if I should entomb our late heroes in proper mausoleums, as several rest anonymously among coffin rows.
I don't feel I have the right to choose by myself what to do on such a subject: I'll ask to the Council, and let the final decision to our future overseer. Of course as the Gravekeeper it will be my duty to celebrate the fallen ones, and I will do what I can for them. If the council decides to regroup burial grounds, I will help; for now, my burden as overseer forbid any action in this domain.
Our new magma minecart delivery system has passed brightly its testing phase: tracks are finished and the system was linked to the fortress main power axis using an old shaft.
It powers three rollers:
- at west, a medium speed roller will recover empty minecarts. It is also used as a drop point for new minecarts entering the system (
OOC: affecting a minecart to the hauling route, then forbidding the cart when it leaves the roller to avoid haulers trying to recover it on tracks).
- at south, the trench which will be filled with magma is equipped with iron rollers, to drag filling minecarts trough the magma and push them out of the trench.
- at east, the roller gives the main impulsion to send filled minecarts to their destination.
We will put a gate to switch off the system by blocking filled minecarts on east roller: when the gate will oppen minecarts will automatically be sent to their destination, pour magma there and come back for a refill, cycling until the gate is closed again.
An effective and elegant system, I think. First test with the blood of Armok will soon start, trying to isolate first cavern lake from underground streams in order to drain it and recover our fallen comrades.
People are so proud of our work that the head executionner proposed a party to celebrate winter: I gladly accepted, as we all need relief. Besides, I really need good laugh, as I spent too much of the last month lost in dark thoughts and undefined but growing concerns. The mist, the beasts, possessed dwarves acting madly, the quacks... It becomes harder to admit those are only coincidences, that nothing, or nobody, is covertly playing a cruel game with us. Perhaps wine and songs will chase those ghosts...
3rd Moonstone, 218The fortress was calm and worked slower last day, possibly because of hangover. I slept quite well, even though I woke up discovering I had confused coffin for bed. But stone is barely harder than wood for a dwarf back after all, and the coffin sides made me feel quite safe, so I guess my good sleep is understandable.
Late in the morning, a soldier came to say me they spotted a kobold: that stupid creature fled as soon as she was spotted. Was she afraid by our steel-clad soldiers, or by rotting corpses littering the sand around our walls?
7th Moonstone, 218Today is a great day: at last, water level in the cavern lake is low enough to allow us to recover the drowned corps of the woodcutter who disappeared last year. I ordered to open the drain of the second lake, and by the end of the year we should have recovered bodies of neraly all our lost brothers.
12th Moonstone, 218
Whatever entity, be it a god or an ungodly abomination, is playing with our fate, I hate it! Just as I was glad we entombed the woodcutter corpse, an horrible beast reached first cavern right next to the lake, and quickly devoured Thob Lokumbomrek, a woodcutter who had decided to work in the caverns for the first time in months!
See the ghost in upper right corner? that's the third dead woodcutter in that image. A cursed place indeed...
I am sure that aberration will die on our traps, as usual, but it had the time to maim a dwarf again. I am furious, against the monster, fate, my own failure to protect our people, but mainly against the one I am sure now is playing a sadistic, deadly game with us, killing lone dwarves in the caverns, sending waves after waves of abominations, messing with our minds. I hate him, I despise him, I would give everything to kill him - but I don't knowhow to reach him, I don't know if he can be killed, I don't even have a proof he exists!!!
18th Moonstone, 218The beast was difficult to kil, its square shell hard to pierce for our spike traps, but after numerous strikes it finally fell, and we are able to recover the mutilated body of our friend. He lied in the moss, half-eaten by rats, his hand still holding his axe.
People say woodcutters are doomed in Murderflood, as none seems to survive long. I have the feeling I could hear an hysterical cackling raising from the depths: fear, hopelessness, are they funny for you monster? I hate you, but I won't give up! We will recover each of our deads, and you will have nothing more to laugh about!
21st Moonstone, 218We need to drain the second lake to recover Urdim Lolotikon corpse, and the reservoir is nearly full: I guess it is time to release water in the tunnels and prepare to cast obsidian. We will wait the tunnels fill a little to pour water at the level below.
28th Moonstone, 218
Another party, our booze stockpile is thinning. I ordered to produce some more, and more clothes, some dwarves still wear rags. I blame the dwarves who decided to stock whole bins of clothes in their room, sometimes covering the ground, and for one or two going as far as using their tomb as dressing room. Do they have no shame to keep so much for themselves when others have nothing? Some of them are council members, so I can't really do anything, but disapprove and move on. But this kind of thing shows there is something wrong in our fortress - silliness is common ,lazyness, greed and violence unpunished... I went through the judicial record and found some offenses were committed by one of our captains! I fear the place that was chosen for our home has changed us, corrupted us, its evil influence weakening our morality and sanity. And I don't know how to fight it. I feel lost, dejected, useless. But what part of these feelings are mine, and what is caused by that corruption twisting my thoughts? How can I know? What can I do?
5th Opale, 218
That horrible mist raised again from the lake: I wish I had never left the underground, where I did not see that terrible omen: I would not have feared another accident as I do now; the Ungodly waters are waiting for someone to die, I know it. I ran through our entire security system, asking guards to be vigilant, controling each trap and lever. People were surprised and thought I was being weird, but they don't know as I do what could happen. I will not tell them to preserve their minds from the awful truth: I must bear this burden alone.
6th Opale, 218Again! This time it will be serious. Who will die? I ordered the caverns closed, the bridge raised, all dangerous work stopped: I told people I thought a day off was necessary, so they did not complain. I verified each potential vulnerability again and again, while giving construction orders and going through our stocks; I noticed the metalsmiths built fifty iron mechanisms when I asked only fifteen: I suppose we could always melt them. I am exhausted. I'll sleep again in my coffin tonight, hoping it will help me to escape anxiety...
7th Opale, 218I slept quite well again, and could go to work again without fearing a catastrophe each time someone calls me.
Our project for lake water was a success! We managed to encase into obsidian the first submerged level of sough-eastern adamantine spire without major accident.
It appears water flow created instable obsidian boulders, sending magma waves through the magma sea and a few chaotic blocks in the mining zone. However, that adamantine is now available for safe mining. I gave orders to do so. It will be possible to reach deeper levels by widening obsidian 'cover', then channeling into it to reveal magma around adamantine for obsidianization. The legendary metal will be ours, to forge weapons and armors of legend! With those, we will hold hell itself at bay, and perhaps find and destroy the source of the lake curse.
To be continued... For worse, of course!
10th Opale, 218
Here comes the readed announce. I knew something bad would occur since that terrible mist rose. I was so busy monitoring everything I did not notice Fikod was missing our squad training. We looked everywhere, I even went to the caverns to find him, but it is as if he vanished in thin air. People are afraid: if one of our mightiest warriors can disappear like that, no one is protected. I feel panic and despair rising in the fortress, and in my heart. I could not find others solution to calm them than urging everyone to work harder - people have less time to think when they are exhausted. But a feww dwarves looked at me weirdly tonight.
11th Opale, 218I had a strange nightmare tonight: I remembered an old discussion I had with the axelord Solon Unibalath, the lost Fikod being present: Solon taught me that fighting near any kind of pool, but especially a magma moat, was hazardous. "In the heat of battle", he said, "it is quite easy to stumble and risk a fiery death. And I wish this fate to no one". Then entered the nightmare: the two soldiers burst into flames, their copper shields melting to the heat, and a wave of burning blood raised to submerge me. I was woken up by pain, as my elbow hit the coffin side. Had I been in bed, I would have fallen to the ground. That dream had shaken me, and it was far worse when captain 'D' came to warn me:
I felt as caught in a landslide as I realized I already KNEW; after the nightmare, I was somehow sure Solon was dead, and all my efforts to reject that baseless belief had not worked. And now I knew my premonition was true. I had to ensure what other things in this nightmare were true: so I ordered a dike inspection to look for hints of our lost warriors.
A pool of molten copper was spotted in the eastern dike, right under the Cobalt Charms barracks. It seems Solon and Fikod fell to their death, burnt in the dike. However I don't understand how such a fate was even possible: there is no way to go atop the wall in this part of the dike, and we isnpected carefully the casern wall without even finding place to pass a needle between blocks. As it is impossible to imagin two steel clad warriors climbing the wall during a sparring session, we have no explanation about what happened. I am convinced the occult force bent to our demise is somehow responsible for that, but I did not tell anyone, fearing they would think I lost my mind. Captain 'D' was storngly affected by the loss of two friends, but he ordered to resume training in a stern demonstration fo dwarven resolve. However, he drew a chalk line ten feet from the wall, saying that part was off limits for sparring. I found this cautious, and so did the captain of the Snarling Knives whose barrack is at first floor. I hope this will avoid any other loss, but how can you proect anyone of a power able to push two seasoned, steel-clad fighter through a stone wall without leaving a mark?
Dodge teleport bug, I'm afraid. I hope reducing barrack area is enough to avoid this
I shut myself in my room to think about the meaning of that dream. After hours pondering if it was inspired by the creature behind the mist, to taunt and torture me, I concluded that as doubt around our soldiers fate would have created more fears than their impossible demise did, the entity would have prefered us not to know. I think, I hope, that the dream was inspired by the dead spirits themselves, acting one last time to protect their fortress as they did countless time while alive. It appears my connection to our deads as the gravekeeper, and perhaps my links to my squadmates, made me the ideal medium for their message. This task I chose when I became overseer might be far more important for our fortress than I thought: besides securing our lost ones repose, I will have to listen to their wills. I was right to have my quarters built in our necropolis: living among the deads will strenghten my links to them.
19th Opale, 218
A horse died in our animal pen: I once again forgot to order it released. I really don't have the knack for animal care, I should delegate it to someone more competent. Did not we have someone who called himself the Keamaster?
Apparently, some don't really care about animal and dwarves deaths, partying even during mourning. I don't know if I must cheer it as a proof of strong dwarven spirit, or fear it as a testimony of our loss of any honour or decency, under the influence of that horrible lake and the one hiding below.
26th Opale, 218First run for our magma delivery system today; we put pressure plates on the track to open and close the hatch securing the chute, and the cart made effortlessly its first delivery.
The chute nicely brought the magma to target, isolating the lake from underground streams by an impervious obsidian plug.
However, for more offensive applications of the device, we might need to use several carts to carry magma and raise the delivery rate: for such use, pressure plates will not work, so I ordered them replaced by a lever next to the hatch. It kind of limits the automated part, but it appears a good alternative. In the future it might be appropriate to move all the levers in a dedicated control room, but proximity was needed for conception.
One of our sworddwarves gave a name to his sword today: I suppose it is less disturbing than "growing attached" to it, whatever this implies...
1st Obsidian, 218 As the last month of the year starts, I got myself out of Cobalt Charms. It is sad to leave the squad after a year of common life and the recent loss of two squadmates, but I must prepare my resignation as overseer and my future life as the gravekeeper. I asked the herbalist Lòr Ibeshkilrud to replace me in the rank: I know he doesn't really like to fight, but he is tough and knows how to wield the axe. Some must make sacrifices for the good of the fortress, I wasn't keen on being overseer myself. I created a new "squad" of a sort, responsible for the necropolis protection and recovery of our fallen ones. For now I am the only member: if I spot someone with deep connexion with deads, I will propose him to take his weapon of choice and join the Grave Keeepers in the necropolis barrack.
9th Obsidian, 218
A party again, this time to celebrate the clear glass command I ordered - as glassmakers are quite weary of green glass block production. We need it to build our main entrance outer bridges: the sight of magma through the glass will strike visitors in awe, and warn trespassers of their imminent fate. We just need to replace the old granite gridge, as it will not bear magma temperature when submerged.
14th Obsidian, 218The sand titan attacked! After a year lurking in the Ungodly waters he ran to our main entrance before any sentinel could spot him. Fortunately, we had just disassembled the old granit bridge and were building a stong, magma-safe slate pavement, so the beast couldn't reach the fortress itself. Then it demonstrated the extent of its stupidity, as it destroyed the pump feeding northern magma bunker, and got caught by subsequent magma flood. Our soldiers, who were preparing to fight in depot island, cheered. I guess they were glad that this time the blood of Armok had stricken an ennemy, not a dwarf.
Notice the clear glass bridges which will be raised to contain magma.
A steel bridge will allow to close depot island if we need to empty the dyke in the countriside
Another guy got attached to his shield, I don't even care.
I ordered northern spire to be obsidianized (OOC: I deemed it NE spire, since I usually find them roughly evenly distributed on the map, so there might be another spire in the hidden north-west corner of the map) The tricky part is that for safety concerns, I did not carve a lateral evacuation to the magma sea, so we must stop the flow before the cavern is filled if we want to recover adamantine.
Still in progress at the end of the year (picture fom Obsidian 28th), don't forget to close! The note indicates a raw adamantine block cast into obsidian.
I am more and more absorbed by the work I started to prepare my future work, a census of all deads in Murderflood, their history and how they met their fate. If we don't properly honnor our deads, would we truly be dwarves?
21st Obsidian, 218
Today I put to rest another drowned corpse. I will finish my term before being able to recover the last one, but everything will be in place to drain the first cavern lake he was drowned in, since the obsidian plug isolate it from water sources. It just need a little digging and time to drain it.
26th Obsdian, 218
Bomrek organized a party to celebrate the end of my term as an overseer. I was moved, and I hope next overseer will be listened, guided and obeyed as well as I was. I will leave hom my notes, charts of the additions my term gave to Murderflood and notes about things that are yet to complete.
However I will keep for myself my conviction about the vile entity behind the forgotten beasts attacks, the loss of our fighters and probably even our woodcutters curse. The one wo creeps deep under the lake, his corruption commanding to the mists, his influence corrupting the water and raising the deads. The one whose mind possessed several dwarves and tried to force them to madness by asking for scarce materials. The one who is the bane of dwarven civilization, a monster born dwarf, who Hell itself could not kill, and who will one day walk again in the surface world, bringing apocalypse. I know you are there, Urist McDuck, and I will do everything I can to twart your devious schemes!
28th Obsidian, 218Documents left to the future overseer:
Control room for caverns/magma sea
Here are commands for all third caverns and magma-sea related business:
- The 'D' lever in bottom right corner controls bridges to open/close the lake drains (two for the moment)
- 'W' lever just above commands the bridge isolating the reservoir from tunnels feeding the spires
- The three couples of 'W' and 'A' levers command respectively Water pouring and Access for each of the three spires
- other levers are older, but A level in the left opens the iron bridge giving access to water tunnels, so if you want to flood the fortress bottom...
The main work of the year: smoothing and furniture arrange to be done; we have scores of coffins to add in the galeries
South to the memorial plaza are the tomb/room of the Grave keeper and adjacent training room
Here is revised entrance: clear glass bridges will hold magma, steel bridge allows to seal the island from outer bridge. Levers are in the green glass tower, and color-coded for your convenience
Magma bunkers and entrance need revision before raising the dyke, the titan was kind enough to deconstruct the north one.
Green glass tower needs work to finish the summit. Left a note there
Already described delivery engine. The door controlled by north lever release three magma-filled minecarts at top speed. I don't know if the fourth one can go out of the dyke itself or needs bumping, since I wasn't able to build a roller on the ramp (I should read the wiki more carefully). Other levers command trench Emptiing (left) and Filling (right)
Delivery zone: a track stop with lowest friction dump north any passing minecart, which arrive from the right. Lever is here to open the hatch, as a pest control security.
The door acts as a switch to send minecarts in the western branch when opened. The chute needs a final work, as there are dead crundles down there I did'nt want to breach without troops around. Using this kind of switch other branches could easily be built, as long as the path is not too long initial rollers should be sufficient (till 400 tiles perhaps?)
PS: looking at the picture, left track crossing is NSE when it should be SE track, and I don't know where empty minecarts could go: could someone correct this?
: there is work to do there, a dike gate is to build and the entrance is absolutely not magma safe. The bunkers also need a rework.
As a note, it seems we have a magma pool under the courtyard. It is possible this one could spread magma everywhere when we will raise the dyke because of pump-induced pressure ...
And here is the save:
http://dffd.bay12games.com/download.php?id=12559&f=Murderflood+219.rar
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Topic: 'Murderflood: (Ardentdikes IIIv3) You, there, grab this save! (Read 214355 times)